The Doctor's Forbidden Fling Page 9

  She wondered how much of that bitterness was actually apportioned to her. Her father had always associated her belligerent attitude with Nate’s influence rather than his own tyranny. There was the possibility he blamed him for encouraging her to break out on her own. In which case she was going to have to set the record straight with a few home truths.

  She’d never stopped to consider how her new start in London might have impacted on those she’d left behind. It had been easier to believe they’d all carried on as normal instead of adding more ballast to her burden of guilt. Only now were the consequences of her actions, her cowardice, becoming clear.

  The next step was for all those who’d messed up to hold their hands up and admit their mistakes so they could start to move on from past transgressions. Even Nate, who appeared to have his life together, hadn’t managed to let go of all responsibility to Strachmore. She owed it to him to enable that final break but just not yet. She had an inkling she was going to need his support more than ever now she was faced with living under her father’s rule once more.

  * * *

  The Taylors did enough fussing over her father to enable her to take a back seat for a short while. When they were fawning over him his level of churlishness significantly decreased and gave Violet a reprieve from her ‘tightly coiled spring’ act every time he opened his mouth.

  Bill had kindly arranged for his bed to be moved down to the ground floor to save him from having to take the stairs and Margaret had prepared a light dinner following his new dietary regime. It was only when the couple went home that the interminable silence fell at the dining table.

  Of course he’d refused to take a dinner tray on his lap, insisted on keeping things ‘normal’ with the formal dining, regardless of how ludicrous it was with only the two of them seated around the massive mahogany table. She suspected this charade was more for his benefit than hers. He looked like the king of his castle perched at the head of the table even if he mightn’t feel it.

  ‘I’ve missed Mrs Taylor’s cooking,’ she said to break the tense atmosphere spoiling her appetite.

  ‘There was nothing stopping you coming back if you missed it that much.’ He didn’t miss a beat as he scored a point against her in between spoonfuls of soup.

  There was nothing to be gained by getting into a fight now, when he was still wearing a hospital band around his wrist. They could get into the whys and wherefores of their non-relationship when he was fully recovered and she wasn’t afraid of causing him to relapse.

  ‘I’ve been so busy with work I haven’t had much time for holidays.’ It wasn’t completely untrue. She’d simply omitted to tell him he was the reason she didn’t take any.

  ‘For twelve years?’ He paused mid-slurp to raise a bushy white eyebrow.

  She’d never been a particularly good liar.

  ‘I didn’t think I’d be very welcome.’ She wasn’t even sure she was now. At the minute his attitude towards her labelled her as more of an uninvited guest rather than the prodigal daughter returned to the loving arms of her father.

  ‘I never asked you to leave in the first place.’

  This was exactly the sort of backwards-and-forwards blame game she’d hoped to avoid.

  ‘Well, I’m here now. I have some time off to take while you recuperate.’ The way her nerves were stretched she might very well need some extra time to recover herself when this was all over.

  ‘Why the sudden interest in me now? Or did you only come back to claim your inheritance? I’m sorry if I ruined your plans but it seems I’m going to stick around a while longer.’ He resumed sipping as though he hadn’t completely ripped her good intentions to pieces.

  Violet could barely find the words to refute his allegations. She’d never expected to have to justify caring for him. ‘I... I... That’s not fair. I only came back for you. To make sure you were all right.’

  ‘Unfortunately for you, and me, I’m fine.’

  She was sure her frown matched her father’s as she struggled to work out what the hell he meant. Were things so bad that he didn’t want to be here any more? Was that the reason he’d refused treatment and insisted on leaving hospital too early? A chill blasted through her at the thought of losing another parent to the jaws of that black dog that had hounded her mother to her death.

  ‘You’re not fine. You’re recovering from a heart attack and you’re drowning in a sea of debt. All I want to do is help you.’ Her voice hitched as she held out that olive branch. Despite everything, he had to be her main priority now or she would end up truly alone for ever.

  He very carefully set his spoon down and fixed her with that withering stare that made Violet want to hide under the table. ‘What do you know about my personal affairs?’

  Only now, faced with the prospect of telling him what she’d been up to over the past few days, did she realise how intrusive he’d find her actions. She gulped. ‘We found the bills and final demands when we were tidying up. It wasn’t as if we were snooping.’

  ‘What do you mean “we”? Who else has been prying into my private business?’ He was red in the face, building up to one of his eruptions, and Violet braced herself to take the full force of it.

  ‘Nate. He has some really good ideas about what we could do here—’

  The fist came down hard on the table, rattling the dishes and the cutlery in its wake. Even Violet was shaking from the impact.

  ‘Who the hell do you think you are coming back here and rifling through my things? Nothing at Strachmore is any of your business. You made that clear when you ran away, Violet. And it certainly has nothing to do with him.’

  ‘I understand why you’re angry at me. I stayed away too long, I realise that, but why do you hate Nate so much? He saved your life.’

  ‘I didn’t ask him to.’

  There it was again, the unmistakable sound of a man who’d grown tired of living. She’d dealt with enough suicidal teens in her time to take his comments seriously and not simply dismiss them as attention-seeking. Lord Dempsey would never willingly admit defeat unless there was something seriously wrong.

  ‘Dad—’

  The doorbell chimed before she could query his state of mind any further or tell him how selfish that kind of thinking was.

  ‘You’d better get that. Or do you expect me to struggle all the way to the front door and back?’ Apparently the invalid card was only valid if it involved her guilt.

  Violet made her way to the door on somewhat shaky limbs. Trying to get her father to open up would be like death by a thousand paper cuts—slow, with each new wound more painful than the last. Whoever was on the other side of this door, be it the Taylors or a door-to-door salesman, she intended to drag them inside to interrupt the direction the conversation with her father was taking. Neither of them were ready to tackle that head-on without building up their strength first.

  ‘Hi. I thought I should pop over and see how the ground lay. Should I get my flak jacket from the car now or have you laced his tea with sedatives already?’ Nate greeted Violet with a joke in an attempt to hide the nerves that had kept him from knocking on the door for the past ten minutes.

  He’d stayed in the car with the engine running, contemplating whether or not to get involved in the Dempseys’ domestics. He’d had no doubt the two of them under the same roof was causing friction when it was in their nature to rub each other up the wrong way. The reservations had come when he’d pictured himself in the middle of it. In the end, his conscience had rapped on the door for him. He couldn’t leave Violet to manage his patient and his moods alone. Not when he kept promising her otherwise.

  ‘Oh, Nate. You’re a sight for sore eyes.’

  He had no room for preening when he saw Violet was visibly shaken and as pale as the alabaster statues in the entrance hall behind her.

  ‘What’s h
appened?’ The whole idea had been to make this a casual visit but he was well versed in emergencies too.

  ‘He’s angry about me being here...about our meddling in his affairs...and he’s saying such morbid things. It’s as if he’s upset he’s still here.’ Violet was hanging on to his arm as she rambled. There was absolutely no danger of him leaving now.

  ‘Okay. We knew he wasn’t going to react well when he found out we’d been digging into his financial status. As for the rest, depression or anxiety isn’t uncommon in heart-attack survivors. He’ll be feeling weak and vulnerable. Something which your father definitely won’t be used to. He might need to start a course of anti-depressants. I’ll have a chat with him and see if I can get a handle on his mental state.’ Another reason Nate would’ve preferred he’d prolonged his hospital stay. There were so many possible after-effects, and not all of them physical, aftercare was a vital part of recovery. He’d been denied giving that and Violet was the one suffering as a consequence.

  ‘That would usually be where I come in.’ Violet sighed as she stepped aside to let him in, looking as dejected as she was describing her father.

  ‘Hey, it’s not your fault. You’re too close to see this objectively and you’re doing your bit simply by being here.’ He hooked a finger under her chin to lift her head up and was tempted to kiss her worried mouth to bring them both some comfort.

  It seemed an age since they’d last done that, their night together almost nothing more than an erotic fantasy now. He’d wanted that intimacy again, even for the briefest moment, to remind him it had been real, that she’d wanted him once as more than someone to bail her out when the going got tough.

  ‘Who is it?’ The dulcet tones of a crotchety Earl soon put paid to any romantic notions, reminding Nate of his professional responsibilities.

  The medical stuff was within the remit of his normal day-to-day life. Whatever this was with Violet certainly wasn’t. He let his hand fall down to his side again and took a deep breath. ‘I guess it’s time to face the music.’

  Violet led the way towards the dining room with no real urgency in her step and he could see her steeling herself before she went in. It had never been the homely environment he’d been lucky to have even before his strained relationship with his parents, but the atmosphere here was so tense and thick with resentment it wasn’t conducive to anyone’s health.

  ‘Hello, Lord Dempsey. I was just down visiting my parents and I thought I’d see how you were settling in.’ It was a little white lie to soften the idea of his trespassing where he wasn’t wanted. In all these years he’d never just ‘popped in’ for a visit, even when he’d been only a stone’s throw away.

  Samuel Dempsey eyed the offer of a handshake with a suspicious glare. ‘I don’t need to settle in. I live here.’

  ‘I know Violet has been very worried about you—’

  All concerns were brushed aside with an ungentlemanly snort.

  ‘Worried about her inheritance more like. Is that why you’re really here? Violet tells me you’ve both been helping yourselves to things while I’ve been fighting for my life.’ He leaned back in his chair, arms folded across his chest, giving the impression he was enjoying this power play. It was as though he saw this as a game, where they were competing for the title of top dog and there could only be one winner. Nothing could be further from the truth. Nate wanted them to work together to make sure he was still fit to rule his kingdom.

  ‘That’s not what I said. We were simply trying to get things organised for you coming home.’ Violet made a futile attempt to clear their names. Futile because her father wouldn’t even look at her while she was talking, keeping his beady eyes firmly tableside on Nate.

  ‘I’ve got your number. You’re teaming up to snatch this place from under me. I see you riding around in your fancy car pretending you are somebody. Well, let me tell you, class isn’t something you can buy.’ The blue veins were pulsing beneath his flushed skin as he raged against his imagined foes.

  Nate had to count to ten in his head to keep his own temper in check. It wasn’t his place to make this any more personal than it already was by pointing out the Earl’s faults in turn. Class didn’t always equate to decency and it was entirely possible to have one without the other.

  ‘Please don’t do this again, Dad.’ Violet’s small plea was so full of fear it instantly made Nate think of her caught in the middle of her parents’ battles. He didn’t want to put her in that position again and he certainly didn’t want to inflame the situation any further.

  ‘It’s okay, Violet. Your father’s entitled to say how he feels in his own home.’ It was a shame he’d never let his daughter do the same. Still, it wasn’t his family, or his battle.

  ‘Damn right I am. Just as I’m entitled to some privacy. I shouldn’t have to put my personal correspondence under lock and key every time I leave the house.’ For a man so predisposed to dramatic outbursts, he was doing a good job of making his near-death experience sound like a trip to the shops. Painting Nate and Violet as a pair of opportunistic burglars in the process.

  ‘Perhaps I should leave.’ Nate made eye contact with Violet. Her father wasn’t showing any signs of having given up on life, at least not to him. If anything he seemed to be fighting to hang on to everything he had.

  ‘Good idea. I’ve been perfectly capable of taking care of myself for the past I-don’t-know-how-long. I don’t need anybody’s help now.’ The Earl was clinging desperately to his independence.

  Nate could sympathise to some extent with his stubborn stance against them. They were essentially trespassers who’d taken it upon themselves to get involved in his affairs. But he could also see that Violet was simply doing what she thought was best for him. This had moved so far beyond the professional excuses he’d made for coming here tonight he was in danger of having his say on the matter. Something that probably wouldn’t please either side and would only drag him in deeper.

  ‘Everyone in this room knows that’s not true. You have no money coming in and nothing to cover the debts you already have. I’ve managed to cover a few of the most urgent bills but you need to generate some sort of income.’ Whether it was because she’d found strength in numbers or she was so exasperated, Violet was starting to find her voice. She didn’t need him; she hadn’t done for some time. Nate imagined it was a case of reverting back to type because she had so much unfinished business with her father. And him.

  ‘I didn’t ask you to pay for anything. I suppose the money came from Dr Flash here? Well, the Dempseys don’t need anyone’s charity. Especially not from domestic staff.’

  ‘I paid with my own money. I sold Mum’s necklace, if you must know. One of us had to get our priorities straight.’

  Nate could only stand and watch as Violet threw herself under the bus to save him from further abuse. Now she had her father’s full attention.

  ‘How could you?’ He visibly paled and sat up straighter in his chair with her full disclosure, acting as though it were a betrayal rather than the huge sacrifice Nate knew it had been for her.

  ‘What’s the alternative? Wait for the bailiffs to seize it anyway in lieu of payment? Or do you have a Swiss bank account somewhere you’ve forgotten to mention?’

  Violet was in full flow now. There was no reason for Nate to intervene when she was managing so beautifully without back up. She needed to have her say. It had been a long time coming.

  ‘Does her memory mean so little to you that you can sell it for a few pieces of silver?’

  ‘If you knew Mum at all you’d realise she hated those gaudy baubles you insisted on buying her. It was sentimental things like the clay bead bracelet I made at primary school she wore every day, not expensive statement jewellery.’

  Not unlike the bracelet she’d worn on her own wrist for over a decade. There was a flutter of something he didn’t want t
o recognise in his chest at the thought he’d held the same special place in her thoughts. It felt a lot like hope.

  ‘Your mother was a good woman. She deserved the best.’

  ‘But at what price, Dad? She knew you couldn’t afford that kind of expense and worried herself to death over it. I think she’d be only too happy at the idea of using it to make a difference here.’

  It was the first time Nate had witnessed something approaching shame on the Earl’s face before he hung his head. ‘I know you blame me, Violet, but your mother was a sick woman. I can’t change what happened in the past.’

  Violet dropped to her knees and reached for her father’s hand. ‘But you can do something about the future. We can open Strachmore to the public and bring enough money in to cover all your outgoings here. Nate’s been looking into the idea of hiring part of the place out as a wedding venue.’

  Just when it seemed as though they were making progress, Samuel Dempsey got to his feet, almost knocking his daughter to the floor in the process.

  ‘Over my dead body! This is my home. It’s not for sale or rent and neither is my pride.’

  Nate immediately went to Violet’s aid and helped her up to a more dignified position. It was too much of an insult against her good intentions to simply let him get away with this one. He turned, fully prepared to wade in and add his voice to Violet’s cause, only to find the Earl had his eyes closed, refusing to entertain further discussion. He truly was the most infuriating man to try and get through to.

  Then Nate noticed his hand move to his chest, then grab his left arm before he fell to the floor with a sickening thud.

  ‘Dad!’

  His expletive was drowned out by Violet’s shout.

  Along with the Earl’s sickly pallor and clammy skin, all the signs pointed to another cardiac arrest. Nate should’ve seen this coming but he’d been too caught up in other people’s emotions to keep his doctor head in the game.