Deceit of Angels (7 page)

“Great!”
said Ben.

Anna
tried to read Jason’s expression, but all she saw was his wonderful smile.

“It’ll
be lovely us all going there together,” said Mrs Wilby. Turning to Anna she
added, “I hope you’ve got a posh frock for the birthday dance!”

Anna
almost choked on her coffee.  “Birthday dance?”

Jason
gave a chuckle.  “Remember?  The dance my mother is holding at the Grange.”

“Well,
I’ve got a few nice evening dresses but they’re back in Wakefield,” said Anna.

“They’re
no good there, my dear,” laughed Mrs Wilby.

“I
didn’t think to bring anything formal,” said Anna pulling a face.

“Well,
it’s the one time we can all get dressed up,” said Mrs Wilby.

“Oh
dear, then I suppose my clogs and shawl will be out of the question.”

Jason
and Ben exchanged amused glances. 

“Not
to worry,” said Mrs Wilby.  “We’ll go into Bristol tomorrow and spend some time
shopping.  I do love shopping.”

Back
in her room, Anna tipped out the rubbish from the wastepaper basket and found
the crumpled letter.  She smoothed it out and read it again, anger pouring from
her as the words stung her once more.  And then she decided to destroy it,
after all, she couldn’t let Mrs Thompson find it and burning it would make her
feel better.  Anna made her way down to the kitchen.  There was no one about
since Mrs Wilby always took herself off to the lounge to watch telly after
their evening meal and Ben was working in the garden.

She
stooped down and took an ashtray from the cupboard.  Putting the ashtray in the
sink, she dropped the letter in the base, collected the matches and set fire to
it.  As the orange flame consumed each part, she felt purged from all the
pain. 

Anna
smiled as she rinsed the black flaky scraps down the plug-hole.

“Good
riddance to you,” she said, grinning.  It was then she heard the high pitched
wailing noise coming from the left-hand side of the kitchen. At first she
looked up in bewilderment at the round, cream coloured box, situated to one
side of the cooker and then realisation dawned on her.  “Oh, bugger!” she said
and looked towards the hallway knowing that Jason would be able to hear the
smoke alarm in the office.   

Anna
dragged a chair across the floor and jumped up onto it, grabbing the folded
newspaper from the work surface and using it to cause a draught.

Jason
burst in at the door.  He glanced around the kitchen and then at Anna.  “What
are you doing?” he shouted, trying to make himself heard above the din.

Anna
suspended her actions and stared down at him.  She could barely hear him. 
“This stupid alarm went off.  I’m trying to stop it,” she shouted back.

Suddenly
the alarm did stop and a wonderful silence filled the room.  Anna stayed up on
the chair wondering how she was going to get out of this one.  Jason strode
across the floor and helped her down.

“And
why was the alarm going off?” he said.  Anna shrugged her shoulders and pressed
her lips together in a non-committal grimace.  Jason glanced around the
kitchen.  “Something has been burning, I can smell it.  What on earth have you
been doing?”

“It
must have been the toast I made myself.  Never was any good at cooking.”  She
began to feel silly. 

He
narrowed his eyes.  “Toast! But we’ve just had dinner.”  He moved the chair
back to its place and spotted the ashtray in the sink.  “What’s this doing
here?” 

“Mrs
Thompson must have left it there until she had time to wash it,” said Anna, her
mouth drying somewhat.

“Who
would have used one today?  No one’s been to the house.”

Anna
thought rapidly.  “Must be Ben’s.”

“I
don’t think so.  Ben can only smoke outside or in his room and he has to clean
his own ashtrays.”

Anna
thought again.  “Mr Tyler came yesterday.  I remember having to get him one.  I
must have forgotten to take it out of the office and Mrs Thompson probably
found it this morning when she came to clean.”  Jason was about to make another
comment when Anna said hurriedly, “I think I’ll go for a walk, unless you want
me to do anything for you?”

Jason
didn’t answer so she decided to make her escape.

As
she turned to go, he caught her by the arm and put his hands on her shoulders. 
“Anna, I hope you regard me as your friend as well as your employer.”

“Of
course I do.  You’re a very kind and generous man and I’ve enjoyed working for
you.”

“Oh!
A very kind and generous man.  Is that how you think of me?”

“Well,
yes.  Also considerate and pleasant and...”

“Very
nice into the bargain!  How boring,” he interrupted her. “Look Anna, I know
lying is sometimes necessary, I’ve been in business long enough to know that. 
But what I want to know is why are you lying about the ashtray?”

Anna
felt the colour rush to her face and she gulped down a large lump in her
throat.  “What do you mean?”

He
paused for a few seconds.  When he answered he spoke gently, as though he
didn’t want to hurt her feelings.  “You were right, Mr Tyler did come to see me
yesterday and he has smoked heavily for years.  However, I happen to know he’s
under strict instructions from the doctor to give it up.  So, yesterday he
didn’t smoke for the whole two hours he was with me.”  Tears were stinging
Anna’s eyes, but she shook them away.  Jason pressed home his argument.  “What
I’m trying to say, is that I know you were burning something and a good guess
would be the letter that came this morning.  Now I don’t understand why you would
want to burn a letter, unless it’s caused you a great deal of pain.  As a
friend, I’d like you to know that I’m here, if you have a problem you would
like to talk about.  We think of ourselves as a family, Anna. That means we
care for each other.”

“I
know.  And thanks for the offer, but, honestly, there isn’t anything that needs
talking over.”  He gave a sigh and dropped his hands from her shoulders.  “I’ll
go for that walk now, if you don’t mind.”

After
she had left, Jason stood in the kitchen for a few minutes longer, deep in
thought.  He looked up at the smoke detector.  “Toast, indeed!  But we shall
see.  We shall see.”

The
walk to the village took ten minutes, but for Anna it seemed like a few seconds
as her mind spun with her tumbled thoughts.  She must be careful in the future,
otherwise Jason would become suspicious that she was hiding something.  Perhaps
he already was?  She heard the hooting of a car horn and turned her head to
look, surprised and delighted when she saw Kiera sitting in her car on the far
side of the road. 

She
ran across and Kiera opened the passenger door.  “Jump in.  I’ll give you a
lift home.”

“Is
everything OK?” asked Anna, sliding into the seat and buckling her belt. 

Kiera
visited the house only when she came to collect Hollie and Anna had got into
the habit of sitting in the kitchen with her while she waited.  Hollie always
left it to the last moment to collect her things together so there was ample
opportunity for a chat.  Anna found Kiera a fascinating person and was bowled
over by her stories about her childhood in Canada, her education at Berkeley
College in California and the year she had backpacked around the world with
three friends.  In contrast, Anna’s life seemed very domestic. 

“I’ve
come to see Jason,” said Kiera.  “To talk about the divorce.”  

Anna
glanced at her and noticed her features turn grey, her eyes become even
darker.  It must be an awful business going through a divorce, thought Anna
grimly.  She wondered what her experience would be if she and Dave ever
divorced.  She knew it might be worse, since Dave could be very vindictive when
he wanted to.  For a terrible brief moment she really wished she were a widow. 

But
then sanity returned and she dismissed the thought from her mind.  “Is Hollie
looking forward to visiting tomorrow?  Jason is thinking of taking her to the
zoo,” said Anna, smiling.

Kiera
paused for a brief moment before answering.  “Actually, she’s gone there
today.”  Seeing Anna’s expression she gave a gentle chuckle.  “Don’t worry, I’m
sure Jason will find somewhere else to take her.”

They
had arrived at the front of the house and Kiera parked the car.  They decided
to walk round the back since Anna knew that Mrs Wilby would have the kitchen
door open and it made for a much easier access.  As they entered the garden
they saw Ben engrossed in putting a coat of creosote on the fence.  His
expression showed surprise when he saw Kiera, but he waved his arm in a warm
welcome.

Mrs
Wilby was just putting some maids of honour in the oven in readiness for
Hollie’s visit and was equally taken aback as the two women stepped over the
threshold.

“Kiera’s
here to see Jason,” explained Anna.

“He’s
still in the office,” said Mrs Wilby.  “Would you both like some coffee?  Or
there’s cold drinks in the fridge.”

They
declined the offer and Kiera followed Anna through the hallway and into the
office.  Jason was on the phone as they entered and his flow of conversation
abruptly stopped at Kiera’s entrance. 

Making
a polite excuse to the person at the end of the phone, he replaced the
receiver.  “This is an unexpected visit,” he said dryly. 

Anna
wasn’t sure if he was pleased or angry, but she didn’t wait to find out. 
Closing the door behind her, she made her way back to the kitchen. 

“Well,
I’d like to be a fly on the wall in there,” said Mrs Wilby, laughing.

CHAPTER
FOUR

J
ason
felt irritated.  There was no reason for Kiera to visit him like this, their
solicitors were in negotiations and everything would be sorted out in due
course.

“Would
you like to sit down?” he said quietly.

She
took a seat opposite him and realised with some amusement that he preferred to
stay behind his desk.  How typical, she thought, he has to stay in control, as
though he was still the boss.

“I’ve
come to discuss the divorce settlement and I want to…”

Jason
didn’t let her finish.  “For goodness sake! Did you have to drive all the way
from Bristol to talk about that?  We’ve already discussed the terms and I’ve
instructed my solicitor.  You should hear…”

This
time it was Kiera’s turn to interrupt.  “You don’t have to jump down my
throat!  Anyway, I don’t want your damned money!”

He
sat forward in surprise.  “What on earth are you talking about?  What are you
going to live on if you don’t accept the settlement?”  Suddenly he realised.  “Oh,
I understand.  Peter wants to look after you.  Well, good for him!  However, I
would like to support my own daughter, if you don’t mind.”  

Kiera
looked down at her hands clenched together on her lap.  “Of course you must
support Hollie,” she said softly.

Jason
let out an exasperated breath.  “OK, if that’s the way you want it, I’ll tell
my solicitor that the arrangements have changed.”  He watched his wife
curiously for a few seconds before asking, “I suppose you and Peter will marry
as soon as the divorce goes through?”

Kiera
looked up and he was stunned to see large tears brim from her eyes and roll
slowly down her cheeks. 

“Peter’s
gone back to his wife,” she said almost in a whisper.

At
first Jason felt elation but then realised that that was unworthy of him. 

“I
see,” he said.  He puzzled for a moment.  “I don’t understand.  Then you’ll
need the money.  Unless you’re thinking of going back to work full-time?”

He
knew that Kiera had found herself a part-time job as an accountant at a
building society, but he couldn’t imagine that she was earning enough money to
keep herself in the manner she liked.

“No,
I’m not thinking of going back full-time.  In fact, I’m contemplating giving up
work altogether.”            

Jason
shook his head in bewilderment.  “What’s this all about, Kiera?  Why have you
come to see me?  Do you want sympathy for the way Peter has treated you?  Well,
I am sorry but I can’t do anything about that.”

“Jason,
I’m ill and I might die.”  Her voice was almost inaudible, but he heard.

It
was as if her statement had hit him physically and he jerked back in his chair.

“What…?”

She
gave a faint smile.  “I’ve been diagnosed with a brain tumour.  It’s
inoperable, so they’re going to try alternative treatment.”

She
said it in such a matter-of-fact way that at first, he found it difficult to
speak.  After a couple of stunned seconds he rose slowly from his chair. 
Taking another one from its place by the wall, he dragged it across the carpet
and came to sit closer to her. 

He
leaned forward and took her hands in his.  “I’m so very, very sorry,” he said
gently.

She
looked down at his hands closed round hers.  “It’s a long time since you’ve
held my hand.”