Winner Takes It All (31 page)

They lay together
afterwards, Tara with her head upon his shoulder, casually playing
with the hairs upon his chest. Tom pretended to doze but in reality
was wide awake. He wondered what the hell he’d just done. They were
in a proper relationship now and given time there would be nothing
stopping him asking her to marry him. Spending the rest of his life
with Tara was a wonderful thought and if it could be that simple,
he’d marry her in an instant. But that wouldn’t be the case;
Jackson would expect him to sign some horrible pre-nuptial
agreement so they could divorce in a year’s time. And if he didn’t
do it….well, he wouldn’t put it past Jackson trying to kill Tara in
spite.

‘
Are you awake
Tom?’ she asked quietly.

‘
Umm,’ he
replied reluctantly.

‘
This is like
some sort of Secret Squirrel operation,’ she giggled. ‘It’s quite
fun.’

‘
Why’s it a
secret?’

‘
Well when I
told Alex that I wanted to come and see you, she kept telling me to
leave you alone as you had work to do. She then gave me this big
lecture on how she didn’t think it right when cousins marry and
that after all I’d been through I was clinging to the first port in
a storm blah blah blah.’

‘
So she
doesn’t want me seeing you?’

‘
No. But I’m a
grown woman Tom. I’m older than Alex and I can make a decision for
myself. Even so, I told her I’d changed my mind. Trouble is, the
minute I arrive at
Gare du Nord, who do I
bump into on the platform heading for England? Only Maurice
Bannerman and his wife. I hope he didn’t see me because he might
tell Alex.’

‘You
saw Maurice Bannerman?’

‘Yes.
He must have been here on business. Have you seen
him?’

‘No.
I can’t say I have.’

‘Then
in the taxi over here, it came to me. I know the woman who owns
this hotel. I thought the name Natalie Favreau rung a bell. She’s
Antoine’s Godmother. I met her at the Christening. I have got the
right girl haven’t I? Dark hair, very posh and
bubbly.’

‘Y-Yes, that’s right,’ Tom uttered.

‘I
just hope and pray she doesn’t see me either because she might tell
Alex too.’ She laughed. ‘I feel like I’m in Romeo and Juliet or
something.’

Tom couldn’t reply because his throat was constricting.
Suddenly everything started to make sense. Alex was on to him. She
knew Natalie Favreau; she didn’t want Tara to see him. This was all
a set up, he was sure of it. A way to test if he was the one
betraying her. He looked over Tara’s shoulder at the window. They
were so far up in the sky, if he jumped from the balcony he would
be bound to die. And right now, death was preferable to the horrid
trap he’d walked right into.

Seventeen

Alex called an immediate council of war at Layton House with
her father, Paula and Daniel. Christian was still too weak to
travel up to London, so instead it took place in the beautiful
dining hall where generations of Cusacks had celebrated over the
years. Now was not a time for celebration. They had a rat in their
midst and had to decide the best way to kill
it.

‘My
main worry is that my daughter is infatuated with him,’ fretted
Paula. ‘She’s so vulnerable at the moment. What’s he planning to do
with her?’

‘Don’t worry about Tara,’ Alex reassured her aunt. ‘I’ll get
her away from him. I’ve got a project for her to do in America.
What I want to know is who he’s working for.’

‘That’s obvious - Sorcha,’ Christian
said.

‘But
how would Sorcha know about Tara looking for an estate manager?’
asked Daniel. ‘She lives in New York.’

‘And
who is this FreeTime group?’ Alex added. ‘They’re the ones who keep
outbidding me.’

‘I
hate to say it but I think Tom isn’t the only one working against
us,’ Christian said gravely. ‘I think we have another rat in the
camp, someone with inside information and it breaks my heart when I
think of who I’m sure it is.’

‘Who
is it daddy?’ Alex asked.

‘I
think it’s your brother.’

‘I’m
sorry to say I’ve had the same suspicions myself. I think he’s
bitter at you putting me in charge and he’s gone to Sorcha to get
his revenge.’

‘Hang
on though,’ Paula said. ‘Tom came around before Chris had his
stroke.’

‘Yes
but daddy had already set the challenge for us to vie for control
of Sheridans. Michael was never happy about
that.’

‘So
what do we do?’ Daniel asked.

‘Well
I think we should bring Tom in and confront him,’ said Alex. ‘We
need to know what he’s up to.’

‘He’ll only deny it,’ Christian said. ‘It’s obviously some
sort of elaborate plan for Sorcha to gain control of the company
and put Tom in charge. She thought by tarnishing our reputation and
outbidding us, she’d make us go under. I would put money on her lot
being behind that woman claiming we served her teenage brat and the
whole Sectarian thing stinks of her.’

‘Well
now we know who’s doing it, can’t we just kick Tom out?’ Paula
suggested, obviously still worried for her daughter’s welfare.
‘We’re never going to sell to Sorcha and that’s
it.’

‘Don’t forget they used arson on Alex’s hotel,’ Christian
said. ‘I get the feeling they’re prepared to go to any
lengths.’

‘Do
you want me to go out to New York and talk to her?’ Alex asked.
‘Try and reason with her.’

‘Darling it would be like a fawn trying to reason with a
viper. You wouldn’t stand a chance. What you can do is talk to your
brother. Don’t confront him, just speak to him gently and another
thing I want you to do is find this Fiona and talk to her. Find out
if she really was disowned by her family or if it’s all a lie and
Tom’s actually been brought up in the bosom of Sorcha. What I will
also say is that if anyone is approached by anybody outside of
family about selling shares, come straight to
me.’

Paula looked at her niece, laying her hand upon
hers.

‘And
promise me you’ll take care of Tara.’

‘Consider that done,’ she smiled. ‘She’s my mumber one
priority.’

Alex left the house and as she got into her car, she spotted
her grandfather standing by the wall overlooking the garden,
staring out at the hills. Unusual for Ben, he seemed to be in a
world of his own and Alex hoped he was okay. Unable to resist a
cuddle against that big, fat tummy, she walked over to him, putting
her arm around his waist.

‘You
okay grandpa?’ she asked.

‘I
was just thinking about my Louisa,’ he said with a wistful tone to
his voice and at the same time, squeezing Alex to him. ‘I can see
her, over on those hills, walking along with Sheppy, the cold
biting into her pink cheeks, that black hair blowing all over her
face.’

‘Well
don’t stand out here too long, it looks like it might rain
soon.’

‘How
are the wedding plans going?’ he asked, still looking out at his
past.

‘Okay,’ she replied, trying to feign excitement. ‘We’ve
definitely settled on January Twenty Sixth, the day after Robin’s
birthday.’

‘You
do love him, don’t you?’

‘Yes
of course.’

‘Only
you mustn’t compromise yourself Alexandra.’ He hardly ever called
her this, only on the very rare occasions he’d scolded her as a
child. ‘Your happiness is the most important
thing.’

‘I’m
sure Robin and I will be very happy.’

‘Sometimes I think my Louisa compromised herself in marrying
me.’

‘Grandpa you’re getting maudlin,’ she said. ‘Go indoors and
let Mrs Gentle make you some cocoa.’

He squeezed her once more, kissing the top of her
head.

‘My
darling Alex,’ he growled. ‘Your grandmother would be so proud of
you.’

Alex kept thinking of her grandfather’s words as she drove
over to Summerset. It wasn’t like him to be sad and she wondered
what had caused it. She also marvelled at his intuition that all
was not right between her and Robin. She had got swept up in the
wedding plans and knew she had no way out. She wiped away a tear as
she thought about it. Alex Cusack who had spent her adult life
doing as she wanted, with whom she wanted was not going to marry
for love. Fate had dealt her an unkind blow and made her fall in
love with someone who could never be hers and so she was opting for
second best. The only consolation was that in doing it, she would
be making her family proud. A union between the Lancasters and the
Cusacks had long since been anticipated and she would be the one to
finally make it.

She found Tara chatting to one of the builders in the new
wing of Claremont Hall. The new educational centre was coming along
nicely, and it made Alex’s blood run cold to envisage Sorcha’s
family taking this place back over and ruining everything the
Cusacks had built up.

‘Can
we have a chat darling?’ she asked Tara. ‘Is Tom around?’

‘No
he’s out in the village doing his rounds. Shall I call
him?’

‘No
no, I want to speak to you alone.’

‘If
this is about Tom and me, it’s none of your
business.’

‘Calm
down Tara, let’s just go into your office.’

They went into Tara’s scruffy little office, and while she
poured them two glasses of mineral water, Alex couldn’t help but
notice how beautiful her cousin was looking these days. Her family
had always known she was hiding her light under a bushel, but never
realised quite how beautiful she was. She wore a tight, crimson
shirt and jeans, the clothes showing off her perfect curves and
full breasts. She’d had her hair straightened and it hung like a
dark cloud around her face. It would be so sad if Tom broke her
heart and she went back to that scruffy little thing she’d been
before.

‘This
is nothing to do with Tom,’ Alex said. ‘It’s about you. I was
wondering if you fancied going to Chicago for a few
weeks.’

‘Why
would I want to go to Chicago?’ Tara sighed, slumping down at her
desk. ‘I’m supposed to be planning your
wedding.’

‘The
wedding’s not for another five months; and besides, this is far
more exciting. On Navy Pier is an empty building; it used to house
a museum of circus tricks or some rubbish. I’m really interested in
opening it as an Irish Museum - like this one. Chicago’s got a huge
Irish population and I think it would go down really
well.’

‘Why
do I have to go?’

Tom was already having an influence on Tara. Once upon a
time, she would have been jumping up and down at the prospect of
this. Now, like a sulky teenager, she wanted to spend all her time
with her boyfriend.

‘Because you run this place. Come on Tara, I know we’re
cousins and you’re a shareholder but I am the boss of Sheridans at
the moment and I pay your salary and I’m requesting you go to
America for me.’

‘Okay, don’t throw it in my face,’ Tara countered. ‘We all
know you’re the big boss. I’ll go, okay. What am I supposed to
do?’

‘I’m
lending you Scott Parsons from the PR department. I’ve arranged for
you to rent a little office on the North Side and I’d like you and
Scott to meet with the owners of the building and also do a little
bit of market research, make sure we’re not wasting our
money.’

‘I
thought you wanted me to go to that place in Dublin to look at
wedding dresses for you.’

‘I
can do that myself. This is more important Tara. I want you to go
in a few day’s time.’

‘That
soon! I’ve work here to do.’

‘I’m
sure Tom can do it. It’s what we’re paying him for.’

This wasn’t a wild goose chase Alex had sent Tara on. She
really did want to open a branch of the museum in America and this
place in Chicago was ideal. It originally had been a plan of hers
to start it once the hotels were up and running, but desperate
times called for desperate measures and it was an ideal opportunity
to get Tara away from Tom.