Past Imperfect Read online

  Kate’s hand flew up to her mouth. ‘Oh, Maud, I am sorry.’

  Maud shrugged. ‘It was a long time ago, Kate. But every cloud has a silver lining, so they say; at least I wasn’t left a widow.’

  ‘Did you meet someone else?’ Kate asked.

  Maud nodded. ‘Oh yes. And I loved him. He died ten years ago.’ Suddenly she was all businesslike. ‘Anyway, Kate, this won’t do. I’m off.’ She pointed a remonstrating finger at her. ‘Don’t let this slip away from you; otherwise you might just as well be a widow.’

  The nursery door closed quietly behind Maud and left Kate wondering what she should do.

  Kate brooded over Maud’s hint for several days before making up her mind that she would push Kennett into a decision. Her chance came when she saw him coming up the driveway in the Morgan. He hadn’t let Kate drive it yet, but she hoped the day would come. He parked it and headed towards the front door where Kate was waiting for him.

  ‘Hello, Kate,’ he said brightly and kissed her on the cheek. They turned together and walked into the house. ‘Something the matter?’ he asked.

  She hooked her arm into his. ‘I want a word with you.’

  ‘Oh, what have I done?’

  ‘Nothing,’ she told him, tugging his arm gently. ‘I just want a chat.’

  He led Kate into his study and closed the door carefully. He was wearing driving gloves which he slipped off and laid on the blotter. ‘Well, what is it?’ he asked, standing by the window.

  Kate wasn’t sure how to begin because this was not really how she meant it to be. She wanted a more relaxed meeting: one where what she was about to discuss would happen naturally, rather than be contrived.

  ‘It’s about the twins,’ she began. ‘I want to know how long it will be before the adoption takes place.’

  Kennett shrugged. ‘I’m not sure. These things take time. Why?’

  There were times in Kate’s younger life when she often felt intimidated by authority, which was only natural because of her circumstances. But she was strong-willed enough to overcome her self-perceived limitations, and since working at Clanford Hall, she had learned a great deal about people and how to deal with them. Kennett’s manner was not imperious, but in this instance it would have been natural for Kate to assume the subservient role in this conversation. She knew she needed to force it.

  ‘If Margaret had been alive today, would you have put the twins up for adoption?’ she asked.

  Kennett shook his head. ‘Of course not.’

  ‘Which means it’s because they don’t have a mother that makes you want to give them away.’ It was a little blunt, but Kate intended it should be.

  He frowned. ‘Not exactly, Kate. I’ve told you why.’

  Kate shook her head. ‘That isn’t fair for them. They could be the saving of this estate.’

  It was Kennett’s turn to shake his head. ‘The estate would have crumbled to nothing and be heavily in debt before they reached their tenth birthday.’

  ‘Be that as it may, at least they would be where they belong: here at Clanford. You’ve no idea what will happen to them once you’ve given them up.’

  ‘Kate, the adoption society is very thorough; they only pick the best parents for the children.’

  She leaned forward and put her hand on the desk. ‘If they want the perfect parents, they have them here.’ Kennett looked at Kate with a puzzled expression on his face.

  ‘What are you saying, Kate?’ he asked slowly.

  She pulled her hand back. ‘I love those boys like my own, Jeremy. I love them as any mother would. If I could adopt them I would do it now. With or without a father I would bring those boys up.’

  ‘It’s lovely to hear you say that, Kate,’ he said. ‘But it couldn’t happen.’

  ‘It could,’ she told him emphatically.

  ‘How?’

  Kate could feel herself trembling inside. She knew that if this went wrong she could end up never forgiving herself.

  ‘If I was your wife.’

  The silence that followed was broken only by the ticking of a grandfather clock and the muffled noises from beyond the study windows. Kate began to feel overwhelmed by what she had put to him, and the old intimidation began creeping in. Kennett’s body was framed by the backdrop of the windows and his silhouette seemed to grow enormously and overshadow Kate completely. It dominated her space and she felt crushed. Suddenly Kennett went over to the study door.

  ‘I think you had better leave now, Kate,’ he said.

  Tears sprang into Kate’s eyes and she hurried from the room. She felt stung and wounded. Everything she had planned and hoped for had been bound up in that one attempt to persuade Kennett to take her as his wife and so save the twins from adoption. She had been a fool: an absolute, bloody fool.

  Kate barely glanced in at the twins as she went to her room and threw herself on the bed, her body wracked with sobs. She knew that she could no longer stay at Clanford because her position was untenable. How could she have been so stupid to think that a man of Kennett’s position would even consider taking a girl from the orphanage as his wife, she asked herself. And the friendliness and warmth he had shown? Had that been a fraud? Was she to become his plaything?

  ‘No, dammit, no!’ she chided herself. ‘It’s your own stupid, bloody fault! He’s a better man than that.’

  She pushed herself away from the bed and put a chair up beside the wardrobe. Then she clambered up onto the chair and reached for her small suitcase. She lifted it down and wiped the dust away with hands that were still wet from her tears and laid it on the carpet. She opened it up; the letter was still there: the one written by Sister Claudia at the orphanage. She couldn’t go back now, Kate knew that, but what else could she do? The tears came again; so much that she didn’t hear the door open.

  ‘What are you doing, Kate?’

  She shook her head, not able to answer. Then she felt strong hands take her and lift her gently.

  ‘Why are you crying?’ he asked.

  Kate turned slowly and looked up at Kennett’s face. ‘I’ve let you down,’ she sobbed, ‘and now I have no choice but to go away. I can’t stay here now.’

  He pulled her to him and put his arms around her. He put his hand on the back of her head and pushed it gently into his chest. He held her like that until her crying stopped. Then he let her go and pointed to the bed. ‘Sit down, Kate.’ He sat beside her and waited until he felt she was ready.

  ‘Kate, I have a confession to make: I stopped the adoption proceedings a long time ago.’

  Kate looked up at him. ‘What? Why?’

  ‘It was too soon. I needed to wait.’

  ‘Wait for what, Jeremy?’

  He put his hand beneath her chin. ‘Before I tell you that, there is something I think you should know. I had some health problems not long after Margaret and I married. She persuaded me to see a doctor. It turns out that I have a hole in the heart.’

  Kate drew in a sharp breath. ‘Oh, Jeremy!’

  He shook his head. ‘I could live with it for ever, or I could die tomorrow. That was another reason why I put the twins up for adoption.’ He sighed and glanced away, looking at nothing in particular. Then he looked back at Kate and into her eyes. ‘When you came here to Clanford, it was like a light had been switched on: the darkness lifted. I knew that the twins were in safe hands with you and it wasn’t long before I knew that you were the best mother I could have hoped for.’ He laughed. ‘How ironic that convention stops us from doing what we believe is correct. I couldn’t even consider the prospect of taking you for a wife like something that had been delivered to my door for my convenience.’

  Kate’s eyes had brightened now and she was hanging on every syllable. Her heart was beginning to thump deeper and louder beneath her ribs. She was only thinking of the twins and that he was telling her that they would be hers to love and to nurture.

  ‘When you came up with that preposterous proposal downstairs, I could have laughed out lo
ud.’ He paused for a moment. ‘But I couldn’t let you get away with that,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘It’s my prerogative.’

  ‘Jeremy?’

  ‘Kate, I fell in love with you months ago. Almost from the moment I first saw you. But convention got in the way.’ He stood up and pulled her up with him. Then he held her hands and looked into her eyes. ‘I didn’t know what to say down there.’ He grinned at her. ‘“If I was your wife” – that’s what you said. How could I answer that?’

  ‘Yes would have been nice,’ Kate said.

  He kissed her gently on the lips and stood back. ‘Yes, Kate; I want you to be my wife.’

  Kate collapsed inside and threw her arms around Kennett’s neck, squeezing him so tight he thought she would break something. She laughed, he laughed. She kissed him and he kissed her. Then she pushed him away and grabbed his hands.

  ‘Come on,’ she said excitedly. ‘Let’s go and tell the twins that they have a new mother and father.’

  Kennett was happy. He now believed that with Kate’s enthusiasm and ability, they would spend many happy years together at Clanford Hall, providing his heart didn’t give way.

  FIVE

  Emma and Max, 2010

  Max didn’t say much on the drive back to the hotel. Emma read the article about Clanford Hall and the gambling empire. It meant little to her, but it obviously meant a great deal to Max. She didn’t know why. There was a brief history of the estate; how it had been in the Kennett family for generations but was now in danger of collapse and ruin. The proposed sale to the gambling empire exposed little about the owners other than a name: Coney Enterprises. Neither did it mention plans for the house and gardens. There was a report of an auction but the article went on to say it was likely to be a foregone conclusion, particularly as the only other potential bidder had pulled out.

  Max jumped out of the car at the hotel and came round to Emma’s door. He opened it for her. Emma got out and waited for Max to say something, but she could see he was still in deep thought.

  ‘Will I see you this evening?’ she asked.

  He smiled and nodded. ‘Yes, of course. Look, I’m sorry if I’ve been a little quiet but I have a lot on my mind.’ He took her arm as they walked into the hotel. ‘I’ll see you down here at seven?’

  ‘Where are we going?’

  ‘Where would you like to go?’

  Emma was reluctant, but there was something she wanted to do that had not been available to her all the time she was married to Ian.

  ‘I would like to go dancing,’ she told him.

  Max frowned. ‘Dancing?’

  Emma laughed. ‘There’s a dance band on at the Savoy Hotel.’ She pointed over her shoulder. ‘It’s opposite the pier.’

  ‘OK,’ he said slowly, ‘if that’s what you want. Dinner first and then a dance.’

  Emma beamed at him. ‘Thanks, Max, it will be great. You’ll love it.’

  He affected a grim smile. ‘My old bones might not like it.’

  She nudged him. ‘There’s nothing wrong with your bones.’

  They both laughed as they climbed the stairs to their rooms.

  ‘I’ll see you at seven o’clock,’ Max said to her as they parted company.

  He watched her go and then let himself into his room. Once there his manner changed. He pulled out his mobile phone and began scrolling through the names he had saved. He found the one he wanted and hit the button. The ringing tone went on for almost a minute when a voice came on the line.

  ‘Jack Rivers.’

  ‘Hello, Jack, it’s Max: Max Reilly.’

  ‘Max? Well, hello, Max. How are you doing? Still writing?’

  Max nodded and smiled. ‘Yes, I’m still at it. What about you, Jack; still in the security game?’

  Jack Rivers was Jamaican born and now an ex-copper. He had done his time in prison, and although it wasn’t normally a safe environment for ex-policemen serving time, in Jack Rivers’s case it was his connections with some of the top villains that had guaranteed a safe passage.

  On his release, Rivers had set up a security agency called Amber Security. He dealt with fraud, money laundering, protection, sensitive investigations and looking into crimes where the police felt the perpetrators were enjoying covert, political protection. Max had used him in the past to do research into figures in the shadowy world of international crime.

  ‘I need a favour, Jack,’ Max told him.

  Rivers chuckled down the phone. ‘Most of my clients do, Max. What is it?’

  ‘I need some information on Coney Enterprises. Who they are, who runs them, and any dirt you can find on them.’

  He thought he heard a soft groan coming from the black man. ‘Max, Coney Enterprises is owned by Billy Isaacs.’

  Max shut his eyes and groaned. ‘What, Billy Isaacs who. . . ?

  ‘That’s right, Max: the one and only.’

  Max gave it a few seconds’ thought. ‘Never mind, I still want to know.’

  Rivers growled down the phone. ‘You must be fucking mad to mess around with that psycho—’

  ‘Jack, you let me worry about that,’ Max interrupted. ‘Just get what you can.’

  ‘When do you want it?’

  ‘I’m in town tomorrow. Can you meet me at the Strand Palace?’

  ‘What time?’

  Max thought about the meeting with his editor and figured that she would want to get off to Heathrow pretty early. About seven, OK?’

  ‘That’s dinner time, Max.’

  Max laughed. ‘I’ll book a table at Salieri’s. How’s that suit you?’

  ‘OK, Max, but whatever I get, it’ll cost you a monkey.’

  That was five hundred pounds: nothing for a man of Max’s wealth. ‘In your hand tomorrow: seven o’clock.’

  He put the phone down and flopped into the nearest chair. Billy Isaacs, he thought. How the hell was that prat still living? And Rivers was right: Billy Isaacs was not to be messed with. He knew his friend would be discreet, but if Isaacs found out Max was interested, it could end in disaster.

  Max put all thoughts of Billy Isaacs out of his head and took Emma dancing. He couldn’t remember the last time he had danced that way. They spent the evening enjoying each other’s company, both knowing that this could be the last evening they would spend together. Max knew he wouldn’t be able to promise Emma anything other than a hope that they could pick up from where they left off. For her part, Emma had no illusions, really: she assumed that this would be a one-off and she wouldn’t see Max again. All she could do was live off the memories of a wonderful weekend spent with a man she had become very fond of. She had no doubts that her sister would disapprove of the association, so she planned to say very little about it. She knew it would be hopeless but she would try damage limitation anyway.

  The following morning they breakfasted together and lingered longer than was normal. Neither of them wanted the meal to end, nor their time together. Max asked Emma if he could see her again, although he had no idea what kind of commitment he could offer. He told her so.

  ‘I’m not sure I’m ready for a commitment either, Max,’ she admitted. ‘I’ve had a wonderful time with you, but we lead different lives, live in different areas and will probably forget each other as time goes on.’

  ‘Well, at least give me your address and phone number,’ he asked. ‘And if I know I’m coming down this way, I could give you a ring.’

  ‘I don’t live down this way, Max,’ she reminded him. ‘I live at Bournemouth.’

  ‘Wherever you live, I want to know.’

  She lifted her small purse from the chair beside her and opened it, pulling out a notebook. She wrote her address and telephone number on a page and tore it out. Then she handed it to him. ‘Don’t lose it,’ she warned him. ‘Now, what about your address?’

  Max was about to reach into his pocket for one of his business cards. Then realized it would reveal to Emma that he was not a journalist.

  ‘I don’t have a not
ebook on me like you, Emma.’

  ‘Don’t you have a card? Most journalists do,’ she pointed out.

  He laughed. ‘Normally I do, but I thought I would do without them this weekend. But then, I didn’t expect to meet someone like you.’

  She handed her notebook to him. He wrote his phone number and address down. She looked puzzled when he passed it back to her.

  ‘This is in Norfolk. I thought you worked in Cambridge.’

  ‘I do a lot of work online,’ he told her truthfully. ‘I go into the office occasionally.’ He opened his hands up and said nothing else.

  ‘Of course,’ she said, and put the notebook back into her purse. ‘When are you leaving?’

  He looked at his watch. ‘About thirty minutes.’

  ‘Oh.’ She looked disappointed. Then she brightened a little. ‘I’ll come and say goodbye, Max. Down here in thirty minutes, then?’

  They both stood up and moved away from the table. Max followed Emma out of the dining room, regretting now that he hadn’t been truthful from the beginning. He went up to his room and finished packing his small case. Emma was waiting for him at reception. Once he had paid his bill, they walked out into the sunlight and to the car. Max unlocked the boot and dropped his case in. Then he turned to Emma and waited.

  Emma stepped closer and reached up on her toes to kiss him. Max offered his cheek, which he thought was Emma’s intention, but she grasped his chin and turned his face towards her. She kissed him on the lips.

  ‘Thank you, Max, for a lovely weekend,’ she said. ‘I really enjoyed it.’

  ‘I will ring you, Emma,’ he promised. He was about to go when she stopped him.

  ‘I have something for you.’ She handed him a small packet. It was a box of handkerchiefs. He started laughing.

  ‘Oh, Emma,’ he said through tears of mirth. ‘I didn’t want them back.’

  ‘It was the least I could do,’ she said, laughing with him. ‘After all, I’d ruined two.’