Amelia looked at her much in the same way a snake would look at a fat baby chipmunk. This was going even better than she’d hoped. Liv was obviously falling for her story and running scared.
She laughed to herself and thought, ‘As if Evie would tell me anything. But I have my own ways of digging up scandal and my source is impeccable.’
She said aloud, “You know, your sister really seemed to enjoy telling me all your dirty little secrets. She reckons you broke your father’s heart and made your mother so unhappy she lost her mind.”
Liv burst out, “That’s a lie. My dad was a spineless sack of jelly, and my mother was always crazy. I had nothing to do with him dying or her going off her head. That bitch Evie. I can’t believe she told you about Brodie.”
Liv was shocked at the level of betrayal she felt. With a lot of therapy and many long talks with Rab, Liv had begun to overcome her feelings of jealousy and resentment towards Evie and had almost decided to tentatively establish contact with her sister, who had said her door was always open.
She thought bitterly, ‘Evie has no intention of wiping the slate clean. She’s just been biding her time and now she wants to ruin my life. I believed her when she said no one would ever talk about what happened, and now she has told this weirdothe whole story, but maybe she actually can help. It might not be a total waste of time to find out what she has to say.’
She looked at Amelia and affected a drawl, “OK, I’m listening. What’s your cunning plan?”
When Amelia had outlined what she wanted Liv to do, she didn’t wait for a reply but abruptly got up to leave. At the door she turned round, “Don’t take too long to make up your mind. And don’t even think about warning Evie, because I have many other ways to make her life hell that don’t involve you. Remember, all I have to do is call your good pal Rab and all the others in your AA group and tell them all about your past. That’s all it would take to bring you down. It’s your choice.”
Liv sat alone in her cell-like room, mulling over Amelia’s plan and wondering if she could go through with it.
Evie would be ruined and left with nothing. Liv would be in the clear with money in the bank.
In her dark days as an addict, Liv had frittered away the money her parents had given her, as well as the modest sum left over when Granny Sheila’s cottage on Hrossey was sold.
Liv was now existing from one pay cheque to another and Evie was living in the family home, which Liv always thought should have been hers, by rights, as the eldest child.
As far as Liv was concerned, looking in from the outside, Evie had effortlessly built a successful business and was popular and well-liked. Once again, the golden child had triumphed, leaving Liv looking like a pathetic failure.
‘It’s not fair. It’s never been fair. All the odds have always been stacked against me.’ Liv sat in the growing dark going over and over in her mind what Amelia was planning.
‘It could work and I would be protected. No one would believe Evie. Even if she shouted the truth from the rooftops,but can I really live with myself if I go along with it? And what the hell has Evie done to this Amelia woman to make her so hellbent on revenge. She wouldn’t tell me but it must be something epic.’
The one person she wanted to confide in was Rab, but she knew that was impossible, and she also knew she was in for a restless and sleepless night. Amelia had said she would be in touch.
Liv knew what she had to do.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Kirkwall
When Amelia walked into the bar Ross was already there looking handsome in a pair of jeans and a freshly washed and ironed sky-blue shirt. He’d had a shower, combed his hair and shaved, and he smelled of soap.
He smiled at her, his eyes crinkling up, showing perfect white teeth and that adorable dimple. ‘It really is ludicrous how handsome this man is,’ she thought. ‘I find it very hard to believe he hasn’t had a steady girlfriend or even a revolving door of casual women in his life.’
He got up and gave her an awkward peck on the cheek. Not knowing that Amelia would expect two kisses, they had a bit of a clumsy dance around each other.
“I got you a red wine. Is that OK?” said Ross. He looked embarrassed. “I’m an eejit. You might want something else. I can take it back, no bother.”
Amelia smiled at him. “Not at all. Red wine is perfect. I’m glad you remembered. Let’s go over there on a comfier seat.”
They sat down and there was an awkward pause. Amelia tried to get the conversation going, “What do you think of my outfit? I was going to keep it for Freya’s party but I thought I’d wear something new tonight.”
‘Oh bugger,’ thought Ross. ‘I should have told her how beautiful she looks right away.’ Aloud, he said: “I’m sorry. You look very nice.”
“Thank you. So do you.” She raised her glass. “Cheers.”
Ross took a nervous gulp of his pint and Amelia realised she would have to do all of the heavy lifting if they weren’t to sit in an increasingly uncomfortable silence. She leaned forward and feigned fascination, “So Ross, tell me all about making Orkney chairs. I’m so intrigued. When did you start and how long does it take to make one?”
“You don’t need to humour me, Amelia. We both know you would be bored stiff if I rambled on and on about my chair-making skills.”
Amelia grinned and held up her hands palms up, as if she expected Ross to handcuff and arrest her.
