Rejection Runs Deep (The Canleigh Series, book 1: A chilling psychological family drama) by Carole Williams (uplifting novels TXT) 📕

“Oh, Christ!  So, what do we do then?”

Delia took a long breath before she spoke.  She was banking everything on this.

“We kill him.”

Rocky sat up abruptly, his bloodshot eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.  “WHAT!  Are you bloody crazy?”

“No … I’m perfectly sane.  I want him dead.  He’s stood in my way for too long and then let me down really, really badly and I want revenge,” she said through clamped teeth.  She was also clenching her hands tightly.  Now the words were actually out of her mouth, the resentment and hostility she felt towards Richard was overwhelming but the long years of being jealous of him and all he would possess just because he was a male was about to end.

“Bloody hell,” Rocky whispered.  “I can’t believe you just said that.  You can’t mean it.

“Oh, I do.  Believe me.  I do.  Now, listen.  If he dies, I get all his money.  Also, as the eldest child, I will then inherit Canleigh on my father’s death.”

“Don’t tell me you want to kill him too.

Delia laughed hollowly.  “No … I just want to see him suffer when he finds out his beloved son and heir has been murdered … but when my Father does die, I will get everything.  We will be set for life.  In the meantime, he is hardly ever at Canleigh.  He likes to live in Scotland or travel abroad so we will have the place all to ourselves, along with Richard’s money.  You won’t need to work another day if you don’t want to.  You can just enjoy yourself.  Oh, Rocky,” she said eagerly, her eyes lighting up.  “You will love Canleigh.  It’s so beautiful, so old, so spacious.  You can have a room overlooking the lake and the woods, you can be waited on by Hardy … he’s the butler.  We have a fabulous heated indoor swimming pool so you can swim as much as you like.  I can teach you to ride … it’ll be such fun.  Can’t you see?”

“That’s all very well,” he said liking the sound of it but not quite sure how it was going to come to fruition.  “But we’ll need a hit man and I expect they will want a hell of a lot of money and as we haven’t got it, we’re stumped again.”

Delia paused.  This was it.  This was crunch time.  “We’ll have to do it … ourselves,” she said slowly, letting the words sink in.

Rocky drew in his breath and looked tense.  “You really are joking now … I hope.  I might be a lot of things but I am not a murderer.”

“I told you it would take guts … are you chickening out?  Because if you are, you’re finished … and have nothing to look forward to but life on the streets.  This house is mortgaged up to the hilt and you will have to get out soon as the repayments haven’t been met … and you won’t have a car either.”

Delia sat still, watching him think, digging her nails deep into the palms of her hands, hoping to God she hadn’t blown it.  If he refused to fall in with her ideas, she would have to come up with something else and it would have been a complete waste of her time and money trying to mould him to do whatever she wanted.

Finally, deeply worried but knowing he had no real choice he answered her, his voice sounding thin and weak.  “When … and how?”

Delia grinned with relief.  “Leave all the details to me.  You do as you’re told and it’ll be easy.  You’ll see.  We’ll be home and dry before you know it.  Now go and get packed for a few days.  There’s a plane at five o’clock and I’ve booked us on it.

“But I don’t have a passport.”

“Yes, you do,” she said triumphantly, diving into her leather bag and waving it in the air.  “Why do you think I got you to do those photographs a while ago?    I then filled in the form and forged your signature.  So, you are all fit to go.”

“Bloody hell,” he said, shaking his head as he stood up and left the room.  “You’re a devious woman.”

Delia followed him up the stairs to collect her luggage which she had already prepared for the journey back to Britain, a huge smile of satisfaction on her face.  The first major hurdle in her plan had been successful.  Rocky had agreed and swallowed her bait beautifully and within a couple of days she would finally be rid of him and the one person who had always stood in her way.  Richard.  Once the deed was done, she knew she would feel no remorse.  He had betrayed her … reneging on their secret and she’d told him and her father that they would be sorry … and they were about to find out that she always kept her promises.

CHAPTER 26CANLEIGH HALL – NOVEMBER 1973

Ruth was so looking forward to Christmas and as she swam up and down the heated pool at Canleigh performing a sedate breaststroke, while Charles flashed past her doing the crawl, she wondered whether it would be a good idea to invite her parents.  They had a terrible tendency to gush when in Charles’ presence and she found it highly embarrassing.  Sycophancy amused Charles.  He was used to it, having endured it over the years from hundreds of people desperate to ingratiate themselves with a Duke but Ruth abhorred it and certainly didn’t know if she could put up with it for three or four days.  Her father wasn’t too bad but her mother was distinctly over the top and unbelievably nice to Ruth now she was a Duchess.  The fact that she didn’t want a career in medicine anymore had been completely swept under the carpet.  Ruth was