Chapter Thirty-Four
The moment she opened the back door Hattie was aware that something was wrong. Maybe she’d been burgled. She found her phone and put on the torch, there was no point in trying the lights. In the kitchen, she found that the cooker had been removed.
She moved quickly through the house. In the bathroom there was even more mess, there was no bath and no wash basin and, most importantly, no lavatory.
She knew immediately what Clive had done.
He had had the kitchen and bathroom removed so the house would be unmortgageable.
And he had somehow managed to do it in a single afternoon.
The valuation survey would be a disaster.
Back in the kitchen, Hattie found a note. ‘So Aunt Mary wants you to have the house without buying it! Well, good luck with that now!’
Hattie pursed her lips. It was hard to imagine the conversation Mary and Clive must have had to prompt this reaction but he must have lost his temper and then jealousy made him do all this.
It was an utterly crazy thing to do. Was he unstable as well as horrid?
It would be far harder to find a cash buyer – why didn’t he just sell it to her?
Because he didn’t want her to have it – simply because Mary did.
It was a nasty little trick from a nasty little man.
Why did he need to ruin the house as well as dashing her dreams?
He could have simply refused to sell to her.
Now only a cash buyer could buy the house and it would stand empty, deteriorating, until one could be found.
And what was worse, somehow, was she wouldn’t be able to bring Mary here again, to show her the garden, let her know her beloved old home was in good hands.
Hattie didn’t want to cry. She put her lips together and bit down on them, gulping back tears. She couldn’t give in now. She’d fought too hard.
Instinctively she found her keys and looked for Luke’s.
It wasn’t there. Had she given it to Leonie?
Whatever: she couldn’t escape to his house.
She clutched her phone and perched on her bed, pulling her duvet around her.
When her phone rang she dropped it, she was so shocked.
She saw Luke’s name on it and connected. But she couldn’t say hello.
‘Hattie?’ he said. ‘Are you OK?’
Hattie opened her mouth to speak. Out came the most enormous sob.
‘Right,’ said Luke. ‘I’m coming up. I’ll be with you in about four hours – maybe less. Will you be OK until then?’
Hattie nodded, and then managed to clear her throat enough to say yes.
Just knowing Luke was on his way made her feel a hundred times better. She lit candles and considered lighting a fire but it seemed too much like work. She just sat, watching the evening light drain from the room. She was very tired. She’d worked so hard but it had all been for nothing.
Soon, she needed the loo. She got up and went out into the garden and up the path to the little outhouse. It might be horribly spidery but here was a lavatory Clive knew nothing about. Using it gave Hattie a little moment of satisfaction.
She walked back through the scented garden. It had so nearly been hers but now, who knew what would happen to all Mary’s beloved plants? Would a new owner destroy the little wilderness areas Mary had left there for the birds?
The house seemed darker than ever and she must have dozed off because all of a sudden she was being made a fuss of by Frank and Fearless, waking her fully and climbing on the bed. Luke followed moments later. He appeared less pleased to see her.
‘Why didn’t you call me?’ he said.
Hattie pushed the dogs off and got up. This was not the Luke she’d been hoping for – expecting even. ‘You were miles away.’
‘That’s no reason not to tell me what’s going on.’ He produced a large flashlight and put it on. ‘What’s wrong with the lights? And why has half the kitchen been ripped out?’
‘Clive took them out, and switched off the facilities.’
‘For fuck’s sake! Why?’
Luke hardly ever swore so this was a shock. ‘I don’t really know,’ said Hattie, wanting to cry again.
Luke sighed. ‘Come on. I’ll take you back to mine.’
While Luke didn’t shout any more, Hattie was aware that he was angry, although she wasn’t 100 per cent sure who with. The dogs sensed it too as they went to their beds straight away, without being asked.
Although to be fair, thought Hattie, as she perched on the edge of Luke’s sofa, not daring to let herself sink back into its feather-filled embrace, he was being the perfect host.
‘I think we need hot chocolate,’ he announced. ‘With a shot of brandy in it.’ He looked at Hattie. ‘Unless you’d prefer tea?’
‘Hot chocolate sounds lovely.’
‘I’ll just get the fire going first,’ he said, setting light to the paper and kindling that was already in the wood burner.
By the time he came back into the room with mugs and a bottle, the dogs had migrated from their beds to the sofa next to Hattie. Luke rolled his eyes but didn’t comment.
He handed Hattie a mug. ‘So, tell me what’s going on?’
Hattie told him as briefly as she could.
‘Why didn’t you come here instead of camping out like a squatter?’ he asked when she had finished. ‘You’ve got a key.’
‘I couldn’t find it.’ This was true, but she had other reasons for not calling on Luke for help.
‘You could have rung me.’
‘Luke! I’m a grown woman – perfectly capable of sorting out her own problems.’
Luke snorted in disbelief. ‘Yeah, right.’
Hattie knew she was on shaky ground. She had patently not sorted anything out. ‘You weren’t here. You were… snagging or something! Or back in Cornwall. I didn’t know! I couldn’t expect you to come back and sort out my mess for me. The idea is ridiculous!’
‘I’d have come up. Like I just have. You should have known I’d do that.’
‘I couldn’t assume that.’
‘You could assume that.’
‘But why?’
‘Because you know I’d do anything for you.’ He looked at her in a way that made her stomach flip.
‘Now, finish your hot chocolate,’ he went on briskly. ‘I’ve got an early start in the morning. But I want you to stay here until things are properly sorted out.’
Hattie nodded meekly, aware she was in the wrong, but not absolutely sure why.
‘The bed is made up,’ said Luke, taking her to the spare room. The room, which previously had been full of Luke’s tools and other things, was now a comfortable space with nothing extraneous in it.
‘This looks very inviting – when did you have the time to do this?’ said Hattie.
But Luke didn’t answer her question. ‘Please stay as long as you need to, Hattie. I want you to.’
Hattie felt the tension leave her. She didn’t need him to fix her problems, but he had scooped her up and looked after her and she had perhaps needed a little of that. Climbing between the soft sheets, she felt safe for the first time for a little while.