He looks at the tears unemotionally. ‘It will be the shock,’ he says.
Lana nods.
He glances quickly at the two ladies behind the reception desk, obviously eager to talk to them. ‘Look, if you give me your name and address, I will be happy to compensate you for what you have done.’
Lana feels as if he has slapped her. She takes a shocked step away from him. She remembers Blake saying, we are not like you. ‘That won’t be necessary,’ she says.
An expression passes across his face. Irritation. ‘Well, thank you for calling me, anyway.’ He turns away from them and begins to walk towards the enquiries desk. Then he remembers, stops and comes back to her. ‘Can I have my brother’s phone back, please?’
Silently she puts the phone into his outstretched hand.
‘Thank you again for what you did for my brother,’ he says awkwardly.
Lana nods. She feels Billie’s hand come around her waist.
Marcus strides away. After the fear, the guilt, and the worry, the shock of his brother’s utter rejection finishes her. She sags weakly against Billie.
‘Fucking heartless, rude bastard. Fuck them and their pissy billions. They can keep it.’ She leads Lana outside and hails a black cab. They get in and do not speak during the journey, but Billie tightly holds Lana’s hand in hers for the entire duration of the trip.
When they get out of the cab, Lana retches and is sick by the side of the road. An old biddy walking on the other side of the road stops to stare and Billie hails her to ask if she has a tissue. ‘Oh dear, oh dear,’ she says, and crosses the road. She fishes a handkerchief from her handbag.
‘What’s the matter with the poor child?’
‘She’s pregnant,’ Billie says.
Lana’s eyes swing around to Billie.
Billie claps her hand over her mouth. ‘Oh my God!
You’re pregnant, aren’t you?’
‘Can I have the handkerchief back?’ the old biddy whines plaintively.
Billie takes the soiled cloth from Lana and ungratefully stuffs it into the woman’s hand. ‘Thanks, love. You want to stock up on tissues in future. More hygienic.’
The woman leaves with a sniff and Billie turns to Lana.
‘Why didn’t you tell me?’
‘I just found out myself. Besides, I can’t keep it.’
Billie’s eyes open wide. ‘What?’
Lana blinks back the tears. ‘It’s in my contract. If I don’t terminate I will forfeit all rights to it. I’m not going to give up my baby to that cold bunch.’
Billie’s eyes flash. ‘They can’t do that.’
‘They can, Bill. The way they feel about crushing us is the way you feel about killing a row of ants heading towards your jam jar.’
‘Who do they think you are? Fucking Oliver Twist?
Please, sir, can I have some more, sir? You know what? I haven’t used any of the money that you gave me. Let’s give that back to them and work out some plan where we pay the rest back with interest.’
Lana shakes her head tiredly. ‘Oh, Bill, they don’t want the money back. It’s all about their precious bloodline.
The purity of the great Barrington line must be safeguarded at all costs. And any bastard children must go back to the Barrington care. They don’t trust the likes of us to bring up children properly.’
Billie looks as though she is about to go into one. A very long and loud rant.
‘Not now, Bill. Please. I just want to go somewhere I can sit.’
Billie holds out her hand. ‘Come. I’ll take you home.’
‘I don’t want my mum to know.’
‘It’s OK, we’ll go to mine and you can clean up there.
We don’t have to tell anyone.’
‘Remember when you said you didn’t know whether you would share your lottery money with me if you ever did win?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Now you know, don’t you?’
Billie smiles sadly. ‘Yeah, now I know.’
Thirty
ictoria walks up to the nurse smiling deferentially at Vher.
‘Good afternoon, Miss Montgomery.’
‘Good afternoon. How is he today?’
‘He seems better. I just looked in on him a few minutes ago and he was asleep, but he was conscious for a few minutes this morning, and seemed desperate to know if someone called Lana was all right? Do you know this person?’
Victoria can’t stop the pure rush of shock that invades her body. She shutters her beautiful green and smiles. ‘If he asks again, tell him not to worry about her. She is fine.’
‘I certainly will, Miss Montgomery.’
Victoria nods politely and walks down the corridor.