“It’s Mark’s father,” she said softly. “Fuck. Sorry. I’ve got to take this.”
“What! Why!” I exclaimed.
She put her finger to her lips and picked up her phone.
“Hello? Sir Malcolm?”
… Sir Malcolm, I mouthed, stunned.
Well…
Fuck.
No wonder she’d said her in-laws were wealthy but never gone into the details. Malcolm Spalding owned a significant part of Surrey…
“Yes,” she answered guardedly. “Yes, that’s right. I… Sir Malcolm, please first let me say how sorry I am for how rude and crass I was to Lady Spalding earlier…”
I mouthed “What?” at her and gesticulated a bit.
She touched her finger to her lips again, gave me a glare, and fiddled with her phone. Suddenly a warm, weathered, urbane voice rang forth.
“… boy always had a touch of the Devil in him. I’ve told his mother that many times before but you know how mothers are – the boy can do no wrong. Well, and so we learn. Are you and Bethany safe and well, my dear?”
“Beth was at school, Sir Malcolm, and I’m quite fine, thank you. Now at least. The event itself was… taxing.”
“I can well imagine.”
He sounded like a favourite grandfather, I thought to myself. So out of keeping with his pinch-penny reputation with his tenants… and the tradesmen we supplied who’d done jobs for him.
“I have had a conversation with Mark, Samantha,” he said. “I’ve let him know precisely and in exacting detail just how very vexed I am. I believe I adequately expressed the… depths… of my displeasure. I suppose, Samantha, that a reconciliation is out of the question?”
“I rather think that ship has sailed, Sir Malcolm,” my lover said, tall and proud as Dido.
“Sadly, I thought it might have,” he said. “But you of course understand that I had to ask.”
“I do.”
The old man sighed.
“Well now. Samantha, do you have a satisfactory place to stay?”
“Yes, Sir Malcolm. I have rooms at a local hotel, though I haven’t thought any further…”
“Which hotel, my dear?”
“The March Rider.”
“Ah. Yes. I suppose that is all well and good and needs must, but I don’t suppose I could tempt you with a more permanent… arrangement?”
Sam shot me a glance. “What are you proposing?”
“It is as follows: a farm I own near Loxwood has recently become vacant; the tenant is deceased and the nearest kin have indicated they do not wish to take over the tenancy. Lady Spalding and I had a mind to do the farmhouse itself up and let it out as a short-term holiday accommodation for well-heeled tourists down from London, but after thinking on the current… situation that you find yourself in… I would far rather that you take possession of it so that you and Bethany have somewhere comfortable that is a home rather than lodgings.”
Sam gave me a wide eyed look.
“That… is extremely generous, Sir Malcolm… “
“There are, however, some terms that I feel I shall need to insist on.”
Sam rolled her eyes; I covered my mouth to suppress the urge to giggle.
“Please state your terms, Sir Malcolm.”
“Firstly, I want Bethany to continue to visit us. Lady Spalding and I love the girl – and you too, by the by – and were would be terribly sad to… fall out of touch… because of the behaviour of that reprobate son of mine. Secondly – I understand this is a sensitive subject, but I still regard you as family and I will continue to do so even when you eventually see reason and divorce that adulterous husband of yours. Therefore, Samantha, the cottage would come with a generous stipend. Officially it would be a salary; I will have Mr Simms draw up some form of contract that requires you to maintain the cottage and outbuildings in good order etcetera and I will in turn cover all reasonable expenses and see to the running of the farm itself. Privately between you and me, my dear, I desire to do this because I suspect my son will not do the right thing by you and Bethany. You will forgive an old and jaded man his indulgences, will you?”
Sam bit her lip hard; I could see she was shocked by his honesty.
“This is… very unexpected,” she whispered.
“You are and have always been extremely kind to both Lady Spalding and me. We are very fond of you. And Bethany is the light of our lives.”
He cleared his throat.
“Samantha, I have only two more conditions.”
“Name them,” she whispered.
“Firstly, I would ask that you don’t go whispering to the Press about Mark. Not because I don’t believe he deserves to be dragged over the coals, he most certainly does, but… it would be distressing. For all of us. It is a sordid thing to ask but I think that once you think on it you will realise that it is for the best.”
“I have no desire to speak to the Press. On that you have my word.”
Sam took a breath.
“What is your final condition, Sir Malcolm?”
“I want you to be happy, Samantha.”
“Oh,” she said, stunned.
“Life is far too short to leave it unlived. I cannot change my son. I can, however, limit his malign influence over you. I will ensure that he leaves you and Bethany alone, bar that unfortunate legal involvement that is required – school fees, living expenses etcetera. I will cut him off entirely if he fails either of us in this.”
He paused.
“Are my terms acceptable to you, Samantha? I do not believe they are particularly… onerous.”
“Why…” she began
She coughed, started again. “Why are you… being so kind and so very generous to me?”
The silence stretched out.
Then the old man sighed.
“Tell me, Samantha. Do you know anything about Lily?”
“Lily?” Sam repeated. “I don’t, I’m afraid. Who is that?”
“Lily was my elder sister. She, too, was in love with a woman.”
Sam’s eyes widened and she stared at me.
“Unlike you, though, she lived in a less… permissive… era and was forced into marriage for appearances. She took her own life a few brief, grievous years later. I was seventeen. I could not do a thing to help her. I can, however, do something to help you.”
I shivered; Sam’s mouth fell open in shock.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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