Chapter Twenty-Seven #3
‘Look, I know you’re hurting. Jordan told me about Cat.
I can see it hasn’t helped the current situation here.
Let’s calm things down a little, shall we?
I’ll organise coffee, or maybe something a little stronger.
’ Again the raised hands, this time in a pacifying gesture before he reached across his desk for the phone.
‘Leave it.’ Luke slammed his palms down on the desk as he rose up out of his chair.
‘Yes, losing Cat hurts, but it has nothing to do with how I’m feeling about you.
You betrayed me in the worst possible way and yet here you are talking about including me as part of your family? You hypocritical bastard.’
Gareth blanched at Luke’s verbal attack.
He sat like a statue in his chair, his breathing deep and heavy as he watched him warily.
He fears me, Luke thought. He doesn’t know what I’ll do next.
I’m usually calm, slow to anger, but today?
Today I could easily … He knew it was time to leave before he did something he’d later regret.
Pushing his chair out of the way he moved towards the door.
As he opened it, a thought occurred to him and he turned to take one last look at his uncle who still watched him, silently.
‘Oh, and as far as the job is concerned,’ he said calmly, ‘you can keep it. I quit.’
Chapter Twenty-Seven
That night Luke felt fully entitled to get roaring drunk.
After the events of the past few days he wanted to blot out everything – the pain, the lies, the misery – if only for a few hours.
He spent the evening at home, drowning his sorrows.
Only when the bottle was completely empty did he stumble up the stairs to his bed.
The next morning he woke up with a hangover from hell and cursed his stupidity.
Throwing a blanket over the problem hadn’t been a wise move; it had only made things worse.
Peering out into the dull grey morning, he found the steadily falling rain completely matched his own sombre mood.
Moments later he stood under the shower, jets of cold water bouncing off his skin; icy needles waking him, bringing him back to the world he now found himself in; one without Cat or his job with Arcadia.
As he finished towelling himself dry, he heard the sound of the doorbell.
Deciding to ignore it, he found his electric razor and erased the overnight growth of stubble.
When he finished and put the razor away, he stilled for a moment.
From the persistent ringing, whoever was outside wasn’t planning to go away any time soon, damn them.
After quickly tugging on jeans and a T-shirt, he padded barefoot down the stairs and along the hallway to unlock the door.
If this was Gareth on a mission of reconciliation he’d made the biggest mistake of his life coming here.
He wanted no more to do with him. Squaring his shoulders, he grabbed the door and swung it open, ready to deal with his uncle quickly and effectively.
Emelia Trevelyan cursed loudly and kept up her pressure on the doorbell. Damn Luke Carrack, she was sure he was in there so why wouldn’t he open the door? Eventually she heard the thud of feet on the stairs and a muttered curse before the door opened.
‘You’re wasting your time, I’ve nothing more to say to you,’ she heard an irritable male voice utter as the door swung back to reveal Luke in T-shirt and jeans, his hair still damp from the shower. ‘Miss Trevelyan,’ he said, his eyes widening with surprise. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘I’ve come to see you, Luke Carrack,’ she snapped. ‘Now, are you going to ask me in or do I have to stay here on the doorstep catching my death?’
‘Sorry, come in.’ He stepped back apologetically. ‘Here,’ he reached for her umbrella, ‘let me have that.’
Em lowered it and handed it over then unzipped her wax jacket and shrugged it from her narrow shoulders. ‘You can take this, too,’ she said, thrusting it at him.
‘I’ll just put these out the back. Take a seat in there.’ He indicated a half-open door to her left. ‘Can I get you a coffee?’
‘No thank you.’ She pursed her lips. ‘But I rather think you might be needing some. Preferably black. You smell like a distillery, young man.’
‘Yes, I probably do.’
‘And you look terrible.’
‘That too.’ He nodded in agreement. ‘Anything else you’d like to comment about before I get rid of your wet things?’ He quirked an amused eyebrow at her.
‘Not for the moment,’ she said, giving him one of her most challenging looks, ‘but no doubt I’ll think of something. Now please,’ she shooed him down the hallway, ‘get rid of those before they drip all over your floor.’
She watched Luke as he surveyed the puddle of water gathering on the flagstones in his hall before turning and heading towards the back of the cottage.
The front room where he’d instructed her to seat herself was surprisingly spacious.
A new wood burner had pride of place in the ancient stone fireplace.
It was an isolated piece of progress in this room where, despite the changes, old memories crowded in.
Recollections of Ross Carrack’s memorial service, when this house had been filled with sad faces in dark clothing, flashed through her mind.
A day when it seemed the whole village had turned out to mourn his loss.
Before Luke had left on his travels he had lived at Clyffe House with Gareth and his family, but on his return Em heard he’d moved back to his boyhood home with plans to update it.
Cat had told her a new kitchen and bathroom were planned but the state he was in when he’d greeted her at the door this morning didn’t bode well for the advancement of these future projects.
God forbid Cat’s departure had caused him to hit the same downward spiral as his mother.
She believed he had more strength of character than that. Could she have been wrong?
The closing of the door pulled her from her depressing thoughts and she looked up to see him settling himself opposite her.
‘So,’ he leaned forward, hands clasped, his expression curious, ‘what can I do for you, Miss Trevelyan?’
‘You can call me Em for a start,’ she said as she raised her blue eyes to his, ‘and I’m here because I’m very disappointed in you, Luke Carrack. Do you know how much time and energy Cat and I spent securing your freedom?’
‘Liam Richardson-Clarke?’ She saw a flash of surprise in his eyes. ‘That was you?’
‘Indeed it was. He’s my godson. I was also the mystery witness,’ she informed him.
‘I was on the beach looking for my dog the evening of the barbeque. I saw you with the Polish girl. Of course, it was discovering Evie Hunter’s bracelet in the sand at the bottom of the steps that sent those policeman off to talk to her.
’ Her face bunched into a frown. ‘I was surprised she confessed so easily, but there we are, young man, you’re free now and justice has been done. ’
‘Thank you. I’m forever in your debt … and Cat’s, of course.’ He brushed long fingers through his dark hair, stunned at her revelation. It made Cat’s anger all the more understandable.
‘Yes, Cat,’ Em said, nodding thoughtfully, ‘that’s another matter that requires clearing up. Would you like to explain exactly what happened between the two of you?’
‘Hasn’t Cat already done that?’
‘Ruan told me, but as you know there are two sides to every story.’
‘How do you know I won’t lie? Twist the truth to gain your sympathy?’
‘Well, believe it or not I think you’re an honest young man. A highly foolish one, but honest nevertheless. So, shall we have that coffee you asked me about when I arrived? And then you can tell me what my great-niece decided not to listen to.’
Em stayed for an hour while Luke told his side of the story.
He went right back to the beginning and his involvement with Marika.
Then he moved on to Tanya and the events that had prompted Cat to leave Carrenporth.
Once he had finished, Em returned her cup to its saucer and placed it on the small table next to her chair.
‘You want my opinion?’ she said, her bright eyes settling on him thoughtfully.
‘The pair of you want your heads banging together. You for not being honest with her, and Cat for being far too hasty and leaving. Mind you,’ she waved a finger at him, ‘impulsiveness is a Trevelyan trait and something I’ve fallen victim to myself.
But that is another story. I don’t feel you’re telling me everything though. This isn’t just about Cat, is it?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Look at the state of you, for goodness’ sake.
’ She screwed up her face in disapproval.
‘Even a shower and shave hasn’t made much improvement, has it?
No prizes for guessing the culprit.’ She indicated the glass and empty bottle sitting in the hearth.
‘Surely something beyond a love affair gone wrong must have driven you to that kind of excess.’
Luke thought for a moment, wondering whether to share the events of the previous day. Although Emelia Trevelyan sat patiently, small and birdlike, listening to his version of events that led up to his split from Cat, he was aware of her gossip connections.
‘Can I trust you?’ he asked cautiously. ‘Really trust you? What I’m about to tell you is private and there’s no way I want it going beyond these four walls.’
‘If you mean will I go scurrying back to Ros Myers and her cronies, the answer is no. We parted company recently. I made a bad mistake befriending them. One of my impetuous and ill-advised moments, I’m afraid.’
‘Okay.’ He drew in a deep breath as he watched her sitting with her hands neatly folded in her lap.
Maybe it was worth a chance. After all, he’d told her everything else.
‘Gareth asked to see me yesterday. When Evie was arrested he suspended me … on full pay. He wasn’t in a very good place at the time and, well, as he termed it, he lashed out at all the wrong people. ’
‘I heard about Jordan,’ she said quietly, ‘it was good of you to take him in, especially after the way he and his mother had treated you.’
‘Well he’s back with his father now and although Gareth had already thanked me, he called me in to confirm his offer of the Group Service Director’s job.’
‘And you took it, of course?’
‘Yes, and I thought it might be a good opportunity to thank him for organising Liam.’
‘Except he didn’t.’ Em gave a knowing nod.
‘No. He thought the police had simply released me.’
‘And you were understandably angry,’ Em supplied.
‘Very. I couldn’t believe he’d left me in there to face a murder charge on my own with a useless brief.’
‘Nor could I,’ Em agreed with a disdainful shake of her head. ‘It’s disgusting and absolutely unacceptable. How did he explain himself?’
‘He blustered a lot. Told me Evie had put a lot of pressure on him. Cursed himself for being weak. However, it was when he began talking about putting the past behind us and moving forward – him, Jordan, me – as a family, that I simply lost it … and quit.’
Em shook her head. ‘Gareth can be an insensitive ass at times. Personally I think you’re well out of that family, young man.’
‘Getting back to Liam …’ Luke hesitated, realising he’d completely forgotten he had a debt to pay. ‘How much do I owe you for his services?’
‘Nothing. He did it as a favour.’
‘A favour? Seriously?’
‘Seriously.’
‘Then I insist on taking you out to dinner to say thank you.’
‘Certainly not. Now you have no job you’ll need every penny.’
‘I already have work. I’m going back to sea. Davyd Coleman’s offered me some temporary work on the Moonrise. It should give me enough time to sort out something more permanent.’
‘Well, I hope you find something else soon. I don’t like to think of you out there in all that rough weather. I also know it can be incredibly dangerous work.’
‘Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,’ he reassured her, touched by her concern. ‘Besides, it’s only temporary; a couple of months at most.’
‘Are you sure?’ She eyed him suspiciously.
‘Absolutely. If you don’t believe me you can ask Davyd. So now I’m in gainful employment, can I coax you out for an evening of good food and wine?’
Em studied him for a moment, considering his proposal. He watched as her expression slowly changed and a smile softened her features. ‘Yes,’ she said, ‘thank you. I think that would be quite wonderful.’