by Rosie Harris
‘I know I’ve been a burden to you all.’ Kathy sighed heavily. ‘None of you understand!’ She rocked to and fro, her face contorted with distress. ‘I’m to blame for Lynn’s death. I knew all about this Flash and I knew she was seeing him. I should have put my foot down. Or else told your dad to have a talk to her and stop her going out with him.’
‘It probably wouldn’t have made any difference,’ Megan murmured.
‘I had my suspicions that he was no good. The fact that he refused to come and meet any of us should have put me on my guard but I did nothing about it.’
‘It’s all in the past, Mam …’
‘At least she didn’t bring any other worries home to our doorstep. I know you didn’t either,’ she went on garrulously, ‘but if you hadn’t gone ahead and done what you did then we might have had that to deal with, as well.’
‘Mam …’ Megan let out a long low breath of distress. ‘I didn’t think you had any idea … I …’
‘No, you think your old mam is a bit simple. You’re a cut above her with your education, fine job and smart clothes. I’ve got eyes in my head; I know the signs. I should do. I got caught myself when I was about your age.’
‘Mam, please … don’t go on like this.’
‘You didn’t know that, did you? A one-night stand and he sailed off next day. I was lucky, I suppose, because he came back in time to marry me before you were born. But that’s all in the past, I don’t want to talk about it.’
Megan remained silent, astounded by her mother’s outburst.
‘They probably thought that setting fire to Walker’s place was Watkin’s way of paying them back for their son killing our Lynn,’ mused Kathy.
‘Dad didn’t do it, Mam! He was sitting here with us the night their place was set on fire.’
‘And who is going to believe that?’ snapped Kathy, her eyes glinting angrily. ‘The police are looking for a scapegoat and he’s got plenty of reasons for carrying out such a crime. Walker’s son killed one of our daughters and turned the other one into a whore.’
‘Mam!’ White-lipped and shaken, Megan drew back as if she had been struck. Her mother was suddenly a stranger. She couldn’t believe she was hearing aright.
‘I’ll make us some tea,’ her mother said, rising from her chair. ‘You look as though you could do with something stronger, but I don’t suppose there’s any drink in the house.’
‘No … there isn’t … and you know why.’
‘Of course, I do,’ her mother retorted. ‘Can’t trust your own mam, can you?’ She gave a raucous laugh. ‘Funny, isn’t it, you preaching to me about how I should behave. Making me feel guilty!’
‘Mam, I haven’t meant to.’ Megan’s voice reflected the anguish she was feeling.
‘Rubbish! You always have. Right from when you were small you would look at me with those big dark eyes, just like your dad’s, and make me feel guilty whenever I enjoyed myself.’
‘Mam, I’ll make the tea. You sit still, you’re not well … you’re in a state of shock …’ Megan stood up and tried to press her mother back into her chair, but Kathy shook her hand away.
‘I’m as well as I’ll ever be and I think you are the one who has had the shock this time. You’re like your dad, Megan. You can’t bear for people to know you have any weaknesses. Always so well behaved, saying the right thing and doing what is expected of you. Paragons of virtue, the pair of you! Lynn wasn’t like that. She enjoyed life and liked a good laugh. I never needed to hide anything from her. I wonder what your dad would say if I told him about you having an abortion?’
‘He knows. I’ve already told him,’ Megan said shakily.
For a moment Kathy stared at her in disbelief. Then she threw back her head and laughed hysterically. ‘In that case, he probably did set fire to Walker’s place,’ she crowed.
It was three days before Watkin was brought before a magistrate. Three endless days for Megan, tortured by her mother’s revelations and accusations as well as filled with concern over her father’s well-being.
It was almost as though their roles were reversed. Kathy was the one who cooked and tidied around. Megan stayed slumped in a chair trying to decide what to do for the best.
‘Sitting there staring into space isn’t going to do any good. Go and find yourself a job. You might need some money to pay your dad’s fine,’ Kathy told her cynically. ‘If he gets sent down then you’ll be the bread-winner, remember.’
‘Dad’s innocent. You know that! We can prove he was right here.’
‘I’ve already told you that our word won’t carry very much weight!’
‘How can you be so complacent about it? I don’t think you really care.’ Megan rounded on her mother furiously.
‘I’m just facing facts. When they learn how you were carrying on with Miles Walker until he decided to dump you, they’ll put it all down to revenge.’
‘Dad wasn’t anywhere near there that night. He was with Robert all day, making a delivery in Doncaster, and he came straight home after work. Robert’s the one person who can prove Dad is innocent.’
‘Poor dab! Playing on his feelings as usual, are you?’ her mother taunted. ‘The only time he ever hears from you is when you are in trouble. Use him, don’t you.’
‘I’ll do anything to see that my dad is set free,’ affirmed Megan vehemently.
In face of the cast-iron alibi from Robert, the case against Watkin was dropped. Megan’s relief was tempered by her father’s bitterness.
‘Well, there’s one good thing come out of all this,’ Kathy commented later that evening after Robert had gone home and the three of them were on their own.
‘And what’s that?’ Watkin frowned. His dark eyes were puzzled.
‘We’ve finally finished with the Walkers,’ she declared triumphantly. ‘You won’t be going back there to work and our Megan won’t be working there, either. So that’s the end of it.’
‘Plenty of other jobs about, Dad,’ Megan told him in an over-bright voice when he said nothing. ‘I wonder which of us will get fixed up first, eh?’
‘I don’t know. Better start looking, I suppose.’ He tried to match the optimism in her voice as he reached out for the Echo and turned to the ‘Situations Vacant’ pages.
Kathy’s eyes narrowed as she watched them, a satisfied smirk on her mouth.
Finding work took time. There were plenty of driving jobs advertised, but after the first two or three interviews Watkin found that the moment he gave his name, and stated that he had been at Walker’s, interest in his application vanished.
‘Don’t contact us again, we’ll get in touch with you if we need you,’ became such a standard response that he grew disheartened and embittered.
‘Robert will probably give you a reference … if Megan asks him,’ jibed Kathy.
‘That’ll do!’ Angrily, Watkin turned away, his hands balled into two tight fists to control his feelings.
He had still not grown used to the change in Kathy. In some ways it had been easier when she had been in the depths of despair and speaking to no one, he thought irritably. Now she was as touchy as a wild cat and with claws to match. Everything he said or did brought a verbal attack that shattered his nerves. And it wasn’t directed only at him. Megan was getting the sharp end of her tongue as well.
‘Why are you getting on at the girl so much?’ he asked when they were on their own. ‘She’s got enough on her plate as it is.’
‘Has she? More intrigues, more things she’s kept hidden from me, you mean,’ sneered Kathy. ‘You are as bad as one other with your dark secrets.’
‘She didn’t want to worry you,’ he protested.
‘Only because she couldn’t bear for anyone to see her in a bad light,’ Kathy said contemptuously. ‘She pulled the wool over your eyes and no mistake! Letting you think she was the good little girl, the studious one, out to better herself,’ she taunted. ‘And all the time she was carrying on with that Miles Walker. Well, she got her
just deserts there and no mistake, now, didn’t she!’
‘That will do, woman!’ Watkin’s voice thundered out in anger.
‘Always dressing to kill, flaunting her airs and graces, too good for the likes of me and Lynn. Always telling poor little Lynn off for enjoying herself. Looked down on her because she worked in a café. She couldn’t help it if she had no brains. Took after me, did our Lynn. She was pretty, though, and liked a laugh and a good time. There’s enough misery guts like you and Megan in the world, blighting everyone’s life …’
‘Will you pipe down!’ Watkin’s roar brought Megan hurrying through from the kitchen to see what was wrong.
‘What’s the matter now?’ She looked from one to the other, perplexed. She was not used to her parents quarrelling in this way. Usually, her father ignored Kathy’s petty nagging.
‘I was telling your dad what a dark horse you are,’ Kathy said slyly. ‘You quiet, studious types, always with your nose in a book, are all the same.’
‘I don’t think there is very much you can tell Dad that he doesn’t already know,’ Megan told her quietly. ‘Why don’t you leave him alone? He’s worried enough at the moment about not getting a job …’ She stopped, frightened by the menacing look on her mother’s face.
For a moment it seemed that her mother was about to strike her. Then, with a sharp cry, Kathy crumpled onto the floor, convulsive sobs racking her body.
‘Ring for the doctor, Megan!’ Watkin ordered as he knelt down beside his wife and cradled her in his arms, stroking her hair, murmuring words of comfort.
The doctor diagnosed Kathy’s collapse as being caused by depression, brought on by feelings of guilt, ill-health and severe shock. ‘In the normal way I would recommend she was treated in a hospital,’ he told them. ‘In this instance, I think Mrs Williams needs to have her family around her. Nursing her won’t be easy. She’ll have spells when she is extremely lucid, and may say things you find hard to take. There will be other times when you will find it impossible to communicate with her, she will be so withdrawn. She will need expert counselling, which I can arrange. Most of all, though, she is going to need constant supervision. Will you be able to manage that?’
‘Yes. We will both be at home for the next few weeks,’ Megan said quickly, looking across at her father.
‘Megan’s right, Doctor,’ agreed Watkin dourly. ‘We’ll be here to look after her.’
‘Good! I’ll call in every two or three days.’ He handed Watkin a prescription. ‘These tablets will help to calm her. If you have any further problems get in touch with me.’
When he reached the door he paused and looked at them both from over the top of his glasses. ‘She may say a lot of things you find very hurtful, things dredged up from the past that you may have thought long forgotten. Cleansing the mind is all part of the therapy. It can provide clues as to the problem that has caused her present condition. Try not to let it upset you too much, I don’t want any more cases of depression.’
‘Perhaps we should have had her taken into hospital,’ Watkin Williams muttered after the doctor had left.
‘Nonsense, Dad. We can look after her. She’s better off at home.’
‘I hope you’re right. I feel it’s too much to expect of you, though, Megan. I … I don’t want you hurt again.’
‘I won’t be, I promise you.’ Gently she kissed his cheek. ‘Over the last few days we’ve found out what Mam thinks about both of us. I don’t think there are any more skeletons left hidden in the cupboard,’ she added ruefully.
‘Let’s hope you’re right.’ He sighed deeply and Megan’s heart ached to see how thin and ill he looked.
‘We’ll have Mam back on her feet in no time,’ she vowed cheerfully. ‘Everything will work out all right, you’ll see. It’s going to be a new start all round,’ she promised confidently.
Chapter Thirty-one
‘SOMETHING WRONG?’ ASKED Watkin as Megan came back into the sitting room looking white and shaken. ‘Who was that on the phone?’
‘A Mr Ramton. He’s the Walkers’ solicitor.’
Watkin frowned. ‘What did he want? They’re not still trying to prosecute me over the fire, are they?’
‘No, no, Dad, it’s nothing to do with that.’ Megan shook her head emphatically.
‘Well, what is it, then? More trouble? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.’
‘A cloud not a ghost!’ She gave a wry laugh. ‘Mr Ramton says that Mr Walker has left me his Silver Cloud.’
‘You mean his Rolls Royce!’ Her father stared at her in disbelief. ‘What on earth made him do that?’
‘I don’t know!’ She pushed her hair back from her forehead in a bewildered way. ‘He did once remark that my initials were on the number plate. He made a sort of joke about it when I was driving him to Wales. They were his initials, too, of course,’ she added quickly.
‘And Miles Walker’s!’ her father reminded her. ‘That car is a status symbol! I’ve often heard men down at the docks say how proud old Walker was of it. He even had his own special parking spot with the registration number written in white paint on the ground to make sure no other car was left there by mistake.’
‘The only other person permitted to drive the Rolls was Miles, and he wasn’t allowed behind the wheel all that often,’ murmured Megan. ‘So why has he left it to me?’
‘Someone once told me that, when he first had it, old Walker would hire a taxi if it was raining rather than get the Rolls wet. I can’t see Miles letting you get away with this one,’ mused Watkin, shaking his head.
Miles wasted no time in phoning Megan about the Rolls. ‘You don’t intend accepting it, I hope?’ he said abruptly.
‘Why ever not? It would be ungrateful to turn it down.’
‘Cut the nonsense, Megan. That car is our company status symbol and I intend to keep it. Anyway, what would you do with an expensive car like that? You couldn’t possibly afford to keep it on the road. It drinks petrol!’
‘I must keep it … it’s a gift … from your father,’ she reminded him.
‘Have you any idea what it costs to have it serviced?’ he went on relentlessly.
‘Not yet. I haven’t gone into such details.’
‘It would take at least three months’ wages … that’s if you were working. Look,’ he snapped angrily, ‘I’m willing to buy it back from you. I’ll pay the full market value for it.’
‘I don’t intend to sell it.’
‘Megan, it belongs to the company …’
‘It did. It doesn’t now,’ she pointed out determinedly.
‘I can see it’s pointless trying to discuss this with you,’ Miles snapped. ‘Think about it and phone me when you are ready to sell. I’ll wait a week and if you haven’t contacted me by then I’ll take you to court. I want that car and I intend to have it … one way or the other. If I have to go to court, I’ll make sure the whole world knows exactly what sort of person you are. After I’ve told them about our affair, they’ll be able to put two and two together. They’ll realise how you made up to my father and tricked him into leaving you the Rolls.’
‘You would lie in court to get your own way?’
His cynical laugh still echoed in her ears long after she had slammed the receiver down.
The more Megan thought about it the more frightened she became that Miles might carry out his threat. It was not the loss of the Rolls that worried her, but that the slur on her character would have a devastating effect on her mother.
The feelings she had once held for Miles were now completely dead. She felt so nervy and edgy, though, that it took her all her time not to lose patience with her mother or snap at her father. Finally, she was in such a quandary about what to do that in sheer desperation she turned to Robert, feeling that he was the only person whose advice she could trust.
They met in the lounge bar at The Nelson. His momentary look of surprise when she told him she had been left the Rolls was replaced by a frown when she told him
how Miles had reacted.
‘I don’t know what to do.’ She sighed heavily. ‘It’s a wonderful car, but I suppose Miles is quite right, I can’t afford to run it.’ She gave a bitter laugh. ‘I haven’t even got a job at the moment.’
‘If you don’t let him have the Rolls he will take you to court, you know,’ warned Robert. ‘What’s more, he’ll certainly carry out his threat to try and blacken your character.’
‘You think he would go that far, even though it would reflect on him?’
‘It’s different for a man. Nice girls don’t sleep around.’
‘What do you mean by sleep around?’ exploded Megan. ‘There has only ever been Miles.’
‘I know that, but try convincing other people. The way Miles will tell the story he’ll make it sound quite different.’
‘You believe me, though, Robert?’
‘Of course I do!’ As their eyes met, he looked away quickly. ‘Another drink?’ As if to break the spell, he stood up and picked up their empty glasses.
As she watched Robert walk over to the bar she thought what a wonderful friend he was. No matter what problem she had, he was always willing to help her to solve it. And invariably she found herself taking his advice because it was so sound.
The fact that he seemed to think Miles would not only be prepared to go to court over the car, but that he would be willing to make public every detail of their relationship, worried her more than she cared to admit.
‘Apart from how much it might distress your mother, Miles’ revelations could seriously affect your career prospects, you know,’ Robert commented when he returned with their drinks. ‘Once the story has been plastered over the Liverpool Echo, and possibly in some of the national dailies, your new boss will think you fair game! If you disappoint him then you’ll probably be out on your neck pretty quick.’
‘You mean someone might hire me because of that rather than because I’m a competent secretary!’ she exclaimed, colour staining her cheeks.
‘It’s still a man’s world, Megan.’
‘And women play right into their hands,’ Megan said bitterly. ‘They mollycoddle them at home and pander to them at work. Being a secretary is a cross between being a wife and being a nanny.’
