Читать книгу Just Rewards - Barbara Taylor Bradford - Страница 12

Gideon Harte pushed open the door of the waiting room at Queen Charlotte’s in Chelsea, the hospital where Evan had been taken, and hurried into the room, his expression tense and worried.

Three pairs of female eyes instantly focused on him, and before he could say a word Linnet jumped up and rushed over to him.

‘Evan’s all right, Gid!’ Linnet exclaimed, wanting to reassure him at once. ‘She’s not hurt,’ she added, taking hold of his arm in a proprietary way.

‘Thank God,’ he answered, a surge of relief rushing through him. ‘I’ve been anxious all the way here.’

Marietta came to join them, and leaning towards Gideon she kissed his cheek. He put his arm around his future mother-in-law, a woman he genuinely liked, and asked, ‘What happened to Evan, Marietta? When Linnet rang me at the paper she said you were in Evan’s office when she had the accident.’

‘I wasn’t in the room, Gideon,’ Marietta answered swiftly, shaking her head. ‘Evan was already lying on the floor when I arrived. I’d no idea what had happened. I ran to her, of course, and when I was kneeling next to her she said she’d had a fluke accident with the chair. She then asked me to call the doctor. Linnet, who was with me, did so, and then we brought her here to the hospital.’

Gideon was frowning when he asked, ‘Did she fall out of the chair? Is that what you mean?’

‘Not exactly. Evan told me she had reached behind her with one hand, pulled the chair towards her and then sat down. Somehow the chair rolled away, and down she went on the floor. But she’s fine, Gideon, just as Linnet said. The fall scared her more than anything else, I think.’

‘I understand. The nurse at reception told me the doctor’s still with her. Why is that? Do you know, Marietta? Linnet?’ He looked from one woman to the other questioningly.

‘The doctor gave her a thorough examination when we arrived and came to tell us she was not injured, that all was well. Then he went back to her room.’ Marietta shrugged lightly, shaking her head. ‘I’m not sure why, he didn’t say.’

‘I hope he won’t be too long,’ Gideon responded, and then glanced across at the silent, blonde young woman who was sitting in a corner. She was dressed entirely in red, which he thought somewhat flamboyant. He wondered who she was. He had never seen her before.

Marietta, noticing his sudden curious glance across the room, exclaimed, ‘How rude I’m being, I must introduce you to my youngest daughter Angharad. Evan’s sister.’

On hearing her name Angharad immediately jumped to her feet. Thrusting out her hand she said, ‘Hello, Gideon. It sure is great to meet you.’

Gideon took an instant dislike to her, discovered he had no desire to go anywhere near her. Unfortunately, he had no choice but to take hold of the outstretched hand. It was unnaturally cold, icy, in fact, and he dropped it after giving it a swift shake.

‘How do you do?’ he said in a most formal voice, his manner reserved and coolly indifferent.

She stared at him, looking him up and down in a brazen way.

He stared back, rapidly taking everything in. There was no question that she was pretty, with finely-wrought features, perfect complexion, and large, dark brown eyes. And yet Gideon found her curiously repellent; he took a step backward. His guard went up and his gut instinct kicked in, warning him to be wary of this one. Danger signals went off in his head. She’s trouble, he thought.

It struck him that the platinum blonde hair did nothing to lighten the darkness he sensed lived deep within her, and suddenly, in a flash of cold clarity, he saw her in his mind’s eye as she really was … a small, dark, furtive creature, hiding in corners, peering through keyholes, spying on people, eavesdropping, forever seeking her own advantage. Momentarily, he was startled by these curious thoughts, and yet he was convinced he was accurate in his assessment of Angharad Hughes. He sensed that wickedness dwelt there.

Moving away from her, anxious to put distance between them, he strode across the floor, then turned, glanced at Linnet, his hand on the door knob. ‘I’m going to talk to the nurse at reception. I must see Evan, and right away.’ As he jerked open the door, he found himself staring into the face of Charles Addney, Evan’s obstetrician.

The doctor, who had been about to enter the room, exclaimed, ‘There you are, Mr Harte! I was just coming to fetch you. Let’s go and see Miss Hughes, shall we?’

Gideon nodded and stepped out into the corridor, closing the door behind him. ‘I understand she’s all right. She is, isn’t she?’

‘Absolutely. Except for a bruised coccyx. That’s the tail bone at the end of the spine. She went down rather hard, I’m afraid. But there’s no real damage, and the babies are perfectly fine.’

Gideon heaved a sigh of relief, then asked, ‘So I can take her home, can’t I?’

The doctor paused in the corridor and turned to face Gideon. ‘There’s no reason why you can’t, but she must have bed rest for the remainder of the day. I’ve done a thorough examination, and no harm’s been done, but I do think she should start her maternity leave from her job. Immediately.’

‘I couldn’t agree more,’ Gideon responded as they began to walk along the corridor again. ‘I’ve been trying to persuade her to do that for several weeks now. We’re going up to Yorkshire on Saturday, but perhaps we ought to leave tomorrow. Her problem is that she’s a workaholic …’ His voice trailed off.

‘I know that, and I’ve just had a long talk with her about her work. I told her to put it on hold for the moment. I think you’ll find she’s now most amenable about leaving for Yorkshire tomorrow.’ Dr Addney chuckled. ‘Although she did say she was going to take her laptop with her.’

‘Naturally,’ Gideon exclaimed, and laughed with him.

‘Well, here we are,’ the doctor said, pausing at one of the doors. ‘Let’s go in, shall we?’ A moment later he was ushering Gideon into Evan’s room.

Gideon hurried over to the bed, relieved that Evan looked exactly the same as she had this morning, except that she was somewhat paler than usual. She was sitting up in the bed, surrounded by pillows, quite obviously none the worse for the fall.

‘Gideon!’ she exclaimed the moment she saw him. ‘Don’t look so upset! I’m all right.’ She beamed at him, her smile warm and welcoming, her large expressive grey-blue eyes full of love for him.

‘I’ve been so worried,’ he whispered as he bent over her, put his arms around her, kissed her cheek, then stroked her dark head. ‘Actually, I was quite beside myself. I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you and the twins, Evan. I love you all so much.’

‘Nothing’s going to happen to us, Gideon darling. The three of us are perfect. Truly. And I love you, too. So will the boys, once they … pop out.’

Watching them, Charles Addney felt a flush of pleasure. How wonderful it was to see two people as much in love as they were. It did his heart good to know that they had each other, had managed to find each other in this dangerous and uncertain world in which they all lived these days. He closed the door quietly behind him as he slipped out and left them alone with their happiness in each other.

‘How on earth did you manage to fall?’ Gideon asked. He was sitting on the side of the bed, holding Evan’s hand, gazing into that face he had come to know so intimately in the past year and now loved so much.

She shook her head, gave a small laugh. ‘I don’t know, darling. Just clumsy, I suppose.’

‘Clumsy? You? Never. You’re the most graceful person I know, have ever known, actually. Your mother said it was a fluke accident, so come on, tell me what exactly happened.’

Evan pursed her lips together, her eyes narrowing slightly as she wondered how best to explain. She wasn’t quite sure herself how she had managed to fall in the way she had. Clearing her throat, she explained, ‘I was standing in front of my desk, talking to Angharad … Oh, have you met her? She came to the hospital with Mom and Linnet.’ Her dark brows lifted questioningly.

‘Yes, I’ve met her,’ he murmured, staring hard at her. ‘Are you saying she was in the room with you?’

‘Oh yes, she’d come over to the store to see me. It was very unexpected, I didn’t even know she was in England.’

Gideon felt his hackles rising, and he sat up a little straighter on the bed, looking intently at Evan. ‘So, she was in the room. You were talking to her from behind the desk. And then what?’

‘I reached behind me, pulled the chair towards me, the typing chair I use at my desk. I was quite sure it was right behind me, and I sat down. But it had rolled away, off to one side, and naturally I fell on the floor. With a very hard bump, too.’

Gideon nodded but said nothing. He couldn’t help wondering if Angharad had caused the accident. But how could she have? She was at the other side of the desk … Evan had just told him that. Nonetheless, he couldn’t help thinking she was responsible in some way for Evan’s nasty spill.

‘When you fell did she come to help you?’ he wondered out loud.

‘Yes, she came over to me, but she was really terrified, you know, that I might have badly injured myself, and so she just stood there, asking me if I was okay. I’d felt a stab of pain in my stomach and so I’d brought my legs up, as if trying to protect the boys. Then suddenly Ruth appeared with the water I’d asked her to bring me earlier, and Mom and Linnet were with her. Mom ran to me, got down onto the floor next to me, and I told her to call the doctor.’

Evan now lay back against the pillows, her expression one of bafflement as she murmured, ‘I just don’t know how I could have been so careless, falling like that.’

‘You weren’t careless, sweetheart, it’s as you said it was, a freak accident. Thank God you didn’t injure yourself. Now, let’s get you dressed. Dr Addney says I can take you home, but you have to rest all day. And tonight. Tomorrow evening we’re going to Pennistone Royal instead of on Saturday.’

‘But I—’

‘No buts, Evan, and no arguments. That’s it. I’ve made the decision. The doctor told me you should start maternity leave now. So I’m afraid it’s no more Harte’s, not until well after the twins are born.’

‘Oh, don’t say that! I hope there’ll be lots more Hartes. Well, one Harte in particular,’ Evan said, smiling at him.

‘I certainly hope you’re referring to me.’

‘Of course I am, silly. Who else do I love but you?’

Little things kept coming back to her, things she had forgotten long ago. And yet they had been significant when they happened. Pushed resolutely to the back of her mind, they were now coming to the fore, clear and vivid as they took shape once more. And each memory was shaped and defined by one thing … Angharad’s jealousy and envy of her.

Evan lay under the duvet in the bedroom of Gideon’s flat. Their bedroom now, since she had moved in with him months ago. They had wanted to live together once she had become pregnant; this apart, Gideon’s sister Natalie had returned from her sojourn in Sydney, and because it was her flat Evan was occupying, moving out had become mandatory.

‘And why not live with me, your future husband?’ Gideon had asked, adding, ‘Come live with me, and be my love, and we will all the pleasures prove.’

‘What lovely words.’

‘Yes. But they’re not mine, Evan. They’re Christopher Marlowe’s. However, they truly do reflect my sentiments entirely.’

And mine as well, she thought now, pulling the duvet up around her shoulders, making herself comfortable. Both Dr Addney and Gideon had impressed upon her that she should rest all day and evening, and she knew they were correct. She was all right, no harm had been done, but she’d had a bit of a shock. Rest was the best medicine, just as they had said to her.

Angharad.

The name hung there, floating in mid-air before her eyes.

Evan had not failed to miss the distaste in Gideon’s voice when he had mentioned her sister earlier. And she completely understood why he had sounded that way. With the innovation of the platinum blonde hair and all that awful red clothing she had looked flashy, and just a little bit cheap. And especially when contrasted with their mother, perfectly groomed and turned out in a mélange of soft beiges, and Linnet in her smart black Chanel suit with its pristine white-satin collar and cuffs.

Evan cringed inside at the memory of all that dreadful red. Pretty though Angharad was, she had never looked worse than she did today. It was the hair as well; it did not suit her, was totally inappropriate. Unexpectedly, a thought struck her. Angharad had looked like Mrs Santa Claus in the red outfit and with her platinum blonde hair. Under other circumstances it might have been amusing and she would have laughed, but not today; her coming to the store dressed like that was embarrassing. And how mean-spirited she had been.

Then it came, a sudden flash of memory – and remembrances of a Christmas long ago. In Connecticut. She had been seven, or thereabouts, and Angharad around three and a half, and very jealous of her, competitive even then … It was the Christmas that Evan’s grandmother had given her a puppy, a beautiful chocolate-brown Lab with unusual green eyes. They had named him Hudson, after the river.

‘Gran, Gran, I can’t find Hudson! He’s disappeared,’ Evan wailed, worry ringing her face as she ran into the big family kitchen where her grandmother stood at the long oak table cooking for the Christmas holidays.

Glynnis was making stuffing for the turkey, giblet gravy, apple sauce and all sorts of other good things to eat.

Glancing over her shoulder at Evan, she said, ‘I saw him trotting after Angharad a few minutes ago. Try the solarium, lovey. Perhaps you’ll find them there, playing with his tennis ball.’

Rushing back out into the front hall, Evan now raced down the corridor in the direction of the solarium. When she came to the door which led into the room she was stunned to see Angharad pushing the puppy outside into the snow and then locking the door.

‘Angharad! What are you doing?’ Evan shrieked in alarm, her shoes clattering against the terracotta flagstones as she flew into the solarium. ‘It’s freezing outside, Hudson will die out there. It’s too cold for a little puppy. He’s only nine weeks old! You’re a bad girl, very bad.’

Evan pulled Angharad away from the door, pushed her out of the way roughly, glaring at her and exclaiming, ‘You’re very bad. Bad.’ Frantically unlocking the door, wrenching it open, she ran outside, glanced around, her eyes seeking the puppy. He was nowhere to be seen and her eyes filled up with tears.

‘Hudson, Hudson, where are you?’ she shouted, her voice quavering. He couldn’t be far away, surely not, she thought desperately.

Angharad had come outside and was standing on the steps of the solarium. ‘I’m not a bad girl,’ she yelled at Evan. ‘I hate that puppy. I hate you. It’s the dog that’s bad. It wee-weed in my room. So there, Miss Big Shot!’ She went back inside, banged the solarium door and locked it.

Evan paid no attention to her. She was far too worried about Hudson, intent on finding her puppy. Then she suddenly spotted the little paw prints in the snow, and began to follow them, pulling her cardigan around her shoulders, shivering in the icy wind, regretting she had not stopped to get her coat.

It didn’t take Evan long to find Hudson. The dog had sunk down into a snowdrift against the terrace wall, and was whimpering.

Bending over the snowdrift she almost fell into it herself as she reached down to retrieve Hudson. He was wet and cold, trembling with fright, and still whimpering as she took hold of him firmly and lifted him out.

‘Little Hudsy, here I am. You’re safe,’ Evan soothed. ‘I’ll soon have you warm,’ she whispered against his wet hair, bundling him inside her cardigan, wrapping it around him, cradling him in her arms. Holding him close to her body for extra warmth, she hurried back to the solarium.

Evan turned the knob only to discover that the door had been locked by Angharad. The child stood on the other side of the French doors, making faces at her; she stuck out her tongue, then laughed.

‘Open this door!’ Evan demanded, banging on one of the glass panes, filled with irritation. It was cold in the garden.

‘No, I won’t.’ Angharad put her tongue out again, swung around and ran away from the French doors.

Racing along the path, Evan went to the back door of the house which led straight into the kitchen. Stumbling inside, she brought a blast of cold air with her, which made Glynnis swing around. She looked startled when she saw Evan.

‘You’re going to catch your death of cold, my girl, going out without a coat in this weather,’ Glynnis chastised, then stopped when she saw that Evan had the puppy dog in her arms. She also noticed that the two of them were shivering.

‘Goodness me, whatever happened to Hudson? He looks very wet,’ Glynnis exclaimed, frowning in concern. ‘Here, give him to me, Evan, I’ll wrap him in this warm kitchen towel. As for you, lovey, take off that damp cardigan at once and stand in front of the fire. You’ll be warm and dry in a jiffy.’

‘Yes, Gran,’ Evan said dutifully, handing over the puppy, then struggling out of her damp cardigan which she then laid on the hearth.

Once the puppy was dry and nestling in a cosy bed of thick towels in his basket, Glynnis said, ‘Do you want to tell me what happened, Evan?’

Evan let out a long sigh. ‘I’m not a snitch.’

‘I know that. But how did the puppy get outside in the first place?’

‘I found him in a snowdrift,’ Evan muttered, avoiding answering the question.

‘Certainly Hudson can’t open doors, so somebody must’ve put him outside, Evan. That’s the obvious answer. Perhaps a little girl called Angharad, eh?’

Evan was silent.

‘It was Angharad,’ Elayne announced clearly, walking into the kitchen. ‘I saw her shoving Hudson out into the snow, Grandma.’ Elayne made a face. ‘She’s always jealous of Evan, and me, too.’

Glynnis nodded. ‘I understand. Well, please go and find her, Elayne, and bring her to me. At once.’

Elayne rushed off.

Glynnis looked pointedly at Evan. ‘I know you never want to confront her, but this time Angharad has gone too far.’

When Evan was silent, Glynnis said, ‘You know that, don’t you?’

‘Yes, Gran.’

Within minutes Elayne came back into the kitchen, pulling Angharad along by the hand. At five she was taller and stronger, and so she was able to control the younger child, who was struggling and looked sullen.

When they came to a stop in front of Glynnis, she said in a quiet voice, ‘Angharad, what you did was a cruel thing, putting that defenceless little puppy out in the freezing cold. Hudson would have soon died in that snowdrift, there’s no doubt about that. You’ve been a wicked girl. I don’t often use such a strong word with you, even though you are frequently extremely naughty. However, this time you deserve it.’ Leaning closer, bending slightly, looking into the child’s face, Glynnis asked, ‘Now, explain why you did such a cruel thing.’

‘The dog wee-weed in my room,’ Angharad mumbled.

‘Oh really. That’s surprising, since you usually keep the door closed. Let’s go upstairs, shall we? All of us.’

Glynnis, her face still grim, shepherded her three granddaughters up the front stairs and into the bedroom shared by Angharad and Elayne.

‘Now, show me where the puppy had an accident,’ she said.

Angharad hung back for a split second, then ran to a small, damp spot visible on the light-coloured carpet. She pointed to it. ‘There! It’s there.’

‘It doesn’t look like urine to me,’ Glynnis muttered, and kneeling down, she sniffed the spot, then looked up at Angharad, her face grim again. She said, ‘This spot doesn’t have a smell at all. I think it’s water.’

‘Yes, it is, Grandma,’ Elayne told her. ‘She spilled it last night.’

‘I thought it was something like that,’ Glynnis replied, getting up from the floor. ‘And now you’ve resorted to fibbing, Angharad. Well there’s only one thing to do with a girl who lies. She’s got to be left alone to think about what telling the truth means, how important it is. Girls who lie are not fit for decent company.’

‘I didn’t lie!’ Angharad cried, glaring at Elayne.

‘I believe you did,’ Glynnis exclaimed. ‘And it’s not the first time. You’re to stay here in your room until your father and mother get back from New York with Grandpa. Then we’ll see what happens.’

She walked across the bedroom floor, beckoning to the other two girls. After ushering them out, Glynnis turned and looked at Angharad. ‘I’m not going to lock this door, but don’t you dare come out.’

Once they were back in the kitchen, Glynnis served Evan and Elayne large bowls of chicken vegetable soup and small chicken sandwiches. They ate their lunch dutifully and in total silence, afraid to speak. And Glynnis didn’t say a word either.

It was much later that afternoon, when she was playing with the puppy at one end of the kitchen, that Evan heard her grandmother talking to her mother. ‘There’s something wicked in her, Marietta,’ Glynnis said at one moment. ‘Angharad tells lies, and she has a cruel streak.’ As Marietta began to protest, Glynnis went on firmly, ‘She was an abandoned child … we know nothing about her genes, now admit that’s true, Marietta.’

‘I’m not denying it,’ Marietta finally answered in a low voice. ‘But she is pretty, and she can be very sweet, you know. Very loving.’

‘Yes, most certainly she can, when you’re giving into her, spoiling her,’ Glynnis pointed out.

Marietta did not answer.

Evan, who had listened to this exchange, kept herself hidden at the back of the kitchen, not wanting the two women to become aware of her presence.

As the memory slowly faded, Evan once again accepted that Angharad had not changed very much. She was just as envious and spiteful as she had always been. It struck Evan that Angharad had come to the store today spoiling for a fight, had wanted to upset her intentionally. And if they hadn’t quarrelled she wouldn’t have fallen, would she?

Evan shivered slightly and huddled deeper into the bedclothes. And then she was filled with relief that she hadn’t mentioned their quarrel to Gideon. She was certain he had already spotted something in Angharad which he didn’t like. His tone of voice had given him away. Angharad would never find favour with him, of that she was aware.