The Long Way Home: A moving saga of lost family

by Whitmee, Jeanne

  ‘Well, I won’t say I’m not relieved to hear it.’ He reached across the table and touched her hand. ‘Leah, I’m still your friend, you know. I won’t let you down, I promise. You do trust me, don’t you?’ He stood up and drew her to her feet. ‘I’ll never make any demands on you. We said we’d be loving friends for each other once, didn’t we?’

  She allowed him to draw her close, letting her head rest against his shoulder. It was good to feel his strength flow into her, to lean against his shoulder and relax. But then he turned her face up to his and kissed her and when she felt his tongue probe her lips apart to explore her mouth, when she felt his arousal beginning, she stiffened, suddenly hurt and angry. What did he think she was? What did any of them think she was? Bill had sent for Terry when he thought she needed help. He knew how it had been between them yet now … He thinks I’m an easy lay like they all do! Angry tears sprang to her eyes and she pushed him away.

  ‘Bill, don’t. I’m sorry, I can’t.’

  He let her go, his hands dropping to his sides. Under his breath he swore softly. Not because of her refusal but because of his own clumsiness. ‘Sorry, Leah. I shouldn’t have done that. I won’t again, I promise. Strictly business from now on.’

  She turned away, shaking her head, unsure now. A few months ago she would have seized the chance to capitalise on Bill’s desire for her, but now … He had been right about one thing: Terry’s betrayal certainly had got to her. And, yes, she couldn’t deny that she was in love with him. The knowledge was deeply humiliating — like looking her own weakness in the face. But weakness could be overcome.

  ‘Well?’ Bill was looking at her anxiously. ‘Am I forgiven? Do we go ahead with the restaurant?’

  She turned to him. ‘Look, I’d like some time to think about it. I think I’d like to go away for a while.’

  ‘Where?’

  She searched her mind for the answer. She could go down to Cleybourn. Stay at the Mermaid with Dick — work her passage. But Cleybourn held memories of other past mistakes. No. There was only one person she really wanted to see; only one person with whom she could truly be herself. ‘I think I’ll go and stay with Granny Dobson for a few days,’ she said.

  He nodded, forcing himself to smile. ‘That sounds like a good idea, and you could do with a break after all that’s happened. But don’t stay away too long, will you? Bella’s might be snapped up by someone else. Besides,’ he added with a sheepish, lop-sided grin, ‘I’ll miss you.’

  *

  Sally was in the day room when Leah arrived. She couldn’t leave London without seeing her sister — finding out what her reaction to the article in the Recorder had been. She found her sitting by the TV set, watching one of the daily ‘soaps’ whilst a gaggle of middle-aged female patients gossiped over their knitting at the other end of the room.

  ‘Hello there.’

  To her surprise Sally looked up at her with a welcoming smile. ‘Leah, I’m so glad you’ve come. I think they’re going to let me out of here in a few days and I was hoping to see you before I left.’

  ‘It’s nice to see you looking so much better.’ Leah drew up a chair close to her. ‘I’m sorry I haven’t been in for a few days, but a friend has been down for a visit. Besides, we haven’t exactly seen eye to eye, have we? I didn’t want to hinder.your recovery.’

  ‘I’ve got lots to tell you.’ Sally’s eyes shone and her cheeks were pink with excitement.

  ‘Before you go any further — did you see the article about us in the Recorder?’

  ‘Yes. That’s what brought it all about,’ Sally said. ‘My parents saw it and they rang Hannah at once. They came up to London to see me yesterday and everything is going to be all right, Leah. They want to take the baby and bring him up for me. And I’m to keep my job here in London and go home to see him every weekend.’

  Leah felt her heart lift with relief. Reaching out she took both of Sally’s hands and squeezed them. ‘That’s great news. I’m so happy for you, and for little Jamie too.’

  ‘They like the name you chose for him,’ Sally told her. ‘Except that they’re going to call him James instead of Jamie.’

  ‘Sally, was it a shock, reading about Marie’s past — the circumstances in which we were born? I suppose I should have told you before. I found out when I was trying to trace her. I’m sorry you had to find out like that.’

  ‘It’s all right. I shan’t be seeing her again,’ Sally said. ‘She came to see me, you know, invited me to go down to Dorset and convalesce at her hotel. I thought she was so kind. But I had a letter from her the other day, putting me off. She said something about being too busy.’ She shrugged. ‘I was hurt and disappointed at the time, but maybe it’s all for the best. I’ll be going home now anyway.’

  ‘I’m going home too,’ Leah said. ‘At least, I’m going to stay with my grandmother for a while. I’m thinking of going into business with Bill. We’re going to buy the restaurant where I used to work. His cash and my know-how. At least, that’s the plan.’

  ‘But you’re not sure?’

  Leah lifted her shoulders. ‘I’d rather be independent, but beggars can’t be choosers, can they? Anyway, Granny Dobson will put me right. She’s the wisest person I know.’ She stood up. ‘I’ll have to go now. You will keep in touch, won’t you, Sally? Maybe when we’re both back in London we could meet occasionally.’

  ‘That would be nice.’ Sally walked to the lift with her. They turned to each other and Sally held out her arms. ‘Thanks for everything, Leah.’

  Leah hugged her. ‘What for? All I did was nag you. If I’d been you I’d have told me to get stuffed.’

  ‘You were such a help when Jamie was born, staying with me like that, not letting me go through it alone. If it hadn’t been for you and Bill …’

  Leah shook her head. ‘That’s all over. Take care of yourself. Give little Jamie a cuddle for me.’ To her great relief the lift doors opened at that moment. She got in quickly with a bright smile at Sally. ‘’Bye. Take care.’ The doors closed and she was left with the image of her sister, still pale and fragile-looking in her pink quilted dressing gown, her hand half raised in a wave. As the lift plunged downward she swallowed hard at the lump in her throat, fumbling in her pocket for a handkerchief. Damn! Why was she so easily moved to tears lately? She must be getting soft in her old age.

  *

  Leah stood in the hall at Melbury Street, listening to the telephone ringing out at the other end. In her mind’s eye she pictured Granny Dobson getting up stiffly from her chair and going into the hall of the bungalow to answer it. Could it be that she was in her beloved garden, picking winter greens for lunch? Whatever the reason, she always took some time to answer the telephone so Leah hung on, a smile of anticipation on her face. Wait till Kate heard that she was coming up to stay for a few days. She’d be so pleased. They’d have such a lot to tell each other and laugh over. They might even …

  ‘Hello.’ Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a strident voice. It wasn’t Kate’s.

  ‘Oh — hello. Can I speak to Mrs Dobson please?’

  ‘I take it you mean Mrs Kate Dobson.’

  God. It was Hilary. ‘Yes. Is she there?’

  There was a pause. ‘Is that you, Leah?’

  ‘Yes, it is.’

  ‘This is your … This is Hilary. It’s odd that you should ring. I was going to ring you later this morning. I’m afraid your grand … I’m afraid that poor Kate died early this morning.’

  Hilary’s brutal abruptness hit Leah like a mule’s kick. Groping behind her for a chair she sat down heavily. ‘She — she died? How? What was the matter with her?’

  ‘Pneumonia — among other things,’ Hilary said in a detached tone. ‘She’d had a series of bad colds all winter and she never would take proper care of herself. The doctor put her into hospital towards the end.’

  ‘I wish you’d let me know.’ Hilary didn’t reply. ‘When — when is the funeral?’ Leah asked.

 
There was a pause, pregnant with meaning. ‘You mean to come then?’

  ‘Of course. Granny Dobson meant a lot to me.’

  ‘Evidently. I understand you were here shortly before Christmas.’

  Hilary’s voice sounded shrill and slightly accusing. Surely she wasn’t annoyed because Leah hadn’t visited her and Jack? ‘That’s right.’

  ‘Then you won’t be surprised to know that she made a new Will.’

  ‘Did she?’

  ‘Yes, she did. I think you certainly had better come, Leah, and as soon as you can make it,’ Hilary went on. ‘More especially in view of the fact that you now appear to be her sole beneficiary. But of course you already knew that, didn’t you?’

  ‘No. Of course I didn’t know.’

  Hilary gave a dry, disbelieving little laugh. ‘But don’t think for one minute that you’re going to get away with it, Leah. Jack and I will contest the Will. We’re going to see our solicitor as soon as we can. I’ll expect you some time tomorrow — right?’ And without waiting for a reply she rang off abruptly, leaving Leah staring numbly into the receiver.

  Chapter 22

  Hannah didn’t see the article in the Recorder until she got home from work late in the evening. The moment she had finished reading it she telephoned Marie.

  ‘How did the press get hold of the story?’ she asked. ‘Has anyone been to see you?’

  But as soon as Marie began speaking it became clear that the re-emergence of her past was only one of her problems.

  ‘We’re bankrupt, Hannah,’ she said bleakly. ‘It’s what I’ve been afraid of for a long time. We’re having to wind up the business and get out. Everything we’ve worked for over the years has been wrecked by Ralph’s mismanagement. The newspaper story was a blow but it’s not the worst thing that’s happened.’

  ‘How is David taking it?’ Hannah asked.

  ‘Surprisingly enough, he seems to be coping quite well,’ Marie said. ‘He’s doing all he can to try to salvage as much as possible out of all this. As for the story in the Recorder, he’s more worried for me than for himself.’

  ‘And Ralph?’

  Marie’s sigh was audible at the other end of the line. ‘It seems he read the story in a bar somewhere. He came back here blazing with fury, accusing me of deception — justifiably, I suppose. But it was all he needed to deflect some of the blame for the crash from himself. He actually accused David and me of setting him up. Then he stormed out, saying that we’d wrecked his life between us and that he’d got nothing left to live for.’

  ‘And now?’

  ‘I don’t know. I haven’t seen him since.’ Marie’s voice caught and trembled. ‘Oh, Hannah, it’s all such a mess. And after I tried so hard — after I thought I’d lived it down.’

  ‘I’ll come right down,’ Hannah said decisively. ‘I’m due a few days off. A colleague will take over anything that can’t wait. Just give me time to fix things at this end and I’ll come.’ She paused. ‘If you want me, that is.’

  ‘Oh, Hannah, of course I want you,’ Marie said. ‘You’re just about the only real friend I’ve got left now.’

  The following morning Hannah spent an hour on the telephone, rearranging her work schedule. The last call she made was to Leah. She listened to the phone ringing at the other end for a few minutes, but when there was no reply she replaced the receiver and scribbled a quick note. Putting it into an envelope and addressing it to Leah, she posted it on her way to collect the car. It was only right that the girl should know about Marie’s trouble.

  She arrived at ‘The Ocean’ late that afternoon and found Marie exhausted. She had spent the morning talking to the managers of each of the hotels on the telephone, explaining the situation and instructing them to dismiss staff and cancel all bookings. Advertisements for the coming season had to be cancelled and tradesmen notified. The painful business of winding up seemed endless, and Ralph clearly had no intention of doing any of it. It had been a traumatic day and at the end of it Marie looked pale and drained of energy.

  David, on the other hand, seemed oddly buoyant. Talking to him, Hannah had the impression that the demise of Evans Hotels would be something of a relief to him.

  ‘Things started to go wrong almost as soon as Ralph joined us,’ he told Hannah after they had packed Marie off to have a hot bath before dinner. ‘We were doing well up till then — keeping the business on an even keel, being careful not to overreach ourselves. Marie was good at the business side. She made sure we kept our heads well above water. But when Ralph came in with us he wouldn’t let her touch it — insisted on having it all his own way.’ He looked at her. ‘I don’t know whether she told you, but Ralph isn’t my true son.’

  ‘Marie hasn’t told me anything.’

  David nodded. ‘No. She wouldn’t. My first wife let me believe that Ralph was mine when all the time he was another man’s child. It didn’t really surprise me, to be honest. I’d suspected it for some time. She lied to me in other things too, you see. She wasn’t like Meg, my second wife. Now there was a woman for you …’ He smiled reminiscently to himself and Hannah could see that his mind was drifting. She looked at her watch.

  ‘When will Ralph be back? I don’t imagine that he’s going to be exactly overjoyed to see me.’

  The smile left David’s face as his eyes darted to the clock. ‘I’ve no idea. He doesn’t tell us when to expect him. He might even have gone back to Norfolk for all I know. Between you and me, Hannah, I hope he has. He came back here after he’d seen the newspaper article yesterday, raving and shouting at poor Marie — as if she hasn’t enough to bear. He flung off somewhere afterwards, left her in a shocking state and didn’t come in all night. We haven’t seen him since.’

  The three of them ate dinner together and afterwards David went off to his room, saying he was tired and would appreciate an early night.

  ‘What will you do now?’ Hannah asked when they were alone.

  Marie shook her head. ‘I haven’t thought much about it. At the moment it’s a question of taking one day at a time. David is my priority though. I’ll have to make some kind of home for him. Maybe we’ll be able to afford a little flat. After I’ve sorted that out I suppose I’ll have to find a job — start trying to pick up the pieces.’

  ‘And Ralph? Where has he gone, do you think?’

  Marie shrugged. ‘Who knows? Over the past few years we’ve seen very little of him anyway. And when he was here he usually made trouble. I’ll be filing for divorce,’ she added. ‘I would have preferred to have done it with the church’s blessing but we can’t possibly stay married now so it seems I’ll have to do without.’

  ‘Have you spoken to Philip?’ Hannah ventured.

  ‘I wrote to him last night and told him everything,’ Marie said. ‘I thought it was the best way. I have to face the fact that a man in his position can’t be associated with this kind of thing. Not only having my lurid past spread all over the newspapers, but bankruptcy as well. It’ll only be a matter of time before the press gets hold of that too. I told him not to contact me for a while. And that I shall understand if he wants to drop our friendship permanently.’

  ‘Oh, Marie.’ Hannah hesitated. ‘Look, something’s been bothering me in all this. Do you blame me? I’d understand if you did. I mean, if it hadn’t been for Leah asking me to put her in touch with you again none of it would ever have come out.’

  ‘Blame you?’ Marie smiled and shook her head. ‘You’re my best — my only real friend, apart from David. Of course I don’t blame you. We don’t know that my meeting with the girls triggered this off. Heaven only knows how the story got out. But whatever it was, I’ll always be grateful that I had the chance to see them again. I’m sorry that Leah and I couldn’t agree. Even sorrier that I had to let Sally down without explaining properly. But at least I saw them.’

  ‘Sally is keeping the baby,’ Hannah told her. ‘At least, her adoptive parents are going to bring him up for her. They saw the newspaper article and
it brought them all together again.’

  Marie sighed wistfully. ‘I’m glad it did some good. And I’m glad she won’t have to go through the years wondering about her child as I have.’

  They went to bed just after eleven o’clock and Hannah went to sleep almost immediately. She was awakened some time later by movement outside her door in the passage. Switching on her bedside lamp she saw that it was a little after one o’clock. There were voices, Marie’s and another, male and unfamiliar. Not Ralph’s or David’s. With a sudden feeling of foreboding, she got up and put on her dressing gown, then opened the door and looked out. The light in the hallway was on and she could see that the door of the living room was ajar. Walking across she pushed it open to look in. A tall policeman stood by the fireplace. He was looking anxiously at Marie who sat on the settee, looking numb and dazed. As Hannah opened the door he glanced up and saw her standing in the doorway.

  ‘Are you a relative, madam?’

  ‘No, a friend. What’s happened?’

  ‘I’m afraid there’s been an accident.’ The policeman walked across to her, easing her out into the hallway and pulling the door to behind him. ‘Earlier this evening a car went over the cliffs at Lulworth,’ he said quietly. ‘The cliffs are very high there and very rugged. It’s a total wreck. It exploded on impact, but one of the number plates was thrown clear. We’ve established from that that the car belonged to Mr Ralph Evans.’

  ‘And you’re sure he was in the car when it crashed?’

  ‘As I said, it was blown to bits,’ he said. ‘There’s very little left and what there is is in the sea, but we’ll have frogmen out at first light and forensics will be going over what there is as soon as possible. We understand Mr Evans has had some financial difficulties,’ he added quietly. ‘I’m very much afraid that everything points to suicide.’ He nodded towards the door. ‘Will you be staying on tomorrow or shall I send a WPC along?’

  ‘I’m staying.’