'Can you make it go away?' Cindy asked anxiously.
'I can make his pain go away,' Miss McGeorge promised. 'I can't cure the arthritis, but I'll give him an injection that will make it stop hurting for tonight. Bring him to the surgery on Monday and I'll decide what pills he needs.'
Her cheerful manner had its effect and soon after she'd given the injection and departed, Barker was visibly better. The children coaxed him back to his basket, settled him for the night and were finally persuaded to return to bed.
Faye slept for an hour, then instinct prompted her to rise and go quietly downstairs to the place where Barker's basket was kept.
'And what are you two doing down here?' she asked unnecessarily.
Two small faces looked up guiltily, then quickly assumed innocent expressions.
'We were checking that he's all right, Mummy,' Adrian said, adding cheekily, 'Just like you.'
Cindy tactfully smothered her giggle and Faye said, 'All right, funny man, how is he?'
'He's just been out into the garden,' Cindy said. 'I think he's all right.'
'What's going on?' Garth asked sleepily, appearing in his dressing gown.
They all explained and he knelt down to scratch the invalid's head. Cindy and Adrian offered biscuits, which were accepted, and Garth observed, 'He's going to make the most of this.'
'Daddy,' Cindy reproached him. 'That's not kind.'
'It's a plain statement of fact. Now his pain's gone he's loving the attention.'
'But you will take him back to the vet for his pills?' she asked worriedly.
'Of course I will.'
'He means that / will,' Faye said lightly. 'Daddy has to be at work.'
Garth shrugged. 'If we can set off first thing, I don't mind being an hour late.'
The children looked gratified and Adrian said, 'Thanks for calling the vet, Daddy. Is it very expensive if they come out late?'
'Never mind that.'
'But I can help, from my pocket money.'
'So can I,' Cindy volunteered eagerly.
Garth ruffled her hair. 'You've already had next week's in advance, both of you. You're too young to start getting into debt. Let me take care of Barker.'
Adrian grinned. 'Thanks, Dad.'
Garth grinned back and suddenly they looked uncannily alike, although they didn't share a single feature.
For one brief moment there was understanding between them. Then it passed and they both became self- conscious.
'Off to bed, now,' Garth said.
Faye tried to catch his eye and send him the silent message, 'See how much you've gained. Don't risk losing it.' But then she realized that he was determined not to look at her and she turned away, heavy-hearted.
He was as good as his word, going to work late on Monday morning in order to chauffeur Barker to the vet. But that night he returned home later than ever and Faye guessed that it was the legal challenge over the Outland that took up so much time.
She even considered calling Kendall herself to warn him what was in the wind. But, as Garth had said, it was already too late, and it would have felt uneasily like conspiring with Kendall against the man who was still her husband.
All Tuesday she was braced for a call from Kendall, angry because Garth had met the deadline. But Tuesday passed into Wednesday and Kendall didn't telephone either herself or Adrian. She couldn't raise the subject with Garth, as he'd stayed at his office over Tuesday night.
On Wednesday afternoon she returned from school with the children to find a message from Kendall on her answer machine, telling them to watch the local news. There was no more information and it was hard to tell from his voice whether he was pleased or disappointed.
The very first item on the news was about the Outland and there was Kendall, smiling and talking about a significant victory.
'Now that the deadline has passed we have no more to fear from Melkham Construction,' he said. 'This is a freat day for the countryside.'
An announcer appeared on the screen. 'Melkham, of course, is no more than a wholly owned subsidiary of Clayton Properties, the fast growing empire of Garth Clayton. We tried to contact Mr Clayton to ask how he Iclt about being beaten to the post, but he wasn't available for comment…'
Adrian turned slowly and stared at Faye. 'He means Daddy, doesn't he?'
'That's right,' Faye said. She sat very still, knowing that she was the only one who'd heard Garth's arrival. She was aware of him crossing the hall to stand just outside the open door, listening to every word.
'But- I told him-' Adrian stammered. 'I gave the whole game away- He could have-' He paled as he realized the full implications.
'Yes, he could have made use of what you said,' Faye agreed. 'But that would have been dishonourable, and your father wouldn't do it.'
'Course he wouldn't,' Cindy said scornfully to her brother. 'Daddy would never do anything mean or dis- dishorrible!'
Adrian was deep in thought. 'Mummy,' he said at last, 'Uncle Ken is one of the good guys, isn't he?'
'Definitely.'
'And Daddy's quite different to Uncle Ken. But Daddy's one of the good guys too.' His forehead creased. 'Isn't he?'
'There's more than one kind of good guy,' Faye explained. 'There's Uncle Ken's kind, and Daddy's kind. But they're both good.'
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Garth back away into the shadows. She longed to talk to him, to tell him how happy she was that he'd put his son's feelings before his profits. But that must wait.
A moment later the front door opened and closed noisily and Garth's cheerful call of 'Where is everyone?' made Cindy and Adrian rush into the hall. Cindy threw herself joyously into his arms. Adrian held off a little, studying his father with a puzzled frown. But at last he, too, snuggled against him.
Nobody mentioned the matter until the children were going to bed. Then Adrian looked Garth full in the face and said quietly, 'Thanks, Dad.'
'You can always trust me,' Garth said, returning his son's gaze.
Adrian nodded before mounting the stairs with Cindy. He didn't speak but, as he turned away, Faye just glimpsed his smile.
'Thank you from me, too,' she said, laying a hand on Garth's arm.
He looked elated, as he'd sometimes looked before when he'd found the key to a tricky situation.
'It should be me thanking you,' he said. 'I was about to make the biggest blunder of all time and you stopped me. I'm grateful, and for the things you said to them about me. I appreciate fair dealing.'
There was something not quite right in his voice, a hint of calculation that troubled her. But she tried again.
'I hate you and Kendall being enemies-'
'In the circumstances, we could hardly be anything else.'
'But couldn't we say that the battle's finally over?'
His air of elation was undimmed. 'Of course it's not over. It's just moved into a new phase. I know my enemy now. He's a subtle man and I was blundering about. But not any more. Now I've learned subtlety too.'
'And just what does that mean?'
'You can hardly expect me to tell you when you have one foot in the enemy camp.'
'Meaning you don't trust me?' she asked, letting her hand fall away from him. 'Despite our differences, I think I've earned better than that from you, Garth.'
'I told you, I appreciate your coming to my defence just now. You're a decent person, Faye, I know that. It's just that I never entirely trust my business partners. Now, I have a lot of work to do. Unless you want me for something?'
