Time Will Tell (10 page)

Obviously there was the house, but there had to be more to it than that. It was a bit melodramatic, but she had the overwhelming feeling that she was on the cusp of something exciting, something big. She sniggered to herself; ah, Emily Oliphant, ever the romantic.

Her English teachers had always said she had an overactive imagination, her Physical Education teacher, unrealistic expectations. Perhaps that was her whole problem.

Emily entered the lounge room and smiled. Her father was slumped in the armchair, his legs stretched out onto the floor in front of him.

‘Is there anything I can get you while I'm up?' she whispered to Jake.

‘Actually, do you have paper and a pencil I can borrow?'

‘Sure,' Emily said, and went back to the kitchen to retrieve the requested items plus an eraser and a ruler from the kitchen drawer. She put them on the plain 1960s-style wood-grain laminex coffee table in front of him, and then went to her bedroom and retrieved the novel she was reading.

When she re-entered the lounge room, she smiled at hearing a quiet snore escape her father's lips.

‘Here, you sit here – I'd rather use the coffee table to lean on,' Jake said quietly, vacating the second armchair.

‘Are you sure?'

‘Absolutely. I'm a big one for sitting cross-legged on the floor – I want to do it as long as I can before old age and creaking limbs set in,' he said, grinning broadly at her.

He settled himself in front of the coffee table, directly opposite Emily and with his back to the wall.

‘Would you at least like a towel or pillow to sit on?'

‘No, I'm fine, thanks.'

After a few moments, Emily was reading silently, her father was gently snoring, and Jake was scratching away on the paper and pausing every so often to rub furiously with the eraser, and then brush off the debris. Glancing at the top of his head, she noticed his thick, short dark hair was lightly dusted with grey.

The first time he noticed her gaze, Jake said he'd vacuum all the crumbs up later. He'd clearly misunderstood her look as concern for her clean floor, when instead it had been pure contentment.
What a perfect day
, Emily thought, before returning to her book and searching for where she'd left off.

It seemed like only minutes later when Jake sat back from the coffee table, stretched, got up, and then laid two sheets of paper on her lap – the first mainly consisting of a list, and the second a rough floor plan. In fact almost an hour had passed, Emily was surprised to find upon checking her watch. It was almost seven o'clock. Her mother would be ringing any minute now to see where Des was. She shook the thought aside as Jake spoke.

‘My basic idea for renovating, and proposed budget,' Jake said.

‘Wow, thanks,' Emily said, looking at the pages.

‘The figures are pretty rubbery, but should give you some idea of what you'd be up for.'

Emily put the list of figures underneath and stared at the house plans. She turned the page around, frowning slightly as she tried to decipher which was the front and which was the back view.

Jake leaned over her shoulder and pointed. ‘There's the bathroom under the verandah. If you did it up, leaving it where it is, you would still have outside access, which is always handy. And if you ever did anything with the place that involved the public, you wouldn't have people traipsing through the house.'

‘Good idea.'

‘I'd extend it back along the verandah so it lined up with the bedroom behind the kitchen here. That way you'd have yourself a bedroom with an ensuite. The good thing is the plumbing is already nearby – saves money.'

‘Okay.'

‘Another option would be to turn the middle bedroom into a main bathroom and ensuite for the front bedroom. Or you could turn the whole side verandah into wet areas and give all three bedrooms an ensuite. That would be perfect if you ever wanted to run a B&B. It wouldn't be a huge deal to rip up the concrete and lay pipework and then cover it up again, although adding bathrooms can be expensive.'

‘Wow, I see what you mean – heaps of options. That's good food for thought.' Emily's head was spinning with the possibilities. If only money wasn't such a problem.

When Des left, the sun was low in the sky and the birds were performing their pre-bedtime ruckus in and around the trees, squawking, fluttering, darting back and forth. Emily and Jake stood on the verandah in the fresh cool air and waved him off.

‘What a lovely evening,' Jake said, looking around him.

‘Hmm,' Emily replied, vaguely, still staring after her father's ute as if in a trance. The summer sunset glowed amber around them.

‘It's getting late. I need something savoury to eat,' Emily said, heading back into the house and down the hall to the kitchen. After a few moments Jake followed her.

‘I'm going to have a pick at the leftovers if you'd like something. I love cold roast vegetables – especially in a sandwich with some cheese and mayonnaise. But I'm happy to heat something up for you if you'd like.'

‘No, cold is fine with me,' Jake said. ‘Do you mind if I get back to the buttons?' he asked a little shyly. ‘I'm just dying to know.'

She desperately wanted to know too, but was equally nervous about what they'd find. But she couldn't close the door now it was so far open. They'd gone too far for that.

‘Sure,' she said, and retrieved the jar and ice-cream container and put them on the bench.

While she fossicked in the fridge and the cupboards and put everything on the table, Jake resumed sorting the buttons, keeping to their plan of collecting like items and letting the diamonds reveal themselves gradually. They both worked in silence, and Emily looked across the bench a couple of times and noted that gradually the line-up of diamonds had grown. There were now six.

Chapter Ten

‘Got you, you little sucker!' Jake suddenly cried, holding up the seventh. ‘Wow, Em, they're all here!'

Emily should have felt pleased, excited – something, anything. But all she felt was a vague twinge of disappointment that there was no longer a great family secret – a secret she'd partially revealed but could reveal no further. Really, what had been the point? To learn something no one else knew?

‘It's almost a bit of a letdown,' Jake said, standing back from the bench and staring at the stones lined up in front of him.

‘Hmm,' Emily agreed. He'd taken the words right out of her mouth.

‘This morning I thought, well I
hoped
, if they were here your life might become a little easier. But I see now there's no way you could ever part with them. I wouldn't be able to. Do you want to at least think about getting them valued?'

‘No.' Emily was so frustrated she could cry. Here, right in front of her, was possibly all the money she would need to buy the house and do a fantastic renovation. Yet she was no better off now than before – there was no way she could cash the diamonds in, even if she knew how or where to do it. It was totally out of the question. Gran had held onto them all and entrusted her to do the same. She couldn't –
wouldn't –
let her down.

‘Don't just dismiss it out of hand; there's too much at stake. Perhaps there's another way.'

‘Like what?' Emily said, responding to his frustrated tone.

‘Well, maybe you could borrow against them – not actually have to sell them.'

‘Jake, I know you're trying to help, and I really appreciate it, but it just wouldn't be right,' Emily said heavily. ‘Gran kept them a secret all these years. What right do I have to expose it?'

Jake nodded thoughtfully.

Despite her deflation, Emily felt an overwhelming sense of camaraderie towards Jake; he seemed to genuinely understand how she felt about the diamonds and why.

‘In that case, I don't think anyone else should know about them,' he suddenly said. ‘God, I wish I hadn't realised the first one I found was a diamond – if I hadn't done that damned course. I'm so sorry, Em.'

‘Don't be, Jake; it's not your fault. And it was –
is
– an exciting find.' And it had been, until she'd had the intervening hours to let the ramifications seep in. Probably best they had, otherwise she might have got all carried away and blurted it out in front of Barbara, David and Des. And then the romance of Gran's secret would have been shattered.

‘It's just so frustrating. If you're not meant to use the diamonds, why find them in the first place? It's like a bad joke.'

‘Maybe it's a test,' Emily said, shrugging. ‘How hungry are you?'

‘Not overly. But then I always think that until I start eating your wonderful food.' He smiled warmly at her.

‘Well, don't get too excited, it's only cold meat and vegetables and bread, remember,' she said with a laugh.

‘Sounds perfect to me. What shall I do with these?' Jake pointed at the row of glossy stones.

‘I reckon put them back in the jar and shake it up.'

‘I suppose they have been there safely for the past sixty years or so – well, in
a
jar.' He put the stones in one by one before putting the rusting lid back on and tightening it up. He stared at the well-defined layers for a few moments before walking the few steps over to Emily and holding the jar out to her.

‘I can't bear to shake it up after all the time we spent sorting them,' he said with an apologetic grimace.

Grinning widely, Emily accepted the jar, turned it upside down, gave it a couple of turns and a gentle shake, and handed it back.

‘Actually,' she said, ‘I like it better muddled – far too contrived in layers. Much more like Gran this way,' she added with a grin.

‘Where do you want me to put it?' Jake asked.

‘In the pantry, up the top for now, while I think of somewhere better.'

Since moving in, Emily had often thought of putting the jar on display, but she didn't want her mother telling her how ridiculous it looked. Enid's well-practised sneer could still turn her into a humiliated five year old. Maybe one day she'd get over it, or come up with a clever reason for the jar's public presence. Until then it would have to stay hidden.

They sat down and started assembling their sandwiches in amiable silence.

As Emily bit into her sandwich and watched Jake out of the corner of her eye, for a moment she felt her resolve about saying no to Nathan slipping. She thought how really nice it was having Jake here – male company in general.

She liked how at ease Jake was, but without being too familiar. Without crossing the line. And she liked how at ease she was with him.

But there was something more intense about Nathan – like he was trying too hard to please her. Or was that just because he was desperate for somewhere to stay? He had said there was no pressure.

Looking back, she had to admit to feeling a little of Nathan's intensity rubbing off on her in only the short time he'd been here. She had enough trouble staying calm generally; the last thing she needed was to start feeling on edge all the time again.

This was her intuition speaking, wasn't it? If so, she had to listen to it or else risk being bitten on the arse by hindsight somewhere down the track. She had to stay strong and phone him that night – keep it brief and firm. She had to say no, and get it over with. As soon as she'd finished eating.

‘God, I completely forgot,' Jake said suddenly. ‘Distracted by those damned diamonds, I mean buttons – must forget all about them. I was going to suggest a bottle of wine. I brought a selection of red and white, but I'm afraid the white will need a spell in the freezer. A nice light Yarra Valley pinot might go very well with this, though. What do you think? Would you like some?'

‘That would be lovely, thanks.'

‘Back in a sec then.' He leapt up and Emily watched as he left the kitchen on a long stride, enjoying the shape of his behind in jeans that were neither too baggy nor too tight. When she realised she'd bitten her lip she told herself off.

They enjoyed the rest of the meal in easy conversation punctuated by gentle silences, sipping on the wine, which went very well indeed with their sandwiches.

Afterwards they took their glasses into the lounge and were just in time to catch the end of the ABC news. As she stared at the television and sipped her wine, Emily thought about what a nice Christmas it had been. She'd been a little afraid of facing her first Christmas without John. Mostly for fear of being reminded of how much her life had changed since last year. But it had helped that her mother hadn't been there, she mused, instantly experiencing a twinge of guilt.

Emily was feeling a little lightheaded, despite drinking very slowly. She insisted Jake pour the last of the wine into his glass and then politely declined his offer of another bottle while being careful not to discourage him from doing so if he wished. Though she liked that he didn't; it showed restraint.

John hadn't had any restraint, even when he was driving. God, she really didn't miss sitting home alone night after night waiting for the knock on the door from the police to tell her he'd wrapped the ute around a tree. She'd never told anyone; they'd have said she was paranoid and should seek professional help. But she wasn't; knew in her heart of hearts that it was only a matter of time. He'd dodged that particular bullet so many times already.

She'd given up years ago trying to make John understand that his cavalier behaviour could kill someone else as well, destroy someone's family. She only hoped when it happened there would be no one else involved.

‘Are you okay?'

Emily looked up at hearing Jake's voice, apparently a frown still upon her face.

‘You look worried.'

‘Sorry. No, just thinking about something I shouldn't be. How does tomorrow's weather look – okay for an outdoor barbeque?'