The Lie (10 page)

‘Fat lot you care,' Henry muttered, and gave a shout of alarm as Clay lunged at him. ‘Don't be bloody daft!'

‘Leave it be,' Daniel said, catching hold of Clay's coat and dragging him back. His brothers were behaving like a pair of overgrown schoolboys. ‘All we need is to quarrel between ourselves. We've got it sorted now, let's not make waves.'

‘Dad went by the old ways,' Clay said fiercely. ‘I wanted to break out and do something different – but that doesn't mean I didn't care. It doesn't mean I wanted him to die.'

‘Of course you didn't,' Daniel said, and looked at Henry. ‘Don't be daft, man. Clay didn't want him dead. Someone should have made him see the doctor sooner, but it's over now – we can't bring him back.'

‘It just makes me sick  . . . all of this,' Henry muttered. ‘Why should that bitch have anything from us? She was only his wife for a few months. She gets away with a small fortune and we're left to pick up the pieces.'

‘That isn't the point,' Daniel said. ‘Dad made the will and we have to stick to it – she gets twelve thousand and not a penny more. Are we agreed?'

‘Yes,' Clay said, agreeing instantly because it was to his advantage. ‘I'll arrange the money for the land I want and get things moving there.'

‘And I'll pay you your share of the house,' Daniel said. ‘I'll get the money from the bank and you can sign a release over to me.'

‘Well, I'm off then,' Clay said, clearly well satisfied with his day's work. ‘I'll see you around  . . .'

Henry sat staring moodily ahead of him as Clay went out, closing the door behind him with a snap. ‘I'm glad you want the house, Dan,' he said. ‘But he's got the best of it with that land, I'm telling you.'

‘It was the best way out. He wanted the Chatteris land and nothing else would do. You know we couldn't sell very easily elsewhere, which would have meant borrowing all of it from the bank – and you said we couldn't do that at the moment.'

‘We can't,' Henry said. ‘We might have had to sell to pay her out if she forced us – but I wouldn't have sold that land if I could help it.'

‘We can buy some more fen land when things get better.'

‘Maybe,' Henry said, and stood up. ‘They had us over a barrel between them, Dan. I wouldn't mind betting that Clay put her up to it in the first place. Told her to ask too much for a start, knowing we would have to negotiate.'

‘Father bought me a couple of fields on the road to Ely,' Daniel said, and frowned. ‘They've got a mortgage on them. I think it would be best if they were put down to grass while I'm away. You can use them for stock feed until I come home.'

‘All right, it will save us hiring,' Henry said. ‘You should have rent though  . . .'

‘It doesn't matter until I get home for good. I can just about pay the mortgage. I don't know what I want to do with them – I might sell after the war, but we'll hang on to them until then.' He smiled at his brother. ‘Don't worry too much, Henry. Things will turn out all right, you'll see – this is just a temporary setback.'

‘Well, it means we shan't have to borrow more than five or six thousand pounds,' Henry said. ‘I suppose we have to be grateful for that.'

Daniel nodded, walking his brother to the door. He frowned as Henry went off in his battered old truck. With the best land sold off to Clay, and a loan of £6,000, Henry was going to have his work cut out to keep things going while Daniel was away. He wondered where all the money had gone. There had always been plenty when he was a lad, and he hadn't dreamed things had been steadily getting worse and worse.

A few more bad years and they could end up losing everything.

‘I'm afraid that's the way it is, Alice. The farm is in worse shape than I imagined, though I'd rather you didn't say anything to anyone else.'

‘Of course I shan't, Dan,' she said. ‘But I'm not sure why you are telling me this?'

‘Because I wanted you to understand why I can't think of getting married for years. I wouldn't anyway, not while there's a war going on  . . .' Daniel saw the look of hurt in her eyes and almost wished the words unsaid. ‘But the situation with the farm makes it worse. I shall need to work hard when I get home – put a bit of money by. I don't want to be stuck with a growing family and no money  . . .' She flinched and turned away. ‘No, Alice. I didn't mean it to sound like that  . . . I really like you and one day  . . .' Her eyes met his and he smiled. ‘If you haven't found someone you like better than me by then  . . .'

‘I don't think that will happen,' Alice said. ‘Besides, I'm too young to get married yet  . . .'

‘Well, that's all right then,' he said and sighed with relief. ‘As long as you understand  . . .'

Emily thought the house was empty when she got back that Thursday evening. She invited Simon in for a drink, but although he hesitated, he shook his head, kissing her softly on the mouth.

‘It's late, my darling,' he said, ‘and the way I'm feeling right now I should probably end up seducing you. I want to wait – and I want you to promise to think about what I asked you. You will, won't you?'

‘Yes, of course,' she said, and reached up to touch his cheek. ‘It was a lovely visit, Simon. I liked your family a lot, you know I did – and I feel something more than liking for you. It's just a bit soon for me.'

She had found everything a little overwhelming. Simon's family's friendliness had been fantastic, but there was no doubting it was a very different world. If she married Simon it would take a lot of getting used to, staying in a house like that sometimes, even though she had enjoyed every moment of her visit. It was lovely for a few days, but she wasn't sure about living in a house like that; the way his family lived was very different to what she was used to.

‘Yes, I know I rushed you,' Simon said, and gave her an apologetic smile. ‘But I'm sure you're the girl for me – and I wanted to tell you before someone else got in first.'

‘Oh, Simon, that isn't likely to happen. Really, I don't go out with many men – just in a group sometimes. I've never had a serious boyfriend before you.'

‘But you are serious about me – and you will think about getting married quite soon?'

‘Yes, I shall think about it,' Emily said. ‘I do like you an awful lot – I might even be in love with you – but I need a little more time.' His proposal had taken her breath away. He had come out with it casually as they were driving back from his father's house. She had laughed, thinking he was joking but he'd stopped the car in a lay-by, turning to look at her.

‘I wasn't joking, Emily. I want to marry you.'

‘But you can't – you don't know me.'

‘I know that you are beautiful, inside and out. I really care for you – and, as my father told you, I don't often take an interest in girls.' He reached out to touch her face. ‘You are sweet and lovely and I should like you to be my wife.'

Emily had been so surprised she'd told him she would think about it. She was still thinking about it, because it all seemed so sudden. She hardly knew him, but things were different somehow, because of the war or her father's death and her sister's marriage. The world she had known was changing and she needed something to hang on to in shifting sands. Before the war she probably wouldn't have gone to stay with Simon and his family and she wouldn't have dreamed of staying overnight in a hotel, even in separate rooms – but there was an urgency to life these days. She wasn't the only girl doing things that would once have shocked their families

‘I think we should write – get to know each other better,' she said breaking her silence.

‘That's all I can expect just yet,' Simon said. ‘I'll write often and ring you when I can – once you let me know where you are. You will do that, won't you?'

‘Just as soon as I can,' Emily promised. ‘Are you sure you don't want to come in?'

‘No, I think I'll get off,' Simon said, and kissed her once more. ‘I have a call to make before I go back to my base. I'll expect your letter very soon, Emily – and don't forget me.'

‘I shan't, believe me – and thank you for the holiday. It was lovely.'

Emily let herself in at the back door. There were no lights or music. Margaret always had the gramophone or the wireless on if she was here alone, so perhaps she was out somewhere. She was walking up the stairs, singing very softly to herself, when Daniel came out of his bedroom.

‘You're home then,' he said, and smiled at her. ‘Did you enjoy yourself?'

‘Yes, thank you, very much. Daniel, I—'

‘I want to apologize, Emmy,' he said before she could finish. ‘I was sharp with you at the wedding and I shouldn't have been. You were perfectly right about Alice sitting with me in church – but I've talked to her now and we've sorted things out.'

‘What do you mean?'

‘Let's go down and make a cup of tea,' Daniel said. ‘I'll explain. There are quite a few things you need to know.'

‘Yes, all right,' she said, turned and followed him down. He filled the kettle himself and set it on the range to boil so Emily fetched the tray and a jug of milk from the pantry, as well as a few biscuits. ‘Go on then, tell me the worst.'

Daniel smiled at her wryly. ‘I thought you'd know something was going on so I'll tell you everything. Margaret wants her share of the land and the house. We couldn't afford to buy her out at the moment, because there's no money in the bank. Actually, we're in debt, but that's not the point. Clay has offered to buy the land in Chatteris Fen, and we've accepted his offer. We can then buy Margaret out of the land, and the house – and still keep it. I'm going to pay Clay his share from the house and then I may buy it after the war. Henry isn't too pleased about sacrificing some of the land, but we can buy more when things recover.'

‘So we can stay here?' Emily felt relief sweep over her. ‘It's not that I shall be here much, but it's nice knowing it's here to come back to, Dan.'

‘That's what I thought. But when Margaret goes we shall have to make some sort of arrangement for Connor. I thought we might let Frances and Marcus have it on a temporary lease, providing that it remains our family home and Connor stays on.'

‘Yes, that sounds good. It would suit Frances I know. She doesn't really want to live with Marcus's family, but she didn't have much alternative.'

‘None of us will get anything other than the trust funds, which don't amount to much, but until we get on our feet again things will be tight. I'm going to be honest with you and tell you that if Henry can't pull the business round we could lose everything.'

‘Oh, Dan! Are things really so bad?'

‘Yes. It came as a bit of a shock to me too. It means we're all going to have to be careful with money for a while. If Clay hadn't bought the land in Chatteris Fen the bank might have foreclosed, but we should weather the storm now – if we're careful.'

‘I don't need anything,' Emily said. ‘I'm going to be paid a bigger allowance from the Fire Service when I'm moved, and I have a little of grandmother's legacy left so I'm fine.'

‘I knew you wouldn't complain. We've got to watch the pennies, Emmy. Otherwise we could still go under.'

‘I never knew the farm was in trouble. No wonder Dad looked so miserable those last few weeks.'

‘I dare say he had a lot to worry about.' Daniel wasn't going to tell her about Clay. She didn't need to know and the less said the better. ‘So that's that side of it – and now I'll tell you my side of things. I've already explained to Alice.' He tried not to remember the disappointment he'd seen in Alice's face when he'd told her he couldn't marry for a few years.

‘What do you mean you explained?' Emily asked, breaking into his thoughts.

‘I told her that I like her a lot – I might even feel more than that – but I can't marry for a few years. I wouldn't while there's a war on, because it wouldn't be fair to her, and afterwards I want to get on a bit, make some money. It's even more important now that we're in trouble with the land.'

Emily nodded, looking thoughtful. ‘It isn't really my business, Daniel. I just thought you should be fair to Alice.'

‘Well, she knows how I feel now, and she says she understands. We're going to see each other as close friends, but if she wants to see someone else while I'm away that's up to her. I don't want to work on the land when I come home, Emily.'

‘Not work on the land?' Emily was surprised in a way, but in another she had sort of expected this. ‘What do you want to do then?'

‘I want to set up a garage for myself,' Daniel said. ‘I've always been good with mechanical things. You know I helped Dad keep the traction engine running for the farm, and I'm good with trucks, cars – anything that has an engine. I've improved my skills since I've been in the Army, done a course with them as part of my training.'

‘I suppose it's a good idea,' Emily said, a bit doubtfully, and he laughed.

‘I don't intend to be a grease monkey all my life, Emily. I shall start out that way and then move into selling cars. If I can buy second-hand vehicles, do them up, respray and then sell them on, I'm sure I can make money.'

‘You seem to have it all planned,' Emily said, and smiled at him affectionately. ‘I hope it works out for you, Daniel. Will you sell your share of the land after the war?'

‘Not unless Henry is in a position to buy,' he said. ‘No, I'll keep my share of it and help out with the accounts. I'm better at that than Henry – but I shan't work on the land.'

‘But you want this house?'