Page 8 of Midnight Enemy

They exchange glances. “A cafe sounds kinda nice,” Dani admits. “It would be cool to be able to get a coffee while you’re down there.”

I stare at them, shocked. “You’re not serious?”

They all look a tad embarrassed.

“We understand your feelings, of course,” George says. He’s an accountant, the same as my father was. They worked together to run the commune’s finances and were also best friends, and I think of George like a favorite uncle. I know he’s under pressure to get things sorted right now. “But we think it’s possible to retain the spiritual nature of the site, even with a few developments.”

“It would be great to have a proper path down to the Waiora,” Lee, the Head Caretaker, says.

“And several of us have slipped and nearly fallen off the stepping stones,” Dani adds. “A bridge would be terrific, especially if we didn’t have to foot the bill.”

“A bridge would mean that resort guests would be able to cross easily to our side,” I point out. “They’d disrupt my classes.”

“We could add a signpost saying private property,” Lee suggests. “Or even a locked gate.”

He’s right, and I can see that they want me to agree. But I can’t get rid of the anxiety that’s lying heavy in my stomach like a stone.

“I don’t trust him,” I snap. “He gave this spiel about being respectful and honoring the nature of the site, but once he owned the land he could do anything he wanted to it. He could turn it into a flashy tiled pool with spotlights and disco music and a restaurant and bring bus loads of guests there with their fake tans and designer bikinis and coiffured hairdos.”

They all look uncomfortable at that suggestion, because they know I’m right.

“Look,” George says, “we all know that Blake and Spencer hated one another’s guts. But from what I’ve heard, although they can be ruthless in business, the Cavendishes are always true to their word.”

“Are they really billionaires?” Dani asks.

“Yep,” George says.

My eyes nearly fall out of my head. “Orson is a billionaire?”

“Nine zeroes in his bank account,” George confirms.

I’m astonished. “But he’s so young. Is his family rich?”

“I’m not sure,” George replies. “Spencer, his father, obviously is. He runs Cavendish Finance and is supposed to be brilliant. Orson and his friend Kingi Davis co-run Te Aranui Developments. It means ‘the great path’, and it’s a property business. Apparently the two of themare completely ruthless and make an absolute fortune. But they are honorable. I think we can trust them.”

The thought of him being mega wealthy makes me uncomfortable. In my experience, rich people don’t stop until they get what they want. They assume everyone has a price, and they’re usually right, which I hate.

George leans forward. “The thing is… I think we can push Orson for more than fifteen million.”

My eyes widen. It’s already a small fortune for us, and his greed shocks me. “More?”

“I think he’ll be prepared to go to higher. This site would be hugely attractive to his guests, plus preserving the Waiora for local iwi would mean great PR for him.”

I know he’s right because Orson said the same thing. But the thought of pushing him to pay more than his already generous offer leaves a horrible taste in my mouth.

But the others are excited by this. “Higher than fifteen million?” Richard says. “Seriously?”

“We could finally get the new schoolroom built,” Dani states.

“And rebuild the fence around the outside,” Lee confirms. “I’ve repaired it so much it consists of more wire and tape than wood.”

“We could double the size of the retreat,” George says. “Get twice as many women and children to stay. Think of the good we could do, Scarlett.” His eyes are earnest. He’s done more than most others here bar my father to better the commune, and I trust him implicitly. And he’s not wrong.

I sit there, breathing fast, knowing he’s right and I need to consider Orson’s offer. But it goes against everything I’ve been brought up to believe.

“My father would be furious if he thought I was considering selling the Waiora to the Cavendishes,” I say desperately. “Shouldn’t his views count?”

“The problem is that his issue with Spencer Cavendish was personal,” Dani points out. “None of us knows what was at the root of it because he wouldn’t talk about it. Look, we all miss him terribly, but he’s gone, Scarlett. It’s incredibly sad, but it’s the truth, and we can’t change that. All we can do is move forward and do our best to keep the commune going.”

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