She reported it to the police, knowing it wasn’t likely they’d be able to do anything, but wanting to register the offence, at least. Then she sat down and wrote out a diary of the various events. Her father had taught her to document serious problems. He’d been a wise man and she still missed him.
He’d suggested early on in her marriage that she should stand up to Craig more, and she’d laughed, feeling secure and loved, knowing how her husband valued her help and support . . . and not wanting to rock the boat. She could see now that even then she’d been a bit chary of angering Craig.
She didn’t know what she was going to do with her life now, but the one thing she could ensure was that Craig didn’t get hold of the house, whatever he offered her, whatever he did. She held on to that thought tightly.
She wasn’t giving in to him.
Euan stared at the email in amazement. Penny had resigned, in a brief email and without giving a reason. He couldn’t believe she’d be so unprofessional as to do it this way, without giving him any notice. His eyes narrowed as he read the second paragraph. She felt so nervous of coming in again, she’d be sending her fiancé to pick up her things the following afternoon. Could someone please pack them?
He re-read the email and the idea slowly crept into his mind that something was brewing here. He had a nose for trickery. Was she going to claim that he or his staff had done something to upset her, something against the laws of harassment, or whatever they called it these days? He’d dealt with cases of false claims from time to time in the building industry, as well as genuine claims for injuries, which of course, he’d facilitated.
No, surely Penny wouldn’t dare file a claim for compensation? The working conditions here were not only fair, but he stuck to both the letter and the spirit of the law.
He read the email again and unease crawled along his spine. Something just didn’t read right.
There was only one person to whom he could turn for help, only one person who knew Penny’s job and was beyond reproach. He picked up the phone. ‘Avril? I’m in serious trouble and I need your advice and help. No, it’s not just that I’m missing you, though I am. It’s Trouble with a capital T. Yes, I’d love to stop at your house for coffee on my way home and tell you about it. Thanks.’
He then sent an email to say Penny’s fiancé shouldn’t call for her things until two days later, since he had to find someone who knew the office well enough to separate Penny’s possessions from company items. If she would provide a list, even a rough list, they could check it off and that might save everyone further trouble. He thanked her for her services and said the staff clerk from the hotel would be in touch about her pay and entitlements.
He didn’t call in a temp that day, but soon wished he had, because he had to keep stopping work to answer the phone instead of doing his own job. He’d have to come back here this evening and put in a few more hours.
He didn’t get away till six o’clock and when he stopped his car in Avril’s drive, he sat for a moment or two, eyes closed, gathering his thoughts together.
She opened the door before he knocked, studied his face and patted his arm gently. ‘It must be bad for you to look so weary. Come and sit down, Euan. I’ve made an apple pie.’
He tried to smile but was too tired, too worried. He accepted a cup of her delicious coffee and suddenly realized he’d missed lunch. The apple pie was delicious and he ate a second piece.
‘Missed lunch again, did you?’ she said, her eyes twinkling at him from behind her thick multifocal glasses.
‘Yes. I didn’t even notice until now.’
‘Doesn’t your secretary nip out for a sandwich? Or is that below a modern young woman’s dignity?’
He sighed and explained the problem.
She sat frowning, then shook her head regretfully. ‘I promised myself I’d never go back, but I think you’re right and you do need help. That young woman might be about to try something on. I’ll be in tomorrow at my usual time and I’ll help you find decent help this time to replace me.’ She fixed him with a firm gaze. ‘I’m not coming back permanently, but if it’s necessary, I’ll also be able to help you investigate this Penny person, since she lives locally. I have a lot of contacts in the community.’
He took her hand and raised it to his lips. ‘Thank you. You’re a wonderful woman.’
She shook her head slightly, smiling. ‘And you’re a flatterer.’
He stared back at her, still holding her hand. ‘No, I’m not. I’ve employed secretaries for nearly twenty years and not one of them has even come close to you in effectiveness or been such a pleasure to work with. I told you that when you left and I meant it.’
She flushed and pulled her hand away. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow, then.’
When he got back to work that evening, Euan felt a deep sense of relief that help was coming. There was no one around and he got a lot done. Only when he stood up to fetch some papers from the filing cabinet did he realize how stiff he was. Stretching and groaning, he glanced at the clock, amazed to see it was past midnight. He debated getting a room in the hotel attached to the complex, a hotel he didn’t run, thank goodness, but had leased out to someone else.
In the end he decided to go home. He didn’t intend to face Avril in the morning wearing a crumpled shirt and yesterday’s underwear.
He knew she couldn’t walk on water or see through walls, but sometimes it always felt as if she could.
Four
When Molly went to tidy the front garden, just to get out into the sunshine for a while, her neighbour looked over the fence.
‘What happened last night?’
‘Someone threw a rock through my bedroom window.’
‘How terrible! Do you fancy a cup of coffee and a chat?’
‘I’d love one.’
As she sat on Jane’s patio, she found herself confiding in her neighbour, fighting against tears. ‘Sorry. I keep telling myself I won’t cry any more, then I get upset and before you know it, I’m weeping again. I’m so annoyed with myself.’
‘Don’t be,’ Jane said gently. ‘You’ve held things inside yourself for too long.’ She hesitated, then added, ‘You changed so much after Craig left, I did wonder whether you were clinically depressed. I told you if you wanted to talk, I was here, but you didn’t come. I repeated my offer recently. It does help to talk, you know, dear, and one of the good things about being eighty is that you have a lot of experience under your belt and sometimes that can help others.’
Molly stared down at her tightly clasped hands, frowning. Depressed? You read about depression, but you never related it to yourself. But when she looked back, she realized she had been pretty miserable. And reclusive. ‘I think you could be right. About the depression, I mean. It hit me hard, Craig leaving.’
‘Bound to. But in spite of what’s happened lately, you look much brighter these days. Now, on to something more positive. Do you really mean what you told me the other day?’
‘What about?’
‘Fighting back against the world.’
‘Well . . . I mean to try.’
‘Not the right attitude,’ Jane said at once.
‘Whatever do you mean?’
‘You sound as if you’re expecting to fail before you even start, as if you don’t believe you
can
hold your corner and fight back.’
Molly looked at her in surprise. ‘I . . . Do you know, you’re right.’
‘It’s not enough to
say
you’ll fight back. That’s far too vague. What are you going to actually
do
?’
‘I was planning to buy a house in the country and make a peaceful new life for myself. Only I can’t do that until I sell this house.’
‘Peaceful! Sounds rather boring to me. How old are you now?’
‘Forty-eight.’
‘That seems quite young to me. Surely you don’t want to retreat to a cottage and sit there quietly until you die.
I’m
not looking for a peaceful life and I’m thirty years older than you. By all means move to the country, but find yourself a job, take up new interests, get out and about, look for a new man, if there are any suitable ones around.’
Molly shuddered. ‘The last thing I want to do is get married again, or even live with someone. Men take too much looking after.’ She paused to think. ‘But a job . . . That might . . . No, who’d want to employ me? I’ve been out of the workforce for years.’
Jane looked at her severely. ‘Anyone with sense would be glad of your help. I’ve seen you organize a dinner party for twelve people, cook all the food for it – gourmet food too – and manage the staff hired for the evening. That takes considerable skill. I’ve seen you run round after Craig in all sorts of ways, sorting out all his minor problems from work. What you are, is a born organizer. Do you have any formal secretarial skills?’
‘I suppose so. I did train as a secretary, got a diploma and everything, though I’ve not worked for years—’
‘Except as Craig’s unpaid assistant.’
‘I suppose so. But I’m used to computers and I’m still pretty quick at touch typing. I can do spreadsheets, too.’ She looked at Jane in surprise. ‘I’ve kept up with technology, haven’t I?’
‘Yes. You even taught me to use a computer, and you were an excellent teacher, too.’
Molly could feel herself relaxing a little. ‘You’re very good for my morale.’
‘I’m only telling the truth. What I’d suggest is you register for office work temping. You can give my name as a character reference, if you like. One of my granddaughters did some temping and she said she learned a lot about people, as well as about business from going to so many different places. She really enjoyed it, too.’ Jane let her glasses slip down her nose and looked over them at Molly. ‘When was the last time
you
thoroughly enjoyed your life?’
She didn’t even have to think about that. ‘When the children were small, before Craig got so career oriented. It’s never been quite as good since.’
‘That’s a long time to be unhappy, dear.’
‘I haven’t been unhappy, so much as . . . well, faintly anxious.’ She looked at Jane in surprise. ‘Goodness, I never realized that. I never seemed to do anything well enough to suit Craig, you see. And in the last few years we were together, it got much worse. He became so scornful.’ She looked down at herself. ‘I’m not good with clothes, I wear glasses and can’t wear contact lenses, so I don’t do him credit. There was nothing he didn’t criticize about me.’
‘And you believed what he said.’ Jane let that sink in, then said with a smile, ‘He’s right about clothes. You’re not very good at choosing them. I’d have helped you with your wedding outfit, but Denis isn’t very well just now.’
‘I’m sorry. He does look a bit . . . pale.’
‘Yes. Let’s focus on you, though. You should get right away from here.’
‘I want to, but now that I can’t sell the house I’ll have to stay. If I tried to get work, I’m sure Craig would find some way to prevent me, I just know he would. Look at how he’s ruined the auction. I’m sure it’s he who’s harassing me.’
‘I agree.’
Molly looked at her in surprise.
‘I never liked him, dear, and he felt the same about me. But it won’t do you any good to go and cower in a country rut.’ She frowned. ‘Actually, I think I might be able to help you. Have you thought of letting the house for a time, rather than selling it?’
‘And have Craig arrange for the tenant to be harassed? It wouldn’t be fair to them.’
‘You think he’s that bad?’
Molly looked at her in surprise and it was a moment before she could pull her thoughts together. Another surprise. ‘Yes. Yes, I do. He wasn’t like that when we married but now he’s a . . . a shark!’
Jane patted her hand. ‘Then one solution might be to rent your house to my son and get on with building a new life elsewhere.’
Molly stared at her in surprise. ‘Stuart? Why would he want to live here, with those yobs causing trouble?’
‘He’d enjoy the challenge of sorting them out, if I know Stuart. It’s a bit hard retiring, when you’ve been in the army all your life. If anyone knows how to deal with stroppy youths, my Stuart does. Since he and Wendy got back from touring Australia in a campervan, he’s looking for somewhere temporary to live because, like you, he needs to sort out a new life for himself. He says he isn’t buying a house till that’s settled.’
‘You’ve plenty of room for him and his wife in your house. Why would they want to live next door?’
Jane laughed. ‘Stuart and his father are too alike to cohabit comfortably. Ooh, the rows they used to have before Stuart left home! And still do from time to time. No, I couldn’t stand that. I’d have to spend all my time playing peacemaker, and I’ve better things to do with my life.’
She grinned and her eighty-year-old face turned suddenly into a little girl’s mischievous one. ‘Stuart and Wendy have got their youngest son intermittently at home while he finishes university and they have lots of army friends still who like to visit, so they want more than space for themselves. They always keep open house. Denis would hate to have strangers coming and going here, especially now. Look, I can tell Stuart the whole story, if you’re considering renting it out, and then we can let him decide. Are you interested?’
Molly didn’t even hesitate. ‘It’d be a godsend. It’d let me try life on my own without committing to anything.’
Jane studied her. ‘You know, I think dealing with this might be the making of you. If I can presume to offer you some advice . . . ?’
‘Please do.’
‘Go out and face the world boldly, whether you feel bold inside or not. Take the first step by making a vow to be more assertive. Say what you think and do only what you feel is right. That’s a fairly manageable step, don’t you think.’
Molly looked at her uncertainly. ‘It’s not always polite or sensitive to say what you think.’
‘How far has being polite and sensitive got you so far?’
‘Hmm. Not very far. Though I do have some good friends.’