Janus the Arrival (The Janus Trilogy Book 1) (21 page)

   
For the rest of that week Duke William and
his beautiful companion were completely inseparable, day and night. They
visited the same Mayfair Casino for at least an hour each evening and the two
of them were always greeted courteously by the doormen,
who would immediately lead them straight to the playing area. Once
there, the Duke was able to purchase his chips for the nights gambling before
heading for the bar, where he’d order an expensive brandy for himself and a vodka
and orange with ice and a slice for Vicky.

   
‘That’s on the house today sir,’ said the
barman, in an American accent on one particular occasion.

    
‘Thank you very much young man,’ replied
the Duke, who always appreciated good customer care and manners when used.
Before long they were busy playing their usual pattern of roulette tables,
which were generally available to mainstream punters, although there were a set
of exclusive tables set aside in an adjacent room. It was only here, that a
select few were able to play with the correct clearances by management. There
was no upper limit in place on these tables, and certain allowances could also
be provided, following full approval, where required. The majority of clientele
found playing those tables were usually the infinitely rich, who’d have to
maintain nerves of steel on some occasions, yet every so often, a loud mouthed
punter from next door would be allowed in to play a game or two. These would
usually be taken to the cleaners, before being hastily removed and asked never
to return again. It wasn’t worth asking what happened to those who chose not to
take such advice, but everyone knew what the outcome would likely be. It was a
known fact that no club could operate without some sort of scam going on, and
this place was no exception. Duke William was no fool, as he totally understood
the rules. He was undoubtedly glad that he possessed a good deal of common
sense, compared to some of his associates who’d fallen by the wayside in
previous years. Most of these had been very nice people but had made the silly
mistake of trying to increase their fortunes and failed miserably as a result.
The real trick was to decide on a limit each evening, and once this money had
gone, then that would be a sensible time to stop. In sticking to this simple
formula, Duke William not only enjoyed playing the tables each night, but also
won small amounts on several occasions. Whenever he took the opportunity to tot
this up, it showed that year-on-year, he roughly broke even, give or take a few
pounds here and there. This specific night had been one of the more prosperous
ones that he’d had for a while, and therefore both he and Vicky were able to
sit back and drink vintage Champagne, as a black cab drove them back home to Chelsea.
Vicky had hardly stepped in through the front door before she started to shed
her clothing. Poor Duke William just sighed, and felt a definite stirring down
below, as he followed the young nymphomaniac along the hallway, through to the
main bedroom that she’d nicknamed ‘Willy’s Playground.’

It
had already turned into one of those nights, as Dana turned on the radio but
still failed to concentrate properly. She’d sat in front of the television for
most of the evening and still hadn’t got a single clue as to what was happening
on the screen. Something very serious was nagging away at the back of her mind,
and she really couldn’t relax until she worked out what it was. If she’d been
in Vicky’s shoes, what did she think would be her next move? Dana was becoming
extremely agitated with the whole thing. It was a good job she lived alone;
otherwise her partner would have already caught the full force of the pent-up
frustration she was currently going through. She wondered if she was maybe
trying a little too hard, and so decided to take a few steps back, in order to
look at the whole scenario from a completely different angle. This had
unquestionably worked in the past, so he hoped it would do so again.

   
‘First of all, starting with some of the
facts that she already knew, Vicky desperately wanted to destroy three of the
Dra-Na-Zee offspring.’ She said, talking herself through it. ‘One has already
been removed from the game plan, which left two children, one of which has
already been through an aborted attempt, which had almost worked.’ She
continued out loud. Taking a mouthful of cold tea, and pulling a face as she
swallowed it, Dana wondered if she and the Fed’s had assumed too much perhaps.
They were already keeping a close watch on Rachel and Danny, which was fine by
all accounts, but the third child was supposedly reported as being well looked
after by his grandparents. From what they’d been told from their enquiries, the
youngster was living under tight security, allegedly! She suddenly felt
terribly guilty for a while, because neither she nor her colleagues had even
bothered to speak to the Duke and Duchess of Findon. They needed to inform
these people properly. They had a duty to provide the true facts about the
possible danger they believed them to be in, and a least check out how good
their security system actually was, rather than just take their word for it.
Having always acted on impulse, and been proved right more times than she’d
been told she’d been wrong, Dana immediately disappeared into the spare room.
After a bit of rummaging around and swearing loudly when she banged her head on
the edge of one of the shelves, she emerged victorious a few seconds later,
holding a map of West Sussex in her hand. She’d now made her mind up, and was
more than ready to get going once again.

The
Duke phoned his wife from the London home, with the clear intention of
informing her of his impending return to the manor.

   
‘Hello dear! I assume everything’s ticking
over nice and evenly at your end?

   
‘Yes Will! All appears to be well so far.
We did have a slight feeding problem with one of the new-born lambs over in
field three, but that was soon sorted out without too much difficulty. Mike was
on hand and attended to it quite quickly, along with one of the new farm hands
that he recently hired. That should keep him sweet for a while, as he’s been
moaning about a lack of resources for a couple of months now.’

   
‘Good! That’s alright then. He does like to
have a moan in order to get things off his chest, but at least he says it like
it is. He’s a good man, and we really can’t afford to lose a man like that.
I’ll be leaving London shortly, but I’m also bringing along a young lady called
Vicky, who you’ll be pleased to hear can take over immediately from that more
than useless Ivana. She doesn’t have a clue about being a nanny. I know you’ll
like her, and I’m sure you’ll both get on like a house on fire.’ His wife
remained silent for a slight moment, before eventually replying.

   
‘I’ll inform Ivana that her replacements
been found. The woman’s been driving me mad lately, and believe it or not,
she’s had her bags packed for the last two weeks anyway. I certainly won’t be
missing her, that’s for sure.’

   
‘Well I effectively ran into Vicky by pure
chance. She’d just been to an interview for a short term job in London, just a
short distance away from our place in Chelsea. Evidently, she was doing this in
order to bide her time, until a vacancy arose such as ours. Fate was certainly
on our side for a change, and I’m telling you now, she’s exactly the sort of
person we need.’

   
‘She’s properly skilled at what she does,
is she?’ queried the Duchess, sounding more than a little concerned.

    
‘Oh yes! She certainly is that,’ he
replied.

    
‘Well I look forward to seeing the pair of
you later. I know that Charlie will be extremely pleased to hear he’s getting a
decent nanny at long last.’

   
Having hung up, Duke William smiled across
at Vicky who lay like a vixen, and looked very mischievous, as she was fully
stretched out stark naked on top of the bed covers. Recognising the randy look
that was always so evident in his eyes, she displayed her charms a little
further, while staring back in anticipation. The bulge in the Duke’s trousers
already proved that he was interested, and he didn’t have any other option than
to watch her teasing him. She thrust her breasts forward with both hands and
then slowly opened her legs to give him a full frontal view of what else she
had on offer. He felt the stirring in his loins growing even further, and he
gazed on wantonly at her succulent red nipples, which had now risen completely.
He knew they’d be as hard as marbles by now, and he couldn’t wait to get in
there.

   
‘Well I guess that’s all sorted out my
darling.’ he laughed. ‘Welcome to the family my little temptress. I do believe
we’ll be seeing quite a bit more of each other in the future,’ he added, just
before he dived headlong onto the bed beside her.

   
‘It’s exactly what I wanted.’ she told him.
‘A girl like me couldn’t ask for anything more.’ she replied. As he desperately
began unbuttoning his shirt, while she worked frantically on removing the
leather belt that still held his trousers up. She’d have a good use for that
later.

Dana
was more than impressed with the security arrangements, having just followed
the full extent of the perimeter fence before finally driving up and entering
the grounds. Gazing up at the camera that appeared to be monitoring her
progress along the concrete drive, as she headed in the direction of the
elegant old English manor standing just ahead, Dana was extremely pleased to be
greeted in person by the Duchess de Pre’ as she stepped from the car. After
getting out, she quickly stretched her legs, following the long, but rather
pleasant drive. The woman standing before her was a lot plumper than she’d
pictured her to be, and Dana couldn’t help but notice how her two front teeth
protruded from the front of her mouth. She was also surprised when the woman
spoke to her in a high quavering voice, which didn’t really go with the way she
looked. The Duchess was dressed in the typical, stereo-type clothing that would
be worn by someone who worked on a farm. Urging Dana to follow her around the
side of the huge household, she immediately ushered the policewoman into the
kitchen and then asked her to wait just a moment. The Duchess then sat on one
of the wooden chairs and expertly removed the heavy green Wellington boots that
she wore on her feet. Having done so, and looking a little relieved, she then
stood back up and placed her waxed jacket on a brass hook on the back of the
door. Once that had been done, she then turned to face the cook, who Dana could
see was busy preparing vegetables for the evening meal.

   
‘I wonder if you’d be so kind as to prepare
a fresh pot of tea Sarah, and then bring it into the main drawing room when
it’s ready please.’ The young cooks reply was full of respect, as Dana humbly
allowed the Duchess to lead the way, and promptly followed her into a large
room further along the corridor. The first thing that Dana noticed when
entering, was the whole room appeared to be hung wall-to-wall with a massive
collection of paintings, all of which looked as if they were extremely valuable
in one way or another.

   
‘Duchess! I’d just like to thank you for
giving me this time.’ Dana stated.
 

   
‘My colleague told me how you’d insisted
that you could always find time for the police when he phoned, and that’s very
much appreciated, I can assure you.’

   
‘Oh please do call me Anna.’ she instantly
responded. ‘It’s such a drag being called Duchess all the time.’

   
Feeling easily relaxed in her company, Dana
briefed Anna de Pre’ on the real reason for her visit. Just over an hour later,
full to bursting with tea and cherry cake, Dana waved farewell and apologised
for not being able to stop for her offer of dinner and a chance to meet Duke
William. According to what she’d been told during part of the conversation, he
was going to be bringing the new nanny up from London with him. Grabbing the
opportunity to meet Charlie, who was busy helping the farm hands tend the sheep
over by the west wing, she wasn’t entirely surprised to find that he was
extremely advanced, both mentally and physically. His eyes bore the exact same
resemblance to those of Jamie and Danny, so it wasn’t exactly rocket science to
know that he was the right child. A while later, as the wrought iron gates
swung open to
 
allow her to exit the
grounds, Dana almost collided with an oncoming Mercedes that was being driven
by a chauffeur, who obviously thought that he had the right of way. However,
she tried as hard as she could, but couldn’t quite make out the two passengers
sat in the back, apart from gathering the fact that they were male and female.
At that same instant, she felt as if she were being watched from afar, and a
cold shiver ran down her spine as the car slowly eased past. As Dana drove up
the estate road, which had been partially resurfaced in places, but still had a
few good potholes that needed to be avoided as she drove through, she then
passed through the sleepy nearby village. It only looked to have one shop, and
even that appeared to be closed, but having pulled into the high street soon
after, she eventually covered the distance needed, before having joined the
busy traffic out on the main dual carriageway. Having second thoughts, Dana
then began to regret the decision she’d just made. She knew full well that it
would probably have been a much better idea to have met the Duke face-to-face.

Anna
was so looking forward to meeting the replacement nanny, that Dana’s earlier
words of warning were put aside almost immediately. Stepping outside to greet
her husband, she watched and waited as he climbed from the far side of the car.
Yet she was momentarily stunned when she caught sight of the beauty that
emerged with great elegance from the opposite door. Anna walked over and gave
her husband a quick peck on the cheek, as he offered the side of his face.
Although, it was more out of courtesy than trying to show him any genuine
affection.

   
‘My dearest Anna. I’d like to introduce you
to Victoria, who I can assure you will prove to be an absolute treasure,’ he
stated, before adding. ‘I can also confirm that she’s very brainy too.’ Looking
directly at his wife’s reaction, William wondered if he’d made a mistake by
saying anything. She had a very serious frown etched across her face, which
always caused him deep concern when he saw that appear.

   
‘Welcome to Findon Manor my dear!’ she exclaimed,
moving across from her husband and grabbing Vicky by the hand. ‘Ahh! At long
last. It finally looks like we may have found someone that I can actually have
an intelligent conversation with.’ she laughed, looking at the woman for some
sign of agreement. ‘That will certainly make a pleasant change.’ she continued,
talking a little louder and aiming it in her husband’s general direction.

   
William eventually relaxed. He sort of
managed a half smile, then casually followed the two women inside. The two
women seemed to be getting on really well, with Anna already wanting to know
every detail of Vicky’s life to date. Vicky happily obliged, and she told the
Duchess all about her university days in Kingston. She also described how much
she’d really enjoyed travelling around the world with the friends she’d made,
soon after graduating with her degree. Anna listened patiently. She was very
impressed that Victoria had worked at the Surbiton Clinic, adding that she’d
heard of its good reputation from a friend of a friend. Everything seemed to be
going extremely well at that point. Just after dinner, William sat with his
feet up in the corner of the room reading the paper and attempting to see how
his shares were faring on the stock market. Yet, a cunning smile suddenly
spread across his face, as he listened intensely to the conversation that was
taking place between the two women who were sitting within earshot. Vicky was
busy explaining that she’d given up the practice because she’d realised how
much she liked the idea of working with children. Having already ruled out
teaching as a bad idea, she’d evidently given it a great deal of consideration,
and eventually opted to look for a job in child minding. Anna declined Vicky’s
suggestion that she could quite easily fetch her references from her handbag
that hung in the main hallway. She then smiled at the Duchess and felt a deep
sense of remorse in the knowledge that she was going to have to destroy her
trust in her sometime in the near future. Charlie was supposed to be sleeping,
and had already been informed he could meet his new nanny first thing in the
morning. He was really looking forward to being placed in her capable hands,
and this was what he thought about when he eventually closed his eyes. In the
meantime, downstairs, Vicky gave a wry smile as she prepared to follow Anna on
the much promised, guided tour of the building.

Vicky
sat pondering her current situation in the confines of her bedroom as the
evening drew on. She was still finding it very hard to adjust to the whole
range of Dra-Na-Zee feelings that the metamorphosis was having on both her mind
and body at this stage. The full effect was gradually taking its time, and she
had absolutely no idea as to how long it would be before she finally turned and
became a creature just like Janus. The only thing that she was one hundred
percent sure of, was the fact that she had to continue with her plan as quickly
as possible. She had to do this first, before worrying about herself and the
threat she knew she would pose to humanity, once the children were finally out
of the way. Having access to the Stone Disks had proved a real bonus, all said
and done. She then wondered what the Dra-Na-Zee would have thought if they’d
known how much of their own work was now being used against them. Yet the two
things she found most difficult to cope with, were the insatiable appetite
she’d developed for sex, along with covering up the fact that she didn’t need
to sleep any longer. As if on cue, the door opened wide, and the thickset
figure of Duke Willy in his red smoking jacket, stood all expectant in the
doorway. William quickly crept inside, undoing the belt around his waist as he
did so. Within an instant he revealed his readiness, as the front section of
the jacket parted ways.

Owing
to the fact that she still maintained
a
few human feelings, Vicky felt slightly agitated about what she had to do next.
Anna had already introduced the pair of them to each other, as they stood in
the main barn, just to the left of the lake. This stretch of water only served
to accentuate the complete beauty of the Manor with its stately design, along
with where it stood amongst the ever resplendent grounds. Having just about
satisfied herself with the introduction, and feeling happy with the way it had
gone, Anna swiftly made her apologies and rushed off on what she called an
urgent matter. As a result, this basically left Vicky and Charlie facing each
other in almost complete silence. The boy was just past the age of three years
old, and as expected, he maintained the build of a child who would normally be
at least twice his age. Undoubtedly, he had a higher intelligence to suit,
which really wasn’t all that hard to determine, and as expected, his
mind-probing started almost as soon as the Duchess had gone. The boy’s face
suddenly showed genuine concern when she managed to block him out without too
much effort, therefore he was completely shocked when she returned an even
stronger probe right back at him. Charlie had already sensed the seriousness of
the threat straight away. His face automatically turned a bright shade of red,
as he let out an enormous scream in outright frustration. Screaming at the top
of his voice, with the veins in his neck and the lungs in his chest almost
ready to burst at any given moment, Vicky was a little startled at first. Yet
it was sheer desperation that caused her to fire a warning shot from her eyes
and into the object directly behind him. She’d desperately needed to do this in
order to stop him carrying on with his silly charade. Casting a quick glance
over his shoulder at the blackening bale of hay, which smouldered around the
exact point of entry, Charlie immediately stopped screaming. The boy stared
with complete contempt at the woman. She now scared him more than he’d ever
been scared before. It was only when he dared to look deep into the eyes that
faced him and produced the yellow beam, that he recognised an uncanny
resemblance to his own. He wondered if he too, was also capable of such
destruction. Having immediately picked up on his thought waves, Vicky shouted
an order at him, just in case he had any wild ideas.

   
‘No! Charlie, don’t even think about
trying.’ She’d told him. The youngster was instantly taken aback. He stood
stock still and watched as Vicky tended to the burning straw. Yet while she was
momentarily distracted doing so, he took his chance to turn and make a run for
the house. Having managed to get outside, and then trying his hardest to race
through without colliding into any of the trees that barred his way, Charlie
leapt over the dense bracken that grew straight up from the ground and seemed
to be trying its best to trip him. He knew it wouldn’t be long before she
chased after him, and now he could hear the sound of her footsteps gaining on him
fairly close behind. Attempting to gain his breath, he stared at the vast
expanse of open ground that he still had to cover. It was still a long way to
go, and this was certainly something he’d never had to do before. Anna just
happened to be in the kitchen at that time, and she noticed Vicky running after
her grandson as she gazed out of the smaller window. She simply assumed that
they were playing a harmless game of chase, before smiling and giving them a
quick wave. She then turned her back in order to continue her conversation with
the maid, who she loved coming and talking to each day. They’d become very good
friends over the years, and the Duchess even asked her to sit and eat with her
sometimes, especially when her husband was away in London. It was a big place
to live in, and it could really be lonely at night, especially once her
grandson was in bed.

   
Luckily for Charlie, Vicky’s foot became
entangled in a clump of overgrown weeds, which added a few more seconds and
allowed him to reach the house first. Heading straight for the safety of his
bedroom, he rushed up the stairs two at a time, and without any hesitation, he
immediately slammed the door behind him. Stopping for a brief moment to regain
his breath, he then headed over to an enormous open inglenook fireplace at the
far side of the room, knowing that he had no time to waste. He placed his hand
purposely onto one of the panel’s right at the back, which caused a section to
open up. Squeezing through, this was just wide enough to allow the entry of his
small body into the secret passageway that was hidden behind it. Seconds later,
Vicky entered the room just as the hidden doorway had closed. Extremely
annoyed, after carrying out an unsuccessful search of the bedroom, she
disappeared to see if she could locate him elsewhere in the place.