The Changeling (39 page)

There was a little smirk about her lips. I guessed she was thinking he might provide the solution to my troubles.

It was about a week after that incident that Benedict came to Manorleigh. Oliver Gerson came with him.

They had not been in the house more than twenty minutes when the trouble started.

Benedict was in his study and the children at their lessons in the schoolroom. Belinda was very excited because Oliver Gerson was in the house and she guessed that we should all go riding together as we did when he was here.

I was mounting the stairs when I heard angry voices coming from the study. I paused. Then I heard Benedict saying: “Go. Go at once. Get out of this house.”

I stood still, horror creeping over me. For the moment I thought he must be talking to Celeste.

Then I heard Oliver Gerson: “Don’t imagine you can talk like that to me. I know too much.”

“I don’t care what you know. You are finished here. Do you understand? Get out.”

“Look here,” said Oliver Gerson. “You can’t do this, I tell you. Don’t imagine that I shall just go meekly. You can’t afford that, Mr. Benedict Lansdon. I repeat … I know too much.”

“I don’t care what you know. I won’t have you here. You must be mad if you think you can blackmail me.”

“You can’t afford to be so high and mighty. All I ask is what would be expected: after the marriage … partnership. It would be good for you, too. Enable you to be free of the whole unsavory business. It’s not good for your political image, you know. You won’t want certain things known. The Devil’s Crown, eh? What goes on … Mr. Benedict Lansdon, the owner of the most disreputable club in Town. Come, come, be reasonable.”

“I would not allow my stepdaughter to marry you, no matter what you threatened to do.”

I could not have moved then if I had wanted to. They were talking about me. I tried to calm myself. It was vital that I understand what this was all about.

“And …” went on my stepfather, “if Rebecca knew what you are you wouldn’t have the ghost of a chance with her.”

“She knows me well enough.”

“But you admit you have spoken to her.”

“I tell you it is only a matter of time. I am almost there, and she’ll be ready to defy you. Think again.”

“I tell you I will not have it.”

“Isn’t it her decision?”

“I am her guardian. I will forbid it. I have no doubt you have been a charming suitor and in the event of failing with her you have your eyes on Belinda. You’d have to wait a long time for that one. But get this out of your mind. You are not getting a foothold in this family. I know too much about you and now you are indulging in attempted blackmail, I tell you it is the end.”

“You can’t do it, Lansdon. Just think what it means. It put an end to your grandfather’s political ambitions. Can’t you learn from him? This Devil’s Crown affair. It’s damning.”

“How … how did you …?”

“How did I discover? Never mind, I did. Think again. You’d better be careful. You’ll be better off as my stepfather-in-law, you know, than if certain things came out into the open.”

“Get out of this house.”

“Do you think you can push me out like this? What of my contracts?”

“It will be arranged through lawyers.”

“Don’t think I shall go meekly.”

“I don’t care how you go as long as you go.”

“It’s not the end of this, Benedict Lansdon.”

“It’s the end of our association, Oliver Gerson.”

I knew the door was about to open and I sped upstairs. I stood on the landing above looking down. I saw Oliver Gerson stride down the stairs.

I still stood there in a dazed fashion. Benedict came up the stairs and saw me.

“Rebecca!” he said, and I realized at once that he knew I had overheard at least something of what had been said.

“You were listening.”

I could not deny it.

“Come into my study,” he said. “It is time we talked.”

I followed him in. He shut the door and stood looking at me for a few seconds.

Then he said: “Sit down. How much did you hear?”

“I heard him threatening you, demanding a partnership … and then something about marrying me.”

He said: “How could you marry a man like that! Did you imagine yourself in love with him?”

I flushed. “No. I certainly did not.”

“Thank God for that. I couldn’t make up my mind. You were with him a great deal. All those rides with the children … all that gallantry.”

“You … noticed that?”

“Of course I did.”

“I’m surprised. I thought you were quite oblivious of our existence.”

“Belinda is my daughter. You are my stepdaughter. You were left in my charge. Of course I am aware of you. I blame myself for allowing him to come here.”

“I gather he is a close associate of yours. It was natural that he should come here.”

“I guessed what he was after when he paid so much attention to you.”

“He wanted a partnership in your business, I gather, and he thought if he married me it would help him to get it.”

“That is so.”

“He did ask me to marry him some time ago. I declined.”

“He is so sure of himself that he thought in time you would change your mind.”

“He made an error of judgment.”

“I am glad of that. He has a certain superficial charm. I should have seen through him before. When I told him I would never allow him to marry you, I think he lost his head. He saw his careful plans coming to nothing … and then he tried to blackmail me. You heard it. You might as well understand the position clearly … particularly as you are concerned.”

“I am a little shocked. I don’t know what to think.”

“You couldn’t see the motive behind all the gallantry.”

“What surprises me most is that you were aware of it.”

“Do you think I am blind?”

“To your family … yes. I know you are very astute in other matters.”

“Your welfare has always been my concern. You were left in my care by …” He faltered a little. “By your mother. I looked upon it as a trust. I know that you resented me right from the moment we were married. I tried to understand it. She explained it to me. She said that because you had no father you and she had been particularly close. You didn’t want change. We never got together, did we? And then … she died.”

He turned away and I said: “I know. I lost her too.”

“She was … everything I wanted …”

I nodded.

“There has been animosity between us … It was not my wish …”

“I see that now.”

And I was seeing a completely different person. He was vulnerable as I had never thought of him before. He might be the stern ruthless man but he had his weaknesses … and he had loved my mother and needed her … he needed her now.

I was sad and lonely. I had lost her, as he had, and then I had thought I could have a happy life with Pedrek, and now I had lost him, too.

He said: “We should try to help each other, you and I … instead of which …” He was silent for a short while and then went on: “There was only ever one trouble between your mother and me. It was these clubs. She hated it when I inherited them from my grandfather. She wanted me to get rid of them. I should have listened to her. It was the only time there was contention between us. She knew my grandfather. He was an adventurer. Everyone said I was like him. But I think there is a difference. I should have listened to her. I should have got rid of them long ago.”

I said: “I heard something about … was it The Devil’s Crown?”

“Yes … I was considering acquiring it. Gerson believes I already have. He does not know as much as he thinks he does. I can’t imagine how he has so much information about my affairs.”

A sudden memory came back to me.

I said: “Do you keep confidential papers in that locked room?”

“Yes,” he said.

“So it is not entirely a shrine. I thought you kept it as it was because …”

“I did,” he admitted. “Then it occurred to me that it was just the place to keep secret documents.”

I was surprised that at such a time I could feel a twinge of amusement. I supposed that was typical of him, that in the midst of his emotions he could think of such a thing. He had made that shrine to her memory and he could at the same time use it as a secret cache for important documents. I seemed to see my mother’s face smiling indulgently, whispering: “Yes, but that is Benedict.”

I said: “You kept private documents in there yet you let Oliver Gerson have access to them.”

He stared at me in amazement. “No. Never,” he said.

I went on: “He was here in that locked room.”

“When?”

“Not very long ago. I heard noises there and I made Mrs. Emery get her key. We went there and he was there with some papers before him … at the bureau. He said you had given him your key.”

He was incredulous. “He must have got hold of Mrs. Emery’s key.”

“No. She had hers. We had gone in with that and found him there. He had locked the door on the inside.”

“I can’t believe this. My key has never left the ring on which I keep it.”

“Well, it was not Mrs. Emery’s because she had hers.”

“I am astounded, Rebecca. I can’t imagine how this could happen. There are only two keys.”

“If one of them had been in his possession for a while couldn’t he have had another made?”

“That’s the answer. He must have stolen one of the keys at sometime.”

“It seems the only reasonable solution.”

“And he has been examining papers …”

“Does that make any difference to what he can bring against you?”

He shook his head. “You know so much now, so let me tell you this. The clubs which my grandfather started and owned for many years brought him great riches. He was a clever man who loved adventure. Life without risks would not have been exciting enough for him. He enjoyed what he did. Some would say he was a rogue … but many loved him. I have realized that we are different. I am not of his caliber. I have inherited some of his qualities … but not all. You know my ambitions are great. They mean more to me than that fortune which comes through questionable channels. For some time I have been working on disposing of the clubs and concentrating entirely on politics. As you know I made a fortune from the goldmine. I still have a small interest in that. Money is no problem. It was just the thought of more that tempted me. Now I am following the advice which she gave me … all those years ago. I shall dispose of my interests in the clubs. That is what Gerson does not know. He has worked for me for some time. He is ambitious. He plans to have a big share by acquiring a partnership … well, you’ve heard all that.”

“And this attempt to blackmail you, what harm could it do you?”

“This Devil’s Crown which I was considering adding to the others … is more than just a night club. There are activities going on there which are quite unsavory. I think it is possibly the haunt of drug traffickers. It was that which decided me that I wanted to get out.”

“So you are not caught up in anything of that sort yet?”

“Nor do I intend to be. I shall not be acquiring The Devil’s Crown, I think.”

“Then Oliver Gerson’s threats are groundless. He could bring nothing against you.”

“Well, he could always remind people of my connection with the clubs.”

“And that would harm you?”

“If I were in the Cabinet, perhaps.”

“So you think it wise to get out?”

“I should have listened to your mother long ago. But I am so pleased you are not involved with him.”

“There was never any intention on my part to marry him, but if there had been …”

“Oh yes,” he said with a faint smile, “you would have rejected my advice. I anticipated conflict so I am only too delighted that there is no need for it.”

“But if I did decide to marry …”

The smile deepened. “You would not be prepared to listen to me.”

“I should expect to make my own decision.”

“And if your choice had fallen on an unsuitable person such as Oliver Gerson, I should have done everything in my power to prevent the marriage because … well, I should feel it would be what your mother would have wanted. I wish …”

I looked at him waiting for him to go on.

“I wish,” he continued, “that I knew how Gerson got that key. I can’t tell you how pleased I am that you are not involved with him. That pleases me more than anything.”

He meant that. I was amazed.

It was a turning point in our relationship.

L
EAH WAS IN THE
garden with the children and I was just about to join them when a telegram arrived.

I glanced at it and saw that it was addressed to Leah. I took it to her at once. She was startled and took it from me with trembling fingers. Like most people who received them she was immediately thinking of bad news.

She read it and stared at me.

“Is something wrong, Leah?” I asked.

Belinda ran to her and took the telegram. “ ‘Your mother very ill,’ ” she said. “ ‘Asking for you. Come if possible.’ ”

I snatched the telegram from her. Belinda had read it correctly. “Oh Leah,” I said. “You must go at once.”

Leah looked round in a bewildered way. “How can I? The children …”

“Of course we can manage. Don’t you think you should go? She is asking for you.”

Leah nodded dumbly.

“You could catch the evening train,” I went on. “It would get you to Cornwall in the morning. Someone will meet you. Don’t worry about what’s happening here. We can manage.”

She seemed very undecided but at length she agreed that she must go.

I kept thinking of Mrs. Polhenny … ill. I wondered what had happened to her. The last time my grandmother had mentioned her, everything seemed as it always had been.

A few days later I had a letter from my grandmother.

“We are all a little shocked by the death of Mrs. Polhenny,” she wrote. “She was so much a part of the place and it is hard to imagine that we shall not see her any more. She was riding home from one of her cases when the wheel of her old boneshaker seems to have come into contact with a stone of some sort. It must have been a sizeable one. Unfortunately she was at the top of Goonhilly Hill and she came hurtling down. You know how steep it is. She fell and cracked her skull. They got her to the hospital in Plymouth but by the time she reached there she was in a bad state. A messenger came to tell me that she was asking for me … urgently. She wanted to say something very important to me. They had already sent for Leah.