Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Jen followed Sam’s gaze to where her hand still lay on his arm. She lifted it immediately. She hadn’t even realised she’d reached out to him. She shot him a small smile and took a sip of her coffee.
Sam sat down, his gaze now settled on her. ‘So long as I’m not in the way.’
‘You’re not,’ said Kate.
‘So…’ said Jen, trying to refocus. ‘When did you first suspect that the house didn’t belong to you?’
‘When Grandmother died,’ said Kate with a sigh, re-arranging the cushions on the seat which ran along the verandah rail so she could put her feet up.
‘My grandmother or yours — Ngaire?’
Kate grunted with amusement. ‘Mine. Ngaire,’ she repeated.
‘Grandmother tried to get me to call her Ngaire like everyone else, but I refused. I liked my grandmother to be called a grandmother.’ She smiled to herself.
‘Maybe because my mum never married and insisted on being called Hope by everyone, and I desperately wanted all the trappings of a family around me. Like my friends had.’ She shrugged.
‘At least then I did. I don’t care about names and relationships now.
So long as my friends and family are talking to each other, they can use whatever name they like. ’
‘I always remember Ngaire as a formidable woman,’ said Jen. ‘I was a little afraid of her.’
Kate grunted a small laugh. ‘Yes, I suppose she could appear like that. I never thought of her as scary, so much as strong. But then she’d had to be. By all accounts they had no money. The family was very poor.’
‘I didn’t know that,’ said Jen. ‘I thought our family had always been comfortably off, buying the land, building this house, and the farm before it all got sold off.’
‘For generations they were more than comfortable. But then my great grandmother — Ngaire’s mother — had the misfortune to marry someone who managed to gamble away all their money until the house was their only asset. She was forced to sell it before Grandmother gave birth to Hope.’
‘So where was Nana Hope’s first home?’
‘On Māori land, just along the main road. The houses are still there.’
Jen followed her mother’s gaze to the small cluster of cottages at the foot of the steeply rising escarpment. ‘I wonder what it was like back then.’
‘Unrecognisable, I should imagine. At least until the war and the Americans came.’
‘The US Marine’s camp would have changed Macleod’s Cove completely,’ said Sam.
‘It did by all accounts.’ Kate stood up and pointed to the highest ridge in the sand dunes.
‘The closest camp stretched from there, right over to the hills.’ Her finger drew an arc and then she dropped her hand by her side.
‘Must have been quite a sight. Especially for an impressionable young girl who knew nothing of the world.’ She grunted a laugh.
’Grandmother’s face always used to light up when she talked about those days. ’
‘Must have been fun,’ said Jen. ‘Eighteen years old and suddenly surrounded by lots of handsome young men. Enough to make a young girl’s head turn.’
‘Maybe. But not my grandmother. She was always quite serious, not the flirty sort, I wouldn’t have thought.
No, she worked hard at home and in her community and had a strong sense of responsibility and duty.
But she did love to dance, and it was the dances the Americans put on which she talked most about. Happy days for her I think.’
‘And then she moved out of the house, got married, had Hope, and then moved back in again.’ Jen shook her head. ‘It doesn’t make sense.’
‘I guess we don’t have all the pieces of the puzzle to form a coherent picture. All I know is that my mother used to say her life began when she was five and she moved into MacLeod’s Cottage. She loved it here.’
‘So much so, she never moved out.’
‘She couldn’t afford to. She had me. So there were three generations of Macleod women under the same roof.’
‘Until Hope died.’
Kate nodded. ’And Grandmother was never the same after that. Her daughter dead before her. She used to say it was the wrong way around; that her girl shouldn’t have gone before her.’ She blinked misty eyes and turned to Jen.
‘Is that why our family stayed here, with Ngaire?’ asked Jen.
‘Yes. Neither your father nor I could imagine living anywhere else. My grandmother loved the fact that Andrew had the same surname as us. What were the chances?’
‘High, I should imagine,’ said Jen with a laugh, ‘when you spend time in Scotland.’
Kate sighed. ‘Yes. There were more MacLeods there than I’d thought.
And I certainly never imagined I’d fall in love with one!
Anyway, MacLeod’s Cottage was a wonderful place to live, and to have a family.
And to grow old in. And die in, too, I guess.
Grandmother’s end was so peaceful. It wasn’t until after her death that things became less peaceful.
That’s when I discovered that the finances around the house weren’t what I’d been led to believe — what any of us had been led to believe. ’
‘It was held in a family trust,’ said Jen. ‘That’s what you once told us.’
‘Because that’s what I thought. And it had been, of a kind.
Unfortunately, it’s the kind of trust which, after the death of the main beneficiary — in this case, Grandmother — winds up.
I eventually managed to track down the trust company who handled it and they said it was a cut and dried case.
The trust’s only asset was the house and land and that it had been designed to end upon Grandmother’s death. ’
‘What? I don’t understand,’ said Jen.
‘And neither do I,’ said Kate. ‘The trust company refuses to divulge the names of the trustees or any other details of the trust. Apparently, I’m not entitled to that information without all the trustees agreeing.
And, as I haven’t heard from them, I have no idea if they simply don’t want me to know, or they haven’t been told I’d like to know, or if they even know how to contact the solicitors or me.
’ She shrugged. ‘But I didn’t give up, not immediately anyway.
I hired a private investigator two years ago but even he hit a brick wall, and I…
lost hope, I guess.’ She sighed. ‘So I’m left precisely nowhere.
All I know is that the trust company has said they’re awaiting instructions from their client as to the disposal of the asset.
’ She grunted. ‘By that they mean my house. McLeod’s cottage is just an asset to these anonymous people, but it’s my home. ’
‘That’s terrible,’ said Jen, outraged.
‘Yes, it is,’ agreed Kate quietly.
‘And it’s outrageous that you’ve been sitting waiting, day by day, for the last God knows how many years, to be evicted. It’s inhuman! Surely, it’s illegal?’
‘Not illegal,’ said Sam quietly. He was sitting forward, his arms resting on his legs as he’d been quietly listening.
‘I’ve heard of this kind of thing before when basically a trust has gone on for such a long time that the original trustees have disappeared or died.
In some cases, even the trust deed has gone missing.
Finding the trustees can prove difficult, if not downright impossible.
Especially if you’re dealing with a legal firm who has messed up but won’t admit it. ’
‘So, what happens if they never find them?’ asked Jen, suddenly hopeful. ‘Can Mum keep the house?’
Sam shrugged. ‘Too many unknowns. I’ve a mate who’s a solicitor, he may be able to tell me something. Would you like me to follow it up with him?’
They both looked at Kate who’d turned away. ‘No, I don’t think so.’
‘But Mum.’
‘Jenny, you must understand, I can’t live with hope any longer.
It’s too painful. If I thought there was a chance then, yes, maybe.
But it’s been so long, and my enquiries have got me precisely nowhere.
Or rather, it’s got me less than nowhere — it’s got me stuck in limbo which, believe me, isn’t a good place to be.
I stay in this house out of sheer stubbornness.
I won’t go until they give me a damn good reason to.
But that leaves me in a house which, up till now, I refuse to spend good money on.
Why should I when I’d be investing in someone else’s property? ’
‘So what’s changed?’ asked Sam quietly. ‘Why are you telling us all this now? Why are you getting the work done now?’
Kate looked from him to Jen. ‘Jenny and Liam have come home. I can’t have the place collapse around, especially on, them now, can I?’
Jen reached out and grasped her mother’s hand. ‘We’ll fight this, Mum, we will.’
‘Of course,’ she said half-heartedly as if humouring her.
Jen frowned. ‘You do want to, don’t you?’
‘You can’t fight a phantom, Jenny. I’ve tried fighting, but I can’t find anyone to fight with. It’s as if whatever happened when Grandmother moved into the house, whatever those arrangements were, have been forgotten in the mists of time. And now I’m the only one who cares.’
‘I care, mum. I care. You’re not alone in this.’
‘I know, love. And I’m grateful, really I am. But I don’t see what can be done.’
Jen’s own stubborn streak kicked in. She tapped her fingers together thoughtfully. ‘We’ll try to figure out what happened through the only contact you have.’
Kate grunted dismissively. ‘Good luck with that.’
‘And if that fails’ — Jen narrowed her eyes — ’there must be other clues to what happened in the past. With Ngaire.
Her family.’ She looked around her. ‘The house. Maybe we can piece together what happened that put Ngaire in a house owned by a family trust which, apparently, has nothing to do with our family.’
‘How can we do that?’
‘Talk to whoever was around at the time. Try to figure out what happened. Build a picture.’
‘And the house itself,’ said Sam. ‘I’ll look into ownership at the council if you like?’
Kate smiled weakly. ‘I’ve tried that. But if you can find out anything, that would be lovely. I just don’t want you wasting your time.’
‘I’ve got time to waste,’ said Sam. ‘In fact, you’d be helping me out, giving me something meaningful to do.’
‘What about your house?’ asked Kate.
He shrugged. ‘What about it? I’ve had months to get on with it, but my heart isn’t it.’
‘Why?’ asked Kate. ‘Where is your heart?’
The silence lengthened. It was Sam who broke the silence.
He shrugged. ‘God knows. But all I’m saying is that I’m happy to look into the ownership of MacLeod’s Cottage for you, and I’m happy to do some repairs for you. And don’t worry about the cost.’
Kate drew a sharp breath. ‘You’re certainly not doing anything for free, Sam Boyd. I won’t hear of it. I have the money; I just didn’t want to give it to someone else!’
‘And I can help, too, Mum. I have some funds stashed away.’
Her mother looked dubiously at her.
‘I’ve not left everything for Alistair.’
‘Only the house and his debt covered,’ said Kate, unable to hide the bitterness that her daughter had had to buy her freedom from her abusive husband.
‘I had no choice but to do that. It was the only way —’ Jen stopped mid-sentence, suddenly remembering Sam’s presence.
Jen and Kate turned to look at Sam, who’d risen to leave. His face was dark with anger. ‘The only way you could leave him? Jesus, Jen, you should have picked up the phone. I’d have been there, as would any of your brothers, or sisters for that matter.’
Jen blushed, embarrassed that she’d revealed so much in front of him. ‘It wasn’t that simple.’
‘Doesn’t sound like it. But you’re shot of him now?’
It didn’t look as if he was going anywhere until he’d had his answer.
She nodded, and he relaxed. ‘At least I hope so.’
His lips thinned. ‘I see.’ He raked his fingers through his hair and turned to face Kate.
‘Look, I’ll go around the house and make a few notes on the most urgent repairs and then we can talk.
How about I come and see you again in a few days?
I’ve got something on tomorrow, and then I can get some costings in. ’
Kate rose to her feet. ‘Thank you, Sam. I’d appreciate that.’
‘Right, I’ll get on with it.’
As soon as Sam left the room, Jen groaned and put her head in her hands.
Kate patted Jen’s hair. ‘Sam’s a good man, and a strong one,’ said Kate, turning to Jen. ‘And he’s still in love with you.’
Jen shook her head. ‘No —’
‘Yes, he is, so be kind to him. He took it hard when you left.’
Jen blinked, her eyes wide. This was news to her. ‘But —’
Before she could finish her sentence, a high-pitched scream rang out, and Jen rushed inside the house.
‘Liam?’ she called out.
Liam came charging down the stairs, clutching something in his hand, still crying out for her. He slammed into her arms while she was in the hall.
‘What is it, Liam?’ She brushed back the hair from his face and bobbed down to his level. ‘Liam, tell me, what’s happened?’
But the shrieking continued.
‘I think I happened,’ said Sam from the top of the stairs.
She held Liam while he burst into loud sobs. She looked up to Sam. ‘You happened?’
‘Yes, I didn’t realise. I’m sorry. I went into the attic bedroom because I wanted to see if the broken guttering had created a leak. I didn’t realise he was there, or else I’d have knocked. I’m sorry.’
‘It’s OK. You’ve got nothing to be sorry for. You didn’t do anything.’
She leaned her cheek against the top of Liam’s head and held him tight.
It was the only thing that ever made him stop when he started on one of these hysterical outbursts.
The only thing that would ever reassure him he was safe from his father.
In the shadowy bedroom, Liam must have mistaken Sam for Alistair, although they looked nothing alike.
‘I’ll go,’ said Sam as Liam continued to cry. He came down the stairs and opened the front door. ‘I’ll see you later.’
Jen nodded before turning back to Liam, as the front door closed behind Sam.
‘What can I do?’ asked Kate.
‘Nothing. It just takes time. I’d hoped he wouldn’t be like this here, but…’
Kate patted Jen’s arm. ‘And he won’t be. As you say, he needs time. And we have a lot of that. You hold him and comfort him while I make us some lunch.’
Jen did exactly that, curled up on the window seat with Liam as Kate switched on some soothing classical music and moved calmly around the kitchen.
Slowly, the order and routine that surrounded Liam seemed to penetrate whatever chaos was going on in his mind, and his crying eased.
But still she continued to hold him, wondering if they’d ever be free of the legacy of fear her husband had inflicted on them both.