An Affair of the Heart (10 page)

“You don’t
understand–”

“Oh, yes I do!
And only too well!” Diana interrupted again. She had lost her false
humour and was now merely angry. “You were
supposed
to get
her to fall in love with you! You were
supposed
to get her
to cheat him, and steal from him! You were
supposed
to
destroy their marriage! Make them hate each other! Not fall in love
with her yourself! What were you thinking?”

Robert couldn’t
look at her. “Their marriage was already breaking up before I came
on the scene. Alex was making a real fine job of doing that
himself. It’s just that…” He hesitated, and turning to face Diana
he continued, “It’s just that, the more I got to know her, the more
I realised that Alex didn’t deserve her, and that she needed
someone better.”

“Like you?”
Diana said sarcastically. Her expression was filled with disgust.
Disgust and anger. “Don’t make me sick! My mother was right! You
can’t trust men! They’re all idiots!” Suddenly her expression
changed and she laughed and shook her head again.

“Tell me
Robert, what would you have done if Sarah hadn’t been killed? How
would you have explained things to her? Or maybe you were thinking
that I would just simply melt into the background?”

“She would have
understood.”

“Understood?
Understood what? That you were bedding Alex’s daughter as well as
his wife? Maybe you were thinking she might like a threesome–”

“Alright!
Enough!” Robert almost shouted, his voice far too loud in the small
church. He stood up, looking quickly around, but as before, there
was no one else in the church. He turned back to Diana.

“You’re right!”
he said to her in a harsh whisper. “I’m a real son of a bitch! What
I did makes me feel real bad, but not half as bad as I would have
felt if I’d gone through with it! But I wasn’t going to go through
with it! I’d already decided that I was going to tell her! I was
going to tell her everything! But now I guess I’ll never know
whether she would have believed me or not! But just for the record,
keep the money, Diana! Spend it yourself! You’re going to need it
to buy yourself some friends, because as of now, you’re on your
own.”

Robert turned
and walked quickly down the aisle towards the door, Diana’s parting
words ringing in his ears.

“Rot in hell,
McCord!” she shouted after him, all pretence at secrecy now gone.
“You and that bastard father of mine! You’re both going to pay! Do
you hear me? I’m going to make you
both
pay!”

Gina watched
anxiously as Rachel began to walk faster on the treadmill. There
were various leads attached to her daughter’s chest that all went
back to the machine Dr Jones and another doctor were busy fussing
over.

“We’re going to
get you going a little bit faster,” Dr Jones was saying.

“You’ll be
having her running the marathon next,” Gina protested.

“It’s...alright, Mum,” Rachel said, panting as she increased her
pace on the treadmill to a brisk walk. “I feel...alright,
honestly...I do.”

Gina was not
convinced. “How long is this going to go on for?” she demanded,
poking Dr Jones in the shoulder with her finger.

“This is
important, Gina,” Dr Jones tried to explain.

“Not as
important as my Rachel! She should be in bed, resting, not
practising for the Olympics!” She kept poking him with her finger,
and finally, Dr Jones gave in.

“Alright,
alright!” he said grabbing hold of her hand, and he turned to his
colleague, saying, “Slow it down again will you, Adam.”

The treadmill
began to slow down as Dr Jones put his arm around Gina and began to
guide her towards the door. “Let’s go and get a cold drink for
Rachel,” he said, smiling at her.

“Oh, no, you
don’t,” she said resisting him. “You just want me out of here so
that you can torture my daughter!”

“How could you
think such a thing? We’ll go and get Rachel a drink like I said,
and at the same time, you and I can have a little chat, that’s
all.” Gina continued to resist, but then she saw the meaningful
look Dr Jones gave her. “I need to talk to you, Gina,” he said
again, and this time she understood.

“I’ll be back
in a minute, darling,” Gina said to Rachel. “What would you
like?”

“Get me a Coke.
I haven’t had one in ages.”

“Alright. And
don’t let him turn up that machine while I’m gone, do you hear
me?”

“Okay,
Mum!”

Gina went out
the door followed by Dr Jones. As he closed the door behind them,
Dr Jones stuck his hand back into view giving a thumbs up sign.

Rachel laughed.
“He’s cruel,” she said.

Dr Adam
Cornwall smiled at her. “It’s the only way, sometimes,” he replied.
“Now, for this to be of any use, you have to get a bit of a sweat
on. Okay? I’m not going to push you too hard, and with this machine
monitoring your heart, I’ll know if there’s anything wrong before
you do, so don’t worry.”

“It’s alright!
I feel fine, Doctor! I really do!” Rachel insisted, pushing her
glasses higher up her nose.

“Okay, then.”
Dr Cornwall began to increase the speed of the treadmill again.

Outside, Gina
wanted to know what was so important for Dr Jones to drag her away
from her daughter’s side. “Come on! Out with it!” she demanded. “Or
I’m going right back inside!”

“Sarah Williams
had a donor card,” Dr Jones said in a low voice. “Come on, we can
talk in here.” He quickly led the dumbstruck Gina into an empty
treatment room that was nearby.

“But, how did
you find this out?” she asked him, still not quite sure what it
meant. “Is the court case off? Have we won?”

“Not quite,” Dr
Jones replied. “Look, I’m telling you this because your solicitor
should be hearing it about now as well, and I didn’t see any point
in you having to wait.” Dr Jones then told her about Dr Askwith,
how he had been off on a walking holiday in Eastern Europe, how he
had been unreachable, and how he had suddenly turned up. “As far as
I know,” he continued. “Sarah Williams had a donor card. Dr
Askwith, who I know very well, says she had one, and I believe him.
The problem is, without proof, the courts might not.”

“What happened
to the card,” Gina asked, still trying to take it all in.

“We think
Williams has it, but the problem is, when our people spoke to his
solicitor this morning, she denied it.”

“Oh, Daddy!
I’ve missed you so much!” Diana said, hugging Alex in the doorway
of her suite at the Copthorne Hotel. “I came as soon as I heard
about poor Sarah! You must be so upset!”

Alex embraced
his daughter and kissed her on the forehead. “I’m fine,” he said
waving aside her concern. “Really, Diana, I am. Considering what’s
happened.”

They stayed
like that for a moment or two, embracing in the open doorway.
Slowly they moved apart, and Diana said, “Please, Daddy, come in
and sit down and talk to me!” and she quickly closed the door and
led him towards the sofa in the sitting room area of her suite,
keeping her arms around him all the time. “How are you feeling? You
look haggard! Are you eating alright?” she asked him, her deep
concern for her father evident in her expression. “You know you
have to keep your strength up.”

“I told you,
I’m fine,” Alex replied, sitting down beside her on the sofa. He
managed a weak smile. He was obviously pleased to see her, and at
the way she was fussing over him.

“Then why
didn’t you let me come to the house?” she asked him.

“There were too
many reporters hanging around. They were all waiting for you. It
was for the best really, at least for one more night.”

“Alright,”
Diana smiled at him. “But I’m not staying away any longer! I was
beginning to think that red haired solicitor of yours was trying to
keep us apart!”

“I think you
might be right,” Alex replied. “If you hadn’t phoned, I don’t think
she would have told me which hotel you were in. And she doesn’t
know that I’m here now.”

“Good!” Diana
paused, looking at him closely. “I had thought, you know,” she said
rather cautiously, “That you didn’t want me at the house
because...Well, because it was Sarah’s.” She went on quickly as
Alex began to protest. “You only came back to Manchester because of
Sarah, and you did build it for her! I just thought that you might
want to be on your own, that’s all.”

Alex reached
out and took her head in his hands. He looked at her with such
obvious affection. “You don’t know how much pleasure you brought
back into my life when you came to see me, Diana,” he said as he
caressed her face. “I love you so much. You and Sarah were the best
things to happen to me in my life. How could you imagine that I
would ever want to keep you away?”

Diana looked
embarrassed. She took his hands in hers and looked at him closely
for a moment. “You must be still in shock,” she said abruptly.
“Have you had a good cry yet? Don’t be ashamed, it’s best to get it
out. And it’s only me here with you; so if you want to, just let it
all out. I cried when I heard what happened, I cried buckets. Poor
Sarah.”

Alex sighed. “I
can’t cry,” he said. “Not yet. I’m too angry. Angry about the way
we parted that night. Angry about what they did to Sarah after she
died. I can’t grieve, I feel so… So frustrated! It’s like I want to
put something straight, you know? To try and make it right. But no
matter how I try, I just can’t do it. And it hurts inside, and I
can’t think straight. I can’t get it out of my mind. Do you
understand what I’m saying?”

She saw the
look in his eyes, how they seemed to plead to her to understand.
She nodded slowly. “I think I do,” she said softly. “You said you
were angry about the way you and Sarah parted. Did you argue?” Alex
lowered his head and nodded. “Was it a bad argument?” Again the
nod. Diana squeezed his hands. “Oh, Daddy! You shouldn’t think like
that! It wasn’t your fault that she crashed!”

“It was, I tell
you!” Alex looked up, the pain showing clearly in his tortured
expression.

“No! It was an
accident! You have to believe that!”

“But she
wouldn’t have been out that night if we didn’t have the argument! I
drove her out, Diana! It was my fault! I killed her!”

Alex stood up.
Diana stood up with him. “But you didn’t know that was going to
happen!” she said. “We can’t second guess everything we do in life
just in case something terrible might happen! It’s impossible! You
had an argument, that’s all. It got a bit heated and Sarah went out
to cool off. It was just an accident! It happens!”

They stood
together, hand in hand, staring into one another’s eyes. Alex’s
eyes looked wet. He was ready to cry, to bawl it all out. He looked
up at the ceiling and slowly closed his eyes tightly. “You don’t
know the whole of it yet,” he said in a weak voice. “She wasn’t
just going out to cool off. She was leaving me. Sarah was leaving
me for another man. Sarah was having an affair.”

Diana looked
shocked. “Sarah?” she exclaimed. “Having an affair? I don’t believe
it! You were both so much in love! She would never have looked at
another man! You must be wrong!”

“No!” Alex said
sternly, looking her straight in the eye again. “It’s true, I tell
you!”

Diana paused.
She looked so sad. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “The last time I saw
you both you were so happy. What happened, Daddy? What went
wrong?”

Alex shook his
head slowly. “It was my fault,” he said. They both sat down again.
“We were having problems for a little while, I know it was my
fault. I loved her so much, Diana! But I could never seem to get it
right! I never dreamt that I would find someone like Sarah, but
when you brought her home with you that time, I just knew! As soon
as I saw her! I knew! But I’m so damned weak and stupid that I
could never believe that she loved me as much as I loved her!”

“But she did,
Daddy! I know she did!”

“Yes, at first.
I do believe that. But my lack of trust in her finally destroyed
everything. I couldn’t help it! I knew as soon as I said things to
her that I was wrong, but I just couldn’t stop myself! I drove her
away, Diana. I drove her away. But you’re right, she wouldn’t have
looked for another man, I’m sure of that. What ever she did, it was
because I drove her to it. But because of that, I know that I could
have got her back. It was me that was at fault, it was me that
needed to change. And I’m sure that if I could have only stopped
myself from being so stupid, if I could have just learned to trust
her and not been so ridiculously possessive, she would have come
back to me. She would, I’m sure of it! All I had to do was talk to
her!”

Diana reached
out and pulled her father’s head down onto her shoulder. She hugged
him and stroked his hair. “I believe you, Daddy,” she said softly,
her expression changing to one of evil delight at her father’s
distress. “I believe you could have won her back from this other
man. Did you know who it was?”

“Yes,” Alex’s
voice sounded slightly muffled. He raised his head, and Diana’s
expression returned to one of deep concern. “It was Robert
McCord.”

Diana looked
totally surprised. “Your American solicitor?” she asked. She
quickly became angry. “The cheat!” she said. “The evil
back-stabber! How could he do such a thing? How dare he? He was
supposed to be someone you could trust! And after you gave him a
start in this country, helping him set up his office! I even
remember Sarah and I choosing the furniture! That’s terrible,
Daddy! You’re tormenting yourself for nothing!” Diana became more
and more outraged as she spoke. “This will all have been his
fault!” she suddenly exclaimed. “He must have been filling her head
with lies all the time! Putting you down behind your back! Sarah
wouldn’t leave you, Daddy! I know her too well! It was him! He was
stealing her away from you! It was his fault that Sarah ran away
that night, Daddy! Not yours!”