Winds of Change (9 page)

She got up and gave him a hug. ‘Thank you.'

He patted her cheek as she started to move away and the smile they shared seemed to warm her right through.

Regina studied Minnie as they shared a cup of tea that afternoon. ‘Well, you certainly upset Seb today. He took Dorothy and me out to lunch and never smiled once. When I asked how you liked your flat, he said you were being influenced by some cheapskate businessman who was playing the sympathy card.'

‘Lou's never asked for sympathy from me or anyone else.'

‘Can I meet this friend of yours? I'm curious.'

‘Lou's got a medical appointment this afternoon and will need to rest tonight.'

‘Seb said he was in a wheelchair.'

‘Yes.' She changed the subject. It was no business of Regina's what was wrong with Lou, especially as the information would inevitably get back to Sebastian. ‘Have you rung Nikki today? Is she all right?'

‘I'm not going to ring her. She put the phone down on me last time.'

‘You must have upset her.'

‘Well, she's upset me, too. When I think of all the time and effort I've invested in her – children can be very ungrateful.'

‘She's legally an adult at eighteen, and these decisions affect her life, not yours.'

‘Minnie, keep out of it. You don't understand.' The minute the words had left her mouth, Regina wished them unsaid because if anyone did understand it was her sister. She changed the subject. ‘Look, Sebastian said we should go through the furniture and sort out what you want for the flat. Do you want to do that now? Apparently some of the furniture belongs to you already, but he's going to buy it off you.' She smiled. ‘He's really miffed about having to do that, because he's had his eye on that chest of drawers and some other pieces for a while.'

‘Good. He deserves to be miffed. And look, I want you to call me by my proper name: Miranda.'

Regina looked at her in surprise. ‘Does it mean that much to you?'

‘Yes.'

‘Well, I'll try then. I may make a few mistakes till I get used to it.'

‘Thank you.'

After another silence, but not an awkward one, Regina said, ‘You ought to know – Dorothy brought me here this morning while you were looking at the flat. She said she wanted to check the measurements of some of the furniture. Apparently you've had the lock on your bedroom door changed.'

Miranda could feel herself stiffening. ‘She tried to go into my bedroom even now, after I'd told them all the things in there were mine?'

Regina nodded. ‘I told her I thought it wrong, but she said Seb particularly wanted her to make a list of all the furniture there. She's always a very obedient little wifey, isn't she? Do you think she's afraid of him?'

‘Could be. They used to argue at first, but then they settled down. You can never tell what she's thinking, though.'

She walked to and fro, too angry to sit down. ‘Sebastian's gone too far this time. There are quite a few other pieces around the place that are mine, not just the ones in my bedroom. I suppose she checked those?' Miranda looked at her sister, who nodded. ‘Why did you tell me what Dorothy did? You're usually on his side.'

‘I'm not on his side. I just can't see the point of arguing with him when I live ten thousand miles away. But this time, well, as I've told you, I think the will was unfair.'

‘I've got a lawyer looking at whether I have any grounds for contesting it, a very good lawyer.'

Regina let out a long, low whistle. ‘Sebastian didn't mention that when I told him he was being greedy.'

‘That's a good word for him, greedy.' Miranda looked at a small bureau, a very pretty piece. Did she dare? Yes, she did. She began taking out the drawers and tipping their contents on to the floor.

‘What on earth are you doing?'

‘Taking the things that are mine, like this bureau, and moving out. You can phone Sebastian, if you want, but he won't be able to stop me. I can prove that everything I'm taking is mine.'

‘I wouldn't do that to you.' Regina grinned. ‘In fact, I'll help you move. Do you want to call your friend Lou, too?'

Miranda shook her head. ‘No. I'm going to put them in that horrible little flat and I can do this on my own. Lou's a bit tired after today's excursions.' She picked up the phone directory. ‘First I'd better arrange a removalist.'

The first company she rang could come round to do a small load if they started at six o'clock the following morning. It seemed like an omen.

Energized, she turned her attention to emptying the things out of her furniture.

Sebastian would be more angry than ever.

But she wouldn't be here to see it.

Nikki started the day by throwing up, hardly managing to get to the bathroom on time. Afterwards she felt like death warmed up, but still better than she had for a while, so decided to risk going to school.

Tim hurried across as soon as he saw her come through the gates. ‘You look dreadful. You should have stayed at home.'

‘I have two important tests today. And I can't spend the next seven months in bed, can I?'

‘What if you have to rush out to be sick?'

‘I'm hoping not to. I feel a bit better this morning.'

But halfway through the first test nausea overcame her again. Clapping one hand to her mouth, she ran.

Unfortunately the school nurse was passing and followed her into the girls' toilets, waiting till she came out of the cubicle to interrogate her.

‘Have you got an upset stomach?'

Nikki hesitated then shook her head, sick of telling lies. ‘No. I'm pregnant.'

‘Oh. Does your mother know?'

‘Yes. And I'll have left school by the time I get big, so I just want to continue studying till the exams are over. I might as well get some qualifications while I can.'

‘That's very sensible.' The nurse's voice was more sympathetic than Nikki had expected. ‘What are you going to do afterwards?'

She turned away, fighting tears. ‘I don't know. Mum wants me to have an abortion. I'm not sure.'

‘It's a big decision. Perhaps you could talk to the counsellor about it?'

How stupid could you get? The idea of seeing the counsellor hadn't even occurred to Nikki. ‘Good idea.'

‘What about the baby's father?'

‘He's – um, my age, so we're seeing his parents tonight. Mum will be back from Australia next week and we'll both talk to her then. Granddad died and she had to go to the funeral.'

‘Stay in the rest room. I'll fetch your test and you can finish it there.'

‘Thank you.'

‘I'm here to help, you know. Any time.'

Strange, Nikki thought. She'd not even considered seeking help at school. The nurse could be a terror with malingerers but today she'd been very supportive.

If only her mother would be the same.

The following morning Miranda waited for the removalists to pick up the furniture that belonged to her. She was taking every single piece she had because she didn't trust her brother. There was also a pile of rubbish bin liners stuffed full of her other possessions, and boxes of books. She'd take the computer herself.

Regina had gone back to Sebastian's at about eleven o'clock last night, but Miranda had worked until nearly one o'clock, getting up again at five to continue sorting and packing.

The house looked as if a cyclone had raged through it, because she'd simply tipped the contents of each piece of furniture out on to the floor and left the piles there. Regina had giggled every time they did that and in the end they'd had fun together.

Miranda couldn't remember a time when they'd got on this well. Regina had left home at eighteen to study at Sydney University. Then her sister had gone to work in England, marrying an Englishman. The marriage had only lasted a year or so, and the family had never met him. Long enough for her sister to have a child, and keep it too. She'd never come back to live in Australia, though their father had tried to persuade her. Indeed, she'd only visited them two or three times, once bringing her daughter.

Regina arrived just before the removalists were due.

‘I didn't expect to see you again today. Wasn't Sebastian suspicious about why you were coming back?'

‘He wasn't up.' She peered into the sitting room, shuddering at the sight of piles of papers. ‘You know, there might be important stuff among these.'

‘If so, Sebastian can look for it. He made a point of me not touching any of Father's papers, so let him deal with them.'

‘He's made you very angry, hasn't he? I've never seen you like this.'

‘I've never been this angry in my whole life before.' Miranda paused in surprise. ‘It feels good, actually.'

‘Not even when they made you have your baby adopted?'

‘I don't remember that time very clearly. They kept me drugged.' She fumbled in her pocket for a handkerchief and blew her nose firmly, determined not to cry. Then she remembered the list she'd made as it fluttered to the ground. ‘Give this to Sebastian when you see him, will you? I was going to ask the removalists to sign it, but you'd be better.'

‘What is it?'

‘A list of what I've taken. I'd be grateful if you'd tick off the pieces of furniture as they're loaded into the van and tell him that nothing else was taken.'

‘Surely that's not necessary?'

‘I think it is. Sebastian's insisted on me proving that I've inherited these things from my Auntie Con, even though he knew perfectly well I had.'

Regina gaped at her. ‘What's wrong with the man? Even I know you aren't the sort to tell lies. Can I come and see you at your new place before I leave?'

‘I wasn't sure you'd want to. But it'll look more like a storage dump with my furniture in it.'

‘I do want to. And by the way . . . I like this new Min—
Miranda
better than the old one.' Regina began fiddling with some papers. ‘I hadn't realized, you know.'

‘Realized what?'

‘How badly Sebastian's been treating you. I'm surprised Father let him.'

‘You know Father. He always sided with the men and he truly believed women's brains weren't as good as men's.'

‘But he left
me
the money to do with as I please.'

‘You're an accountant, and he always seemed to think you were an exception to the rule. I wasn't. And Sebastian must have thought you'd make a fuss if he didn't let you have your money. He knows I've always hated fusses. Well, it's been more than fusses. He can get into quite a rage.'

‘I still find it hard to believe even Father would go so far.'

‘In the last year or two, he was growing rather forgetful. Dementia starting, the doctor thought.'

‘Oh, no! Why didn't you say?'

‘Sebastian insisted we keep it to ourselves, said there was no need to worry you.'

‘He knew?'

‘Yes, of course.' Miranda was surprised when Regina came and gave her a big hug. ‘You don't usually hug people.'

‘Don't I? I used to think I had the keep-your-distance gene, like Sebastian and Dad. But once I got away, I found I didn't. I'm not a kissy-kissy sort of person to strangers, but for those I like, it's different.'

‘That's a good way to describe it:
keep-your-distance gene.
I can't remember Father ever cuddling me. Can you?'

‘No, never.'

‘Do you cuddle Nikki?'

‘I used to. Not now. Teenagers don't like being cuddled by their parents, at least she doesn't, so I have to keep my distance.'

‘Lou's a very touchy-feely person. He hugs me quite often.' And she'd not hesitated to hug him. ‘I think the keep-your-distance gene must have missed both you and me.'

Regina squeezed her hand, as if she could read her thoughts. ‘I hope things go well for you with Lou. It's about time you met someone to love.'

Miranda nearly blurted out that she didn't dare fall in love with Lou, but held back. ‘I'd better get going now.' She took a last look round and walked out to her car, carrying a bag of ripe tomatoes and a few other things from her garden. She'd miss her plants and flowers very much.

She was leaving her furniture at the flat for the moment. It was, after all, free storage space. The removal men dumped it where she told them to and the place soon filled up. They joked about needing a shoehorn to fit all those big pieces in, but she couldn't even smile at their joke.

When they'd gone, she put the kettle on. ‘I hate it,' she said aloud. ‘I'm not going to weep, though.'

She did but not for long. After she'd pulled herself together, she rang Lou and told him what she'd done.

He cheered down the phone. ‘Well done, you! I'm coming round. Give me an hour. I'm expecting my niece any moment, but I'll get rid of Hilary quickly.'

‘I'll go and get us something for tea. If you'd like to stay, that is.'

‘That'd be wonderful. I'm too tired to go to a restaurant and celebrate as we ought to.'

‘Celebrate what?'

‘You, Miranda. You're starting to come out of your shell. I'd love to see your brother's face when he finds you gone and sees the piles of stuff all over the floor.' He laughed again.

So did she. The smile still lingered as she put the phone down. Lou did that to her.

Why did she have to meet someone like him too late for anything to come of it? This inevitably made her think of Brody, the father of her child. He'd never got in touch. How hard had he tried? She still dreamed about him sometimes. She'd fallen hard for him. It had made her believe in soulmates and magic and happy ever after. For a short time.

Tim squeezed Nikki's hand. ‘Cheer up! My mum and dad aren't going to shoot you at dawn.'