Brick by Brick

Part Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

Sammy looked at Clifford and hated that she felt so much sympathy for him. But she did. In front of her was a man who had been ruined. In the last two years he'd seen his oldest son die, then his mother, shortly followed by his other son blowing up so publicly, the fall out of which discredited the whole family, and their business in one hit.

He glossed over Margaret's role in everything, but she could tell that it cut him to the core, and he looked visibly shaken as he apologised to her for his family's behaviour towards her and Eleanor.

"I've never wanted apologies Clifford, all I've ever wanted was for Eleanor to keep in touch with her father's family...and that ended up biting me right on the arse."

He squirmed at that and she offered an apologetic smile, "I appreciate the olive branch, but you must see that it is too little too late."

Nodding he steepled his hands in front of him, "and I am not here expecting you to open doors for me, I am not here to manipulate you into doing what I want."

"But?"

He laughed, "I would love to see Eleanor, in the future when you're ready. I want to her to be part of my life more than anything." She noted that he said my and not our, and that made her sad for him for a moment. "But what I really want, why I wanted to see you...was to make sure that you both have what you need."

"I don't need anything from you. Though I appreciate your concern."

"You gave up everything to come here, to live with my son, and he was providing for you, securing your future."

"I gained more than I lost coming to London."

Smiling he leaned back in his seat, "I'm not saying that. But due to my other son all of the work and effort that Marcus put into life, to building and growing. He dreamed of retiring to Greece, he told me that before he died, that he wanted to buy a house on a beach and spend every day swimming in the sea."

Sammy bit her bottom lip, that sounded SO like Marcus, he held Greece in some sort of reverence, because he'd met her there, because it was all that was idyllic in his mind. The fact that he planned to return there made her want to smile...and cry, in equal measures. He was always so thoughtful, and he had loved her beyond any level she had ever expected.

"He would hate to see me step back and let you struggle. I had no idea what Daniel had been doing. Marcus was always so switched on, and whilst he never thought he'd die so young..." he took a gulp of emotion then continued. "He'd never predict that, but I KNOW that he was planning for the future, investing, saving. That was taken by..." He shook his head, "I don't even want to call him my son."

Sammy reached out and placed a hand on his, "if you have any doubt on your parenting skills look at Marcus and the girls. A bad egg is a bad egg. You can't blame yourself for that."

"I can blame myself for letting Margaret cover for him, excuse him, mother him. I won't speak to her whilst she supports him so unconditionally. She's telling the world that she is shunning me, as usual she needs to be on control, even now, as the world is falling apart around us."

Again Sammy smiled, "so you love your wife, to the level that Marcus loved me. He learned that from you. It wasn't all bad. Honestly. Don't be hard on yourself."

"It'll take a long time to get clear of all this, to not feel the guilt and regret I do. I want to absolve, as much as I can. You are a victim, and I can help."