Deceit of Angels (28 page)

“But
I was hoping for May when it’s your birthday.”

Jason
opened his eyes wide in horror.  “Dear God, forty-one!”

“Oh,
well that convinces me.  I’m not marrying a decrepit old sod like you!”

“You
cheeky…old am I!”

He
grabbed her and pinned her down while she struggled, squealing with delight. 
But within seconds his mouth was on hers and she surrendered.  What was it
about this man that he could arouse her desire so spontaneously?  The thought
lasted a second only.  His tongue was exploring, making her melt with wanting,
needing.  She met his passion with a moan of welcome.              

Hollie duly
returned to school the following week, pristinely dressed in her winter uniform
of black pleated skirt, blue blouse and black sweater with the school’s motif
emblazoned on it.  She was very reluctant to go and only Anna’s entreaties that
it wouldn’t be long before Christmas, encouraged her to climb into the car with
her father.  Anna waved her off every morning and then would have a quick cup
of coffee with Ben and Mrs Wilby before resuming her own work in the office. 
The work seemed relentless with Jason chasing contracts all over the world. 
There was even talk of him travelling to Singapore to start negotiations for a
job that would last for the next five years.  Harrington Rhodes Shipping Agents
was going from strength to strength.

During
the next few weeks, Anna received numerous phone calls from her family. 
Although not able to make a visit, her mother, sister and sons kept in touch
regularly and after each phone call, Anna glowed with a vivaciousness that
added to her beauty.  Unfortunately, her happiness was short-lived, since no
news came from her husband.  Finally, Anna plucked up the courage to ask her
mother about Dave.  Her mother had to admit that Dave had been sullen and moody
for quite a while, snapping at anyone who so much as mentioned Anna’s name.  As
for him instructing a solicitor?  Her mother was completely in the dark about
that, but she offered to broach the subject with him.  Anna found she had no
choice, but to leave it in her mother’s hands. 

Jason was away
on one of his interminable business trips and Anna missed him terribly.  He had
often suggested her accompanying him but she felt she should stay behind and
care for Hollie, so keeping her promise to Kiera.  The personnel in the main
office in Bristol now knew that she and Jason were engaged and after an initial
week or so of rumour and innuendo over her ‘widow’ status, the news fell into
history and was overtaken by other events on the world stage.

Anna
stood at the window looking out at the garden. She noticed how the trees were
starting to turn bright gold and orange and sometimes an occasional leaf would
flutter to the ground.  It wouldn’t be long before all the leaves would be
falling and winter would be on the way.  The garden, as well as the cars, were
Ben’s pride and joy and even now, she could see him cutting back a few late
summer roses.  He looked up, spied her and gave her a wave.  Anna smiled and
raised her hand in acknowledgement.  She took in a lungful of air and then
collected up her jacket and bag.  She had an appointment with the doctor and
she didn’t want to be late.

It was Hollie’s
bedtime.  A routine had developed were Anna would see to her bath and then
spend some time with her, brushing her hair and talking with her.  She would
let her babble on about anything, her school, her mother, and her visit to
Vancouver.  But soon the conversation came round to Anna’s wedding.

“But
why don’t you know when it is?” said Hollie irritably.

Anna
sighed.  “It’s a bit complicated.  But as soon as we set a date you’ll be the
first to know.”  She stopped brushing the long, dark hair.  “It might be a year
before we get married.”

“A
year!” puffed Hollie in disgust.  “Well, we’d better not buy my dress just yet
or I’ll be too big for it.”  The little girl studied this morsel of information
a moment longer.  “Is it because Mummy died?  Aren’t you allowed to get married
for a while?”  Anna pursed her lips and decided that she would tell the truth. 
And so she told Hollie about her marriage and how she needed a divorce before
she could marry again.  At the conclusion, Hollie frowned.  “So, your husband
didn’t die?” Anna nodded shamefully.  “But why did you say he’d died?”

Anna
nearly choked on her reply.  “It was silly of me…I should have told the truth.”

“Was Daddy
cross?”

“No,
he wasn’t.  And I was so glad.”

Anna couldn’t
help feeling downhearted the following day and worked tirelessly trying to
banish the thoughts of hatred for her husband from her mind.  But events turned
even worse when she was turning off the computer for the day and her mother
phoned.  She had indeed broached the subject with Dave, but all he had said was
that his wife could ‘go to hell!’  Anna went to have a shower, since they were
having dinner with Nigel and Sophia Barnes that evening.  She let her tears be
washed away with the warm soothing water. 

Dinner
with Nigel and Sophia Barnes was a delight.  Anna was introduced to their three
children, a boy and two girls.  Sophia Barnes turned out to be a wonderful cook
and Nigel an entertaining host.  They sat round the table for hours after the
children had been put to bed and talked about everything and anything. Anna
liked Sophia on sight.  Tall and slender with red hair, her green eyes sparkled
with the joy of life.  Her work as a psychologist kept her busy but next to her
family and occupation, Sophia liked meeting new people.  Anna offered to help
her wash the dishes and was greeted with a howl of amusement.

“Wash
up! Goodness me, I’ve had a dishwasher for years.  But come into the kitchen
away from the menfolk and we can talk.”

They
left the ‘menfolk’ to their discussion and went into the kitchen.  As Sophia
put the dishes into the machine, Anna helped her tidy up.

It
was Anna who mentioned the sorry state of her marriage.  “I can’t understand
why he won’t divorce me.  I’ll agree to everything he wants and I’m not going
to fight for the house.  He can keep everything, I just want to be free to
marry Jason.”

“Perhaps
he doesn’t want to give you up?” ventured Sophia.

Anna
took in a breath.  “It’s a ridiculous situation.  I’ve given him grounds and it
made me…” she struggled to find the right words.  “…feel dirty.  And I don’t
want to feel like that.  Jason and I have a wonderful relationship and Dave is
spoiling it.”

“You
said he cheated on you?”

“Quite
a few times.”

“Men
like that can often be the possessive kind.”

“I
believe you!”

“He’ll
treat you as property and I’m afraid jealousy can lead to violence.”

“Jason
thought he might be like that.  I wanted to go to Wakefield to see my sons but he’s
reluctant to let me go in case I meet Dave.”

“Does
Jason think your husband might harm you?”

“He
doesn’t want to give him the chance.”

Sophia
slammed the door shut and set the machine going.  The kitchen filled with the
gentle sound of gushing water.

“I
wouldn’t advise you being alone with your husband.  If you do decide to see
your boys then always have someone there with you.”

“Well,
I’ve got family who would help.  My brother-in-law is in the CID and he’s
huge.  Any man would think twice before they tackled him.”

Sophia
threw back her head and laughed.  “Good.  As long as you’re chaperoned, I can’t
see any harm coming to you.”  She reached out to touch her hand.  “Keep faith. 
I’m sure Nigel will hear something soon.”

Anna
gave her a half-smile. 

Sharon’s wedding
in Dublin gave her the opportunity of getting away for a while.  They decided
to fly since Mrs Wilby had no mind to travel on a ferry in winter.  They
planned to stay at a hotel for two nights and see a few sights of the city at
the same time.

It
was lovely seeing Sharon again who hugged them all and introduced them to her
fiancé, Aengus who spoke little but smiled a great deal.  As Anna surmised, she
was surprised but so very pleased when she saw the engagement ring on Anna’s
finger.  However, they decided not to tell her that the future bride must await
a divorce, although Anna wondered if she already knew.  After all she had
colleagues at the main office in Bristol and someone must have spread the
gossip.  In fact, Anna saw two or three of them at the wedding and even had a
few courteous words with them.  But if Sharon knew that Anna wasn’t a widow,
she was polite and caring enough not to mention it, preferring instead to
concentrate on her own happy nuptials.

The
wedding that Saturday was a traditional Catholic affair with everything
included.  The ceremony seemed to last a long time.

“What’s
those funny words they’re saying?” whispered Hollie.

“It’s
Latin,” came back Anna’s reply.

Hollie
pulled a face.  “Can’t they speak English here, then?”

They arrived
back at Bishop Sutton the day before Hollie’s eighth birthday and just over two
weeks until Christmas Day.  Since Jason would be leaving for Singapore in a few
days, it was decided that they would decorate the house and have a party for
Hollie.  Now a happy and wonderful atmosphere filled the rooms as the festive
season approached.  Anna and Hollie decorated the living room with holly and
ivy and scented candles.  Jason and Ben lugged in a huge fir tree that took
pride of place in the hall and which Anna, Hollie and Mrs Wilby spent hours
over, trimming with baubles, lights and tinsel. When they finished, Hollie
clapped her hands and jumped up and down like a jack-in-the-box.  It really did
look magnificent, thought Anna and much better than the artificial one she
would pull out of the loft every year.

Mrs
Wilby spent a great deal of time in the kitchen and soon the house was filled
with the wonderful smell of baking sausage rolls, mince pies and fruitcake,
distracting everyone from their normal duties and leading them literally by the
nose to sample any tasty morsels.

Anna
had had many calls from her sons, now separated for the first time in their
lives with Martyn at Warwick and Chris at Loughborough.  They had settled down
as students and were thoroughly enjoying the life of lectures, campus and the
bar in the Students’ Union.  But Anna missed them and Christmas couldn’t come
quickly enough.  

Shortly
before Jason was leaving for Singapore, Ben made a startling revelation.  They
were gathered in the kitchen one afternoon enjoying a coffee together.

“I
meant to tell,” said Ben.  “I won’t be coming to the Grange for Christmas.”

Jason
put down his mug and frowned.  “But you’ve not missed in seven years.”

Ben
agreed.  “Yes, I know.  But I think I’ll go and visit my sister instead.  She’s
been inviting me for years and I’ve hardly seen my nephew and niece.”

“You
have a sister?”

“She’s
younger than me by three years and my nephew and niece must be ten and eight by
now.”

“What’s
changed your mind?” asked Mrs Wilby, startled that Ben had more family than he
had admitted to.

“It’s
silly really.  It was when I was in Vancouver; I suddenly began to miss my
kin.  As you can imagine all the talk was of family and I began to think of
mine.  So, it looks like it’s up to Nottingham for me this Christmas.”  He gave
a chuckle.

It was their
last night together.  Jason’s trip would last one week and it seemed an age for
Anna who had not been separated from him for more than two or three days at the
most.  That night their lovemaking was like their first time again and Anna
clung to him as if she couldn’t bear to let him go.  Suddenly she longed for
Christmas when he would be back and they would travel to the Grange once more. 
As Anna fell asleep in Jason’s arms, she reassured herself that seven days
wasn’t long.  She would spend it working and finishing her Christmas shopping. 
Time would pass quickly and he would soon be home.

The
first two days were the loneliest Anna had ever known.  The phone calls from
her sons helped the heartache and plans were made to see one another.  To her
utter joy, Margaret phoned and suggested they come to the Grange for part of
the holiday.  Yes, she thought, to introduce them to the family and show them
round such a beautiful place would delight her.  She had finally told them that
there was a new man in her life and their reaction had been mixed.  Martyn was
pleased, but she could tell his mind was more on his new life at university. 
Chris was hesitant and wanted reassurances that she wasn’t on the rebound. 
Anna had smiled at her cautious younger son and told him that she certainly
wasn’t and that Jason was the man for her.     

Jason
phoned when he reached Singapore and told Anna he had had a comfortable flight,
sleeping most of the way in club class, his only preferred way of travelling by
air.  He was seven hours in front of GMT and the weather was very different
from the bitter cold he had left behind in Great Britain.  He told her it was
hot and sticky and he was already missing the rain.