The Legacy by Caroline Bond (e book reader for pc .TXT) 📕

reason, Eloise realised she truly wanted to know how Megan was feeling. ‘Megan?’ She raised her voice. ‘I asked how you’ve been.’

Megan slowly wrung out the cloth and draped it over the tap before turning round. ‘I’ve been… okay.’

Eloise nodded. ‘It was sudden, though, wasn’t it?’

Megan reached out a hand and gripped the countertop. ‘It was.’

So that’s the way she was going to go. Rationing. ‘And the funeral. Has there been any further news on a possible date?’

‘No.’

‘Really? I would have thought you’d have got something booked in by now.’

‘It’s complicated.’

‘How so?’

Megan swallowed as if her throat was full of gravel. ‘Because of the conditions in Jonathan’s will.’

Eloise knew exactly what she was talking about. Liv had emailed her copies of the will and the Statement of Wishes. ‘Oh, that.’ Something sparked in Megan’s eyes. Game on. Eloise pushed. ‘Surely you’re not paying any credence to that nonsense?’

Megan looked down at the floor, took a breath. ‘It was what he wanted.’

It was too good an opportunity to pass up. ‘And Jonathan always gets what he wants, does he?’

‘Excuse me.’ Megan dashed out.

‘Mum!’ Chloe sounded shocked, but the look on her face was one of sneaking admiration.

‘What? I was only making conversation. Has she been like this the whole time?’ Eloise walked over to the sink.

‘Yes. More or less. She never said much before – well, not to me – but since Dad died she’s been virtually silent.’

‘In shock?’ Eloise took hold of the dishcloth between her finger and thumb and pulled it off the tap into the sink.

‘Yeah. Probably. I mean, it was a shock. It was awful. But…’ Chloe fiddled with one of her ear studs.

‘But what?’

‘Nothing.’

‘Chloe. You’re the one who’s been here through it all. You can talk to me. I know how hard it’s been.’

‘Really, Mum, it’s nothing.’

Eloise defaulted to the tactic that had always worked when Chloe was young – silence.

As predicted, a few moments later Chloe blurted out, ‘We think there might be something she’s not telling us.’

Eloise made herself hold back. ‘What do you mean?’

Chloe’s fidgeting migrated from her earring to the chain around her neck. ‘Last week, when I was trying to get things sorted, she was… well, she seemed reluctant to help. We needed some information digging out. Stuff Liv wanted. Megan said she would get it for us, then she didn’t.’

‘Financial information?’

‘Mainly. There were some medical notes Liv wanted to see as well.’

Eloise left another gap for Chloe to fill.

She obliged. ‘Megan gave Liv the files, in the end. I’m sure it’s nothing. More a case of her being forgetful than wilfully obstructive.’ Eloise nodded, not necessarily in agreement, but rather to encourage Chloe to say more. It worked. ‘Let’s just say it’s been really awkward, and she’s not made it any easier.’

They both left it at that – for the time being.

Eloise’s return to the bosom of her family was getting more interesting by the minute.

Chapter 28

CHLOE WAS upset when she discovered their mother had chosen to book a room at The Crown. She’d assumed, wrongly, that they would have a shuffle round and make space for her at The View. She’d offered Eloise her own bed without hesitation, imagining how reassuring it would be to share a room with someone after all this time – perhaps the rhythm of another person’s breathing might chase away the dreams. The look of horror on Eloise’s face at the suggestion had hurt, deeply. The awareness that she was the only one trying to hang on to their home, and with it their sense of themselves as a family, was depressing. In Chloe’s fragile state, her mother’s indifference felt like yet another abandonment, and she’d endured enough of those.

Perhaps she was too sentimental, but at least she cared about something other than the money.

The Crown prided itself on being the nicest hotel in Scarborough. It sat in the bend of The Esplanade, a long vanilla-ice-cream-coloured building, with an edging of black wrought-iron railings. It was elegant – much like their mother. Chloe watched Eloise check in and was struck by how at home she looked, with her smart clothes and soft leather overnight bag. Expensive luggage, just one of the many new tastes that her mother had acquired since leaving Scarborough, and her family. Chloe heard the male receptionist say he’d upgraded Eloise. Of course he had.

They travelled up to her room in silence. It was large, with three long drop-windows – a sea-view triptych. Her mother moved fluidly around the room, perfectly at home. She unpacked her cosmetics and toiletries in the bathroom, and hung a dress of muted blues and greens, a pair of smart black trousers and a silk shirt up in the wardrobe. Then she opened one of the windows a crack to let the cold air freshen the somewhat stuffy atmosphere. Chloe watched. ‘You could’ve stayed. At the house,’ she clarified.

Her mother sat down and unzipped her boots. Took them off – unhurried. ‘I don’t think that would’ve been such a good idea.’

‘But it feels wrong that you can’t stay with us.’

Eloise flexed her toes. ‘It’s not my home any more, Chloe.’

‘But…’

‘No. There are no “buts”. I used to live there. Now I don’t. And I’m fine with that.’

‘But it must hurt seeing Megan… in your place.’

Eloise planted her feet firmly on the carpet. ‘Chloe. Look at me. It’s ancient history. I’ve moved on. My life no longer revolves around that house.’

‘But it’s still our family home.’

‘Not for much longer,’ Eloise retorted.

Sometimes, just occasionally, Chloe could see why her father might have felt the need to seek out kinder company. She flopped backwards onto the bed.

A minute passed.

She heard her mother sigh and stand up. Eloise went into the en suite, shut and then locked the door, leaving Chloe on her own.

The seagulls wheeled and racketed around outside the window. Chloe wished she could scream along with them, but she knew that would not be tolerated. Instead she lay, stranded on the bed, staring up at