She was at the main roundabout on to the Bledburn ring road and she didn’t know which exit Harville had taken. He could be heading to town, to Lincolnshire, or straight back up the old Mansfield road for all she knew.
She drove round the roundabout three times before her befuddled brain could come up with a plan.
She would go back to Harville Hall and see if Jason had returned. It would be much better to face what might have become of Deano if she had Jason with her. Much better. Yes. She would go and find Jason. And give him several pieces of her mind when she found him. Really, that chip on his shoulder had to go. She’d had just about enough of it.
She drove around the ring road first, working on calming her nerves enough to greet Jason sensibly instead of in a rage. Or was she stalling for time, dreading the return to the cottage too much?
‘Grow a pair, woman,’ she advised herself, with a brittle laugh at herself for using a phrase she had always loathed.
The Hall was in darkness as she drove up the road, but the front gate was open. Did that mean …?
She parked the car recklessly, far too far from the pavement, and ran across the road, her heart beating like thunder. Jason must be in there. He never remembered to shut the gate.
And yes, the front door was wide open.
She leapt up the stairs, calling Jason’s name.
‘Come quickly,’ she called, entering the vestibule. ‘Something awful’s happened and we need to …’
She broke off, sniffing the air. Something was wrong. There was a terribly strong smell of …
A figure appeared at the top of the stairs, holding a petrol can.
It wasn’t Jason.
‘Oh, look who’s here,’ said Lawrence gloatingly. He raised his voice. ‘Duff! Jim! Have you finished?’
‘What the hell have you done?’ whispered Jenna, as the two goons emerged from the back stairs and parlour doors respectively. She could see a flicker from beyond the parlour door and the air was thickening fast.
‘I’m going to have to leave town,’ explained Harville, descending the stairs. ‘In fact, there’s a trawler at Grimsby with my name on it that might drop me off at the Hook of Holland. But before I departed, I thought I’d leave you a little message. If I can’t have the Hall, nobody can. Guys, get hold of her for me, will you? And take her phone.’
‘You’re mad,’ screamed Jenna, trying to elude the heavies but standing no chance.
‘Not mad enough to spend another minute in here,’ said Harville, fanning away smoke. ‘Come on, let’s go outside.’
Jenna was dragged into the back garden.
‘What are you doing? What’s going on? Let me go,’ she raged.
‘You don’t take what’s mine and get away with it,’ said Harville.
‘Yours? This place, you mean? It was never yours.’
‘What are you talking about? This is my inheritance, passed down from Harville to Harville, father to son …’
‘Not always,’ cried Jenna, wanting more than anything to do something to hurt Harville, even if it meant her death. He was probably going to kill her anyway. ‘One son never got his inheritance. The real Harville heir isn’t you!’
‘What the fuck are you on about?’ Harville’s words were heavy with disdain, but his voice was a little hesitant nonetheless.
Jenna looked miserably back at the house, at the windows beginning to glow and flicker.
‘I mean, I found out what happened to your Fairy Fay,’ she said.
‘Oh God, not that again. Lads, there’s a metal ring somewhere on one of these stones.’
He meant to throw her in the cellar!
‘The body we found down there,’ she said hurriedly, ‘wasn’t the tragic young wife at all. It was one of the maids.’