A Different Class - 21

Chapter 21

Nate knew the second he opened the door that she had gone. It wasn’t the lack of coats of shoes in the hallway, or the lack of perfume of femininity that she seemed to have brought with her into his life, but the cold atmosphere and the sterility he’d never noticed until that moment.

Within seconds of opening the lounge door he spotted the letter, propped on the book shelf in front of the photo of them that Sebastian had sent them after the wedding.

He read it slowly, his heart pounding and a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, “Oh God Bec! Please don’t go!” the words were drawn from him in a tortured voice.

“There’s far too much antagonism for this to ever work Nate. I 

love you, and probably always will. But we are from different 

Worlds, and whilst there may be an innocent explanation 

behind the Olivia story, the fact that your family were so 

desperate for me to find out about her, means they would 

always be trying to drive wedges between us, and we would 

always be fighting them, I can’t live like that. And I can't be 

the one to break up this family.

So I’m going, I’m not going to see history repeating itself.

Please don’t try and find me this hurts enough as it is.

And return the attached to your father, I should be paying 

you for the pleasure of the last six months.

I’m so, so sorry, but maybe in another life where I'm good 

enough for you we can be together,

Bec, xxx”

As he flipped the letter over, he saw the cheque attached for fifty thousand pounds, and everything started to slip slowly into place. His moans of protest sounded animalistic, as he tried to process all that had happened. And all he could think of was poor Becca, left like a sacrificial lamb at the mercy of his evil family. He'd let her down, in the worst possible way. Then he glanced at the cheque, shaking his head he could barely contemplate his father trying to buy her off. Typical Rebecca Taylor fashion she'd done this the hard way. Left without that financial aid.

Nate had been awake for twenty two hours with time difference and the flight, but he got straight into his car and drove to Bec’s flat. From outside he could see the lack of curtains, furniture and life, realising she’d left. He was too late.

Exhaustion overwhelmed him, but his anger was the stronger emotion. Jumping back in the car her tore out of the City. As he drove he tapped away into his mobile. First Johnny, then Lyle and Tara, all had the same response, she’d text them the day before as she left town on an emergency job. She’d promised to email.

Frustrated he threw the phone across the car, and pressed the accelerator harder.

The car skidded up to the house with a spray of gravel, jumping out leaving the engine running Nate ran to the house. 

“Father!” he called pushing open the front door. “FATHER!” he started to kick open random doors until two strong  hands restrained him.

“Get off me Sullivan!” he snapped when he saw the older man trying to restrain him.

Shaking his head the butler refused, “Whatever’s wrong don’t do this, calm down Nate, don’t play into his hands. You're better than that."

And in that second it all hit him, and he crumpled as all he'd wanted from life disappeared, “She’s gone Sullivan! All due to him, and I could kill him!”

The employee took him by the shoulders and directed him towards the kitchen, and with a glower at the kitchen staff they were left alone.

“If you go out there punching then you are no better than him. Just calm down, don’t do anything you’ll regret or he’ll always have the upper hand, he’ll break you.”

Nate’s head dropped, and it broke Sullivan's heart to see him fight against welling tears. He handed his a cup of strong coffee which Nate gratefully drank trying to co ordinate his devastated being.

“Where is he?” he eventually asked looking up. "Where is the bastard?"

“In the garage, admiring his new car.”

Nate nodded, “thanks Sullivan, you’ve always been more of a father to me.”

The two men shook hands, then Nate headed out to the garages.

“What did you say to her?” his voice was a shout as soon as he found his father polishing the bonnet of a Classic Aston Martin.

Sir Edward froze, before he turned to look at his son, “who?”

“Don’t ‘who?’ me! What have you said to Rebecca?” Nate squared up to him squeezing his hands into fists, fighting the urge to hit him over the bonnet of the car he loved so much.

“Nothing, I don’t know what you mean.” His father was no actor and he had guilt so obviously written across his face as he tried to deny all knowledge.

“Stop lying father, she told me you spoke to her.”

Sir Edward looked uncomfortable, “Ok, she needed to know about Olivia....”

“Olivia?” he screamed, “and what purpose does that debacle serve? Did you tell her how you and her father contrived to buy my future and buy me a wife? Did you tell her that Olivia prefers women?” There was no answer. “DID YOU???”

“I may have been a bit economical with the truth...”

Nate turned and punched the wall, “I was happy!” He turned back to his father, “For the first time in years I was living! Seeing things, feeling, breathing, doing more than work. She was perfect for me, she may not have fitted your mold, but she was what I wanted! A contrived marriage did neither you nor my mother any good. It killed her! YOU killed her with your brutish ways and your lack of love."

"You take that back!" His father arrogantly glared at him, but Nate wouldn't back down.

"No! You DID kill her with your lack of love. Lizzie has to resort to being as nasty as you to gain any affection, whereas Henry hides behind his sport.  You've ruined this family, no one loves you and you love no one other than yourself." Nate laughed ironically, "yourself and Margaret Bevan of course."

Margaret Bevan was a local widow, her husband had been a wealthy farmer, and she had lived comfortably on his farm since his death many years earlier.

As Nate glanced at his father he felt reward in the puce colour the older man had turned, he'd shocked him, or hurt him, he wasn't sure which, but he'd affected him, that was the important bit. "I don't know what you mean!"

"It's been for years, the whole village knows. You and a farmer’s widow....and before that a farmer’s wife....God father, is it jealousy that I am happy to break the tradition and be with the woman I love, not the one who fits the profile? Or do you just hate to see someone happy?”

There was a long silence, before Sir Edward said, “Margaret Bevan is nothing to me, and I have no jealousy over you. You chose a completely unacceptable partner, to the point that I won’t allow it...”

“I don’t care! Don’t you understand?”

“I told her few home truths, that you have obligations....” Edward tried to explain, he'd suddenly spotted the change in Nate. Too little too late.

“You told her you’d disown me too?”

He nodded, “she needed to know. And I didn’t want to tell you this, but she actually asked me for money, a settlement she called it. So I paid her.”

Nathaniel shook his head in bewilderment, “that is bullshit.” He reached in his pocket and threw the cheque on the floor. “She didn’t cash your bribe, what does that tell you about her? Well ‘Dad’, for all the promises to disinherit me, I disown you. I want nothing more to do with you and your warped beliefs ever again. I just wish that Rebecca had spoken to me first, because she’s gone, you've got your wish, and I’ll never ever forgive you, and you'll not be in my life to gloat.”

As he emerged from the outbuilding he saw Sullivan hovering and was glad the man had heard the diatribe from his father.

“I’m taking everything. Can you help pack things up for me? I’ll get them collected in the week. I’m about to speak to Mike about stabling Sov at his stables for me so will you get the grooms to prepare him for transport?”

Sullivan nodded, “I don’t blame you but I will miss your reasoning influence.”

Nate hugged the older man, “I’ll miss you too. Will you keep me informed, in case you hear anything? He may know where she’s gone.”

“Of course. I just think you should know that Lizzie visited Ms Taylor too, after your father. He may not be completely to blame in this situation.”

Nate groaned, the poison of his father spread far and wide, “thanks Sullivan, she may have contributed, but I doubt it was through any inspiration of her own! She couldn't decide what coat to wear on her own!” He took his car keys from his pocket, “I’ll find her, no matter what is takes.”

And as his car sped off into the distance Sullivan believed that he would.

Nate called her office relentlessly, no one would comment on where she was working, her boss failed to return his calls and he was becoming more and more frustrated. So after three days of bombarding her phone and email, he headed to the offices of Davison-Eckhardt and sat in the waiting room until Steve Davison agreed to see him.

“I can’t tell you where she is.” Steve offered as soon as the angry face of Nate appeared at the door. “Because of me she became embroiled with your family, and it’s up to me to protect her, she has no one else.”

“She has me! And I will protect her!” 

Steve shook his head, “I can’t tell you Mr Groves, She has sworn me to compliance in this instance.”

Within minutes he knew that he wasn’t going to get anywhere, and in that moment Nate decided to resort to dirty tactics.

Leaving the office he called Patrick, and within half an hour was sat on the roof garden of his flat.

“What do you mean she’s gone?” His best friend was stunned, "why didn't you call me? What happened?" he asked patting his friend on the shoulder.

Nate shrugged, “My dad, Lizzy, the mention of Olivia....it was enough to send her away.”

"Olivia? Shit I completely forgot about that!"

Unfortunately Nate hadn't. He could remember the day so clearly, he'd been a trainee at Invest Bank for three years and had climbed the ranks very rapidly. He'd met Olivia on several occasions, she was the daughter of the CEO after all, but to be called at midday on a random Thursday by an almost hysterical Emma Hargreaves, his girlfriend at the time...of two weeks. He made out between sobs and groans that there was something in the Times. he called his secretary who produced the offending paper and he read the engagement announcement with his own eyes. 

Of course Peter had been busy, unable to talk to his 'new son-in-law', so it had left his own father for the interrogation. He'd also been quite unforthcoming, but that weekend the whole family had descended for an engagement party that he'd been the only person unaware of. It had been a completely embarrassing occasion, with the only positive being that Olivia was equally as disinterested in the engagement too.

The next morning, he'd gone looking for her to discuss how they got out of this mess, and had found her curled up in a guest room with his cousin Sarah. It emerged that her father was aware of her sexuality but had snatched at the offer of the marriage from Sir Edward. Rather than make Olivia's indiscretion become public, they decided to come up with the University story, and that they both wanted her to complete her education before they married, and knew that in that time the wilting of the relationship wasn't unrealistic. 

He'd honestly not given her much thought since, and when Rebecca had asked about her it was the first time he'd actually heard her name for years.

“What did her letter say? Is there any clue there?” Patrick asked, opening a couple more beers.

Nate shook his head, “only that she couldn’t cope with this level of resentment, and that history was repeating itself.”

“What does that mean?”

“Her father was from a decent family, he got the local bar maid pregnant and was disowned, he made a choice and picked her over his family. They struggled; then he got killed in an accident, after that mother killed herself. She blames it all on her father’s family for disowning and disinheriting them. I presume they had a bit of money, he was going to Oxford when this all happened.”

Patrick was shaking his head in anger, “this is why I hate my own family, how can we do this to people? Walk all over them because they don’t have the title or the opportunity we have!” He took a long drink of his cold beer, “so you want to find her? And who knows where she is?”

“Her boss Steve Davison, he won’t let on.”

“But this is really important to you! I know a private investigator. I’ll ask him to sort it out, he may find phone records, anything that hints where she is, or maybe pose as a disgruntled client. Let me call him!”

Nate looked worried, but Patrick was determined, “do you want to find her?”

“More than anything!”

He nodded, “then we need to do this Nate, it’s the only way.” Nate stood to leave, bewildered and pale. “Stay here tonight mate, you look like shit, I can order in some take away and we’ll have a couple of beers. You need company and sleep! Have you even got over your jetlag?”

Nate shook his head, and whilst he was reluctant, he agreed. The apartment was haunting without her, and he hated it.