‘I like a man who is punctual.’ She kissed Bradley on the cheek and accepted the bottle of wine he held out to her. ‘Ooh, prosecco. I love prosecco. I’m serving up Pinot Grig with dinner, shall we save this for afters?’
Jessica led Bradley through to the kitchen, offered him a seat at the table and slipped the wine into the fridge before giving the chilli a stir, and scooping the rice into two large bowls.
‘I hope you’re hungry, I made too much rice,’ she said.
‘I’m famished,’ he replied, eyeing up the crusty roll on the side plate.
Jessica spooned the chilli onto the rice and placed the bowls on the table. ‘Sponge pudding and custard for afters,’ she said with a nervous smile. ‘I hope this is all right.’
Bradley looked down at the steaming bowl. ‘It looks delicious,’ he said.
‘There’s no meat in it, I call it Chilli Sans Carne.’
Bradley laughed. ‘Very clever,’ he replied.
Jess took off her apron, folded it and laid it on top of one of the work surfaces, then sat down opposite Bradley.
‘Tuck in,’ she said.
Over dinner they discussed their plans for Christmas. Bradley would be spending it at home. ‘It’s a tradition. Mother would be horrified if I spent it anywhere else. When Dad was alive, he suggested we all go to warmer climes for a winter break, my mother didn’t speak to him for a week. Christmas, to her, is cold damp, England, with the forlorn hope of a bit of snow, or at least frost to wake up to on Christmas morning.’ He picked up a napkin and dabbed at his mouth. ‘This really is delicious.’
Jessica grinned. ‘Not too hot then?’
Bradley shook his head. ‘The Pinot goes really well with it too,’ he picked up his glass and took a sip.
‘Surprisingly,’ laughed Jess. ‘I was torn whether to nip out and buy a bottle of Merlot, but I didn’t have time in the end.’
‘You can never go wrong with Pinot Grigio.’ Bradley took another sip. ‘So, what are you doing for Christmas?’
‘Oh, not a lot. I spent the last three with Calvin. We used to stay with his mother on Boxing Day, but on Christmas Day morning I used to come here to see Nana, then nip over to see Mum, Grandma and Aunt Marjorie. Calvin used to stay at home. He didn’t get on with anyone in my family, especially Nana.’ She pulled a face at the memory. ‘I don’t know why Mum bothered. It was never a happy time for any of them. All they ever did was bicker.’
Bradley looked at her sympathetically. ‘And, this year?’
‘I’ll go to see them again. I’ll miss spending an hour or two with Nana, though. That was always the best bit of Christmas when I was growing up. There was never much in the way of… Never mind.’
‘No, please, go on.’
‘I was about to say, I didn’t get much by way of presents at home. Dad used to blow the Christmas budget at the bookies, weeks before the big day, but Nana always made up for it. My parents would bring me over late morning and try to scrounge a few pounds off her. She always gave them a card with money inside, not a lot, but enough to keep them bringing me over every year. I loved it. They used to get out of here as soon as they had the Christmas cards and I’d sit in the front room with Nana and open my presents. I’d stay for a few days, then go back in time for school.’ She sighed happily. ‘It was always a magical time. Nana never, ever, let me down. I used to leave the more expensive presents here because if I took them home, Dad would sell them in the New Year.’
Bradley looked shocked. ‘That’s dreadful.’
‘It was the way it was. I got used to it over the years.’ Jess got to her feet and carried the empty bowls to the sink.
‘Pudding will be ready in a couple of minutes. I just have to warm it up in the microwave. Do you want hot custard, or cold? I’m afraid it’s out of a tin.’
After dinner, Bradley insisted on doing the washing up while Jess dried. When the plates and pans were stashed away, she put the empty wine bottle in the recycling bag that hung on the back door, opened the bottle that Bradley had brought with him, and picking up two fresh glasses she walked through to the lounge.
‘You’ll have to excuse the lumpy sofa. My new one is still being made.’
Bradley took off his jacket and laid it across the back of one of the armchairs, then sat down on the sofa and wriggled about until he was finally comfortable. Jess poured the wine, handed him a glass and sat down beside him.
‘Do you fancy a film or a little music?’
‘Is it still Simply Red for romantic dinners?’ he asked with a fake look of horror on his face.
Jess laughed. ‘Not in this house.’ She switched on the Bluetooth speaker she had brought with her from the flat, then lifted the lid of her laptop and started her iTunes program. ‘How about a bit of classical?’ She flicked through her music collection until she found Vaughan Williams. ‘This is nice for background music.’
They sipped wine and chatted the evening away, each revealing some of the lighter moments of their lives. Amidst the mixture of laughter and the wine, Jess realised that she felt happier and more carefree than she had for years. After one particularly hilarious tale from Bradleys Uni days, she threw herself back into the cushions and laughed until her stomach hurt. When she had recovered her composure, she tipped her head to one side and smiled softly. ‘You’re a very funny man, Bradley Wilson.’
‘Oh, I bet you say that to all the boys,’ he quipped.
Jess put her finger onto his lips and moved her face closer to his. ‘I don’t want any other boys.’ Her face moved closer still, their lips met and Bradley put his arms around her, pulled her down onto the sofa and with one hand on the back of her head, he pulled away, look earnestly into her eyes, then moved back towards her, his hot tongue running over her neck, his fingers fumbling at the front of her dress.
Jess pushed his hand away and began to undo the buttons herself, then she arched her back to undo her bra. Bradley pushed the garment out of the way, exposing her breasts, then gently kissed each one in turn before lifting his head and kissing her lips again.
As the iTunes program paused before starting to play The Lark Ascending, and as Bradley’s trousers reached ankle level, the blue camera light of the laptop lit up.
Chapter 27
Bradley lay on his back twisting his neck to look down at Jess who was lying with her head on his chest. He stroked her hair, then her naked shoulder before running a finger down the nape of her neck sending a shiver down her spine.
‘How… No, it doesn’t matter.’
Jess sighed, hoping against hope that Bradley wasn’t about to ask her to rate his performance.
‘Why the sigh?’
‘Nothing.’
‘Come on, you don’t sigh like that for nothing.’
‘Okay.’ Jess rolled onto her side and propped herself up on her elbow. ‘Finish your question.’
Bradley shrugged. ‘I was just about to say, how did you manage to get Alice’s hospital bed out. It was huge.’
‘Oh… it went out easily enough in the end, they took a bit of paint off the doorframe but they managed to manoeuvre it into the hall.’
‘You seem surprised. What did you think I was going to ask?’
Jess laid her head back on his chest.
‘It doesn’t matter, honestly.’
‘Come on, Jess, what was that big sigh about?’
‘All right, but promise you won’t get angry.’
‘I promise, come on, out with it.’
‘It’s just, well, I didn’t want to bring Calvin’s name up, but… look, whenever we had sex, he used to demand a rating. He always expected me to compare his performance with other boyfriends I’d had before he came on the scene.’
‘What an idiot.’ Bradley shook his head. ‘It’s probably the last thing I would have asked at a time like that.’
‘He was, it just took me a long time to find out just how big an idiot.’
‘Did he have low self-esteem?’
Jess snorted. ‘That’s the last thing he suffered from. He was a narcissist. He thought he was better than anyone else at just about everything. He just needed me to confirm it.’
Bradley shook his head again, then noticing the blue light on the frame of the laptop, he patted Jess on the shoulder.
‘Do you know your laptop has the camera light on?’
‘It does that at random, I think it has a fault.’
Bradley sat up, and easing Jess to the side, he stood up, pulled on his pants, walked across to the coffee table and pressed a button on the keyboard. The screensaver cleared and the iTunes playlist appeared on the screen. Bradley pressed a combination of keys and read the Task Manager’s list of processes the computer was running.
‘Hmm, there are a few routines here I’ve never seen before.’ He turned back to Jess who was now sitting naked on the sofa.
‘Oh God, don’t tell me we’ve been recorded.’
The lawyer pulled a face. ‘I don’t think so, but I can’t be sure.’ He read the list again, selected a background process, and hit the button to close it down, when the blue light stayed on, he picked another process and closed that. The blue light went out.
Bradley walked back to the sofa and sat down next to Jess.
‘I did an I.T. course at Uni. A few male students used to load spyware onto the girl’s computers hoping to catch them at it after a party. I didn’t see anything I recognised, but it doesn’t mean your machine isn’t infected.’
‘I think Calvin might have put a tracker on my laptop and maybe my phone. He was a control freak and always wanted to know where I was. I doubt he’d go this far though. I never thought of being unfaithful to him and deep down, he knew that.’
‘He really is an inadequate individual, isn’t he?’
‘He is,’ agreed Jess.
Bradley pulled his shirt on and began to fasten it up.
‘I’d get it checked out if I were you, just for your own peace of mind. There’s a place in town that could sort it for you.’
‘I’ve got an I.T. man, Wade, he set up my Wi-Fi and the new outdoor security camera software on my computer.’
‘Do you trust him?’
‘He’s the one that pointed out that I had tracking software on my laptop. I gave Calvin a piece of my mind straight afterwards. He’ll have deleted it from his computer now just in case I go to the police.’
‘Well, it’s up to you, Jess, but I’d get Wade to give your machine a good going over, just in case.’
‘I’ll ring him tomorrow,’ Jess promised.
Bradley pulled on his trousers and reached for his shoes as Jess slipped on her dress and fastened a few of the buttons at the waist.
‘I’d load spyware on your computer myself if it meant I could see you dressed like that now and again.’ He reached out his hand and pulled the top of her dress apart.
Jess slapped his hand. ‘Stop it,’ she said, laughing.
Bradley stretched, then tucked his shirt into his trousers.
‘I’d better be going. Thank you for a wonderful evening.’
Jess stepped towards him and put the palms of her hands on his chest. ‘Do you have to go?’ she pouted.
Bradley held her face in his hands. ‘I don’t have an appointment until ten…’
Jess took his hand and led him towards the stairs, flicking the light switch off as she stepped into the hall.
‘I’ll make sure you’re up,’ she said, huskily.
‘I can’t see that being a problem,’ he replied with a wink.
Chapter 28
At seven o’clock on Wednesday morning, Marjorie surprised Martha by bringing a letter into her bedroom instead of the expected breakfast.
‘What’s this? I can’t eat an envelope.’
‘It’s my letter, Martha, it came about six weeks ago.’ Marjorie nervously turned the envelope over in her hands.
‘I don’t remember you getting a letter.’ Martha looked puzzled.
‘I hid it.’
‘You hid it.’ Martha shook her head. ‘For pity’s sake, Marjorie, you aren’t five years old. Why did you hide it?’
‘Because it’s from the dentist and you know I’m frightened of the dentist. I hoped they’d just forget about me if I didn’t turn up.’
Martha sighed. ‘When are you supposed to turn up?’
‘Today, at eleven. I don’t want to go, but…’
‘But what?’ Martha looked exasperated.
‘I’ve got a bit of a pain in my back tooth.’
‘How long have you had the pain?’
‘A couple of weeks. I took an aspirin when it got bad.’
‘Marjorie!’
Her younger sister hopped from foot to foot. ‘I’m sorry, Martha, I know I should have told you but you would have taken me to the dentist. I just hoped the pain would stop on its own, but it hasn’t.’
‘How bad is the pain?’
‘Not too bad. I can bear it easily enough.’
Martha slipped out of bed and pulled on her dressing gown.
‘You do realise how inconvenient this is, don’t you, Marjorie? I was going to try to talk sense into Jessica today. She was supposed to pick me up… do you know what time she was meant to arrive?’
‘Eleven?’
‘Eleven,’ Martha repeated. ‘Well, that’s out of the window now, isn’t it?’
‘I don’t have to go, Martha, I can put up with it.’
‘Listen, Marjorie. If you leave it, your tooth will decay, then it will turn black, the pain will be excruciating, and it might well spread to nearby teeth. You don’t want them to fall out, do you? You’ve managed to keep them for seventy-six years. Do you really want a set of plastic dentures?’
Marjorie shook her head. ‘No, Martha.’
‘Then, you’re going to keep your appointment.’
‘Yes, Martha, will you come with me, I can’t go in on my—’
‘Look at yourself, shaking like you’ve got the palsy. I don’t really have a choice, do I?’
Marjorie began to wring her hands. Her appointment reminder fell to the carpet.
‘Thank you, Martha. Shall I get your breakfast now?’
‘No, I’ve lost my appetite, just run my bath while I call Jessica. Maybe we can have our chat a little earlier than planned.’
Although she owned a mobile phone, Martha wasn’t a fan and didn’t really understand the technology at all. She only ever used hers to receive calls if she was out and about so, leaving her Samsung mobile on the table, she picked up her landline handset, and flicking through her little black book of important telephone numbers, picked out Jess’s mobile number and tapped it out on the keypad. The phone rang but no one replied. Thinking she might have misdialled, Martha tried again with the same result. Frustrated, she slammed down the receiver and searched the black book for Nicola’s number.
‘Nicola? Good, now listen. I want you to pick me up and drive me over to the farm.’
‘The farm? look, Mum, I—'
‘Yes, Nicola, THE FARM, you know, the one I’d own if there was any justice?’
‘Mum, I can’t drive you, I’m at work. It’s my early start today.’
‘Can’t you take a couple of hours off?’
‘No, Mum, Mrs Kaur is going to the wholesaler. I have to watch the shop.’
‘Damnation!’ Martha slammed the receiver down again.
‘Is something the matter, Martha?’ Marjorie stepped into the kitchen drying her hands on a flannel.
Martha ignored her and searched the book for a local taxi firm. After being told her cab would be there in twenty minutes, Martha stormed past her sister and stomped her way up the stairs.
‘Have your bath now, Marjorie, then get ready for the dentist. I’ll be back at about ten-thirty.’
‘But…’
‘No buts, just do as you’re told for once. I’m going to call in on my granddaughter and give her a piece of my mind. What use is all this modern technology if it doesn�
�t work?’
The taxi driver was two minutes late and although Martha was dressed and ready to leave when he pulled up at the end of her drive, she still berated him for his tardiness as she climbed into the back seat of the cab and slammed the door shut.
‘I’m sorry, love, but there’s a fair bit of traffic around this morning.’
‘Firstly, I’m not your love, and secondly, you should have known all about the traffic problems. Don’t you listen to the local radio station reports?’
The driver tutted to himself and decided not to get into a discussion about how he did his job.
‘Mollison’s farm is it?’
‘It is, I haven’t changed my mind since I booked the cab.’
‘We’ll be there in five minutes.’ He turned the radio up just as the traffic presenter gave out the latest bottlenecks. ‘Would you listen to that,’ he said. ‘They know about it already.’
Martha had to climb out of the cab on the lane as there was no room for the driver to pull onto the asphalt. She paid him through his open window and made shooing motions with the back of her hand.
‘Thank you,’ said the driver sarcastically, but Martha had already turned away and was staring fixedly at the sleek, silver Mercedes that was parked next to Jess’s little Toyota. She put her hand on the bonnet to see if the engine had been running recently, then tutting to herself, stepped up to the front door and rattled the knocker.
Chapter 29
‘Do you want coffee or tea with your eggs?’ Jess called up the stairs as Bradley stepped out of the shower room wearing her short, pink, fluffy dressing gown.
‘Coffee, please.’ He walked to the stairs fastening the belt around his waist.
‘It suits you,’ said Jess with a laugh. She looked down to her short blue PJ set. ‘You could have borrowed these if you’d asked nicely.’
Before Bradly could reply, there was a loud rap on the door knocker.
Jessica looked puzzled and thinking it was the postman, opened the door about eighteen inches and stuck her head around it.
‘Grandma? What…’
The Legacy: Trouble Comes Disguised As Family (Unspoken Book 2) Page 18
