Tuesday, late morning
Bea opened the door to be faced with a man in chauffeur’s uniform. Short-cut hair, fiftyish, with a solid, four-square figure. She’d seen him before. He drove the Trescotts around, didn’t he?
Ah, he’d come to collect Piers, hadn’t he? And, oh dear, he was double-parked in the road, holding up the traffic.
‘I understand Mr Piers is staying with you? I have something to give him.’
‘I regret. He’s not here.’ A small removals van was crawling along the road in the traffic. Piers often used a particular firm to move his bits and pieces around London, and this was probably him in the van now. An inopportune time for him to arrive?
The chauffeur didn’t shift. ‘I’ve been told to wait for him if he’s popped out.’
‘I have no idea where he’s gone or how long he’ll be.’ Strictly speaking, that was true. Piers might or might not be in the removal van which was being held up in the traffic behind the double-parked limousine, but she wasn’t going to tell the chauffeur that. Bea gestured to the gridlock in the road. ‘You can’t leave your car there.’
‘My instructions are to—’
‘Not to get a parking ticket, I assume. I’ll tell him you called when he returns.’
‘I’ll find a parking space nearby, come back and wait for him.’
The chauffeur returned to the limo and drove off, being honked at by a stream of cars who’d been held up behind him. As if Bea had waved a magic wand, a car parked in front of Bea’s house moved out into the traffic. The chauffeur stopped with the intention of moving back into that space … but lo and behold, the furniture van nipped quickly into the vacancy and the chauffeur had to move on.
Piers and a couple of men got out of the van, opened the back doors and started to hump cardboard boxes, a selection of bags and a dismantled easel along the pavement and up into the hall, followed by a number of canvases … and a couple of folding chairs … and a wooden crate filled with books … and … and …
Bea stepped back into the kitchen. She’d asked Piers to move himself back in for a while, but she hadn’t thought he owned so much stuff. His belongings filled the hall, leaving only a small passage for people to pass through.
Keith popped up from the basement, eyed the clutter, and laughed. ‘Running a hotel, Bea? You want a hand shifting this stuff, Piers?’
Piers paid off the men, helped them shut the van’s doors, and edged his way into the hall, shutting the front door behind him. ‘Hi, Keith. Good to see you again. Sorry, Bea. I hadn’t realized I’d accumulated so much stuff. I’ll have to find another studio to put my painting materials in. Shouldn’t take me long. Perhaps a week or two.’
Bea felt rather faint. A week or two?
Piers said, ‘We could dismantle the bed in the guest room and put everything in there. I can always sleep on the settee down here.’
Or in my bed! You rat! You sneaky, lying bastard! You could have taken most of this stuff and put it in store or left it in the mews, but you brought it here, thinking you could wheedle your way into my bed. Oh, just you wait …!
Keith was laughing. He’d known Piers for some time, and seemed to be on his side. Two men against one woman. What was she to do? Was Piers trying to smooth out a grin?
‘I have it!’ Bea said with a beatific smile. ‘We don’t use the small interview room at the back of the agency that much, and you can put some stuff down there. The rest can go into the guest bedroom for the time being. Now you can’t sleep on the settee because Hari’s going to be there, but I expect you can doss down on the floor in the sitting room on a lilo or something.’
Piers caved in. ‘All right, I’ll see about renting another studio this afternoon.’
Keith smoothed out a grin. ‘Good try, Piers. By the way, Bea: someone’s been trying to hack into your computers, but failed. Some foreign job. I’ll strengthen your defences if you like.’
Bea said, ‘Bless you. Now, as I told you, I’m at war with a powerful family called Trescott. Cyril, Constant and April are my generation; Benjy and Joshua are in their early twenties. As someone remarked earlier, the best form of defence is attack and I could bear to know more about their private lives. I’ve looked at Facebook and there’s not much there but I know there’s other sites they might be using. Can you check? April Trescott is divorced and reverted to her maiden name, and the two boys are hers.’
‘You want me to hack into their private accounts? That’s illegal. But there are ways round it. Let me see what I can do.’
The doorbell rang again.
‘I’ll go,’ said Piers. ‘I’m nearest.’
Bernice started to say, ‘Watch it! It might be the Trescotts’ chauffeur back …’
Piers had already opened the door.
The chauffeur was on the doorstep holding a phone to his ear. ‘Good morning, sir. Are you ready to come with me now?’
Piers said, ‘I regret. No.’
The chauffeur held out an envelope. ‘Then my instructions are to give you this, sir. And to see you open it.’
Piers said, ‘What?’ He opened the envelope and stared at the enclosure.
Bea edged through the cases to see what he was looking at.
Piers said, ‘This is a bearer bond for twenty thousand pounds? Is this supposed to bribe me into seeing things the Trescott way?’
‘It now has your fingerprints on it, sir. I’m recording what you say so that Mr Trescott has proof that you have accepted the bond. Would you care to say a few words?’ He held the phone up for Piers to speak into.
Piers glanced at Bea, standing at his side, and narrowed his eyes. Then he pulled her close to him and spoke with deliberation. ‘On behalf of Mrs Abbot, I accept this money in consideration of the expense and trouble she has been put to while looking after Evelina Trescott, and in employing the protection needed to ensure her safety, and the safety of everyone in this house while the girl is staying here.’
In other words, Piers was accepting the money and using it to pay for Hari to protect Bernice and Evie against any advances Benjy might make.
Bea found herself holding the bearer bond. Piers had turned the tables on the Trescotts with a vengeance, and kept himself out of their clutches, too. Clever Piers!
The chauffeur looked at the phone. He looked back at Piers, and he looked at Bea. Did his lips twitch? Had he seen the humour in the situation? Yes, it seemed that he had. In a colourless voice, he said, ‘I understand, sir. The money has been accepted by you for services rendered by Mrs Abbot.’ He spoke into the phone. ‘Did you get that, Mr Trescott? What would you like me to do now?’ He listened for a moment, nodded, and put the phone away.
He said, ‘Mr Trescott is not amused. I’m to report back to the house. But may I say, well done, sir.’ He allowed himself a fleeting smile. ‘And, my regards to Miss Evelina. Please remember me to her. I used to take her to and from her day school. Me and the wife, we were concerned about her, how she never seemed to pick up after her parents were killed. She’s doing better now?’
Bea understood that the man was saying he wished Evie well. Bea said, ‘She’s having her hair and nails done. She’s bought some new clothes. I’ll tell her you were asking after her.’
He nodded and turned away. He took a step down towards the pavement, but turned back to say, ‘It’s good she’s found a friend.’ He hurried along the pavement to where he’d parked the limo.
Piers ushered Bea inside, and closed the door behind them.
Just inside the door, Keith was standing on a low stool, fiddling with the alarm system. He said, ‘I enjoyed that. I was going to offer to pay half towards some security here for Bernice so it’s a relief you’ve made them pay for it. Dilys and I are planning to up-size soon. We want a bigger house in a greener neighbourhood. Away from the pollution. Now … what is the new code you want put in?’
Piers recited, ‘Two eight six eight. I need to lie down and have someone soothe my brow and bring me refreshments. All this thinking on my feet is wearing me out.’
Keith grinned. ‘Could have fooled me.’
The two men did the high five thing. Keith said, ‘I suppose we’re related in some way, though I can’t quite work out how.’
‘We’re in-laws of some sort, I suppose. Or will be when Bea and I make it official again.’
Bea wanted to say, Over my dead body! But didn’t for some reason. On the one hand, she wanted to see Piers out of the house, and on the other … well, she didn’t exactly dislike his moving in. It was … exciting.
She followed Piers along the obstacle course to the kitchen.
Piers went straight to the fridge. He sang out, ‘Keith, do you want coffee, or some cake? I suggest we have a pizza for an early lunch, and then I’ll shift my belongings downstairs except for what I can keep in the guest bedroom. Bea, I suggest you put that bearer bond into the bank immediately, if not sooner. I don’t think they can cancel, but you might get burgled or something. Coffee first?’
Bea’s mind was on the Trescotts’ chauffeur. ‘That man seems to have a soft spot for Evie. She said he was kind to her.’
‘Divide and rule. A man in his position will know what’s going on in that household even if he’s not supposed to. Perhaps he can tell you what really went on when Daddy and Mummy were killed in that car accident.’ He pulled a large pizza out of the freezer. ‘This do us for lunch?’
Keith hove into view. ‘Did you say something about coffee? I could do with a cup. So you two are going to get married again?’
Bea started to say, ‘Not for a while …’
Piers got in first. ‘As soon as they’ve got a slot. I could do with a best man. Would you care to oblige, Keith? I’ve hundreds of acquaintances but I don’t have to explain anything to you, and you’re already in the family, so to speak. Also, Dilys would like to be there, too, wouldn’t she?’
Bea started to say, ‘I really don’t think …’
But Keith was nodding agreement and Piers was studying the kitchen floor. ‘Is it clean? I really don’t want to stain these jeans. They’re my best pair. But, well … here goes.’ He got down on one knee and held up his hands to Bea. ‘Will you do me the honour, et cetera?’
‘No, I …! Get up, for heaven’s sake!’ She flapped at him with a tea towel.
Whatever am I going to wear?
Keith was almost crying with laughter. ‘Do I have to wear a penguin suit?’
‘No, no!’ Piers was horrified. ‘Nor me! Best scruff, please!’
‘Tell you what, I’ll visit the charity shop on the way home and see if I can pick up a decent jacket. I tore the sleeve of my best last week. I suspect Dilys will want a new outfit, and we can’t both afford to be dressed in designer gear.’ He reached for some mugs. ‘Do we toast the engagement with coffee or have we anything stronger? Bernice will love to be a bridesmaid. Do we buy the dress for her for the occasion or do you? Etiquette’s all over the place nowadays. However, you’ll be glad to hear our little boy is too young to be a ring-bearer. If you asked him to carry a ring down the aisle, he’d probably put it in his mouth and refuse to take it out. He’s into eating strips of newspaper at the moment.’
Bea hissed, ‘No frills. No fuss. The moment someone asks about wedding presents or invitations, I’m out of here. Understood?’
Piers seated himself with an air of satisfaction. ‘Ditto. Nice and quiet. Doing the dirty deed so quickly means it will have to be a registry office affair but we’ll have a blessing in church later on. We’ll invite a couple of old friends as witnesses on either side. Lunch or supper afterwards in the private room at the pub up the road. No honeymoon, because it’s school holidays. Maybe in September we can get away for a bit. Pray for good weather. I do have one decent suit but it’s a trifle on the tight side and if it rains, it might shrink, and then where would we be?’
Winston the cat landed on Piers’ lap and put up a paw in begging mode.
Keith said, ‘Can Winston be the ring-bearer?’
Torn between hitting them and laughing, Bea served up some salad to go with the pizza for lunch, and then left the men to it. She wasn’t hungry and she needed some fresh air. She set off at a great pace to walk into the park and take her usual circuit … before finding herself for some reason back again in Church Street. Only then did she remember that she needed to put the Trescotts’ bearer bond into the bank.
Once that was done, she turned into the church on the corner. Someone was practicing on the organ. Something reflective and peaceful.
Bea sat at the back of the side chapel. An elderly woman was already there, but soon left. The organ ceased to play. Quiet descended.
Bea thought about having a good cry. She was choked up with rage and tears and excitement … and oh, she didn’t know what to think.
Dear Lord, I’m being railroaded into marrying this man again, and I don’t know whether I’m ready for it or not. Probably not.
I think you are.
But he’s so pushy!
He’s doing exactly what you want him to do, only a little faster than you expected. You could have stopped him at any point today, or yesterday. But you didn’t.
What am I going to wear?
I’m not concerned with such things.
I’m worried about Bernice.
Yes, she is in danger.
I couldn’t bear it if Benjy did to Bernice what he did to Evie. Or at least, what I suspect he did. Bernice thinks it was Joshua, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t him. It makes me feel sick to think about it. And what of the future for poor Evie? Is it possible that she will ever be able to lead a normal life? I can’t see how it can happen.
Be vigilant. Watch and listen. A door will open.
I remember you said, ‘Knock, and the door will be opened to you.’ Well, here I am, Lord, knocking on your door.
She leaned forward and rapped three times on the chair in front of her.
Then she blushed and looked around to see if she’d been observed. Honestly, what would people think if they saw her going around and knocking on wood?
Her phone vibrated in her pocket. Evie was ringing from the hairdressers to say they’d finished with her and what should she do next? Bea told her to wait in the foyer, and she’d be right there. It wasn’t far away. On no account was Evie to leave the shop till Bea arrived in person to collect her.
Better be safe than sorry. It wouldn’t have taken much of an effort for the Trescotts to discover where Bea had her hair done. And she’d stupidly told the chauffeur what Evie was doing that day. Fool!
As Bea left the church, her phone rang again. She answered it as she walked along.
This time it was Piers. ‘We’re under siege here. Benjy arrived ten minutes ago, saying he was taking Bernice out into the country “to give her a driving lesson”. He came in a red monster which he’s managed to get parked outside. I said she wasn’t here. He wanted to know where she was. I said I didn’t know. He said I should tell her he was waiting for her and he’d sit outside until she got back.
‘I’ve texted to warn her. She texted back to say she wouldn’t be back till mid-afternoon if then. She added that Benjy should look out for traffic wardens. I haven’t bothered to remind him about them. I hope he gets a whacking big fine. I can see through the window that he’s still sitting outside, on his phone. The problem is that Keith needs to go soon but doesn’t want to fall in with the Trescotts, which I absolutely understand. I’ll have to think up some sort of diversion to allow him to leave undetected when he’s ready to go.’
‘I’m on my way to pick up Evie. I think we’ll have lunch out. She’s too fragile to have to meet up with Benjy at the moment.’
‘Right. I’ll hold the fort. I’m supposed to be looking at another studio flat this afternoon, but I’ll wait till you’re back.’ He cut the call.
Bea walked into the salon and looked round for Evie, but there was no sign of her. Instead a stranger turned to meet her. Glossy dark hair in waves to her shoulders and she was unobtrusively but attractively made up, with shining, well-shaped fingernails. The stranger smiled, blushing at Bea’s reaction.
‘I look all right, don’t I? Almost normal.’
‘You look fantastic. Turn around and let me look at you.’
Evie rotated, pleased with herself and the impression she’d made on Bea. Had the girl lost weight this last week? Her figure seemed to have improved. The new bra helped, of course.
‘Joshua will be pleased, won’t he?’ She sounded anxious about that.
Bea ignored that. ‘Are you hungry? I’m famished. Bernice won’t be back for hours. Shall we have a bite?’
They settled into the Italian restaurant nearby and ordered the chicken dish of the day.
Evie said, ‘Auntie phoned the salon while I was under the drier. The receptionist asked me if I was there, and I told her to say that I wasn’t. It was nice of them to lie for me, wasn’t it? I wish I could go back to them every week to have my hair done.’ She glanced at the mirror on the wall behind Bea and turned her head from side to side to admire herself.
‘I thought you said you’d be able to do what you liked when you were sixteen.’
Evie bowed her head and didn’t reply. But her head soon came up again. ‘I suppose I have to go back and live with Auntie till we get married. Do you think it would it be all right for me to ask her for a dress allowance in future?’
‘It depends who your guardian is now. It used to be your uncle Constant. Do you know if he made a will? It’ll probably be in that.’
Evie’s brow creased. ‘I don’t know. They say I don’t need to bother my head with all that stuff.’ She straightened her shoulders. ‘But perhaps I ought to be bothered about it when I’m sixteen.’
Bea couldn‘t help herself. ‘You said you were getting married and letting Joshua look after you.’
‘And have a puppy and live happily ever after.’
‘Will you have your own house? Learn to drive? Have children?’
Their chicken came. Evie made no attempt to start on hers, but repeated the word ‘children’ under her breath. She pushed her plate aside, untouched. ‘I don’t think Joshua wants children.’
Bea was hungry, so started on hers. ‘Do you?’
‘Yes. Oh yes!’ A gulp. She was very pale.
Bea said, ‘Some water?’
Evie tried to lift her glass and spilled some of it. She set it down again. She looked around the restaurant. People enjoying themselves. Normal people. Normal lives.
She said, ‘I’m not normal. At least, I don’t think so. I can’t remember properly what they told me. It comes in flashes and then I think that was nonsense and it didn’t happen. I suppose I don’t want to know, really. It’s better not to know. Better to have a puppy and get married and not care about anything.’
Bea’s throat ached. ‘Yes, my dear. I do see what you mean.’
Evie made another attempt to lift the glass, and this time she made it. She drank, set the glass down again, and straightened her knife and fork on the table. ‘You know, don’t you?’
‘That it wasn’t Joshua? Yes.’
Evie took a deep breath. ‘Sometimes I think I’d like to run away and live by myself with a couple of dogs in a tiny cottage by the sea. Only I know that’s a dream that won’t come true.’
‘I expect you could have your dream if you signed away your rights to Trescotts in exchange for a decent allowance. You must be hungry. Taste your food. It’s good.’
Evie obeyed. She managed two bites before she put her knife and fork down again. ‘I thought once or twice that I should go to a doctor, not the one at the clinic, to find out …’ She swallowed. ‘But I’ve been too afraid to ask. Growing up is hard, isn’t it? It’s a lot easier to let them have their way and not think. Thinking hurts.’
Bea was silent. The poor, poor child!
Evie drew herself up. ‘Will you take me to a gynaecologist? I think I can bear to hear the truth if you come with me.’
‘Don’t you have a GP of your own?’
‘The Trescotts don’t have a GP. We’re above all that. We go to specialists when we need attention. Auntie’s pet doctor at the clinic says I’m a hysterical little girl who needs to take her medicine or she’ll be in a wheelchair for life. What about your GP?’
‘I’m not your guardian. I can’t take you to a doctor without your guardian’s permission. If it’s going to be your uncle Cyril—’
‘He’d say that my aunt takes care of all that, and she does.’
The waitress came by to ask if everything was all right. Bea nodded, and Evie picked up her knife and fork again. Bea got the impression that the child wanted to talk, but didn’t know how to start.
Bea said, ‘What was the row about, the night your uncle Constant died?’
‘About my school report, and how much money my going to an expensive boarding school had wasted. Uncle Constant was always worrying about money although he’d no need to. He used to go around shutting lights off, turning the central heating down, querying the bills. But it was all noise, really. Auntie sees to the running of the two households. She says – used to say – that he was going soft in his old age.’
‘She’s organizing the birthday party for you?’
‘Yes.’ Evie pushed her plate away, the food almost untouched. ‘I’m not hungry.’
‘Your uncle was worried about the cost of the party?’
Silence. Evie kicked the table leg.
Bea said, ‘My dear, I wish I could help you, but if you don’t tell me what’s wrong there’s nothing I can do.’
‘Won’t you let me come and live with you and Bernice?’ Her voice tailed away.
Wow! I didn’t see that coming and I’m not sure I could cope with her. I’m panicking at the mere thought of it! Calm down, Bea. It’s not going to happen.
Bea said, ‘Unless you can show a very good reason for wanting to leave home, the courts wouldn’t allow that while you have living relatives who want to look after you. Have you no other relatives you could go to for a while?’
A tiny shrug. ‘Not now. No.’
April Trescott would be the obvious one to take charge of the girl. Having seen her at work last night, I’m wondering if she’s in cahoots with the Silver Fox, or trying to catch Leon for herself?
Evie said, ‘The row at supper was because Joshua told my uncle to lay off me, that it wasn’t my fault that I’d lost so much schooling. My uncle asked, “Whose fault was it, then?” And Joshua said that if he was prepared to pick up the pieces and marry me, then it was no skin off our uncle’s nose. Nunkie Cyril went icy cold and said that was the first he’d heard of marriage, and that I was far too young and immature to be married. Uncle Constant said that for once he agreed with his brother, that Auntie should have consulted him about it and he thought it was a crazy idea, too. He said that he was my guardian and he’d never agree to it.’
‘Ah,’ said Bea. ‘He said he was against the marriage and that night, he died. And Nunkie said he heard someone arguing with Constant in the night?’
‘He was dreaming. It definitely wasn’t Joshua who took the whisky in to Uncle Constant later on, and made him take more than his usual dose of tablets. My window was open, and so was his, and I heard enough to know who it was. But of course I know that was all a dream and I mustn’t tell anyone about it.’
It hadn’t been Cyril. Cyril had agreed with Constant that Evie was too young to marry. Cyril didn’t stand to gain anything by Constant’s death. April and Benjy stood to gain because the marriage was going to tie Evie and her fortune down for good and if Constant, her legal guardian, refused permission, then it couldn’t take place.
‘It was either your aunt or Benjy?’
Evie finished off her glass of water and poured herself some more. ‘Joshua has always stood up for me. He’s promised he always will. If I marry him, I’ll be free of my aunt, and we can live happily ever after.’
‘I can see the attraction of getting away from your aunt, but marriage is a big step. Are you sure you’re ready for it?’
A shrug. ‘I have no choice. I’m not exactly a prize catch, am I? The pills I was taking turned me into a non-person, but if they find out I’ve stopped taking them I’ll be whisked back to the clinic and have to stay there till I don’t care what they do with me. It’s Joshua, or nothing.’
Bea asked, ‘Does Joshua love you?’
‘Of course. I understand it’s a bargain I have to make. He’ll get my money in due course, but he’s promised I’ll always have enough to live on and we won’t even have to share a bed. That’s love, isn’t it?’
Bea choked on the last nugget of chicken and drank some water. She pushed her plate away and tried to think clearly. ‘No, my dear. It isn’t. Love is more than friendliness. I know because I have loved twice and twice have lost the man I loved. I grieved bitterly each time, but now I have a second chance to be with someone I love and I’m taking it.’
Evie stared. ‘But you’re so old! I didn’t think people your age could love.’
Bea felt herself blush. ‘Well, you learn something every day. Piers and I married when we were very young. We were crazy about one another but he couldn’t find work, I worked too hard and when baby Max came along Piers hadn’t grown up enough to cope. So he played around with other women and I threw him out. Then I met and married my darling Hamilton, who was as different from Piers as you could imagine a man could be, but he loved me and he looked after me and he looked after Max, and I loved him back, as fiercely as I’d loved Piers. I was devastated when Hamilton died.
‘Despite my age,’ Bea said, with a touch of sarcasm, ‘there have been other men who have wanted to get closer to me, but I could never summon up enough enthusiasm to take up their offers. And Piers kept bobbing back into my life. He’s always kept in touch with Max, and lately … well, we’re both older and wiser now. I’m going to marry him all over again. I’m excited and yet dreading it. I want it to happen tomorrow or not till next year. I think of him all the time. I count over his faults, and he has many. I remember his good points – and he has many of those, too. Warts and all, I want him to be with me for the rest of my life. Dear Evie, I understand where you are at, but I don’t think entering into a loveless marriage at your age is your only option. Please, think carefully before you do so.’
‘I have thought. For weeks and weeks. There’s no alternative.’
‘Yes, there is. It would require courage, but I don’t think you lack that. You could go to the police, tell them you were raped and that your family covered it up.’