Guests and Guilt Read online

  “Do you think it will do for your brother?”

  “I think it’s going to have to, as I don’t want him staying with me.”

  “I’ll have the letting agent take it off the books for the time being, then,” Doncan said.

  “I may tell James that it belongs to a friend of mine,” Fenella said thoughtfully as they locked up the house behind them. “I’d rather he didn’t know that I owned it.”

  “You may tell him anything you like,” Doncan said. “Here are the keys. You just have to let me know when you’re done with it and want to start renting it out again.”

  Fenella shook her head. “I can’t quite get my head around all of this. I didn’t even know I owned this house, and now I have the keys to it and can use it whenever I want.”

  “I’m sure you’ll get used to it all in time. Should we talk about cars next?”

  “Cars?”

  “Are you worried about James wanting to drive Mona’s car?”

  “Oh, goodness, I didn’t even think of that. Once he sees it, he’s going to want to drive it, and I’m not going to be able to say no. Knowing him, he’ll hit a tree or back into a lamppost or something.”

  “Maybe you should buy yourself something a bit less exciting to drive, then,” he suggested. “Something boring and practical that’s older.”

  “You’re probably right.”

  “Should we go car shopping, then?”

  “Are you sure you have time for all of this?”

  Doncan laughed. “Whenever Mona came to see me, we nearly always ended up going on an adventure together. She’d decide that she wanted to buy a flat in Peel or check on a business she had part ownership of in Port St. Mary, and somehow she always talked me into going along with her. I remember the day we bought that little red car. She let me drive it around the car park at the car dealership while we waited for my secretary to bring the check. My life has been a lot less interesting since Mona passed away.”

  “If you have time, I would appreciate your help with car shopping, then. I have been thinking about getting something more practical for day-to-day use anyway.”

  “If you ever decide you want to get rid of Mona’s car, let me know. I’d love to buy it from you, if I can afford it. My wife would probably suggest that I can’t.”

  “I have no intention of selling Mona’s car. I already love it a lot.”

  A short while later Fenella drove herself back to Doncan’s office in a very sensible four-door car. It was only a few years old, but Fenella suspected that it hadn’t been exciting even when brand new. It was exactly the sort of car a middle-aged spinster should drive, she decided. Which was perfect for when James was on the island. Its automatic transmission made it easier to drive than Mona’s car, too, and Fenella felt a little bit sad as she realized that it already felt comfortable to her. No matter how much she loved Mona’s car, this boring, practical car suited her much better.

  “Thank you so much for all of your help,” she told Doncan when they were back in his office. “I’m feeling better about James’s visit now.”

  “I’m glad to hear that. Before you go, would you like me to start setting up a trust for Mona’s estate?”

  “A trust? Why?”

  “Just to give you a little bit of time, really,” he explained. “Once it was in place, depending on the details, you could have just as much access to the estate as you do now, but it would take about a month, maybe a bit longer, to set everything up. During that time, your access to the bulk of the estate would be severely limited.”

  Fenella grinned. “So I wouldn’t be able to give James a big lump of money, even if I wanted to help him.”

  “Exactly.”

  She thought for a minute and then shook her head. “I don’t think so. I’m going to do some serious thinking about the money over the next few days. I may well decide to share some of it with my brothers. The idea has been at the back of my mind anyway. James’s impending arrival has just moved it to the forefront. I’ll call you if I change my mind, though.”

  “You do that. You can always tell James that the trust is in progress, even before I actually start working on it, if you need to,” he told her. “Don’t let him talk you into anything.”

  “I won’t,” she promised, hoping she was right.

  “I’d quite like to meet him, if you have time while he’s here,” he added.

  “I suspect we’ll have lots of time. I can’t imagine what he’s going to do on the island for three weeks. He doesn’t like museums or historical sites, it’s probably going to be too cold for the beach, and he’s going to be staying too far from the center of Douglas to spend all of his time at a pub.”

  “There is a small pub near the house on Poppy Drive,” Doncan warned her. “It’s easy walking distance from it, actually.”

  “Maybe we can keep that little fact from James, at least for a while,” Fenella said. She was less worried about the pub than she was the fact that the house in question was right across the street from Daniel Robinson’s home. Once he was back on the island, that could be incredibly awkward.

  “I think I’m all set,” Fenella told Shelly a week later. “I’m awfully sorry about the flood in your apartment.”

  “I still don’t understand how it happened,” Shelly sighed. “I mean, I never imagined that a broken dishwasher could make such a mess.”

  “I’m just glad we could arrange things with, um, Jason, so that my brother could stay in his house while you’re staying here.”

  Shelly laughed. “Is that what you’re going to call your friend who is lending you the house?”

  “Unless you have a better idea. I could pretend it’s Donald’s, I suppose. He probably owns lots of houses all over the island. But if he comes home while James is still here, I’d have to tell him the whole story very quickly.”

  “What if James wants to meet Jason?”

  “Jason is away, that’s why the house is empty,” Fenella said. “I don’t know about Jason, though. Maybe Steve or Harry or Larry or Fred.”

  “You really need to pick one and stick to it.”

  “Which one do you like?”

  “I don’t know. Fred? It’s as good a choice as any.”

  “Okay. Let’s go with Fred. So Fred is a friend of yours, okay?”

  “Um, okay, I suppose. Although I’m not sure why, if he’s my friend, I’m not simply staying in his house?”

  “This is why I never lie,” Fenella sighed. “It all gets too complicated. Okay, Fred is my friend, but he’s gone to Australia, and he asked me to keep an eye on his house. Having James stay there is ideal, really.”

  “Let’s hope James doesn’t ask too many questions,” Shelly sighed.

  “When I was little, he could always tell when I was lying. I was terrible at lying when I was younger. Actually, I’m probably not any better now. This is never going to work.”

  “So just tell him that you didn’t want him staying with you, so you made other arrangements,” Shelly suggested.

  “I can’t tell him that. He’s my brother. I don’t want to upset him. It will be fine. Anyway, my friend Fred said that James could stay in his house, and you’re staying with me because your dishwasher ruined your kitchen and you have to wait for new flooring and new appliances and whatever.”

  “All this talk about my kitchen is making me want to redo the one I have,” Shelly told her. “Do you think I could actually get my dishwasher to flood my kitchen?”

  “Why not just get a new kitchen installed?”

  “Oh, I couldn’t do that. The one I have is almost brand new. It just isn’t really to my taste. I’d love a kitchen just like yours, but I can’t possibly tear out the kitchen that’s there, no matter how much I’d like a new one.”

  “Of course now that you have the money from Mortimer, a new kitchen is suddenly a lot more affordable.”

  Shelly put her fingers in her ears. “La, la, la, la, la. I’m not listening to you as you try to tempt me
. My kitchen is fine; it’s actually really nice. I just like yours better, that’s all. Anyway, for the next three weeks, mine is under construction and I have to stay with you. I won’t actually stay with you, though, unless you think James might find out that I’m not.”

  “Maybe you should stay here for at least the first night or two, just in case. I mean, I don’t think he’ll be checking my spare room to make sure it’s been slept in, but he just might if he gets suspicious.”

  Shelly laughed. “I don’t mind staying here for the whole three weeks if it helps you. I often slept here in the early days after John died. I couldn’t face being alone and Mona was kind enough to indulge me. We just have to decide what to do with Smokey.”

  “Oh, bring her over. Katie loves having her around. They’ll have great fun together.”

  “And so will we. Except when you’re out showing James the island.”

  “Yeah, that should be interesting. He has no interest in history or culture, but I’m sure he’ll be fascinated by each and every pub he sees.”

  “Oh, dear, that doesn’t sound like fun at all.”

  “Do you have any ideas for things we can do, actually? I haven’t spent nearly enough time exploring the island myself. I’m sure there are lots of things to do that I haven’t heard anything about yet.”

  “Does he golf?”

  “No. He doesn’t like to walk.”

  Shelly laughed. “That leaves out a lot of hiking and glen-walking as well, then.”

  “I can’t see him wanting to do anything like that,” Fenella sighed. “Maybe I’m being unfair. I haven’t really seen him in over a year, and we didn’t exactly see each other regularly before I moved, either. He had his little house in Pennsylvania and I was in New York. Visiting him was pretty low on my list of priorities, and he only came to see me when he was really desperate for money.”

  “I thought you said he was always desperate for money.”

  “Well, yes, but he used to work his way through the family, starting with my oldest brother and working his way down to me. We used to discuss it amongst ourselves, actually. We always agreed that we’d only give him a set amount, but I’m sure at least one of my brothers always gave him more than the amounts we’d all agreed upon. James was the baby, you see, or at least he was nearly the baby.”

  “He’s the youngest of the brothers, then?”

  “Yes, there’s almost exactly two years between each of them, starting with John, then Joseph, then Jacob, and then James. I was a surprise who came along about twelve years later. Surprise sounds better than accident, anyway.”

  Shelly laughed. “Tell me about the others. I know we’ve talked about them before, but I don’t really remember what you said.”

  “John is retired and currently married to his third wife. He never had any children and neither does Carol. Her last husband left her millions, and she and John seem very happy together. They live well and they probably give James a lot more money than they should, but they can afford to do so, I suppose.”

  “And you miss him very much. I can hear it in your tone of voice.”

  Fenella nodded. “He was nearly eighteen when I was born and was almost like another parent to me. When our parents passed away, I leaned on him the most and he was wonderful to me. Really, every time something bad has happened in my life, John has been there to help me pick up the pieces. I really do miss him a lot. Carol has been good for him, too, and I like her. I’m hoping they might come and visit one day, but so far I haven’t been able to persuade them.”

  “Tell me about Joseph, then.”

  “He retired in August after teaching high school for his entire career. His wife taught at the same school, but she’s older than he is, so she’s been retired for a while now. They have two girls who are in their thirties and happily single. I’d love it if any or all of them would come to visit as well.”

  “That leaves, wait, I’ll remember, Jacob?”

  “Yes, that’s right. Jacob is a semi-retired dentist. He still looks after a few favorite patients, but mostly he potters around his house and annoys his wife.”

  “That sounds about right.”

  “When he isn’t annoying Candy, he annoys his son, Matthew, who is just about finished with dental school and about to take over the practice.”

  “Candy?”

  Fenella laughed. “Yes, his wife’s name is Candy. She’s also incredibly young, like thirty-five or something, so only ten years older than Matthew.”

  “Oh, dear,” Shelly said.

  “The thing is, she’s also incredibly sweet, and she’s been wonderful for both Jacob and Matthew. They’ve always had a difficult relationship and she’s managed to get them to communicate a lot more effectively. There was a time when Jacob was ready to sell his practice and Matthew was ready to study anything other than dentistry just to annoy Jacob. Candy has managed to turn the whole situation around. I have nothing but respect for her, in spite of her age and her name.”

  “Would you like them to visit?”

  “Oh, goodness, yes. Candy is also a lot of fun. She’s been good for Jacob in that way as well. He’s learned to enjoy life a lot more since she came along.”

  “And Matthew?”

  “Matthew has always been my favorite nephew. Okay, he’s my only nephew, but he’s really quite wonderful. I think I like him better than Joseph’s girls, but I’d never admit that to anyone else. I’d love it if Matthew wanted to come and stay for a while. Maybe I’ll suggest that to him after he finishes school, before he starts working full-time. A trip to the island would be a nice break for him.”

  “Which brings us neatly back to James.”

  Fenella made a face. “We’ve always had a difficult relationship. I’ve always felt that he resented me for usurping his role as baby of the family. Obviously, it wasn’t my fault, but I don’t think he sees it that way.”

  “Is he a good writer?”

  “He wrote one good book, or so I’m told. I’ve never read it. He actually asked all of us to not read it. I suspect it’s semi-autobiographical and he’s afraid we’ll take offense. I’ve read a synopsis, so I know it’s about a young man coming of age in a foreign country. I don’t know if the main character has a younger sister or not, though.”

  “None of you have ever read it?”

  “John read it, actually. He said someone from the family had to read it whether James wanted us to or not. He told me it was rather dull, but just the sort of thing that English professors like.”

  Shelly laughed. “Maybe I won’t rush out to get a copy, then.”

  “I feel as if I should be more curious about it than I am,” Fenella admitted. “I should want to read it, but I’m afraid it would make me angry at James. We don’t really get along as it is, so I feel as if it’s probably best if I leave it.”

  “How long ago did he write it?”

  “Oh, thirty years ago, maybe. As I said, he’s been working on the second one ever since.”

  “Maybe the island will inspire him.”

  “I hope not. He’ll want to stay if it does. I suppose it might, though. He could write about an older man rediscovering his heritage or some such thing.”

  “English professors would probably love that, too.”

  “Yeah, they probably would.”

  “And now I should let you get some sleep,” Shelly suggested. “I’ll be over early tomorrow morning with my bags and Smokey. We’ll make sure we’re well and truly moved in before you leave for the airport.”

  “Did you want to come with me?”

  “Aren’t you taking Mona’s car? There isn’t room for more than one passenger in Mona’s car.”

  “No, I’m taking my car,” Fenella replied. “I’ve been driving it a lot and it’s really much more convenient.” She could hear the regret in her own voice as she admitted that the boring and practical car better suited her lifestyle than Mona’s flashy sports car.

  “In that case, maybe I will come with
you. I’m really eager to meet James, after everything you’ve told me about him.”

  “I just hope he’s on his best behavior, at least when he first arrives. No doubt after a short while the niceness will wear off and he’ll start whining and making demands, but hopefully I’ll get a few good days with him before all of that begins.”

  Shelly gave her hug. “I’ll see you in the morning,” she said. “It’s going to be okay, you know.”

  “I know. It’s only three weeks. I did check that he had round-trip tickets booked. Even if he decides to move here, he’ll probably have to go back after his three weeks are up. He’ll have a house to sell and whatever else back in Pennsylvania.”

  “We’ll get through it together,” Shelly told her. “You and me and Katie and Smokey. He isn’t allergic to cats, is he?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  “That’s a shame,” Shelly laughed.

  Fenella let her friend out and then began to pace around her living room.

  “Go to bed,” Mona suggested as she appeared on one of the couches.

  “I’m too nervous to sleep.”

  “You shouldn’t be. Everything will work out in the end. James will be tiresome, but he’ll quickly get bored, and then he’ll leave and we won’t see him again.”

  “I hope you’re right. I really don’t know what to do with him for three weeks.”

  “He’ll have to find ways to entertain himself, then. Keeping him happy isn’t your job.”

  Fenella didn’t argue, even though she didn’t agree. She paced for a while longer, until Mona finally stopped sighing deeply and simply faded away. Before she got ready for bed, Fenella made sure the guest room was ready for Shelly.

  “You’ll like having Shelly and Smokey around, won’t you?” she asked Katie. The cat looked at her and then nodded before she raced off to the kitchen and began to shout.

  “You’ve had your dinner. I suppose you think you deserve a treat because we’re going to have houseguests.”

  Katie yowled her agreement, so Fenella gave her a few small treats before she got ready for bed. By the time Fenella’s face was washed and she was in her pajamas, Katie was curled up in her usual spot in the exact center of the king-sized bed. Fenella was sure that she’d toss and turn all night, but as soon as her head hit the pillow she fell into a deep sleep.