Part 40 (2/2)

'But, Richard ...

'Shut. Up.

The words reverberated with barely-restrained ferocity. I stared at him in shock. Where was the Uncle Richard Id known? Where had he gone? The answer was, of course, that he had never been there. That was just the face he had chosen to show to the world. And me. I felt sick when I thought of his false kindness, his concern, and all this time ...

It was time I said something. Because all right, theyd had a go at me, but Russell was the one whod really been in danger. It was Russell whose life would have been ruined. For the second time. I dont know what happened. And I dont know why it happened then. I only know, that suddenly, without any warning I found my voice.

'Get out. Get out of our house. Both of you. It makes me sick just to have you here. You called me a nothing girl. Well, this nothing girl despises you. Id rather be nothing and loved by Russell Checkland than anything else on earth. You would have ruined his life and hes so much better than you. Hes kind and generous and pa.s.sionate and everything youre not. He will be a great painter one day. And and he goes like a train.

Aunt Julias face twitched with disgust.

I picked up steam.

'And Ill tell you this for nothing. You will leave Rushford and you will never come back. Russell might be content with seeing you all in prison, but hes a much nicer person than I am. I swear, if I ever see any of you again I will end you.

Those final words throbbed with a pa.s.sion I didnt know I possessed.

Andrew laughed. 'Congratulations, Russ. You told me she was a winner.

I turned to him. 'Did he?

'Several times. G.o.d, Jenny, the nights Ive had to spend listening to him boring on about you ...

'Yes, thank you, Andrew, said Russell. 'Why are you still here?

'For the food, of course. Can we get rid of the peasants and eat, please?

'Of course. Kevin, show this crowd out. Franny, youre welcome to stay if you want. You cant help your ghastly relatives.

She said automatically, 'Dont call me Franny.

'Take them out through the kitchen, Kev. I dont want anything getting in the way of their hasty departure. Jenny, I dont know what youre doing down that end of the table with Andrew. You deserve better than that. Come and sit up here with me.

I never actually saw Aunt Julia and Uncle Richard leave. I sat by Russell and he held both my hands. Theyd been the most important people in my life for so long and when I looked up, they were gone.

He said, 'I should apologise. For yesterday.

'Its all right.

'No, its not. If you could have seen the look on your face I nearly kicked it all into touch there and then. I almost gave you a heads-up at the top of the stairs, but ... And then all I could do was make sure you were never alone, or that if you were then I was miles away. With witnesses. And hope you put it all together.

'It took a while for my brain to start moving again, but I got there.

'And Im so sorry about tonight, but I had to force the issue. I had to frighten the pair of them into making a move. In front of witnesses. But youre safe now. I promise you, Jenny ...

But I never found out what he was promising me.

The door crashed open and Kevin raced back into the room, his face as white as his s.h.i.+rt.

'The stables are on fire.

Chapter Fifteen.

In a second, Russells face lost all colour. This was his worst nightmare come true. He shot to his feet with such force that his chair flew backwards.

'Andrew!

'With you, mate.

They scrambled to the door. Kevin was already gone.

To my surprise, Daniel Palmer was on his feet as well. We gained two good friends that night.

He said, 'Francesca, stay here, but she ignored him, following us all out. Russell fired off instructions.

'Mrs Crisp ring the fire brigade. Tell them we have horses. They need to know. Kevin get the hose. Dont try anything yourself. Just wait for me. Sharon get buckets. Jenny close the gate.

I nodded. Horses hate fire. They fear it. Theyre terrified of it. The last thing we needed was panicking horses bolting through the gate and getting involved with traffic down in the village.

We grabbed old coats and followed them out into the yard just in time to see Andrew follow Russell into the stables, Daniel and Kevin close behind.

It was a nightmare. Not just Russells nightmare everyones nightmare. Billowing smoke, pale in the darkness, thick and pungent made the familiar unfamiliar. Strange shapes loomed and vanished, giving the whole scene the appearance of a stop-start movie.

I stood, disbelieving. This could not be happening. We had thought it was all over, but Christopher who else? had struck at us one last time. Beside me, Tanya muttered something bad in German.

I set off across the yard to secure the gate. Once done, I had time to look around. It wasnt the stables after all. The smoke came from the barn next door. Where we stored the feed. Horribly inflammable hay and straw. And Christophers coil of wire. The bad taste in my mouth was not entirely due to the acrid smoke.

I waited impatiently. They seemed to have been in the stables an awfully long time. I was tempted to go over myself, but there were four of them in there already and the pa.s.sage was narrow. More bodies would not be helpful. Sick with dread, I stood by the gate on legs that were not completely mine and waited.

I knew what the problem would be. It would be Marilyn. Donkeys have more sense than horses. They do not flee blindly. Faced with peril, they stand still and have a bit of a think. People think theyre stubborn, but actually, theyre very sensible. Although not that sensible. She would be standing, stock still, while the stable filled with smoke from next door, the flames spread, the roof came down ... I shook myself. That would not happen. Russell would not let that happen. Not tonight. Not after everything that had happened. We couldnt lose everything now. Russell would Russell would burn to death, or be crushed by a falling building, or trampled by stampeding horses. Russell could die tonight. Along with my confidence, my hopes for the future everything I ever wanted. And without him, his strength, his belief in me, Julia and Richard would be back. I could hear it now. 'Poor Jenny. What a tragedy. Such a shock for her. I dont think sh.e.l.l ever get over it, you know. And who would believe me? And Andrew might die too. And Daniel. Or Kevin. I felt hot panic eat away at the edges of my mind. The urge to do something. Anything.

I let go of the gate and started across the yard. Tanya caught my arm. 'No. No, Jenny. You must leave them. It is not allowed that you go in there.

She was right. Its easy to get involved in a catastrophe and make things worse. The hard part is to stand back and do nothing. She rubbed my arm. 'Leave it to Andrew and Russell.

Finally, Daniel Palmer appeared through the smoke, leading a slow-moving Thomas. I heard Francesca catch her breath on a sob, but Thomas limped gamely through the murk. He was sweating and trembling, but by Frogmorton standards, as calm as a rock.

Daniel called, 'Jenny! and I ran forward to take Thomas. 'Russell says get him into the field. He may try to run back in again.

I nodded. Horses do this, as well. They feel safe in their stable its their home and, when threatened, thats where they run to. Even if its on fire at the time.

I led Thomas away. I heard Francesca shout, 'Daniel! but he turned away, put his hands on his knees, drew a couple of breaths, and went straight back in again.

I shouted at Francesca to open the gate into the field. She ran clumsily. Manolo Blahniks. Good old Franny.

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