Inheritance

Chapter Nineteen. Playing an Ace.

"No we don't. I belong to someone else." 

Silence. Rachel was stunned. "So it's still Sheila then?" 

He nodded in reply. Rachel couldn't believe it. Things had been going so well. She had tried to win him, fair and square, but  had obviously failed. She had resisted the temptation for weeks. Now was the time to play her ace. 

"She's not right for you John. She lives in another world. You hardly ever see her, and the last time I saw you with her, she treated you like a dog." 

"That was a misunderstanding." 

"Some misunderstanding," she scoffed. "Have you seen her lately?" 

"I saw her at the end of June, just before she left for Germany. She comes back tomorrow." 

"And you haven't seen her in all that time?" 

"How could I? She was in Germany." 

"Oh John, you poor soul, she's playing you for a fool." 

"What do you mean?" 

"I have something to show you." 

Rachel went to her desk opened the left hand drawer, and removed a folded piece of paper. It was the society page from the Manchester Guardian, dated July 12th, a page John would never have read. She handed it to him 

"Read this!"  

It was an account of the Red Cross Charity Ball that contained the following highlighted item. 

The beautiful Sheila Edgar, daughter of the British industrialist Charles Edgar, was seen dancing the night away with the very eligible Heinrich Faber, heir to the Faber fortune. Is there a merger in the air?  

                                                                               ***** 

 A jealous rage engulfed John. He had only met Sheila twice that summer, skipping Gillian's birthday to see her. Both meetings were short and clandestine, but they had sufficed. They had reconciled, vowed to keep in touch, and John had promised to renew his visits to Matlock in the autumn term. Not once, in her correspondence over the summer, had Sheila mentioned Herr Faber. There was no hint of an upcoming engagement. All had seemed normal. She even wrote of her plans for the future, and they had included John.  

John couldn't believe Sheila was capable of this, but there it was in black and white. This was the last straw. Never again would he get on that emotional roller coaster. He made up his mind. He rudely rushed from the house with barely a word to Rachel. From a nearby phone booth, he sent a telegram to Gillian, announcing his intention to return much earlier than planned. The next morning, he packed his bags long before his father came off the night shift. He waited to wish him a hasty goodbye, and then made a dash for the early morning train, not explaining his unexpected departure.  

                                                                                             ***** 

Two days later, a timorous knocking on the front door aroused John's father from his daytime slumber. Hastily he donned his tartan dressing gown, pulled on his tattered bedroom slippers, and made his way down the stairs. Through the mottled glass of the front door, he could see the outline of a tall blue figure. Cautiously he opened the door, peeked around, and was shocked to see a sopping wet young lady on his doorstep. 

"Hello, Mr. Gregson. It's me, Sheila. Sheila Edgar. Can I come in?" 

He hesitated. He was alone. It wouldn't be proper to let a young lady into the house under these circumstances. The neighbours would talk.

"Just step inside here a minute, love.' 

Sheila stepped under the portico, out of the rain, but no further.

"Is John home?" 

"I'm afraid not, my dear. He left here in such a flap a couple of days ago. Something important must have come up." 

"Didn't he say anything about me before he left? I was expecting to see him." 

The girl's voice cracked and John's father could not tell whether they were raindrops or tears falling down her cheeks. He guessed the latter.

"Would you please tell him I was looking for him, Mr. Gregson?" 

"I will, my dear." 

After a sniffled thank you, Sheila turned and headed out once more into the torrential downpour. She didn't even bother to raise her umbrella.

                                                                              ***** 

Three weeks later the following announcement appeared in the local newspaper 

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Edgar take great pleasure in announcing the engagement of their eldest daughter Susan to Heinrich Faber the son of Ulrich and Ursula Faber. A spring wedding is planned. Best wishes to the happy couple.