36. Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Six
‘ L iv? Liv?’
‘Cass…’
‘Oh my God, what’s happened? Have things gone wrong with Seb?’
I managed to laugh through my tears. ‘No.’
‘OK. Bertie?’
I let out a loud sob and wiped my eyes on my sleeves. ‘They’re going to take him away.’
‘What? Who’s going to take who away?’
‘Marion and Hugo. They’re going to take Bertie from me.’
‘Liv, calm down. How are Marion and Hugo going to take Bertie? It doesn’t make any sense.’
After a series of deep breaths and several false starts, I explained my meeting with Marion.
‘The total bitch. The complete, utter arsehole weasel of a bitch. She can’t do that.’
‘She can. They have money. I don’t.’
‘Yes, but anyone with half a brain can see you’re an amazing mum to Bertie. I bet he’d stand up in court and swear to it if he was allowed.’
‘I’d never put him through it.’
‘What about Rob? What does he say about all this?’
‘God knows. All our communication so far has been through Marion. Either he doesn’t have a mobile phone or won’t share the number, so I have to call his parents’ landline, and Marion screens all the calls.’
‘Bitch face bitch. Liv, let me go to the bank. We’ll fight this together.’
‘I won’t let you do that. The amount of money we’re talking about is too much. If we try to fight it, you can guarantee Hugo and Marion will use all means at their disposal to drag the process out for as long as possible in order to make it as expensive as possible. It would leave you bankrupt, and we can’t have two siblings bankrupt.’
‘I’m sure Dad would help.’
‘Dad needs to keep his money for his care. I’d never see his quality of life compromised over something like this.’
‘Then what are you going to do?’
‘I don’t know. Everything’s such a mess.’
‘I’m coming up there.’
‘No, Cass, you don’t need to do that.’
‘You can’t stop me. I’ll have to arrange cover at work, but Jasper’s just finished his four on, so he’s got the next few days off. He can watch the kids while I’m away.’
‘OK, but don’t say anything to anyone except Jasper. I don’t know what I’m going to tell Bertie.’
‘Nothing for the moment. Marion gave you a week, yes?’
‘Yes.’
‘Right, so you’ve got a bit of breathing space.’
‘Barely.’
‘OK, go home, have a bath, straighten yourself out. I’ll try to get there in time to do the school run with you. You’re not going through this alone, OK?’
‘OK.’
‘When you get home ask Harry if I can stay for a couple of days.’
‘Will do. Love you.’
‘Love you too.’
The usual twenty-minute walk from the village to the farm took me the best part of an hour. I dragged myself along the track, exhausted from the emotional shock of Marion’s announcement. Every hundred metres, my emotions would swing violently from anger, to hope, to despair. I turned my situation round and round in my head, trying to find a solution I knew deep down didn’t exist. It was a David and Goliath situation, only in this case, David didn’t even have a sling, and his hands were tied behind his back.
When I reached the farm, I assumed everyone was out, until I saw a pair of booted feet poking out from beneath the Land Rover. Harry must have heard my feet on the gravel, for she slid back on a trolley, her face covered in oil.
‘You’re back early.’
‘Yes, I wasn’t feeling all that well.’
‘You look a bit peaky.’
‘What are you doing?’
‘This old girl’s got an oil leak. Yet another thing slowly breaking around the place. Why don’t you have a lie down?’
‘Yes, I think I will. I’ll give you a hand with some cleaning later.’
‘Wait and see how you feel. You don’t want to overdo it.’
‘I’m sure I’ll be fine. Oh, is it OK if Cass comes to stay for a couple of days?’
‘Of course it is. Liv, are you sure everything’s all right?’
Tears filled my eyes, but I blinked them away. It would have been easier to lie, but I owed Harry more than that. ‘I had a visit from my mother-in-law today while I was at the shop. Let’s just say it didn’t go well.’
‘Want to talk about it?’
‘No, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get things straight in my head first.’
‘Sure, but you know where I am if you need me.’
‘Thank you.’
I walked through the farmhouse, stopping to make a cup of tea before heading upstairs. It was a relief to know Seb had gone to Plymouth for the day to pick up a piece of machinery for the farm. I couldn’t face the thought of seeing him. What would I say? I think I’m going to have to leave you for my ex husband or risk losing my son? It wouldn’t be fair to him. He’d want to help, but there was nothing anyone could do.
As I climbed the stairs, Maggie was on her way down. ‘Did Harry tell you we’ve got some new guests arriving?’
‘No?’
‘Yes, a married couple. I’m afraid it will mean sharing your bathroom.’
‘That’s fine, I’ll have to remind Bertie not to pee all over the toilet seat, though.’
‘Yes, you do that. I’ve no idea what they’re like. Harry’s only spoken to them on the phone, so fingers crossed they fit in.’
‘I’m sure they will.’
Maggie carried on her way, and I heaved myself onwards, using the banister to support my weight. I’d always known there would be comings and goings at Lowen Farm, but now was the worst possible time to welcome new guests. I’d have to be friendly when what I really wanted to do was curl up in a corner and hide.
I must have fallen asleep as soon as I lay down on my bed, for I was still wearing my shoes when a gentle voice stirred me into consciousness.
‘Liv?’
I sat up and rubbed my swollen eyes. ‘Cass? How did you get here so quickly?’
Cass looked at her watch. ‘Not that quick. You called me at eleven and it’s now half past two.’
‘Half past two? Crap, I need to get Bertie from school.’
‘You’re not going anywhere looking like that.’
Cass pulled her phone from her pocket and held the camera up to my face. She handed me the phone and I could’ve cried again seeing my reflection. My curls had tangled into knots, the skin around my eyes was red and puffy, my eyes themselves bloodshot.
‘I’ll pick up Bertie. You have a bath and splash some cold water on your face to bring down the swelling. I’ll tell Bertie you have a headache, so you’ll have plenty of time to straighten yourself out.’
‘Thank you,’ I said, taking Cass’s hand.
In the end, I had plenty of time to myself. When Bertie got back from school, he insisted on showing Cass how much all the animals had grown since her last visit. I’d told Cass I didn’t feel up to going downstairs for dinner, so she brought me up a plate of food for me to eat alone in my room.
There had been several messages from Seb, but I’d not yet replied to any. Instead, I’d closed the curtains in my room, and once I’d finished eating, I’d burrowed down beneath the covers, trying not to cry.
At half past six, there was a knock at the door.
‘Come in.’
Seb opened the door and walked over to my bed. I snuggled further down beneath the duvet, knowing if he saw my face, he’d want to know what was wrong.
‘Are you OK? Cass said you’re not feeling well?’
‘Yeah, I think it’s a migraine.’
Seb sat on the edge of my bed, running his hand over my hair and down to my forehead. ‘You don’t seem to have a fever.’
‘No, I’m fine. Honestly, it’s just a nasty headache.’
‘Is there anything I can get you?’
‘No, thank you. I’ve eaten and have plenty of water.’
‘Would you like me to sit with you for a while?’
‘No, I think I just need to sleep.’
‘I can stay with you while you sleep.’
‘No, please, I think it’s best I’m by myself.’
‘All right,’ said Seb.
I felt awful. I could tell from his voice I’d hurt him by not wanting him around. If only he knew what was coming. I closed my eyes pretending to sleep, but really, it was to hide the tears which were about to pour from my eyes.