‘I can’t sell you the house, Craig, because—’ she had to stop and take a deep breath – ‘I’ve already sold it to Stuart.’
Stuart nodded confirmation, though they hadn’t actually got as far as a sale.
There was silence, then Craig said, ‘There hasn’t been time for you to exchange contracts yet, so we can still negotiate, still come to some agreement – for Rachel’s sake.’
‘No. We can’t. For Rachel’s sake. And for my own.’ Her voice grew stronger. ‘I won’t negotiate with you, Craig, about anything. Ever again.’
His expression turned ugly. ‘You’re going to regret this.’
Euan moved to her side. ‘She won’t, you know. I’ll make sure of that.’
‘Who are you? Some struggling developer with a few houses for sale? I don’t think you’ve got much power to do anything.’
Euan smiled at him. ‘I’m the main shareholder of CrestHayle Holdings, actually. I started up the company, but though I’ve sold part of it now, I think I still have a little clout in business circles.’
Craig stopped in his tracks. ‘The shopping centre developer? I don’t believe you. Someone with that much behind him wouldn’t be fiddling around with a tinpot development like this one.’
Euan smiled even more broadly. ‘Every man’s entitled to a hobby.’
Craig stared at him as if he’d suddenly grown horns.
‘Anyway, what I do or don’t do isn’t your concern. But believe me, I do own most of CrestHayle and, more important, I can keep Molly safe.’
Stuart stepped forward. ‘And if you have any further doubt, you might try listening to this.’ He pressed the play button on his recorder and first Tasha’s then Craig’s voice filled the room.
‘
I can’t believe you attacked a woman so soon after her husband’s funeral.
’
‘
How the hell was I to know the old chap had died? Anyway, no one touched her. I made a point of telling them not to. They just lobbed rocks through a couple of the windows.
’
‘
Even that was a disgusting thing to do to an old lady.
’
‘
Sometimes you have to make a point forcibly.
’
Then Stuart pressed another button and today’s conversation between Craig and Molly was replayed.
‘Do you really want this to be made public?’ he asked with a smile.
‘That’s blackmail,’ Craig snapped.
‘I haven’t asked you for anything. How is it blackmail?’
Craig lunged for the tiny tape recorder.
Stuart easily shoved him back. ‘Careful, Mr Taylor. We don’t want you getting hurt. And for your information, I have copies of the first recording in safe places, and it can easily be sent to your employer if you don’t behave from now on.’
As they all stood there, waiting for Craig to speak or move, footsteps tapped up the wooden steps into the office.
Tasha stood there, her face expressionless.
Craig smiled at her. ‘Would you wait for me in the car, darling? I won’t be long.’
‘I don’t think so.’
He looked at her in puzzlement.
‘I’ve been listening to you for a while, from the back of this place. Threats against Molly, against your own daughter –
your own daughter
, for heaven’s sake. And two days ago you virtually raped me. I’ve been raped once when I was younger. I vowed then never to accept it again without speaking out.
‘I’m taking the car and I’m going to my brother’s. He will ensure that I’m safe when I go to remove your things from our flat. Be sure to bring a van with you when you return tomorrow, because if you don’t take your things away, I’ll send them all to the tip. Your beautiful suits, your expensive ties, all the trappings that dazzle the unwary – till people get to know you and see what’s behind the facade. You even dazzled me, and I thought I was good at recognizing that sort of trickery.’
He lunged towards her and Stuart stepped forward, twisting his arm behind his back so quickly it had happened before Craig knew it.
‘Thank you, Mr Benton.’ Tasha turned to look at Molly. ‘I apologize for the way we’ve treated you. He can be very convincing. I really thought you were a malicious fool.’
‘I was definitely a fool, but never malicious,’ Molly said. ‘I should have left him years ago.’
‘Well, you stood up to him today. Better late than never.’ She studied Euan. ‘And it seems to me you’ve found someone better in every way.’ She smiled bitterly. ‘I thought I’d met a man with solid ambitions, and he turns out to be a minor thug.’
‘Tash, I can explain!’ Craig stretched out his free arm towards her.
‘No, you can’t. Because I heard the truth today, and even you haven’t enough weasel words to twist the facts round and put our marriage back together.’
She turned and walked out of the office.
Craig tried to follow her, but Stuart made sure he didn’t get to the door in time.
As the car pulled away, Euan said, ‘I’ll arrange for a car to take you to London, Mr Taylor, because I don’t want you staying here a moment longer than necessary. But if you ever set foot on my property again, I’ll have you forcibly removed. Please wait in the coffee shop at the hotel. Perhaps you’d escort him up there, Mr Benton, then come back and join us?’
‘My pleasure.’ Stuart gestured towards the door and followed Craig out, winking at Molly.
Euan watched them go, then turned to Molly, who was looking as if she’d just run a marathon.
‘I’m ashamed that it took such an extreme situation to make me stand up to him,’ she muttered.
‘Don’t expect miracles of yourself. You’re taking one step at a time. Many women need years of counselling before they can stand up to a husband who’s abused them verbally for so long. I had a cousin in a similar situation.’
He pulled her to him and hugged her. For a moment she hugged him back, then moved out of his embrace with an apologetic smile.
‘I’m still afraid for Rachel. The trouble is, I don’t think she’ll listen to me if I tell her what her father said.’
‘Why don’t you ring your son? Ask him to explain the situation to her. I’m sure Stuart would give him a copy of the tape to play to her.’
She glanced at her watch. ‘I’ll do that. I hope I can catch Brian before he goes to work.’
Euan moved towards the door. ‘I’ll keep the sightseers at bay.’
‘No. It makes more sense for me to go down to the caravan to phone in private. And Euan . . . thank you.’
‘I love you, Molly.’
‘I don’t know how you can.’
She was gone before he could refute this.
He made a quick phone call to the hotel reception, then turned to deal with the customers who’d just returned from looking at the houses.
Molly’s hand was shaking as she pressed the button to ring Brian. ‘Hello? Oh, thank goodness I’ve caught you.’
‘Mum? Are you all right?’
‘I am now.’ She explained what had happened.
When he’d finished swearing, she got to the point of the call. ‘Can you go and see Rachel, tell her what happened?’
‘Yes. But Mum . . . I don’t think she’ll believe me. She still thinks he’s Mr Miracle.’
‘I’ll get the recording to you.’
‘She won’t listen to it.’
Molly sagged against the caravan window. ‘We can’t force her to do anything, I know, but we have to try to make her see sense.’
‘I believe you, Mum.’
‘I’m glad.’
‘I have to go now. I’m due at work. I’ll have to ring and explain that I’ll be late.’
When she switched off the phone, Molly sat there for a few moments, feeling as if she’d been run over by a tractor. But out of the corner of her eye she saw yet another car draw up. Euan would be struggling to deal with all these people.
She gave a wry smile as she tidied her hair and put on some more lipstick. The show must go on. And it’d probably be as well to keep herself occupied.
Brian rang his sister’s doorbell.
She opened it, keeping the security chain across it. ‘What do you want?’
‘Can I come in?’
‘No. Daddy just rang. He said you’d all ganged up on him, were trying to make me believe lies with a doctored tape.’
He blinked in shock. That was fast work. ‘If you’ll just let me in, I’ll explain.’
‘You’re not coming in. Daddy needs someone to stand by him. He hasn’t even got anywhere to sleep tonight, thanks to Mum and that flaky fellow she’s shacked up with. Well, he’s still got me.’
She slammed the door in his face.
He stood there for a moment, then shrugged and went back to work.
When the last customer of the afternoon had gone, Euan turned the sign to ‘closed’ and shut the office door firmly. ‘Thanks for coming back to work today. It can’t have been easy.’
‘It was easier than sitting on my own, thinking and worrying.’
‘I like Stuart.’
‘So do I. His mother’s lovely, too. I’m glad he’s going to buy my house.’
‘You could probably have got more money for it.’
‘Who cares? I like to think of him near Jane if she needs help. I like to think the house will be loved, as I used to love it.’
After a moment’s silence, he said quietly, ‘Let’s go down to the caravan.’
She felt a sense of loss as she walked inside, because of course she couldn’t stay there now. She’d shown herself up as a coward, for all Euan’s kind words. He wouldn’t be able to respect her now. She didn’t respect herself.
‘I think I can guess what you’re thinking,’ he said gently.
‘Can you?’
‘Oh, yes. I told you my cousin was in your situation, so I do understand. But I meant what I said. You standing up to him today took a huge amount of courage, and you did it without any counselling or help.’
‘Even so, I’m no fit partner for a man like you.’
‘Shouldn’t I be the one to judge that?’
‘You’re a kind man. And you’ll go on being kind to me for a while, then . . . you’ll leave me.’
‘I won’t, darling. I love you, the Molly you are now, admittedly, not the cowed woman put down by her whole family. The Molly I love is moving on. And will move still further.’
But still she shook her head.
‘What can I say to persuade you?’
‘I didn’t know you were the man behind CrestHayle Holdings. I thought you were struggling to find the money to finish this development.’
He smiled and took her hand. ‘I am. It’s a challenge I set myself, to see if I could still do it, make something from almost nothing.’
‘Why should you want to do that?’
‘Avril told me I was getting soft and spoiled. She was right. I’ve worked hard on this.’ He gestured around them. ‘I’m juggling pennies, where I usually juggle millions. And do you know what – it’s fun. I’ve not felt so alive for a long time, not since Karen died and I buried myself in financial work. And it’s brought me you, which is the best thing of all about a few minutes notice’
‘But I’m so ordinary.’
‘No, you’re not. You’ve got many useful skills, you’re kind, you’re fun and pretty. I don’t want a skinny woman who spends half her life looking after her body. I want a woman who’ll work beside me, hop on a plane at a drop of a hat and nip to Paris for dinner, or tell me off if I’ve left the place untidy, not to mention whipping up gourmet meals at a few minutes notice.’
She took a hesitant step towards him. Dare she believe him? Dare she take the risk? ‘I do love you, Euan.’
‘That makes me very happy. And do you believe I love you?’
She looked at him and nodded.
‘Does that mean you’ll take a risk on me, share my life?’
‘Yes. If you’ll do the same with me.’
Then she was in his arms, crying and laughing, kissing and loving. She knew it was a risk, but how could she not try for the moon?’
Seventeen
Her old home seemed so different already. Molly had to stop in the hall to take a few deep breaths and get her bearings. They’d exchanged contracts today and this was now Stuart’s house. She was here to check whether she wanted any of the furniture that was left, but she already knew she didn’t.
Beside her, Euan whispered, ‘All right?’
She turned to smile at him. ‘Very all right.’ In the month they’d been together, still in the tiny caravan, she’d smiled a lot.
Stuart threw open the door of the sitting room and a whole crowd of people yelled, ‘Surprise!’
Jane was closest and she moved forward first to hug Molly. ‘Welcome back, my dear.’
‘It’s so good to see you.’
Behind her was Brian, with a pleasant looking young woman by his side.
‘This is Carol, Mum.’
‘I’m pleased to meet you.’ And Molly was. You could tell at a glance that this was a nice person, devoid of malice or slyness. You just could. She was learning to trust her own judgement about people.
With squeals, her friends threw themselves on her, and her cousin Helen grinned at her from behind them, waiting for a hug.
‘This is Euan,’ she told them proudly.
‘Nice one,’ Nikki said. ‘You’ve hit gold this time.’
Molly let out a gurgle of laughter as Euan blushed. She’d learned by now that he was embarrassed by his own good looks. You could say it was his Achilles heel.
‘Hands off, girls!’ she said. ‘I saw him first.’ Then she saw Sally at the back of the room, looking a little anxious. She tugged Euan through the crowd. ‘I’m so glad to see you, Sally. I’ve never thanked you properly for helping me that day.’
The two women hugged and instead of air kisses, Sally plonked an old-fashioned kiss on her cheek.
Rachel wasn’t there, of course. But then, Molly hadn’t expected her to be. She had to hope that some day her daughter would find out for herself how untrustworthy her father was.
‘I didn’t know it was going to be a party,’ she said, ‘or I’d have dressed up.’
‘No, heaven help us. Don’t let her dress up, Euan. It doesn’t suit her,’ Di said. ‘Keep her simple.’