by Pamela Pope
'There were ... problems,' said Meredith warily.
Ellen eyed her curiously for a second. 'It's Corinne Loring, isn't it?'
'Partly.' Meredith gave a brittle laugh. 'Honestly, Ellen, when I saw you at the door I thought you'd come to tell me off because I hadn't kept my bargain about looking after the children, but I really had no choice. I was getting on fine, and then Corinne marched in and took over.'
'In more ways than one, I've no doubt.' The disapproval in Ellen's tone was heartening. 'That woman is an absolute menace! I could never understand why Joss never saw through her in the first place, but then I can't look at her with a masculine eye. It didn't take long for her to show her true colours, though, thank goodness.'
Ellen got up and wandered across the room, while Meredith quivered and waited to know what she was leading up to. There was an Afghan rug on the couch which she fingered with interest, lifting it so that the brightly coloured wools caught the light.
'Meredith, I've come to take you back with me to Edencombe,' she said.
'No,' said Meredith quickly. She hesitated, nervous of asking the immediate question that sprang to her lips, but knowing it must be asked. Then: 'What has Corinne done?'
'The best thing she could have done from our point of view. She's gone back to Mac Loring.'
Meredith's mouth dropped Open in incredulous surprise. 'Oh, Ellen! She can't have done!'
'She has, my dear.' Ellen gave a gurgle of laughter. 'The moment she heard about the fortune Mac had acquired her eyes began spinning like fruit machines, and she was heading for the goldmine faster than anything you've ever seen. So now there's nothing to stop you coming home, is there?'
What was it Mac had said about his worries becoming their saving grace after all? At the time it hadn't made sense, but now Meredith could see very clearly. He had known that the lure of a fortune would be too strong for Corinne to resist and with it he would be able to win her back, leaving Joss free. He had thought it would make Meredith happy, too, but that was before Joss had appeared with his accusations. And whatever must he be feeling like now that the girl he was going to marry had gone running back to her ex-husband? If she hadn't still been smarting from the mental wounds he had inflicted she would have been feeling sorry for him.
'I can't come, Ellen,' she said. 'Please don't ask me why.'
Ellen's eyes clouded with disappointment. Her greatest joy was solving other people's problems, and her gentle nature would not accept defeat.
'Your parents are missing you dreadfully,' she said, her tone persuasive. It was equally persuasive as she added: 'And so is Joss.'
Much as she liked the other girl, at that moment Meredith could cheerfully have shouted at her. Dear, trusting Ellen, who saw everything through rose-coloured glasses, knew very little about her beloved brother.
'I'm sure Joss must be much too upset about the defection of his fiancée to spare me a single thought,' she said sharply. 'And if he told you what he really thinks about me it might scorch your ears.'
Ellen was puzzled. 'Fiancée?' she queried. 'What fiancée?'
'Why, Corinne, of course. They were going to get married as soon as you got back home.'
'Oh, Meredith, really!' Ellen exclaimed. 'Wherever did you get hold of that tale? I'm sure Joss never told you anything so preposterous. If he thought he would have to spend a lifetime with Corinne he'd just about die the death! A few weeks was too much. He was just about at the end of his tether when I got back. You ought never to have gone away.'
'They were engaged,' said Meredith emphatically. 'Corinne told me herself, and I saw the ring.'
'What, that vulgar diamond? That's the one Mac gave her. You mean to say she's been wearing that thing again?'
The two girls had been facing each other, each convinced of their own facts, but all at once Meredith began to see the cunning Corinne had used to keep Joss for herself, and she wilted visibly, sinking down on to the couch. If only she hadn't been so gullible! If only she had had the sense to verify the announcement with Joss, but somehow she had always managed to steer clear of mentioning it because the subject was too painful. And now it. was too late.
'Corinne was very convincing,' she said in her own defence, her voice low and tight with emotion.
Ellen sat down beside her and put an arm round her shoulder. 'There, you see! Now there's no excuse for you not to come back with me.'
For a moment Meredith accepted the older girl's comfort, but she couldn't allow herself to be swayed by Ellen's insistence. There was no future for her at Edencombe.
'I'm sorry, Ellen, the answer is still no.'
Ellen gave an exasperated sigh and looked at her the way she looked at Kirsty when she was being childishly stubborn.
'Well someone's got to straighten Joss out,' she said, with unusual impatience. 'He's been unbearable since I came home and I'd got it into my head that you were the one who could alter everything. I suppose I shall have to try and see what I can do about it myself.'
When Ellen had gone the room seemed dark and dreary, and Meredith switched on the light. She went to the mirror and stared at herself without seeing any of the outward beauty that had attracted Joss. She was a fool; a blind, idiotic fool, to have let love slip through her hands, but there was no reprieve. Joss had stated his opinion of her with cruel injustice and nothing had happened that would change that. Pride would keep her as far away from him as possible. It was over.
CHAPTER TEN
Late the following Saturday she was driving back to Edencombe, her resolve in no way weakened, but lack of clothes making the journey a necessity. She had already refused a date because she had nothing to wear, and it was ridiculous to go to the expense of replenishing her wardrobe with new things when there was so much in her bedroom at home, so there was nothing for it but to risk making the trip.
She had decided Saturday was the most sensible time, arriving late in the evening when there was no fear of running into Joss. She would be able to spend Sunday quietly with her parents and start back early on Monday morning. That way she was most likely to avoid any unexpected encounter with him. And she hadn't warned anyone she was coming, just in case her mother or Ellen got the idea that she had reconsidered.
She had done a lot of thinking since Ellen had come to see her, and it hadn't eased her heartache at all. The fact that Corinne was no longer at Eden Farm hardly changed the situation, though it might have done once. She couldn't say Joss had been deliberately misleading, but he had never been open about his relationship with her, and Meredith didn't trust him. If that had been the only problem she would have come back before now, but he had turned the tables and made those unforgivable accusations. Never again' would she let herself be hurt the way she had been that day at Mac's house.
All she hoped was that Mac was now happy.
It was dusk when she approached Edencombe.
Mindful of what had happened the last time she came home, she took the low road into the village, driving past the office with mixed feelings, but glad that she avoided the hill by Eden Farm. It was a warm, clear evening and she looked forward to a quiet dinner with her parents and time to sit alone with them and talk, but as she turned the corner towards Combe Lodge she was surprised to see a conglomeration of cars parked everywhere in the vicinity. And when she wound down the window and put her nose outside it wrinkled up at the unexpected smell of woodsmoke and charcoal.
'Oh, lord,' she murmured, her heart sinking like a stone, 'the barbecue! I'd forgotten all about it.'
By the look of things it was being very well patronised, and gusts of laughter drifted over from the garden direction. Meredith let the engine tick over a minute before going through the gate. It was a long time since she had been to any kind of party and the lure of it suddenly took hold, making her realise how very lonely and unhappy she had been in London. She would go in there this evening and enjoy herself, and if Joss Hamblyn happened to be around she would treat him as casually as everyone else; let h
im see she considered his verbal attack too contemptible to cause her a moment's concern. He was not going to keep her away from Edencombe. She had to conquer her antipathy and try to forget how badly she had been hurt, and the time to start was now.
The first thing she did was drive over a flower bed to get to the front door, and there was an immediate outcry from Ted, the garage man, whose job it was to organise parking, but when he saw who it was his face lit up. He came and opened the car door for her eagerly.
'Am I glad to see this little beauty back again!' he smiled, patting the roof.
'Thank you, Ted,' Meredith laughed. 'I presume you mean me. Or were you referring to the car?'
Ted chuckled. 'Both of course.'
There was no one around in the house and she ran upstairs quickly to her room to change into jeans and a blouse. Five minutes later, her hair brushed into a ponytail and comfortable sandals on her feet, she felt a completely different person. She was about to dash out again, no time to spare for romantic joy at being back in her own surroundings, when the cherry tree tapped at the window pane. She spun round on her toes like a dancer, and went to have a quick look at the garden before going down there.
There were coloured lights strung between the trees, giving a fairytale effect which transformed the garden and touched it with magic, but there was nothing mystical about the appetising smell of barbecued chops and sausages, and Meredith discovered she was very hungry. She could see people wandering across the lawn with huge hamburger rolls, and her mouth watered. She recognised one or two faces as they passed under the lights, but there was no sign of the exceptionally tall figure her eyes sought. If he had been there she would have been able to spot him straight away. Reassured, she left her bedroom and sped down the stairs, anxious to join in the festivities and start living again.
'Meredith!' Her mother's joyful cry rang out as she saw her. 'Darling, I knew you wouldn't forget about the barbecue. I've been telling everyone you'd be along soon. Your father's over there with an apron on, burning the sausages. Perhaps you could go and lend him a hand, then we can talk later.'
Meredith laughed, in spite of the sharp stab of guilt brought on by her mother's confidence in her.
'First, if I pay my money, can I have something to eat? I'm starving!'
'Darling, of course!' Julia lifted her hands dramatically. 'What am I thinking about? You've had a long drive. Tell you what, I'll spare a few minutes to come over with you, because I must tell you the most exciting piece of news!' She left the soft drinks stall she was running with Ted's wife, and linked arms with her daughter. 'Meredith, yesterday the most astounding thing happened. We heard that someone has bought an old property near Eden Farm anonymously and is willing to put up the money for our deprived children's holiday centre, providing we get permission. Fancy the scheme catching someone's imagination enough to finance it! It's too good to be true!'
Meredith agreed that it was, her mind working overtime to absorb the information and assess it, but she delayed making definite comment.
'So really this barbecue is by way of a celebration rather than a fund-raising effort,' she said lightly. 'And I can have a hamburger free.'
'You cannot,' said Julia. 'We shall still need every penny we can get. Your father and I spent last night talking things over, and we've decided the stables can be repaired and stocked with ponies for the children to ride when the centre is operational. We shall need your help, so don't go making plans to stay on in London. You're needed here, Meredith.'
There was a different ring to her tone as she said the last sentence and Meredith turned quickly to the hamburgers, taking a large bite into one as soon as she had coated it with tomato sauce.
'I'd like to come back....' she began.
'That's settled, then,' said Julia. 'There was no need to go running off again anyway. I could have told you Joss wasn't serious about Corinne, and now she's gone you can patch up your silly quarrel.'
If only it were that simple! Julia had a knack of reducing things to the minimum and expecting them to work out the way she planned. Meredith smiled at her optimism, but she couldn't explain that it went much deeper than a silly quarrel. Yet she did want to live at home again. She had turned down two good jobs during the week for fabricated reasons which she could now see had been a way of stalling for time. London was lonely now. It hadn't taken her many days to discover that Joss had pushed her into a form of exile and she was already rebellious.
She had to divert the conversation into a different channel and decided the time was right to broach another difficult subject.
'Speaking of quarrels,' she said, 'don't you think it's about time you made up the one with Mac Loring after all these years? I wonder you remember what it was about, and I know Mac is ready to let bygones be bygones.'
'Is he indeed!' snapped Julia, immediately bristling. But her guarded expression gradually changed into one of hesitant questioning. 'I suppose time mellows everything. Since Piers was killed I've certainly wondered about holding out an olive branch. You really think he would accept it?'
They were wandering slowly across the lawn and the conversation was punctuated with greetings from friends who were glad to see Meredith home and exclamations about the success of the barbecue. It was a strange time to be healing a feud that had lasted for a generation, yet there were reasons why it was necessary. Meredith was remembering the evening Mac had taken her out to dinner and how he had said one of his dearest wishes was to patch up the quarrel with Julia. They had talked a lot about her, and one of the things mentioned had been her project.
Meredith wiped her fingers on a paper serviette, then slipped her arm through her mother's again.
'Mummy, I'm sure you know the name of the anonymous benefactor who's so interested in your holiday centre.'
'I can guess, of course.'
'And if you're thinking it's Mac I'm sure that you're a hundred per cent right. He told me one of the things he wanted most was to put things right between you, and he knows you would never accept money, so I think this is his way of trying to make amends.' Meredith paused, giving her mother an anxious look. 'I hope you'll acknowledge it gracefully.'
Julia's face was taut with familiar suppression, but Meredith was determined it should finally be overcome and repeated her hopes until her mother's lips curved into a grin.
'Poor old Mac! I bet he feels guilty about having all that money.' She gave a mischievous laugh. 'At least some of it will be going to a very good cause. Thank goodness he acted straight away before Corinne got her greedy hands on it. If you give me his address, darling, I'll get in touch with him personally in the morning.'
Meredith gave her mother a hug, feeling as if a weight had been lifted.
'You won't regret it,' she promised. Of course there was still her father to convince, but knowing Julia's powers of persuasion she didn't think she would have to worry.
It was then that she felt a tug at her arm and when she looked down she saw the pudgy little face of Gary beaming at her. His cropped fair hair had grown and showed signs of being wavy, and he looked so happy to see her she transferred her arms from her mother to the small boy with spontaneous enthusiasm.
'Gary—I'm so pleased you're here!' she smiled.
His face was creased into an impish grin. 'We ... me and Shaun, we wanted you to come back,' he said.
'Where is Shaun?'
It was the question she shouldn't have asked, because when she looked to where Gary pointed she found herself meeting the haughty gaze of Joss Hamblyn and her legs immediately felt as if they didn't belong to her.
He didn't look the least abashed at seeing her and there was no smile of welcome, but Shaun, whose hand he was holding, gave a yell as if he had pressed it and hurt him. He wore brown cords that somehow emphasised the length of his legs, and a green check shirt that was just right for the occasion. Of course, Joss was always right, or so he would have everyone believe.
Meredith forced a smile to her lips, then
looked away, intending to draw moral support from her mother, but Julia was in demand and was already retracing her steps across the grass. So other than ignoring Joss and letting half the village see the rift between them, there was no alternative but to meet him and brazen it out. It had to be done some time anyway. She went across the path, focusing on him so that the sudden feeling of dizziness wouldn't make her unsteady.
'Hello,' she said brightly, her smile broadening in spite of the stiffness of her lips. She bent down and scooped Shaun into her arms and babbled to him inconsequentially before addressing Joss directly. 'Isn't it a wonderful evening? Where's Ellen? I haven't seen her yet. I was so relieved to hear the good news about Ian!'
She sounded like her mother, a sure sign that she was nervous, but she hoped it wouldn't give Joss that impression. Somehow she had to convince him he no longer mattered.
'Ellen has taken Kirsty home to bed,' he said, 'She'll be back. She was waiting for you to come.'
'But she didn't know I'd be here,' Meredith protested.
His eyes lingered on her face. 'I knew you would.'
The supercilious assurance in his voice inflamed her. Now he, too, began to smile, obviously pleased with himself for being proved right yet again. She curbed her temper with difficulty and looked up at him, her eyes wide with innocent surprise.
'How clever of you. I came to collect the rest of my things.'
'You're enjoying being in London, then?'
'I'm loving it,' she lied.
Shaun wriggled until she set him back on his feet and he sped off across the lawn with Gary in hot pursuit.
'Funny,' said Joss, 'I had the feeling you would grow tired of it quickly and realise Edencombe has more to offer you.'
How she hated his mockery! Yet as she was about to deliver a heated reply, instinct warned her to be cautious. He was baiting her, still as prejudiced as on that dreadful day at Mac's house, but there was something in his manner that made it seem as if he wished she could convince him otherwise. She could almost believe there was a hint of appeal behind his words, but that was ridiculous.
