Harmony House Page 5

  Mavis knew at once this inquiry came from Eve’s need to move her inherited money away from her husband’s grasp as soon as possible. She signalled to Hilary that she would respond and did so quickly.

  “Of course, you are right, Eve. Such an investment could be important for us and it is something to consider seriously. Today we really want to hear about issues such as family, pets and other requirements to guide our future decisions. May I talk to you privately later about your idea?”

  Eve nodded and subsided into her chair. Mavis knew she would not likely speak up again.

  Once more Vilma filled the uncomfortably gap.

  “I have no family to speak of, so that does not concern me, but I have always wanted to have a dog. Don’t they say a dog is a great companion and also a way to integrate into a new neighbourhood? What do others think about it?”

  The atmosphere lightened up. “I have a cat,” said Mavis. “She’s a quiet little animal and I hope to keep her. I believe we can establish rules for pets and their owners and I agree with Vilma’s beliefs. Pets are good for mental health in many ways.”

  “What?” exploded Josette. “You can’t have animals if people have allergies. I hate animals of all kinds and I would not want their hairs and nasty habits to be part of my home. A vote is required on this and other debatable points.”

  Here we go again! Hilary was rapidly losing patience with her old enemy but glad she was revealing her true nature this soon.

  “No decisions yet, Josette. I will make a note about your concerns.

  Now, what about travel? Is anyone likely to want to flee the winter for Florida or other warm spots?”

  The conversation turned to happier topics and Vilma offered the option of sharing a property she had acquired from her first husband in a rental building on the beach in Jamaica.

  “There’s an agency to look after rentals for me. It’s a nice bit of income and a week is always reserved for my occupancy in February.”

  “Sure now, and why wouldn’t you be wanting to stay there permanently?” asked Jannice. Jamaica in the winter sounded like paradise to her.

  “Well, it’s nice to get some sun but the tourist population changes so much, it’s difficult to form friendships. I want to have a home where I am assured of companionship in a safe country with many amenities close by.”

  Casual conversation continued after this. Fresh hot drinks were poured and soon Hilary was looking at her watch. Mavis had retreated to the kitchen with Eve Barton for a quick conference. She informed her that there was a bank account already set up into which she and Hilary would deposit their sums of money as soon as their houses were sold.

  “I would not announce this to the others. It’s too soon, but I want you to know, Eve, you could transfer your money there if you are really sure you want to risk it this early in the process. Also, I must now make it clear to Hilary how your situation might impact our future plans.”

  “I trust you, Mavis. I have since the first minute. I can’t ask anyone else to help me. It’s too dangerous. Howard might retaliate if he knew the person. Anonymity is my only hope.

  If I can escape my present situation I would love to live with you and whomever you choose to join you.

  If you are willing, I will bring the cash sum with me to our next meeting and leave it in your hands.

  Please consider it.”

  “If you are this concerned for your safety, Eve, go ahead and bring the cash with you. I realize I can’t call you at home but promise me you will be careful and come here quickly in a cab as soon as you have the money. I appreciate your confidence in us. The last thing you want is to be cheated of this inheritance and whatever freedom it can buy for you.”

  Eve closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them she looked at Mavis Montgomery and saw, not the ordinary woman with delicate features and green eyes behind gold-rimmed glasses, but an angelic figure whose hands had reached out to grasp hers with a friendship and comfort Eve had never been able to claim in her whole life. Whatever happened from this point on she felt she would be safe and secure.

  “There you are, Mavis! I am just about to bring this session to a close. Come and join us, Eve.”

  The date for the next meeting, a week ahead, was announced, and the women made their way to the hall closet in a flurry of talk that was entirely different from the previous week’s silences.

  Hilary stood back. She had collected phone and email information from the women, except from Eve Barton. There was something going on there between Eve and Mavis. She would get to the bottom of it as soon as the house had cleared.

  She had promised to inform all the candidates by phone of their decision within a few days. It would be a most important discussion with Mavis and it had to start now.

  Chapter 7

  Vilma drove Jannice O’Connor home once again but on this occasion she stopped the car and asked Jannice to describe the situation inside her home that was giving her the impression she could not meet the financial requirements.

  “Well, you can see the condition of the houses here. It’s not a desirable area at the moment. I don’t think the house would fetch more than a hundred thousand and that’s if it was in much better shape than it is presently.”

  “So, what is wrong with the condition? ….and just tell me the truth Jannice. I can’t help if I don’t know the situation.”

  Jannice lowered her gaze to her feet then breathed in and gathered her courage.

  “It’s a mess! There’s junk piled in most of the rooms. Nothing has been done to update the place for decades and it’s ugly as sin. I blame myself. I have done nothing about this state of affairs since my mother’s passing and now it’s impossible.”

  “But you want to move to the shared house, don’t you? Then you have to pull up your socks, my girl, and get moving. You are not working outside the home so start cleaning up right away. We can make an appointment with those ‘Got Junk’ people to take away what you don’t need and then we can see if there’s anything worth selling. If the house has been untouched for as long as you suggest there may be antiques or something valuable in there. Give it a try. I’ll call you tomorrow for a progress report and I hope you will have plenty to tell me.”

  Jannice was shocked. No one cared enough about her predicament to give advice or hope. She had none of her own. Now, both advice and hope were being dispensed by the same amazing woman who was so far out of her class that Jannice would never expect her to give a damn at all.

  The shock was doing strange things to her. A current of energy or panic, she could not tell which, was racing through her body from top to toe and she felt as if she could do anything. This feeling was unlikely to last but she began to believe she could actually do as Vilma said. She could make a start.

  Her head came up and she looked Vilma Smith straight in the eye for the first time.

  “Thank you. You are a real motivator. I will do it. I will start right now. Thank you.”

  Before Vilma could react to being called a motivator for the first time in her life, Jannice was out of the car and marching up the short walk with a purposeful step and keys in her hand.

  Well now! That was a surprise. I was thinking I had gone too far but it looks as if it was exactly what the poor woman needed. A pity I never got such a positive response when I told my stepdaughters to clean up their rooms!

  Vilma took off the hand brake and set the window wipers going. She had begun to tackle the shoe closet at her own, for now, home, but there was more to be done. She needed to practise what she was preaching and set to the task of sorting through her correspondence and other papers. She had no intention of leaving one single piece of private paper for those vultures to paw over.

  It’s a nasty wet day, I may as well do something useful and I will be able to tell Jannice about my progress.

  Before Vilma’s car had left the street, Jannice had her coat off and her sleeves rolled up. She stood for a moment contemplating which room would s
how the most improvement and thereby encourage her to keep going. She decided to start in the kitchen where there was a small area of clear countertop holding an electric kettle, a toaster and the one plate, mug and bowl with the cutlery she used and washed each day. A small pot for boiling an egg or heating soup and a frying pan, for occasional more ambitious meals, were there also.

  The rest of the kitchen which occupied the back half of the long, narrow terraced house lay untouched and now that she looked at it more closely she could see dust on open shelves and what looked suspiciously like a spider web hanging from the upper cupboards. She went downstairs to the basement laundry room to fetch baskets. For years she had ignored the accumulated junk down here and kept a pathway to the washer and dryer cleared for her use. Now her eyes were opened she sighed, but kept her resolve. She would make a start as she had promised Vilma. She would not allow herself to be discouraged.

  Two hours went by and contrary to her expectations, Jannice felt more energy as she progressed through the cupboards throwing anything broken, chipped or stained beyond help into one basket, and selecting anything that might have value to be layered in the other with hand towels and dishtowels she discovered in a plastic box in a lower cupboard she had never before opened.

  Inspired by initial success, she continued to open up cupboards, some of which were almost stuck together with years of grime and neglect. Inside one she found a jumbled pile of blackened metal objects which she eventually figured out to be tarnished silver, long left unpolished. She placed these into a plastic bin bag for later consideration and moved on.

  On a high shelf with a grimy glass front she spied something with a lace edge and after standing on a chair for a closer look it turned out to be one of a collection of delicate hand-made and hand-embroidered linen cloths. She presumed these were possessions of a grandmother she had never met who was the first owner of the house in a previous century. The stitched-on labels had the name Sinead O’Connor in fine thread. She handled them with care, grateful they had been protected from damage by the clear plastic box.

  This discovery gave her pause for thought and she stopped to make tea. Sitting at the battered kitchen table she looked around her with a different pair of eyes. Were there any other items surviving from the era of Sinead, her grandmother or great-grandmother? This brought a new perspective to the work. Instead of a burdensome chore she had ignored for decades while her parents were so ill, the task began to take on the feel of a treasure hunt. At least, she might uncover more about family members she should have known. The stressful years of caring for invalids and dealing with the meagre home care hours she was allocated, had not allowed for long pleasant reminiscences about earlier times.

  She regretted the lost opportunities now but here was the chance to attempt to find out more on her own. Perhaps there might be other named items she could trace. There might even be family members, descendants somewhere, who could be contacted.

  As she considered this new idea, it arrived with the comforting thought that she might not be totally alone in the world. For certain sure, she had Vilma Smith as her champion and who knew who else might be uncovered from a dusty, dingy past?

  The tea cup was empty. She selected a set for one, of an elaborate china tea service she had found and placed the old plain set in the reject basket. From now on Jannice Erin O’Connor would live with the best around her. Now that she had tackled the kitchen cupboards with some success, she would move on to the bathroom cupboards and clear out the expired medications that lingered there.

  It would truly be a clean sweep.

  Mavis and Hilary exchanged glances as soon as they had closed the door on their last guest.

  “Well, that was revealing, don’t you agree? Vilma Smith is impressive, I thought.”

  “I do agree and we must compare notes about the others at once before the details escape us.”

  They soon assembled in their favourite place for discussions, the island countertop in the bright, airy kitchen. Hilary made fresh coffee in the Keurig machine and they both inhaled the fragrance in their cups before adding milk or cream.

  “You start first, Mavis. I suspect you have more to say.”

  Mavis sipped thoughtfully and reached for a chocolate biscuit for added strength.

  “I have two things to say. First, I dislike your old friend Josette and I hope that does not offend you.”

  “Quite the contrary! She was never a friend, more of a school-days’ acquaintance, if that, and I believe she showed her true colours today. I vote to reject her application and we can discuss what the implications are of that act later, all right?”

  Mavis was relieved. Now to tackle the thorny subject of one Eve Barton.

  “I mentioned before that Eve Barton was likely to be problematic. I do not deny the problems which I will outline for you at once, but I must preface my remarks with a plea for leniency.”

  “Goodness sake, Mavis Montgomery! You are not in the courthouse now. I am more than willing to hear you out without criticizing. You know how much I value your opinion.”

  “Thank you, Hilary. That is kind of you, but I do feel as if I need to be an advocate on Eve’s behalf. You see, she is all alone in her situation. Her husband is an abuser and she is afraid of him and what he might do if she attempts to escape him. She wants to disappear in such a way that he cannot track her down. You heard her question about depositing her portion of the house purchase money? Well, she is anxious to put it somewhere safe before her husband, Howard, can take it from her.”

  “This is a dire business, Mavis. I can see why you feel you need to help this woman but we could be in the middle of a legal nightmare if this Howard gets wind of her location with us.”

  “I’ve been thinking about that part. Eve told me she has been using her maiden name and she doesn’t want to tell me her married name for now. I think she first has to feel secure that we won’t betray her.

  If this Howard is unlikely to report her absence because of his alcoholic and wife-battering habits, it could be possible Eve would be able to disappear at least until she has recovered from her fear.”

  “It seems as if this money is a godsend for the poor woman. How did it happen?”

  “I’m not sure. I imagine it must be from an unlikely source or her husband would already have some knowledge of it.”

  There was silence in the kitchen, other than the sound of cups touching the countertop. Mavis watched her friend’s face for clues on her decision but could detect nothing. Hilary had the ability to conceal her feelings. Something she claimed she had found useful during her teaching years and which was now automatic.

  Mavis could no longer abide the tension.

  “What do you think Hilary? Can we take the risk?”

  “I do sympathize with Eve, and with your goodhearted tendency to help the downtrodden.”

  Mavis tensed waiting for a ‘but’. The silence returned until Hilary took a deep breath then let it out all at once.

  “When we decided to begin on this project we promised each other a new start in life and to welcome any adventures that might come our way. Eve Barton is not exactly what we had in mind then, but she does represent both a new start and an adventure of a kind, I suppose. We can hardly turn her away now. There is one thing we must be sensitive to, Mavis. We are entering a conspiracy and we will have to judge carefully which, if any, of our partners should be party to the conspiracy. A wrong word to the wrong person could bring this Howard to our door with dangerous consequences.”

  “Of course you are right about that, Hilary. It’s an important consideration.”

  She paused to let the thought fold into her mental picture. It was a bold decision for a woman like Hilary to take. It would be up to Mavis to make certain it was a good one for all the partners.

  “May I tell Eve next week we are willing to go ahead?”

  “Yes. We can accept her financial contribution into our designated bank account and provide a receipt until we ge
t the contracts drawn up. We are only at the beginning of this journey and things could change before we reach the point of setting up home together.”

  “I accept that proviso, Hilary. We’ll see what develops and act cautiously in the meantime.”

  She lifted her cup and indicated a toast was required now that the decision had been made. Hilary responded with a smile and the comment that she would be responsible for delivering the bad news to Josette by phone.

  “It leaves us one house member short but the ad cards are still in place and someone may turn up.”

  With that, they returned to their respective tasks for the day. Hilary in the upstairs office and Mavis to return home to look over her clothes and see if there was something more she could recycle now that Vilma Smith had raised the style standards.

  Chapter 8

  Only two weeks after the first meeting, the pace of events acquired a forward motion of its own and began to accelerate.

  Hilary had called Vilma and Jannice with the news they were accepted as house partners if they so wished. Vilma was not surprised, but Jannice declared she was more than willing to participate but there was some doubt regarding the financial side of things.

  “There’s a long way to go before we need to make the deposit, Jannice. Several of us have houses to sell. All of it will take time. If necessary, we can help with finances. You have already shown your willingness to take on added responsibilities and that will be taken into account.”

  The next call had been left to the end so that Hilary could summon up courage. She reached the number Josette had left and was surprised to hear a male voice on the end of the line.

  “Jo isn’t here right now. Who’s calling? I’ll pass on the message.”

  It was a brief encounter but enough to consolidate Hilary’s feeling about Josette’s unsuitability for the shared home. Clearly she had lied about her circumstances. It was not unlikely she was living with a man. Josette Delacour was not the type of woman to live long without a male companion on the scene.