help noticing that the other woman’s nails were bitten and the varnish chipped. This somewhat diminished the authority of the wooden panelling and the framed certificates on the walls.
‘So what you’re saying is, I must prove that my daughter is an unfit mother? That it would be dangerous to let her have Samuel back?’
Bridget frowned and shook her head. ‘No, Mrs Steiner, I’m not suggesting that at all, and I am not advising that as a course of action. It would be incredibly painful for all involved, I’m sure. How could you and your daughter have a relationship after that? Samuel must lose either his mother or his grandparents. Defending a contested guardianship order is not a decision to be taken lightly. My advice is that you come to terms with her amicably, maybe share Samuel’s care for a while, until she gets back on her feet. ’
‘Thank you for your advice,’ Barbara said stiffly. ‘But what I want are facts. Can we keep Samuel or not?’
The solicitor sighed. ‘You can try,’ she said. ‘But unless you have a very good reason for believing Samuel would be unsafe with his own mother, I strongly advise against it.’
Barbara felt her jaw tightening. Come to terms? After everything Kate had said and done? After the risks her daughter had taken with Samuel’s health and wellbeing? She just couldn’t imagine how she could ever trust her again.
‘My advice, which is what you’re paying for, after all,’ Bridget said tiredly, ‘is to make it up with your daughter. That way she will still let you and your husband see Samuel so you won’t lose him completely. Don’t make an enemy of her, Mrs Steiner. In my experience, it just isn’t worth it.’
Barbara stepped out of the building into the bright sunlight and groped around in her bag for her sunglasses, realising with annoyance that she had left them at home. A group of teenagers pushed passed her, forcing her into the wall, and she opened her mouth to shout after them but closed it again quickly. Instead she made her way back to the car park where she sank into the safely of her pristine Nissan with a sigh of relief. Big towns made her nervous. She preferred to be at home, listening to Samuel chatting away while he played on the floor or at the kitchen table, watching the birds in the garden, just feeling time settle upon her like a blanket. Sometimes he was the only person she would see for days; David was out more often now he had retired than he had been when he worked.
Without the boy she’d have no one.
She started the engine and turned on the stereo. A nursery rhyme, volume set to deafening, blared out of the speakers. Barbara smiled and tipped back her head. She looked at the rear-view mirror, picturing Samuel’s cherubic little face gazing back at her, singing along to the words they both knew by heart. She missed his solid, brightening presence even when she had to pop into town without him, or while he took a nap in the daytime.
How could she survive a day without him permanently in her life?
She knew what she had to do. The meeting with the solicitor had not been entirely wasted. This was a game of wit and nerve, and she still had a couple of cards to play.
Chapter 5
The house was near the end of a long narrow street that climbed its way up from the promenade to the crest of Bow Hill. It was a house Kate had walked past many times during her early teenage years, hanging out with friends on the corner by the off-licence where Bow Hill met the Parade – a strip of down-at-heel shops offering bric-a-brac and sun hats and dubious grocery items to any intrepid holidaymakers who happened to make it up this far from the sea. The Parade was still there; Kate had walked to it for the past two mornings to buy rolls for breakfast, a tin of soup for lunch.
Marie, her landlady, came out to greet her as soon as Kate stepped in off the street. Kate imagined Marie waiting behind the door that led to her own private part of the
‘So what you’re saying is, I must prove that my daughter is an unfit mother? That it would be dangerous to let her have Samuel back?’
Bridget frowned and shook her head. ‘No, Mrs Steiner, I’m not suggesting that at all, and I am not advising that as a course of action. It would be incredibly painful for all involved, I’m sure. How could you and your daughter have a relationship after that? Samuel must lose either his mother or his grandparents. Defending a contested guardianship order is not a decision to be taken lightly. My advice is that you come to terms with her amicably, maybe share Samuel’s care for a while, until she gets back on her feet. ’
‘Thank you for your advice,’ Barbara said stiffly. ‘But what I want are facts. Can we keep Samuel or not?’
The solicitor sighed. ‘You can try,’ she said. ‘But unless you have a very good reason for believing Samuel would be unsafe with his own mother, I strongly advise against it.’
Barbara felt her jaw tightening. Come to terms? After everything Kate had said and done? After the risks her daughter had taken with Samuel’s health and wellbeing? She just couldn’t imagine how she could ever trust her again.
‘My advice, which is what you’re paying for, after all,’ Bridget said tiredly, ‘is to make it up with your daughter. That way she will still let you and your husband see Samuel so you won’t lose him completely. Don’t make an enemy of her, Mrs Steiner. In my experience, it just isn’t worth it.’
Barbara stepped out of the building into the bright sunlight and groped around in her bag for her sunglasses, realising with annoyance that she had left them at home. A group of teenagers pushed passed her, forcing her into the wall, and she opened her mouth to shout after them but closed it again quickly. Instead she made her way back to the car park where she sank into the safely of her pristine Nissan with a sigh of relief. Big towns made her nervous. She preferred to be at home, listening to Samuel chatting away while he played on the floor or at the kitchen table, watching the birds in the garden, just feeling time settle upon her like a blanket. Sometimes he was the only person she would see for days; David was out more often now he had retired than he had been when he worked.
Without the boy she’d have no one.
She started the engine and turned on the stereo. A nursery rhyme, volume set to deafening, blared out of the speakers. Barbara smiled and tipped back her head. She looked at the rear-view mirror, picturing Samuel’s cherubic little face gazing back at her, singing along to the words they both knew by heart. She missed his solid, brightening presence even when she had to pop into town without him, or while he took a nap in the daytime.
How could she survive a day without him permanently in her life?
She knew what she had to do. The meeting with the solicitor had not been entirely wasted. This was a game of wit and nerve, and she still had a couple of cards to play.
Chapter 5
The house was near the end of a long narrow street that climbed its way up from the promenade to the crest of Bow Hill. It was a house Kate had walked past many times during her early teenage years, hanging out with friends on the corner by the off-licence where Bow Hill met the Parade – a strip of down-at-heel shops offering bric-a-brac and sun hats and dubious grocery items to any intrepid holidaymakers who happened to make it up this far from the sea. The Parade was still there; Kate had walked to it for the past two mornings to buy rolls for breakfast, a tin of soup for lunch.
Marie, her landlady, came out to greet her as soon as Kate stepped in off the street. Kate imagined Marie waiting behind the door that led to her own private part of the
Similar Books
Untamed
Pamela Clare
Veneer
Daniel Verastiqui
The Islands of the Blessed
Nancy Farmer
44 Scotland Street
Alexander McCall Smith
Only Love (The Atonement Series)
Elle Chardou
Dead Man's Embers
Mari Strachan
Spy Games
Gina Robinson
Lord Devere's Ward
Sue Swift
Sleeping Beauty
Maureen McGowan