Winds of Change (31 page)

She just missed scraping a van as she pulled out and by the time she'd got to the corner, she was shaking so badly she had to pull over to the side. ‘I'm sorry. I don't cope well with stress. Can you drive, please?'

‘How are you going to get home after we pick up Katie's car?'

‘I'll sit and wait till I've calmed down.'

He got into the car and set off, driving very carefully because he didn't know if her insurance covered him. When he parked behind Katie's car, he turned to look at Miranda again because she was staring blindly into the distance. There were a few silver hairs among the fair ones and her hair was now jaw length, which suited her better. She'd always worn her hair long before because that old skinflint of a father had kept her short of money.

‘How come your father let you travel all this way?'

‘He's dead.'

‘And your brother? I'd have thought Sebastian would still be keeping you on a tight leash?'

‘Not any longer. Look, I don't know why you're bothering to make conversation, Brody, if you can call this conversation. You clearly don't want to speak to me. The car is over there. Take it back to Katie.'

He got out, feeling suddenly like a brute. There had been no need to talk to her like that.

Behind him he heard the car start up and he swung round to see her weaving an erratic course down the street. His heart was in his mouth by the time she turned the corner. She shouldn't be driving. She was too upset.

If anything happened to her, it'd be his fault.

It had been such a shock to see how little she'd changed. It had thrown him.

But he was still angry at her. Furious. Well, he was angry with quite a few people, himself included for feeling like this.

Regina went to see her daughter that evening and to her relief Nikki smiled, seeming glad to see her this time. ‘How are you?'

‘Dopey. They keep giving me something to keep me calm.'

‘They must know what they're doing.'

‘Well, that's more than I do lately.'

‘Oh, darling, it'll be all right, I promise you it will.'

‘How can it be? My whole life's been torn apart. I don't know where I'm going – or who I'll be with.'

‘No one does, really. We make plans but life has a way of chucking a wobbly every now and then. I brought you some grapes. That's obligatory, isn't it?'

Nikki gave a faint smile. ‘Yes. And at least you're not eating them for me. Mum – when I get out, can I move back home till the exams are over?'

She hadn't expected this and gaped at her daughter.

‘All right, never mind. It was worth a try.'

And Regina found herself doing something she'd not intended. ‘Yes, of course you can come home. I was just surprised that you'd asked. What about Tim?'

‘It's not working. You don't really know someone till you live with them, do you?'

‘No. And even then, they can surprise you.'

‘Is that what happened with my father?'

‘No. We never lived together.'

‘Oh.'

She saw Nikki's eyelids fluttering and realized her daughter was falling asleep again. ‘You get some rest. I'll come in again tomorrow.'

In the corridor she met Tim, carrying a bunch of flowers. He fumbled in his pocket and held out some banknotes. ‘I didn't need them. I hitch-hiked home.'

‘Keep them. I'm not short of money. Nikki's just fallen asleep.'

‘I'll sit and wait. I want to be with her.'

He was still holding out the notes, but she ignored them, not saying anything as she walked away. Not for her to interfere. If Nikki came home again, it'd be by her own choice.

Regina sighed as she walked out of the hospital. She wasn't sure she wanted her pregnant daughter living at home again, with all the emotional turbulence that was bound to occur. But she could never refuse to have her, for all her previous threats.

Brody drove the car back to his daughter's house, not hurrying because he was still trying to make sense of seeing Miranda today. He'd been unkind to her, but he hadn't been able to help himself. The mere sight of her had brought back so many memories of their time together, the hopes they'd built, the closeness he'd thought they shared.

It had also brought back memories of the cruel abruptness of her disappearance from his life.

He rang the doorbell and waited for Katie to open the door.

She was wiping her hands on a small, frayed towel. ‘You should have come straight in. I'm just getting Ned's tea. He's been invited to play at his friend's for an hour afterwards, thank goodness.'

Brody followed her into the kitchen, which was also the eating area, raising one hand to wave at Ned who was eating what looked like pasta and sauce, then turning back to Katie. ‘Are you all right now?'

‘As right as I'll be until I've seen Darren and know he's well on the road to recovery.'

‘Did they tell you what happened?'

‘No. Only that he'd been shot in the leg. Someone will phone when he gets back to let me know where they've taken Darren, and they'll pay for me to go and see him.'

‘Do you want me to look after Ned while you do that?'

‘I don't know. It's a kind offer but, until I find out exactly what the injuries are, I'm inclined to think Ned should come too.'

‘Well, the offer's there if you need it.'

‘Miranda was just starting to tell me why she had me adopted when you arrived.'

‘Oh?'

‘She'd got as far as saying “I wanted to keep you, only they—” when you rang the doorbell.'

‘She wanted to keep you!'

Katie nodded.

‘Wanting clearly wasn't enough. She always did have trouble defying them. That father of hers was like a . . . a behemoth or a dinosaur and he'd browbeaten her from childhood. She used to hate to go home from university.'

‘She looks as if life has beaten her around quite a lot.' Katie stared at him. ‘I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt until I've heard her story, and you should too. Ask her to explain next time you see her. Listen.'

‘If I have my way, I'll not be seeing her again.' He stared right back at his daughter. ‘I
don't
want to revive old memories. I've moved on and I'm not going back. So don't get any ideas of inviting us here together, because I'll walk out if I see her.'

‘I see.'

He nodded. ‘I'd better go now.'

‘Yes, I think you had.'

He knew she was disappointed in him, but some things were not negotiable. He'd sworn to have nothing more to do with Miranda and that was one promise he was going to keep.

But he kept seeing her all evening, remembering how she'd looked, what she'd said. She had never been beautiful but there had always been something special about her. It was still there. Not because she was better dressed, but because she carried herself with a quiet integrity that hinted at a woman who'd learned some hard lessons in life. If he'd met her for the first time now, he'd have found that look intriguing and would have asked her out, wanted to get to know her.

That sudden resurgence of interest in her frightened him more than anything else. He didn't want to go there again, didn't want to be attracted to her. Definitely not.

Sebastian got ready for the first mediation meeting, feeling aggrieved that he had to go through this ridiculous charade. Over breakfast he tried to discuss it with Dorothy, who usually had sensible views on life.

‘I don't want to get involved in this,' she said. ‘You'll do what you want anyway, so it'd be a waste of my time arguing with you.'

He looked at her in amazement. ‘
Arguing
with me! Surely you don't think Miranda should have full control of that money?'

‘You and Regina have full control of your shares.'

‘What has that to do with the matter?
We
haven't spent time in a mental hospital.'

‘As I said, it's not worth discussing.' She got up and tried to leave the room.

He caught her before she reached the door. ‘Don't you dare walk out on me!'

‘You're hurting me.'

He squeezed her shoulders more tightly and pinned her to the wall. ‘I will hurt you if you ever walk out on me again. Come and finish your breakfast.' He walked her forcibly to her place and shoved her down, feeling intense satisfaction that someone at least was under his control.

‘Now, listen to me carefully.' He went over the arguments against allowing Miranda to have control over the money, arguments that had worked well with his father.

Dorothy sat mute, not eating, not responding, and in the end he stopped talking. ‘Are you even listening?'

‘How can I help but listen when you're speaking so loudly?'

‘Then why aren't you agreeing with me? You usually see the sense of my arguments.'

There was a fraught silence, then she snapped, ‘I usually don't think it worth while disagreeing, because you never change your mind once it's made up. And you certainly never listen to me. Sometimes if I disagree, you hurt me, as you have today.'

‘How have I hurt you?'

She slipped her top off one shoulder and he saw the bruise.

‘I didn't do that.'

‘Who else could it have been?'

‘You must bruise very easily.'

‘You always say that.'

He wasn't getting into this. He pushed his plate aside and stood up. ‘I have to get going.'

When he'd gone she rubbed her shoulder, then went up to their bedroom and took off her top. Her shoulders were both badly bruised, with his finger marks showing clearly. She'd sworn to him last time that if he ever hurt her again, she'd do something about it.

He hadn't believed her.

Had she believed what she said herself?

Did she really dare carry out her threat?

She stood staring at her reflection for a moment or two, then squared her shoulders. Yes, she could and would do it. She was at last going to take the two actions she'd often thought about and never dared perform. This time she really was.

Her heart fluttered in her chest and she found it hard to breathe steadily as she picked up the phone and began to tap out the number. She realized she'd hit a wrong digit and had to stop the call.

She put the phone down and stood staring at it. It took her a minute or two to summon up the courage to pick it up and start dialling again.

This time she wasn't going to chicken out. If Minnie could change and grow after all she'd suffered – also at the hands of the Fox men – then Dorothy could too. It was more than time.

Sally nodded to Sebastian across the table and arranged her papers in front of her. She might not need them, but it was best to be prepared. The mediator came in and smiled at them all.

Sally's smile in return was probably the most genuine in the room. She knew Jennifer Hilling slightly. The mediator was a shrewd woman and wouldn't let Sebastian Fox ride roughshod over her. Or Sally, either.

‘We're here to see if we can settle the differences between you and come to some agreement before this case gets to court. Perhaps we could start by each of you giving a brief summary of your position? Mr Fox? I believe you drew up the will for your father.'

‘I did. And it's entirely in accordance with his wishes, so my position hasn't changed in the slightest and I shan't waste anyone's time by restating the obvious.' He folded his arms.

Sally sighed. She'd expected this, but you could always hope for some slight shift in attitude.

‘Ms Patel?'

‘Could I speak last?'

The mediator looked round. Tressman nodded, Fox shrugged. ‘Mr Tressman, then?'

‘I've come to the conclusion that the will is unfair to Miranda Fox, who has been treated differently from her brother and sister. So I would be happy to come to an agreement about breaking the trust.'

‘Ms Patel?'

Sally leaned forward. ‘I hold the same views as Mr Tressman. And in addition, I'd like to state that the will was made during the last year of James Fox's life, when the doctor had already started treating him for dementia. I have a signed statement from his doctor to that effect.'

‘Early dementia,' Sebastian said. ‘He was still able to make his wishes known. And if we're talking of states of mind –'

Here it comes, thought Sally.

‘– then I wish to put it on record that my sister had to be committed to a mental hospital when she was younger, and stayed there for nearly two years. This is the main reason my father left her money in trust.'

‘My client was suffering from post-natal depression at the time,' Sally said. ‘Nowadays there are drugs which help and doctors are more understanding. I think it was outrageous that she was not only hospitalized but kept on tranquillizing drugs for what seems to me an unconscionable length of time. I'm not sure that she doesn't have a case against the system about that.'

The mediator looked at her narrowly. ‘You're sure of your facts?'

‘Very sure. I have the deposition of a nurse who was working there at the time.'

‘My sister was admitted by a doctor, who must know far more than any nurse,' Sebastian said sharply.

‘He was a GP, not a specialist in mental health. How he managed to stay in charge of the case, I'll never understand. But as he's dead and so is Miranda's father, we can't question them. Unfortunately.'

Sebastian breathed deeply.

The mediator waited a moment then changed the subject.

They talked round in circles for nearly two hours, then the mediator held up one hand. ‘I think enough has been said for today. I'll call another meeting for the same time next week; unless anyone is due to appear in court then?'

Sebastian made great play of pulling out his diary and leafing slowly through the pages. ‘It's very inconvenient. I might not be due in court, but I shall have to reschedule several appointments that have been made for a long time. And I shall
not
change my mind, I promise you. This is a waste of my valuable time.'