‘Nathan?’
‘You don’t know him. Look, I’ve done all I can to help him. I’m a junior doctor in my last year of training. I work at the hospital. I’ve lent him money. I’ve begged him to break free of them and he’s tried, but it’s not that easy. They don’t want to let him go, but they offered him a deal. One game of poker. If he won, he got his freedom, with conditions. If he lost, he’d owe them twenty grand with no way of paying it back. Like a lunatic, he took the odds.’
‘And lost,’ Naomi said.
‘Course. How could he not? They don’t do mercy, or give second chances, they just collect.’
Naomi thought back to the man in the grey hoodie all those months ago, who’d followed her, but who’d disappeared once Nathan had talked to him.
‘There was this guy who used to follow me –’
‘The collection man,’ Dan said. ‘If Nathan hadn’t coughed up when he did, you’d have been hurt or killed as a warning to Nathan. He’s only part paid what he owes Solomon thanks to your dad, with money lent to Lorie to help with her sick mother.’
Naomi dropped her eyes to the floor. ‘I can’t take this in.’
‘I know,’ Dan said quietly. ‘Such an almighty mess. Nathan’s up to his eyeballs in debt. His lifestyle’s way beyond his means. He owes me money, my parents, thousands on credit cards, student loan, overdrawn at the bank. Everyone’s after him for money with interest, including Solomon.’
‘Who?’
‘Vincent Solomon, leader of the gang. Nasty piece of work. And Nathan had no way out until he met Lorie, who told him about your family. You became his ticket to freedom.’
Naomi looked at Dan without seeing him. ‘My granddad’s money?’
Dan nodded.
‘But the ring?’ she spluttered.
‘Is my mum’s,’ Dan said. ‘I’m furious about that. It was a gift from my dad for their thirtieth wedding anniversary. Nathe stole it and had it made smaller for you.’ Dan shook his head. ‘I nearly decked him for that one. My poor mum is still cursing herself for losing it.’
‘Why do you protect him from her?’
‘I don’t,’ Dan said, frustrated. ‘I protect her from him by keeping quiet. I’m in the middle while Nathan looks after number one. He has no conscience.’
Naomi didn’t speak again until her tears cleared up. ‘So what are we going to do?’
‘I haven’t worked that part out yet. I’ve got the house for another week if we need it that long.’
A mobile phone went off. Dan snatched it from his pocket and stared at the screen.
‘Oh great, it’s him,’ he said.
‘Nathan?’
‘I need to get it. If I don’t pick up, he’ll wonder why.’ Dan held up a warning finger. ‘Don’t even breathe loudly.’ He sucked in some air, stood up and pressed the receive button. ‘Hey, Nathe.’
Naomi could hear Nathan’s familiar voice on the other end, triumphant, ecstatic. ‘Hey, Dan, how’s it going? Did you see the headlines this morning? Loads of journalists, bro. Like bees round honey.’ He laughed. Naomi’s stomach knotted up. Her mouth ran dry as the truth finally bit hard.
‘I can’t believe you did it,’ Dan said, tone expressionless.
‘Now, Danny-boy, I’m going to take that as a compliment,’ Nathan said. ‘I think I’ve just had the best week of my life. You know, Lorie’s incredible. It really felt like we’d just got married, you know?’
‘Did you want something?’ Dan cut in, wandering away from Naomi. It wasn’t far enough. Nathan’s voice was still echoing round the room.
Nathan laughed again. ‘Don’t be like that. I’m going to be stuck out here for a few days answering questions, playing the desolate husband and ordering the seas to be searched for my missing wife. The police are showing a vague interest, but things are pretty slack around here, to be honest. They’ve said they’ll do what they can, no promises. Anyway, I was ringing to say that Lorie’s on her way back to England now. Once she’s consoled the Hamiltons etcetera, she’s going to pay you a visit. She’s bringing your money.’
‘I’ve told you I don’t want it. I don’t want to see her either.’
‘Dan, come on. We couldn’t have done it without you. Time to celebrate. Take your cut. Enjoy it.’
Dan didn’t respond. He stared at the floor, one hand against his forehead.
‘That’s the spirit,’ Nathan said. ‘She’ll be in touch. Where are you anyway?’
‘On holiday.’
‘Respect,’ Nathan said, voice full of enthusiasm. ‘UK?’
‘Yes.’
‘Whereabouts?’
Dan hesitated. ‘Lake District.’
‘Living the dream,’ Nathan laughed. ‘Things are going to change from now on, Danny. When she’s over her jetlag, Lorie will drive out to see you, wherever you are.’
With his back to Naomi, Dan switched off the phone and tensed. When he eventually swivelled round, there were tears in his eyes and an angry red patch on his right cheekbone. And Naomi was too thunderstruck to muster even a grain of guilt.
20
Lorie spotted Henry sitting alone in the lounge watching the sports news and an analysis of the previous day’s football results and league tables. Having taken Annabel to the airport at some unearthly hour, he was yawning and sipping on a mug of tea. Camilla was in the garden gathering fallen leaves in her green Wellington boots. She would mask the disaster of the previous evening by staying detached from the family and avoiding a discussion of the previous night. Even from a distance, Lorie could read Camilla’s body language and knew she would be wearing her stiffest expression, keen to demonstrate that life goes on, and that in the face of difficulty, the tough get on with it.
Naomi was still upstairs. Lorie smiled for no one’s benefit but her own. She could not have orchestrated it any better. She opened the door and strode into the room. Henry tensed and looked round then settled back on the sofa, relieved that it was only Lorie.
‘Did Annabel get off OK?’
‘Fine thanks, petal.’ He glanced at his posh watch and smothered another yawn. ‘She’ll be in the air by now.’
‘That’s good,’ Lorie said, sitting down. ‘Look, Henry, I need to talk to you about something, but if now’s not a good time I can –’
‘Now’s fine,’ Henry cut in obligingly. He smiled, briefly, then let it drop.
Lorie clasped her fingers together. ‘Well, it’s a bit delicate. I really should be speaking to both of you, but after last night, I’m not sure Camilla –’
‘Quite right. You know my wife. Things are best left for now. What’s troubling you?’
‘Two things actually,’ Lorie said, dragging her hair behind her ears. ‘One is about me, and one about my mum.’
‘Oh?’ Henry said, forehead rising, eyes opening. ‘Well, age before beauty, how’s your mother?’
‘She’s been diagnosed with cancer,’ Lorie said, lowering her gaze to her lap. She twisted her fingers.
‘Cancer? That’s terrible.’ A pause. ‘I’m sorry. Will she be alright? I mean it’s marvellous what they can do these days.’
‘I know,’ Lorie said in a small voice. ‘Please don’t say anything to anyone. My mum’s still in denial. She thinks the doctors have got it wrong.’
‘Won’t breathe a word,’ Henry assured her in his most sincere voice.
‘So, I’ve been thinking that I want to spend more time with my mum, and also that I should go to university to do nursing. I know I’m twenty-six, but it’s never too late is it? Applications need to be in very soon, but I won’t be able to start until next September, so I’m giving you plenty of notice.’
‘Oh,’ Henry said, momentarily stumped for words. ‘I see. No, of course it’s never too late. Camilla will be devastated to lose you. You’re quite irreplaceable you know.’ He stopped to digest what he’d been told. Lorie waited. The TV plugged the silence. ‘But you have to think of your own life and your future and I have to say you’l
l make a first class nurse.’
‘Thank you,’ Lorie said, smoothing her hair, crossing her legs. ‘So here’s the really delicate part, I want to take my mum on holiday, just me and her. There are a few places she’s always wanted to see. After her treatment, I want to make sure she sees them. I have a policy that matures next year and I wondered if it would be possible to borrow the money in advance. I completely understand if –’
‘No need to explain,’ Henry said, holding up a podgy hand. ‘It’s the least we can do. We’d like to think after the years of service to our family that we can help you out with yours.’
Henry stood and walked to a drawer and withdrew a chequebook. ‘Name your figure,’ he told Lorie.
Lorie drew a silent breath. ‘I’m so grateful. I can have a legal document drawn up, promising to pay the money back by September.’
‘No, no,’ Henry chuckled. ‘Good grief how long have we known each other?’ His pen was poised by now.
‘Is ten thousand too much?’
Henry responded by scribbling away. He finished by penning his loopy signature at the bottom, then he prised the paper carefully from the book and walked across to where Lorie was still sitting, hands in lap. He thrust the cheque firmly in her direction stopping just short of her face. ‘There you are, flower. Let’s hope your mum has a lot of years left with us yet.’
‘Thanks, Henry, you’re so kind,’ Lorie said, taking it from him.
‘Not at all. Now you just let us know whenever you need time off to take her places. Family first.’ Lorie offered a sweet smile. Henry returned to his position on the sofa beside his newspaper. ‘Is Naomi down yet?’
‘No, she’s still in her room,’ Lorie said.
‘Bit of a shock, the engagement last night. Did it come as a shock to you?’
‘Absolutely.’
Henry grunted in response.
Lorie added, ‘He seems a great guy though. Naomi’s sensible. I’m sure she knows what she’s doing.’
Henry rubbed the back of his neck. ‘Oh, I agree. It’s just the suddenness that’s thrown me. Still, I can’t argue with his reasons. There aren’t many men like him around. She could do a lot worse.’ He sighed. ‘I’m more concerned about Annabel at the moment, to be honest.’ Henry shook his head. ‘Thank goodness you’ll be around for the next few months to help organise the wedding and to support Camilla.’
‘I’ll do everything I can to make things easier.’
Henry stood and ambled to the window to check that Camilla was still busy. ‘Between you and I, we have money aside for when the girls either get married or reach twenty-five. We decided it would be whichever came first. It’s hard enough becoming an adult these days with all the debt and the financial pressures. Alfie, Camilla’s father, left her in excess of two million pounds when he died. His father was a jeweller, you know. Alfie took over the business when he came out of the army.’ Henry turned round to look at Lorie, who reacted as though she knew nothing about this windfall of money that had had her plotting with Nathan over the past few months. ‘Camilla won’t touch the money for her own reasons, so we’ll halve it between our girls.’
Lorie ensured she looked lost for words. ‘Wow, that’s incredible. A one million pound wedding present?’
‘One point one to be precise. It should ensure their security, set them up with a nice home and give them a little to put on one side.’
‘Do you think Nathan will accept it?’
Henry started to walk towards her, hands in pockets. ‘I’ve been thinking about that a lot since last night. He seems very independent, a man of principle. Maybe the best thing to do is just to put a cheque in the wedding card and say nothing in advance, no fuss. I don’t want him thinking we’re trying to run his new life with Naomi.’
‘Or give it to them before the wedding so they can make plans, maybe buy a house. Between me and you, Naomi tells me that Nathan worries about money. He’s very careful with it. If you explain that it’s an inheritance from her grandfather, it’s impossible to refuse, don’t you think?’
‘Yes, you’re right,’ Henry said, taking his seat again. He looked relieved to be able to talk about it with someone. ‘Yes, Camilla permitting, I’ll give it to them before the wedding. Don’t mention any of this, will you?’
‘No, of course not.’
Henry nodded, satisfied. ‘Camilla will probably tell you herself at some point, but especially not a word to Naomi. I’m hoping it will be a nice surprise.’
Lorie stood up. ‘Who wouldn’t be delighted? Look, I’d better get on, but don’t worry, secret’s safe. I’d hate to spoil the surprise.’
A car was coming down the drive. The noise of the engine caught Henry’s attention. He looked out of the window. Nathan stopped the car and got out, carrying two large arrangements of flowers. One was white, the other red, Naomi’s favourite colour. Well done. Camilla was eyeing him in the distance, but she didn’t stop working.
‘Is that Nathan?’ Lorie asked, feeling her heart gathering speed. She tucked the cheque inside her trouser pocket. ‘I’ll let him in and call Naomi down.’
‘Yes, thank you, Lorie.’
To hide her smile, Lorie turned quickly and hurried for the door. Job done. No problem.
<><><>
Naomi woke up in her small room in the halls of residence with her scattered belongings, too many holding reminders of the weekend. She’d left her room as an eighteen-year-old student and returned as a nineteen-year-old woman with a fiancé and a nasty family rift on her shoulders. Not forgetting that for reasons unknown, a weird guy in a hoodie was lurking in the shadows.
Her head throbbed through lack of sleep. Her eyes swivelled painfully in their sockets while she scanned the room in a daze. Everything was as she’d left it. The same people played the same instruments next door. The same clothes littered the floor. The same music still sat open on her piano ready to practise. But it was like waking up in a foreign place – as though she’d been caught in a desert storm which had shifted the sands and the contours of the landscape so completely, she’d lost direction.
The uncertainty of the future was responsible for the tightness in her chest. Would Camilla and then inevitably Henry, refuse to support her in her decision to get married, and leave her stranded and alone? Would they force her to choose between Nathan and them? Would Annie disappear into a vast continent to find a new life with new friends and a new and less complicated family? Would Camilla begin a new routine of something far worse than demanding a set speaking time each week, and not call at all?
These questions and more charged through her mind like rush hour as she recalled the parting scene of the day before, her birthday. Camilla had stood – reminding Naomi of a closed shop during a still evening: lights off, shutters down – speechless and emotionless at the door as she and Nathan left. She’d muttered her quiet goodbyes as if they might never see each other again, and stood beside Henry without movement or expression as Nathan had driven away. Naomi had endured the nauseating feeling of knowing she had devastated her mother and divided her parents. She’d left without the assurance of a continued relationship, without the promise of so much as a phone call, the same way Annie had left the previous night.
It was a bright day. Naomi reached behind her and slid a curtain to one side, which immediately cast shadows over one half of the room. She held up her left hand and studied her ring. She twitched her hand and watched a display of light and colours as the sunlight caught the surface. The ring still felt heavy and invasive on her finger as it shimmered like a little star. It was stunning, beautiful. It didn’t muster a smile, not even an inner one.
Since the previous day, she’d been through cycles of feeling angry that Camilla had ruined the occasion, to feeling that it was less to do with Camilla and more to do with the circumstances. It was as if the elements had colluded to bring a concoction of cruel things together, creating the perfect conditions for a storm, a storm which could have been avoided if on
ly Tom Butterworth had not been at the party; if only he hadn’t spoken to her; if only Annie had not drunk so much; if only Nathan hadn’t mentioned the cost of the piano. The thoughts continued on a circuit leaving a trail of regrets.
The question that was troubling her was this: did she really want to marry Nathan, or had she got engaged to spite Tom Butterworth or to prove to Camilla that she could make her own decisions? Was there a tiny part of her that was relieved that Annie had been humiliated enough to finally face up to the past? For a Christian, you’re not very tolerant or forgiving – Tom’s words. In her head. Loud and angry. Naomi reached for her necklace and zipped the cross from side to side, toying for the first time with the idea of taking it off. The burden of being a hypocrite felt too heavy.
Her phone rang, dragging her back to her room. Naomi extended her arm slowly towards her phone and lifted it up. It was Lorie. Lorie was about the only person she could bear to speak to right now.
She pressed the button to receive the call. ‘Hi.’
‘Why the long voice?’
Naomi sighed. ‘The weekend was a disaster, with a capital D.’
‘What?’ Lorie laughed. ‘I was calling to congratulate you properly and say that I think you’ve done the right thing.’
‘Really? I was half expecting a lecture about insanity and what I’ve done to my family, and I probably would have listened.’
‘Come on, Naomi. Nathan’s amazing. I mean, don’t take this the wrong way, but he’s sizzling hot, he’s charming, and he’s obviously madly in love with you. What more could you want?’
A ghost of a smile appeared on Naomi’s lips before it got away. ‘He is pretty special isn’t he?’
‘It’s what you have together that’s special. Your dad is fine about everything. He really likes Nathan. By the end of this week, your mum will be used to the idea too. Don’t worry.’
Naomi twisted her finger into her hair and rotated. ‘Did you see her face when I left? It’s haunted me.’
Either Side of Midnight (The Midnight Saga Book 1) Page 25
