Sweet Rosie (53 page)

John grabbed him by the throat. ‘My money, where is it?’

‘I had debts, gambling debts and it’s all your fault.’ Sparks was nearly in tears. ‘I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, everything is crashing down around me and I can’t stand it!’

‘Sorry!’ John felt the blood pounding in his head. The man had ruined the best deal John would ever be offered in life and he said he was sorry.

John’s fist shot out and connected with the side of Sparks’s head. The man fell to the ground, cringing like the coward he was. His glasses went spinning across the room and cracked.

‘I can’t help it, John!’ Sparks blubbered. ‘I’m in deeper trouble than you know, so please don’t hit me again.’ He lay against the carpet, his eyes closed. ‘I gambled, like a fool I wrote promissory notes. If I don’t pay the rest of my debts I’ll be killed for sure.’

John kicked out at Sparks’s booted foot. ‘Then the job will be done for me!’ He left the man lying on the floor and began to search the house.

He dragged open drawers and threw the contents on the floor. He searched the rooms one by one, coming up with only a few cheap trinkets. When John returned to the drawing room he found Sparks crouching in a chair, his eyes wide with fear.

‘Is there a safe in the house or anything of value?’ John demanded. Sparks shook his head; he seemed to be in some sort of dream, as though his mind had deserted his feeble body. John slapped him hard.

‘Please,’ Sparks said, ‘please don’t hit me, there’s nothing here. If there was anything to sell don’t you think I would have sold it by now?’

John pulled the gold watch from Sparks’s pocket. It would not fetch a great deal of money but it was something. ‘Have you a safe?’ He hit Sparks again and the man began to cry. John hit him again and, finally, Sparks nodded.

‘It’s in the cupboard under the stairs,’ he said. ‘But it needs two keys to open it and I don’t know where they are.’

‘You’d better think about it then if you don’t want me to flay the skin off your back,’ John said angrily.

‘But there’s nothing in the safe.’ Sparks protested. ‘Alice took everything when she left.’

John punched Sparks in the face and left him sprawling against the chair, blood pouring from his nose. The man was trash; he did not have the wit of a new-born child. ‘I know that’s a lie! Tell me where the keys are.’

‘I don’t know, I tell you, I don’t know.’ The man was blubbering and John pushed him away scornfully.

‘I’ll just have to look for myself, won’t I?’ The safe was a solid one made of heavy cast iron. It looked impenetrable. John felt on the floor behind the safe, a favourite hiding place for keys. His fingers found only cobwebs.

Crouching on his heels, he looked around him and saw the plant pot in the hallway sporting a large leafy succulent. He dug his fingers in the dirt and grunted in satisfaction as they closed on something cold and metallic. Both keys were there and John wiped the earth away from them carefully.

The safe swung open with ease but all that was inside was a bundle of papers. He drew them out and took them to the hall table. The deeds of the house crackled crisply between his fingers. John searched through all the documents and found, to his surprise, that the house was fully paid for. At least that was something. He thrust the papers into his pocket.

He looked around; the house was a good solid building, he would have no trouble selling it. But first he must get Sparks to sign it all over to him.

Sparks had not moved from the chair. He was holding a kerchief to his nose and his eyes were beginning to turn black.

‘If you do as I say, we’ll be able to salvage something out of this mess,’ John said.

Sparks looked up at him hopelessly. ‘How?’

‘The house,’ John said, ‘it’s yours, free and clear.’

Sparks shook his head. ‘Alice paid for it with money from her lover. It’s not my property, it’s hers.’

‘You must sign it over to me. What’s your wife’s is yours, you know that as well as I do.’

‘That would take time, we’d need a notary or someone to witness it all.’ He sat up straighter in his chair. ‘Anyway, how could I trust you to give me any of the money for the house even if you do have time to sell it?’ He seemed to have recovered some of his spirit.

‘That’s your problem.’ John was congratulating himself for his good luck. He could find a lawyer within the hour and, even if the house could not be sold immediately, it provided enough collateral to impress even the most careful bank manager.

‘All right.’ Sparks seemed resigned now, willing to do whatever John suggested. He had nothing better to offer.

‘I’ll be back within the hour,’ John said. ‘Don’t leave the house under any circumstances, do you hear me?’

‘I won’t leave the house, you can depend on that,’ Sparks said quietly. ‘I haven’t left the house in days. I told you, I have gambling debts and I have no intention of getting my throat cut or something equally brutal.’

John let himself out of the house and stared up at the evening sky. Clouds were racing in from the east and a chill wind had sprung up. Under normal circumstances no-one would find a lawyer willing to work at such a time of day but these were not normal circumstances. In any case, John knew a man of law who owed him a favour. John smiled to himself; he had learned a long time ago that it was a wise move to make anyone of influence beholden to him.

‘You’ve agreed to sell! What are you thinking of, Llinos?’ Watt said incredulously. She shook her head at him.

‘There’s nothing else I can do, you must see that.’ She sighed heavily. ‘You know the debt we’re in, the problems we face. At least by selling to John Pendennis I can keep a roof over my son’s head.’

‘I never trusted John Pendennis, you know that.’ Watt paced across the room. ‘This is just madness, we have made a handsome profit over the last year, where’s all the money?’

‘What if Joe has taken it as Sparks claimed?’ Llinos asked.

‘Never in this life! Joe wouldn’t leave you penniless, it’s not in his nature. In any case, we all know that Sparks is under suspicion, he’s been suspended from the bank and he might well be facing criminal charges.’

Llinos’s mind was on Joe; even his name had the power to thrill her. She remembered his bright blue eyes smiling into hers, his silky black hair brushing her skin. She tasted again his mouth on hers, thought of the warmth between them as they lay entwined in each other’s arms, and the pain in her heart was almost too much to bear.

‘I know you’re right but, whatever’s happened, even if Sparks has been stealing from my account, the end result is the same, I have no money to pay my bills.’

‘But you have to fight for your rights!’ Watt said desperately. ‘You can’t just go under like this.’

‘Perhaps, ‘but I’m tired. I’ve racked my brains to think of another way out but I can’t.’ Llinos felt like weeping. ‘The debts have piled up and there’s no money to pay for stock. I don’t want to fight any more. I’ve got that right, haven’t I, Watt?’

‘Maybe, but Joe is your husband, if I contacted him he would fight for you, can’t you give him credit for that at least?’

‘How long would it take to find Joe, Watt?’ Llinos said. ‘We don’t know where he is, probably in America with Sho Ka. Anyway, it’s too late to hope for help from that quarter.’

She saw a strange look on Watt’s face and stared at him closely. ‘Have you been in touch with Joe? Come on, Watt, tell me the truth.’

He nodded. ‘Don’t be angry, I sent Joe a letter some time ago. He did not follow that girl back to America; he’s been living on the border, on his own estate, for some time now.’ Watt brushed back his hair.

‘No wonder Charlotte has been talking about going back home lately.’ Llinos took a deep breath. ‘Am I the last one to know where my husband is living?’

Watt did not reply and Llinos felt anger growing inside her. ‘So I’m not to know where my husband is until you see fit, is that it? How dare you, Watt!’

‘I’m sorry, Llinos, I didn’t know what to do.’

She felt close to tears. ‘You are a man, Watt, explain to me why Joe was unfaithful to me?’

‘Men are not like women.’ Watt was clearly uncomfortable. ‘A man can be
with
a woman and she can mean little or nothing to him.’

‘I can’t believe Sho Ka meant nothing to Joe. In any case, did you sleep with another woman when you lived with Maura?’ She stared at him, daring him to lie to her. He looked away.

‘No, I didn’t. But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t tempted.’ He ran his hand through his hair. ‘If I saw a lovely girl I lusted after her, I admit it.’

‘But you didn’t do anything but think about it, did you? That’s the difference between you and Joe. You stayed faithful to Maura while she was alive.’

Watt sighed. ‘Look, don’t ask me to be wise! I’ve made a right mess of my love life, haven’t I? People have faults, Llinos.’ He smiled ruefully. ‘And men can be coerced into anything given the right set of circumstances.’

‘Were you forced into a marriage you didn’t want, then?’ Llinos stared at Watt, he was trying to excuse what Joe had done by claiming men were weak. Well it would not wash. Joe had betrayed his wife and his child. He had left them destitute and all for another woman.

‘In a way, I was,’ Watt said. ‘More by my own conscience than anything else. I felt obliged to help Pearl.’ He smiled then, like a wicked boy. ‘And I admit I fancied Rosie like crazy.’

‘But you didn’t love her?’

Watt sighed heavily. ‘Not then. I do now and love might have come too late for me. Think carefully before you write your marriage off, Llinos, give Joe a chance.’

Before Llinos could reply, the door opened and the maid peered in.

‘A visitor, madam.’ She bobbed a curtsey. ‘It’s Mr Eynon Morton-Edwards, shall I show him in?’

Llinos nodded and gave Watt a warning glance.

‘Don’t say anything about my troubles to Eynon, right?’

Eynon was flushed from the fresh morning air. He swept Llinos into his arms and kissed her on both cheeks.

‘Llinos, you’re looking lovelier than ever.’ He turned to Watt and shook hands with him. Watt might be below Eynon in station but Eynon had never been a snob.

‘You looking after my lovely friend properly, Watt?’ Eynon felt at ease in Llinos’s company.

Watt forced a smile. ‘I’m doing my best but Llinos is a strong-minded woman, you know that as well as I do.’

Eynon nodded. ‘I do indeed.’ He paused. ‘Enough of the pleasantries, I want to know what’s going on.’

Watt moved rapidly to the door. ‘I’d better get back to work, there’s a lot to be done, kilns to check, pots to be glazed, you know.’

When Watt left the room Eynon seated himself in one of the armchairs, his fair hair falling over his brow. He was looking at her questioningly and she forced a smile.

‘I’m just fine, Eynon, how about you?’

He sighed heavily. ‘Did you really think I wouldn’t find out about the trouble you’re in?’

‘I don’t want to talk about it, Eynon.’

‘Well you’re going to have to talk about it. Look, Llinos, I only want to help you.’

‘How?’

‘I’ll pay off the creditors for a start and then I’ll tear that man Sparks from limb to limb!’

Llinos thought of the little bank manager with his long nose and his sweating brow and shuddered. Surely he was too weak, too pitiful, to have stolen money from her account?

‘Sparks has been caught embezzling.’ Eynon must have read her thoughts. ‘No wonder your bills weren’t paid, the money was finding its way into Sparks’s own pockets.’ He shook his head. ‘The man wasn’t even clever in the way he went about it. His bookkeeping was crude to say the least. He’s bound to end up in prison.’

He leaned forward and stared earnestly at Llinos. ‘Give me all your bills and let me see to them for you.’

‘No, I’m all right, there’s nothing going on that I can’t handle.’ Llinos looked away; she had no intention of letting Eynon take over her life. She knew that he would give her any amount of money she asked for but she would not be beholden to any man ever again.

‘But I want to help.’

‘Don’t!’ Llinos felt she could take no more. She rose to her feet and walked to the door. ‘I have to rest, Eynon, forgive me,’ she said and, quietly, she left the room.

Edward stared at himself in the mirror above the mantelpiece. He looked a sight; his glasses were cracked and his nose would not stop bleeding. But the few smacks John Pendennis had given him would be nothing to the treatment he would receive if Bull did not get his money.

He tried to think clearly, to find a way out of the mess. Surely there must be a way to keep himself alive if not out of prison? Soon John would be back, coercing him into signing away his house but why should John Pendennis get away with anything? Edward was in the mire and it would give him some satisfaction if John ended up in the mire with him.

Why not offer Bull the deeds of the house as payment of the debt? Perhaps he should clean himself up and see Bull right away. Galvanized now, he hurried towards the safe. It was empty. John had taken the deeds with him.

Edward sank onto the floor and put his head in his hands, it was the end of the road, he was ruined, he would rot in jail until he died. Or worse, he would die a violent death.

How he hated everyone: Alice and her spendthrift ways, Llinos Mainwaring and now John Pendennis. They were all out to get him, to see him brought down like a hunted animal. Well he would not give them the satisfaction, not any of them.

There was a sudden thunderous knocking on the door and Edward jerked backwards, fear turning his belly to water. He knew who it was, Bull come to get his money. A rough voice called to him from outside and his worst fears were confirmed.

‘Open the door, you lily-livered bastard! You’ve hidden away long enough! Come on, open up, I want my money and I want it now.’

Edward clambered to his feet and picked up the bottle of brandy that Alice had kept for her more elegant visitors. Not that there had been any. Just as well; he needed another drink right now.