Chapter Twenty-Nine
All through the following day Brianna could think of nothing but her pending visit to Catherine that evening. She guessed it made a welcome change from daydreaming about Mitch. Following the directions Catherine had given her, she pulled up outside an imposing town house in a very upmarket area of the city. No wonder Simon’s father had been keen to make sure the property didn’t go to a stranger. It was clearly worth several million.
The lady who greeted Brianna was far from the doddering old woman she’d been expecting. Yes, she was probably in her eighties, but she wore it really well. She was elegantly dressed, her white hair fashionably layered, and her face, though wrinkled, still had the fine bone structure of a beautiful woman.
‘You must be Brianna. Please, come in. Would you like a drink?’
Brianna accepted a coffee, and was shown into a grand living room. The furniture was antique, but homely. ‘This is my posh room, where I bring all my visitors. When it’s just me, I sit in a cosy little snug round the corner,’ Catherine confessed as she sat herself down on a high-backed chair by the fireplace. She smiled at Brianna. ‘My dear, since you called last night I’ve not stopped thinking about what you said. I’m anxious to hear everything you know.’
Brianna settled back against the sofa and wondered where she should start. ‘Last week I was at a party with Mitch and your nephew, Simon. At the party Mitch was accused of being a gold-digger, of preying on a rich woman. Your name was mentioned.’
Shock spread across the old lady’s face. ‘Mitch? A gold-digger? What a load of old nonsense. He never took a single thing off me I didn’t freely give.’
‘Catherine, I spoke to Simon last night and it appears that his father, your brother I believe, was concerned when he heard you’d wanted to amend your will. Leaving your house to a stranger, rather than your family, was a big step.’
‘That was nobody’s business but mine,’ Catherine retorted sharply. ‘Mitch wasn’t a stranger. He was like a son to me. And that so-called family of mine would have known that if they’d ever bothered to visit. Why wouldn’t I want to leave him my house? He’d lived with me here for four happy years. I wanted to give him a family home, something he’d never had before.’
Brianna’s shoulders slumped in relief. It was only then that she realised she’d been harbouring a fear that maybe, just maybe, her instincts about Mitch had been wrong. But now she knew she was right, was what had happened really any of her business? Her desire to hear more about Mitch clashed fiercely with the knowledge she was prying into private matters.
She shifted in her seat. ‘Catherine, I feel a little awkward talking about your family like this. It has nothing to do with me. I probably shouldn’t have interfered at all, but when Mitch was accused of conning you out of money, I knew it couldn’t be true.’
‘It certainly wasn’t. What was it you said on the phone about a letter?’
‘Simon said his father instructed the solicitor to write to Mitch telling him never to contact you again, or they would call the police.’
Catherine rattled her cup down into the saucer. ‘Oh, my,’ she whispered, totally taken aback. ‘Poor Mitch, whatever must he have thought of me? No wonder he suddenly stopped writing.’ The old lady had gone as white as a sheet and slumped back against the chair. ‘I should have guessed there was more to it than him simply not being bothered. He was always so good to me, so caring. And now I think of it, around the same time Mitch’s letters stopped arriving, my brother started asking about him. He told me Mitch was all manner of horrid things I knew were lies so I simply ignored them. What I should have done was realise the connection. How stupid.’ Her voice began to break and tears slipped down her cheeks.
‘Oh, Catherine, I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to upset you.’ Brianna was mortified. ‘I shouldn’t have come. I shouldn’t be meddling in things that don’t concern me.’ Wondering how she could comfort somebody she barely knew, Brianna walked over to the older lady and offered her a tissue. She was surprised when Catherine put a hand around her fingers, and clasped them tight.
‘Don’t you dare go apologising, my dear. You’ve just given me back the son I thought I’d lost. When I’ve got over the shock, I’ll feel so much better, so much happier.’ She paused to blow her nose. ‘I just wish I’d believed in him more. I wrote a few more times, asking him why his letters had stopped, but when I didn’t get a reply, I didn’t push it.’
Brianna put her arm around Catherine’s bony shoulders. ‘You loved him, Catherine. You chose to let him go, thinking that was what he wanted. You can’t blame yourself for that.’
Catherine wiped her eyes and gave Brianna a shaky smile. ‘Sorry, dear, I just needed to get that out of my system. Now tell me, how is he? Did he become a doctor in the end, like he’d always wanted to?’
Reassured that Catherine was over her tears, Brianna went to sit back down again. ‘You would be so proud of him. Yes, he’s a doctor. He spent some time in the army and now works for a charity that helps victims of natural disasters anywhere in the world that might need their expertise. He’s smart and very brave.’
‘And is he happy? Has he found love?’
Brianna looked down at her coffee cup for a moment, unable to hold the steady gaze of the other lady. ‘I think these are questions you’ll need to ask him.’
‘Brianna, you said you were his friend. Are you his girlfriend?’
‘No, not anymore.’ A ball of emotion lodged in her throat and she coughed to loosen it. ‘I was for a short while. But now, well, we work together at the same charity.’
‘But you love him, don’t you?’
This time Brianna couldn’t avoid the old lady’s astute look. ‘Yes, I do. Is it that obvious?’
‘Well, I don’t think anybody would stick their neck out like you have, or come to visit a stranger from his past, if they didn’t care.’
Sighing, Brianna put down her cup. ‘Mitch is strong, compassionate and clever, with a sharp wit that makes me laugh. But he’s also a man who doesn’t want anyone to get too close to him. I did, and I think it terrified him. He said our backgrounds were too different, but when it comes down to it, I think he just prefers to be alone.’ Tears began to prickle under her eyelids. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to pour out my feelings quite like that.’
‘Don’t be silly, dear. It’s lovely to hear how much he means to you. He must have turned out well if he’s inspired such passion in you.’ As if choosing her words, Catherine paused and took another sip of coffee. ‘Did Mitch ever tell you about his upbringing? About his mother? About how we met?’
Brianna shook her head. ‘No. I know bits and pieces. How he didn’t have a father, so when his mother died, you took him under your wing.’
‘Well, his childhood is Mitch’s tale to tell, not mine. But I can tell you about when I became involved. I had just come back from a month long holiday. I let myself into this house, and there he was, large as life, sitting on my sofa, watching television. He’d been squatting in my home for nearly two weeks.’
‘Squatting?’ Brianna repeated, shocked.
‘Yes, my dear, and I have no doubt I looked as horrified as you when I first saw him. He was fourteen. Confident, cocky, tough as you like, but underneath the bravado I could see he was a lonely, sad, young boy.’ Brianna watched as Catherine’s face softened at the memory. ‘I remember doing a quick check of the house, but nothing was taken. Everything was perfectly tidy. I threatened to call the police but he simply gathered his things together and told me I could if I wanted. He gave me some money for the food he’d eaten and proudly walked towards the door.’
Brianna saw tears hovering in Catherine’s eyes and knew her own tears were spilling down her cheeks and onto her hands. ‘I take it you didn’t call them.’
‘Of course not. I told him he could stay for a while, but then he needed to go home. Gradually it became clear he had no home to go to. No parents, nobody. He’d been squatting in houses because he didn’t want to go into care.’
Her tears were now flowing so freely Brianna had to drag out a tissue for herself. ‘What happened then?’
‘Well, of course I wanted to adopt him properly, as my son, but there was no chance an old lady like me would be allowed. The authorities kept threatening to put him in foster care, or a home, but he refused to budge and I refused to let them take him in. Eventually, after a lot of legal to-ing and fro-ing and a large donation to the council funds, I became his legal guardian. I’d never been lucky enough to be blessed with children. Looking after Mitch for the next four years was as close as I came.’ She dabbed at her eyes and let out a watery smile. ‘Not that I did much looking after. He was fiercely independent. Too much so. Having not had the luxury of a proper childhood he’d had to grow up too early and far too fast.’
‘Do you mind me asking, was it you who helped him go to university? I only mention it because he once told me a kind lady had paid for him to go.’
‘Why yes, of course it was me. It was his dream. Why should a boy who’d had such a horrid start in life not be allowed to follow his dream? The day he turned eighteen I put a lump sum in a bank account for him and told him he had to use it to become a doctor. He was acutely embarrassed, kept telling me he didn’t want it, but I told him there was a time for pride, and a time for gratitude.’ She smiled at the memory. ‘He said he’d shut up and choose gratitude.’
As Catherine finished recounting her tale, the grandfather clock chimed ten o’clock. Brianna looked at it aghast. She was torn between wanting to hear more about Mitch and consideration towards the older lady who was surely feeling tired. Consideration won. ‘Catherine, you’ve been really kind, but I’ve taken up far too much of your evening.’
‘No, dear, you’ve been the kind one. Will you tell Mitch you’ve seen me? That I didn’t have anything to do with that letter?’
‘Of course I will. I’m sure he’ll be in contact as soon as he can. You both have so many years to catch up on.’ She saw Catherine move to get up. ‘No, stay where you are, I’ll see myself out.’ She bent to kiss her on the cheek.
She was walking out of the room, when Catherine’s voice stopped her. ‘Brianna. Mitch hasn’t seen much love in his life. If you care for him as much as I think you do, you might need to be very patient.’
Brianna nodded slowly, and let herself out of the house. She could be patient, she thought. It wasn’t her natural forte, but she could do it. However there was being patient and there was pining away after a lost cause. She had a feeling this would turn out to be the latter.
* * *
While Brianna was talking to Catherine about his past, Mitch was focused very much on the present. For him that meant being knee deep in rubble in a remote part of Indonesia.
He’d been almost ridiculously relieved when the phone call had finally come. An earthquake on one of the islands, Medic SOS were needed straight away. At last he’d been able to focus his mind on doing good, rather than allowing it to brood on a chestnut-haired beauty. For the most part, it had worked. Since he’d been out here, he’d barely had a chance to take breath, never mind think about Brianna. Of course he’d have to face up to his feelings sooner or later, but for now he had work to do. He surveyed the grim scene in front of him. They weren’t going to be leaving Indonesia for a while.
‘Mitch, they’ve found a survivor in one of the buildings.’ It was Tessa, her voice urgent. ‘He’s trapped his legs. The rescue workers want you to come and take a look.’
Grabbing his bag of medical supplies he followed Tessa towards the crumbling ruin that had once been a shop. The rescue team were huddled outside, eyeing up what was left of the structure. He started to walk towards the entrance, but was held back by one of the group.
‘I don’t think you should go in there. It’s not safe.’ The man wiped a weary hand across his brow. ‘We went in a few minutes ago when we heard his voice, but the whole place began to creak. It’s got to be made secure before we can go back.’
‘What about the patient? What are his injuries?’
The man shook his head. ‘He’s trapped by a steel girder. It fell right across his feet. No way can he be moved quickly.’
Mitch looked at the ruins in front of him. ‘You and I both know this building can’t be made more secure. We’ve got to get him out now, fast, or he’ll die when the rest of it collapses.’
‘We can’t get him out. I’ve already said . . .’
Looking down at the bag in his hands, Mitch made an instant decision. ‘I’ll amputate his feet, that way we can move him. When I give the signal, come in and help me drag him out.’
He strode purposefully into the ruins, ignoring the plea from Tessa not to go in. This is what they were here for. To rescue the injured.
Inside it was eerily dark but using his torch he found a path through the broken masonry and towards a faint voice. ‘Don’t worry, we’ll have you out in no time,’ he reassured as he moved closer, though the words were said with a lot more confidence than he actually felt. Amputating one foot was bad enough. Doing two, with the groans of the crumbling walls echoing around him, was going to require nerves of steel and a great dollop of good fortune. He knew from past experience he could muster up the former. As for the luck. Well, he wasn’t so sure.
Resolutely he opened up his medical bag.
Suddenly his world went black.