Chapter Nineteen – The Light Is Extinguished

From Tom, he wanted reassurance that Mr Edison was not just interested in his mother’s money. Looking out for her interests was something he had always done, and this was not about to stop. But he liked Tom Edison more than he had ever liked Derek Mills.

Helen had remained silent throughout the whole thing, and had an extremely pensive look in her eyes. I had not realised – for how could I? – what she had given up to look after her nephew, and how she had only taken the respite option of bringing him here when she had really had to. She loved her sister’s son,but the fact remained that he was her sister’s son and in bringing him up she had sacrificed the chance to have her own family – something she really would have loved. There had been opportunities over the years, but when the men heard how she put this lad first, they backed away and lost interest. She supposed that meant they truly had not wanted her or reciprocated her feelings. When really it showed her to be the selfless person she really was. I was certainly viewing her through different eyes to when I first met her on my interview day. She had appeared so closed off and it had not been until the day she got her heel caught in the car park grate that the cracks in her personal armour had begun to show.

I now appreciated the woman and her strength of character and could totally understand why her Grandfather would hand over the company to her.

The appearance of the old man at the door came as a surprise to all of us, and we all seemed to step forward to offer him a chair, while he leaned onto a walking cane and laughed a low rasping laugh. He wanted us all to go back to the room we had been in earlier. We were standing and Maggie was perhaps a bigger surprise, since Derek’s demise, she seemed to have lost several years in age and grown a few inches in height. She no longer wore the frightened rabbit expression, and strode from the room as a woman with purpose. She followed her Grandfather and in turn we all followed the pair of them back along the passageway.

Mr Watt crossed the office and sat one more time in his chair – and maybe I was wrong, but he seemed smaller than he had done – and older, if that were possible. Maybe seeing Derek shooting himself had actually taken much more from him than we had first thought and he wasn’t as robust as he believed himself to be.

Most of his later years were not spent as a ‘pipe and slippers, pottering about in the garden’ he had kept going and going. There were things to do, a company to run, employees to overlook and grandchildren – and indeed their children – to care for. As for him, well Mrs Pipe saw to everything he needed, he really did not know what he would have done without the woman.

Now he allowed Helen to arrange the paperwork for him, and as we were all given a copy to read – this time my husband had joined us also – the telephone rang in the hall and Mrs Pipe could be heard picking up the receiver. She put her head around the door and called for Helen to take the call, so she left the room. Mr Watt sat back in his chair and shut his eyes for a few minutes while we waited for Helen to return. When she did, she went to Maggie and took her hands, telling her sister she was free. For Derek had died en route to the hospital. As we all took this in, Lorraine had crossed to the desk and was gently shaking Mr Watt. But he now had seen and heard essentially what he needed to and this had been enough for Mr James Watt.

His light had finally been extinguished.