by Lucy Gordon
‘Melkham is a subsidiary. I acquired it last year.’
‘Well, I didn’t know that. Nor did Adrian.’
‘I’ll bet Kendall Haines knew, though. He must have loved getting my son to demonstrate against me in public.’
‘Not everybody’s mind is as tortuous as yours,’ Faye said indignantly. ‘Kendall is a decent, straightforward man. He’d never pull a stunt like that.’
‘I wonder.’
‘Garth, you’re being impossible. Kendall fights for what he believes in and so does Adrian. You should be proud of your son. He’s one of life’s dragon slayers. How was he to know that you were the dragon? He’d be interested to find out.’
‘And if I don’t tell him, I’m sure you will.’
‘Goodness, no! I won’t say a word. You must deal with this in your own way. But go carefully. Your son is no fool.’
At the end of the afternoon she drove to the Pattersons’ to collect Cindy and Barker. Cindy chattered non-stop about her day but, as soon as she was home, she ran to her father to say it all again. Garth hugged her and Faye was relieved to see that his mood had improved. Barker had vanished to the kitchen, to be lovingly scolded for his muddy paws and fed some of his favourite buttered scones.
‘Can we go out and play ball with Barker?’ Cindy begged when she was sure she hadn’t deprived Daddy of a single detail.
‘I thought he’d been chasing around a garden all day.’
‘Yes, but it’s a very posh garden with lots of potted plants—’
‘Oh, heavens!’ Faye groaned.
‘It wasn’t Barker’s fault. He didn’t mean to knock it over, and he didn’t know it was a prize bush.’
‘No wonder Mr Patterson looked a bit tense when he said goodbye.’
‘It’s his own fault,’ Garth observed. ‘He should have known better than to leave his prize bush around when Barker was there.’
Cindy flung him a grateful look. ‘Anyway, Barker wants to run and run in his own garden.’
‘Can’t you play with him?’
‘You can throw the ball further than me. I’ll go and get it.’ She scampered off.
‘Better get two,’ Garth called. ‘You know he always loses one.’
‘Thanks, Daddy.’ Her voice faded down the hall.
‘I’ve got a pile of bookkeeping work to do,’ Faye protested to thin air.
‘Mummy!’ came Cindy’s imperious voice before Faye could answer. ‘Barker wants to play.’
Garth grinned wickedly. ‘Go on,’ he told her. ‘You’ve got your orders. That dog wants to play, and his social secretary is going to make sure everyone jumps to attention.’
‘Mummy—’
‘Coming, coming!’
Faye obediently headed for the garden and threw the ball for half an hour. Although she was annoyed with Garth, she had to admit he was spot on about Cindy. Nothing mattered to the little girl except giving her four-pawed darling whatever he wanted. She smiled with pleasure at the sight of child and dog romping together in perfect understanding.
Then her smile faded into a frown at something she thought she’d seen. She watched Barker carefully and wondered if his back legs really were a little stiff, or was she imagining it? Then he went bounding down the garden after a ball, charging through a tall heap of twigs Fred had just finished gathering up. Fred’s little dance of rage and the terrible threats he hurled at Barker’s retreating form made her double up with laughter, and the matter passed from her mind.
Adrian arrived home two hours later, full of delight over his day but, to Faye’s relief, minus the placard. As she’d promised Garth, she kept quiet about what she knew.
Garth seemed to have forgotten his annoyance. He asked Adrian about his afternoon and listened attentively to his replies. Faye watched a flush of pleasure come to the boy’s face. To have his father showing interest in his concerns was an unexpected delight.
‘It was great, Dad. We were on telly.’
‘I know. I saw you. In fact, I taped it for you to see.’
Adrian beamed. ‘Great! Can we see it now?’
Garth put the video tape in and they watched it together.
‘That placard is good,’ Garth said. ‘Greed out. Nature in. Who thought of it?’
‘It was Kendall’s idea. He’s really brilliant at that sort of thing. He says firms like Melkham are nothing but selfish, greedy predators, and they have to be fought in any way you can.’
‘Has he got any good ideas about fighting them?’
‘Yes, ‘cos he knows something they don’t.’
‘What’s that?’
‘That bit of land is covered by a special planning act. If anyone wants to build on it they have to comply with special conditions, and they have to do it by a certain date. If they don’t, they lose the chance.’
‘And that date’s coming up?’ Garth asked in a neutral voice.
‘Next Wednesday. Then Ken’s going to court to say they can’t do it, because the date’s past.’
‘That’s really clever of him. But suppose Melkham knows about it?’
‘Kendall says they can’t do, because they’d have done something by now. He says we’re going to take them completely by surprise.’
‘But shouldn’t Melkham’s point of view be considered?’ Garth asked seriously. ‘After all, people need somewhere to live, as well as butterflies.’
‘Kendall says it doesn’t have to be there,’ Adrian explained earnestly. ‘Besides, it’s not just houses. Melkham is going to build a shopping complex and an office block, because that’s where the real money is.’
Garth became acutely aware that his wife was watching him from the doorway and at this pronouncement her eyebrows gave a cynical lift.
‘How do you know that?’ Garth demanded after a moment.
‘Because Kendall says so.’
‘But no plans have been pub— That is—he can’t be certain what Melkham intends unless he’s seen plans.’
‘Kendall says he doesn’t have to see them. He says he knows shops and offices have got to be there, because it won’t be fi—’ Adrian hesitated and spoke the next words slowly, ‘financially viable without them. And he says the man behind it all never does anything except for money.’
‘But perhaps he’s got that wrong,’ Garth suggested, a slight edge on his voice.
‘I don’t think so,’ Adrian said, frowning. ‘Kendall knows everything. He says—’
‘Yes, fine,’ Garth interrupted him restively. He felt he might do something desperate if he had to hear any more of what ‘Kendall said’.
Cindy bounded in, full of delight over her brother’s television appearance, and the two of them went away together to tell Barker all about it. Faye remained in the doorway, watching her husband’s brooding face. At last he looked up and their eyes met.
‘Shops and offices, huh?’ she echoed mockingly. ‘Fancy that!’
‘You know nothing about how these things are done,’ he growled.
‘But Kendall does, doesn’t he? That’s why you really hate him, because he’s the one person you can’t fool.’
‘Rubbish! It’s because he’s stealing my son. He’s going to be very sorry about that. Adrian’s having a foot in both camps can work for me, as well as against me.’
‘Garth, if you make use of what that child has just told you, he’ll never speak to you again,’ Faye said in alarm.
‘Sentimental nonsense! The sooner he learns about the real world the better.’
‘And what do you think he’ll do? The moment he knows what you’re up to, he’ll warn Kendall.’
‘Don’t you understand? It doesn’t make any difference. Let Kendall know that I’ve found out. He can’t stop me.’
‘All right,’ Faye said quietly. ‘Go ahead. Use what you learned today to defeat Kendall. Let Adrian find out that you tricked him into betraying his friend. Then get yourself another son, because you’ll have lost this one for ever.’
‘I’m n
ot that much of a fool. I won’t alienate Adrian, but I can’t just let it go at this. I’ve got too much money tied up in that site.’
‘Then why didn’t you check the legal position before you bought it?’
‘I have lawyers whose job it is to do just that and, believe me, heads will roll.’ He rose from the sofa. ‘I’m going to make some phone calls in the study.’
Faye returned to work at her computer, trying to shrug mentally and tell herself that if Garth wanted to make his son totally disillusioned with him, it wasn’t her fault. Perhaps Adrian really did need to discover how low his lather could sink.
But the thought of the little boy’s pain kept intruding and made it impossible to concentrate. His unhappy face was there before her inner eye, but it kept getting mixed up with Garth’s face. Her husband was heading for disaster and he couldn’t see it. But when it was too late and Adrian wanted nothing more to do with him, then his suffering would begin.
It was his own fault, her reasonable mind argued. He’d put their marriage on the basis of a business deal. It was time he learned the true cost of business.
If only her heart could be reasonable! It ached for her child’s pain, and somehow Garth’s pain was in there too, complicating everything.
She worked late, forcing herself to concentrate on figures that meant nothing beside her inner turmoil. At last she got up and went downstairs. She must make at least one more effort to help Garth see what he was doing.
But the study was in darkness. Faye could hear movement coming from his little monastic bedroom, but she stopped with her hand on the knob. Garth slept naked and, however much they’d quarrelled in the past, the sight of his head on the pillow, tousled and vulnerable-looking, had always been able to melt her heart. She couldn’t bring herself to go in there.
Guiltily she realized that she’d been too preoccupied to notice the passage of time and she hadn’t said goodnight to the children. She looked in on Adrian, kissed him in his sleep and crept out. But she could hear a soft murmuring from Cindy’s room, as though the child was talking to someone.
‘I thought so,’ she said, looking around the door.
Barker was sprawled on the bed, contending with Cindy for the available space. ‘Out, dog!’ she commanded. ‘No sleeping in here!’
Barker eyed her, and stayed where he was.
‘Off!’ Faye insisted, pointing to the door.
‘Oh, please let him stay, Mummy,’ Cindy begged.
‘Not a chance. Apart from the fact that it’s unhygienic, where would you sleep? You’re clinging on to the edge as it is.’
‘I don’t mind clinging on to the edge—’
‘Cindy, I’m not arguing about this. Barker has to go. Come along, make him get off.’
Cindy slid her toes beneath Barker and wriggled them, which was usually enough to make him jump down. Not this time. Cindy wriggled her toes again, but he only regarded her reproachfully. She wriggled harder, and he merely settled down more deeply.
‘He doesn’t want to,’ Cindy said unarguably. ‘It took him ages to get up. He walked around and around the bed as if he wasn’t sure he could do it.’
‘Oh, you are an awkward animal!’ Faye sighed, putting her arms around him and heaving. Barker tried to take root, but the bedspread was slippery and he slid helplessly off onto the floor. He landed heavily and let out a squeal of pain.
‘Mummy, Mummy, you hurt him!’ Cindy said, jumping out of bed and throwing her arms about Barker’s neck. ‘You hurt him, you hurt him,’ she repeated in tears.
‘Darling, I didn’t mean to,’ Faye protested, almost as distressed as the child, for Barker was now making a pitiful wailing noise. ‘Oh, you poor old boy! What did I do? I’m so sorry.’
Garth and Adrian came in, alerted by the noise.
Adrian tried to entice the dog to his feet with a titbit, but Barker seemed unable to move, even for food. That was when they knew something was really wrong.
‘Mummy!’ Cindy cried hysterically.
‘All right, I know who can help,’ Faye assured her.
Garth followed her into her bedroom, but when she reached for the telephone he stopped her. ‘Who are you calling?’
‘Kendall. He’s a vet.’
‘Barker is registered with an excellent animal hospital.’
‘But it’s late at night. He’s in pain. He can’t wait until morning.’
‘He won’t have to. They have a night service. I’ll call them.’
‘And take the poor animal there in the car, when he’s like this? Oh, no! If I call Ken he’ll come and see him here.’
He seized her wrist, his eyes blazing. ‘Faye, that man is my enemy and hell will freeze over before I ask him for help, let alone have him in this house. I’ll call the vet and get someone out here.’
He made the call at once and after a few moments handed Faye the phone. ‘You’d better explain,’ he said.
Faye described what had happened and the night duty vet, a pleasant-sounding woman called Miss McGeorge, said, ‘That sounds familiar. If I’m right it’s not serious, but I’ll know more when I’ve seen him. Expect me in ten minutes.’
‘She’s coming,’ Faye said as she hung up.
‘So there’s no need for your friend.’
‘As it happens, no!’ She eyed him accusingly. ‘Would you really have let that poor dog suffer till morning lather than ask Kendall?’ ‘You obviously think I would.’
‘Hell will freeze over—’ she reminded him.
‘Look, I don’t know what I’d have done.’
‘Even for Cindy?’
‘I told you, I don’t know,’ he snapped.
Miss McGeorge arrived soon, listened to the story, then gently coaxed Barker to his feet.
‘His back legs seemed a little stiff this afternoon,’ Faye said self-reproachfully. ‘I wish I’d called you then, but I wasn’t quite sure.’
Miss McGeorge took hold of one of Barker’s back legs and waggled it slightly. From under the thick fur came the sound of a sharp crack.
‘Just as I thought,’ she said. ‘He’s got a touch of arthritis. It tends to happen to elderly dogs.’
‘Can you make it go away?’ Cindy asked anxiously.
‘I can make his pain go away,’ Miss McGeorge promised. ‘I can’t cure the arthritis, but I’ll give him an injection that will make it stop hurting for tonight. Bring him to the surgery on Monday and I’ll decide what pills he needs.’
Her cheerful manner had its effect and soon after she’d given the injection and departed, Barker was visibly better. The children coaxed him back to his basket, settled him for the night and were finally persuaded to return to bed.
Faye slept for an hour, then instinct prompted her to rise and go quietly downstairs to the place where Barker’s basket was kept.
‘And what are you two doing down here?’ she asked unnecessarily.
Two small faces looked up guiltily, then quickly assumed innocent expressions.
‘We were checking that he’s all right, Mummy,’ Adrian said, adding cheekily, ‘Just like you.’
Cindy tactfully smothered her giggle and Faye said, ‘All right, funny man, how is he?’
‘He’s just been out into the garden,’ Cindy said. ‘I think he’s all right.’
‘What’s going on?’ Garth asked sleepily, appearing in his dressing gown.
They all explained and he knelt down to scratch the invalid’s head. Cindy and Adrian offered biscuits, which were accepted, and Garth observed, ‘He’s going to make the most of this.’
‘Daddy,’ Cindy reproached him. ‘That’s not kind.’
‘It’s a plain statement of fact. Now his pain’s gone he’s loving the attention.’
‘But you will take him back to the vet for his pills?’ she asked worriedly.
‘Of course I will.’
‘He means that / will,’ Faye said lightly. ‘Daddy has to be at work.’
Garth shrugged. ‘If we can set off first
thing, I don’t mind being an hour late.’
The children looked gratified and Adrian said, ‘Thanks for calling the vet, Daddy. Is it very expensive if they come out late?’
‘Never mind that.’
‘But I can help, from my pocket money.’
‘So can I,’ Cindy volunteered eagerly.
Garth ruffled her hair. ‘You’ve already had next week’s in advance, both of you. You’re too young to start getting into debt. Let me take care of Barker.’
Adrian grinned. ‘Thanks, Dad.’
Garth grinned back and suddenly they looked uncannily alike, although they didn’t share a single feature.
For one brief moment there was understanding between them. Then it passed and they both became self-conscious.
‘Off to bed, now,’ Garth said.
Faye tried to catch his eye and send him the silent message, ‘See how much you’ve gained. Don’t risk losing it.’ But then she realized that he was determined not to look at her and she turned away, heavy-hearted.
He was as good as his word, going to work late on Monday morning in order to chauffeur Barker to the vet. But that night he returned home later than ever and Faye guessed that it was the legal challenge over the Outland that took up so much time.
She even considered calling Kendall herself to warn him what was in the wind. But, as Garth had said, it was already too late, and it would have felt uneasily like conspiring with Kendall against the man who was still her husband.
All Tuesday she was braced for a call from Kendall, angry because Garth had met the deadline. But Tuesday passed into Wednesday and Kendall didn’t telephone either herself or Adrian. She couldn’t raise the subject with Garth, as he’d stayed at his office over Tuesday night.
On Wednesday afternoon she returned from school with the children to find a message from Kendall on her answer machine, telling them to watch the local news. There was no more information and it was hard to tell from his voice whether he was pleased or disappointed.
The very first item on the news was about the Outland and there was Kendall, smiling and talking about a significant victory.
‘Now that the deadline has passed we have no more to fear from Melkham Construction,’ he said. ‘This is a freat day for the countryside.’
