Deceit of Angels (46 page)

For a
few seconds, anger flared in his eyes.  “That woman is unbelievable!”

“But
how did she know about my ex-husband?” she said, biting her lip anxiously.

“I’ve
no idea,” Jason said.  “Who actually knows about…?”

“Well,
besides you, me and my ex-husband, there’s only Nigel and Sophia.”

He
pursed his lips.  “Would you mind if I mentioned it to Nigel?  I’m having a
drink with him tomorrow evening.  He might have some inside information.”

Anna
felt much happier after telling Jason about Deborah’s cruel remarks.  Suddenly
she began to realise that sharing some burdens actually made the situation
easier.  Even so and despite the fact that her reunion with Jason had given her
added strength, she still couldn’t summon up the courage to tell him about
Dave’s visit or his threats against her.

At first, Nigel
was as much in the dark as Jason.

“I
can’t see how she would know.  Except that she’s a devious creature.”

“I’ll
drink to that,” said Jason, raising his glass.

Nigel
picked up a beer mat and turned it about between his fingers.  “Of course, if
you look at it logically, who would want to pass on information?”

Jason
thought for a moment.  “Not Anna and I.  And her ex-husband, I assume, doesn’t
know Deborah.  So, that seems to leave you and Sophia.”

Nigel
pressed his lips together and continued playing with the beer mat.  After a
short while he said,  “I think we can count out Sophia, so it’s down to me.”

“I
don’t think so!  Why would you want to pass on any information to that woman?”

“I
passed confidential information on to you,” he said, grimacing.

“Don’t
be too hard on yourself.  You did it with the best of intentions and I’m glad
you did.”

Nigel
threw the mat down on the table.  “Glad you feel like that.”

Jason
was in no doubt.  “I might have gone on indefinitely, not knowing Anna’s true
circumstances or, perish the thought, about the baby.”

“I
take it you’ll be having a test to establish that you’re the father?”

He
was answered with an expression of disdain and a sharp retort.  “I will not! 
The baby is mine, I’m sure of it and so is Anna.  We’re going to leave it
there.  The child will have my name and in due course we intend to marry.”

Nigel
smiled.  “Good for you.  I hoped you’d say that.  I’m up to my ears in
paternity suits.” 

Jason
watched him with interest.  “So, go on.  Why do you think you’ve passed on
information to Deborah?”

Nigel
leaned back in his chair and sighed.  “I’m not thinking of me personally.  I’ve
been going over the staff in my office that have to sign a confidentiality
agreement.  Quite a few of them have been with me some time, so I feel fairly
happy with them.  But there are at least two of them who have been with me only
a short time.  I think I’ll check them out and see what I come up with.”

Jason
opened his eyes wide with surprise.  “You think you have a spy in your midst?”

“How
very MI5.  But it’s a possibility and it’s better if I eliminate them.”

“And
if you don’t find a culprit?”

“Then
I’ll ring Deborah and ask her outright where she got her information
from!”        

Anna was
interested in Nigel’s notion of a ‘spy’ and waited eagerly for further
developments. However, she had decided to ignore Dave’s threats to her and the
baby.  She grimaced when she thought about her marriage and how alone she had
been.  In the past, she had never been able to tell Dave anything, or share
anything with him.  He had been too disinterested in her to make the effort and
if she did attempt to bare her soul, he would tell her to ‘stop whining’. 

Of
course, she now realised how much he could control her and how well he did know
her.  Like threatening to apply for access to the baby.  He knew that that was
enough to distress her and spoil her happiness.  And she knew for certain that
that was his motive.  He resented her happiness.  But he was hundreds of miles
away in Wakefield and she was sure that he wouldn’t make a journey down to
Bristol in September, just to verify that the baby was his.  It was all bluff
and nothing more than empty threats.  The baby was Jason’s and her ex-husband
was out of her life forever. 

With
these thoughts firmly entrenched, Anna continued with her life happily
preparing for the baby’s arrival and wading through the pile of paperwork that
accumulated with every wedding she planned.  It was now mid-July and there was
only six weeks to go before the birth.  She had received a postcard from the
twins in Benidorm and when they returned from their holiday, Martyn was coming
to Bristol to work for Harrington Rhodes for the summer.  Chris had opted to
stay in Wakefield to work for an engineering company and thereby continue his
gliding interests in Rufford.

She
and Jason had bought all the necessary baby things and although she had to
prevent Margaret from trimming up the Moses basket in blue lace, she felt
contented and ready.  The doctor had been more than pleased with her progress,
but he wouldn’t make his decision about a home delivery for another month.

Jason
hadn’t been surprised that Anna wanted to have her baby at the Grange, but he
did share his mother’s misgivings.

“It
doesn’t sound safe, sweetheart,” he frowned.  “What happens if anything goes
wrong?”

Anna
turned on him in annoyance.  “Why does everyone assume that something is going
to go wrong!”

He
smiled and held up his hands in defeat.  “OK, OK, you win.  Have the baby here,
as long as I can be present.”

“At
the birth?”

“Absolutely.”

“That
will be interesting.”

But during the
next two weeks Anna began to believe that happiness was like a soap bubble. 
Very beautiful but very fragile and liable to be popped at any moment.  And as
the saying goes, bad news comes in threes.

The
first thing that happened was that Tess, Margaret’s golden retriever, passed
away peacefully in her sleep.  Irene found her one morning, lying in her
basket, her head over the side.  She hadn’t been well for quite a few months
and a visit to the vet had confirmed that she was going blind and her liver was
failing.  Margaret rejected the vet’s suggestion of having her put down, as she
believed that if she wasn’t suffering then she should live out her life until
its natural end.

Anna
missed her a great deal.  Tess had followed her around continually and had
often lain at her feet in the rose garden, while she worked.  All the household
of the Grange attended her funeral held in the pet cemetery on the estate. 
Hollie came with her father and together they placed some wild flowers on the
mound of earth.

Jason
thought this a good opportunity to tell his daughter about the baby.  Anna’s
reunion with Hollie brought tears to his eyes as he watched them hugging each
other.  And then there was the excitement of showing her all the baby things
and telling her their plans for a wedding, including the proposed shopping trip
for her bridesmaid’s dress.

“When
will it be?” she asked, jumping up and down.

Anna
didn’t know how to answer and turned to Jason for support.

“Oh,
after the baby, sweetie.  Perhaps January or February?” he cast a hopeful
glance at Anna who smiled and nodded.

But
then news arrived that Fergus Macintosh, Jason’s father-in-law had also died.

“I
remember he was ill,” said Anna, cuddling up in bed with Jason on one of his
weekend visits.

He
nodded.  “When I last talked to Gaynor, she said that he didn’t have long.  The
poor lady, to lose her daughter and then her husband.”  He slipped his arm
round her.  “I’ll be flying across for the funeral with Ben, but we’ll be away
only for as long as it takes.  Four days at the most.”

“Shall
I come with you?”

He
turned over and his gaze swept over her swollen body.  “I don’t think there’s a
plane big enough to carry you!”

She
hit him with a pillow.  “Thank you, kind sir.  Isn’t it bad enough that I feel
like a beached whale!”

His
laughter echoed round the room.  He pulled her close and kissed her hair.

“I think
you look beautiful.  Although I’m looking forward to getting my arms right
round you again.”  He chuckled at her expression but then became more serious. 
“No, I think you’d better stay here.  I don’t think an airline would be happy
about carrying someone in your condition on such a long flight.  And you don’t
want this baby to be born Canadian, do you?”

“I
suppose not.  Is Hollie going with you?”

“I’ve
told her about Granddad Macintosh and she had a little cry.  But she didn’t say
anything about going so I decided not to mention it.  She’s barely got over her
mother’s death.”

Jason and Ben
left for Vancouver two days later.  It really would be a quick visit as they
only planned to attend the funeral and then fly straight back.  Jason’s
business was doing very well and he didn’t want to be away for too long, as
well as not wanting to leave Anna now that she was starting her ninth month. 
But it was while Jason was in Canada that the third and most devastating event
occurred.

Anna
had had a very busy day and the mid-week wedding had been tiring.  She was glad
when the guests had departed and the Grange fell quiet once more.  It had been
a gloriously hot day and for the bride and groom that had been marvellous but
for Anna, the heat had only made her condition more uncomfortable.  Her back
ached and she needed to keep going to the toilet as the baby was now sitting on
her bladder.  Jason phoned in the late afternoon and it was wonderful to hear
his voice and also hear that Mrs Macintosh was bearing up well.  She was
surrounded by some amazing friends and neighbours who were all rallying round
to give her support.

After
his call, Anna climbed the stairs to her room for a lie down.  She made herself
comfortable on the bed and stared up at the ceiling, smiling at the fact that
she only slept in Jason’s room when he stayed overnight and for the rest of the
time she would sleep in her own room.  It was as if she had two lives.  She was
just about to doze off when there was a gentle knock on the door.  She called a
soft ‘come in’ and was surprised to see Fran standing on the threshold.

“Madam
says can you go down to the parlour, miss.”

Anna
struggled to her feet.  “Of course.  What’s happened?  Is it Mr Harrington?”

“I
don’t think so, miss.  But Mrs Harrington doesn’t seem very pleased.”

Anna
made her way down to the parlour where Margaret was standing by the fireplace. 
She looked up as Anna entered the room.

“I’ve
just had a phone call.  And what I’ve heard has really disturbed me.”

Feeling
alarmed, Anna took a seat on the couch.  “You’d better tell me,” she said, her
heart in her mouth.

“I’ve
been told…that the baby you’re expecting…might not be my son’s…might not be a
Harrington.”

Anna
felt her mouth dry up.  “Who told you that?”

“It
doesn’t matter.  But I want to know the truth.  Is that my son’s child?”

Indignation
welled up inside her.  “Of course it is!  Whoever you’ve been talking to has
got it all wrong.  Who were they?”

“Is
there a chance that this baby might be another man’s?” Margaret asked, brushing
the question aside.

“N…No. 
No, of course not!  That’s a terrible thing to say.”

Margaret
came to sit beside her.  “Anna, I told you before that I thought you faithful
but not truthful.  I need to know the truth now.”

“I…I
know it’s Jason’s.  Oh God, who would say such terrible things?”

“I’ve
been looking forward so much to another grandchild, a grandson to carry on the
family name.  Jason is the last and if he doesn’t have a son, then that’s the
end of the line.  The Grange will go to Hollie and I doubt she’ll stay a
Harrington once she’s grown.”

“This
is Jason’s child,” Anna whispered.

Margaret
wasn’t happy with her reassurances.  “You and Jason had a fall out at Christmas
and that’s when this child must have been conceived.  I want to know if you had
an affair and Jason was right all along?”

“I
didn’t have an affair.  It wasn’t like that.”

“Like
what?”

“It
wasn’t an affair.”

Margaret
pulled back from her in horror.  “What was it then?  A one-night stand?  A
fling?”

“No!
No!”

Margaret’s
expression told her everything.  “Anna, you’ve become very dear to me over the
last year and your help in the business has been invaluable.  But if you’ve
lived here under false pretences, if you’ve taken advantage of my kindness and
hospitality then I cannot tolerate that.”

“I
wouldn’t do that,” said Anna, turning desperate eyes towards her.