Deceit of Angels (38 page)

“Are
you absolutely certain?” asked Margaret.

Anna
snuggled into the armchair and tucked her legs underneath her.  “The test is
supposed to be very reliable, but I’ll do another in a week just to be sure.”

Margaret
couldn’t help smiling with glee.  “Oh, another grandchild.  I really thought
that Hollie would be the only one.  And if you have a boy, that means a
Harrington to carry on the family name.”

Anna
hated to disillusion her.  “I’m not married to Jason.”

“That
doesn’t matter!  A child can still have his father’s name.  What did Jason
say?  I would have thought he was over the moon!”

“He
doesn’t know.”

“You
haven’t told him yet?”

Anna
watched the flickering flames of the fire.  “I’m not going to tell him.  I
don’t want him to know.”

“But
why not, my dear?  If anything will bring you together, then this will.”  

Anna
shook her head.  “He accused me of having an affair.  If I told him and he said
that this wasn’t his child, then I wouldn’t be able to cope.”

Margaret
could see the logic in her argument.  “I see.”  She gave a sigh.  “And the way
he is at the moment he’s liable to do just that.”

“I’m
so glad you understand.”

“When’s
the baby due?”

“Early
September I think.”

“You’ll
have to see Doctor Orchard and you’ll have hospital appointments to attend.”

Anna
began to laugh.  “You’re really thinking ahead, aren’t you.”

Margaret
poured a second cup of tea for them and handed a cup to Anna.  “I’m thinking
that you should stay here while you wait and see how things go between you and
Jason.”

Anna
sipped her tea.  “Thank you, I’d love that.  But I must do something.  Perhaps
I could help Irene in the kitchen or Fran?”

Margaret
shook her head.  “No, I’ve thought of something much better than that.” She
pursed her lips.  “Have you ever helped a bride plan her wedding?”

“No,
not really.”

The
elderly lady made a noise with her tongue.  “Brides are an absolute pain in the
butt.”  Anna grinned with amusement.  “They fuss about this and that until you
want to tell them to shove their nuptials up their…!”

“I
take it they’re hard work?” laughed Anna.

“That’s
an understatement!  So, I thought it would be just the job for you.  You’re
much younger and will be more on their wavelength.”

“Me? 
A wedding planner!  But I wouldn’t have the first idea.”

“A
wedding planner.  How very American.  I think it would be right up your
street.  Working for my son has given you plenty of experience.”  Margaret
began to warm to the idea.  “We’ll set you up in an office.  No, you can use
the library.  That’s where my late husband used to work and he always found it
comfortable.  It’s got a wonderful old desk in there just waiting to be used
again.  Prospective couples will be very impressed being interviewed in such a
pleasant room.”

Anna
leaned forward swept along with enthusiasm.  “Do you really think it would
work?”

“Absolutely. 
I’ll tell you what I’ve been doing and then you can take it from there.  Any
new ideas you have will only improve matters.  All wedding enquiries can go
straight through to you and I can concentrate on the seminars and business
conferences.”  She gave a sigh.  “Businessmen are so much more amenable.”  Anna
wasn’t sure if she would agree with that.

“It
sounds great.”

“You
accept the job, then?”

“Yes,
of course.”

“I
shall pay you a wage…”

“My
board and lodging will be adequate.”

“Certainly
not!  A fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work, as my dear Tom used to say.”

Anna
suddenly saw a problem.  “But what about Jason?  He visits regularly and I
don’t want to keep bumping into him.”

Margaret
frowned.  “Do you really want to avoid him?” 

“Yes. 
Until I know he feels differently about me.”

“Then
that will be a problem.”  Margaret tapped her chin with her forefinger.  “He
knows what a busy woman I am so he always phones to make arrangements to
visit.  When I get the call, then you’ll just have to…hide somewhere.”

“Hide?”

“Well,
just go somewhere while he’s here.  It’s a big enough place to get lost in. 
But we’ll deal with that problem when it arises.”

Anna
thought of something else.  “Would it be OK to move back into my old room?  I can’t
stay in Jason’s room.”

“Yes,
of course.  I’ll get Fran to make the bed up.”

“Oh,
my goodness!  What about the staff?  They might say something to him.”

“I
shall have a word with them.  They’ve worked for me for years and they can be
very discreet.  Fran will love it!  She will find it all very romantic, you
hiding from your…sweetheart.”

Anna
gave a sad smile but then said,  “Oh, what was your news?”

Margaret
shrugged.  “It isn’t important any more.”

That evening,
Anna transferred her possessions back to her original room.  She had to admit
that she was glad to be back.  The wide four-poster bed and the marvellous
Victorian bathroom had always been an absolute delight to her.  Before she
closed the door on Jason’s room she decided to search through all the drawers
and cupboards to make sure she hadn’t left any incriminating evidence behind. 
She winced at the sight of his shaver and other toiletries that he always left
in the bathroom and the bits and bobs in the drawers.  And then in the small
drawer of the bedside table she found the coin.

Anna
sat there for a long time, holding the ten pence in her hand.  Her thoughts
went back to that afternoon at the golf club when Jason had tossed it in the
air to decide her fate.  It seemed such a long time ago and she shuddered that
she had even considered going back to her husband.  If only she had known the
future, how different things would have been.  Holding the coin tightly in her
hand, she picked up her bag and after giving the room a quick glance, she closed
the door behind her.

Jason was
pleased and relieved when the others arrived home.  He had spent three days on
his own, either in the office, or sitting watching television.  He had got
through a phenomenal amount of work and felt pleased that the New Year would
start with no backlog whatsoever.  He had tried to keep his mind free of any
negative thoughts, but memories of Anna were harder to block out.  She seemed
to be everywhere.

Every
room in the house echoed with her presence, but the bedroom was the worst.  Her
cosmetics and toiletries littered the dressing table and bathroom and her
clothes still hung in the wardrobe.  Alone in bed, he could almost imagine she
was close since her perfume lingered on the pillow that he hugged every night. 
There was no doubt that he still loved her, even if he found it impossible to
be with her.  His dreams were filled with her and he would wake up in the early
hours of the morning with a yearning that almost bordered on pain.  He would
remember her smile, her laugh, the way she walked, her wonderful passion when
they made love and the sensual look on her face when she came.  But then he
would remember that she had given all that to another man and his heart would
turn to stone.

Even
so, when Mrs Thompson arrived and began to vacuum and polish the house and
strip the beds, he feared that she would sweep away the memory and watched with
mounting alarm as she removed the sheets that Anna and he had last shared.  The
bed wasn’t the same after that.

“So, what
happens now?” asked Ben, as they sat down for lunch round the kitchen table.

Jason
shrugged.  “I’ll have to ring Graham and ask him for a new PA, I guess.”

“You’re
not going to advertise like you did before?”

“No,
I think there’s enough staff at the main office and someone might be willing to
transfer here.”

Mrs
Wilby looked around the kitchen.  “It’ll be strange being without her.”  She
sighed sadly.  “And everything seemed to be going so well for you both.”

Hollie
had stayed quiet, taking small sips of her milk and nibbling at her lunch. 
Most of the adults’ conversation had gone over her head, but one thing she did
understand and that was Anna was not coming back.

“Why
don’t you go to Grandma Harrington’s and fetch her home?” she asked her father,
when there was a lull in the discussion.  “Then she can work in the office with
you again.”

“Because
Anna doesn’t live here any more, sweetie,” he said softly.

“Did
she say she doesn’t want to live here?” 

“Not
exactly.  We had an argument and it’s better if she stays with Grandma.”

“Whose
fault was it?  The argument.”

“No
one’s fault.  Grown ups fall out sometimes and then everything has to change.”

Hollie
stood up, pushing her chair back with a grating noise that jarred everyone’s
nerves.  Anger creased her face.  “No!  It’s your fault!  It’s always your
fault!” 

Her
father reached out to her trying to bring some comfort.  “No, Hollie.  You
don’t understand.”

She
glared at him.  “Yes, I do.  You made her go away, just like you made me and
Mummy go away!”  Her dark eyes were liquid with tears.  “And then Mummy got
sick and died.  And if Anna doesn’t come home she’ll get sick and die just like
Mummy did!”

Jason
felt startled, while Ben and Mrs Wilby exchanged worried glances.  They had
never seen her so distressed before, not even at her mother’s funeral.

“Anna’s
not going to die.  Come here, sweetie,” said her father, holding out his arms
to her.

She
stepped to one side as if she couldn’t bear to be near him.  “I want you to go
and get her!  I want her to come home before God takes her soul to heaven.”

Jason
shook his head in bewilderment.  “You’ve got it all wrong.  Anna is perfectly
fine, nothing is going to happen to her and I can’t go and get her...”

“You
could if you wanted to.”  Hollie had now become completely distraught.  “But
you won’t cos you don’t want to.  I hate you!  I hate you!”  She ran out of the
kitchen and headed for her bedroom.

A
stunned silence followed, as the adults tried to come to terms with what had
just happened.

“I’ll
go and see if she’s OK,” said Mrs Wilby, rising from her chair.

Jason
stopped her.  “No, this is my problem.  I’d better sort it out.” 

After
he had left, Ben and Mrs Wilby remained silent, not daring to express their
concerns.  They knew that Anna had been an integral part of the household and
without her, their life might be in danger of coming apart at the seams.

Jason phoned his
mother that evening.  He hadn’t been able to console Hollie who had spent the
rest of the afternoon in tears.  Only Ben had been able to persuade her to play
outside on her new bike while there was still a bit of light left in the sky.

After
a few minutes of conversation Jason asked hesitantly,  “Is Anna OK?”

“She’s
very well,” said Margaret.

He
detected the cold tone in her voice.  “I know you’re upset with me, but I had
my reasons for leaving so abruptly.”

“Everyone
at the party wanted to know where you were.  I had to make excuses for you.”

“What
did you tell them?”

“What
could I tell them!  That you’d been called away, of course.”

He
bit his lip.  “I’ll come and see you in a few weeks.  I’ll bring Hollie with
me.”

“Well,
don’t forget to phone before you do.  You know how busy I am.”

“I
always phone before I make a visit, you know that!” 

“Could
you sort out Anna’s clothes and her other stuff.  I’ll send John to pick them
up.”

“Yes,
I’ll…do that.”  His heart lurched at the finality of everything.  He paused
before asking, “Did you tell Anna what I said about her job?”

“No,
I didn’t.”

“Why
not, for heaven’s sake!”

“Because
circumstances have changed.”

“What
are you talking about?”

 “Anna
has other plans,” she said nonchalantly. 

“You
mean she’s leaving the Grange?”

“She’s
got a new job,” she said, avoiding the question.

“Already?”

“So,
if you could send her P45 to me, I’ll make sure she gets it.  Her new employer
will want it as soon as possible.”

Jason
put down the phone feeling stunned.  So, Anna was leaving to start a new job. 
He wondered if she had plans to go back to Wakefield.  It seemed incredible,
but there again it was her home.  Jason looked around the office in desperate
loneliness.

CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN