Deceit of Angels (43 page)

“Well,
I think I’ll go and answer the call of nature,” said Nigel, rising from his
chair.

Sophia
and Jason were left alone.  “I’m afraid there were consequences,” said Sophia.

Jason
shook his head slowly.  “You might as well tell me everything.”

“She’s
expecting a baby.”

He
stared at her in disbelief.  “No, that’s impossible.  She told me she’d been…”

“Fitted
with the coil?” said Sophia.  Jason nodded.  “And she had been for some years. 
But she had it removed, when she realised that you’d like another child.”

He
gave a groan.  “Yes, I remember our discussion.”

Sophia
smiled sadly.  “She wanted to give you the news at Christmas.  As a very
special present.”

He
felt so wretched that nausea engulfed him.  “And because she did that for me,
she left herself vulnerable.  My poor sweetheart.”

Sophia
reached out and took his hand.  “But you must remember that this child could be
as much yours as his.”

“She
doesn’t know for certain?”

“No
Jason, she doesn’t.  How could she know?”

He
licked his lips.  “I’ve got to contact her.  Please, please Sophia, if you know
where she is then please tell me.” 

She
smiled but suddenly became serious.  “If I tell you where she is, you must
promise me something.”

“Anything!”

“Don’t
go putting any pressure on her.  She’s been through a lot and she needs to move
at her own pace.  You’re going to have to start at the beginning and win her
confidence and her heart all over again.”  Jason nodded slowly.  She studied
him, thinking.  “Anna told me about a letter she received from her husband
shortly after starting work for you?”

“Yes,
she burnt it.”

“Did
she tell you what was in it?”

“No,
not really, except that it wasn’t pleasant.”

“It
contained an indirect threat against you.” 

He
leaned forward, clenching his fists on the table.  “What!”

“I
said an indirect threat.  I believe he was trying to intimidate her by
threatening the man he believed took her away from him.  At the time it didn’t
matter since you weren’t together, but now circumstances are different.”

“He
won’t hurt me,” said Jason, giving a crooked smile.  “I’d like him to try.”

“That’s
as may be, but please remember that he doesn’t have to use his fists to hurt
either Anna or you, or even her boys.”  She sighed sadly.  “I’ve been a rape
counsellor for a very long time and of all the hundreds of women I’ve tried to
help, unfortunately I’ve lost three.”

“Lost?”
he queried.

Sophia
nodded.  “Two took an overdose and one cut her wrists.”

“Women
have actually committed suicide over what happened to them?”

“Oh
yes.  People often don’t realise the dreadful consequences of an assault on a
woman.  It devastates her life and can destroy her relationship with her
partner.  And sometimes it becomes too much for her to handle and she finds
another way to free herself from the pain.”

Jason
shook his head.  “I never realised this.”

“Men
often don’t.”  She paused and carefully folded her serviette.  “I reminded Anna
that she could have an abortion, but she turned it down flat.”

“She
would,” he sighed. 

“What
I’m trying to say is that Anna has somehow remained strong throughout all
this.  And I believe that the only thing that’s kept her going is that she
hopes this child is yours.  When you meet up with her, you must keep that hope
alive for her.”

“I
certainly will,” he whispered. 

Sophia
thought for a few seconds more but then nodded in satisfaction.  “She’s living
at the Grange with your mother.”

Jason had to
force himself to drive straight home and not go to the Grange.  Lying in bed
that night he formed a plan.  He needed to go to the main office in the morning
and talk to Graham but after that he would set off and this time he would not
phone beforehand.  He would make an unexpected visit and catch them unawares. 
He rolled over and pulled Anna’s pillow towards him, holding it close.   

He
had sensed a conspiracy many times, but had put it down to his imagination. 
Jason remembered his mother stumbling over her words at his birthday lunch. 
She hadn’t stammered at all, she had made a slip of the tongue, nearly saying
Anna’s name and had pulling herself up just in time.

His
mind drifted back to Christmas and his return from Singapore.  Things had been
very strained between Anna and him.  It was as if she had been repelled by
intimacy and he had assumed it was because she was seeing someone else!  Jason
gasped in horror.  Intimacy must have been so physically painful for her.  She
must have been bruised and hurting every time he made love to her and he hadn’t
even realised.  It had never crossed his mind that anything like that had
happened to her.  And then he remembered the night of the Christmas party when
he had totally misunderstood the situation.  He had thought she wanted to play
a little game, but in fact she was terrified of him because she thought he was
going to force himself on her.  He would never do that sort of thing, but after
what she had been through, she had reacted instinctively.

Sleep
came reluctantly and Jason was very relieved when morning came and he could
start his day.

“You’re
a little more cheerful this morning,” said Mrs Wilby.

“Am
I?” came back his vague reply.

“Must
be the lovely weather,” said Ben.

“Yes,
it is a beautiful day,” Jason agreed with a smile.

Hollie
poured milk over her cereal and watched as it turned a muddy brown colour. 
“That’s what you’ve been like,” she sniffed.  “Like a pond filled with dirty
water.”

Jason
looked up from the document he was reading.  “Have I?  Well, I’m hoping that
things will be different from now on.”  He threw the file into his briefcase
and snapped the catches shut.  “Are you ready, sweetie?  You don’t want to be
late for school.”

Hollie
gave him a withering look.  “Daddy, does it look like I’m wearing my uniform! 
It’s half-term!”

“Oh,
I didn’t realise that.  Well, I’d better get myself off.”

He
strode towards the door and gave a cheerful wave as he disappeared.  The others
watched him until he was out of sight.

“Something’s
afoot,” said Ben and then he glimpsed Natalie.  “Oh Lord, here comes the wet
weekend to spoil everything!”

Jason had a good
meeting with Graham, there were at least three contracts in the pipeline and if
Jason could pull them off, things would start looking up.  At first, Graham was
startled and then pleased that his business partner seemed more motivated. 
There was an earnest look on his face that he hadn’t seen for many months, an
energy and vitality that gave him hope. 

At
the conclusion of the discussion, Jason got up to go.  Why this idea suddenly
occurred to him he had no idea, but it was as if it jumped into his head.

“Did
anything strange happen at Christmas?”

Graham
stared at him in surprise.  “Strange?  In what way?”

Jason
tried to be nonchalant.  “Did anything happen that gave you cause for concern?”

His
partner gave a soft chuckle.  “Jason, I can barely remember what happened last
week, never mind at Christmas.”

“Well,
if anything does occur to you, then let me know.”

Zahra
was just clearing away the coffee cups and had been listening in on the
conversation.

“There
was that man in the car, Graham.”

“What
man in what car?” said Jason curiously.

“He
was parked across from the car park.  I noticed him about mid-morning.  Sitting
there for hours he was and I thought that very suspicious.  But then when I
looked sometime in the afternoon, he was gone.”

“He’d
driven away?”

“Oh,
no,” said Zahra.  “His car was still there, but he’d gone.”

“Thank
you, Zahra.  Don’t forget to send that fax, will you,” said Graham quietly. 
Zahra left the office muttering something about having worked there for years
and still couldn’t be trusted to do her job.  Graham smiled as he closed the
door after her.  “She won’t forgive me for that insult for months.”

“Do
you know anything about a man in a car?” said Jason, frowning.

“That’s
why I wanted to get rid of her so I could tell you.  I’d forgotten all about
him to be honest.  I was watching him too.  Couldn’t understand why he was
sitting there like that, but I didn’t want to jump to any conclusions.”

“And
you saw him leave his car?”

“Yes
I did and it made me quite jittery.  You see, Anna pulled up and parked in your
space as she normally did.  She set off walking towards the city centre and
that’s when this guy got out of his car.  It looked like he was following her.”

Jason
took in a big breath.  “You’re sure about this?”

“Well,
that’s what it looked like, but it might have been a complete coincidence.”

“But
he was parked there a long time?”

“Oh,
yes.  Zahra first noticed him about ten o’clock and Anna arrived about three. 
So he was there a good five hours.”

“You
didn’t see him come back?”

“No,
I left about six-thirty and his car was still there.  As was Anna’s, of
course.  And that’s when I came in on the Saturday morning and saw Anna’s car
still parked.  Gave me a terrible jolt, when I remembered that man.”

“I
take it he was gone by the time you came in Saturday morning?”

Graham
nodded.  “There was no sign of him.”

“What
kind of car was it?”

“A
dark blue BMW.”  Graham opened the office door for him.  “All just a
coincidence, thank goodness and no harm done.”

Jason
sat in his car for a while trying to absorb this new information.  Her husband
must have looked up the details of Harrington Rhodes and discovered the office
address.  That would be easy enough to find.  He would have assumed that she
worked there, since the family had been told not to tell him that she actually
worked in a small office in a private house.  He must have sat there hoping to
see her, perhaps when she left the building for lunch or to go home.  It was
just a terrible coincidence that Anna decided to go Christmas shopping that
afternoon.  If she hadn’t then his vigil would have been futile.  Reversing out
of his space, Jason headed for the Grange.

Jason drove up
the drive and parked in the forecourt, determined that he would not leave until
he had spoken with Anna and promised the protection and support he had failed
to give her in the past.  He entered the hall and taking off his sunglasses,
glanced up the stairs to the landing and then towards the parlour door
listening for voices.

Fran
was mopping the marble floor, humming a little tune. 

Jason
bent over her.  “Where is she, Fran?”

She
jumped with fright and staggered slightly, making him reach out to steady her.

“Who? 
Who?”

“You
sound like an owl!  I’m talking about my fiancée.  Where is she?”

The
look of horror on the young girl’s face made him smile.  “I don’t know who
you’re talking about, I’m sure sir!”

“Fran! 
I know you know.  So, come on and tell me.”

Margaret
appeared at the parlour door.  “Oh, for goodness sake, Jason.  Leave the poor
girl alone, you’re terrifying her.”

He
strode across to her.  “I’m not leaving until I see her!”

She
could see by the look on his face that he meant it.  “Very well, she’s in the
rose garden.”  As he turned to go she caught his arm.  “Be kind and gentle with
her!”

Jason
raised his eyebrows in surprise.  “I have no intention of being anything
else.”                    

Anna had spent
her most peaceful moments in the rose garden, sometimes bringing out her work
so that she could enjoy the late spring sunshine.  The garden was starting to
bloom and even at the end of May, the roses were showing their cascade of
vibrant colours.  It would soon be summer and she was filled with hope.  The
Grange had kept her safe and her secret was part of its fabric now.  Somehow
that seemed comforting.  That morning, her files and paperwork were scattered
over the small table Margaret had found for her.  She lifted her eyes from her
work and looked about her, blinking hard against the glare of the sun.  There
was someone coming along the path.  A man, but not John, he was too tall and
then with a muted cry she realised it was Jason.  Anna jumped to her feet and
headed for the kitchen door.  She didn’t get far.

Jason
increased his stride and caught up with her.  “Anna!  Please don’t run away. 
We must talk.”  She stopped and turned to face him.  His deep blue eyes looked
into hers with fierce determination.  “I know what happened.  About your
husband and what you went through.”  She turned her head away in
embarrassment.  “And I want to say sorry for hurting you and making the
situation worse.”  He raised her face with the edge of his forefinger.  “Please
say you forgive me for saying all those dreadful things.  I should have trusted
you and realised there was more to it.”  She closed her eyes as if she couldn’t
bear to look at him.  “Anna, in God’s name, please talk to me, before I go out
of my mind.”