Winds of Change (26 page)

Silence, then, ‘I'm not aware that we need to authorize what she does, Fox. We deal with the money only, and I'm not agreeing to cut that off.'

Sebastian slammed the phone down and began to massage his aching forehead. Why had he arranged to have both signatures required? To make sure Tressman did nothing without his say-so. Only it had backfired on him. Well, Tressman was going to regret crossing him like this.

These headaches were getting worse. He might have to consult the doctor. If people would only do as he told them, he'd not have half these problems to contend with. Even Dorothy was being rather irritating these days. She'd said last night she thought Miranda could cope perfectly well. He'd soon set her straight.

He began to put his papers together. He had no more appointments today, so he'd go home. It was good to check up on one's wife from time to time.

Sally picked up the phone and rang a woman she knew in the Social Services Department, explaining the hassles her client was getting from a brother who seemed to be paranoid about controlling her. She could have rung several people but knew Danielle had had problems in the past with a manipulative husband, so would be more sympathetic.

They had a nice chat about men who thought they owned women, and women who thought they owned men, too, then Danielle went off to check out who was dealing with this case.

Two hours later, just as Sally was getting ready to leave for the day, Danielle rang again.

‘I've sorted that little matter out. A Ms Dean will be ringing you to ask for confirmation of what I've told her, but there should be no problem. It was only a general inquiry anyway, and they'd not have done anything about it if your client hadn't been involuntarily committed to a mental hospital some years ago . . . and if her brother hadn't made such a fuss and threatened legal action . . . What . . . ? Yes, it's hard to believe, isn't it? They did some dreadful things to women in the old days, didn't they? Fancy locking someone away for having post-natal depression!'

Sally was smiling broadly as she left the building, but as she thought it over on the way home, she began to wonder if it was Sebastian Fox who had a psychological problem that needed help. His behaviour was going beyond what was rational, a long way beyond.

Nikki was right, Regina thought as she served the meal. Tim was like a big, friendly dog. But at least he did care about her daughter. That shone out in the way he looked at her, spoke to her, touched her.

She made too much food on purpose, so that she could give them the leftovers. The way Nikki looked at her when she made the offer said that her daughter had seen through that.

‘Thanks, Mum. That'd be great. We'd better get back now. I've got some studying to do.'

Tim looked at her solemnly as he stood on the doorstep. ‘I will look after her, Mrs, um, Ms Fox. If it was up to me, we'd get married straight away.'

‘I know you'll look after her, but you're both a little young for getting married, don't you think?'

‘Not me. I'm the homebody type. I really want to settle down. I don't care how hard I have to work to set up a home.'

Behind him Nikki rolled her eyes and tugged his sleeve. ‘Come on! Mum'll be freezing standing on the doorstep in this wind. It's more like winter than late spring.'

Regina went inside thoughtfully. She could see heartbreak ahead for that poor lad.

She'd often wondered why she hadn't hankered to settle down with someone, but had never met a man for whom she'd give up her independence. Seeing poor Miranda trapped by Sebastian and their father had probably driven her to the opposite extreme, total independence. And that wasn't a bad thing.

Regina rang Sally to let her know she'd still not heard from Miranda. ‘I'm really worried about her. Why hasn't she contacted me?'

‘I don't know. But I'm sure she would if she was in trouble. Perhaps she's enjoying being on her own.'

‘She's never been on her own.'

‘Precisely.'

‘I don't think she'll cope. And it's so silly to try when I could help her get settled in here.'

‘I'm sure she'll be in touch when she's ready.'

Regina put the phone down and forced herself to concentrate on her job. It had never been so difficult. She didn't know how she'd wound up as an accountant. OK, so she was good with figures. But they could pall on you if that was all you dealt with, day in, day out. Even a high salary didn't altogether make up for that. What she enjoyed most was the contact with clients but, since her last promotion, she was dealing in big, corporate accounts and the people she dealt with kept changing.

Oh, she was being silly lately. Security of employment was even more important these days, and she'd proved that she'd made a wise choice by going into accounting, hadn't she? There might be a recession on, a lot of people might be hurting, but her job was secure for as long as she wanted it. Her firm had let a few people go, but her manager had told her how pleased they were with her work and was hinting at further promotions once the recession was over.

The trouble was, she sometimes wondered whether she wanted to play company politics and climb any higher up the corporate ladders. She was even toying with the idea that as soon as the economy settled down, she might look into making a change. Not moving into something too risky, but just . . . something different. The money she'd inherited meant she didn't have to put up with a job she didn't like, but could look for one that gave her more satisfaction.

That was a wonderful thought.

Miranda went back to complete the deal on her car two days later. She was being very careful about her money because she'd been looking through the property pages of the local newspapers and knew she didn't yet have enough to buy a decent house in a decent area, and she couldn't see anyone giving an unemployable woman a mortgage. She wasn't going to live in a tiny box of a house in a rough area, though.

She just hoped they'd get probate soon and then she could sell Lou's pieces. They might fetch a few thousand dollars more, which would make a big difference.

At the car yard Don greeted her with a smile. ‘Got it all sorted then?'

‘Yes.' She handed over a bank cheque, signed her name to various bits and pieces, refusing his offer of arranging car insurance when she found out how much it'd cost.

‘I can get it much cheaper than that. I've been checking on the Internet. I'll make a phone call before I leave to set it up, if that's all right with you.'

He sighed but didn't take offence. ‘Time was when I could make a nice bit of extra money through insurance, now you've only got to go on line to find a better deal than the insurance companies will allow me to give.' He pushed the car keys across the table but didn't seem in a hurry to move. ‘Thought any more about my cousin's house?'

‘I was waiting for you to tell me if it's available, Don. Then I'd have to go and see it, and, of course, your relative would want to meet me.'

‘Well, Hazel is interested, especially if you can pay her the rent on the quiet.' He looked at his watch. ‘How about I take you to meet her now?'

‘Won't your boss mind?'

He grinned. ‘I am the boss. This place might not be as large as some, but it's steady and independent. I've got customers coming back time after time for cars.'

She wasn't surprised. He was good to deal with and seemed honest to her. ‘I need to return the hired car today, I'm afraid, so I can't take up your kind offer of taking me to meet Hazel. I don't want to pay for more days' hire than I need to. I'll take the car to the depot I picked it up from, then get a taxi back here.'

‘Where's the place you hired it from? . . . Oh, no worries. We can drop it off on the way.'

She beamed at him ‘That's great. It'd be such a help.'

He held the door open for her and gestured towards a Mercedes. ‘That's mine. Can't miss it, can you? I love red cars. If you follow me in your car, I'll show you where the depot is.'

‘I'd better program it into my TomTom first, just in case we get separated. I don't know what I'd have done without that. Oh no! I won't have one in the new car. I need to buy myself one.'

‘We'll do that too on the way back. I know a good place.'

‘Do they happen to sell mobile phones, too?'

‘Yes. And if they don't have one that suits, we can go elsewhere.'

‘I just need something simple. I've got to be a bit careful with my money.'

‘I like the fancy ones, myself. Good fun to play with.'

‘I think I'm going to be too busy to play with gadgets. For a while, anyway. You're very kind. I can't tell you how grateful I am.'

‘If we can't help one another, it's a poor lookout, don't you think?' He waved to another man. ‘I'll be out for an hour or two.'

She followed Don's car through the town, a confusing part of Swindon which she had trouble getting straight in her mind, even though she'd studied the street map. To her relief, she didn't lose him because the only time they were separated he waited for her, parked on double yellow lines.

After she'd handed over the car, she sank down in his expensive Mercedes, which smelled of new leather, and enjoyed the luxury of being driven.

He pulled up in front of a picturesque thatched cottage just outside Wootton Bassett. ‘There it is. Pretty, isn't it?'

‘It's gorgeous.'

Hazel was a motherly-looking woman but her gaze was shrewd as she shook Miranda's hand and began to show them round. The cottage had only two bedrooms, and a tiny bathroom with an uneven wooden floor in between. Downstairs was a living room and kitchen. It was lovingly over-furnished, with ornaments crowded on every surface.

‘Don said you had a sister in the district. All right if I ring her?' Hazel asked.

‘Of course it is. You'd better wait till the evening because she'll be at work just now. She works for Dalton and Carrick.'

‘Good company, that,' Don said approvingly.

‘She's been with them for years. She's some sort of fancy accountant.'

‘I was thinking of asking two hundred pounds a week,' Hazel said hesitantly. ‘That'd cover electricity and all that, as long as you didn't go mad with it. And of course, I'd want you to look after the garden. A neighbour mows the lawn for me, so you'd not need to worry about the grass, just keep the weeds down and deadhead things. How does that sound? That'll save me hiring a gardener.'

‘It sounds just fine to me. I love gardening.' She fumbled in her bag. ‘I've written down my sister's name and phone number. She lives in Summerhey.'

He pulled out a fancy mobile phone that looked more like a computer than a phone and started fiddling with it. ‘Here we go . . . Yes, there she is! That proves she exists and lives in a respectable place. So that's the first step taken, eh, Hazel?'

His cousin smiled. ‘I didn't expect otherwise. Your friend doesn't have a dishonest face.'

That was the second time someone had commented on her face, Miranda thought. Did she look soft or what? ‘I'll pay a month in advance each time. How does that sound?'

‘It sounds fine to me. I must say the extra money will come in useful. Since my George died, I've had to be a bit careful. My daughter's paying my fares, but it's nice to have a bit of spending money to treat the grandchildren, isn't it?'

‘Yes. I'll need to get on line while I'm here, but that's only a question of getting broadband connected. Is that all right?'

Hazel smiled at her. ‘You don't need to do that. I've got broadband on already. I don't like computers, but my son set mine up and helps out when something goes wrong. I must say it makes it a lot easier to keep in touch with my daughter and her family. Why don't you just use my computer?'

‘I'll pay the broadband costs for each month, then. I insist.'

After they left the cottage, Don whisked Miranda off to a shop to buy a TomTom. When they got back to the car yard, he smiled at her. ‘I'm sure we'll have no difficulty with your sister. Shall I help you program the hotel into your satnav, so that you can find your way back?'

‘Thanks. You've been very kind to me.'

He shrugged. ‘Well, you're a sale, aren't you? And perhaps in a few years, you might come back for another car.'

‘I definitely will.'

‘My wife and I were saying last night, she'd not dare move to a strange country on her own, whether she had a sister there or not, so you're a brave woman.'

As Miranda drove off, she felt happier than she had for a long time. Things were going really well. She even had a home lined up. And now, to ice the cake, someone thought her brave. That compliment had boosted her confidence enormously.

The phone was ringing as she got in. Regina nearly didn't pick it up because she was tired. ‘Hello . . . ? Min— sorry, I mean Miranda! Where on earth are you? I tried to meet you at Heathrow but I got held up and missed you.'

‘How did you know I was coming?'

‘Sally told me.'

‘I wish people would just leave me to get on with my life, however well-meaning.'

Regina didn't know what to say to that and was surprised at how sharply her sister had spoken, so moved on. ‘Are you coming to stay with me? I'd really like that.'

‘No. Thanks for the offer, but I've found a place of my own. It's quite near you, though.' She explained that Hazel would be phoning tonight to check up on her.

Regina laughed. ‘I'll tell her you're perfectly respectable, I promise you. If you won't come to stay, how about coming to tea one day?'

‘I'd like that.'

‘Oh, and I don't want to upset you, but Sebastian rang.'

‘Did he?'

‘He was absolutely furious at you for leaving Australia.'