Jack was silent, his imagination in overdrive.
‘Jack, are you okay?’ Emer asked, putting her hand gently on his shoulder.
‘I can’t do this,’ he said. ‘I can’t rake through everyone I know, wondering if they raped my wife.’
‘Then let’s stop talking about it …’
‘I can’t!’ Jack cried. ‘You’ve put it in my head now and it won’t go away!’
‘I’m sorry …’
‘It’s too bloody late for that!’ He walked out into the rain and just stood for a moment, welcoming the freshness and the purity of the cool drops. Part of him wanted to continue walking, away from everything. From everyone. Finally, though, he returned to the doorway, dripping and miserable. He clutched Emer’s hand, and whispered, ‘I feel like I’m going crazy. I don’t know what to do.’
‘Let’s go and get a coffee and warm up a bit,’ she suggested. ‘Being cold and wet won’t help you.’
They walked to the near empty cafeteria, where they sat down, grateful for the presence of a coffee machine. For once, the coffee tasted like nectar.
‘Luke wants a DNA test,’ said Jack. ‘Even semi-conscious it was the first thing on his mind.’
‘I’m not surprised.’
‘I just keep going over and over that moment when I realised he’d been stabbed, like a bloody nightmare video on a loop.’ Jack felt wearier than he’d ever felt in his life, but another thought occurred to him. ‘When Matt and I were at Edenbridge, Richard called Annie a slut. Why would he do that? My mother gave him one of her looks and he clammed up. I always thought Richard detested Annie, but Tony Hayes said he once made a pass at her. It was Richard who took Annie’s letter. Maybe there was more to him not wanting her to come back to Baronsmere than I thought.’
‘Are you thinking Richard raped Annie?’
‘It makes sense,’ said Jack, increasingly convinced he was right. ‘And if my mother knew, she wouldn’t want it to come out, not if she was protecting Claire … Jesus Christ!’
‘What is it, Jack?’
‘The money my mother was paying, supposedly for Annie. Joe Kiernan said it was “a good cover story” …’
‘And?’
‘What if it was hush money? Because my parents knew what Richard did, and the Kiernans were blackmailing them.’
‘But Luke and Annie knew nothing about the money,’ Emer reminded him.
‘If Annie told her brothers, or her father, about the rape, Joe and Liam would have seen an opportunity to profit from it …’
‘Or they wanted revenge for what happened to their sister.’
Jack shook his head. ‘If they wanted justice for Annie, they’d have shared any money with her and Luke.’
Emer bit down on her thumbnail. ‘Well, it’s a theory. You know what you’re implying, though? If Richard is Luke’s father …’
It took a moment for the penny to drop, and it was sickening. Like bloody Groundhog Day. If Richard had raped Annie, and Luke was the result, Kate really was his half-sister. Jack sighed. ‘What a mess. Sarah doesn’t want Kate to know Richard is her father, but what the hell do we do if he does turn out to be Luke’s, too?’
‘I don’t know. Let’s just wait and see. As soon as Luke is conscious, we can sort out the DNA.’
Jack had wanted the test done right away. After all, it was Luke who requested it. ‘The hospital can’t just take your word for it,’ Emer had told him, and he’d had to reluctantly agree.
‘Shall we go back?’ Emer suggested. ‘Kate and Matt will be wondering where we are. And it might be a while before Luke is coherent, but he should wake up quite soon.’
‘The first hurdle,’ said Jack. ‘I know he’s not out of the woods yet.’
As Jack and Emer returned to the Intensive Care Unit, the nurse-in-charge called to him. ‘Mr Stewart, could you come into my office, please?’ Her expression was grim.
Five minutes later, Jack was at the hospital entrance again, feeling the rain stinging his face. It was hard to breathe, but he forced enough air into his lungs to give a howl of pain and anguish. His despair was complete.
When Jack marched into Stewart Enterprises the following morning, he was a man driven by love, anger … and hate. He headed first for Richard’s office but there was no sign of him. His father wasn’t at his desk so Jack grabbed Nicholas’s appointment book and scanned the day’s events. Then he hurried out and down the corridor, entering the boardroom without knocking.
Nicholas was seated at the head of the conference table, surrounded by the delegation from Redgate. He showed a moment’s surprise at Jack’s entrance. Then the usual cool control took over. ‘Jack, our discussions are rather finely balanced at the moment. Could we meet for lunch in an hour?’
‘No,’ said Jack. ‘I need to talk to you now. I suggest everyone take a coffee break.’
His father glared, but then backed down. ‘I ask for the indulgence of our friends from Redgate. A fifteen-minute break. Please avail yourself of refreshments.’ He stalked from the boardroom, Jack following in his wake.
‘Hold all calls!’ Nicholas snapped at his secretary. Closeted in the privacy of his office, Nicholas sat at his desk, whilst Jack paced the floor. ‘So what is this about, Jack? The Woodlands deal is on the verge of collapse because of all the adverse publicity. What is it that couldn’t wait until later?’
‘Where’s Richard?’ asked Jack. ‘The man who deliberately kept Luke’s existence from me. Who has ritually humiliated and degraded your daughter, both by his attitude towards her, and by cheating on her. I didn’t see him at the board meeting.’
‘I’ve made arrangements,’ Nicholas replied. ‘I realise it’s impossible for him to remain here with Claire … I’m sending him to Hong Kong.’
‘You’re rewarding him …’
‘He’s still my son-in-law. The father of my grandson. And we don’t want bad publicity.’
‘God forbid!’ Jack exclaimed. ‘Let’s not worry about the crimes as long as we can sweep it all under the Axminster, eh? Well that may be your way, Dad … but not mine. Since Luke arrived, I started to question things which I should have questioned much earlier – like twenty-one years ago. Why did my wife just up and leave? Why did she tell Luke I’d rejected them? Nothing made sense, so I started piecing together little snippets of evidence. I found out about the letter Richard forged to Annie. Then I found out why Annie left, and it wasn’t because of anything I did at all … my wife was raped.’
‘Jack, I really don’t …’ Nicholas began.
‘Shut up!’ snapped Jack. ‘Don’t open your mouth until I’ve finished or I won’t be responsible for my actions. So – I find out my wife was raped and, of course, my next question was, who by? Over the past few hours, I’ve been facing up to something I didn’t want to acknowledge. That it probably wasn’t some stranger but someone much closer to home.
‘I remembered what Tony Hayes said at the funeral. That Richard obviously fancied Annie. And it was Richard who was involved with the forged letter, with making payments to the Kiernans. Payments that Mother claimed were to help Annie and Luke. I never liked Richard, but I was shocked at what I was beginning to suspect. Although what shocked me even more was the realisation that if I was right, my parents – or my mother at least – knew what he’d done and helped him cover it up. That rather than incriminate Richard, they would allow me to stay in blissful ignorance, even to the point of not telling me I had a son. My fine, upstanding parents were allowing a rapist to share their home. Not just a rapist, but a man who had betrayed their daughter with at least one affair, maybe more.’
‘We didn’t know about Sarah,’ protested Nicholas.
‘Whether you did or not is irrelevant,’ Jack continued. ‘But I gave you the benefit of the doubt – I thought that, however misguided, you were
protecting Claire, and then I convinced myself that all I had was circumstantial evidence – that I didn’t know for sure.’
‘And now?’
‘And now I do know for sure. I know everything. The Kiernans were arrested in Ireland last night, after stabbing Luke. The knife was meant for me, but the trashy no-mark put himself in front of it.’
‘You’ve been to Ireland?’
‘Did you hear what I said, Dad? Luke was stabbed. Have you not got one grain of feeling? No, don’t answer that. Anyway, when the Kiernans were questioned, it all came out.’
Nicholas snorted. ‘Those two are thugs and liars, you’ve said so yourself.’
Jack nodded. ‘They are, but not particularly clever thugs and liars, and Liam Kiernan could never have held up under questioning and maintained the same story as his brother unless it was the truth. And now … now it all makes sense. What was it you said about a DNA test, Dad? That it wouldn’t do for a scandal to come out? I thought it was just because you didn’t want it proved that Luke was mine. That if that happened, you’d have to either accept him or face a lot of bad publicity for not doing so. But I was barking up the wrong tree there, wasn’t I? You weren’t afraid a DNA would prove I was Luke’s father. You were afraid of just the opposite – that it would prove I wasn’t.’
Nicholas faced his son squarely, but said nothing.
‘You didn’t hate Luke because he was Annie’s son, did you?’ Jack continued. ‘You hated him because you thought he could be the result of a rape.’
‘Jack, will you listen to yourself! This is just wild speculation,’ protested Nicholas.
‘Give it up, Dad! I told you – the Kiernans have blown the whistle. I know why you and Mother couldn’t bear to look at Luke, why you’ve treated him with such contempt. He was an unpleasant reminder, wasn’t he? All that crap you spewed about him not being my son … you really did believe that, didn’t you?’
Jack was raging inwardly as he moved towards his father. ‘You bastard – you hypocritical bastard. You didn’t think Luke was my son. You thought he was my brother.’
The look in Nicholas’s eyes confirmed the truth for Jack. It felt like a death. Maybe worse than a death.
‘What was it, Dad? Was she the lowly Traveller girl, just like a serving girl of old, for her master to take whenever he wanted? Someone not worthy of respect or courtesy – or common decency?’
Nicholas seemed rooted to the spot, unsure how to respond, and Jack finally lost control, pulling his father out of the chair by the lapels. ‘Why? She was my wife! What kind of man are you? Tell me, Dad, or so help me, I’ll beat it out of you!’
‘I thought she wanted it,’ said Nicholas finally, his voice low and uncertain, so unlike the father Jack had always feared as a child. ‘I thought she was only with you for the money … I thought …’
Nicholas faltered and Jack tightened his grip and shook his father. ‘Go on … I want to know it all. You owe me that.’
‘She came to Edenbridge. It was when you were in Brussels. Annie had received a letter from the council, rejecting her request to hold reading classes at the library, and she obviously blamed us.’
‘I wonder why.’ Jack finally let go of his father. Resisted the urge to beat him to a pulp.
‘She stormed in, waving the letter and yelling abuse,’ Nicholas continued. ‘Your mother wasn’t at home. She and Claire had gone away for a couple of days – to the Lakes, if I recall. Claire was recovering from a miscarriage. Annie was ranting and calling me names and … and I just thought how beautiful she was … how passionate. It was a long time since I’d seen such passion. She was right in my face and before I realised what I was doing, I kissed her. After that, there was no going back. I don’t even know if she resisted or not – all I could think was how much I wanted her. It had been a long time for me …
‘Afterwards she cried, and I knew I’d made a mistake. I’m not trying to excuse myself, Jack, but I really did convince myself that we were sharing a moment of mutual lust. I thought she wanted it as much as I did. That it was all part of the excitement, one Stewart as good as another.
‘I told her it might be best if she left – and I said you had long since realised the marriage was a mistake. I believe Richard told her later that you were in love with Sarah and were together in Brussels. I don’t know if Annie believed it. Anyway, I wrote a cheque there and then, and told her to go and make a life for herself somewhere – to maybe get her teaching qualifications so she could do some good for her people.
‘She took the cheque but didn’t speak to me at all, and I knew she was in shock. She was just leaving when Richard arrived, and it didn’t take much for him to guess what had happened. She was still crying and her clothes were torn. I told Richard she’d come on to me and had then regretted it. He never questioned it. I asked him to take her home because she wasn’t in a fit state to drive.’
‘How considerate,’ said Jack, feeling sick to his stomach.
‘I suppose she felt no one would believe her so she didn’t tell anyone. I never saw her again, and it wasn’t until Luke arrived that I realised she never cashed the cheque. I just assumed she would.’
‘So where did the Kiernan brothers come into it?’ asked Jack.
‘You know about the letter Annie sent. Richard tried to deal with it himself, sending her a reply letter along with her necklace, but a few months later, the Kiernans contacted your mother. Annie had told them about … what happened. Maybe they thought Grace would be easier to deal with than me. It must have been a huge shock for her, but she never mentioned it. I knew nothing until the day we came to see you after you’d brought Luke home. When we arrived back home that night, she told me everything, and that she knew … what I’d done. The Kiernans told her Richard had helped me deal with Annie, so she enlisted his help as a go-between when they demanded money to keep quiet.’
‘No wonder you were so keen for me not to get a DNA,’ said Jack.
Nicholas looked at him levelly, as though still trying to maintain some authority, some semblance of righteousness. ‘I wanted the boy gone before you had the chance to arrange that. If a DNA test showed you weren’t the father, it would still have shown Stewart genes and you’d have guessed. Richard told me he’d find a way to get rid of Luke – I only wish he hadn’t manipulated Gavin into setting things in motion with that nonsense about Kate’s parentage.’
‘You’ve surprised me, Dad. I didn’t think you’d admit to everything quite so easily.’
‘I’m weary of it all, Jack. I know you won’t believe me, but it’s weighed on my conscience.’
‘I believe you,’ said Jack. ‘But we’re over. Finished.’ He took an envelope from his pocket and handed it to Nicholas. ‘This is my letter of resignation. Effective immediately. And as if you couldn’t sink any lower in my estimation, you haven’t even asked about Luke, who could be your son!’
He turned on his heel and walked out of Stewart Enterprises forever.
Jack was back in Ireland by mid-afternoon. Less than twenty-four hours since Luke had been admitted to hospital. He should have been exhausted, but adrenalin and anger were powerful stimulants.
‘How is he?’ he asked Matt, who jumped up as soon as Jack entered the Relatives’ Room.
‘Hanging in there,’ Matt replied. ‘He came round a few hours ago, but drifted off again almost immediately – he’s full of painkillers on top of the anaesthetic. They’re moving him to High Dependency tomorrow, if all goes well.’
‘Emer and Kate?’
‘Gone for coffee. Dad, Emer told me – about Granddad. She said that after you spent some time in the chapel last night, the police showed up here, that they’d caught Joe and Liam, and Liam came clean about everything. I wish you hadn’t taken off on your own, Dad.’ Matt took a shuddering breath. ‘I never thought …’
Jack’s voice was grim. ‘Who would have? I’ll talk to you about it later, Matt. Not now if you don’t mind. I’d like to sit with Luke. To be there when he wakes up. For it to be the beginning. I can’t explain …’
‘You don’t need to, Dad. I’ll go and find the girls.’
Luke opened his eyes and tried to focus on what appeared to be a tiger and a blue donkey hovering in front of him. It took a while to realise he was in hospital, and he was looking at Tigger and Eeyore balloons tied to the end of his bed.
He swallowed and his throat hurt. There was a weird kind of pain just above his waist. Not excruciating but not normal. He tried to move and sucked in air as the pain became infinitely worse. He turned his head to see a dozing Jack sitting beside him, looking uncomfortable, his head flopping forward.
It was all a bit vague. Jack had fought with Joe … and then? That was it. Liam was going for Jack with a knife and he’d got in the way of it. Couldn’t remember if it had hurt or not. He supposed it must have. This was all too much like Dublin. He’d had more than his fair share of hospitals, for sure.
There was a jug of water on the locker and he tried to reach it but the pain was now intense and he was hampered by wires. He caught his breath, moaning slightly.
Jack woke up instantly, concern on his face. ‘Luke!’
‘Tryin’ to get the jug …’ It hurt to speak.
‘I’d rather you didn’t …’ Jack was smiling as he spoke and Luke managed a weak one too, remembering the scene in St Aidan’s some weeks earlier.
Jack poured some water and held it to Luke’s mouth, helping him to drink. It hurt as he swallowed and he pulled a face. ‘Why does my throat hurt?’
‘You’ve had surgery,’ Jack explained. ‘You had to be intubated.’
Luke listened silently as Jack reminded him of the events that led up to the fight, and what had happened after Luke lost consciousness.
‘Do you reckon I’m part cat?’ asked Luke. ‘I seem to have nine lives.’
Beneath an Irish Sky (Choc Lit) Page 38
