Written in the Stars (20 page)

Joey’s mother had been right; it was as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. When he returned home that evening, Vince handed him a sealed envelope. Steve read the unfamiliar writing on the front. ‘Steven Philip Mathews. What’s this about? Why are you giving it to me now?’

Vince pulled a face.

‘Because I’d forgotten all about it. And it’s all yours, Steve.’ He shrugged. ‘Sorry. I was going through the desk looking for the bits and pieces concerning Kirsty when I found it.’

‘It was amongst your parents’ effects,’ Norah explained, ‘tucked into a portfolio of insurance documents, birth certificates and things like that.’

Steve gingerly opened the envelope and withdrew the sheets of paper. He glanced at the heading on the letter that was clipped to the top. It bore the name and address of a company of share brokers in London, and confirmed the purchase of a large number of shares in an international oil company. He checked that the figure in the letter matched the number of share certificates and whistled softly.

‘Well, better late than never, I suppose.’ Steve turned to Vince with a questioning look on his face. ‘I wonder why you forgot about them until now.’

Chapter Twenty Four

Suzi looked up as Mark joined her by the window.

‘I’ve been checking out the cheque book against the bank statement,’ she said, as he sat down, ‘and I’ve found something that needs explaining.’ She pushed the cheque book across the table. ‘Did you make out a check to Gary Hyland for a thousand pounds?’

Mark fidgeted with the string of his apron before answering. ‘Yes,’ he admitted, reluctantly. He was about to continue when Suzi interjected.

‘But why? We don’t owe him any money. He was paid in full the first week in January.’ She glared at the man by her side. ‘Would you mind telling me what it’s all about?’

‘I needed some cash,’ Mark explained, diffidently. ‘Gary lent me a thousand pounds and I gave him a cheque to cover the loan.’

‘But you’re not supposed to use that money for private reasons. It doesn’t belong to you,’ Suzi said, angrily. ‘The Stow Restaurant account is intended to finance the running of the restaurant. It’s not a personal account for you, or for me.’

‘I know, but I needed the money in a hurry and I didn’t have time to go to the bank.’

Suzi continued to glare at Mark as he twisted his apron string nervously. She felt more than angry; she was distressed that he should take advantage in this way. She felt betrayed. There was really no need to ask why he had taken the money—that was obvious. Gary had been a regular visitor over the past week or two and they had spent most of their time together discussing racehorses.

‘What have you done with the thousand pounds? Lost it on a horse, I suppose?’

‘On the contrary,’ Mark said, brightening up. ‘The horse won and I’ve put the money back into the account. It’ll probably show up in the next statement.’

‘Where’s the deposit slip?

‘Probably in my coat pocket. I’ll get it for you.’ He returned a few minutes later and laid it on the table. ‘There it is, see? No harm done.’

‘That’s what you think.’ When he asked what she meant, Suzi replied, ‘Never mind. Just leave me alone.’

She watched him walk away, and wondered why he hadn’t said anything to her. Surely he knew that she would pick up the discrepancy sooner, or later. She had intended to ask if she could borrow money from the operating account to help defray her moving expenses, but had decided it wasn’t fair. It was against the principle of their business arrangement. And now Mark had taken advantage of her and done the very thing she had decided was unethical for herself. She gathered up the papers, stuffed them into the folder, and stormed out of the building.

Tears of anger welled up into her eyes as she drove away from the restaurant. She had been so excited about moving into Caxton Manor, that she had expected everything else to fall into place, too. Steve had unexpectedly agreed, in principal anyway, to her proposal to use the conservatory for private parties, and suddenly all those plans were threatened. And now she was having strong doubts about Mark’s honesty.

Without making a conscious effort, she headed across the village to where Charlize worked. Her friend looked up as she walked into the office.

‘Hi, what brings you here?’ Then, as she noted Suzi’s grim appearance, she cried out, ‘Hey… what’s wrong?’ She slid out from behind her desk. ‘You look like you need a strong coffee.’ By the time they had finished a second cup, Suzi had unburdened herself and felt a lot better. The two women discussed various options, but were no closer to a solution when the young office assistant called out to Charlize,

‘Will you take line one? It’s personal.’

Charlize picked up the phone identified herself and then gave a little cry of delight. She looked at Suzi and mouthed the word Lloyd.

‘Yes, of course. I’ll be there as soon as I can.’ She replaced the phone and stood up. ‘I must go. Lloyd managed to get on an earlier flight, and bussed down from Heathrow to Cardiff. I’ll pick him up from there.’ She kissed Suzi’s cheek. ‘I’ll check with you soon.’

After Charlize had roared off in the direction of the motorway, Suzi drove back to her house to pick up a few things before going to the Manor for her protracted stay. Even though it was only a partial house move, her little bungalow looked as if it had been hit by a cyclone. Black plastic bin liners, suitcases, and several wooden tea chests filled the front room and spilled out into the hall. She just hoped she could get everything packed in time for the small removal van that was booked for a pickup in the morning. Fortunately she didn’t have to concern herself about the restaurant because Narelle was prepared to cover the lunch-time trade.

She dropped her coat on the nearest piece of furniture and looked around. A wave of nostalgia swept over her as she recalled some of the events that had taken place there. In-as-much as she mourned the death of her mother, the bungalow had provided the means to pursue the long-standing dream to have her own restaurant. Of course, it had been very much her mother’s place. She couldn’t remember much about the house in Lampeter, where she spent her formative years, but the memory of the main roads in Lampeter had stuck in her mind all those years. They were exceptionally wide—wide enough, so she was told, to allow a trio of horses pulling a cart to turn around in the road.

Her father had been living there at the time. He had gone to Scotland to work on one of the first oilrigs to be commissioned off the Scottish coast. And had never returned. Annabelle had kept up the pretence of their marriage for some years. On the few occasions she had asked about her father, Annabelle had little to say except that he had walked out their lives, and she had no idea where he was.

Suzi had proved later that her mother’s allegations were false. Her father had continued to support them even though the marriage had ceased to exist many years earlier. Her eventual enquires revealed that he had been killed in an oilrig explosion off Aberdeen and was buried on the northeast coast of Scotland. The cause of the explosion was a simple enough mix-up. A piece of paper had been lost. Crucially, however, that piece of paper had borne a warning to overnight staff not to use one of two gas pumps from which a pressure relief valve had been removed for overhaul.

It was used in error, and as a result a valve blew and the situation became increasingly dire. Many men died from the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning as they waited for a helicopter that never came. Then came a series of underwater explosions which blew apart the oil and gas lines from the neighbouring platforms. It appeared to coincide with the time her mother sold the house in Lampeter and moved to Wales.

She often wondered about her father. It was not hard to imagine why he had found life with her mother so hard to bear. Her own relationship with Annabelle had always been difficult and fraught with upsets. Fortunately, time had eased the pain and now she was able to accept that her mother must have been slightly psychotic.

As she waited, she traced her fingers over the sofa and wondered if she should keep some of the furniture. But then she considered that it probably would not suit Caxton Manor, which was full of period furniture anyway. The small removal van arrived on time and by mid-morning all the items she needed to take with her had been transferred to Caxton Manor. It had all been so easy. She wandered around the magnificent house, and wondered why she felt so depleted over the temporary move there. She would feel better when her few personal belongings were in place—it would feel more like home to her, and she felt she would soon become used to the change-over.

Mark had promised to call in after lunch, and in the meantime there was plenty to do. Suzi had just finished placing all her toiletries in the upstairs bathroom when the front doorbell rang. She opened the door to find Charlize and Lloyd smiling broadly. Lloyd pulled a bottle of Champagne and three glasses from behind his back and held them aloft.

‘We’ve brought our own glasses, knowing you wouldn’t have unpacked yet.’

Charlize kissed her cheek.

‘We couldn’t miss the opportunity to toast your new house,’ she said, as she walked inside and gazed around. ‘It’s bigger than I remember it, or is there something missing?’ Then she shook her head. ‘It’s probably my imagination.’

‘We’d better open this bottle before we do anything else,’ Lloyd said, moving towards the drawing room. There’s nothing worse than lukewarm Champagne.’

After they had finished the bottle Suzi showed them all over the house, and by the time they returned to the ground floor it was nearly one o’clock.

‘Let’s go down to that little pub near the main road for lunch,’ Charlize suggested. ‘We’ll help you unpack when we come back.’

Suzi was more than game, and really thankful that she did not have to prepare a meal. Lloyd said something to the publican as the two women made their way to a cosy corner table. The man waited until they had settled down and then passed them a menu, while Lloyd stood next to Charlize’s chair.

When the waitress came to take their order she placed a freshly cut vase of flowers on the table and smiled as though she was privy to something secret. Minutes later the publican placed a stand containing a silver bucket of ice next to Lloyd, then he returned bearing a bottle of Champagne.’

‘There we are sir. I hope it’s to your satisfaction.’

‘A second bottle of Champagne?’ Suzi looked from one to the other. ‘What are we celebrating this time?’

Charlize squeezed Lloyd’s hand as he coloured slightly.

‘Go on, you tell her.’

‘We’re going to be married,’ he said.

‘And I’m going to emigrate to New Zealand,’ Charlize added, excitedly.

‘Well, I don’t know what to say,’ Suzi said, slowly, ‘other than congratulations, of course. She looked from one to the other and then back at Charlize’s radiant face and smiled. ‘I must say I’ve never seen you so happy in all the years I’ve known you.’

When she questioned them about their plans, Lloyd said his firm might employ Charlize as a freelance PR officer.

‘Unless I can find something else,’ Charlize added.

Lloyd had thought of just about everything. They would be married in New Zealand, and live in his apartment on the north shore until they found a suitable house to buy. He had already made enquires about her applying for citizenship and made it clear that he had friends who could smooth the way and iron out any hitches.

‘We have an old boy network down there, too,’ he said.

‘But, Charlize, you can’t just up and leave everything?’ Suzi grasped her friend’s hand.

‘There’s nothing to hold me here, Suzi, and I won’t regret leaving the cold weather behind. And as for my job, well, it’s just a job.’ She squeezed Suzi’s fingers. ‘You’re the only one I don’t want to leave. I’ll miss you for sure.’

‘But what about your family?’

‘What family? Father is currently courting his third wife, and he won’t leave California for any reason. Mother is content to stay where she is, in Spain, especially now that she’s found herself a toy boy. And Geoffrey? Well, I haven’t seen my dear kid brother for nearly ten years and I suppose he couldn’t care less whether I’m here or thousands of miles away.’

Suzi gave a little sigh.

‘Well, I’m going to miss you. I’ll be lost without you, to be honest’

Lloyd coughed discreetly.

‘Look, we haven’t finished the Champagne.’ He pulled the almost empty bottle out of the ice bucket and dribbled some wine into each glass. ‘Here’s to whatever,’ he said, raising his glass. Then he looked at his fiancée. ‘We were going to help her settle in, remember?’

‘Yes, come on.’ Charlize stood up. ‘Keep busy… that’s the best course of action.’

By the time they had returned to the manor and sorted everything out, stocked the refrigerators and the kitchen with a delivery they all felt exhausted. By now, Charlize had organised Suzi’s bedroom and sorted out her wardrobe as well, casting aside anything she thought unattractive or inappropriate. Mark had called in, but left ten minutes later when he saw he was rather in the way.

They were sitting around the table in the kitchen when Lloyd glanced at his watch. I want to make a quick call.’ He turned to Suzi. ‘Can I use your phone?’

‘Of course.’

He was back in a few minutes.

‘Right, that’s settled. Now, let’s think about dinner. I saw a nice little place on the way here. It’s called Stew Restaurant or something like that, and I thought we could…’ He stopped with raised brows as Charlize gave a hearty chortle.

‘The Stow Restaurant, you mean. That’s Suzi’s place, and it’s not an appropriate choice.’

‘We’ll go to our favourite haunt. We’re well known at the Forge Inn, and their food is as good as what we serve,’ Suzi said, climbing to her feet. ‘There’s one condition… I’m paying.’

The proprietor greeted them by name and fussed over Charlize when he was told of her forthcoming marriage. When Lloyd began asking questions about the old staging inn, Suzi was reminded of her evening there with Steve. It all seemed so long ago. She forced her mind back to the present and steered the conversation back to New Zealand.

Suzi drove back to the manor in a pensive mood after they had said goodnight. It was quite obvious that Charlize and Lloyd were not only very much in love, but they were also well matched. Although she was pleased they had found each other, her happiness was tainted by the knowledge that she was losing her best friend and confidante.
Maybe I could pack up and go to New Zealand
too
. she mused.
What’s to keep me here
?
Maybe I could find Steve Pardoe
,
maybe I could
… she gave a bitter laugh. ‘Maybe I could be a bit more practical, too.’