Talisman Chapter 23

Chapter 23 Sapphire and I walked Harry to walk later that morning. He was really pleased to see me again – and told me so, twice. Then Sapphire and I went to what passes for the local park. “I’ve missed you both, too. Sapphire, I do love you and Harry.” I hugged her tightly. It seemed important that she should know this. Sapphire stood back, and looked me up and down.
“You’ve changed, Tallie.”
“Yes. But definitely for the better. Saff, I have a feeling we need to talk.”
The look of pleasure on her face faded, to be replaced by a worried expression.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “Whatever it is, together we can handle it.” First, though, I had something I really needed to ask Sapphire.
“Saff. Why did you open my post – and then hide it from me? The postman told me about it, and when you didn’t give it to me, I went in your drawer and found it. I’m sorry for that, by the way.”
Sapphire blushed faintly, but answered me with her characteristic frankness.
“I was worried it was from Brett. I didn’t want him writing to you – and if he was, I wanted to know what it was about. And when I read it – Tallie, if he knows you’ve got property, he’ll want you more than ever.” “Well, he can’t have me. Now, tell me what’s been going on while I’ve been away.”
“Oh, Tallie, he’s got his mind set on marrying you. As soon as you’re old enough. He’d probably wait until you were seventeen at a pinch, but no longer. Tallie, you know I want you to find a man, but not one like Brett! Someone kind, like Harry.” Sapphire was nearly in tears. “You must be careful round him. I know Brett, and what he’s done in the past. Tallie, he’s not a safe person. Try and keep him sweet.” “Saff, don’t worry. We can fix this. I’m not having things spoilt for you and Harry. You’ve both been so good to me – I’m not going to be the reason for it going wrong. We could run away to my house, except that it’s a total wreck.”
“And how do you know that?”
“Okay. I did go and look at it. One day, when Perdita was in hospital for observation that day and night. The Professor took me.”
I was lying to Saff again, but she’d never believe the truth. “Well, I guess I can’t blame you for that. I’d probably have done the same. So what was it like? – a semi, a terrace?”
I nearly burst out laughing. “No. It was a bit bigger than that. In fact, a lot bigger!” And I described it to her. Sapphire couldn’t believe it. I had to tell her about Ship House twice over.
“One thing’s for certain,” she said when we got home. “We can’t tell Harry about it. He’s too open and too honest. And he likes Brett. Brett’s made sure of that. He’d tell him.”
“So we need a choke-Brett-off plan,” I said. “I think we’ll start with me being terribly busy with schoolwork all the time.” The “terribly busy with schoolwork” came true! I said my school was a good one. It took no longer than a fortnight for the staff to notice the difference in me, and I was promptly moved up through the sets. I pleaded to be allowed to do Latin as well, instead of Leisure and Tourism, and after doing very nicely, thank you on a practice paper, I got my way. Media Studies went too, and I got moved into the separate science classes.
But my homework load went through the roof! I started staying after school, so that I had more computer access, and I was still bringing stuff home. Sapphire even turned off the television while I was doing it. Brett visited a few times, but even he could see that this was serious hard work, and I was Too Busy. I changed the way I dressed as well. The clothes that Sapphire had bought for me went to a charity shop. Before I’d left Ship House, Perdita had opened a bank account for me on-line, and put some money in it.
“Pay. You are supposed to have been working all summer. You need pay. And this is your money anyway.”
“But I’ve spent my pay on these clothes. How else can I explain them?” We were ironing out the details of my story for Harry, Sapphire, and anyone else who needed to hear it. In the end, we went on line, and looked up rates of pay for what I had supposedly been doing, and worked out how much I should have left over.
“A bonus,” she said. “We gave you a bonus because you helped my recovery so much.”
So I had some money of my own, that I could get at straight away. I offered it to Sapphire, but she said to keep it – I’d earned it, and after all, they’d saved on my food while I’d been away. I bought a few more clothes, and kept the rest. The year moved on. Sapphire and I went and saw the solicitors about Ship House, but we didn’t tell Harry. We just said we were having a girls’ day out together. Apparently, I couldn’t sell it yet – I was too young. So we made arrangements to put all the contents into storage, to make the house secure, and to put some form of heating in the house over the winter, to stop it getting damp. The solicitors said the cost of this could come off the sale price later, and I didn’t have to worry about paying for it upfront, as I was still a minor.
Christmas was a funny mixture. When Brett turned up, Saffy was ill-at ease, but when he wasn’t there, we had great fun. He bought presents for us all – a cookery book for Harry, but a really interesting one, a voucher for a manicure and pedicure for Saff, and a really sophisticated calculator for me. He was doing the friend-of-the-family thing so well, that I sometimes wondered if I’d imagined the conversation between him and Saff, back in July. Being so busy with schoolwork was a huge help as it stopped me thinking about Ship House - and Perdita, and the professor – so much. But sometimes, walking home from somewhere, I’d catch myself remembering it. Spring was late that year, and it stayed chilly well into March. My homework load was easing off, as I caught up with the bits of the syllabus I’d missed in various subjects, and I didn’t always need to stay late after school now. I even had time to go out occasionally, and was making new friends. I was doing my homework at home early one evening, when the doorbell rang. It was Brett. He waltzed in as though he owned the place, and asked if Harry or Sapphire were in.
“I wondered if you all fancied going to the cinema on Saturday. The new Bond film’s out, and I’d love an excuse to go and see it. My treat, as you’d all be doing me a favour by coming.”
“They’re not in at the moment, but I’ll ask them.” Then he looked at my homework, in a casual sort of way.
“Brains as well as beauty. Someone’s going to be a lucky man one day.”
I looked at him, and saw in his face an echo of Lord Askham, even of the de Malherbe who’d wanted Talisman for his son. Someone who just saw women as things to be acquired and used. Something of this must have shown in my eyes, for his face altered, became cunning for a moment. “What are you planning to do next year?”
“A levels, but I haven’t decided which ones yet.”
“And after that?”
“University, I hope.” But I wasn’t sure how we were going to afford it, with the fees going up to £9000 a year. The money Ship was supposed to have moved for me hadn’t shown up anywhere. I didn’t think she’d succeeded in doing it. I didn’t doubt that she’d meant to, just that she hadn’t managed to.
“You’d be much better off getting a job. I know they’re not easy to find, but I could probably help you there.” He didn’t say “for a consideration”, but I could hear it hanging in the air. He looked around him a bit disparagingly.
“You know, this place could look a lot better. Why don’t you re-decorate it?”
“The landlord won’t let us.”
“Landlord? I thought Harry owned the house.”
“No. It’s rented.”
A thoughtful look crossed his face. Then he repeated his invitation and left. Sapphire got in first that night, and I told her about Brett’s invitation.
“We’d better go,” she said. “We’ve turned down the previous two.”
“Well, make sure I’m not sitting next to him!”
“Don’t worry. I’ll look after you. What else did he say?”
I told her the whole of the conversation, and she was surprisingly cross.
“He thought I only married Harry because of the house! He can’t see that Harry’s worth a dozen of him!”
I’d bought Sapphire some clothes for Christmas – and kept the receipt in case she wanted to change them – but she’d liked the change of look I’d suggested. I thought it suited her too. We went to the cinema with Brett, and then a few days later he called round to say that he would be away for a fair while – work, he explained.
Harry was sorry to see him go, and told him we’d miss him, and Brett was very charming back, and thanked Harry for all the hospitality and friendship, and how nice it had been for him to have a little family life. And then we didn’t see him for ages. It was bliss. Sapphire got less edgy – and I could concentrate completely on my schoolwork. And I needed to concentrate. Even with all I’d learnt at Ship House, it was still an uphill slog to be ready for my exams. Everybody got more and more stressed as we got nearer to them – both at school and at home. Even Harry was worried, and Sapphire grew noticeably paler and quieter. But they kept reassuring me I’d be fine.
The last exam should have come as a huge relief, but actually it was a really tough one. Even Astrid Sorenson, who was normally Miss Unflappable, came out of it with her hair all over the place from clutching her head in despair. Some of us had been planning to go out for an ice-cream to celebrate, but after that exam we all just wanted to go home, crawl into a hole and pull it in after us. I changed out of my school clothes into something cooler, and was reminded, sharply and painfully of Ship House again. The front door banged as Sapphire came home. I went downstairs to tell her I was in after all, and found her in tears. “Saff! What’s wrong?”
“Oh, Tallie, it’s awful. I didn’t want to tell you until your exams were finished, but I found out four weeks ago. Brett’s bought our house from the landlord who owned it, and he says he’ll put the rent right up if you won’t have him.”