Deceit of Angels (12 page)

Anna
made her way downstairs to breakfast.  Halfway down she heard laughter echoing
from the dining room and stopped momentarily.  She took in a large breath
before continuing her descent and walking briskly into the dining room.  A
chorus of ‘good morning’ greeted her.  It was apparent Jason hadn’t come down yet,
since there was an empty seat at the table.

Margaret
caught her quick glance at the chair and smiled.  “I’m afraid Jason has had to
go back to Bristol, my dear.”

Anna’s
heart sank.  “But why? I thought the office was closed on a Saturday.”

“It
is, but this morning he received an urgent phone call, to say that a ship has
been held up in port. I’m not quite sure of the exact details but there seems
to be a hitch with customs.”

“Will
he be long?”

“It
depends on how quickly he can clear up the problem. He said he would phone
later and let us know how things are. Don’t worry, he’s sure to return as soon
as he can.”

Margaret
watched her face as she spoke. There was definitely some warmth and affection
in her eyes when Jason’s name was mentioned. Perhaps Mrs Wilby was right,
perhaps there was something more between these two than a simple
employer-employee relationship.  It would be good if this turned out to be
true, her son needed a wife at his side.

Margaret
sighed and thought of Kiera.  She realised she shouldn’t think ill of the dead,
but it was obvious why her son had chosen her.  She was so beautiful and
charming and had the ability to capture everyone’s heart.  What a pity she had
the ability to break a heart too.  Anna was different, she had the steadfastness
needed in a good marriage.  Margaret had been told that Anna had nursed her
husband for many years through a long and debilitating illness whilst caring
for twin boys.  That showed a great deal of determination and yet having lost
her husband, she had supported her boys and then made a new life for herself
with new people in a new place. Any other woman would have stayed in their
hometown with their next of kin, but Anna had journeyed forth into the unknown.

The
sadness on Anna’s face moved her.  “I’m sure he misses you as much as you miss
him,” she told her soothingly.

Anna
blinked in horror.  “I don’t miss him! I just wanted to know when he’ll be
back.”

Margaret
patted her hand and gave her a knowing smile.

Later that
morning, Margaret had an official engagement as guest of honour at the primary
school, planting a tree in memory of her late husband.  Mrs Wilby and Ben had
decided to join her, but Anna had declined the invitation wanting to stay
behind so that she would be ready to play their game of golf when Jason came
home.

She
made herself comfortable in the parlour and absorbed herself in a book. 
Eventually she wandered over to the window and looked out at the grounds of the
Grange.  The vivid blue sky had disappeared and it had started to rain.  She
sighed sadly when she realised that they would have to cancel their round of
golf.  But lunch might still be possible if Jason returned early enough.     

She
walked round the room, scrutinising the photos on the unit and smiling at one
in particular, showing Jason on his graduation day.   She picked it up and
examined the robe he was wearing and his look of absolute pride.  He must have
been in his early twenties and she noticed with amazement that he had attended
Cardiff University.

How
she found herself in the kitchen she couldn’t remember but she strongly
suspected that the sound of laughter had drawn her down the stairs.  Irene and
her daughter, Fran, were busy cooking the lunch for that day as well as making
the final preparations for the birthday meal.  Anna asked if she could help.

“Oh,
no! miss, it wouldn’t be right. You being a guest and all. And besides the rest
of the staff will be here shortly to give a hand.”  The broad, flushed face of
the cook smiled at her over the steaming pans.

“Well,
I have peeled a fair amount of potatoes and carrots in my time. Please let me
help.”

In the end, the
cook relented and set Anna on the sprouts. As it neared lunchtime, the sherry
was brought out.

“I
generally don’t drink alcohol! Only at weddings and funerals and special
occasions,” said Anna.

“Well
this is a special occasion, ain’t it?” said Fran, drinking down her glass
quickly.

“It
doesn’t hurt to have a tot, once in a while, my dear,” the cook laughed as she
sipped her drink.  Anna picked up her glass and the thick liquid slipped down
her throat, making her radiate with warmth to the very ends of her fingers and
toes. Somehow, it reminded her of the feelings Jason had aroused in her, when
he had kissed her the previous night. She wanted more and finished the whole
glass.  Taking the bottle she poured herself another measure.  “Steady, my
dear. It’ll go to your head quite quickly if you’re not used to it,” said the
cook.

Anna
ignored her and drank it down.

She
finally left the kitchen when the part-time staff arrived.  Lunch would be
ready soon and as Anna made her way up the kitchen stairs to the hall, she was
conscious of her head feeling extremely light.  She tried to shrug it off and
went into the dining room.  Taking a seat, she watched as the tureens of food
arrived and the diners helped themselves.  As Ben passed the peas to Anna, he
noticed she missed the target and her hand shot to the left.  He placed the
tureen down in front of her and watched as she scooped the vegetables
unsteadily onto her plate, mostly tipping them on the tablecloth.

“Are
you OK, Anna?” he asked, suddenly feeling concerned.

Anna
grinned.  “I’ve been helping the cook and she brought out the sherry bottle.”

Margaret
smiled.  “I didn’t know we had an alcoholic in our midst.”

Anna
jerked her head in her direction.  “Oh, no, I’m not a drinker.  Really, I’m
not.  It’s just that…please excuse me.”

She
headed for the door before Margaret could explain, “Oh dear, I was only joking,
but I seem to have offended her.”   

“She
wanted to make a good impression,” nodded Ben.  “She was worried what you’d
think of her.”

Margaret
sighed.  “I think she’s a lovely girl, but a little too sensitive perhaps.”

“I’ll
go and see how she is,” said Mrs Wilby, rising from the table.

“And
tell her I apologise,” Margaret called after her.       

Mrs
Wilby rejoined them at the table after a couple of minutes.

“She’s
fast asleep.  The poor girl was already out cold when I got there.”

Anna slept for
an hour and when the events at lunch finally sieved through her memory, she let
out a groan and jumped to her feet.  She visited the bathroom and hurriedly did
her face and hair, smacking her cheeks to make herself more alert.  

She
found Margaret in the study, hammering away on an old-fashioned typewriter. 
“Jason wants me to get a computer, but I find this much more convenient,” she
grinned. 

Anna
gave her a half-smile.  “I’m so sorry for my appalling behaviour at lunch.  I
don’t know why I drank all that sherry.  It was very wrong of me, but I’m not
an alcoholic, really I’m not.”

Margaret
turned a good-natured face towards her.  “My dear, don’t worry about it.  I was
just having fun at your expense.  Of course you’re not an alcoholic and I do
apologise.”  Anna grimaced.  “By the way Jason phoned.”

“What
did he say?”

“It seems
that things aren’t going too well. He’s going to try and get here by this
evening, or later tonight.  If it’s too late he’ll go back to his own house and
make the journey tomorrow morning.  He said he’d ring if he has to do that.  He
asked to speak to you.”

“Oh,
and I missed him!”

“Don’t
worry, he’ll ring again.  Or why don’t you ring him on his mobile?”

“Better
not if he’s having a difficult time.”

Anna
decided to go for a walk since the rain had stopped and the sun had come out
again.  If anything, it would clear her head that still felt terribly fuzzy. 
She made her way into the hall to collect her jacket, which she knew she had
left over a chair. The chair was gone.  Thinking her jacket might have been put
in her bedroom she started upstairs, when the downstairs door opened and Fran
came bustling through carrying a vacuum cleaner.

“You
haven’t seen my jacket have you?  I’m sure I left it over a chair in the hall,”
asked Anna.

Fran
thought for a moment.  “I think that chair was put back in the morning room,
miss.  Sorry, miss, I should have told you.”

She
found her jacket still hanging over the back of the chair and was just putting
it on when she spotted movement by the bureau.  She quickly turned as Tess’s
large bulk came bounding towards her, making her cry out in fright.  Tess had
been sleeping in the warmth of the sun coming through the window and Anna’s
entrance had startled her.  She ran into Anna’s legs and then barked loudly
before running through the door and out into the hall.  Sudden contact with the
dog had made Anna back up against the occasional table and she stumbled. 
Reaching out to steady herself, she felt her hand brush against the crystal
vase.  The vase rocked for just a few seconds and then fell towards the carpet,
hitting the floor with a crash of glass, scattering the flowers and splashing
water everywhere.  Anna stared down at the broken vase in dismay.  It looked
expensive.

When
Margaret rushed through the door moments later, she found Anna kneeling on the
floor, picking up the shards of glass, her hand bleeding.

“Oh,
my dear! What have you been doing?”

“I
knocked the vase over.  I’m so sorry.”

“Oh,
don’t worry about it.  Come to the kitchen and let me bathe your hand. The cut
isn’t too bad. Nothing that a little antiseptic and a sticking plaster will put
right.”

During the
evening, Anna played snooker with Ben in the billiard room and then they joined
the others in front of the television, an activity to which she felt unable to
give her undivided attention, so absorbed was she in keeping her eyes on her
watch.

Margaret
patted her knee.  “You’re worrying too much.”

Anna
gave a smile.  “Have I been that transparent?”

“Yes,
you have.  My philosophy is why worry unnecessarily about it. Of course, I used
to worry as all mothers do, but then I came to the conclusion that no news is
good news. He hasn’t rung to say he’s staying somewhere else tonight, so let’s
assume that he’s on his way home this very moment. It’s only nine-thirty and he
said ten or eleven, so there’s plenty of time yet.”

Anna
smiled sadly.  “We were going to play golf today.”

“There’s
always tomorrow.”

“Yes,
there’s always tomorrow,” Anna repeated.

There was no
sleep for Anna when she finally went to bed.  No matter how hard she tried to
keep her eyes closed, they would open and fix on the curtain for the beam of
headlights that she knew would have to shine past her window.  Her ears
strained for the sound of a car.  Eventually, she looked at her watch.  It was
midnight.  A new day and Jason still hadn’t returned. Agitated and concerned
Anna jumped out of bed.  Slipping into the silk kimono dressing gown that her
husband had brought back from Japan, she pulled back the curtains and leaned
her forehead against the window.

The
rain seemed torrential, coming down in sheets that she could hardly see the
lamp glowing in the drive never mind the second one in the distance by the
gate.  The wind bent the trees and howled through the chimney pots.  But there
was no sign of a vehicle. Margaret was so right; worrying didn’t help matters
one bit.  Jason was an excellent driver, of course he would take care, nothing
was going to happen to him.  Pulling a seat up below the window, she sat down
and rested her arms on the window-sill, her chin on her hands, her eyes
fastened on the hazy sheen at the end of the drive, its radiance, a beacon
guiding Jason home.  But as yet it had only succeeded in illuminating the
trees, making them appear ghostly and forbidding as they swayed in the wind.
Her eyes slowly closed in sleep.

When the noise
of crunching gravel finally came and the beam of car headlights swept across
her room, Anna wasn’t awake to see or hear.  It was only when the barking of a
dog filtered into her exhausted brain that she slowly surfaced from sleep. 
Then her precarious position of leaning on the window ledge proved to be the
hazard it was. Her slumbering unsupported body slid gently off the sill and she
fell sideways, almost tumbling onto the floor. Jerking awake, she rubbed the
elbow that had banged on the edge of the chair.  Was that Tess she had heard?
She couldn’t be sure but glancing at the clock she saw it was half-past twelve.

She
stood and stretched and then started walking about the room, knowing it was
impossible to settle down properly until she knew Jason was safely home.  There
was nothing for it, but to go and see.  Anna sneaked out of her room and
tiptoed past Ben’s and then Mrs Wilby’s. She knew Jason’s room was on the next
landing and up a short flight of seven stairs.