She stared at me. ‘Derek… you know about…’
I nodded. ‘He was on his way to meet you. His car skidded on some ice outside the gates. Humphrey was the one who alerted me. I sat with Derek until the ambulance arrived. Look, Derek wanted you to know he didn’t let you down.’
Layla burst into tears, and I pulled her into a hug. ‘Oh, Layla, don’t cry, it’s going to be okay.’
‘Everyone lets me down at some point,’ she sobbed. ‘It’s a shock to hear that Derek actually cares.’
‘Derek cares, so do I. Come on and dry your eyes. You are freezing cold.’
Together we walked back to her friend’s house to collect Zac and then back to the manor house.
Once inside the house, Layla and Zac went upstairs and I made everyone a hot tea. After I made a huge fuss of Humphrey and told Tom, Ben and Grandpa about what had happened with Layla and Derek. They listened intently. When I told them about how I’d gone to find Layla to give her Derek’s message, Grandpa reached out and squeezed my hand.
Later as Tom and Ben were making their way back through the construction sheet, I caught Ben’s eye. With a cheeky grin I said, ‘You see – it’s not all chaos here.’
CHAPTERNINETEEN
Later in the afternoon I updated the family on WhatsApp about the morning’s events.
I got a mixed response. A few of the cousins congratulated me on helping Derek in his hour of need and getting a message to Layla.
Aunty Flo claimed Humphrey never did anything heroic when she was looking after him. Although, as Mum pointed out, she had no idea what Humphrey had got up to when he stayed with her.
Uncle Robert sent a laughing face emoji.
Mum reminded me that losing Humphrey would break Maddie’s heart.
Fay was more concerned about her unplanned weight gain, despite dieting, this side of Christmas.
And Aunty Karen reminded me in capital letters that Grandpa should not be left on his own.
After cooking tea and clearing away, I went to sit on the sofa in the living room with Grandpa. We sat together and Humphrey curled up at our feet.
‘Maybe we’ve got Humphrey all wrong?’ Grandpa said, before leaning over to give him a scratch behind the ears.
I shook my head. ‘It was a coincidence. I think Humphrey was planning to run away and I think the car accident distracted him.’
I showed Grandpa what the family had said on WhatsApp about the drama from this morning. He shook his head at the responses from my mother and Aunty Karen. ‘Some days I struggle to understand the actions of my own daughters. I don’t know why those two can’t say something nice to you for once. It wouldn’t hurt them to say, “well done, Rachel.”’
I tried to change the subject. ‘Let’s not talk about Mum and Aunty Karen. What do you fancy for dinner tomorrow night?’
But Grandpa wanted to talk about Mum. ‘Your mother has been angry at your father for too many years. This is why she’s so bitter the whole time.’
‘I’d say power crazy and bitter.’ I thought about the way Mum controlled everyone on WhatsApp.
Grandpa shook his head. ‘She’s still cross at your father. I think his betrayal has made her poisonous. What your father did was wrong, and he hurt your mother a lot, but she can’t carry on being bossy and nasty to everyone.’
‘Don’t worry, we all ignore her,’ I said, with a nervous laugh.
‘You don’t ignore her though – do you?’ He stared at me. ‘You and Maddie have spent years trying to please her.’ He lifted his hands to gesture to the house. ‘This situation Maddie has got herself into is your mother’s doing.’
‘Really?’
He nodded. ‘Your mother has spent years making Maddie marry someone with money and I think it’s made Maddie depressed.’
‘We don’t know what’s going on with Maddie.’
Grandpa shook his head. ‘I know something is going on with Maddie. Frank worries me.’
