AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Georgie winced. ‘Sorry. We’ve known for a while. Nola spotted the app on your phone and…’
‘You thought I was pregnant because of the app?’ Iris threw her head back and began to laugh. It was a strange sound and it alarmed Georgie. Had this finally pushed her poor sister over the edge? She waited a minute, wondered about getting Iris a drink, something to calm her perhaps? But the last thing she wanted was to push her sister into an early labour with gin on top of the stress of earlier. ‘That’s the funniest thing.’ Iris wiped her eyes eventually.
‘What is?’
‘You thinking I’m pregnant.’ She shook her head, but then she stopped laughing and a little sadness crept across her features. ‘If only…’
‘So, you’re not pregnant?’ Georgie felt a little tug. It was disappointment; she’d been looking forward to a niece or nephew.
‘No. I’m afraid not. I sort of gave up on the idea years ago, but now I’ve had plenty of time to regret it and it’s too late.’ She shook her head sadly. ‘It’s stupid, I don’t even know why I downloaded the app. It’s only made me more bloody miserable knowing exactly what’s going on with their baby and knowing I’m never going to have that.’
‘It’s never too late, Iris,’ Georgie said softly, because it was the one thing she was absolutely sure of. ‘Anyway, being free of Myles is probably the best thing if you wanted to have a baby, isn’t it?’
‘I…’ Iris stopped for a moment and her features lifted into something closer to a smile. ‘Oh God! I had that same weird notion only a few days ago,’ she said softly. ‘But the problem for now is that Myles is being a pig about the division of our assets and you can imagine what he’d be like if he realised that he might have a possible stake in this place.’
‘Sweet divine and all that’s holy, what a total mess. Talk about terrible timing.’ Georgie sighed. ‘Well, there’s no way. There are things we can do to make sure he can’t touch this place, I’m certain of that. We can talk to Stephen, we could make it so this place is tied up for as long as we need to or… I don’t know, we’ll think of something.’
‘Myles doesn’t know Dad has died.’
‘Well, that’s something, at least,’ Georgie murmured.
‘He hasn’t a clue about anything to do with his will or he’d probably be over here demanding it be carved four ways if he thought he had a leg to stand on.’
‘God, so he really is as horrible as we always thought,’ Georgie murmured, although it wasn’t really surprising. ‘You need a good divorce solicitor.’ She was thinking of Stephen Leather, but he would be hopeless up against some smart London lawyer who knew the divorce courts like the back of their hands.
‘I have one. She’s very good. She’s very much out to make sure that Myles gets what he deserves, which is half the current value of the house and nothing more.’
‘And what about this place?’
‘Well, as long as Dad’s will hasn’t gone into probate by the time the divorce is finalised, there’s nothing for him to claim against, is there?’
‘And is it likely to be done and dusted by then?’
‘It looked likely until today at the fete.’ Iris sighed. ‘The thing is, Georgie, I didn’t tell him I was coming over here. I’ve rented out our house to keep the mortgage paid and I’ve thrown in my job, but he thinks I’m renting a grotty bedsit in London and nothing much else has changed.’
‘Wow,’ Georgie said. ‘You’ve just gone up about a hundred times in my estimation. I can’t believe you just walked away from everything like that.’
‘It wasn’t hard, believe me. I haven’t been happy in London for years. When all this happened, I realised the only reason I was still there was because of Myles. Coming here was a great opportunity to clear my head, reset everything so I can start again.’ Iris smiled and Georgie knew it was the first genuine smile she’d managed since they sat down.
‘So when all of this is over’ – Georgie looked around the drawing room – ‘you might actually stay on here in Ballycove?’
‘I just might,’ Iris said, and Georgie thought, why wouldn’t she? After all, when the bright lights of London began to fade, what was there to keep either of them there? Hadn’t she seen it herself when she’d walked out of Sandstone and Mellon? What was there to do, but hang about her apartment? Step back onto the same treadmill again and keep on going until one day you prematurely dropped due to stress and feeling deeply unfulfilled? Georgie shivered involuntarily, and she pushed away the thoughts for another time – she needed to listen to Iris now.
‘It would be the perfect place to bring up a baby…’
‘It would, butI’mnot bloody pregnant.’ Iris started to laugh again.
‘No, but it doesn’t mean you couldn’t adopt, though, does it?’
‘Maybe…’ The smallest smile twitched at the edge of Iris’s mouth and she sat there, perfectly still for a moment until it grew into something more genuine than any spark of happiness Georgie remembered in her sister for years. ‘In an ideal world, but I can’t think about that at the moment.’ Iris sighed. ‘The thing is, Myles wants to go for mediation now.’
‘Sorry?’ Georgie was brought back to her words with a bang. ‘He wants to go for mediation?’
‘Yes.’
‘But why? Hasn’t he already done enough to you? Does this solicitor you have not realise what’s at stake here?’ Georgie thought she’d happilymediatehim the right way and when she’d have finished with him, there wouldn’t be a lot left for any more running about with other women.
‘It’s typical of Myles. He’s playing games, but Muriel is not giving in on anything less than half of all our assets. He obviously thought he could wheedle a lot more out of me, that I’d just roll over and he’d take the house with a small payment in lieu of half the original purchase price. He wants the car – that I paid for. Let’s face it, if he could organise it so I’d pop in a couple of times each week to make his dinner and do a spot of babysitting, he’d probably go after that too.’
