Deceit of Angels (25 page)

Anna
put her hand over his and tears once again filled her eyes.  “He’ll react badly
when I tell him, I just know he will.”

“Then
I’ll tell him.”

“No,
you won’t!”

He
cocked his head to one side.  “What am I going to do with you?”  He looked down
at her engagement ring.  “So, now you have to make a decision.  Do you listen
to your husband and start afresh with him?  Or do you carry on with the divorce
and stay with me?”

Anna’s
thoughts troubled her.  “If Dave doesn’t know about us then he must have been
sincere on the phone.  But he’s never spoken to me like that before.  Not in
all the years we were married, not once.”

“Can
a leopard change its spots?” he asked, raising his eyebrows. 

“I’m…not
sure.”

“It
doesn’t take a man nineteen years to tell a woman how much she means to him. 
And can you trust him?  How do you know he’ll not cheat on you in the future?”

Anna
shook her head.  “He said he hasn’t done that since the boys were twelve.  In
fact, he told me that the incident I saw in the pub when I thought…He said it
didn’t happen.”

“He
would!”

“No,
I mean he admits the incident, but he said it wasn’t what I thought it was.”

Jason
sat back in his chair once more.  The bar was starting to fill as players
arrived for their pre lunch drinks.

“I
can’t comment on that.  But I know that the brief conversation I had with him
led me to believe he had little concern for you.”

“He…apologises
for that.  He was angry…”

“Apology
accepted.”

She
gave a weak smile.  “I felt so sorry for him and guilty that I’d abandoned him
and the boys.  I’ve always tried to do the right thing and…”

“Anna,
you can’t go back to him because you feel sorry and guilty.  That would be
crass stupidity.”

“I
realise that.”

“All
right, let’s assume he doesn’t know anything about us.  Either he is genuine
and realises that he’s lost something very precious, after all, sometimes a
person doesn’t know what they’ve lost until they’ve lost it.  Or it could be
that he thinks of you as a possession and wants you back only for that reason.”

“And
if I go back to him?”

He
closed his eyes for a moment.  “Then we’re back to the leopard changing its
spots.”

“I
don’t know what to do.”

“Do
you love me?”

“With
all my heart.”

“I’m
glad about that, I was beginning to wonder.”

Anna
leaned forward and took his hand.  “I do love you but I’ve been married to him
for most of my life.  He’s the father of my boys,” she said desperately.

Jason
glanced around the room.  “So, you don’t know what to do?”

“I
just wish someone would tell me that I’m doing the right thing.”

He
stared at her intently.  “I’ve just thought of something.  We’ll toss a coin.” 
He reached into his pocket and took out some loose change.

Anna
felt horrified.  “What do you mean toss a coin?”

“Heads
you stay with me and tails you go back to Wakefield and your husband.”

She
began to panic.  “Jason, we can’t make a decision about my life on the toss of
a coin!”

“Why
not?  It seems a good a way as any.”

“But
we should discuss it.”

“We’ve
already done that!”  He held the coin between his fingers for a moment and
stared at her, his eyes cold and dark.  She stared back numbly.  Anna watched
mesmerised as he skilfully tossed the coin in the air and then catching it with
one hand, slapped it down on the back of the other. “Are you ready?  Shall I
look?”

“This
isn’t right,” she whispered.

He
lifted his hand and peeped underneath.  His expression became resigned as he
blew out a long breath.

“Well,
it looks like you’ll be on that train as soon as we can arrange it.”

Anna’s
heart beat rapidly and she gasped.  “It’s tails?  Oh no, it can’t be.  Fate
couldn’t be so cruel.”  She took a quick sip of her drink.  Her voice was
almost pleading.  “Please Jason, don’t send me away.  Please don’t send me back
to that awful man.  I’d rather die than do that.”  He started laughing.  “Why
are you laughing?  It’s not funny tossing a coin to decide something!”

“Sorry,
sweetheart.”  He squeezed her hand.  “It was something my father taught me. 
When you can’t make a decision then toss a coin and let fate decide.”

“It
seems an odd way to go about things!”

He
grinned.  “Ah, but it’s not the result that matters, but how you feel about the
result.”  Anna stared at him in bewilderment.  “I told you the coin said you
had to go back to your husband.  It was obvious by your reaction that it was
the last thing you should do.  If anything, it told me and I hope you, exactly
what you thought about that.” 

She
took another sip of her drink.  “Well, I guess it worked.  It looks like the
last thing I should do is go back to my husband.”

He
leaned towards her and caressed her face.  “The trouble is, I cheated,” he
whispered.

“How
did you cheat?”

He
opened his hand.  “It actually came down on heads.  So the decision should have
been that you stay with me.”

She
snatched the coin from his hand.  “But why didn’t you tell me that?”

His
expression became serious.  “Because I didn’t want any doubts.  I had to know
for sure that you wanted to stay with me.”

She
looked at the coin in the palm of her hand.

“You’re
a tricky one.  I can see I’m going to have to watch you!”

The
bar was now getting quite full.

“Shall
we go and have our lunch?” he said, smiling.

“Yes,
but can I keep this coin?”

They
stood up.

“Why?”
he asked, puzzled.

“It’ll
remind me of how stupid I am and how I nearly lost you.”

They had a
pleasant lunch at the club, sitting at their favourite table by the window.  It
seemed the weather was getting worse and the wind was becoming stronger,
causing the trees to bend alarmingly.  Many of the players were abandoning
their game and coming in for an early lunch.  Among them were Caroline Beaumont
and her friend who took a table close to Jason and Anna. 

But
when Caroline spotted them she came over to them.  “Anna, are you OK?  I heard
that you took poorly.”

Anna
smiled.  “I felt…dizzy.  That’s all.  Nothing to worry about.”

Caroline
frowned at Jason.  “I hope you’re being careful!  I’m intending to break down
Anna’s resistance until she joins my team. But it’ll all be for nothing if
she’s unavailable for the next nine months!” She left them, laughing with
amusement.

Anna
felt stunned.  “Was she talking about a baby?”

Jason
looked up from the menu he was studying.  “It seems so,” he smiled.

“Good
heavens!”  She glanced around at the other diners.  “How did she know I’d
felt…ill?  I’m amazed how news gets round this place.  It’s a hive of rumour
and speculation.”

“That’s
a golf club for you.  But it’s something to think about.”

“What
is?”

“Having
a baby.”

Anna’s
mouth fell open with surprise.  “I think I’d rather concentrate on the current
problems, if you don’t mind!”

He
leaned towards her, resting his elbow on the table, his hand cupping his
cheek.  “I’d love to have another child.  A brother or sister for Hollie sounds
wonderful.”

She
was saved from answering by the waiter coming to take their order.

They
were just finishing their coffee when Jason received a call on his mobile, a
fact that caused annoying stares in his direction since he had forgotten to
turn it off and they were forbidden in the restaurant.  He quickly headed for
the foyer, apologising to everyone as he past them.  Anna sipped her coffee. 
It was then that she noticed that Caroline was bending her head very close to
her companion and they seemed to be discussing something in great depth.

Jason
reached the spacious foyer and took the call.  He was just concluding it when
he saw a woman come out of the bar and start climbing the stairs, obviously on
her way to the ladies room that was on the next floor.  He called her name,
loud enough to hear but not enough to attract attention.  She halted her climb
and looked down at him.  A satisfied smile spread across her face as she came
slowly down the stairs.

He
took her arm and pulled her into the well of the stairs where they couldn’t be
seen.

“I
want to know what’s going on!”

“What
are you talking about?” Deborah smiled a slow smile.      

He
pushed her roughly against the wall.  “Tell me now, why you have it in for
Anna!”

She
smiled again.  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Did
you frighten her the other day?  Did you deliberately drive your car at her?”

She
threw back her head and laughed.  “Why are you so upset that your sweet, little
girlfriend got a drenching?  I was just having some harmless fun.”

Disgust
overwhelmed him as he confirmed his suspicions about the driver of the black
Porsche. 

“So,
that was you?”

“Yes,
it was.  Hope she didn’t catch a chill.” 

“Why
did you do that?  What has she ever done to you?”

She
pulled a face and sighed.  “Well, you know what they say about a woman
scorned.”

Jason
squeezed her arm.  “You evil…!”

“Let
go of me.”  Jason closed his eyes and regained control.  He released his grip. 
He stared at her, hatred pouring from his eyes.  For some strange reason his
anger seemed to excite her.  She reached up and put her arms round his neck. 
“We were always good together, weren’t we Jason?” She pressed herself against
him.  “I’m sure you don’t get as much…pleasure with her as you did with me.  I
can understand why you want to have a little fling with your secretary, but
when are you going to forget all this nonsense and come back where you belong?”

He
pulled her arms away.  “Oh, it’s a lot more than a little fling.  I’ve asked
Anna to marry me.”

Deborah’s
lips twitched, her eyes dark with envy.  “Have you really?  Now, why would you
want to do that when you can do so much better?”

Her
meaning was clear, but Jason had heard enough and turned away as if to leave. 
“You’re nothing compared to her,” he said with loathing.  “Absolutely nothing.”

He
turned his back on her and walked away.  In the dining room, he ordered another
drink.    

“Sorry
to have left you so long.  It was Graham, finalising the next contract.”

“Are
you OK?”  His flushed complexion and glistening eyes alarmed her.

He
nodded.  “Certainly.”  He took in a breath, thankful that his anger was ebbing
away. 

Anna’s
gaze was drawn to Caroline and her companion, who were still engrossed in
conversation, although now and again their eyes would turn in Anna’s direction.

“Jason,
I get the feeling that they’re talking about me.”

“Who,
sweetheart?”

“Caroline
and her friend.”

Jason
smiled.  “Probably discussing your illness on the golf course.”

Anna
looked towards Caroline and her companion.  “Somehow I don’t think that’s what
they’re talking about.”

But
Anna’s fears were confirmed when she went to collect her jacket.  As she
slipped her arms through the sleeves, she overheard them as they were
collecting their equipment.  

It
was Caroline’s friend who seemed offended.  “Of all the terrible things to
do!   To say she’s a widow and nursed her husband through a terrible illness
and all of a sudden she’s a married woman.  How can Jason accept all her lies?”

Caroline
answered with a contemptuous click of her tongue.  “Well, I think we should
give the girl a chance.  We don’t know the full story and it’s very wrong of
Deborah to go round spreading gossip like that.”

Deborah! 
Anna bit her bottom lip anxiously.  Had Deborah now resorted to causing trouble
for her at the club?  She fastened her jacket and sighed.  They were going back
to Bishop Sutton the following day and she would have some distance between
herself and all this hostility.  She breathed a sigh of relief and went to meet
Jason who had gone ahead to put their bags in the car. 

During
their journey home they talked about their future and Anna’s spirits lifted, as
she thought about their wedding and their life together.  But then she
remembered Caroline’s conversation with her friend.

“They
were talking about me.  I overheard them,” she sad sadly.

“Eavesdropping
again?”