A Vengeful Deception

by Lee Wilkinson

  ‘Then why are you so reluctant to tell me the truth?’

  ‘Because there’s someone else involved.’

  ‘You mean your ex-boyfriend?’

  Her jaw dropped. ‘How did you know?’

  ‘I know everything. Or almost everything. So you may as well give me your version.’

  Taking a shaky breath, she began, ‘I think I told you David worked for Drombies, a firm of auctioneers and valuers?’

  When Gideon said nothing, she went on, ‘Part of his job was to visit potential clients, to look at whatever they had to sell and give them a provisional estimate of what it might fetch in the saleroom. He suggested that if he came across any books or manuscripts I might be interested in, he’d find out if the owner was willing to sell privately. At first I wasn’t too keen on the idea. I was concerned that it wasn’t exactly above board, and worried that if Drombies found out his job might be at risk. But he said there was no harm being done and, so long as the whole thing was kept quiet and only cash changed hands, there should be no problem.

  ‘One day while he was looking through what he described as a largely worthless collection of manuscripts, he found that letter, apparently written and signed by John Donne. The lady who owned the collection had been recently widowed and was planning to move to Australia to be with her daughter and grandchildren. David put it to her that as the Donne letter was the only thing of real value, it might pay to sell it privately and save the commission, which suited her very well. She let him have the letter there and then and promised to provide a provenance when she’d looked through her late husband’s papers. I paid the asking price. It was a fair price, but less than I might have had to pay if there’d been stiff saleroom competition. But the provenance wasn’t forthcoming and when, after a time, I asked David to find out why, he discovered that the house was empty and the lady in question had gone abroad without leaving a forwarding address.’

  His face hard and expressionless, Gideon had listened to her explanation without saying a word. Now he asked trenchantly, ‘And the other three? How did you get them?’

  ‘David found them for me. All three came from the same source. They were part of a collection sold when the owner died.’

  Firmly, she added, ‘And, if you look, you’ll find that they each have a provenance—after my first mistake I refused to hand over any money until one was produced—and there’s no mention of Sir Ian having owned them.’

  Gathering up the four manuscripts and replacing them in the envelope, Gideon said cynically, ‘I did say provenances could be faked.’ Before she could protest, he went on, ‘What about the others?’

  ‘Others? What others?’

  ‘There are several more missing from the collection that don’t seem to be here.’

  ‘You can’t still think they belonged to your father?’ she protested sharply.

  ‘I don’t think; I know.’

  ‘But I’ve told you where they came from.’

  ‘Though I found your story ingenious, as well as entertaining, I’m of the opinion that that’s all it is—a story.’

  ‘But you have to believe me! I got them through David—’

  ‘Oh, I believe that you got them through David, but I also believe that it was without his knowledge.’

  ‘I don’t understand… You’re not making sense… How could I have got them without his knowledge?’

  ‘When he brought you here and showed you around—’

  ‘But he never brought me here! How could—?’

  ‘My dear Anna, I know both of you have been here several times over the past year.’

  ‘But I haven’t seen David for over a year…’

  As though she hadn’t spoken, Gideon went on, ‘You had the run of the place. Ample opportunity to take something that, with a little resourcefulness, you knew you could sell. I have to hand it to you. You weren’t too greedy. Had you taken more than one or two at a time, the thefts might have been discovered sooner. Tell me, why didn’t you fake a provenance for the John Donne?’

  Her face white as a sheet, she said shakily, ‘I don’t know where you’re getting these crazy ideas. I think you must be mad. If David ever came here to value your father’s collection, or anything else for that matter—and I presume that’s what you mean—I knew absolutely nothing about it. I’d never set foot in Hartington Manor until I brought you home on Friday night…’

  Gideon’s hard face showed a mixture of anger, disbelief, and something else she couldn’t easily identify. ‘I have to hand it to you. You don’t give up easily, and in an odd sort of way I can almost admire your pluck.’

  ‘I don’t want your admiration,’ she cried. ‘I want you to believe that I’m not a thief!’

  He sighed. ‘I can understand your reluctance to admit it, but I want to clear the air. Get things into the open. If it makes things easier, I can see how you might have been tempted. A collection you’d have given your eye teeth for… The owner dead… No one who seemed to care what happened to it—’

  ‘Look,’ she broke in desperately, ‘there’s always been staff at the Manor—you told me yourself that Mrs Morrison and her husband stayed on after your father died—surely they would know who’s been here?’

  ‘They do know. It was Mary who first suspected what was going on and warned me. She told me about the number of times David had been here, first on his own, and then over this last year with a companion. She described the woman he’d brought with him as being tall and having long dark hair and blue-grey eyes. Apparently he’d taken this woman all round the house and shown her the secret passage, as well as my father’s collection of books and manuscripts…’

  So that was why Gideon had expected her to know about the secret passage…

  ‘Mary Morrison has sharp eyes, and a lot of the books might have proved a little bulky to secrete, but it must have been comparatively easy to slip a few sheets of manuscript into a handbag?’

  ‘I wouldn’t know,’ Anna said curtly. ‘As I keep telling you, it’s more than a year since I set eyes on David, so whoever he brought to the manor it wasn’t me. And if Mrs Morrison was here now I’m sure she’d tell you the same. When she gets back from Scotland—’

  ‘I’m hoping it won’t be necessary to wait that long to find out the truth—’

  The sound of an engine cut through his words. A moment later a car drew up outside and they heard the slam of a door.

  It seemed the visitor he was expecting had arrived.

  ‘Excuse me for a moment,’ Gideon said.

  Closing the door behind him, he went through into the hall, leaving Anna sitting in the chair feeling emotionally battered, limp as a rag doll which had been ill-used and thrown aside.

  Through the chaos of her thoughts, one thing was clear. Only when Mrs Morrison returned from Scotland, and that wouldn’t be until after New Year, would she stand a chance of proving her innocence. Until then he would continue to believe she was a thief and a liar.

  She bit her soft inner lip until she tasted blood. Thinking what he did, how could he have made love to her in the way he had?

  But of course he hadn’t made love to her. On his side at least love had never entered the equation. Though he’d been a caring and generous lover, to him it had been merely sex—with a dollop of revenge thrown in for extra spice.

  He was a passionate, red-blooded man; she had been there and he’d wanted her. Apart from some games thrown in to smooth the sharp edges, a few honeyed lies to sweeten the seduction, it had been as simple as that.

  Which explained why he’d been so disconcerted when he’d discovered she was a virgin. Having just used her, he’d felt a bit ashamed.

  But nowhere near as ashamed as she felt. Not only had she abandoned all her principles and given herself to him gladly, but she had fallen in love with him…

  She had even been foolish enough to hope that he might feel something for her. That was the worst part, the bitterest humiliation of all…

  Fai
ntly, she heard the front door open and close, then the sound of voices, one of them undoubtedly a woman’s.

  If only she could leave this minute and never have to see him again, she thought feverishly. It would mean walking. But crawling on her hands and knees would be preferable to having to stay here and watch him smile at some other woman while he looked at her with contempt.

  She was wearing her coat, but her feet were clad in velvet slippers. Her case and the few things she’d left upstairs she was prepared to go without, but she would need her boots and handbag, which were in the kitchen.

  Perhaps she could fetch them and slip away while Gideon was busy with his visitor?

  Anna had jumped up when she realised that he and the unknown woman would almost certainly be either in the hall or the kitchen, so there was no way she could leave without him knowing.

  Though maybe he’d be glad to be rid of her now?

  Almost before the thought was complete, some sure and certain instinct told her that he wasn’t yet finished with her and, visitor or no visitor, if she tried to leave, he would quietly find a way to prevent her, to keep her here.

  Unless she kicked up a fuss?

  Dismissing the idea, she wryly acknowledged that pride wouldn’t allow her to make a scene in front of some other woman who might well be his lover.

  Feeling a sense of anger and injustice, her spirits at their lowest ebb, she sank down again.

  Hands clenched tightly together, she was attempting to come to terms with the unpalatable fact that for the moment she was trapped here, when she caught sight of the phone that Gideon had left on the desk.

  Her determination returned with a rush. If she rang for a taxi, he would have to let her go.

  Grabbing the phone, fumbling in her eagerness, she had started to tap in the number of At Your Service when she remembered with a jolt that they were no longer in business.

  No doubt there would be other, smaller firms, but she had no idea of the numbers, and no way of finding out.

  Cleo… The thought of her friend was like a light in the darkness. To her very great relief, Cleo answered almost at once.

  ‘It’s me,’ Anna said, speaking as quietly as possible.

  ‘Where on earth have you been?’ Cleo asked. ‘And why are you whispering? I’ve tried several times to call you and—’

  ‘Listen,’ Anna broke in urgently, ‘I’m in a spot of trouble and I need your help.’

  ‘What do you want me to do?’ Cleo’s response was immediate and unflustered.

  ‘I want you to call me a taxi. My car’s broken down and I’m at Hartington Manor on the Old Castle Road. Please tell the driver to knock loudly, and not to go away again without speaking to me personally. It’s possible that—’

  Approaching footsteps made her break off abruptly and replace the phone.

  A split second later the door opened and Gideon came in, his arm around the shoulders of a tall, natural blonde. She appeared to be in her late twenties, and was undeniably beautiful, with a decided chin, a generous mouth, and eyes the colour of aquamarines.

  ‘The main roads aren’t bad at the moment,’ she was reporting cheerfully, ‘but getting up to the house could have been hairy if I hadn’t had the Range Rover. It shows signs of being a lot worse later, though,’ she added. ‘The sky is clear and it’s turning very cold again. I think it’ll freeze when it gets dark…’

  Breaking off, she gave Anna a wide, friendly smile, and said, ‘Hi!’

  Anna managed to return both the greeting and the smile.

  Stepping back, but still watching them closely, Gideon said, ‘I gather you two have already met? If only in passing, so to speak.’

  The blonde shook her head. ‘No, I don’t think so.’

  Gideon gave her a sharp look. ‘You said you would have no trouble recognising her again.’

  ‘Nor will I. This just happens to be the wrong woman. The colouring’s much the same, but the features and the shape of the face are totally different. I should say there’s an age difference too. The other was a girl who looked about eighteen.’

  Then, with an apologetic smile at Anna, ‘Please forgive us for talking about you as if you’re not there. But there’s been some mix-up. You see, Gideon thought you were a friend of David’s.’

  Anna found her voice, and admitted, ‘I was once.’

  ‘But you’re not the woman he brought here.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘I was just arriving as David and this girl were leaving. He paused just long enough to wave to me, then he drove away. Even so, I’ve a good memory for faces.’

  ‘I’m glad about that!’ Anna exclaimed fervently.

  The blonde laughed. ‘Gideon been giving you a hard time, has he? I know he was angry about the whole thing. Men are wonderful, bless them, until they get a bee in their bonnet, then there’s no living with them. The trouble is, they can never accept that they’re wrong.’

  Turning to Gideon, she said briskly, ‘I know what you’ve finally appreciated, and I know it must have come as a shock to you, but instead of standing there looking as if the sky’s fallen in on you, hadn’t you better introduce us?’

  ‘Of course.’ He visibly pulled himself together. ‘But first I owe Anna a heartfelt apology.’

  Once more effortlessly in charge, master of the situation, he took Anna’s hand and said with unmistakable sincerity, ‘I not only accept that I was wrong but, believe me, I’m pleased to be wrong.’

  Unable to bear his touch, she withdrew her hand.

  His green eyes narrowing slightly, he asked, ‘I hope you can forgive me?’

  She could forgive him for being mistaken. What she couldn’t forgive, was the way he’d made love to a woman he’d regarded as a thief and a liar, a woman he’d felt nothing but contempt for. A woman he’d just used. It destroyed her pride, her self-respect. Made her feel sick with humiliation.

  ‘That’s right, don’t let him off the hook too soon,’ the other woman advised with a grin. ‘Get a bit of your own back. Make him squirm a little first.’

  Smiling in spite of herself, Anna said, ‘After such a handsome apology, I couldn’t be so unkind.’

  The blonde shook her head despairingly. ‘At one time I used to be soft like you.’

  ‘You’ve never been soft in your life,’ Gideon corrected her fondly. ‘I still bear the scar where you hit me with that truck…’

  So this beautiful young woman was Gideon’s sister, Anna realised dazedly, and for the first time noticed the likeness.

  ‘In fact, I don’t know how that husband of yours puts up with you.’

  ‘Michael’s an absolute pet, and he loves me,’ she assured him complacently.

  ‘Which is just as well,’ Gideon opined darkly. Then, to Anna, ‘I expect you’ve realised that this is my kid sister, Jacqueline…Jackie, may I introduce Savanna Sands, who prefers to be known as Anna? Anna’s an expert on rare books and manuscripts. She ran a bookshop until recently.’

  ‘Ah!’ Jacqueline murmured. ‘Now I see how the worm got in the apple… And, speaking of worms, don’t you think it’s about time you dealt with the one in the kitchen?’

  ‘High time,’ Gideon agreed grimly. Holding out a hand to Anna, he said, ‘Come along. There’s someone I think you should say hello to.’

  When she tried to ignore the proffered hand, with no intention of being flouted, his fingers closed lightly, but inexorably around hers.

  ‘I only hope it’s a jolly sight warmer in the kitchen,’ Jacqueline remarked to her brother as they crossed the hall. ‘It’s a wonder you’re not frozen. Why on earth didn’t you join the annual Christmas bash at Michael’s parents? Dainton Lodge is only a few miles the other side of town, and there’s loads of room. It would have been better than staying here alone.’

  ‘Ah, but I wasn’t alone.’

  Gideon’s sidelong glance at Anna made her cheeks grow hot, and she pulled her hand free.

  ‘I meant both of you.’

  He
smiled a little. ‘It just wouldn’t have been the same.’

  Seeing the younger woman’s discomfort, Jacqueline tactfully let the subject drop.

  When Gideon opened the kitchen door, taken completely by surprise, Anna stopped short, and stood like someone in a trance while he helped her off with her coat. Her whole attention was focused on the tall, blond man standing on the hearth, his back to the fire.

  ‘This is my nephew,’ Gideon said smoothly. ‘But as you two already know each other there’s no need for a formal introduction.’

  For a second or two she failed to understand. Then, like shaking a kaleidoscope, all the various pieces, including that elusive likeness, fell into place to make at least some kind of sense.

  Judging by David’s face his shock was even greater, and nothing made any sense. His mouth a little open, his expression stunned, he stared at her as though she were a ghost.

  Then, his mouth closing with a snap, he snarled, ‘What the hell are you doing here?’

  ‘Keep a civil tongue in your head,’ Gideon ordered curtly. ‘Anna is here as my guest.’

  ‘I don’t know how… I mean, I—I wasn’t aware you’d ever met each other…’ David stammered.

  ‘We hadn’t until Christmas Eve.’

  Sounding nonplussed, the younger man insisted, ‘But as far as I was concerned she’d disappeared without a trace. How did you find out where she was?’

  ‘Having decided when I finally came home that your ex-girlfriend had a lot of explaining to do, I took steps to trace her.’

  ‘Well, no matter what she’s told you, don’t believe a word of it,’ David blustered. ‘She’s a lying, two-timing little bitch and—’

  Anna gasped.

  ‘I told you to watch your tongue.’ Gideon’s command cracked like a whip.

  ‘But you know what she’s like…’ The bluster had changed to a whine. ‘You know how she took me for everything I’d got and then ran out on me. You know how Grandfather’s manuscripts disappeared…’

  ‘I know your version of events. But, surprise, surprise, your story doesn’t tally with Anna’s. In fact, the only thing you’re both in agreement about is that she walked out on you. For instance, you said you’d met a girl you wanted to marry and, when I asked who she was, you told me all about Anna. You swore that you intended to mend your ways, and on that understanding I loaned you a large sum of money to buy her an engagement ring. After Mary Morrison told me about the missing manuscripts—including those visits you’d made with your girlfriend—and I asked to meet Anna, you claimed that she’d just upped and left you, taking the ring. Now, that was only a matter of months ago and Anna tells me that, far from mending your ways, after you’d asked her to live with you she found you in bed with another woman. She denies ever having had a ring, let alone keeping it, and says she had never set foot in the Manor until Christmas Eve. Furthermore, she assures me that it’s more than a year since the pair of you split up.’