The Nothing Girl Part 39

'Of course its not Russell, Aunt Julia. It never was Russell. Hes an idiot of course ...

'Thanks, wife.

'And hes been digging his own grave as fast as he can ... go, but no, its not Russell. Apart from yesterday afternoon. Russell, I am so not speaking to you about that. You gave me the worst afternoon of ... my life.

'Im sorry, Jenny. I couldnt think of any other way.

'I know. Never do that again.

'No. Once was enough.

Surprisingly, Daniel Palmer spoke. 'Francesca, please get your things together.

She gaped at him.

'Were leaving now and youre coming home with me.

Russell nodded at him. 'Thank you, Daniel. You should get her away as quickly as possible.

'Get her away? said Francesca. 'Im not going anywhere. Why would I? Stop it, Daniel, youre frightening me.

'Francesca, you have a choice to make. Jenny isnt the only one deciding her future tonight. Ive offered you the protection of marriage, but if you dont come with me now, I may not be able to help you.

'Why? she said to him, bewildered. 'Why must I go?

'Well, Russell, you havent answered my question. If not you, then whom?

'Julia, I wont tell you again. Be silent.

'Daniel? Whats happening?

And just when things were wound up to screaming point, someone knocked at the door.

Everyone looked at everyone else. Russell nodded to Kevin who went off to persuade the front door to open. I heard voices and footsteps approaching.

Christopher walked in.

I hadnt seen him properly for years. Id caught brief glimpses of him occasionally. Not at his bookshop, obviously. He probably wasnt sure where it was. He strutted into the room. A little man making a big entrance.

My first reaction was fear. I dont know why. I wasnt a child any more. What could he do to me in my own home? Yes, he was a bully, but he was a coward too. Both Russell and Andrew loathed him. I was perfectly safe, yet I was still afraid.

Still, it wasnt as if the evening could get much worse ...

Under the table, Andrew took my hand and squeezed hard. I couldnt look at him. I couldnt look at anyone.

Russell made no move to greet him. The silence went on and on.

'Now then, my boy, said Uncle Richard, eventually. 'What are you doing here? Hmm?

Christopher didnt bother replying. His gaze fell on Uncle Richard and then switched to me. I felt suddenly cold.

Russell stood up, abruptly.

Uncle Richard said hurriedly, 'Now, lets find you a chair, shall we? You can sit here, with me and Jenny.

'No, he cant, said Russell. 'I dont want the little runt here at all, but if he is going to stay then Ill have him up near me, where I can make sure hes not stealing the silver or groping the staff. Watch yourself, Kevin.

It was a good effort. For one moment I really did think the three of them would storm from the room, the house, my life, everything. However, wishes seldom come true.

He sat, rather heavily, between Aunt Julia and Russell, drank her wine, and held up her gla.s.s for more. He was ignored.

Still channelling kindly old uncle as fast as he could go, Uncle Richard stood up.

'Well, I can see youre tired, Jenny. Perhaps it was a little ambitious of you to plan such a large party so soon after your accident. Well leave you in peace now. Daniel, I know you wont stay too long. We dont want to tire her out.

He was ignored, too.

Russell played idly with his knife.

Kevin stood behind Christopher.

Mrs Crisp stood behind me.

Sharon stood by the door.

You could have heard a mouse sneeze.

'Francesca, this is the last time I shall say this. The last time Ill be able to look out for you. Look at me. You must leave with me. Now.

She tried to pull her hands away but he held them in a firm grasp.

'Stop. Stop. Look at me.

She stopped struggling, looked at him, looked away, and then looked back as if she was seeing him for the first time. She looked around the table. You could practically hear the wheels turning. The silence lengthened. She opened her mouth to speak. We all held our breath.

Christopher lunged for Russells gla.s.s and knocked the bottle over, sending the contents streaming down the table.

Everyone grabbed their gla.s.ses and plates. Mrs Crisp and Sharon mopped and dabbed. As always, there seemed far more on the table than there could possibly be in one bottle.

Eventually order was restored. We all sat back down again.

I lifted my gla.s.s to my lips.

It was wine. Not water. Wine. Everything crashed into place it had been them all along.

Like the echo of a nightmare, Mrs Crisp reached over my shoulder and took the gla.s.s.

I looked at Russell. He wasnt looking at me.

'Seriously? he said. 'I cant believe you thought that would work a second time.

Uncle Richard looked puzzled for a moment. Then his face cleared. 'Im sorry, Jenny. I seem to have handed you Andrews wine by mistake.

'Nice try, said Andrew.

'And there you have your answer, Julia.

'I dont understand, she faltered.

'Yes, you do.

'Are you saying ...?

'Yes, I am.

'This is ridiculous, said Uncle Richard, angrily. 'Ive simply muddled the gla.s.ses. Believe me, its easily done when you get to my age.

'Oh, spare us, said Russell. 'Youre not simple, kindly Uncle Richard at all. You never have been. Youre the nastiest piece of work Ive met in a long time. I strongly suspect your family are all very afraid of you. How else could you persuade them to do what theyve done?

'I think, he said, heavily, 'that too much has already been said tonight. Well talk tomorrow when heads are cooler.

'No, we wont, said Russell. 'Because, after tonight, no one from your family is ever going to be welcome here again. That includes you, Francesca. You should have gone with Daniel. Youre in it now, as deeply as they are.

'Well go to the police, said Aunt Julia.

'All right. Will you ring them or shall I?

Christophers glance flicked to me.

Defiant, I stared back. But only because Andrew and Russell were close to hand.

Russell smiled, mirthlessly. 'You wont go to the police. Will you, Richard?

Uncle Richard sat down. His lined face looked careworn and sad. An overworked family man wrestling with difficult problems.

'I can see that nothing will be resolved until youve had your say, Russell. Perhaps youd like to tell us what you think. Get it off your chest. I shall be interested to hear what youre offering in the way of proof.

'Oh, thats easy. The wire that Christopher stretched across the path to bring down Jennys horse. Weve got it stashed in our barn. My extremely intelligent wife brought it back with her. I bet Christophers fingerprints are all over it.

I bet they werent. Or if they had been, they werent after Id been handling it, but never mind.

'And that gla.s.s you just pa.s.sed Jenny, now safely in Mrs Crisps possession, will almost certainly contain the same substance you used before. Probably a stronger dose this time. And that will have your fingerprints all over it.

'This is ridiculous. Jenny has become confused. There is no difference between her gla.s.s and mine.

'Richard, were not idiots. Jenny has been drinking water all evening. As soon as you swapped gla.s.ses courtesy of the f.u.c.kwit here we all knew. Did you think that after yesterday, everyone would simply a.s.sume it was me and look no further? Youve really lost your head, havent you?

'Jenny, these are just the accusations of a desperate man. He tried yesterday and failed. Hes tried again tonight, been discovered and is now busy blaming everyone else as fast he can.

'No, he didnt, I said.

Russell sighed. 'There was nothing wrong with the tea yesterday, Richard. I drank it myself in the kitchen afterwards. Mrs Crisp and I put that little scene together to panic you and Julia. It worked, didnt it? Suddenly, you realised you werent the only ones out to do Jenny harm. And if she died before you got her back, well, youd really be screwed then, wouldnt you?

Aunt Julia had regained her calm. 'Really, this is preposterous. Have the courage to accept the truth, Russell. Stand back. Let Jenny come home in peace and well say no more about it.

'No, we f.u.c.king wont, Julia. He slammed the table in rage. Crockery jumped and rattled. 'Were going to say a lot about it.

My G.o.d, he was angry. Id never seen him like this. He was very white around the mouth, his hair stood on end, and his eyes glittered.

Tanya said something and he subsided. 'Jenny, I didnt mean to frighten you. Ive just been so worried you would believe them. He smiled. 'I should have known youd worked it out.

'I did. Most of it, anyway. I just dont know why. What did I do to make them want to kill me?

'You didnt do anything, love. And they didnt want to kill you. That was the last thing they wanted. Thats why they were so frightened over what Christopher did. I bet he got a right b.o.l.l.o.c.king for that. If you died, then as your husband, Id get everything, which wouldnt suit them at all. The whole point was to have you suffer a number of suspicious but minor accidents that would implicate me. Right from the beginning, Ive been the one they were after. And my property, of course, he finished bitterly.

He continued. 'With me out of the picture, Jenny, youd go back to live with them. I would or wouldnt be in prison. I expect, having planted very public suspicions in everyones minds, theyd offer to cover things up if I went quietly. If I left you the house and land. Youd go back to live with them. For your own good, of course. And then and I have no evidence of this, its just a suspicion, but in a few years, Jenny, youd have been found one morning with an empty bottle of pills by your bedside and a little note saying you couldnt go on.

My mind flew back to that day. The day Thomas turned up. Theyd so nearly got away with it all those years ago. But Thomas had come.

I turned to Uncle Richard.

'It would seem youre not as clever as you thought you were.

'You His mouth worked with fury. 'Who are you to talk about clever?

The suppressed violence frightened me.

'Shut up, Richard, said Russell, but he wouldnt. After all these years, the floodgates opened.

'You ... why should you have all that money? If youd died with them it would have come to Julia. It would have been ours. It should be ours.

Them? I felt as if hed thrown cold water over me. I stared at him, trying to force the question between stiff lips. 'Did you ...? Were you responsible for my parents accident?

'No, of course not. Were not murderers.

No, they werent, technically. But when I thought of what theyd done to Thomas. And Mrs Crisp. And Russell. They would have seen him in prison; his life ruined, without a second thought.

Cold, numb horror was settling in my stomach, heavy as lead. I looked at their faces the people who were supposed to care for me, to love me ... Id suspected, but now I knew. I could feel things slide away from me. Its no small thing to have your family hate you ...

Mrs Crisp, standing behind me, put her hand on my shoulder.

I pushed my way past sick betrayal and said to Uncle Richard, 'But why ...?

He wouldnt look at me. None of them would look at me. Except Francesca, who was staring in baffled horror.

Tanya spoke very gently.

'Im sorry, Jenny. It was your money. They have been quietly helping themselves for years. For themselves. For Christopher. And, I am sorry to say, Francesca, for you too. Did you never stop to wonder where all the money came from? Your expenses? Your London allowance?