whom he had met once when he went to Australia, had confirmed all his suspicions that the last thing she was concerned about was the welfare of her grandchild. She was an appalling woman and no appalling woman was going to get the better of him.
‘She says that it doesn’t matter how much money you have to fight this, Leo. She’s going to win because you’re not fit to be a father to Adele.’
Leo stilled. His father’s eyes had welled up. Reluctantly, he retrieved the paper from where his father had earlier shoved it to him and carefully read the email that had been sent by Ms Jamieson.
‘Now you see what I mean, Leo.’ His father’s voice shook. ‘And the woman has a point. You have to see that.’
‘I see nothing of the sort.’
‘You don’t lead a responsible life.’ Harold’s voice firmed. ‘Not as far as bringing up a young child is concerned. You spend half your life out of the country...’
‘How else am I supposed to run my companies?’ Leo interjected, enraged that a woman who appeared to have the morals of a sewer rat should dare to criticise him. ‘From an armchair at home?’
‘That’s not the point. The point is that you do spend a great part of the year out of the country. How is that supposed to be good for the well-being of a five-year-old child? Furthermore, she’s not wrong when she says that you...’ His hands fluttered in a gesture of resignation and disappointment.
Leo’s mouth thinned. He knew that the choices he made when it came to women did not fill his father’s heart with glee. He knew that Harold would have done anything to have seen him happily settled down with a nice, respectable girl who would have those home fires burning for him when he returned home after a long day toiling in the fields.
It wasn’t going to happen. Leo had too much first-hand experience of how life could be derailed when emotions got in the way of common sense and good judgement. No matter that his father had adored his wife—when Mariela Morgan-White had died, he had been left a broken man. Yes, some idiots might fall for that hoary old chestnut about it being better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, but Leo had never signed up to that.
His father might not have agreed with Leo’s choices but he had stopped trying to take him to task about them, and this was the first time in years that he had voiced his disappointment.
‘Your face is never out of the papers,’ Harold admonished, dabbing his eyes and then looking sternly at his son. ‘There’s always some...some silly little thing hanging on to your arm, batting her eyelashes at you.’
Leo flushed with irritation. ‘We’ve covered this ground already.’
‘And we’ll cover it again, son.’ Harold sniffed and, just like that, Leo realised it was as though the energy and life force had been sucked out of him, leaving behind a shell. He was an aging man and it seemed as though he had suddenly lost the will to live.
‘You choose to do what you like when it comes to...women,’ his father said quietly. ‘And I know better now than to try and point you in the right direction. But this is more than being just about you. The woman claims that you’re morally unfit to take guardianship of the child.’
Leo pushed his hands through his hair and shook his head. ‘I’ll take care of it,’ he said grimly.
Theoretically, he and his father could simply reach an agreement to pull the plug on the money. Sean, after all, hadn’t been in any way related to either of them, but he knew and personally agreed that the child should not be allowed to suffer because of the mistakes of her parents. Like it or not, she was a moral responsibility.
‘It’s a worst-case scenario.’ His father shook his head and pressed his fingers to his eyes.
‘You’re upsetting yourself, Dad.’
‘Wouldn’t you if you were in my shoes?’ He looked up. ‘Adele is important to me and I cannot lose.’
‘If the law refuses to budge—’ Leo spread his hands in a gesture of frustration ‘—then there’s only so much I can do. I can’t kidnap the child and then hide her until she turns eighteen.’
‘No, but there is something you can do...’
‘I’m struggling to think what.’
‘You could get engaged. I’m not saying married, but engaged. You could present the court with the sort of responsible image that might persuade them into thinking that you’re a good bet as a father figure for Adele.’
Leo stared at his father in silence. He wondered whether the events of the past few weeks had finally pushed the man over the edge. Either that or he had misheard every single word in that sweeping, unbelievable statement.
‘I could get engaged...?’ Leo shook his head with rampant incredulity. ‘Do you suggest I purchase a suitable candidate online?’
‘Don’t be stupid, son!’
‘Then I’m not following you.’
‘If you need to present the image of a solid, dependable, normal human being with a serious and suitable woman by your side, then I don’t know why you wouldn’t do that. For me. For Adele.’
‘Serious and suitable woman?’ Leo spluttered. He didn’t do either serious or suitable when it came to women. He did frivolous and highly unsuitable. He liked it that way. No involvement, easy to dispatch. If they enjoyed his money, then that was fine because he wasn’t going to marry any of them. When it came to women, the revolving door that brought them in and took them out was efficient and worked for him.
‘Samantha.’ His father dropped the name with the flair of a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat.
‘Samantha...’ Leo repeated slowly.
‘Little Sammy Wilson,’ Harold expanded. ‘You know who I’m talking about. She would be perfect for the part!’
‘You want me to involve Samantha Wilson in a far-fetched charade to win custody of Adele?’
‘It makes perfect sense.’
‘In whose world?’
‘Don’t be rude, son!’ Harold reprimanded with an unusual amount of authority.
‘Does she know about this? Have you two been plotting this crazy scheme behind my back?’ Leo was aghast. His father had clearly taken leave of his senses.
‘I haven’t mentioned a word of this to her,’ Harold admitted. ‘Well, you know that she only manages to get to Salcombe on weekends...’
‘No, I didn’t. Why would I?’
‘You will have to broach the subject with her. You can be very persuasive and I don’t see why you wouldn’t bring those considerable skills to bear on this. It’s not as though I ask favours of you as a general rule. I think it’s the very least you can do, son. I would so love to know Adele is safe and cared for and we both know that Gail would make as bad a grandparent as her daughter made a parent. I would spend the remainder of my days fearing for what might happen to the girl...’
‘Gail might be many things,’ Leo returned drily, ‘but aren’t you over-egging the pudding here?’
His father breezed over the interruption. ‘And you would condemn a child to a future with a woman of that calibre? We both know the rumours about her...’ His eyes, when they met Leo’s, were filled with sadness. ‘I can’t force you but I’m very much afraid that I... Well, what would be the point of my living...?’
* * *
Samantha hadn’t been in her tiny rented flat for more than half an hour before she heard the insistent buzz of her doorbell and she grimaced with annoyance.
She had too much to do to waste time on a cold-caller. Or, worse, her neighbour from the flat upstairs, who had a habit of randomly showing up around