The Lie (12 page)

Margaret screamed then. She screamed again and again as he entered her from behind, thrusting at her feverishly, hurting her, tearing her as he raped her, using her in a way she had never thought to experience. And then it was suddenly over. She lay face down on the bed, weeping into the covers as she felt him move away from her.

‘So now you know who you're dealing with,' Clay rasped. ‘That's for my father, bitch. That's how we treat cheating whores around here. Take what you can and get out of this house and this village. Next time I might not go so easy on you.'

Margaret lay where she was, listening to him leaving, his boots clattering down the stairs, the front door slamming behind him. Shudders ran through her as she realized that he had gone. The shock and horror of what had happened to her kept her where she was for several minutes, unable to move. It had all been so quick, so sudden. She could hardly believe it had happened, except for the pain and the feeling of humiliation.

When at last she could move, she went into the bathroom and locked the door. She wretched over the toilet but though her mouth tasted vile nothing came out. Turning on the bath taps she let the water run, pouring in the last of her precious bath salts. She didn't think she would ever feel clean again, but she had begun to gather her thoughts.

He wasn't going to get away with this. She would make him pay. Somehow, she would make him pay  . . .

Daniel saw the light on in the sitting room as he came in from the kitchen. He had been to the pictures in Cambridge with Alice and afterwards had stopped for a cup of tea with her parents. The house had been full to bursting point, because the Robinsons had taken in a couple of lodgers – New Zealand airmen who were now fighting with the Royal Air Force and had been sent to work at the aerodrome. He wondered about the light; Connor was staying with Henry for the weekend so it must either be Emily or Margaret.

He hesitated on the threshold as he saw Margaret. She was pouring brandy from a decanter on the sideboard and as she turned, he saw the cut on her lip. It had swollen and she looked awful.

‘What happened?'

‘It's hardly your business.' Her tone was sharp, bitter.

‘You're still family.' Daniel's gaze narrowed. ‘Someone did this to you – who was it?'

‘If you really want to know' – she laughed harshly ­– ‘it was Clay. He walked into my bedroom two hours ago and raped me.'

‘Raped  . . .!' Daniel stared at her. He felt stunned, wanting to dismiss it as a lie, and yet he knew it was true. ‘My God! The stupid fool. I am so sorry, Margaret. Is there anything I can do – get the doctor for you or something?'

‘You can ring the police if you like, have Clay arrested.'

‘He deserves to be punished  . . .' Daniel felt sick. He stood there staring at her as his stomach churned, imagining the scene, the bestiality of what his brother had done. ‘I'll thrash him for this. I promise you he won't get away with it.'

‘It isn't enough,' she said coldly. ‘I want five thousand pounds or I go to the police.' She walked towards the telephone, her hand hovering over it. ‘Shall I ring them or will you?'

‘It would ruin him – us. I know he's a bastard. What he did is unforgivable, Margaret, but he has a wife and children.'

‘He should have thought of that before he raped me. Five thousand pounds is my price for silence – take it or leave it.'

‘Henry couldn't borrow any more from the bank and Clay has borrowed to buy the land. I doubt they could raise a thousand between them at the moment.'

‘Then he'll go to prison. I've got bruises all over me to prove my case.'

Daniel thought it over. She would go to the police, he knew that. She might not succeed in court, but the damage would have been done. In a village like this the family would never live it down. Every one of them would be tarred with the same brush, even though they hadn't done anything.

‘I could raise two thousand,' he said. ‘It's my only offer, Margaret. Refuse and I'll ring the police myself.'

She looked at his set face, realizing there was no room for manoeuvre. Daniel was no fool. Robert had been right about that much. ‘And you'll thrash him? You promise?'

‘You can be sure of that,' Daniel said, his mouth drawing into a thin line. At that moment he wanted to kill his brother for the trouble he'd caused. Margaret might be a grasping woman, but she hadn't deserved this – no woman did. ‘I'll have it out with him in the morning, and I'll give you the money in cash tomorrow afternoon.'

‘You won't go back on your word?'

‘No, I shan't do that. Once I've given it I stick by it.'

Yes, she believed that. It was why she'd chosen to target him rather than his brothers. A part of her wanted to see Clay punished and the rest of the family with him, but she knew she was going to take the offer. She couldn't wait to get out of this wretched place and she would never bother to come back. She had made a big mistake when she married and in future she would be more careful.

‘Then I'll take your word.' She finished her drink. ‘I'm going to pack my things. I shall be leaving as soon as I get my money.'

Daniel nodded. He didn't say anything as she left the room but he was sick and angry inside. That money was all he had, his savings for the future, for the garage he wanted after the war. But he'd been left with no other choice. Margaret could – and would – have ruined them all. He had ensured that she would leave them in peace but at the cost of his dreams.

He swore out loud. Clay could pay him back. He would give him a good thrashing in the morning, and he would make sure he got his money back somehow.

‘You were a bloody fool to promise her so much,' Clay muttered, holding a stained rag to his nose. The fight between them had been long and hard, for they were evenly matched. Neither had really won, but Clay was sure his nose was broken. ‘Stupid whore asked for it.'

‘Stupid or not, she didn't deserve what you did,' Daniel told him. His lip was cut but he was in marginally better shape than his brother. ‘She was Dad's wife – and no woman deserves to be treated like that. You behaved like an animal, Clay.'

‘Bloody white knight,' Clay muttered, but couldn't meet Daniel's eyes. ‘You should've let her go to the police. It was her word against mine.'

‘And how do you think Dorothy would have felt? Who would she have believed? She would've died of shame – and what about the rest of us? We have to live here. It's only because it would have shamed them that I stopped her going to the police.'

‘Well, I've no money to pay her. I've borrowed up to the hilt on that land.'

‘I'll pay her. You can give it back to me when the war is over.'

Clay muttered something and Daniel glared at him.

‘Don't think you're getting away with it. I shall want that money when I come back, so don't forget it. You may think you've got away with this but you'll get your comeuppance one of these days.'

‘All right, all right, damn you,' Clay said. ‘I'll see what I can do. Things should be better by then.'

‘I'll want it whatever, either in cash or land – suit yourself.' Daniel stared him down. ‘You were a fool, Clay, and it's your debt not mine. Think yourself lucky you're not sitting in a police cell with a prison sentence hanging over you.'

Clay pulled a face but said no more. He'd had a few drinks and the thought of Margaret alone in the house had got to him. He'd wanted to hurt and humiliate her, but he didn't want to lose everything. Dorothy would leave him if she knew, and things had been looking brighter now he had the land he wanted.

‘I admit I was a bloody idiot. We'll sort it out when you get back – but I still think you were a fool to pay so much.'

‘She wanted five thousand. If I'd had it I would probably have paid her. You deserve all you get, Clay.'

Daniel turned and walked away. His brother had shown no sign of remorse and it sickened him. What he knew and what he'd seen disgusted him. A part of him wished that he'd picked up that phone and let Clay take his punishment, and yet he could imagine how Dot and his sisters would feel if they knew Clay was a rapist of the worst kind.

Walking away, Daniel got into the old Ford he'd bought for a few shillings from someone's barn a couple of days earlier. He had managed to get it going and with the ban on the sale of new cars it should bring him in a few pounds once he'd smartened it up. It was going to take a long time to replace the money he'd promised Margaret, because he might never get Clay to pay up, but he would get that garage somehow. When the war was over.

He looked at his watch. Frances would be at the station very soon. Marcus was going straight back to his base following their honeymoon, and she'd asked Daniel to meet her.

He wouldn't be able to buy the house now. He would have to tell Henry and Emily. Their best hope now was that Samuel Danby would buy it for his son and Frances.

‘Do you mean it?' Frances looked at him excitedly. ‘Can we really have Rathmere? I know Marcus will say yes. I'll phone him this evening but I'm sure of his answer already. He has always liked this house.'

‘I'm glad you're pleased. I was going to try and keep it for the family but something else came up.'

‘You and Emily and Connor are welcome to stay as often as you want,' Frances said. ‘At least until we have a family.'

‘I shall be looking for a place of my own after the war,' Daniel told her. ‘Connor can stay with Henry or me after that – but until then he would be company for you.'

‘Yes, of course. I shall be glad of him here while Marcus is away. Emily too when she wants to stay.'

‘Let's hope Marcus agrees then.'

‘I am sure he will.' Frances's face was glowing. There was no doubt that everything in her world was satisfactory, and for a moment Daniel envied her, her surety, her confidence in the future. ‘But are you sure you don't want it, Dan?'

Daniel smiled and shook his head. Of course he wanted the house Grandfather Searles had so lovingly built; it was his home and he had formed his plans around it, but the situation was hopeless. He was going to need every penny he could save for his business. If the house had to be sold, it was best it went to Frances and Marcus.

Emily knew that something was wrong when Daniel told her he couldn't keep the house after all. He'd been so pleased that he was providing them all with a home, and now he was definitely brooding.

‘What happened?' she asked. ‘Was it something to do with Margaret?'

‘Yes, in a way,' he said, and shook his head as her brows lifted. ‘No, I'm not going to tell you. She has gone now and I don't think we shall see much of her in future. She doesn't like village life.'

‘No, I know. She was bored here, wasn't she – with Father and all of it? It's a pity he married her.'

‘Yes, it is,' Daniel agreed. His father's marriage had cost the family dear, one way and another. It wasn't just the money. She had been entitled to her share, but things had changed. Henry and Clay hardly ever spoke these days. Henry was still sore over losing their best land and would be a long time forgiving his brother. Daniel hadn't told him about the rape but Henry knew there had been a fight between him and Clay, and he suspected something was going on. ‘It would have been better if she had never come here.'

‘I tried to like her for Dad's sake,' Emily confided, ‘but I never did. I'm glad she's gone.'

‘I can't say I'm sorry.' Daniel frowned at her. ‘So you're off to Liverpool tomorrow. Shall I come with you on the train and see you settled in?'

‘Do you want to?' Emily felt pleased. She was a bit nervous about the whole thing. ‘Yes, I should like that, Dan. Unless you have something more important to do?'

‘No, nothing more important than seeing you're all right,' he told her with a smile. ‘I shall feel better about you if I know where you are. You're my little sister, you know, and it's a big bad world out there.'

Emily giggled because he was teasing her. She found herself telling him about the injured fireman she'd visited in the hospital.

‘He did the right thing apologizing to you.'

‘He didn't have to. I was annoyed at the time, but I didn't blame him, not really. It was awful for him. His friend had died and he didn't know if he would ever be able to work again.'

‘He sounds a decent bloke.'

‘Yes, I think so. He asked me out, but I told him I was being transferred.'

‘Would you have gone out with him otherwise?'

‘I might  . . . Yes, I expect so. I like him.'

‘You haven't made up your mind to marry Simon Vane then?'

‘No, not yet,' Emily said. ‘To be honest, we were so busy at the station that I haven't really thought about it much. Simon is going to ring me when he gets leave – or he will when I give him my number. I'll see what I feel like then.'

‘That's a sensible girl,' Daniel said, with a nod of approval. ‘Give yourself time.'

It was worth every penny of the money he'd paid Margaret to keep quiet, Daniel thought as he said goodnight to his sister. Emily and Frances would have been so ashamed if Clay had been arrested. He'd done it for them. The money had gone now. He would just have to find a way of earning some more  . . .

‘Have you noticed how many Irish people there are here?' Emily asked as they explored Liverpool together. They had already deposited her suitcases at her new lodgings, and Daniel had declared himself satisfied both with the area and the landlady. Emily was going to be living in a private house, but with three other girls from the Fire Service who were already living there, one of whom was called Maura and was Irish. ‘I love the way they talk, don't you?'