Page 57 of The Forsaken (Echoes from the Past #4)
FORTY-NINE
London, England
Gabe splashed whisky into his glass and sat down on the sofa.
The television was on mute, the constant stream of colorful images going unnoticed as he stared into space.
Quinn and Emma were already asleep, but although he was physically tired, his mind was going a mile a minute, too restless to settle on any one problem.
He needed to talk to someone, and normally, he’d talk to Quinn, but she was already tense and upset and he didn’t want to add to her mounting stress.
He knew he was driving her mad with his overprotectiveness, but he couldn’t help himself.
He was scared. He had to physically restrain himself from dashing to the bathroom for the heart-pressure monitor every time she looked flushed or appeared to be agitated, and now her ankles were swelling and she was often short of breath.
Gabe had also noticed Quinn peering at things as if she couldn’t see clearly, and extracted a promise that she would inform Dr. Malik of this new development at the next antenatal checkup.
He wasn’t someone who prayed routinely, but since finding Quinn unconscious in that vault in New Orleans, he’d prayed for her and their baby’s well-being almost daily.
Liver and renal failure weren’t common, but they did happen in mothers with severe preeclampsia, and although most symptoms disappeared after the delivery, in some cases, they continued after the pregnancy and required continued treatment.
Gabe glanced at the clock. It’d just gone ten, so his mother would still be awake. He tossed back the whisky, grabbed his mobile and keys, and left the flat. He’d talk to his mother and take a walk—two birds with one stone .
“Hello, son,” Phoebe said when she answered on the second ring. “No, you didn’t wake me,” she added before Gabe could ask.
“Hi, Mum. How are you? Plumbing all right?”
“Yes, the water is running clear and the hole in the kitchen has been filled in and retiled. I still can’t bring myself to step on that part of the floor. I feel like I’m walking over someone’s grave.”
“Well, you sort of are, but it’s empty now, so you’ll have to get used to it, I suppose. Are you keeping busy?”
“I’m trying,” Gabe could envision the downward curve of her mouth and the sagging of her shoulders as she replied. “The house feels so empty without your father.”
“Are you eating?”
“Yes, but I’ve no desire to cook anything, not when there’s no one to eat it with. I eat toast and eggs, mostly. That suits me fine.”
“Mum! You can’t subsist on eggs.”
“They’re a good source of protein,” Phoebe objected. “And they are quick and easy to make. What’s the sense of doing a Sunday roast or making chops for one person?”
“We’re going to feed you up while you’re here,” Gabe promised. “I can’t wait to see you, Mum.”
“Gabe, are you all right? What’s on your mind?”
“Why do you think there’s anything on my mind?” Gabe asked, a smile tugging at his lips. She always knew.
“Because you sound particularly downtrodden tonight. I can hear it in your voice.”
“I’m just tired,” Gabe replied. “And frustrated. ”
“With what?”
Gabe quickly filled Phoebe in on what’d been going on with Quinn. Phoebe listened intently, not saying anything until Gabe finished.
“Gabe, it’s only natural that Quinn should want to find her sister and feel angry with Sylvia for withholding such crucial information.”
“I know that, Mum, but I’m worried about her.
Her blood pressure is spiking, she has terrible headaches, sometimes her vision gets blurry, and her ankles are swollen.
She should be taking it easy, not obsessing about the mess her mother made thirty years ago.
And she gets really angry with me when I fuss,” Gabe added grumpily.
“I know and you know the only reason you fuss is because you’re worried about Quinn and the baby, but it probably makes her feel like an errant child.
Quinn is a grown woman, and she would do anything to protect that baby.
If she tells you she feels up to doing something, then you must take her at her word. ”
“So you think I’m being overbearing?”
“I wouldn’t go as far as to call you overbearing, but I’d say maybe a little over the top. I know you’re worried, son, but you must trust your wife’s judgement.”
“You always put me straight,” Gabe replied with a chuckle.
“That’s what mothers are for, dear. Now, what else is bothering you? That was just the tip of the iceberg,” Phoebe said. Gabe heard her sigh as she usually did when snuggling deeper into her favorite chair.
“Mum, I’ve been offered a promotion at work, and a significant pay raise. I’ve been invited to sit on the Board of Directors. ”
Phoebe didn’t immediately reply, as though processing what he’d said and drawing her own conclusions.
“Darling, you don’t need to move up here.
I know you want to be here for me, and you feel it’s your duty to look after your old mum, but I won’t have you doing so at the expense of your life.
You have a successful career in London, as does Quinn.
Emma loves it there and is about to start school.
You have friends, and Quinn has her brothers.
I won’t have you uprooting everyone just to make me happy. ”
“But I want you to be happy, Mum,” Gabe said, sounding like a whiny child.
“Gabe, I’m happy knowing you’re happy. As it happens, I’ve been thinking about the house. I don’t like being here on my own. It just doesn’t feel like home anymore. When your father died, it was lonely at first, but now, after the discovery in the kitchen, it feels sinister somehow.”
“What are you saying, Mum?”
“I’m saying I wouldn’t be averse to a place like Cecily’s.”
“You mean at the retirement village?” Gabe asked, perking up.
“Those cottages have everything a person my age needs. There are no endless flights of stairs, there’s a little garden, and there are loads of people my age. And they have activities. I can take up watercolor painting or do Pilates.”
“Do you even know what that is?”
“Don’t patronize me, son. I might not be overly active now, but I was quite athletic in my day. Your father always said I had stunning legs.”
“And he’d know,” Gabe joked. Graeme Russell had adored his wife, but he’d always noticed pretty women, especially those that were fit. “Mum, I think that would be ideal,” he said, suddenly more hopeful about the future .
“It would, but I can’t bring myself to sell the family home. Some big developer is going to come in and build luxury flats, or something equally ghastly. The land has been in the Russell family for centuries. It’s your children’s legacy.”
“Mum, unless Quinn and I move to Berwick and spend a fortune restoring the family home, it will be a ruin by the time my children are old enough to understand what a legacy is. We have to either go all in, or let it go out of the family, and the choice is yours.”
“Gabriel, you’re a historian, for the love of God. How can you feel no connection to the land of your ancestors?” Phoebe exclaimed.
“I do feel a connection to the place, but uprooting my family and playing ‘lord of the crumbling manor’ is not my life’s plan.”
“That’s it then,” Phoebe conceded. “I’ll call an estate agent after I return from London. We’ll sell the house and land, pay the death duties, and use the remaining funds to buy me a cottage at the retirement village and you a bigger flat in London.”
“Are you sure you’re all right with that, Mum?”
“Your father is probably spinning in his grave, but yes, I’m all right with it. There’s no use holding on to the past if the past has no hold over you.”
“It’ll be better for everyone. You’ll see.”
“I’ve no doubt of that. I just feel a little guilty, that’s all.”
“I know. I do too. Who’s going to look after Buster when you come down for Emma’s birthday?”
“I’ll leave him with Cecily for a few days. I’m actually looking forward to visiting London. It’s been too long. I’d like to go to the National Gallery, and maybe see a show. ”
“I’ll get tickets. Is there anything specific you’d like to see?”
“I’d like to see King Charles III . I heard great things about it,” Phoebe replied.
“Consider it done.”
“Thank you, son. And plan something romantic for you and Quinn. You two can use a night out. I’ll be happy to mind Emma.”
“Quinn would like that. Good night, Mum.”
Gabe disconnected the call and turned for home.
He did feel better after talking to his mother, but a nagging sense of guilt gnawed at his insides.
His mother was right; Graeme Russell would be spinning in his grave if he knew.
Gabe sighed. Moving up north would accomplish one thing that staying in London wouldn’t: It would get Quinn away from Luke once and for all.