Deceit of Angels (47 page)

Margaret
paused before asking,  “But could this child be someone else’s?”  Anna looked
down at her hands, her fingers twisted together in agitation.  She couldn’t
answer.  “Then let me ask you another question.  Does my son know that this
child might not be his?”  Anna nodded slowly.  Margaret stood.  “When Jason
returns, he can take you back to Bishop Sutton.  It seems he’s more liberal in
his ideas than I can be.”

Anna
climbed the stairs heavily, her heart breaking.  She had been asked to leave
when Jason returned, but she knew she couldn’t spend another night under
Margaret’s roof.  But she couldn’t go back to the house in Bishop Sutton, she
hadn’t seen Ben and Mrs Wilby since New Year.  What would they say if she
suddenly turned up on the doorstep?

In
her room, she packed a few things in a small bag and then made her way back
down to the hall, down the few steps that led to the kitchen and then up the
flight that finally took her to the apartment.  John answered her gentle knock.

“Why,
miss.  What’s the matter?” 

“Could
you give me a lift to the home of Doctor and Mrs Orchard, please.”

“Of
course, miss.  I’ll just get the car keys.”

John
asked no questions as he drove her to Wedmore.  He pulled up at the gate and
frowning, watched Anna make her way up the path of the modern bungalow and
knock on the door.

Sarah
answered.  “Anna!  What are you doing here?”  

A
steady stream of tears poured down her face.  “Margaret has asked me to leave
the Grange and I’ve nowhere else to go.  Please could you help me?”

CHAPTER
TWENTY

S
arah
Orchard accepted the situation at face value, and like John, didn’t ask any
intrusive questions.  Being a doctor’s wife for many years, she had plenty of
experience in dealing with the traumatic side of life but had always tried to
keep a positive attitude.  She made Anna as comfortable as possible and when
her husband returned from a house call, he was concerned enough to give Anna a
thorough examination.  Except for her blood pressure being slightly elevated,
he confirmed that a good night’s sleep would be beneficial.  As for any other
problems, they could be dealt with in the morning.  He prescribed a mild
sedative and told her to rest.

The
following day, Anna spent the time in Sarah’s beautiful garden, wrapped in a
blanket on the lounger.  But one thing Sarah felt obliged to do was ring
Margaret.  The two friends talked for ten minutes and Margaret had to admit
that she had been surprised when John had told her where he had taken Anna, but
was satisfied with Sarah’s reassurances that she would take care of the
mother-to-be.  When Margaret asked if Anna could stay there until Jason
returned from Canada, Sarah felt disturbed.

“She
talked as though Anna was a package to be kept until its rightful owner
collected it,” she said to her husband that evening.

The
doctor frowned.  “Jason will be home soon and she’s very welcome to stay here. 
I’m sure it’s all a terrible misunderstanding and will be sorted out when he
gets back.”

Sarah
was starting to have misgivings.  She was quite concerned by the desperate look
in Anna’s eyes and the way she couldn’t seem to focus or concentrate on
anything.  She knew that she was in a deep state of depression and that didn’t
bode well with childbirth being so close.

Anna
was grateful for Colin and Sarah’s kindness and she knew she should be showing
her gratitude, but there was something dragging her down into a pit of misery. 
She remembered Sophia telling her that the memory of her rape ordeal wouldn’t
vanish overnight; that it would be with her for a long time to come and she
would need constant support.

But
Anna hadn’t believed her.  Since Jason had come back into her life, she had
never felt better or happier.  The nightmare of that terrible evening in the
Marriott Hotel had slipped into the background as she and Jason planned for
their baby.  And it really had been their baby as he had helped her to believe
that the child was his.

And
only now, with Margaret’s accusations, did the awful truth dawn on her.  She
could be carrying her ex-husband’s child and the very thought filled her with
horror.  Suddenly she wished that she had taken Sophia’s suggestion and had the
pregnancy terminated and then there wouldn’t have been any repercussions from
her ordeal.  For the first time since it had happened, Anna wished she could
die.  It suddenly crossed her mind to disappear, to live in the fields and
woodland until her baby came and then perhaps she would give birth out in the
open and she and the baby would die together.  And then she noticed the photos
of the numerous Orchard grandchildren and common sense prevailed.

“What do you
mean, she’s not here?”

Margaret
took in a breath.  She knew that look on her son’s face all too well.  “I told
her she must leave after your return, but she left on her own accord.  She’s
staying with the Orchards.”

“And
why did you ask her to leave?”

“I
had a phone call.  I was told things that I didn’t like to hear.”

“Such
as?”

“That
she’s not carrying your child.  That it might be someone else’s.”

Jason
closed his eyes in shock.  “And who was this person who decided you needed to
know this?”

“I
have no idea.  They didn’t give me their name.”

“You
had an anonymous phone call?”

“Yes.”

“Mother! 
How can you believe gossip from…!”  Suddenly Jason remembered his conversation
with Deborah at the clubhouse at Christmas.  She had levelled accusations at
Anna and he had believed them.

Margaret
started to feel uncomfortable.  “She admitted it.  Sort of.”

“Sort
of?”

“She
told me that you knew she might be expecting another man’s child.”  She caught
his sidelong glance and knew she had hit a nerve.  “And I must say I’m
surprised at you.  After you accused her of having an affair, you then decide
to take on another man’s child!  I don’t know whether you’re very gullible or
just plain stupid.”

Jason
had heard enough and turning on his heels rushed out of house, ignoring the
cries of his mother as she called his name.  Within minutes he was on the road
to Wedmore.

Sarah’s
greeting was much kinder and her relief at seeing him was overwhelming.

“She’s
in the garden, but she’s hardly spoken two words since she arrived.  My husband
is not too worried about her physical health, but she’s very depressed.  It’s
as if she’s lost the will to live.”

Jason
stepped into the garden and saw Anna standing underneath a beech tree, looking
up into its branches.  He quickly went to her and put his arms round her.  She
sank against him and started shaking, her sobbing taking her over, her tears
soaking into his clothing.  He knew that it was better for her to get it out of
her system and held her tightly, caressing her back and murmuring comforting
words.  Her body finally calmed and she stood quietly, still clinging to him.

“Dave
will never let me go.  He’s going to harass me until I die.”

“Please
don’t say that.  If you believe it then he’s won.”

“He’s
already won.  I can’t fight him any more.”

“Then
don’t.  Let me do all your fighting for you.”

She
looked up and searched his face.  “He’s going…to come back.  When the baby’s
born…he wants to know if it’s his.  And if it is…he’s going to apply for
access.”

Jason
stared at her in disbelief.  “He’s been to see you?”

“Yes. 
About six weeks ago.”

Jason
couldn’t hide his horror.  “Why didn’t you tell me!”

“I
didn’t think it was important.  I thought it was an empty threat.”

He
thought rapidly.  “We’ll get Nigel to apply for an injunction.”

“Do
you honestly believe that’ll keep him away!  An injunction will only goad him.”

“But
he can be arrested if he comes anywhere near you.”  She shook her head.  “Then
come back to Bishop Sutton with me.  It’s your home.”

“I
don’t feel I belong there any more and besides, I was hoping to have this baby
at the Grange.”

He
smiled and gently put his hand on her stomach.  “Our baby.”

“Do
you really still believe that?”

He
nodded.  “With all my heart.”

They
held each other close for a few minutes until Anna said,  “The last few days
I’ve wanted to die.”

Jason’s
heart went into his mouth as he remembered Sophia’s grim description of the
fate of some of her clients.  ‘Two took an overdose and one cut her wrists!’

“Then
there’s only one thing for it!”  He held her away from him so that he could
look her in the eyes.  “Knowledge is the best defence, they say, so you must
let me tell Mother what happened to you.  We’ll admit that you could be
carrying your ex-husband’s child and…”

She
pulled away from him.  “No!  I don’t want her to know.  I would feel so
ashamed.”

“But
it wasn’t your fault, sweetheart.  She’ll understand.  Then you can move back
into the Grange in time for the baby and also everyone will be aware of your
ex-husband and he won’t be allowed on the premises.  You’ll be well protected.”

“Are
you thinking of telling John and Irene too!  And Fran?  What about the rest of
the staff?”

“No,
of course not.  What I’m saying is…”

Anna
couldn’t believe what he was suggesting.  She moved away from him.  “Oh, why
not tell everyone!  Tell the whole bloody world, why don’t you!  I know, why
don’t you put it in the paper?  Make it official that your fiancée was kept
prisoner in a hotel bedroom and raped twice by her…!”

“Twice!”

She
stopped short suddenly realising what she had just said.  “Y…Yes.”

He
stepped closer to her.  “You never said that…!  Oh, God, what have you been
through!”

She
put her hand over her mouth, trying to choke back the tears.

“I…I
don’t want to think about it.”

He
reached out for her.  “Sweetheart, please come back to Bishop Sutton with me.”

“Please
go, Jason.  I need to be on my own.”

He
shook his head.  “I’m not leaving you on your own.  I’m too scared for you.”

She
gave a wry smile.  “Why?  Do you think I’ll do something silly?”  His eyes
turning dark told her she was right.  “I won’t.  So you don’t have to worry.”

He
glanced around the garden.  “OK, I’ll go.  But I’m coming back tomorrow and the
next day and the next, until I can persuade you to leave with me.”  He reached
for her hand and kissed her fingers.

He
left her standing under the beech tree.  Sarah was waiting for him.

“Will
she be OK?” she asked anxiously.

“I
don’t know.  I hope so, but is it all right for her to stay?”

“Oh
yes, absolutely.  We’ll look after her.”

“I’m
coming back tomorrow.  By then she might have changed her mind and be willing
to come home with me.”

Anna
stared up at the beech tree.  She remembered climbing one when she was a girl. 
But a bee had started pestering her and she had scrambled down, frantically
trying to get away from it.  She had cuts and bruises all over her legs and
hands and her mother had laughed.

“You’ve
done yourself more damage than the bee has.”

Was
this happening now?  Was she doing as much damage to herself as her ex-husband
had done?  She had sent Jason away at a time when she needed him the most and
forbidden him to tell his mother her secret.  But if Margaret knew everything,
then she would understand.  And what’s more she would take the necessary
actions to protect her and her baby.  Ignorance didn’t protect a person. 
Ignorance made a person vulnerable.  Knowledge is the best defence, Jason had
said.  And he was right.

Suddenly
she began to panic.  She fled out of the garden and round the side of the
bungalow just as Jason was pulling away from the kerb.  He saw her, brought the
car to a halt and climbed out.  She hurried towards him as fast as her growing
child would allow and flung her arms about his waist, pressing her face so hard
against his chest, she could hear the steady beating of his heart.  He had
opened his arms to receive her and once entwined held her tightly, stroking her
hair.  For many minutes they didn’t speak, as she clung to him.

“I’ll
come back to the Grange with you,” she whispered.  “And you can tell Margaret
everything.”

He
smiled.  “Go and get your things.”

Jason wanted to
speak to his mother alone and so he sent Anna upstairs.  She went to soak in a
hot bath, leaving Jason to do her fighting, just as he had suggested.  He went
into the parlour and while his mother sat quietly, he told her about Anna’s
frightening experience at the hands of her ex- husband and how the child she
was carrying could be either man’s, but he hoped it was his.