Deceit of Angels (51 page)

Sophia
noticed and took Jason to one side.  “I’m off to find my dear husband.  But I
think you’re going to have to persuade Anna to get some rest.  I’ve got a
feeling she’s fighting it and you don’t need three guesses for the reason!”

Jason
made himself comfortable beside the bed.  “Now, I want you to sleep,” he said
firmly.

Anna
gave an exhausted smile.  “I want to but I’m scared to let my guard down.”

He
studied her seriously.  “Now, listen to me.  I’m going to sit here beside you
and nobody is coming into this room unless they have the right.  So, close your
eyes.”

She
blinked hard, but then noticed the book in his hand.  “What are you reading?” 
He held up the cover.  “
Bringing up Boys
!  Where did you get that?”

“Mother
bought it, just in case.”

Anna
smiled and closed her eyes.

Dave Stevens ate
his evening meal alone.  He was sitting in a cosy corner of The George Hotel
with a large plate of steak and kidney pie and vegetables in front of him.  He
found it difficult to handle his knife and fork because of the bandage round
his left hand.

“Stupid
bitch,” he muttered.  “Always the drama queen.”

A
couple came through the door and headed for the bar. 

“Hi
ya!  Have you heard the news?” said the young woman.

The
landlord nodded.  “Bloody tragedy, I say,” he said, glancing at the television,
full of the news of Princess Diana’s death in Paris. 

“Oh,
not that!  Mrs Stevens up at the Grange had a lovely baby boy early on this
afternoon.  Mr Harrington is so proud.”

Dave
gave a contemptuous smile.  He’ll be proud OK, he thought, when he finds the
boy is mine.  He knew that Anna’s fiancé already had a daughter and since he
had produced two sons while Harrington had fathered a girl, then it stood to
reason that Anna’s son must be his.  Convinced of his logic, he made his plan
for the following morning.

Sister Davenport
was pleased that Anna had rested and her evening visit was brief.  The others
had all gone down to dinner and Anna had insisted that Jason join them.

When
Jason came up after dinner, he found Anna feeding the baby, a cashmere shawl
across her shoulders.

He
grinned.  “You’re feeding him yourself?”

Anna
looked up and laughed.  “I thought I would give it a try.”

 “Kiera
didn’t feed Hollie.  We had to make up bottles.”

“Yes,
the twins were bottle fed, but having two babies at once was rather daunting.” 
She added with a giggle,  “At least this is free.”

Jason
thought for a moment.  “Does that mean I’ll get a good night’s sleep?  I won’t
have to get up and do my share of feeding him?”

She
narrowed her eyes.  “Well, you won’t have to feed him.  But whether you sleep
or not will depend on what kind of mood I’m in!  And of course, he’ll need his
nappy changing.”

He
gave a playful grimace.  “It’ll be strange dealing with a boy.  But absolutely
wonderful.”

Anna
nodded and sighed.  “Well, if there’s one thing I know about, it’s bringing up
boys.”  Her eyes lit up.  “We ought to pick a name for him.”

“What
do you suggest?”

“I
wondered about Thomas, after your dad and Jason after you.” 

He
smiled.  “Thomas Jason Harrington.  Yes, that sounds just perfect.”  They both
fell quiet, suddenly realising that their problems were not yet over.  For ten
glorious minutes they had forgotten the threat that hung over them and had been
immersed in the absolute delight of the son they regarded as their own.  Jason
cleared his throat, emotion welling up inside him.  He leaned forward and took hold
of the tiny fist resting on his mother’s breast.  “He’s mine, you know.  I’m
absolutely certain and so is Mother.  She says he looks exactly like I did when
I was a baby.”

Anna
decided to be practical.  “That could be wishful thinking.”

“It’s
more than wishful thinking!  Oh, Anna, this is the life I want.  Nothing I
have, my business, the Grange, means a thing if I don’t have my family with
me.”

She
knew he was fighting back tears.  “Then let’s just enjoy the moment,” she said,
leaning forward for a kiss and receiving one.

“But
I’ll still have that damned test, just to prove he’s mine,” he said sharply. 
He tried to regain his composure.  “I think I’ve told everyone.  Chris and
family in Wakefield send their love and I’ve told the folk at Bishop Sutton.  Hollie
is jumping around with glee.  She wants to visit as soon as possible.”

“Let
them come tomorrow.  I’ll be fine having visitors.”

“Are
you sure?  You only had him today.”

Anna
nodded.  “It’ll be my birthday and I’d love to see them.”  Jason’s shocked face
was a picture and she couldn’t help grinning.

He
gasped in surprise.  “Your…Your birthday!”

“First
of September.  Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten?”

“I
have…I did…!” he stammered.

She
looked away in haughty disdain.  “You didn’t forget last year when you bought
me the car.”

His
guilty look made her giggle.  “Sweetheart, I’m so sorry.  With everything
that’s happened it went completely out of my head.  But I’ll make it up to you,
I promise.  Tell me what you’d like, I’ll get you anything you want.”

She
turned her head back and smiled.  “I want you and the twins and Thomas.  You
said it yourself.  Nothing you have means a thing if you don’t have your
family.”

He
nodded and lifted up the coin round her neck.  “I ought to have learnt by now
that you value the meaning of life rather than its possessions.

She
eased the baby from her and after fastening her nightgown, turned him round so
that she could see his tiny face.  “Did you hear that, Thomas?” she said
tenderly.  “It looks like your daddy now understands where true happiness
really lies.”  She was answered with a soft burp.

Nigel
and Sophia coming to say goodbye interrupted them.  But their departure was
delayed for another thirty minutes as they spent extra time with the new
arrival.

“It
makes you quite broody,” said Nigel, holding the baby in his arms.

His
wife pulled a face.  “You can stop that!  I think three is enough!”  She took
the baby from him and handed him back to his mother.

“We
did talk of five when we married,” Nigel insisted.

“Well,
you can have the other two!” she said, pushing him out of the door.           

Dave drove his
car within a mile of the farm and walked the rest of the way.  When he reached
the low-lying buildings he could see the farmer feeding the pigs.  Mr Durrant
turned when he heard the footsteps in the yard.  He studied the young man
walking towards him.  He was smartly dressed and his manner was brisk as if he
was on an urgent mission.  Under his arm he carried a hard hat, the kind a
builder or engineer would wear.

The
farmer returned his smile.  “What can I do for you?”

“Could
you tell me the way to the Grange?” He grimaced.  “My car broke down about a
mile away.  I have an appointment with a…” He pulled a piece of paper from his
pocket.  “A Mrs Margaret Harrington.  I’m a structural engineer and she wants
me to look at the foundations of the house.” He took out his identification
badge and waved it in front of the old man’s face, smiling smugly as the farmer
scratched his head. 

“You’ve
got a goodly way to walk, young sir.  It’s over three miles to the Grange.”

Dave
gave an exaggerated groan.  “Oh, dear!  I need to get there quickly.  I’ve
another job on this afternoon.”

The
farmer thought for a moment.  “I’m going up there in about ten minutes, to
deliver some milk and eggs to the cook.  I could give you a lift.”

Dave
climbed into the Landrover keeping up a lively conversation, until the
Elizabethan manor came into view and the farmer parked at the side of the house
adjacent to the kitchen.

“If
you go through the door and up the stairs you’ll come to the main hall.  I’m
sure you’ll find someone about to help you.”

Dave
nodded and disappeared through the kitchen, thankful that there was nobody
about.  There wasn’t anyone in the hall either although he could hear a murmur
of voices from a room leading off the hall.  He climbed the stairs, the sound
of a baby crying directing his attention to a half-open door just along the
corridor.

He
stood on the threshold, peering in but keeping back so he wouldn’t be seen.  He
could see Anna walking towards the basket on a stand.  She was still in her
dressing gown and as she picked up the small bundle and carried it to the
armchair, he grinned.

Without
making a sound, he entered the room and came to her side.  She looked up
smiling expectantly, but then her smile vanished and she opened her mouth to
scream.

“Shh!”
he said, putting a finger to his lips.  “I’m not going to hurt you.”

Anna
felt faint.  She hadn’t expected to see him again, not when everyone was on the
lookout for him.  How had he got in?  Jason had been with her only minutes
before, but she had sent him downstairs to have coffee with Margaret and wait
for Hollie and Martyn to arrive with Ben and Mrs Wilby.  They would be here in
a matter of moments. 

Anna
steadied her breathing.  “Why have you come back?  Jason has agreed to have the
test.  Why can’t you wait for the result?”

“I
wanted to see my son.”

“That
remains to be seen.”  She held the baby close to her.  “There’s people coming
in a minute.  Coming to see the baby and me.  You’d better go while you have
the chance.”

“May
I hold him?”

“No!”

“I’ll
be gentle with him.”

“Please
go away.”

His
eyes turned hard.  “I mean to have access to him if he’s mine.”

“Then
go back to Wakefield and wait.”

He
looked around the room.  “It’s a great place this.  Centuries old.  Must be
worth a fortune.”

“It’s
been in the family a long time.”

He
nodded in appreciation.  “Of course, there might be no necessity for that DNA
test.”

“What
do you mean?”

“If
Harrington could make it worth my while, then I’ll go away and never come near
the boy.”

Anna
felt appalled.  “Do you mean give you money?  Are you talking about him buying
you off?  That’s despicable!”

He
shrugged.  “He’s loaded.  Can’t think he’ll miss a million.”

“A
million pounds?  Are you joking?”

He
turned to face her and she could see he wasn’t.  “Seems a reasonable amount.”

Anna
thought rapidly.  “But if Jason has the test and he’s the father, then that’s
the problem solved.  He wouldn’t have to pay you anything because the baby
would be his.”

“I’m
talking about dispensing with the test.  It would be a business transaction. 
He would understand that.”

Anna
held the baby closer to her.  “No! No!”  She wondered if she could make for the
door.  But with the baby in her arms, she felt vulnerable.  And she couldn’t
leave him in his basket while she went for help.

“Well,
it’s the test, then.  May the best man win.”  She watched him walking towards
the door, but suddenly he turned and winked at her.  “By the way.  Happy
birthday.”

After
he was gone there was deathly quiet for a few minutes before she heard angry
voices down in the hall and knew that Jason and her ex-husband had come face to
face once more.

Fran
appeared at the door.  “Are you OK, miss?  Master sent me to check on you.”

Anna
stood.  “I’m fine, but there’s something you have to do for me.  And you must
do it exactly as I say.”

Anna
carried her child out of the room and along the corridor to the top of the
stairs.  Looking down into the vast hall she could see Dave leaning against the
banister, wearing a smug smile.  Jason was shouting and Margaret held her son
by the arm preventing him from hitting out.  Slowly, she walked down the stairs
and it was when she reached halfway, that Jason broke his hold from his mother
and lunged forward to grab Dave by his jacket.

“No,
stop!”  Anna’s voice echoed round the walls and the two men suspended their
actions, staring upwards at the figure holding the baby in her arms. 

She
continued her descent until she reached the marble floor.  She glanced at Jason
and then at her ex-husband.  And then undaunted, she stepped forward and placed
the baby in Dave’s arms.

Jason
gave a muted cry with shock and Margaret murmured something inaudible under her
breath.  Fran appeared and hurried downstairs carrying the Moses basket and a
large bag of baby clothes.  She gave Anna a quick look and then placed them at
the feet of the stunned man holding the child.