Someone to Love Me.

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight






Catherine was worn out by the time she finally got off the bus.  The heat, seeing Susie and of course, the fact that she’d done quite a lot of shopping didn’t help.  And so much for rationing her time! 
         As well as the clothes she’d bought for herself she hadn’t been able to resist the baby clothes and had bought an assortment of vests, baby-grows and darling little bootie’s. Then of course there was the obligatory teddy bear and she had to have that mobile, the one that played ‘twinkle twinkle little star’.
         She was suffering for her enthusiasm now, she was exhausted.  She never realised how tiring pregnancy could be, still not to worry, a cup of tea and her feet up for an hour and she would soon be back on top form.           
         She got off the bus and was approaching her home when she noticed someone standing outside the door to her building.  Was it Luke? 
As she drew nearer, still wondering who it could be, she was disappointed to realise that it was not Luke but James. 
         Quickly she turned to retrace her steps knowing that she couldn’t cope with a confrontation with him at the moment.  She wasn’t feeling up to it.  But she was too late; he’d seen her and was coming after her. 
         Catching up, he grabbed Catherine by the arm and her shopping bags fell to the floor spilling their contents all over the pavement.  She bent to pick them up as James made a grab for the box that contained the mobile.  He flung it to the ground and then began to rummage through the contents of her store bags. 
         His face contorted with anger as he turned and dragged her round to face him.  Catherine’s distress turned to revulsion and then fear at the way he was gaping at her.
         “You bitch,” he spat. “You better not be pregnant, not if you’re going to marry me. I won’t have it.  You’ll have to get rid of it.”
         Catherine looked at him with dawning horror, she was lost for words.  What he was saying wasn’t making any sense.  She had no intention of marrying him.  What was wrong with the man?  He must be insane.
         People were staring at them and she was beginning to feel ill. 
“James, watch my lips.  If I’ve told you once then I’ve told you a dozen times, there is no way that I will ever marry you.  I’m sick of telling you and I won’t tell you again so bloody well leave me alone or I’ll call the police.” 
         Catherine didn’t see his fist as he struck her she just felt the pain in her head as she sank down into oblivion.  When she came round she was in the emergency department of the local hospital with no idea how she’d gotten there.  A motherly nurse was standing by her bed talking quietly to her and gently brushing back the hair from her forehead.
         “Hello my love.  How are you feeling?”  She smiled sympathetically as Catherine opened her tired eyes.
         “My baby,” it was the first thing that entered her mind.  “Is my baby alright?”
         “Baby’s fine but you have a lovely bruise on your face and you cut your head when you fell.  You’ve been unconscious for a while but fortunately there doesn’t seem to be anything serious and there are no broken bones but the Doctor wants to admit you over-night for observation.  You’ll be able to go home tomorrow morning providing everything’s OK.”
         Relief was Catherine’s first emotion quickly followed by fear.  Fear of James and what had happened.  What she couldn’t understand was why.  Until the funeral they’d had no contact for almost ten years so what had brought this on?  His reaction to her pregnancy seemed deranged. Maybe his instability had always been there but she had been too young to recognise it or he’d managed to hide it from others.
         Her head spun as she realised that she had no one she could turn to for help.
         The nurse carried on chatting while she busied herself making Catherine comfortable.
         “I know you’ve had a traumatic experience my dear but do you feel up to talking to the police, they need to ask you a few questions about what happened?”
         Catherine nodded wearily and the nurse left the cubicle returning a few minutes later with a police constable.  He was carrying her shopping bags which, he told her, bystanders had kindly retrieved for her. 
         He’d already gleaned quite a bit of information from the witnesses who had seen her attacker before he ran off and he had reason to believe that she knew who he was.  As she talked to him he realised that this was more than just a random attack.  The man was known to her and obviously had some sort of fixation for her. It seemed that this was not the first time he’d approached her.           Catherine told him about James and about the phone calls.  The Constable noted down all the details before asking if there was anyone who she would like notifying about where she was.  She told him there was no-one. 
         Before he left the officer promised to get in touch with her the moment that there was any information. 
         The following day after a very uncomfortable night, Catherine was allowed to leave hospital.  She took with her a list of instructions, an outpatient’s appointment for the following week, her baby shopping and a painful bruise that covered the whole of the left side of her face.  Things couldn’t get any worse could they?
                Well yes, of course they could! 
         The taxi was unable to pull up close to her apartment because of the police cars. Catherine paid the driver and anxiously made her way to her front door only to be stopped by a police constable.  Once she’d told him who she was he informed her that neighbours on the floor above had reported a disturbance coming from her home and had called the police.  On arrival they found that the lock on her patio doors had been broken and her home had been burgled.
         Shocked, Catherine told him about yesterday’s attack on her by James and she was asked to check her apartment to see what was missing.  They took her fingerprints to eliminate them from any others that might be there and she wasn’t allowed touch or move anything as it was still a crime scene.
         Catherine walked through her door and the sight that greeted her stunned her.  It was heartbreaking.  All the effort and love that she’d put in to making a home for herself was gone.  Trashed by what could only be described as a mad man.
         She was too stunned to cry and too bewildered to take in what was happening to her.  Her life was falling apart around her and she was helpless to stop it.  She didn’t know what she’d ever done to deserve any of this.
         As she walked through her home she found her drawers had been emptied, covers torn, and her beautiful bedroom was despoiled.  She sank into her ruined armchair knowing that she couldn’t take much more, she was past tears; she felt as though everything and everybody was conspiring to make her life as hard as possible, but worse still was the fact that she didn’t know what to do to put a stop to it.  Wasn’t it enough that she was pregnant and jobless without being homeless as well?
         James!  She was sure that James was to blame, after yesterdays confrontation, who else could it be? 
         It was going to take her forever to establish what, if anything was missing she thought as she looked around.  The intruder had certainly done a thorough job, even her keyboard was in pieces.  By now she was even more convinced that James was the person responsible, what she couldn’t begin to understand was why?
         She realised that the policeman was talking to her.  The investigators needed to examine her home.  Had she anyone who she could stay with until her house was made habitable?  No.  There was no one.  Could she book into a hotel?
         Yes, she could book into a hotel for tonight she supposed and then tomorrow she would set to and try to clean up some of the mess.  She would probably need some professional help but it would get done one way or another.
         Wearily she found what she needed for the night and the kindly officer drove her to a hotel about a mile from her home.  Thanking him, she registered and was shown to a small but clean room on the second floor where she lay worn out, on the bed.  She didn’t want any lunch she wasn’t hungry.  She wished she could just go to sleep and never wake up!
         Abruptly Catherine thrust the thought away.  She didn’t mean that, it was just that she was so bone-weary and tired.  Tomorrow she would get up, survey the damage and start over.  She had to because she wasn’t alone; she had her child to consider and at the end of the day, no one else was going to do it for her.

                                                            ***

         Susie, back in her office after sharing a table with Catherine in the restaurant, sat and studied Catherine’s scan.  For the past hour, since she returned from lunch she’d picked it up looked at it and then put it down again a dozen times or more but she still couldn’t decide what she was going to do with it. 
         As the outer door opened she quickly pushed it out of sight under her shorthand pad.  She didn’t think that either Claire or Luke had seen her do it; she would put it away the first chance she got. 
         Susie had decided that to return it to Catherine was probably the best thing to do.  Luke and Claire were clearly an item and she was sure that Luke wouldn’t thank her if she threw a spanner in the works.  Not this spanner anyway!  If it was Luke’s child then it was up to Catherine to say something.  If she chose not to then that was no one’s business but her own.
         Claire sat down at her temporary desk while Luke went through to his office only to appear a moment later.  “Susie can you come through for a minute darlin’, I need your help.”
         He’d called her darlin’, that promised an improved mood.  Forgetting all about the scan Susie followed Luke into his office.
         Claire took her chance and moved quickly across to Susie’s desk.  She’d seen her sneak something under her pad and she was intrigued to know what it was.  She pulled the scan out and as she studied it she couldn’t believe her good fortune.  This was just what she needed she realised, something to turn Luke away from Catherine permanently. 
         She’d been trying her utmost since their first meeting in Ireland to attract Luke but with no success.  She’d called him, turned up where she knew he would be, inveigled him into taking her out to dinner and she’d even persuaded Daddy to dream up an excuse for her to be here working in this office but nothing she did brought her any nearer her goal. 
         O K, he’d taken her out to dinner once and to lunch a few times but she knew he only took her out of courtesy to her father. Claire was certain in her mind that his disinterest had something to do with Catherine but why, she wasn’t quite sure.  Did he have a ‘thing’ for her?  If there was anything between them then they’d never let it show when they were in Ireland but this scan with its implications could be just what Claire needed.
         If she made Luke aware that Catherine was pregnant it might be enough to kill any feelings that he still harboured for her.  It never even crossed her calculating mind that Catherine’s pregnancy could have anything to do with Luke.
         Claire sashayed into his office and draped herself on the edge of his desk.  Susie looked up from the file and registered the self-satisfied look on Claire’s face.  She realised with a dawning sense of horror that Claire was holding Catherine’s baby scan between her crimson tipped fingers.
         ‘Oh Lord,’ Susie thought, ‘she wasn’t going to show it to Luke was she?’
                Obviously she was.  Susie gasped audibly and thinking quickly, turned to face Claire.  “I believe you took that from my desk, it’s mine and I’d like it back please.”
         Claire threw her a scornful look, “I think that Luke may
be interested to see it.”
         “I think not,” Susie replied and held out her hand for Claire to return the scan.  It was obviously not going to happen.  For the moment a very determined Claire was keeping a tight hold of it.
         Luke was watching both of them and wondering what the hell was going on.  You could cut the atmosphere between them with a blunt knife and all over what appeared to be a snapshot.
         “Would someone care to tell me what this is all about,” he asked with a puzzled frown.  Claire turned towards him and offered him the scan.
         “No,” Susie cried, “it belongs to me, give it back please.”
         Luke’s brow furrowed as he took the scan and studied it, obviously not quite sure what he was looking at.  As the penny dropped he shot an angry look at Susie. “Hell’s bells, don’t tell me you’re pregnant,” he hollered, “I’m only just getting used to working with you and now I suppose you’re going to be leaving.”
         Susie gasped; obviously he hadn’t looked that closely at the scan.
         Claire laughed and Luke shot her a deadly look. 
         “What’s so funny,” he growled.  Women!  His next assistant would be male; he’d make sure of that.
         Claire threw him a pitying look.  “You haven’t studied it properly darling.”  She smiled at Susie.  “Has he?” she asked glibly.
         Susie slumped in her seat as she waited for Luke to comprehend what he was looking at.  She should have tossed the scan into the waste bin as soon as she’d found it. It would have avoided this messy confrontation but it was too late now and she knew in her mind that Catherine was never going to forgive her. 
         One look at Luke’s face told her that he’d finally put two and two together.  Whether it added up to four she wasn’t quite sure but he turned to Claire.
         “I don’t know what you think you’re playing at but you’d better leave now before I get real mad and throw you out,” he growled at her.  There was no mistaking the menace in his voice and Susie shuddered.
         Claire didn’t need telling twice, the look on his face promised murder and she left while she still could, wondering what had happened to cause all of this backfire on her and so quickly too?
         Susie stood up to leave but a barked “sit down” from Luke had her swiftly dropping back onto the seat facing him.
         “Now, let’s hear all of it, right from the beginning with no lies and don’t miss a damned thing out.”
         With a worried frown Susie told him how she had bumped into Catherine in the restaurant and that they had shared a table for lunch and how Catherine had dropped the scan when she was paying the bill.  She related all the subsequent events right up to the fact that Claire had evidently noticed Susie hiding the scan. 
         Luke sat at his desk holding his head in his hands as she talked and when she stopped he sighed.  How the hell had his world turned upside down?  What had happened to his nice, well-ordered, commitment free life?
         Catherine, that’s what had happened!  Since she’d appeared on the scene his life had altered and he wasn’t sure if it was for the better or not. 
         In typical male fashion he never stopped to consider the fact that it was him who had appeared on the scene and upset Catherine’s equilibrium.  All Luke knew was that she made him think of all the things he’d always wanted but never thought he would have.  Although, he thought, maybe now it wasn’t too late?  Maybe this could work to his advantage.
         It had to be his child she was carrying so why hadn’t she told him?  What did she think he would do about it?  He was a responsible person; he wouldn’t have left her to face this on her own so why hadn’t she turned to him?
         She’d acted strangely ever since that last dinner that they shared at their hotel in Limerick but for the life in him he couldn’t remember doing anything to upset her.  OK he’d left her to find her own way back to their suite that night but only because he couldn’t trust himself not to drag her to his bed and make hot steamy love with her. 
         He’d felt a mixture of pleasure and guilt ever since she’d so generously given her virginity to him but afterwards she’d seemed incapable of dealing with what had happened and had been very reserved at dinner the following night.  If he lived to be a hundred he was sure that he wouldn’t come close to understanding the workings of the female mind!
         Dismissing Susie he reached for the phone and dialled Catherine’s home number. She might have fooled Susie into thinking that she was working but she wouldn’t fool Luke. 
         He had a suspicion that she was still unemployed.  No prospective employers had approached him for any references for her and no good company would take her on without them.  Hadn’t he told her he would make sure that she never got a decent job again?  What the hell had he done to her?  How was she managing if she was pregnant and on her own without an income and with an expensive home to run? 
         By all accounts her parents had left any money that they had to Cavendish.  He couldn’t understand what kind of people they were to do that to their own daughter but then again was he any different?  He hadn’t even considered the fact that she could have gotten pregnant he’d just assumed that she was the one taking precautions. 
         When there was no answer from her phone Luke became more and more frustrated, leaving message after message on her machine.  Where the hell was she?  She’d left Susie in town at lunch time she ought to be home by now.  He kept trying to reach her but by early evening he still hadn’t managed to contact Catherine and his frustration had turned to a niggling worry. 
         Grabbing his jacket and briefcase he headed for his car and driving as fast as he could through the evening rush hour traffic, he headed for her apartment.  There was no reply when he banged on her door and so he tried calling her name but still got no answer.  He went to her neighbours in the adjacent apartment but because they had been out all day they had neither seen nor heard her. 
         Thanking them Luke hurried back to his car and sat there wondering what to do next. If she was home and refusing to answer her phone or her door then apart from breaking the damn thing down there was nothing he could do about it.  For the present!
         Catherine was turning his world topsy-turvy and he realised now that she had been ever since that first day in Clive’s office when she’d fallen at his feet!  He had been drawn to her then and had wanted her in his bed right from the outset but now it was much more than that.  He wasn’t sure when he’d realised that his feelings for Catherine were growing but they were and he felt helpless.
         It was an unusual sensation for him, he was used to always being in control of his life but there was nothing he could do at this moment in time except go home and keep on trying to contact her.  Maybe there was a good reason why she wasn’t at home.  Perhaps she was at her music society, she could be staying with friends, or maybe she had a date. 
         The thought of her out with someone else caused his gut to tighten.  Damn, he didn’t know what to do and it was disconcerting for him.  Since he’d found out that she was expecting a child, his mind kept insisting on flying off at a dozen different tangents.  All he could think was that she was pregnant and that the child she carried was very possibly his.  Hell, in all probability it was his and now he was beginning to realise that the family life he’d once dreamed of was within his grasp. 
         The realisation that he had strong feelings for Catherine had hit him hard and he knew she wasn’t immune to him, not if that steamy night in Ireland was anything to go by.  There was no reason that he could see why they shouldn’t be married.  Hell, a child was a damn good reason why they should be married and the sooner the better!
         If he couldn’t find her tomorrow he would contact someone who could, meanwhile knowing that there was nothing else he could do tonight, he put the Jag into gear and wearily headed for home.