Читать книгу A Family Holiday: A heartwarming summer romance for fans of Katie Fforde - Bella Osborne, Bella Osborne - Страница 8

Back at home Ted and Charlie stared into their respective mugs.

‘What do you know about Aunt Ruth and Uncle Felix?’ asked Charlie, trying to sound relaxed, but it still came out like the start of an inquisition. Ted sighed heavily.

‘You’ve met Aunt Ruthless,’ he said, and looked up as if that was explanation enough.

‘She seems… okay,’ said Charlie, sipping her drink and avoiding eye contact.

‘Okay?’ questioned Ted. ‘Yeah, if you were stuck next to her on a train for an hour, perhaps, but okay to take the place of our parents?’ Charlie pulled a face like someone discovering a maggot in an apple. Ted continued, ‘She would only look okay when compared to a rabid wolf and then it would be touch and go who to choose. In fact, I think wolves have quite a strong nurturing instinct.’ He gave a wry smile.

‘I agree she’s not the warmest of people, but she seemed, um, efficient.’

‘Charlie, I am not having Aunt Ruthless move in here so she can bully all of us and use the trust fund to shore up her failing company.’

‘She’s not that bad and don’t call her Ruthless or Millie will pick it up and…’

Ted grinned over his coffee mug. Charlie shook her head in mock despondency. They sat in silence again, the only sound was of muffled footsteps upstairs as Fleur played with the other children. Fleur was Charlie’s oldest friend and should have been baby-sitting that morning so Charlie could have gone to the solicitor’s alone, but something had come up and Fleur hadn’t made it in time. Better late than never, thought Charlie.

The sound of frantic high-speed paws almost tumbling down the stairs towards them made them both turn to see the arrival of Wriggly. He was a brown-and-white Llasa Apso puppy with an amazing pedigree birth line and an even longer pedigree name that was no good for day-to-day use. After much debate and a secret vote, they had finally settled on the name Mr Wriggly. Charlie still felt that it had some inappropriate overtones, but she’d been outvoted. Thankfully it had soon been shortened to Wriggly. Today Wriggly was wearing a Star Wars Ewok costume and was closely followed by Princess Leia, a storm trooper and a mini version of Darth Vader.

‘George, Wriggly will overheat in that outfit. Take it off, please,’ asked Charlie as the storm trooper removed his mask.

‘But we’re being chased by a Cyberman!’ said Eleanor, adjusting her Princess Leia Chelsea-bun-style hairband.

‘Shhhhh,’ said Darth Vader. Not having seen the films, this was Millie’s interpretation of the Darth Vader breathing noise. George had given up trying to teach her how to do it properly.

‘Cyberman?’ queried Ted and he glanced at Charlie with raised eyebrows.

An odd-looking Cyberman walked awkwardly down the stairs like an Egyptian mummy from a black-and-white film. The key differences being the swathes of auburn hair bouncing behind it and the patent high-heeled shoes. George and Eleanor screamed and ran for the garden.

‘Shhhhh,’ said Darth Vader before giggling and following the others.

‘Fleur, you are useless when it comes to sci-fi,’ said Charlie.

The Cyberman spun in her direction, removed the mask and studied it. ‘Is this not Star Wars?’

Charlie shook her head, ‘Dr Who.’

‘Bugger,’ said Fleur as she flopped onto a barstool.

‘Thanks for baby-sitting, Fleur. They love playing with you.’

‘It’s the least I can do after messing up this morning. Sorry. How are things?’

‘Not great, but we’re managing,’ said Charlie, exchanging grimaces with Ted.

‘I think you’re all amazing. I’d be a mess if it were me. Ma and Pa send their love and Pa says thanks for keeping me busy. He says if I mention the wedding at home once more he’s moving into the stables.’ She huffed. ‘You’d think I’d turned into some sort of Bridezilla.’

Charlie and Ted exchanged looks and sipped their drinks in unison.

‘What? I can’t help being excited, it’s not long now. Eeeek!’ squealed Fleur. Ted winced.

The back doors opened and the compact version of the Star Wars cast came thundering back in. ‘George! Remove the Ewok costume!’ said Charlie with authority. ‘Go on, all of you back upstairs, I’ll call you when dinner is ready,’ and Charlie dismissed them with a wave of her hand. George undid the Velcro on Wriggly’s costume, the little dog shook himself free and chased up the stairs after Eleanor, closely followed by the storm trooper and unconvincing Cyberman.

‘Shhhhh,’ said Darth Vader in passing. The kitchen was calm again.

‘Uncle Felix, what do we know about him?’ Charlie didn’t like to admit that she hadn’t known that Toby even had a brother.

‘There was some family upset and he did a runner some years ago…’ Ted paused. ‘It doesn’t matter, though, does it really? Mum and Dad are dead and nobody else is going to love us like they did.’

The doorbell rang and both Charlie and Ted jumped. Piccadilly Circus was as calm and serene as a spa compared to their house. Charlie slid off the barstool. ‘I’ll go,’ she said, as she downed the last of her coffee and tried to push her own grief to the back of her mind. The children were coping incredibly well now; they were quite matter-of-fact at times. The funeral had been the worst experience of her life as she had tried to keep things together and let them all deal with it in their own way. The last thing she wanted was for them to bottle this up, as she knew from her own experience that repressing emotions would never end well.

Charlie opened the front door and surveyed the uncomfortable-looking man fidgeting on the doorstep. His striking features looked familiar. A baseball cap covered his hair but wisps of blonde were sticking out at odd angles. He was wearing a new-looking jacket and ill-fitting jeans and his hands were thrust deep into his pockets, making the jeans sag even more.

‘Hi,’ he said at last. His accent was British with a hint of something difficult to identify.

‘Hi,’ said Charlie, feeling her cheeks rise into an involuntary smile.

‘Are you the nanny?’

‘Yes, I’m Charlie French.’ The attractive stranger intrigued her.

‘I’m Felix. Felix Cobley.’

Charlie’s smile evaporated in a haze of confusion. Was this some sort of hostile takeover?

‘What’s going on?’ she said, folding her arms tight as if holding down the anger within her.

‘Oh,’ said Felix, looking awkward. ‘I thought the solicitor had explained?’

‘Err, no!’ In her mind Charlie matched Felix to the tall man she’d passed in the solicitor’s waiting room.

‘Can I come in?’ asked Felix with a shudder. What was wrong with him? It was summer, for goodness sake!

‘I think there’s lots to discuss before we spring a long-lost relative on the children.’ Especially one with a record for running off, she thought.

‘Look, I can come back later,’ suggested Felix with a shrug.

‘Fine by me,’ said Charlie quickly.

‘But I thought it might be best the sooner we all talked. Seriously, can I come inside please?’

‘No,’ said Charlie, ‘not until I know what you’re planning to say to them. It’s me who’ll have to deal with the fallout!’ She tightened her folded arms.

‘There are no definite plans as yet, that’s why I thought a chat might be a good idea.’

Charlie heard a faint noise coming from the stairs and she knew one of the children was listening, which in reality meant that they would all know about Uncle Felix within the next few moments anyway. Charlie took a slow, deep breath and tried to calm herself. She needed to have her wits about her.

‘Okay, let’s get this over with.’ She stood back and ushered an apologetic-looking Felix into the hall and through to the living room.

‘Guys, can you come down, please,’ she called and immediately George appeared, closely followed by Eleanor, who was carrying Wriggly. So that was who was listening. George was eager to get into the living room and take a look at his uncle and Eleanor followed behind with her pale face buried in Wriggly’s coat. He was living up to his name and she was struggling to keep hold of him.

Charlie tried to remove Millie’s mask as she marched into the living room but she was not giving it up willingly so Charlie relented. Felix sat down in Toby’s spot on the sofa and Charlie and the children all stood and stared at him as he now removed his cap to reveal a mass of unruly blonde hair and the full might of the Cobley blue eyes. He was by no means his brother’s double; he was younger and more olive-skinned, but the obvious likeness was uncanny and more than a little creepy as he sat in Toby’s place. Millie shuffled a little closer to Charlie and leaned into her leg, even she could sense something.

Felix self-consciously brushed back his hair with his fingers and tried to look anywhere except at the many eyes trained on him.

‘You might want to sit over here,’ suggested Charlie gently as she gestured for Felix to move to the opposite sofa.

‘No, I’m fine. Thanks.’

Charlie gave him a look that communicated that staying seated where he was was not an option. Felix looked around him in bemusement. ‘What?’

‘Please move,’ said Charlie. He sighed but did as he was asked and looked further confused when nobody took the place he had vacated. Millie decided to sit on the rug at Charlie’s feet.

Charlie gave a forced smile. ‘This is…’

‘You’re Uncle Felix, aren’t you?’ blurted out George and Millie responded with a dramatic gasp and covered Darth Vader’s mouth with her hand. It was one of her favourite things to do at the moment and for once her timing was spot on.

‘Why are you here exactly?’ asked Ted, leaning forward, his shoulders hunched and his hands clasped tightly together in front of him.

‘Well, the solicitor thought we should meet up and…’

‘Not because you wanted to see how we were,’ stated Ted coldly, as his knuckles turned white.

‘Of course I did.’ Felix looked uncomfortable. ‘You’ve changed since I last saw you, Teddy,’ said Felix.

‘It’s Ted. And yeah that tends to happen when you sod off for years. Things change, Felix.’ He emphasised the name before slumping back into his seat.

‘Look I don’t have all the answers and I’m not here to cause trouble.’ Felix rested his hands on his knees as if trying to keep them still.

Millie climbed up onto Charlie’s lap and turned her back on the room. Charlie removed the Darth Vader mask.

‘Why did you run off?’ asked George.

Felix ran his hand through his hair, ‘It’s complicated, mate. You’d not really understand.’

‘You could at least try to explain,’ said Charlie, locking eyes with Felix and she saw a flash of something – anger, irritation? She wasn’t sure.

Felix swallowed hard. ‘Our father died and it was difficult…’

‘Yes, we know how that feels,’ said Eleanor in a soft and genuinely sympathetic voice.

‘I’m so sorry, of course you do…’ Felix looked suitably chastened.

‘Did you kill him?’ asked George, his interest piqued.

‘Err, no. Of course not.’ Felix was frowning and shaking his head but there was something about his expression that worried Charlie. His words said one thing but his face said another.

‘Why didn’t you come to the funeral?’ Ted asked belligerently.

Felix went pale. ‘Your dad and I… didn’t keep in touch. I suppose it took the solicitors a while to find me and by then I’d missed it. I’m… so sorry.’

There was an uneasy silence before Felix spoke again. ‘I’m seeing Ruth later about the guardianship and the trust fund.’

Ted snorted and shook his head. ‘You know the money comes with strings attached and we’re those strings,’ he said, pointing at himself and the other children.

‘Perhaps this was a bad idea,’ said Felix, looking decidedly awkward.

Charlie raised her eyebrows but said nothing.

‘I am truly sorry about your mum and dad. I loved them too.’ He stood and left the room and Charlie felt she should see him out, so she shifted Millie off her lap and followed him.

‘Here, call first if you want to come again. It’s best they’re forewarned, okay?’ said Charlie, handing him the phone number she’d quickly scribbled on the back of an old envelope.

He nodded, turned up his collar and stepped out into a mild summery London.

Felix raced into the small coffee shop and immediately spotted a vaguely familiar woman, who was staring unblinking at the door.

‘Hello Ruth,’ said Felix, reaching forward to air-kiss her. ‘Really sorry I’m late, I was…’

Ruth recoiled. ‘Yes, well, I still need to be in a meeting at three o’clock, which means we only have thirteen minutes.’

Felix looked longingly at the conga-line queue for coffee and Ruth blinked hard. Felix’s shoulders sagged as he accepted his disappointment and sat down opposite her.

‘I’m truly sorry about your sister. Helen was such a genuinely lovely person, I remember when…’

‘Thank you,’ cut in Ruth, glancing at her watch, ‘I’ll keep this brief. The lawyers are going to keep burning money the longer they debate how we split the guardian role. I’ve spoken to Social Services and they would prefer us to work this out for ourselves and then they’ll review the candidate. I am very happy to take on that responsibility.’

Felix slumped back into his chair and clapped his hands. ‘That is great news. Thank you. The solicitor I spoke to implied you didn’t want to look after the kids but kind of made it clear that one of us had to. So that is a huge relief.’

Ruth scowled, ‘The responsibility of guardian enables me to ensure they have a financially secure future and appoint a childcare professional to administer their care. And let’s be clear, I do not mean the current incumbent.’

Felix looked like he’d just been beaten at Scrabble. ‘What?’

‘Their current nanny will be leaving as soon as I can find a replacement. She isn’t qualified and the children are out of control. She is some stray that my sister took in. I queried it with Helen at the time. I told her she should do proper checks, but Helen was always too soft and naive.’ Ruth’s voice caught in her throat. ‘Anyway, I’ve done some investigating of my own and she’s not fit to care for those children but I’m sure she’s already looking for another job, so we’ll soon be rid of her.’ Ruth checked her watch again and moved her handbag onto her lap. ‘If you could inform the solicitor that you concur, I will notify Social Services of the agreed approach, and we should be able to get things wrapped up quite quickly.’ Ruth stood to leave.

‘Hang on, hang on,’ said Felix, waving her to sit down again. ‘Let’s get this straight. You will be their guardian, and you’ll administer the trust fund. There will be a new nanny…’

‘A qualified nanny,’ interjected Ruth.

‘Yep, to do washing, cleaning and day-to-day stuff. But what’s missing is who is actually looking after them?’

Ruth pursed her lips. ‘A full-time nanny will be there to care for them, they’ll be fine. We could, of course, consider boarding school for the older children,’ said Ruth, with almost a smile. ‘I need to leave.’

‘Yeah, of course. Sorry I was late but I think we need more time to work something else out. I really don’t think Helen and Tobes would have wanted their kids to be left to manage by themselves like this, and certainly not just packed off to boarding school.’

Ruth stood up. ‘Very well, I’ll check my diary so we can discuss this further, but I assure you they’ll be fine. Children are very resilient. Good bye.’