Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
It was like an explosion going off – the same sense of disorientation, of ringing ears, of not being able to follow what was being said.
Paul was still talking, but she was only picking up the occasional word.
‘. . . haven’t agreed with everything you’ve done, but that’s by the by – Jamie will probably want to make some changes too.
We’ll stay here, in our little dower house.
’ He gestured at the hedge. ‘Get rid of the rest of this bloody thing, so we can see them running around—’
‘No!’ she said. ‘Of course we’re not selling. It’s our home!’
‘You only moved in – what? Twelve weeks ago?’ Paul said reasonably. ‘Admittedly, Tray’s a bit special, but you’ll find somewhere else.’
She struggled to think of something, anything – some tangible reason to close down this madness. ‘But it doesn’t work like that. What about all the stamp duty we paid? It was over a hundred grand, just for that.’
‘Of course, of course. That’s why we’ll pay you a very hefty premium.
’ Paul held out a piece of paper in one quavering hand.
‘The full market value – which, just to remind you, was rather more than you paid for it – plus the stamp duty, plus a bit more to compensate you for the inconvenience of moving. Can’t say fairer than that. ’
For one terrible moment, she thought he was offering her a cheque, and that, if she took it, the deal would be done, like some awful childish game, or a contract in a fairy tale. She didn’t move, and he gave the paper a bigger shake.
‘The offer,’ he said impatiently. ‘We’ve put it all in writing, so you can chew it over with Matt.’
Reluctantly, she took it.
‘That includes the chattels, by the way,’ he added. ‘The George Hayter portrait and so on. No going and flogging everything on eBay.’
She felt calmer now. She said carefully, ‘Of course I’ll tell Matt about this. But I don’t want you to be under any illusions. The answer’s no, and frankly I’m rather hurt you’ve even asked.’
Rosemary gave a little tut, though whether that was annoyance at Kate’s answer or at the way her husband was handling this, she couldn’t tell.
‘Kate,’ Paul said quietly. ‘How long do you suppose I’ve got left to live?
Care to guess? No? Well, the docs can’t give me an exact time frame, but it’s unlikely to be more than a few years.
It rather focuses the mind, knowing your time’s almost up.
You start to think, What’s really important?
You and Matt seem like nice people, and Tilly and Will are lovely kids.
But they’re no substitute for our real grandchildren. ’
‘They were never meant to be,’ Kate said, appalled.
‘That was never the deal.’ But, in a sudden flash of understanding, she realised that, as far as Rosemary and Paul were concerned, it had been the deal: that, in the absence of Jamie’s children, hers had been a kind of stopgap, a second-best, a way to fill the woods once again with dens and shouts, and the paddock with a pony – and that was the only reason they’d accepted that below-market offer from her and Matt.
‘Rosemary, too.’ Paul indicated his wife. ‘Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale, but the old girl’s eighty-three. She can’t go on forever. If you won’t do it for the money, do it for a dying man and his soon-to-be-dying wife.’
Kate looked at Rosemary, willing her to put a stop to this awful emotional blackmail. But she seemed to take Kate’s glance as a request for confirmation.
‘It’s true,’ she said, nodding. ‘The doctors think he’s got three or four years at the most.’
Kate took a deep breath. ‘All right – let’s say you’re right about that.
If so, I am truly sorry, but it means, in just a few years’ time, the whole purpose of this sale would be gone.
In four years, Tilly will only be thirteen!
We intend to spend decades here. It would be crazy for us to make a decision based on the next three or four years. ’
‘Unfortunately,’ Paul said, ‘it’s my entire lifetime.’
She didn’t know how to reply to that.
He indicated the paper in her hand. ‘Look,’ he said, his voice hardening, ‘if you want to be selfish about it, fine, that’s your prerogative.
Go away, talk to your husband, and make as selfish a counterproposal as you feel inclined to.
The truth is, you’ve got us over a barrel, and we’ll pay you whatever we have to. ’