The House On Willow Street (57 page)

“I’m not your mother,” Tess said.

“I know, I know. That’s part of the problem, isn’t it?” said Suki, sinking down into a kitchen chair and suddenly looking her age. “Maybe if we’d had a mother, things would have been different. We would have known about being women, understood it. It wouldn’t have all gone wrong with you and Cashel. It wouldn’t have all gone wrong with me and bloody Kyle Richardson Senior. I might have understood how to handle myself without putting myself on a plate for men.”

“Yeah, I know,” said Tess, sitting down at the table beside her and taking Suki’s hand in hers. She knew all about Kyle Senior and what he’d done. It was definitely his fault, he’d taken advantage of her darling sister, although Suki had always blamed herself, thinking she had handled it all wrong.

If I hadn’t had so much to drink, if I hadn’t been so convinced I could wrap him around my finger . . .
she’d say.

“Looking at Zach and Kitty, I can see how children need both parents, if at all possible,” Tess said. “They need so much guidance. Dad was brilliant and he did his best, but he was only one half of the puzzle.”

At that moment, Tess heard the front door opening. “Oh God,” she said to Suki, “it’s Lydia, my babysitter. She picks Kitty up from school, brings her home, gives her a snack and looks after her until I get off work.”

“Coo-ee, I thought I saw you come in!” Kitty ran into the kitchen at high speed. “Mum . . . Oh, Aunt Suki!” she said. Tess thought it was a miracle Kitty recognized Suki, because she’d only been four or five years old the last time she visited. But Kitty had always been fascinated by her glamorous aunt and used to look at her pictures endlessly: holding them up to the mirror, trying to adopt the same poses Suki did in the photos.

“Look at you, you little darling,” said Suki, hauling her on to her lap for a good cuddle. “You have grown. You’re a young lady!”

“I know,” said Kitty, flicking her ponytail in delight.

“Hello, everyone,” said Lydia, hovering in the doorway of the kitchen, dying to be invited in and introduced.

“Lydia,” said Tess, “this is my sister, Suki.”

“It’s lovely to meet you,” said Lydia, coming forward.

Lydia was a wonderful babysitter, but sadly an inveterate gossip. Knowing that news of her sister’s arrival would be
all around the village within the hour, Tess was anxious to send her on her way:

“Thank you so much, Lydia,” she said. “I won’t need you to stay today. I came home early because Suki arrived unexpectedly.”

“A flying visit?” Lydia inquired, determined to get as much information as possible before she had to leave.

Luckily, Suki had the whole situation sized up. “Yes,” she said getting to her feet and subtly steering Lydia out of the room, “a flying visit, I don’t have much time. It’s been so wonderful to meet you. It would be lovely to chat but I want to make the most of every precious moment with my darling nephew and niece.”

And before she knew it, Lydia was at the front door, she was stepping outside and bang, the door was shut behind her. What an interesting lady, she thought as she marched down the path, determined to spread the news.

Back in the kitchen, Tess was fixing a snack for her daughter. She tried to signal that they wouldn’t be able to talk now that Kitty was there.

“Big ears. Big ears,” she mouthed at Suki.

Suki nodded, then opened her beautiful leather handbag and took out a makeup case.

“Do you know,” she said to Kitty, “I have some lovely stuff in here. Look at this.” She opened her Bobbi Brown lip palette, a darling thing she’d treated herself to recently, with every lip color one could possibly need inside.

“Oooh,” said Kitty delightedly.

“You should try some of them,” said Suki. “After your snack, maybe you could sit there at the table and have a go. I have some sparkly eye shadows too. Your mum and I are going to run into the living room to have a chat.”

“Stroke of genius!” Tess grinned at her sister.

“Well, I didn’t think she had much experience of makeup,” Suki grinned. “Although, I have to take that back—you’ve certainly improved your look since the last time I was here.”

“Oh, well, I guess I have,” said Tess, reaching up and rubbing her hair self-consciously. Vivienne had very pointedly given her a hairdressing voucher for Christmas and Mara had given her a cosmetics bag containing eye shadow, mascara and lipstick. She’d started wearing these products and found that putting on makeup was one of those skills that you never quite forget. She used to love makeup years ago, trying on Suki’s while she was out. During her marriage, she’d forgotten that. Forgotten the whole concept of making yourself beautiful in front of the mirror in the morning. It had been lost, the way so many things had been lost.

“That short cut really suits you. And I like the blonde streaks, very good. They really bring out the natural blonde in your own hair,” pronounced Suki. “Who does it? Not Eileen, I’m pretty sure of that.”

“No,” laughed Tess, “there’s a fabulous new salon in town. But I doubt I’ll ever be able to go again, there’s no way I can afford it. I’m having to close the business, Suki. We’re officially broke.”

“No!” said Suki. “That is not going to happen, honey. Look, my book is nearly finished and when I get my delivery money from the publishers, you can have some of it. You’ve got to keep it going. You love that shop.”

Tess shook her head. “I’ve realized that keeping the shop was some sort of crazy link to home, buying the sort of things that were in Avalon House when we were growing up. It was reminding me of the past. Do you know who’s bought the house?”

“Who?” said Suki, but she didn’t look at Tess as she spoke.

“Cashel.”

“Oh, right.” Suki drained the rest of her Scotch. “I’m sorry, Tess. I don’t think I ever said how sorry I was. It’s partly my fault that it ended with him, and he was a great guy.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Tess said. “It was his fault, and a bit my fault, and the fault of us all being young and stupid. Let’s not talk about that,” said Tess. “It’s water under the bridge. Let’s talk about these biography people: they’re not really that bad, are they?”

“You’ve no idea,” said Suki. “They’re like hounds on the trail and they’re convinced that I’m hiding a secret, which of course I am. They’re going to turn up here, I know it.”

“So? We’ll tell them we’re not talking to them, that’s all.”

“You don’t understand, Tess,” Suki said sadly. “These people won’t give up. The only thing that could possibly stop them is an injunction, big-shot lawyers and the money to back up the threat. I hoped that the Richardsons would help, let the biographer know I had their full protection, but they made it pretty clear that they simply expect me to maintain the family line of silence. No, far as they’re concerned, I’m on my own. So Suarez can write what he wants about me—and he’ll certainly put in stuff about me coming from the once-great Power family, so you’ll be dragged into it too. I’m sorry.”

The doorbell rang. “For God’s sake,” said Suki, exasperated, “what is this, Grand Central Station?”

“I don’t know who that can be,” said Tess. “I’m not expecting anybody. Whoever it is, they can go away.”

She got up, went to the front door, opened it and stood stock still. Standing there, looking faintly uneasy but maintaining his customary glower, was Cashel.

“Can I come in?” he said.

“This isn’t a good time,” said Tess.

She was totally thrown. She didn’t know what to say. Seeing him again was upsetting. Or maybe it wasn’t upsetting, maybe it was something else. She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him since she’d met him on New Year’s Day at the house, which was ridiculous, she knew.

“I know Suki’s here,” said Cashel. “I went into the shop. I talked to Zach.”

Tess’s face softened at the mention of her son, and Cashel thought again how beautiful she was. She looked different from the last time he’d seen her: more polished or something. But lovely, like the beautiful girl he’d loved.

“He’s great, isn’t he?” said Tess. “If you’d stayed around, you could have got to meet him sooner.”

Suki appeared behind her.

“Cashel. Great,” she said. “Perfect timing.”

Tess looked at Suki in alarm. What on earth was she talking about?

“I need someone else who drinks Scotch,” continued Suki. “It’s very bad to drink on your own.”

“I don’t think you should have any more,” said Tess. If Cashel turning up on the doorstep was her idea of perfect timing, Suki must have had several drinks on the way over.

“Oh stop! Bring the bottle into the living room, Tess, and another glass for Cashel.”

In the kitchen, Kitty was experimenting wildly. Thanks to the cosmetics in Suki’s bag, her look was part burlesque dancer, part Tinkerbell explosion.

“Don’t I look lovely, Mum?” she said.

Tess kissed her on her forehead. “You look beautiful, darling,” she said.

When she went back into the living room with a pot of coffee and another glass and the bottle of Scotch, in case Cashel decided he did want a drink, he and Suki were
talking away as if it hadn’t been years since they’d met. They were discussing lawyers and private detectives, it seemed. Bewildering. Tess poured coffee for everyone.

Suki took a coffee and then grabbed the Scotch bottle too, pouring herself a healthy measure. “That’s my last one,” she said, “but it’s been a stressful day, folks.”

Tess took a deep breath. Having Cashel in her house was making her heart beat erratically, and she had her big sister thrown into the mix too.

“I’ve got some news,” said Cashel.

The two women looked at him.

“Good or bad?” said Suki. “Because good has been in short supply around here lately.”

“This is good news,” said Cashel, but he had eyes only for Tess.

Strangely she found she couldn’t stop looking at him either. It had all been too rushed, too upsetting when they’d met on New Year’s Day. Now she could see the graying temples, could see the dark eyes with crow’s feet, the dark shadow on his jaw and the strong face of a man, but still with traces of the boy he’d once been. “What’s the news?” she said.

“A couple of hours ago, the builders found a secret room in the basement of the house.”

“What?” said Tess. This was all too startling.

“It was well hidden,” said Cashel. “It was down in the wine cellar. We only came across it when we demolished a wall and revealed an old door. Unfortunately, the room was empty. Apart from this.”

He held up the dirty, tarnished necklace.

“I have no idea what it is,” said Cashel, “but it belongs to both of you. When your father sold the house, he sold it with an explicit list of contents. I’ve seen that list. And then, when the place was sold to me, it was only the house. The
property that belonged to the Power family continues to legally belong to the Power family. It’s yours.”

“It looks like junk to me,” said Suki.

“That’s what I thought,” said Cashel, “but I reckoned Tess would know. Either way, you should have it. It must have belonged to one of your ancestors.”

“Are you sure?” said Suki, looking at the necklace with more interest. “Because you’re the owner—essentially, possession is nine points of the law or something.”

“No,” said Cashel, his eyes firmly on Tess. “It’s yours. It could be something.”

“I doubt it,” said Tess, but she took it from him anyway, “but imagine if it’s great-great-great Aunt Tatiana’s. I’ll have it valued. I know a wonderful diamond man, but I’m sure Suki’s right and it’s yours.”

She stared hard at him.

“I’m sure it’s not,” he replied.

“You pair,” groaned Suki. “Are you ever going to make up?”

“Suki, you really should stay away from Scotch,” said Tess coldly, sitting up. “It clearly does not agree with you. Makes you a little crazy.”

“Scotch doesn’t make me crazy,” said Suki, “I am crazy. Hey, we should get Zach. We did rather leave him there in the shop.”

Redmond Suarez’s hottest researcher, Carmen, booked herself into the Avalon Hotel and Spa. It wasn’t such a bad town, kinda cute really, she thought. Lincoln, one of the very junior researchers, had been here for ages looking through old parish history records and had drawn a blank. There was interesting stuff on the Powers and how they’d once been rich, but no scandal. If there was any, Carmen would find it.