Chapter 10 #2
‘She’s like my mother. Your Nana Hope was never happier than when she was in the kitchen.
Right up to the day she died. She made some biscuits, went for a lie down, and that was it.
It was the burning of the biscuits that alerted people.
When they found her, they reckoned she’d only been dead a few minutes. What a way to go!’
‘How long ago did she pass?’ asked Sam.
‘Must be over 30 years ago now,’ said Kate.
‘Hm,’ Jen grunted. ‘And Ngaire — she was Nana Hope’s mother, my great-grandmother,’ she said to Sam, ‘died five years ago, right around the time you stopped the work that had been scheduled on the house. Lucy mentioned you had a long list of things to be quoted on, but that never happened.’
There was a silence while Jen and Sam looked at Kate, waiting for an answer, and Kate stared at her coffee, before gulping it down and jumping up.
‘I think I heard Liam.’
Jen stayed silent as she watched her mother walk away and then listened to her climb the stairs and call out a greeting to Liam.
‘I don’t know what’s going on,’ Jen said at last, her frown lowering as she took a thoughtful sip of her coffee.
Sam thought he’d do just about anything to make that frown go away.
‘I guess it’s something to do with the house not belonging to the family.’ He took a bite of the cake.
‘She told you then.’
‘Yep. Quite a surprise, seeing as how your family has lived in it for so many generations.’
‘I know. I think Ngaire was the first McLeod to move here. So, this family trust thing must have been put in place then. But the house had been built by one of her ancestors long before that. It’s always been ours, Sam.
And for the life of me, I can’t figure out why it’s not now.
But I’m going to get to the bottom of it. I need to.’
Sam’s gaze rested on her for a few moments in silence. ‘Need? Are you going to make it your own personal crusade?’ He tried to make it sound light, but he could see that she wasn’t fooled. She knew he understood.
‘Yes. I think I am. I guess I feel that getting to the bottom of what happened to my Great Grandma Ngaire, will kind of help me get back on track.’ She laughed self-consciously. ‘Sounds daft, doesn’t it?’
‘No. No, it doesn’t at all. Where are you going to start?’
‘Anywhere and everywhere. Solicitors, online searches, clues in the house, whatever we find. We have to make a start. But first, I need to talk it over with Mum. But it’ll be an uphill battle because she hates discussing it.
’ She sighed. ‘But on a more practical level, at least she’s changed her mind about doing some maintenance. ’
‘I guess you and Liam’s arriving helped make it up for her. She’s probably worried that something might happen, that something might fall on you. Living by herself, she could ignore it. But not any longer.’
‘Yeah, Mum’s been great since we appeared with no warning.
But we really need to figure out what on earth is going on with the house.
Like who actually owns it and how come they’ve been letting us live rent-free for over seventy years.
I mean, how likely is it that the original owner is still alive? ’
‘Not very. Maybe the time involved is partly why no one knows who owns the place. Aren’t there any solicitors involved?’
Jen shrugged. ‘I don’t know, but I’m going to have to sit Mum down and have a serious talk to find out exactly what she does know and try to figure out the way forward. She can’t carry on like this. It’s not fair to her. And as we’re staying here, it will be good for all of us to feel secure.’
Sam nodded, but his thoughts lingered on her last words. Lucy was right. Jen was going to stay.
Jen glanced towards the house. ‘In fact, now is as good a time as any.’
He didn’t want a part of any family dispute. He hated confrontation and arguments — always had — and especially hated it between these two women.
‘I think I’ll make myself scarce,’ he said.
Jen’s lips twitched. ‘Coward.’
‘As charged,’ he said, jumping up.
But he didn’t make his escape in time. Kate stepped out onto the verandah.
‘Mum, we really need to talk about the house. Figure out who owns it. You can’t go on like this.’
Sam cleared his throat, embarrassed that it looked as if he’d been talking about Kate behind her back. He held up his hand. ‘Sorry, Kate, I —’
But Kate held up her hand. ‘It’s OK, Sam, I guess Jenny’s right.’
Kate sighed, sat down and poured herself a cup of coffee before looking up at her. ‘But it all seems so daunting. I’m not sure I have the energy anymore.’
‘I’m here. I can help. We can do it together,’ said Jen.
‘That would be nice. I guess I should start with what happened when your grandma died.’
Sam stood up decisively. Both Kate and Jen looked at him.
‘This doesn’t sound like it’s anything to do with me,’ said Sam.
‘Sam,’ said Kate, ‘I’d really like it if you stayed and listened to what I have to say because, in a way, it does affect you.’
‘In what way?’ asked Jen too sharply.
‘Jen’s right,’ said Sam, recoiling at her words. And she was right. It had nothing to do with him. Jen had nothing to do with him anymore.
‘Sam,’ said Kate, ‘I want you to be here. You’re an old friend, and you’ve very kindly offered to help me out of a difficult situation. I really appreciate it. We all do.’
Kate glanced at Jen, who heaved a sigh.
‘You’re right,’ she said. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful.’
It might have been an apology, but it wasn’t a convincing one. He was about to leave when something happened that made him immediately still. Jen placed her hand on his arm.
‘I am sorry, Sam. I’m just a little defensive right now. Out of sorts, I guess you could say.’
She could have said anything in that moment and he’d still be putty in her hands. He’d stay all right.