Winner Takes It All (17 page)

By the way he was
lounging in his chair, his long legs sprawled everywhere, it was
quite clear Michael had been drinking for quite some time. He
didn’t even bother to sit up to shake hands with his cousin, just
sort of lifted his arm in a nonchalant fashion.

‘
What are you
drinking?’ he asked.

‘
Scotch on the
rocks would be good.’

Tom sat down while
Michael clicked his fingers, summoning one of the waiters to come
and take his order.

‘
How are you
finding it Tom?’ he asked.

‘
Great. Tara
and I get on really well. Though to be honest, Summerset is such a
boring village I don’t know why our ancestors got so worked up over
it.’

‘
The place is
a shit hole,’ Michael declared, his head wobbling ever so
slightly.

‘
I was sorry
to hear about the fire in Alex’s hotel.’

‘
I wasn’t.
Serves her right for being daddy’s little princess.’

‘
I’m sure you
don’t mean that. You don’t know how lucky you are having sisters.
I’m an only child. It was so lonely when I was growing
up.’

‘
At least if I
was an only child, I’d get what was rightfully mine. I feel I can
trust you Tom, you’re family and please believe me, I love my
sister very much; but she’s always been dad’s favourite. I think
it’s because she reminds him so much of the old witch.’

‘
The old
witch?’

‘
My
grandmother. I’m sure being new to the family you’ve been regaled
with all sorts of stories about the wonderful Louisa. Well I can
assure you she wasn’t all what she was cracked up to
be.’

The waiter came with the
drinks and Tom wanted to tell him to hurry up and go away. This was
the most exciting thing to happen to him for ages - at last, a
Cusack who shared the same opinion as his grandmother about
Lou.

‘
What was
wrong with her,’ Tom asked, drinking his scotch with a shaking
hand.

‘
This family
likes to play favourites and it all started with Gran. She always
made it quite clear Paula was her favourite child even though my
father did all the work. When she bought Sheridans, even though dad
was running it, he only got fifty percent of the shares – ten
percent of which he gave to Alex for her twenty first birthday.
Gran automatically gave ten percent to Paula and kept forty percent
for herself. When she died, that forty percent was split between
Dan and Tara - her eldest grandchildren. So your drippy little pal
Tara actually owns twenty percent of Sheridans.’

‘
I never
realised…’ Tom uttered.

‘
But when dad
dies, his forty percent will be split between me, Alex and Jo. So,
do the maths, Dan and Tara will still own more shares than me. As
for Hal and Lucy, they didn’t get anything at all. Grandpa’s
leaving Cusacks to them.’

‘
So why did
your grandmother favour Paula so much?’

‘
I couldn’t
tell you.’ He paused. ‘Well, I do have a theory but I couldn’t
possibly share it with you.’

He said this in a tone of
voice that implied that it was exactly what he wanted to do.
Michael was drunk and bitter and saying things he was going to
regret when sober. But Tom wasn’t in a position to consider his
feelings, he had to get evidence and ammunition and
fast.

‘
Go on,’ he
urged. ‘As you said, I’m family now.’

In an almost theatrical
way, Michael looked over both shoulders and leaned closer to his
cousin.

‘
You’ve seen
Paula haven’t you? She doesn’t look like dad or Hal or Lucy.
They’re all fair and stocky, like Grandpa was when he was young.
You must have seen a photograph of Louisa.’

‘
Yes I have,’
Tom replied. Tara had many photographs of her grandmother. In her
youth she’d been a stunningly beautiful woman, buxom and raven
haired. Not skinny and scrawny like Paula.

‘
So,’ Michael
continued. ‘As you can see, Aunty Paula doesn’t resemble anyone in
the family. Not blood family anyway.’

‘
I’m
confused.’

‘
When gran
died we were all allowed to go through her possessions and divide
them up between us. Alex took her wedding picture and one day I was
looking at it, at the guests, and when I saw Andrew McDonald as a
young man, I almost dropped the picture. He was the spitting image
of Paula.’

‘
Andrew
McDonald?’ frowned Tom.

‘
Get this
right. Gran and grandpa married at the end of August 1948, Paula
was born in April 1949 which means gran was already pregnant when
they married. What if she was actually pregnant by Andrew
McDonald?’

‘
I doubt very
much your grandfather would have married her.’

‘
Perhaps she
kidded him into thinking Paula was his. None of us know why Andrew
still hangs around the family. He was married to your side and
they’re all treated like pariahs. Except Andrew. We all have to
look on him like some sort of honorary uncle.’

‘
I’m sure
you’re wrong,’ Tom laughed nervously, all the while saying a silent
thanks to God. If anything was going to tarnish the reputation of
Louisa the Great, this would.

‘
Maybe I am,
but if you saw this photograph Tom you’d see how alike Paula and
Andrew are. And you tell me why Gran always favoured Paula
and
Dan and Tara. Maybe it’s because they’re the descendents
of the true love of her life.’

‘
Well it all
sounds like a fantastic story,’ Tom sighed. ‘But some women do just
favour one of their children. Look at my grandmother. She disowned
my mother but still dotes on Annabel.’

‘
Yeah but your
mother went against her. Dad, Hal, Lucy, what have they ever done
to upset gran? Nothing.’

‘
Does anyone
else in your family share your theory?’

‘
Not that I’m
aware of, and I’d never say anything because I don’t want to upset
my grandfather.’

‘
Ben seems
like quite a character.’

‘
My grandpa’s
a lovely man and he deserved better than my
grandmother.’

‘
I always got
the feeling they were devoted.’

‘
He was
devoted to her but most of the time she spoke to him as if he were
dirt.’

‘
Wow, and
there was me thinking I was joining a close family.’

Michael lifted his glass,
waving it in Tom’s face.

‘
Don’t be
taken in by appearances dear boy. Remember that.’

***

Tom left the wine bar and
felt like punching the air in victory. Everything his grandmother
had told him about Louisa Cusack seemed to be true and Michael had
unwittingly fallen into his trap. He thought about calling Jackson
straight away, but decided against it. He wanted to delve a little
deeper into the Cusack family secrets and find out more about
Andrew McDonald’s relationship with Lou before he said anything. To
make such an accusation needed concrete proof, not just the
ramblings of a bitter and drunken man.

Arriving back in
Summerset, he bypassed his flat and instead headed up to Claremont
Hall. As he walked, he relived his conversation with Michael. It
was true that Paula didn’t look like her siblings and Tara was
certainly different to Alex and Michael. He had no idea Tara owned
twenty percent of Sheridans. It must have made her fantastically
wealthy and yet she cowered away like a little mouse, dressing like
an impoverished student. It didn’t make sense.

As he entered the hall,
Tara was leaving, clutching the basket in which she always carried
things for Andrew. The old man had a housekeeper to do his fetching
and carrying and yet Tara saw it as her duty to help him out. Tom
wondered if she knew he was her grandfather and that was why she
did it. Perhaps it was a secret just she and her mother
kept.

‘
How was your
friend?’ she smiled on meeting him - he’d fed her a line about
visiting a sick friend in hospital in London.

‘
Not too bad,’
he laughed. ‘He’ll know not to go skiing again. The doctors reckon
it’ll be six months before he’s off the crutches.’

‘
Nasty. Well
I’m just popping over to see Andrew, I’ll be back soon.’

‘
Why don’t I
walk with you?’ he suggested. ‘Keep you company.’

‘
That would be
nice, thank you,’ she replied and she blushed, as if no man had
ever offered to walk with her before. Tom couldn’t believe she’d
never been hit on before. Okay she dressed like a librarian but she
was worth millions, surely someone would have come after her
money?

They began walking
together, Tom even offered to carry the heavy basket laden with
fruit and vegetables Tara had delivered from a nearby
farm.

‘
I’ve been
meaning to ask,’ he began, keeping his voice light, his tone
casual. ‘How come Andrew’s friends with the family? He was married
to my great aunt and I thought you lot hated that side.’

‘
We don’t hate
you and you’re from
that
side,’ she smiled shyly. ‘Anyway.
Gran, grandpa and Andrew have been friends for many many years.
Andrew was always like an uncle to mummy and now I help look after
him. I enjoy his company; he’s very quiet and articulate and we
have good chats.’

‘
He was a
teacher wasn’t he?’

‘
Yes, he used
to be the headmaster of Abbott’s Leigh Comp, then when he retired
he opened a book shop in Brighton. I used to work there during my
summer holidays when I was at Uni.’

‘
But he
doesn’t have it now?’

‘
He still owns
it, but someone else runs it for him. He’s too old to worry about
something like that.’

Andrew McDonald lived in
a fairly large house close to the brewery. Tara explained that when
he’d first married Bridget Sheridan, she’d tried to distance
herself from her family and rather than accept an apartment in
Claremont Hall, she’d taken this house. Even though they were now
separated and Briggy was living in Donegal, Andrew had remained.
Tara also revealed that he’d left the house to Tara in his will and
when he died she intended to move in.

Tara let herself in with
a key and they were greeted by Mrs Ball, the housekeeper, who was
busy vacuuming the living room.

‘
His Nibs is
in the garden,’ she said with a smile. ‘Would the pair of you like
some lemonade?’

‘
That would be
lovely Mrs Ball, thank you,’ replied Tara.

She took the bag of fruit
and veg through to the kitchen, laying them in front of the fridge.
She then led Tom out into the garden and for the first time ever he
saw the elusive Andrew McDonald. The old man was sitting on a
garden chair, a tartan blanket wrapped around his knees. Compared
to the robust Ben Cusack, he seemed frail and withered. His white
hair was blowing gently in the wind and he had a white goatee type
beard that made him look like a mad old professor. It was hard to
equate the beautiful and still quite sexy Paula with this wizened
old man.

‘
Hello
Andrew,’ Tara said, kissing him on the cheek.

‘
Hello Tara my
love,’ he replied with a smile.

‘
Andrew this
is Tom Montague. Tom, this is Andrew.’

Tom shook hands with the
old man, feeling his handshake was a lot less powerful than Ben’s.
They sat at the table with him and Mrs Ball brought out a tray
containing a jug of cloudy lemonade and some glasses.

‘
Tara’s told
me about you,’ Andrew said, his blue eyes twinkling in a way that
belied his aged, lined face. ‘You’re Sorcha’s grandson.’

‘
Yes. Although
I’ve never met her. She disowned my mother.’

‘
That sounds
about right.’

‘
Did you not
get on with her then?’

‘
Not really.’
He sighed. ‘Bridget, my wife always lived in the shadows of her two
sisters. Your maternal family was one that valued appearances above
everything else and your grandmother was a great beauty in her
time.’

‘
So was Tara’s
grandmother from what I’ve heard,’ Tom said, wondering if he could
get this old man to talk about Lou. ‘I get the feeling they were
rivals.’

‘
Lou,’ Andrew
said with a reminiscent shake of the head. ‘Lou stood head and
shoulders above Sorcha. I adored her.’

‘
And she you,’
Tara said, laying her hand upon Andrew’s. ‘That’s why it’s
important I look after you.’

‘
How is your
mother?’ he asked her. ‘Is she well?’

‘
Busy as ever.
I’m always telling her to come down to Summerset for a while but
she’s always got something going on.’

‘
She used to
visit me, but I haven’t seen her in months.’

‘
I think she’s
still grieving for Gran. But you know what mummy’s like, her way of
coping with it is by working hard.’

‘
And Daniel?
How’s Daniel?’

‘
He’s well. He
and Simon are planning on opening a branch of the restaurant in
Cornwall. Dan’s decided to take up surfing. At his age!’