34

Eddy was tempted to ignore the door bell, but it rang repeatedly until Luciana snapped at him to see who it was. Hastily throwing on his dressing gown, he hurried downstairs in his bare feet. He opened the front door, ready to snarl at the caller to bugger off, and blinked in surprise. He had just been thinking about his stepmother, and now there she was on his front doorstep, as though she had read his mind. Despite his preoccupation with his own problems, he couldn’t help noticing that she looked agitated and haggard, as though she hadn’t slept. He had a horrible suspicion she had somehow discovered he was tens of thousands of pounds in debt and had come round to challenge him about it in front of Luciana.

‘I need to see you,’ she blurted out before he could say a word.

He could hardly slam the door in her face. As soon as she closed the front door behind her he turned to glare at her, blocking her from going any further along the narrow hall.

‘What’s this about?’

‘I need to ask you something.’

He scowled at her. ‘And this really couldn’t wait until later? Listen, why don’t you go home and I’ll come round and see you when I finish work?’

‘It can’t wait. Can we go and sit down?’

She looked exhausted but he didn’t budge, so she came straight out with it. ‘Did you come round to my house last night?’

‘Me? Why? What makes you say that?’

‘Were you in my house last night?’

‘No, of course not. What are you talking about? You’d have known if I was there.’

Behind him, he heard Luciana coming downstairs. Glancing over his shoulder he saw that she was fully dressed, with make-up and everything. It was typical of her to send him down to open the door while she stood in front of the bathroom mirror, getting herself ready. Not that a good-looking woman like her needed so much make-up. Looking at her, he felt a lump in his throat. He still found it hard to believe she was really his wife. One thing was for sure, he was never going to let her down again. Last time she had discovered him gambling, she had threatened to leave him if she ever caught him at it again. He wasn’t going to let that happen.

‘Who was it? Oh, hello, Charlotte,’ she called out as she caught sight of her mother-in-law. ‘Is something wrong?’

She joined them in the hall. ‘Don’t stand around here. Come on in. Eddy, why don’t you go up and get dressed? I can keep Charlotte company until you come down.’

Without answering Eddy went into the living room, followed by Charlotte and Luciana.

‘So what’s happened?’ he asked when they were all sitting down. ‘Do you want to go and put the kettle on?’ he added, turning to Luciana.

‘Not until I’ve heard what this is all about.’ She glanced at the time on her phone. ‘It must be important to make you come round so early.’

Taking a deep breath, Charlotte launched into an account of what had happened in her house during the night. When she finished, Eddy was barely able to catch his breath, let alone speak, he was so relieved.

‘You’re telling us you think you had an intruder because you found a cupboard door open?’ Luciana said slowly.

Eddy shook his head. ‘Mum never leaves doors open,’ he muttered. ‘She used to drive me and dad mad nagging us about it.’

‘There was someone in the house. I heard him,’ Charlotte insisted.

‘But you said there wasn’t any sign of a break-in?’ Luciana asked.

‘That’s right.’

‘Well, who else has got a key to the house and knows the code for the alarm?’ Luciana asked.

‘No one. Only me and Eddy.’

‘Then if it wasn’t Eddy, you must have imagined someone was there.’

Charlotte shook her head vigorously. ‘No, I didn’t imagine it. There was someone there. I know what I heard.’

While Eddy was trying to decide what to say to his stepmother, Luciana announced she had to leave for work. Without hesitation, Eddy said he would take the morning off to be with his mother. When Charlotte remonstrated that she was fine and he shouldn’t stay at home on her account, he insisted. Actually it had all turned out perfectly. He didn’t explain that he had been planning to phone in sick so he could talk to Charlotte that morning. He wanted to keep that from Luciana at all costs, for fear she would find out why he was so desperately in need of money. All that remained was for him to convince his stepmother that he was entitled to his share of his father’s estate, and all his problems would be over. She would bail him out, and he would be saved from the financial ruin that threatened to destroy his marriage.

With Luciana safely out of the house, he offered his mother a cup of tea, and was disappointed when she shook her head.

‘No, no, Eddy, I’d best be getting on. I only called round to find out whether you’d been in the house while I was asleep. I’m fine, really. I appreciate your concern, but there’s no need to take time off work on my account. You get going. I’m fine.’

She stood up to leave.

‘No. Don’t go.’

He spoke more forcefully than he had intended. Surprised, she sat down again.

After an uneasy silence, she reassured him. ‘If it was you last night, I don’t mind. I’d rather know it was you than be left in this horrible uncertainty. Was it you?’

‘No, I already told you it wasn’t me. Now listen to me, will you? I need to speak to you.’

‘Go on then. I’m listening.’

Taking a deep breath, Eddy plunged in. ‘I need my money.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘My money. The money I should have had when dad died.’

‘What money?’

‘The money that’s owed to me.’

His stepmother frowned. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’d better explain yourself.’

‘You know perfectly well what I’m talking about. I was due to inherit a fortune when dad died –’

‘Let me stop you right there,’ she cut in, her voice cold. ‘I was your father’s next of kin and his estate came to me when he died. There’s nothing complicated or unusual about that. I really don’t know why you would think you have any claim to any part of his estate, but you don’t.’ She leaned forward and her expression softened. ‘If you’re in trouble, Eddy, I’ll help you if I can, you know that. Most of what I own is tied up in the house and I’m not planning on selling it any time soon, if that’s what you’re thinking. But I’ve got a small nest egg of my own, and –’

‘How much?’ he interrupted quickly.

‘I’ll need to check the exact figure because it’s been earning interest, but last time I looked it was just over a thousand pounds –’

‘A thousand!’

She smiled, completely misunderstanding his dismayed exclamation.

‘I can get my hands on it whenever I want, and I’d like to give it to you not as a loan, but as a gift.’ Her smile broadened as she waited for his expression of gratitude.

He nearly choked on the words. ‘Thanks, mum, that’s very generous of you, but –’

‘But nothing,’ she cut in, firm now that she had made up her mind. ‘There’s no need to thank me. You’ve been a great help to me, with the funeral, and painting the hall, and everything. I’d have had to pay someone to do the decorating if you hadn’t offered. Let’s call it a payment for all the work you’ve done so far, and the work you’re going to do for me around the house, and we’ll say no more about it. I’ll get on to that today.’

Eddy watched her stand up. His mind was racing. This hadn’t gone as he had planned, but a thousand quid was better than nothing. With a stake like that, he wouldn’t need too many decent wins to recover his losses. Even though his stepmother was a stingy cow, she might have bailed him out after all, and Luciana would be none the wiser.