A Different Class - 19

Chapter 19

“Well well! Nathaniel!” the familiar and cringe-making boom of Sir Edward burst from over Rebecca's shoulder. Bec fought the desire to curl up and hide, the one thing Nate was right about, was that if there was to be a future for them, then they had to front this out. She just wished it wasn't at a wedding like this. Someone's special day.

“Father.” He nodded his head in acknowledgement.

“You’ve been a stranger Nathaniel, I told you you needed to visit your home more often. We haven’t seen you since the ball.” He managed to sneer in a haughty way as he spoke.

“No surprise there,” Nate spoke in hushed tones. “When you welcome Rebecca with me, then we’ll be regular visitors. This is not the environment for this conversation, it’s Seb and Emily’s day Father, we can speak another time, when you can be civil.”

Sir Edward had flushed increasingly as he spoke, and almost exploded, “I am your father and you will respect me.”

Rebecca cringed, aware of so many people gawping, Sir Ed in full flow was better than any reality TV show. But Nate was uncaring, holding up a hand to silence his father he spoke quietly but with authority, “Respect is earned, and until you treat Rebecca with respect, I will deal with you at arm’s length. Now here come the bride and groom, so please, withhold this for a more appropriate time.”

They turned away from Sir Edward to welcome the blushing couple.

For the meal, they were sat with some friends of the family, and whilst Bec feared that the atmosphere would be quite tense, Nate explained how riveting it would be for these relatives to delve into this taut environment, in fact he thought they may well have fought to sit with the couple who were bringing the ill humoured Sir Edward down to Earth with a bang.

The meal was beautiful, more new tastes to her palate, and the staff responded to her honest gratitude by giving the best and biggest portions, much to Nate’s amusement.

Sir Ed tried to intervene, to attract their attention. Bec could see he was looking for cheap digs, but Nate was the expert manipulator, always separating her from his father and giving him the cold shoulder. Bec had become the hottest property, and once the bride and groom initiated the dancing she was whizzed around the dance floor by a variety of male relatives, old and young. Nate watched with an amused smile on his face as Rebecca started to win the hearts of even his father's closest allies.

Equally they chatted to elderly aunties, Nate chuckled and played with the children present and once they reached a reasonable hour, they  hugged the bride and groom and decided to sneak off, all major disasters averted. As Nate went to call the house to organise a lift, Sullivan promised to send one of the younger staff members to drive them home, Rebecca slipped into the bathroom.

After using the toilet she splashed cold water on her flushed cheeks. She was just reapplying her lipstick when the door opened and Lizzy stood there, complete with the horsey looking friend that Bec remembered.

“Oh!” Nate’s sister was shocked to encounter her. But Horsey wasn’t so slow.

“Well if it isn’t Mrs Simpson!” For a moment she was mesmerised by the poor girl's teeth, they really were an eyesore.

Bec shook herself, “is that meant to make you guys Royalty? God in what dream world do you live in?”

“The same dream where you are good enough for Nathaniel Groves?” Lizzie snapped back.

She shook her head slowly, her eyes curling into a smile, “whatever you think Nate loves me, so in his book I am as good as him, and you guys have got your heads in the clouds. I pity you though I really do!”

Lizzy flipped at that moment, “God you bitch! You have ripped my family apart and you have no remorse! Have you any idea what you have done to my father?”

“I neither know nor care Lizzy, as far as I’m concerned your father has brought everything on himself. Nate loves me, and wants me, and I feel the same way. And all you horsey buggers out here in the country had better get used to me, as I feel you’ll either be seeing a lot of me, or nothing of Nate! Your choice!”

With that she turned on her heel and left, ignoring Horsey’s comments of “What a slut!” and almost ran into the courtyard her eyes craning for Nate.

Unable to find Nate, she headed for the exit, wanting to put as much distance between them and her as was possible.

Within a few moments he was sprinting out of the marquee towards her, "you ok?" He looked so worried that she had to smile.

"I'm fine!"

He reached out and cupped her cheek, "you're so brave darling! If your friends or family were rude to me I don't think I'd show as much dignity as you are!" When she looked at him quizzically he smiled, "the blushing bride was using the bathroom when my sister...well. Let's just say Emily informed me that you were eloquent, damning and she is very much in awe of you! They don't go on honeymoon until next weekend, so they've invited us to their home for dinner one evening, just to prove that they love you!"

Grinning, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him hard on the lips, "thank you! And thank them, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle!"

Seb and Emily were gushing when they did attend for dinner, with the men engrossed in some new gadget that they'd received as a wedding present, Rebecca followed Emily into the kitchen.

"Something smells great!" She offered. 

The other woman smiled, "nothing too special I'm afraid!"

"I can't believe you can be bothered with this a few days before you fly to Australia!"

Emily laughed, "for a month!" She sighed, "it can't come quick enough! But we wanted you to come over, meet you properly, Edward and the twins...well Lizzie, Henry doesn't count, he's too interested in cricket to even notice the world passing him by, but Lizzie's becoming as poisonous as her father. I just don't want you to feel completely out on a limb. I know how hard it can be to infiltrate the Groves family. I'm just glad that my mother-in-law doesn't have quite the same attitude as her brother, that;s for sure."

Rebecca digested the information for a moment, "I hate that he's making Nate choose, and I hate that Nate is choosing me! Not that I want to end things with me, but he's so keen to cast his father away...and family's everything, isn't it?"

Emily chuckled, "so spoken by someone wearing rose tinted spectacles, I don't know about your family, but the old adage 'you can pick your friends but you can't pick your family' definitely applies to mine! You choose who you want in your life Becca, that's for sure!"

Having no one to make decisions like that over she couldn't imagine what luxury it would be to discard family. But she also knew that with family came arguments and war, and even within the smallest family there was ranking systems to rival the aristocracy.

"Where's the dinner woman?" Seb grinned bursting into the kitchen and pulling his new wife into his arms.

"The cheek!" she protested. "It'll be ready in five minutes...where's the wine man?"

Laughing the two men disappeared to find suitable refreshments to accompany the food. 

The meal was more than pleasurable, it was a long time since Rebecca hadn't had to worry about people getting along, or making the right impression. Sebastian and Nate had been brought up as almost brothers, and she had a lot in common with Emily, so conversation was light and easy. They were all sorry to see the night end, and the newly weds promised to return the visit when they got back from their month in Australia.

"Coffee?" Nate asked as he led the way into the apartment.

Rebecca shook her head, "no, I need sleep! Are you joining me?"

When he didn't answer, she glanced up to see him staring at the answer phone that blinked with the sign of a message, "aren't you going to listen to that?" 

He turned slowly to offer an apologetic smile, "it might be..."

Grinning she walked up to him and took his hands, "we can't ignore your father, nor can we hide things about each other. I don't mind what he says, I promise...and you need to talk to him, we have to sort this out, once and for all."

Despite her words she didn't listen to the message, after a quick shower she was climbing into bed when he finally joined her. 

"He's still angry, the avenged father!" There was anger in his movements as he started to divest of his clothes.

"Maybe we need to sit down, the three of us, better yet, can we get a mediator?"

He laughed out loud, "I think this is too much for Jeremy Kyle, and Jerry Springer only deals with real crazies...I'm afraid it's just us!"

Less than a week later Nate was heading back to New York. He hadn't got any further in his quest to talk to his father, instead the answer phone regularly picked up his ranting messages, but Rebecca was beginning to wonder whether he was avoiding the issue...was this a sign of weakness?

Lyle, Johnny and Tara were consistent and trusted in the absence of her lover, and she'd never appreciated them more. But she missed him so much when he was gone. She’d been so dependent on him of late, and she felt so emotional at the thought of him, she was praying that love wasn't turning into dependence...she suddenly had a vision of her stalking him!

The Rochester project, as she'd come to call it was approaching conclusion, and her bosses were ecstatic with her work. She'd been offered the priority over her next assignment. After a call to her liaison in the client office, she had to reorganise a few work conferences, and it was only as she checked back through her diary that a feeling of heat, nausea and dizziness flooded over her. Her vision became blurred as she tried to focus on the circle around the date four weeks earlier that warned of her period. OR rather what should have been her period.

Rebecca couldn't even contemplate what this meant. It was completely unexpected. They were being safe. It was too soon. She paced for most of the evening, her legs shaking struggling to hold her upright, when she stopped her knees knocking together almost violently. The timing was so bad, and all too poignant. The fear of tearing apart the Groves family battled with her need for Nate. This was the most vital and important moment of her life, and for every part of her that felt crushed, emotional, another huge part felt hope and optimism. She wasn't stupid enough to think that a baby would heal all the rifts, but it would be someone to lover her unconditionally, and something that would connect her and Nate forever. It didn't mean the thought didn't scare her, but she could see positive signs, she really could.

After a turbulent night, she was glad of work to help put things out of her mind, a busy day helped. Her and Nate played telephone tag all day. As she headed home she had the forethought to pick up a pregnancy test, at the end of the day she needed to know, needed time to think. She honestly didn't think Nate would react badly to the news, in fact she had a suspicion that he'd be happy. He was older than her, and he'd on several occasions told her that he wanted children whilst he was young enough to do things with them, see them grow up.

The thought of doing the test still terrified her, but she was calming down with every hour that passed, now that she'd realised that she wanted this baby, of there was a baby, more than anything. 

She had only been in the house for a few minutes when the door was knocked. As there had been no external bell she presumed it must be the mail being delivered, the last few weeks her confidence at ridiculous activities such as answering the door were becoming easier, she didn't fear that there was an enemy at every corner. Throwing open the door ready to greet Giles the concierge she'd spoken to earlier, then she froze.

“Sir Edward!” She finally managed to breathe out the words, despite all that had happened between them, her innate manners forbade her from being any less respectful to him. The older man as usual stood in his wide legged stance, a herringbone check jacket complete with suede elbow patches that was a size or two too small was buttoned over his paunch, his jowly face scowling at her as though she was dog shit on his shoe.

He stepped past her into the hallway, and marched to the lounge, “the very same." He tossed over his shoulder, and she had to almost jog to keep up with him and therefore hear his utterings. "And I think we need to have a talk.” In the lounge he took up a menacing pose in front of the fire, arms folded across his face, an ugly scowl contorting his features. “You know what I’m going to say?” he looked at her as she joined him in the room. “This has to end. You must see that?” He was unusually calm and that scared Bec more than the aggressive angry version.

She walked across the room and squared up to him, “that won’t happen unless it’s what Nate or I want. And at this moment he’s happy with me, and I'm happy with him.”

“Happy? He’s just kicking back, living beyond his expectations whilst he can. He knows that he has responsibility ahead, he's just taking some time rebelling before he has to step up to the plate, and there’s no way that someone like you can figure in his future.”

Bec struggled to maintain her composure, she didn't need to start screaming like a fishwife, and she definitely didn't need the stress, of only he knew how permanent the links between them all might be.“Someone like me? What the hell does that mean?” When he shrugged she pushed him, "NO! Tell me what 'someone like me' is!"

He raked a hand through his hair, “the last twenty generations of Groves have married into an expected pattern. He will be no exception. He has obligations.”

“This isn’t Victorian Britain, he is an independent man, and completely happy for things to stay that way. He doesn't feel threatened by you, he doesn't need you. So don't force him into decisions!"

He laughed, "don't force him? You hint that I could control him? That sounds like you have great belief in your words!"

Despising him with every inch of her being, she turned to him, "I am thinking of how those decisions would upset him. I'm thinking of Nathaniel, maybe you should do the same once in a while! He loves me Sir Edward, and I think it's about time you started to realised that."

The laugh, a sarcastic scoff grated on her nerves, “He would say anything, he’d say whatever it took. This is fun to him, he’s obligated and that isn’t something he can just pick up or drop. It will happen.”

Rebecca started to shake her head, “I don’t want to have this conversation now, if you have anything to say I think you should speak to Nate.”

“Nate enjoys going against me, if I confront him over this he’ll dig his heels in, and it’ll only prolong these matters. I want you to end it.”He stared at her, "see you do have your uses!"

She shook her head, “you have no authority over me, you think you’re above everyone, but you are definitely not this time. I love your son, and I will not stop things with him for you. Why the hell would you think I'd listen to you? Do what you want?”

“This is not a request Ms Taylor, this is what WILL happen. Before Nathaniel comes back from New York, I want you to pack up and leave this apartment.” He reached into his inside pocket and produced a piece of paper. “This will mean you never need to see us again.” He threw what she then realised was a cheque onto the coffee table.

“Money? You are throwing money at me?” She turned to him, her face a snarl. “So how much am I worth? How much will you pay to get me out of your life, and out of your family?” She picked up the cheque, “Seventy-five thousand pounds? Oh my God! Are you for real? This is more than I can comprehend. You want me away THAT badly?” It was a huge amount of money, she'd be able to buy a home of her own, something that wasn't a rental property, but it was merely a thought as she recognised the enormity of the situation. She'd not want a home without Nate in it. This was a nothing situation, an empty offer.

Groves shrugged, “I didn't want to have to spell it out, but you are being particularly stubborn...Nathaniel has obligations to Olivia Martin, it was agreed a long time ago. She finishes University soon, that was the only thing delaying them marrying. And if you stay here with him, I’ll never speak to him ever again!”

Suddenly the room started to spin, she couldn't believe that he had another lover, a fiancee no less, there was no way the man who worshipped her could have hidden that from her. They talked about everything, he at least had been completely honest, or so she thought. Taking steadying breaths, she tried to ease her racing heart, the nausea was overwhelming. She wanted him to leave, but as she opened her mouth to ask him to go, the sensation, the need to vomit washed over her.

“Excuse me a moment.”

Rebecca rushed to the bathroom and brought up the sandwich she’d eaten earlier that afternoon. Splashing her face with cool water, and brushing her hair, she struggled to compose herself. Nate's father hated her that much, the family wanted rid of her so badly they’d pay her more than two years salary for the pleasure, and in case that didn't work he was bandying the name of a supposed fiancee around. The man was a pig. But if there was any truth in his words...she shook her head, Nate would have told her if it was true, she knew him. Sir Ed was clutching at straws, using her insecurities to chisel them apart. 

Taking a deep breath she headed back into the lounge ready to tear a piece off him, she glanced around the empty room then heard a noise in the kitchen. He was at the sink, pouring a glass of water.

As he turned hearing her enter the room he hit her bag off the work surface. Cursing under his breath he stooped to the floor gathering the spilled items. It was then she spotted the box she’d bought in the pharmacy on the way home.

“Shit! I’ll get that!” she dived to reach for the bag, but it was too late; he was holding the pregnancy test in his hand. 

“Oh no no!” he looked at her contempt and disgust evident in every pore. “You bitch! Trying to trap my son, the most morally sound man you’ll ever meet. Has this been your plan from day one? Do you want to put yourself and some bastard child in MY home?”

She shook her head, all words evaded her, this was her worst nightmare come true.

“Well if you know what’s good for you you’ll take this cheque," he pulled out a chequebook and scribbled in it, then tore out a replacement for the one he'd waved at her earlier. "With a few more pounds so you can get yourself to the right clinic, do the right thing and put it all down to experience. If you have this child then no lawyer in the land will let you keep it. We’ll get full custody and the heir to our estate will live with us, and you'll be the poorly little orphan all alone again! I have that much power, don't push me!”

She knew her mouth was open, but she was unable to speak, so she watched as he walked out of the front door. He'd found the final chink in her armour and ripped all she knew to shreds. She could barely stay upright for the feelings of pain and fear that coursed through her veins. She collapsed onto the sofa in stunned devastation, even tears had deserted her, then glancing down she saw the new cheque for one hundred thousand pounds.