Ruby (32 page)

Although basic, his makeshift den was reasonably weatherproof, with protection from the canopy of the trees above and the well-weathered roof and walls of mud mixed with moss and layered onto crossed branches. Well hidden, miles away from any public access in the densest part of the woods, and meticulously blending into the surroundings, it was visited by no one. Whenever he went there he’d tidy up and make sure it was ready for his next visit. He’d sweep dry leaves into his makeshift mattress to refill it, gather some fallen branches for his fire, add some more mud to the walls and ceiling, and renew the covering foliage. He’d even got a couple of raggedy old blankets, an eiderdown and a pillow, which he covered in an old tarpaulin every time he left. Each time he visited he took something new with him to leave behind. This time it was a battered old saucepan that he’d bought at the church jumble sale. He never slept there any more but he had to keep it up to scratch. Just in case.

The den was his security blanket and he couldn’t imagine a life without knowing it was there waiting for him.

Once his chores were done and he was satisfied he lay back on his mattress and waited for his headache to clear. Then he started to formulate a plan.

Tony Alfredo’s face was screwed up with anger. Ruby had never seen him like that before, and as he marched back and forth across the room with his fists clenched she could see exactly what Gracie meant. There was a darkness about him that was suddenly frightening. He barely resembled the handsome and rangy Anthony Alfredo, with his sexy Roman colouring and charming smile.

He reminded her of Ray.

‘Are you telling me that you
own
the Thamesview? And you never said anything?’

‘Well, yes, but I don’t see what difference that makes … You knew I worked here and I still do. Why would you mind?’ Ruby asked.

‘Why would I mind?’ he asked nastily. ‘Are you mad? You keep something like that from me and ask why I mind? We shouldn’t have secrets. I don’t have secrets from you, you know everything about me. Why didn’t you tell me?’

‘Maybe because I knew you’d be like this. Oh, I don’t know, it just wasn’t important so I never got round to it,’ Ruby said with a shrug that seemed to incense Tony even more.

‘Do you really not understand? I am your fiancé. We were planning our future together as a couple and you didn’t think something like this would be important? I don’t believe you. This has to have been a deliberate attempt to undermine me.’

‘It wasn’t, Tony, I promise.’

He stared at her in disbelief. ‘You knew I wanted you to give up working there as soon as you became my wife, and now I find out you actually own the place.’

‘I’m sorry you feel like that, Tony, but I don’t understand why it makes any difference. I’ve not got control of it, anyway. Uncle George and Aunty Babs have that for five years. What I do is just a job, like I said.’

‘That’s not legal. He can’t have control of something that’s yours. He’s not your guardian.’

‘It was Aunt Leonora’s wish. Her will was very specific about what she wanted.’

‘That doesn’t matter if it’s not enforceable in law. I need to see the will.’

From being apologetic for the situation Ruby was suddenly angry. ‘This isn’t to do with you, this is family business.’

He laughed nastily. ‘They’re not your family. Your family live in the dirty backstreets of East London, not in a bloody great house in the country like the Wheatons. You’re getting a bit too big for your boots for my liking.’

Ruby looked down at her hands. She couldn’t believe he’d thrown such a low blow.

‘I don’t care what you say, it’s still Wheaton family business.’

‘No, from now on it is my business. When we’re married I’ll be responsible for the hotel. It’ll be ours in law.’ He stopped marching about and looked out of the window. He didn’t look at her. ‘You said there’s a reserve fund – how much money is in it?’

‘I don’t know. Tony, stop it. I don’t want to talk about it. You’re making mountains out of molehills. Can we just talk about the flat and the wedding?’

‘The flat’s irrelevant now that we know you own a great big hotel. How inadequate do you think that makes me feel, my wife having more money than me?’ He held his arm out and pointed around the room. ‘I’m showing you a poky little flat owned by my parents, and you’re laughing behind your hand because you own a whole damned hotel.’

He had started to pace again, his shoes clicking rhythmically on the stiff, brown-patterned linoleum, which was laid throughout all the main areas of the flat. Ruby hated it; in fact, she hated the flat, which was dingy and old-fashioned. The only thing going for it was the view, but there was no balcony.

As he paced he puffed angrily on a cigarette, despite usually being only a social smoker.

‘Tony, I’m leaving now. I’ll talk to you when you’ve calmed down. I don’t like you being like this. You’re reminding me of Ray when he used to rant and rave.’

She picked up her handbag and scarf and started walking towards the door, but in an instant Tony was blocking the way with his body.

‘You can’t go and leave all this hanging in the air.’

‘Get out of my way, Tony. We’ll talk tomorrow.’

She tried to get past him but he was across the room in a flash with his arms out blocking the doorway. ‘You’re not going anywhere. We have to talk this through.’

‘Yes I am, I’m going home. I don’t want a scene. We can talk tomorrow.’

His hand shot out reactively and gripped her around the neck, but just as quickly he let go.

‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that. I love you, Ruby. You can’t do this to me …’

‘I don’t think you do love me, not really. I’m sorry, Tony, I can’t marry you now, not after this.’ She looked him straight in the eye. ‘The engagement is off.’

She pulled the diamond ring from her finger, but rather than give it to him she laid it gently on the utility sideboard his parents had left in the flat. Her heart was thumping with fear but she tried to keep her voice calm. Anything to get out of there and away. The fear was rising in her, just as it had when Ray was attacking and trying to control her. Suddenly she saw the handsome and eligible Tony Alfredo as a threat and she was horrified.

‘I’m really sorry but if you don’t let me go I’ll call the police,’ she said as calmly as she could as she ducked under his outstretched arm and out of the room, trying to pull the door shut behind her, but she pulled it onto his fingers, which were gripping the edge of the doorframe, making him yelp with pain.

Ruby had known Tony Alfredo and his parents for over five years, most of the time she’d lived at the Thamesview, and although she knew he could often be overly self-assured and occasionally bumptious, she saw that as a trait he had to have to get on in the legal profession. He could also be loud and intimidating when he was crossed, but it had never once occurred to her that Tony would hurt her. Despite being indulged at every turn in his life, Tony had still been brought up in the God-fearing Italian way, and he continued to follow most of the rigid rules of life that came from a religious upbringing.

She was certain he was a good man at heart but his reaction to her inheritance had been out of all proportion, and she knew she could never marry someone who she could not confide in about Maggie one day.

She had just opened the door at the top of the stairs when Tony threw the sitting-room door wide open and flew at her like a madman.

‘You’re not going until this is resolved. I’m not letting you call it off. I’m not.’

He grabbed her by the wrist and tried to pull her back into the room, but she instinctively pulled away and to her horror she heard a crunch.

‘You’ve broken my bloody arm,’ she stated, more in shock than pain.

He let go as if he’d been stung, but as she put her foot on the stair he caught her around the waist in a bear hug and tried to swing her round. The pain was excruciating but still she fought. Her instincts told her to get out of there as quickly as she could. As he loosened his grip she fell forward, landing on her chest on the upright at the top of the banister; he tried to pull her back into the sitting room, but as they fought she lunged away back onto the landing, determined to get out whatever the pain.

‘Stop it, Ruby. I’m telling you, stop. I just want to talk. You’re not going, you’re not—’

‘Well, I don’t want to talk to you. I want to get out of here and away from you. You’re a maniac,’ she screamed in his face.

Next thing she knew, his hands were grabbing at her neck, pulling her towards him, and he was trying to kiss her.

‘I love you, Ruby, don’t do this to me, I love you …’

Stumbling backwards, she lost her footing and as she started to fall back over the stairs, so Tony let go of her.

Barely conscious at the bottom of the steep stairs, she heard footsteps running down. As she cowered she sensed Tony stepping over her and running out of the door. Instead of checking to see if she was OK he’d bolted.

It took all her willpower to get to the front door, which Tony had left open in his panic to flee; she crawled out onto the pavement. Everything ached but she knew she had to stay conscious.

‘Help,’ she shouted as loud as she could. ‘Someone help me …’

‘What’s happened to you, dear?’

Ruby looked up and through the mist of semi-consciousness saw an elderly woman standing over her, looking bewildered.

‘I need an ambulance,’ she said before she passed out from a mixture of pain and relief.

When Ruby came round the second time she was out of post-operative care and in a hospital bed on a general ward with only a hazy memory of how she got there.

A passing nurse stopped and smiled. ‘You look better already, would you like a cup of tea? The trolley will be here in a minute.’

‘What happened to me? I can’t really remember.’

‘You had an accident, took a fall down the stairs. The doctors will be doing rounds later this morning and they’ll explain to you.’

‘I’m in such pain. My chest hurts so much.’

‘I’ll ask the doctor to prescribe something for the pain but I’m here to have a look at your dressings.’

The nurse pulled the covers back and examined her closely. When she touched Ruby’s ribs she yelped in pain.

‘I’m sorry but I do have to check everything is as it should be. You’ll feel better once you’ve had a wash and you’re wearing your own nightdress.’

‘Does anyone know I’m here?’ Ruby whispered, unable to raise her voice for the pain.

‘Your fiancé was here last night while you were in theatre. He came as soon as he heard about your accident.’

‘I don’t have a fiancé any more.’

‘Maybe the doctor got it wrong. Is there anyone you’d like us to inform?’

‘Yes, my business partner, Gracie McCabe. She lives at the same address as me. Do you want the telephone number?’

‘Yes, please.’ The nurse pulled a piece of paper out of her uniform pocket and wrote the number down. ‘I’ll go and ring her now. You’re going to need some essentials brought in. I think you’ll be staying in for a while with those injuries.’

‘Thank you.’ Through hazy eyes Ruby watched the nurse as she walked away. In her crisp blue uniform with starched collar and cuffs, a white belt and a pert white hat pinned to her hair, she was the epitome of how Ruby had once dreamed of being herself.

Before going back to Walthamstow; before Johnnie; before Maggie.

Later in the day Babs Wheaton turned up at the hospital, along with Gracie. George wasn’t with them but once again he had been able to use his influence as a doctor to make sure they were able to see Ruby outside of normal hours. He had also got her moved to a small side-room where she was the only patient and had some privacy.

Gracie had phoned the Wheatons as soon as she’d heard, and they’d met in the foyer of the hospital and gone to the ward together.

Babs was calm and collected on the outside, but Gracie could see she was distraught.

‘Do you know what happened?’ Babs asked.

‘Only what I told you on the phone. The hospital rang me to say Ruby had had an accident and an operation. I wondered why she didn’t come home last night but thought she might have stayed at Tony’s parents’ place and forgotten to tell me.’

‘Is he here?’

‘I hope not, the creep. I can’t help but think he’s behind this. I was only telling Rube yesterday what I thought of him. Dark and dangerous.’

Babs Wheaton’s head spun round. ‘Is that what you think of him?’

‘Can’t stand the bloke, but Ruby says she’s going to marry him. She’s mad.’

‘I see.’

They walked quickly along the corridor to the stairs that would take them up to the first floor.

‘It’s in here,’ Gracie said.

They turned into the ward and were pointed in the direction of Ruby’s room.

‘Sweet Jesus, Ruby, you look like you’ve been bare-knuckle fighting,’ Gracie said by way of a hello. ‘What happened?’

‘I fell down the stairs at the Alfredo flat.’ Ruby looked at Gracie, willing her not to ask too many questions. She felt much more alert and she could remember what had happened.

‘Where was Tony?’

‘He left. I called off the engagement.’

Gracie crossed her arms and said nothing. She’d understood immediately what Ruby was trying to tell her.

‘Did Yardley drive you down here?’ Ruby asked, as if it was just a casual conversation question.

‘No, I drove myself. I didn’t want Yardley to bring me. Actually, I want to ask you about him – but another time … when you’re better. Oh, Ruby, I couldn’t believe it when Gracie telephoned me. We were so scared.’

‘There’s something I have to tell you,’ Ruby said cautiously. ‘It’s about Yardley …’

‘Not now, love. You need to sleep and I need to go and have a talk to the doctor. I’ll be back in a minute.’

‘But it’s important. You have to know …’

But Babs was already out of the door.

Ruby closed her eyes until Babs had moved away from the bed, then she forced them open again.

‘Johnnie is coming tomorrow and I can’t contact him.’

‘Ah! Oh, well, I’ll deal with him when he gets there. Tell me about this accident. It was Tony, wasn’t it? He pushed you down the stairs, didn’t he? I’ll kill him. I will …’