Family Secrets (11 page)

Lawrence
winked at Rhianna and battled his way to the refreshment hatch.

Irene
and Lizzie came across to speak with them. “It’s a hoot, isn’t it? Did you see the newspaper article about the post office raid, Rhianna?”

“Yes,
Letitia sent me a copy. I thought it was very good.”

“I’m
afraid Mavis was still feeling a bit woozy and told them your name was Rhianna Soames. I didn’t realise or I’d have put them right.”

A
feeling of relief shot through Rhianna. At least that explained one thing - those other phone calls must have been from the press.

Lawrence
returned with a tray of tea and biscuits and Irene and Lizzie moved back to their places. A few moments later Myra bustled over to them. She was wearing a fetching red dress and looked every inch the producer.

“So
how are you enjoying your first Brookhurst, Am Dram production?” she asked Rhianna.

“It’s
brilliant. I haven’t laughed so much in ages,” Rhianna told her.

Myra
looked pleased. “Of course Laurie here was a valued member of the cast for several years.”

“Really,
I hadn’t realised that! You’re full of surprises, Laurie.”

Lawrence
laughed. “It’s difficult to live in Brookhurst without Myra cajoling you to join her drama group and I thoroughly enjoyed taking part. It was enormous fun, but it’s a wonderful change - sitting in the audience.”

“When
first you and then Tina left the cast I thought we’d have to disband. You were both so incredibly good - especially in that play - oh, what was it called? The one where you played husband and wife…”

Myra trailed off, seeing Lawrence’s expression.

Of
course, Rhianna thought, she should have guessed that Tina Soames had been a member of the
Brookhurst
Players
along with Lawrence.

“Well,
I’d best go and chivvy my cast,” Myra said, after an awkward pause. “Thanks for being so supportive. Now, you’re all invited to Sunday lunch tomorrow. Did Letitia tell you? One o’clock sharp.” And, without waiting for a reply, she hurried away.

“There’s
no arguing with Myra,” Lawrence said, a twinkle in his eye.

“I
wouldn’t dare, Letitia told him. “Anyway, she’s such a good cook, how could we possibly refuse?”

The
second half of the play was equally as funny as the first. At one point, Rhianna turned to Lawrence who was laughing heartily. He winked at her and placed his hand over hers. Letitia, seeing this, and pretending not to, smiled to herself.

*

The following morning was wet, which was disappointing but typical for the time of year. Lawrence collected them for church and sat with them during the service. Tim was an extremely good speaker. He got straight to the point, included everyone and related what he said to the times they lived in. Rhianna liked that.

The children sang a song at the end, after returning from their own little activity group. During coffee, several people came across to them. It was obvious that Lawrence was popular and had a number of friends in the area.

“However
does Myra do it?” Rhianna asked, as they arrived at the Vicarage for lunch. “Producing a play last night, church this morning and then cooking lunch for all of us.”

“She’s
very organised, dear,” Letitia told her. “You’ll see.”

Tim
was still at church and Myra said, “Now, Letitia come into the kitchen with me. The meat and potatoes have been cooking whilst we were in church – lamb today. I just need to put the veg on.

“Laurie,
take everyone’s coats and then come and open the wine – or there’s apple juice if anyone prefers it. And then - perhaps you and Rhianna can lay the table in the dining room - the cloth’s on already and you’ll find everything else in the unit. ”

Lawrence
winked at Rhianna and did as he was bid. They set their wine glasses down and made short work of laying the table.

“Myra
tested my skill at potato peeling this morning and ticked me off for leaving too many eyes in,” he told her, straightening the table mats.

Rhianna
laughed and carefully folded the napkins, putting them neatly by each place setting. Lawrence pulled out a couple of chairs and they sat and drank their wine and he told her about his days with the
Brookhurst
Players
.

Lunch
was superb and Myra kept up a constant stream of conversation.

“Letitia
tells me you’ve offered to put on an exhibition of your work, Rhianna,” she said now.

“Well,
I – if you think,” Rhianna’s cheeks were pink as everyone looked at her.

“Absolutely!
Wonderful idea!” Myra enthused. “Perhaps Laurie could exhibit some of his stuff at the same time.”

“That’s
what I thought,” Letitia said, smiling at him.

Lawrence
capitulated. “OK, but some folk are going to have very blank walls if I keep borrowing my paintings for exhibitions.”

The
conversation moved on to the previous evening’s play and the people who had taken part. Myra had them in fits of laughter as she recounted one or two funny incidents that had happened during rehearsals.

“Don’t
you miss it, Laurie?” Letitia asked.

“I
certainly do,” he admitted. “It was enormous fun.”

“Well,
if you move back here we’ll be roping you in again,” Myra told him.

“Mmm,
I had a feeling you might say that,” Lawrence grinned, setting down his knife and fork. “That was a fabulous meal, Myra.”

“Good
- now, if you’ve all had sufficient I’ll fetch the dessert. Raspberry trifle today.”

As
they all helped to clear away, Rhianna intercepted a glance between Tim and Lawrence and wondered what it was all about.

“There are some paintings in my study; I thought you might like to see, Rhianna. Perhaps Laurie would like to come too.”

Rhianna
and Lawrence followed Tim along the hall. He pushed open the door of his study. It was a large airy room; two thirds book-lined and the rest of the wall-space covered with several colourful paintings.

They
were lively pictures of everyday life; a market scene, a garden party, even a jumble sale. Rhianna immediately fell in love with them.

“So
what do you think?” he asked at length.

“They’re
good - I really like them…who’s the artist, Tim?”

Tim
hesitated. “Your grandfather painted them, Rhianna - Reg Delroy. He auctioned them to raise money for the church. I like art, but I can’t paint for toffee so - when I saw these, I couldn’t resist buying them. All Reg’s best work was either sold or given away - which is why Letitia is only left with those rather nondescript landscapes. He was a very generous man.”

Rhianna
sank down on a nearby chair and was silent. The two men looked at her, anxiously waiting for her to say something. She looked from one to the other and felt like bursting into tears.

After a moment or two Lawrence slipped out of the room. Rhianna covered her face with her hands and Tim put his hand gently on her shoulder and waited for her to compose herself. At last she looked up.

“My
father was a good man. I don’t want to believe badly of him, but everyone’s intent on telling me what a great man my grandfather was too. So why did they fall out? What am I supposed to think?”

She
knew she wasn’t making much sense, but Tim seemed to understand.

He
patted her shoulder. “It’s not up to us to pass judgement on others, my dear. I knew your grandfather briefly before he died and you knew your father for a good many years. They both had their good points and, from what I understand, they both had strong personalities.”

“Whatever
happened to make them fall out must have been serious, but they’re both dead now and they should be allowed to rest in peace. My advice to you would be to let it go.”

She
sniffed and found a tissue. “Yes, I’m sure you’re right and I realise that my grandfather was a good artist. I’ve been irrational - tried to pretend his work wasn’t any good, but it is - I can see that now.”

“So,
for Letitia’s sake, can’t you try to tell her how much you’ve appreciated seeing these paintings?” Tim asked gently.

She
nodded. “Actually, my father had one painting of my grandfather’s in his possession which I now own -
The
Woman
in
Blue
which is a portrait of Anna Soames, but I expect Letitia and Laurie have told you about that.”

She
could see from Tim’s face that he hadn’t a clue as to what she was talking about. She enlightened him briefly.

He
looked thoughtful. “Well, that
is
interesting. No, I’d no idea it existed. I hope I might see it sometime… Now, do you feel able to join the others for coffee?”

Rhianna
nodded again. “Thank you Tim for showing these to me. I’ve got a feeling it was a bit of a conspiracy between you and Laurie.”

Tim
tapped his nose. “Well, now, that would be telling, but I’m glad you’ve seen them. Now, feel free to chat to me about anything else that’s bothering you.”

He
was a thoroughly nice man, Rhianna decided, as they returned to the sitting-room and she suddenly felt much happier about the whole situation.

Presently,
Lawrence collected his belongings and drove them to
Wisteria
Lodge
.

Whilst
Rhianna was upstairs gathering her own possessions together, Letitia said, “So that was your plan to get Rhianna to change her opinion of Reg’s paintings.”

He
nodded. “Yes, but the poor girl was quite upset. Perhaps I shouldn’t have sprung it on her quite like that. I think she feels that - by praising her grandfather - she’s being disloyal to her father in some way.”

“That’s
nonsense! The two of them always got on well until…” She trailed off. “Now, you were going to tell me what you noticed about the portrait of
The
Woman
in
Blue
.”

He
leant forward. “Only that…” He lowered his voice.

After
he’d told her, she nodded. “You don’t miss a trick, do you Laurie? How about Rhianna, do you suppose she’s had similar thoughts?”

“If
she has, then she certainly hasn’t voiced them to me, although perhaps she wouldn’t. I mean she still doesn’t know me that well.”

Letitia
clasped her hands. “Well, eventually, we must bring it all into the open. Oh, dear, I was so much hoping that you’d find something out about that portrait to resolve it all.”

Rhianna
came into the room at that moment and, shortly afterwards, they took their leave with promises to visit again before long.

Chapter Ten

On the journey home, Lawrence decided to steer clear of the subject of Reg Delroy’s paintings. He didn’t want to risk upsetting Rhianna again, but he hoped he’d proved his point. Her grandfather had been a very fine artist and she had needed to recognise that.

It
seemed to him that all the Delroys were talented artists and that they all had artistic temperaments to match.

Instead,
Rhianna and Lawrence discussed the new exhibition at the gallery and the one they hoped to have in Brookhurst and he told her a little about his work and his family.

They
had an excellent journey back to Hertfordshire and, when they arrived at Rhianna’s house, Lawrence off-loaded his paintings. He refused a coffee and kissed her gently goodbye.

As
he breathed in the sweet perfume of her, he ached to be even closer, but knew that - before he could move forward in his relationship with her - they were both going to have to dredge up the past, which would be painful for both of them. He knew there was a possibility that their history overlapped.

“I’ll
ring you in the week,” he told her. “I’m looking forward to this exhibition. Sweet dreams.”

Well,
Rhianna told herself sternly, as she checked her answer phone for messages, you’ve only got yourself to blame. You distanced yourself from him; decided to keep your relationship on a strictly business footing and now you don’t like it because he’s doing just that.

There was a lump in her throat. She knew now that she was not going to be content with a gentle kiss. The passionate kisses she’d experienced, on that one occasion recently, had stirred emotions within her that she had thought were dead forever. There was a strong chemistry between them and she didn’t believe it was just physical attraction.

She
didn’t have the sweet dreams Lawrence had wished on her; instead she tossed and turned and eventually fell into a fitful sleep.

*

Rhianna was already hard at work the following morning, sorting out Lawrence’s paintings into groups, when Fiona burst into the gallery. She grabbed Rhianna round the waist and twirled her round until she sank breathlessly onto a chair.

“What
on earth was that in aid of, Fi? Have you been on the bottle?” Rhianna demanded, but then she caught sight of the coloured thread round Fiona’s finger.

Her
hand flew to her mouth. “Fiona you haven’t - Wow you have - you’re engaged!”

Fiona
was beaming. “I certainly am - isn’t it great? We went to this fantastic hotel on Saturday. Dave wined and dined me. We danced and then he proposed! We’re going to choose the ring next week-end.”

Rhianna
hugged her friend. “Fi, I’m so happy for you! Congratulations!”

“Thanks.
I still can’t believe it. I woke up this morning and wondered if it had all been a dream. I honestly thought it’d be you who tied the knot first.”

Rhianna
gave a wry smile. “Yes, well, good job it wasn’t me. It’s saved breaking off the engagement. Marcus and I are history now.”

“Well,
let’s hope your relationship with Laurie works out.”

Rhianna
didn’t reply; instead she whizzed out to the small kitchenette to return with two paper cups and a bottle of lemonade.

She
raised her cup. “I propose a toast to Fi and Dave!”

“To
me and Dave,” Fiona said, and they fell about laughing until Matthew Collins popped in.

“Is
this a private party or can anyone join in?” he wanted to know.

“Absolutely
- I’ll get another cup. We’re celebrating because Fi just got engaged,” Rhianna informed him.

Fiona
giggled and waved her hand in front of him. “Fizzy pop and a twine ring.”

“Stay
there!” he commanded, as Rhianna made to get him a cup.

Matt
dashed out of the gallery to return, a few minutes later, with a box of cream cakes and a bottle of wine.

“Let’s
do this properly,” he said. “After all, if it wasn’t for you two, I’d never have had a chance to promote my work.”

After
they had drunk a toast all over again, Fiona enquired, “So were you just passing or did you want to ask us something?”

“Oh,
I almost forgot in all the excitement. I’m responding to that e-mail you sent about leaving the rest of my paintings here for a bit longer.”

Rhianna
gave her friend enquiring glance and Fiona said airily.

“Oh,
that - well I had a bit of a brainwave, but I haven’t had the chance to run it past Rhia yet.”

They
sat round the table and Fiona said, “I thought it was about time we had another one of those
Meet
the
Artists
, evenings.”

Matthew
looked at her blankly. “I’m sorry, you’ve lost me - you’ll need to explain.”

“It’s
what I’ve said. We have wine and nibbles and people drop into the gallery and look at the exhibition and get to meet the artists.”

“But
they’ve already seen my stuff,” he protested.

Rhianna
set down her glass. “Actually, Fi, that’s a brilliant idea.”

She
turned to Matthew. “As you probably know, Lawrence Lorimer is exhibiting his stuff here shortly and I’ve got a new display of photographs and some paintings, but we’d need more than that to warrant a good evening.”

“Oh
good I knew you’d agree,” Fi said, flinging an arm round Rhianna’s shoulders. “That’s what makes us such a good team. I can create a new exhibition of my sculptures - and we’ll just let the crowds mingle with us.”

“You’re
being optimistic, aren’t you, Fi?” Rhianna grinned. “Anyway, it’d have to be soon - before everyone’s already taken a look at our stuff. Actually, I’ve got another decoupage class this week, so we might be able to make a display of that too - drum up some more support for the classes.”

“Great,”
Matthew said. “I’ll look forward to it. Keep me in the loop, girls!” And he was off with a cheery wave.

Presently,
as they settled down to work again Fiona said, “So tell me about your week-end, Rhia.”

Rhianna
was studying one of Lawrence’s paintings. It was of the cottage. She wondered what had happened there to make life so intolerable for Lawrence.

“Oh, it was very enjoyable for the most part.”

She
told her friend what she’d done and, when she’d finished, Fiona said,

“Well,
you certainly know how to live it up - a village production, lunch at the vicarage. It sounds a little - parochial - if you’ll pardon me for saying so.”

Rhianna
flushed, “Well, perhaps in comparison with what you did it was, but actually, I thoroughly enjoyed my week-end - well, most of it. Brookhurst is a lovely place and I’m warming to it.”

“Wouldn’t
do for me. I prefer the city. Anyway, how are you getting on with the gorgeous Laurie? Has he asked you on a proper date yet?”

“No
- we’re both getting to know each other. The pair of us is recovering from broken relationships and we don’t want to rush into things.”

Fiona
surveyed Rhianna quizzically, head on one side.

“Right
- so has he even kissed you yet - properly, I mean?”

There
was a slight tinge of colour in Rhianna’s cheeks as she said, “Too much information.”

“Ah,
ha - he has! Don’t deny it - you’re blushing! Well, that has to be a start.”

Rhianna turned away and checked the computer. Suddenly, she didn’t want to discuss Lawrence with Fiona, who was too perceptive by half.

“Oh, great we’ve got several more orders…Now, shall we start putting up this new exhibition this morning?”

“Have
we got all Laurie’s work now?”

“Yes,
he fetched the rest from his home and borrowed back a few more paintings from folk in Brookhurst…Actually - there was something, Fi.”

“I
thought so,” Fiona said triumphantly. “I can always tell. Spit it out.”

“I’ve
seen some more of my grandfather’s paintings. They were at the vicarage and, well, they were pretty special. I have to admit I’ve changed my opinion of his work.”

“What
were they doing at the vicarage?” Fiona demanded.

“Tim
bought them at an auction for church funds. It seems my grandfather was a bit of a benefactor. Perhaps I’ve misjudged him.”

Fiona
picked up a couple of Lawrence’s paintings.

“Well,
you didn’t know the man, so you’ve got no way of knowing - other than by going on what others say… Now, d’you want to arrange your own display of photographs?”

They
worked hard, only stopping when a customer turned up and, by the end of the morning; they had created two new wall displays.

“What
d’you think?” Rhianna asked.

Fiona
stood looking at Rhianna’s work, hands on hips.

“Oh,
that’s brilliant, Rhia. Well done you!”

Rhianna
had put her two finished oil paintings in the centre of the display and the photographs radiated out from them. The effect was colourful and eye-catching.

“Obviously,
we’re going to need some hand-outs to go with them and some captions.”

“Yep,
I’ll get straight onto it. Now, let’s see what you’ve been getting up to, Fi. Goodness! You have been busy! That’s a wonderful display.”

“Laurie’s
quite a find, isn’t he, Rhia?”

She
nodded, unable to meet Fiona’s eyes. Her friend could read her like a book. Lawrence was a truly lovely guy and she knew that she was growing dangerously fond of him.

The problem was there was still so much they didn’t know about each other and, somehow, she suspected it seemed to involve Christina Soames.

“So
let’s have a brain-storming session about this
Meet
the
Artist
Evening
,” Fiona said now. “Matt’s up for it and, assuming Laurie is too, when could we feasibly hold it?”

“The
sooner the better. We want to keep the interest in the gallery alive. So what about one evening next week? Obviously not Wednesday - how about Friday?”

“OK
- just as soon as you’ve spoken to Laurie and Matt about the date, we’ll get cracking with some fliers.”

Fiona
was in high spirits all day and Rhianna couldn’t help feeling the slightest tinge of envy. She wasn’t normally a jealous person, but she wondered if she would ever experience such happiness.

*

“I was just about to phone
you
,” Lawrence told her when she phoned him that evening. “You go first.”

She
told him about the
Meet
the
Artist
Evening
.

“That
sounds a fantastic idea,” Lawrence enthused. “Count me in. E-mail me the details. I’ll wear my best bib and tucker!”

Rhianna
laughed, loving his sense of humour.

“OK, now it’s your turn.”

“I
was wondering - I’ve recently done some computer work for a large hotel near London and they’ve mailed me a couple of complimentary vouchers. I know it’s short notice but, would you care to come with me as my guest, this Saturday, Rhia?
The
Silver
Lake
Hotel
Is a superb venue. We’d be guaranteed a good meal and there’s dancing afterwards.”

Rhianna’s
heart missed a beat. There was nothing she’d like better, but she didn’t want to sound too eager.

“Sounds great - what do I wear? Is it very formal?”

“Oh,
it’s a bit more upmarket than a roadside caff, so I suppose you need to be fairly dressy, but not too O.T.T.”

Rhianna
put down the phone and flew upstairs to her wardrobe. Apart from a little black number, she hadn’t anything suitable. This time, she really was going to have to buy something new.

*

Fiona’s eyes widened when Rhianna told her about the invitation.

“That sounds like a proper date at last. Let’s have a look at this place he’s taking you to on the internet.”

She googled
The
Silver
-
Lake
Hotel
. “Wow - it’s very upmarket, Rhia. It’ll cost a fortune to eat there. Has Laurie been holding out on you, d’you think?”