Silent - Family Secrets

Two Years Ago, Lucy

She overslept, waking to the sound of birdsong and a silvery mist of sunlight streaming in through the curtains. It was about midday. She lay still, snug under the weight of the duvet, wishing she could stay there for good, away from the Philippa-Steve Whittaker mess. Further down the landing, Arthur Harlesden was talking to someone on the phone. She couldn't hear the conversation, but she thought he sounded worried.

She checked her phone for messages and texts. Maxine had texted her late last night, asking for an update – she hadn't told Max yet about the dustbin fire – and Ashleigh had sent a rhyme about Bruce the Alsatian.  A rhyme or poem about pointed ears and tiny whimpers and big bad dogs with skulking, flat ears and loud barks. Sweet, but she didn't have time for dog rhymes.

After a quick shower, she dressed and joined Arthur in the kitchen.  

'There you are,' he said. 'I was about to give you a shout. Sleep well?' Arthur insisted on serving up coffee and grapefruit and croissants, along with cereal and fruit juice – or grilled bacon and poached eggs, if she preferred. A late brunch. She hadn't thought she would want to eat anything, but she found she had an appetite, surprisingly, and asked for cereal and coffee and toast. After breakfast, she helped Arthur put the dishes in the dishwasher. They did the washing and drying up together. After that, she sneaked out for a smoke in the back garden, using a sheet of makeshift silver foil for an ashtray, taking deep drags. The acrid taste was perfect, slightly heady. Her adoptive parents didn't even know she smoked. They'd be angry if they found out.  When she finished the cigarette, she stubbed it out in the makeshift ashtray.

As if on cue, Arthur came to join her in the garden. 'I'm afraid your father did have an affair with Terence's ex-wife,' he said, once they were seated on the garden bench. 'And that Pete is not Terence's natural son. I'm sorry I lied to you the other day, but we have to consider the effect this would have on young Peter who's already very unsure of himself and subject to bullying from his two brothers. Peter doesn't have many friends and he is somewhat vulnerable. He has always regarded Terence as his father, and me as his grandfather.  Terence – for all his faults – has always treated Peter well, showing him fatherly concern and affection.  I don't want any of that to change.'

'How long have you known about the affair?'

'Not very long, luv.  Four years, maybe five. The disclosure came out after the divorce.  Terence himself didn't know until Katie told him during an extremely angry and bitter exchange of words.  I should add that Terence was distraught when he discovered the truth, but he has maintained regular contact with Peter since his split up with his wife.  Indeed, you could say that his relationship with Peter is far more stable than his relationships with his two natural sons, Scott and Steve. I love Scott and Steve dearly, but they are both hard work and both very demanding. I'm afraid they treat Peter quite badly. I constantly have to reprimand them for this.'

'What about Philippa?  Did she try to blackmail you?'

'According to whom?'

'Jace. He told me yesterday.'

'Ah, Steve's friend's Jason. I should have known. He's not a bad lad, Jason, but he's not altogether reliable. He's a rather silly boy, in fact. He tends to have something of an overactive imagination.'

'But you and Philippa met in Blackpool last week, didn't you? And Philippa is originally from Exeter. That's where my parents lived shortly before I was born.'

'Yes, I know that,' Arthur said. 'To answer your question, Philippa and I met in a Blackpool café last week and I found her attitude somewhat objectionable.  I had to walk out in fact.  Much of what she told me has little grounding in reality.  Brendon Harlesden has discovered a number of inconstancies in Philippa's claims.'

'Like?'

'Well,' Arthur said. 'Philippa has been telling most people she's from Tunbridge Wells in Kent.  Nonsense, absolute nonsense. Her claims are quite incorrect. She's not from Kent or anywhere near there. Admittedly, she's from Devon, as you pointed out a moment ago, but any other similarities end there. To cut a long story short, Philippa is not your half-sister.  She is no relation to us whatsoever. In fact, her real father is in prison.'  Arthur paused, as if for effect.

'What's he in prison for?'

'I can't tell you that, Lucy. The father's imprisonment has nothing to do with Philippa approaching me or her tales. And as such, it would not be proper of me to release information about her father to you.'

'I see. And that's definite?'

'Yes, it is. He's been in prison for several years.'

'What about Veronica?'

'Veronica?' Arthur said. 'Well, she has nothing to do with this. True, she is from the area. True, she had a difficult upbringing. I think she's a bad influence on my Steve, and vice versa, but Steve refuses to take my advice. To cut a long story short, Terence tried to help Veronica and for a while she did appear to make good progress. If you ask me, I think she was more of a spectator than an instigator in regards to what happened on Tuesday afternoon at the bungalow.  In other words, she found the incident with the skeleton highly amusing, but she did not place the skeleton there. She has already admitted this, and Terence has agreed to give her one final chance. Of course, that doesn't excuse her behaviour and she has been warned that if there are any further instances of bad behaviour, she will be asked to leave immediately.'

They didn't say anything for a while. Just gazed at birds with long stalk-like legs pecking at the remains of a stale crust in the garden.  

Arthur spoke again. 'Philippa's mother's a harassed school teacher, struggling to cope on a tight budget. I can tell you that.  A nice lady, but ever so tired. She had to put Philippa into care because she could no longer cope with all the lies and drinking. Philippa's had social worker after social worker. They all say she's manipulative.'

'So she isn't my half-sister?'

'She is no relation to you, Lucy. Or to me. Or to anyone of us.'  

'So what happens next?  Should I speak to her? Find out why she's telling lies about my father.'

'Absolutely not,' Arthur said. 'She will only tell you more lies anyway, so what good would come of it?'

'I still don't understand why she's going around telling people her dad's my dad. Couldn't she be telling the truth?'

'No,' Arthur said. 'The facts don't fit at all. Philippa's a fantasist who appears to believe her own stories.'

 'But I still don't understand why she thinks she's my half-sister.'

'Neither do I.  Unless it's money she's after. Now, listen, I'm going to be very firm with you, Lucy. You've seen how much trouble Philippa's caused this week. You're an intelligent, lovely young person with your whole life ahead of you. You're nothing like Philippa. Brendon Harlesden had a long talk with me over the phone this morning.  I think he's going to contact you via email to answer more of your questions about your father's position at the school. However, for now, you need to return to Richmond where you belong and apply yourself to your studies. Your job in the kitchens wasn't doing you any good.'

'I need the truth about the fire.'

'Of course you do, and Brendon will tell you more once you and he have had the chance to get to know each other via email.  It will be much safer that way. And of course, you will be paid for the shifts you worked.  I have some cash for you upstairs that Brendon has asked me to give you.'

'But I can't just go back.'

'Why not? You've got a good future ahead of you.'

'I have to find out what happened ten years ago.'  The familiar panicky feeling.  Throat tight all of a sudden. She couldn't turn her back on Pete, a little boy subject to bullying from two older brothers.  She couldn't lose him, just like she'd lost Dad. If she went now, she'd never see him again.

'Listen,' Arthur said. 'I know this is very difficult for you, but we've already discussed the events of ten years ago and I've told you the truth as I, and the police, understand it. There is nothing that you or I – or anyone else for that matter – can do to change the past. But if you wish, Brendon is prepared to discuss with you some of the issues your father faced during the time of his employment at the school, to help you understand the matter more clearly.'

'So it was definitely Dad – that's what you're saying? No room for doubt?'

'I'm terribly sorry, Lucy, but his final call to me twenty minutes before he died, along with the fact he'd purchased a single plane ticket in advance of the fire, would suggest to me that he was responsible for the fire. I'm terribly, terribly sorry about it.  It must be unbearable for you. Of course, I blame myself for not having rung the police immediately the night he rung me in such a state.'

'And I should just accept that and move on?'

'With Brendon's help and the help of your adoptive family and friends in Richmond,' Arthur said. 'Brendon will discuss some of these issues with you once matters have calmed down. But you need to return to Richmond.  You've received a number of unsettling notices lately, haven't you?  And I can't overlook the incident of the burning dustbin at the Bed and Breakfast. No. I'm more than willing to pay for your journey back to Richmond or to drive you there myself. Think about it carefully.  This can't go on for much longer. If you do choose to stay, Brendon will have a legal obligation to contact your adoptive parents and interrupt their cruise.'

'That's wouldn't be fair on them.'

'I know it wouldn't,' Arthur said. 'But you're under the age of eighteen. And as Brendon employed you in the first place, he is responsible for your safety and wellbeing. I think if you were prepared to make the necessary plans to go back home, Brendon would accept that and not contact your adoptive parents.  But if you were to stay in the area without your adoptive parents knowing of your true whereabouts, Brendon would have a legal obligation to contact someone, for your own protection.  The police, probably.  His duty of care towards you, his employee stroke ex-employee, extends to that.'