The Inheritance (4 page)

As Emma got dressed slowly after
her shower, feeling lethargic, her phone beeped with a text message.  Picking
it up, she smiled.  It was from Natalie to say that the house in Clapham was
theirs and when could Emma join her.  A sense of relief washed over her.  She’d
be escaping soon and there’d be no more angry looks from her sister or
reproachful ones from her father.

When she went down to the kitchen
for brunch, Emma saw there was a note for her on the table.  It was from her
sister, demanding that she walk the dogs.  Emma and her family had joint
responsibility for their two dogs, Oscar and Bruno.   Oscar was a brown
Labrador, Bruno a black one.  Emma loved the dogs, but they could be
demanding.  They were both young, only a year between them and lively.  She
would often be expected to walk them as she refused to do anything else to help
on the farm. 

She began to prepare her food,
knowing she wouldn’t have long as the dogs would probably come in the house
soon and start to pester her for their walk.  Sitting at the table she drank
her coffee, gazing out of the window at the farmyard which was bathed in the
glow of golden sunlight.  She was glad it wasn’t wet.  At least the dogs
wouldn’t get too muddy.  She hated having to clean them after particularly
muddy walks. 

They were outside at the moment;
she could hear them barking in the farmyard every now and then.  From far away
she could also hear the sound of her father’s tractor lumbering along.  It
really was a heap of junk.  She knew that Kate had been trying to persuade him
to invest in a new one, but so far he was refusing, saying the current one was
perfectly adequate and he’d only invest in a new one when it stopped working. 
Stubborn as always, Emma thought.

It wasn’t long before she was
walking the dogs through the nearby woods.  Every now and then she heard the
faint familiar sounds of the tractor and the gentle lowing of the cows.  But
here she was alone, free with her thoughts.  The dogs were behaving themselves,
lolloping along ahead of her through the undergrowth like predators seeking
their prey, giving Emma a chance to daydream.  She imagined herself living in
London with all its chic shops, glamorous people and fantastic museums.  In her
mind’s eye she saw the thriving   nightlife, and the streets festooned with the
multi-coloured lights of clubs, pubs and restaurants like strings of sparkling
jewels.  She imagined the feeling of being free to explore for as long and as
often as she liked.  There was so much she wanted to see and do when she got
there.    

She turned a corner on the trail
she was following and stopped abruptly.  There was a figure up ahead.  Kate. 
Great, she thought, just what I wanted, another lecture.  Emma slowed down
hoping Kate wouldn’t see her.  But she’d forgotten about the dogs who bounded
up to her sister enthusiastically.  Kate bent down to make a fuss of them.  She
was dressed in her usual farm gear of dirty old jeans and an equally old
fleece, wearing her muddy wellies and her hair scraped back into a messy
ponytail.  Like some old tramp, Emma thought.  Why could she never make an
effort to dress well?

‘Hi, Emma,’ Kate said cheerily. 
‘Thanks for taking the dogs out for me.’

‘Well I didn’t exactly have a
choice, did I?’

Kate’s face fell and her expression
became hostile.  ‘It would be nice if you could just do the occasional task
without being such a bitch about it.’

Emma felt her face turn red with
anger.  ‘I’m not the one being a bitch.  You and Dad can’t stand it, can you;
that I don’t and never will want to work on your fucking farm!’

‘Well you’re leaving soon anyway,
aren’t you?  You’ve got exactly what you wanted as always.’  Kate’s face was
equally red.  ‘But believe it or not, I didn’t come to argue with you.  I just
wanted to talk to you about something.’

‘So talk.’

Kate frowned.  ‘There’s no need to
be so bloody rude, Emma.’

‘Look who’s talking.’

‘All right.  I was only going to
say that I’m worried about Dad.  He seems a bit preoccupied at the moment and
I’m concerned for him.  You know it’s…’

‘Yes, I know it’s the anniversary
of Meredith’s death, but this happens every year; he’s always unhappy for a
while, then he gets over it, end of story.’

‘Why can you never let me finish? 
I was going to say that the anniversary of Meredith’s death was over a month
ago and he’s usually fine by this time of year.  I think for some reason it’s
still bothering him, Emma, and I just want your help to find out why, to help
him.  If you can fit it in to your busy schedule.’

 ‘I will if I can.  But I won’t be
around here much longer.  Natalie’s found us a place in London.  So I probably
won’t have the time.  Sorry.’  Emma couldn’t help ladling the last word with
sarcasm as she turned around and began to walk away from her sister.  She
called the dogs, who followed her as she walked away, feeling Kate’s loathing
stare boring into her.

Emma was lying on her bed with her
mobile phone clamped to her ear.  The sun streaming through her window was
strong, making her squint.

‘I’ve got to go up to the house next
week because I need to sort some things out,’ Natalie was telling her, ‘but why
don’t we go to the pub together tonight to celebrate?’

‘Yeah, that would be nice.  But can’t
I come with you to London?  We can work on the house together.’

‘Well, Em, I think it’s best if I
go on my own at this stage.  The decorators have nearly finished but if
there’re two people getting in their way…’

‘All right, I understand,’ Emma
said, though she didn’t understand at all.  She just felt miffed.   But Natalie
was usually right about these things.  She needed to trust her.

‘Honestly, Em, it’s for the best,’
Natalie said as if reading her mind.  ‘This way the house will be perfect for
you when you arrive.  And anyway there’s nothing to worry about.  You’re a
wealthy heiress now aren’t you? 

Emma felt her mood brightening.  ‘I
certainly am.  What time tonight?’

‘Seven thirty?’

‘See you then.’

In her local pub that night, surrounded
by Natalie and three of her closest friends, Freddie, Nicole and Dan, Emma felt
she couldn’t be happier.  She was basking in their envy.  They all wanted her
life – except perhaps Natalie who had her own money – and who could blame them?
 She was financially independent; she didn’t need anyone’s help anymore.  She
ignored the little voice in her head telling her that she shouldn’t have
blackmailed her father into giving her the money.  But she was just taking what
was owing to her.  Ultimately she was doing him a favour by demanding it.  Once
she had the money, she wouldn’t be around to pester him. 

‘So whereabouts in London are you
two gonna be living then?’ Freddie asked his arm around Emma’s shoulder.

‘Um… I can’t remember exactly,’
Emma said giggling.  The wine was going to her head.  Natalie rolled her eyes.

‘Clapham, Em, Clapham like I keep
telling you.’

‘All right, all right, keep your
hair on, Nat,’ Emma said giving her a playful shove.  ‘Anyway, it’s near
central London and all the wonderful shops.  And moving there means I can
escape from the hellhole that is my dad’s farm.’

‘I’m so jealous,’ Nicole said.  She
had an envious look on her face and was visibly drooping as though she was a
wilting flower. 

‘Your life’s not that bad,’ Emma
pointed out to her.  ‘You don’t live on a farm in the middle of nowhere.’

‘Yes, but you’ll have so much to
see and do in London, so many places to go.  And so many shops to choose from. 
The shops in Cornwall just aren’t the same.’

‘True. But you’ll be able to come
and stay with us.  You must.  We’d love to see you all once we’ve settled in.’

‘Definitely.’ Natalie said.

‘Do you guys actually know anyone
in London?’ Dan asked.

‘Oh yeah, I know plenty of people,’
Natalie said airily.

‘And I know her.’ Emma pointed at
Natalie.  ‘So we’ll be fine.’

Emma and her friends spent the rest
of the evening drinking as though the world’s supply of alcohol was about to
run out.  At closing time, they staggered out of the pub and onto the quiet
street, giggling and hooting with laughter at the joke that Freddie had told.

‘Urgh, I need sleep,’ Emma slurred,
burping.

‘You need more booze!’ Natalie
yelled at the top of her voice.   A door banged, startling them.

‘Keep the noise down,’ a faceless
voice said sharply.

Emma and her friends giggled
drunkenly.  She found herself being dragged along by Natalie towards the local off
licence.  It was going to be a long night.

******

Emma gazed out of the window at the
beautiful May-time countryside rushing past her.  She was leaving Cornwall
further and further behind.  The train to London clattered and swayed around
her.   She reflected on her final conversation with her father, asking him if
he could drive her and her possessions to London, heard his refusal all over
again.  She saw in her mind’s eye the self-righteous expression of her sister’s
face as she stood in the doorway of the kitchen listening to Emma and her
father argue.  The countryside blurred even more as Emma angrily wiped a tear
from her eye.  I should have known he’d refuse, she told herself.  But she was
fed up of always being the one in the wrong, of being made to feel that she was
the black sheep of the family.  If only Meredith were still around.  Emma knew
the two of them would have got on so well.  They were alike, she was sure of
it. 

Tired of watching the world flash
past her, Emma picked up her gossip magazine, wishing she had someone to talk
to.  She had wanted to travel with Natalie, but Natalie was already there.  She’d
been up and down to London telling Emma she had things to do at the house and insisted
that Emma couldn’t come with her; she needed to go ahead to sort things out. 
Emma had felt a bit left out, but told herself she’d be there soon and it would
be worth it in the end.  The train began to slow down.  Emma looked up from her
magazine in a daze, half expecting to find herself in London already.  No such
luck.  It was only Exeter.  She’d been here so many times it was no longer
interesting and leafed through her magazine restlessly. 

‘Excuse me,’ a voice said.  Emma
looked up.  An elderly man was standing in the aisle next to her.  ‘Can I sit
next to you, please?’

‘Of course,’ Emma said moving her
bag aside.  She turned back to her magazine.  The train moved away from the
station and gradually began to pick up speed.  They’d soon left Exeter far
behind.  Emma found herself looking out of the window again, her mind drifting
back to her earliest memories.  Meredith.  And what happened to her.  But what
exactly had happened to her?  Emma remembered the official version, what she’d
been told, but what was the truth?  Even the version of events her father had
given her, the secret he’d wanted her to keep, was that the truth?  Or could it
be much worse?

‘Where are you headed to?’ The old
man’s voice in her ear made Emma jolt up in her seat.

‘London,’ she replied.  She no
longer felt like talking.

‘I’m only going as far as Reading
thankfully,’ the old man said.  ‘I can’t stand London.  I lived there before
the war, but it’s very different now, it’s all changed.  There are so many
people from all over the world there now.  It was never like that when I lived
there.’

Emma nodded along politely, but
wished he’d shut up and let her brood in private.  The man paused for a moment
and Emma thought he’d finished but then he said,

‘You know, you remind me very much of
my fiancée.  She died in the Blitz.’ 

Glancing at him, Emma saw he had a
tear in his eye.  ‘I’m sorry,’ she said awkwardly. 

‘That’s all right.  I’m a silly old
fool, but I still miss her.  I can picture her face like it was yesterday.  Of
course I’ve got the odd photo of her, but her face is clear in my mind.  I wish
everything else was!’

Emma found herself grinning at
him.  Her frostiness melted away.  It was good to have someone to talk to.  As
she and the elderly man chatted, Emma realised once more how much she missed
her own grandfathers, both of whom were now dead.  She found herself talking to
the elderly man about them, and their experiences of the war which they’d
recounted to her.  He seemed genuinely interested in what she had to say, which
was refreshing for Emma.  Her father and sister were usually so busy working on
the farm that they wouldn’t be around that often to have a proper conversation
with. When she did talk to them for any length of time, Emma felt she was being
reproached for getting up late or forgetting to feed the dogs. 

The elderly man in turn told Emma about
his dead fiancée and then about the woman he did marry, Edith.  He confessed to
Emma that Edith had always felt as though he would never love her as much as he
had his first love, Margaret.

‘And to my shame she was right.  I
never could quite give Edith all the love she wanted.  I did try but although I
was very fond of her, she was not my soul mate in the way that Margaret was. 
She never could have been.  When I returned from the war and met Edith I was in
a bad way.  I’d been wounded quite severely and was recovering.  I was not the
same person I had been before the war; I had seen and done things no one should
have to.   So it was very hard for me to adjust back to civilian life.  I could
never give Edith all the affection and love she deserved.’  He paused and
cleared his throat.  ‘You must think me very odd, my dear, telling you, a
complete stranger, all this.’

‘Oh no, not at all,’ Emma said
sincerely.  ‘Sometimes you just need to get things off your chest and it can be
easier to say things to people you don’t know than to your family.’

‘Very true, very true.’

‘I’m Emma by the way.’

‘Reginald or Reg for short.’ He
shook her hand.

They talked some more and Emma told
him a little about why she was travelling from Cornwall to London.  But she
omitted the part about her father giving her the money under duress, how she
had persuaded him.  It was none of Reg’s business anyway, but also Emma found
herself not wanting to be lowered in his estimation. She did tell him about her
feelings of boredom on the farm and how she felt like she never really fitted
in there, even though it was her family home where she’d been brought up.  Reg
nodded sympathetically and told her he understood exactly how she felt.  His
father had been an ironmonger and had expected him to take over the family
business.

‘He couldn’t understand when I told
him that it wasn’t for me,’ Reg said.  ‘I tried to explain, but he saw it as a
betrayal, which it wasn’t.  It was simply that I couldn’t see myself in the
same street of the same town for the rest of my life.’

Emma nodded.  ‘That’s exactly how I
feel about the farm.  I’ve got to see more of the world.  So I’m going to
London.’

‘Well, I wish you all the best.  I
hope you’re not disappointed with London.  I warn you – it’s very large.  You
might have trouble adjusting after life on a farm.’

‘Oh I’ll be fine.  I’ve been there
before and I’ll be living with my best friend, so I’ve got nothing to worry
about.’

‘It certainly sounds like you’ve
got everything arranged.’ 

Emma thought he seemed unconvinced,
but what did it matter anyway?  She’d only just met him, his opinion really wasn’t
that important.  They chatted away until they reached Reading, where Reg said
goodbye.  Before he left he gave her a card with his phone number on it.  Emma
was surprised but pleased.

‘Just in case you’re ever in need
of a friendly chat,’ he said.  ‘Actually, my daughter had these contact cards
made up for me.  I’ve never really used them, so now’s a good opportunity!’

Emma laughed, shook Reg’s hand and
then he was gone.  She felt bereft.  She’d be on her own now until the train reached
Paddington.

******

Standing with her suitcase in the
huge thoroughfare of Paddington station, feeling exhaustion envelop her, Emma
surveyed her surroundings.  The station was large and frenetic.  People were
rushing busily past her, some almost elbowing their way through, but she didn’t
move.  Natalie had said she’d meet her here.  The train had been running late,
so she should be here by now.  Emma really needed to sit down, but she couldn’t
see anywhere, so she collapsed onto her suitcase which was big enough to
support her weight.

‘Em!’ Natalie’s voice jolted her
out of her daze.  Natalie hurried over to her and gave her a huge hug.  ‘You
made it in one piece.  And just the one suitcase?’

‘It’s all I could manage by myself,
seeing as Dad refused to take me,’ Emma said, all her disgruntled feelings
returning.  ‘You should have seen the stubborn mule’s face when I asked him,’
she glowered.

‘Well never mind, you’re here now. 
I’ve got a taxi waiting outside, so we’d better hurry.’ 

Emma began to pull the suitcase
along, which was cumbersome and made it difficult to follow Natalie as she
rushed along towards the exit, weaving her way through the crowds and never
checking to see if Emma was still following.  Eventually they made it to the
taxi and Emma sank down on the seat feeling exhausted.  But the journey still
wasn’t over as the taxi driver had to navigate his way around the busy London
streets.  Natalie chattered away telling Emma about all the improvements she’d
been making to their new house.

‘It’s going to really wow you, Em,’
she said.  ‘I mean really.  I will admit that I’m not the only person who
worked on it, but it does have my personal touch.  And I have to say, Em,
you’re going to love your room!’

Emma grinned.  She was happy to be
here, but so tired after her journey.  Natalie didn’t seem to appreciate this,
demanding Emma react to everything she was telling her.