In the Lion's Den

by Barbara Taylor Bradford

  She might have to seduce Falconer at some point. And she would do so with much expertise. After all, she had been taught by a master.

  THIRTY-FOUR

  Two things were important to James Falconer when it came to his wellbeing: sleep and schedules.

  As usual both of these imperatives had been drilled into him by his grandmother. ‘Good sleep is important for your health,’ she had explained when he was twelve. ‘It cures most things that might ail you. So when you go to bed, put all your troubles to one side and just relax. Sleep like a log.’

  As far as schedules were concerned, she had told him that they would make his life much easier to handle if on Monday he made a list of things to do for the entire week. And so he had done that. He still did it, because it made his week manageable. Now he took out the small notebook he kept in his jacket pocket and opened it. He had written MONDAY on the new page earlier, but had not put anything else down.

  Staring at the page, he wrote one line. This coming Sunday. Ascot. He smiled to himself, thinking of his little daughter Leonie. He loved his visits to see her and Mrs Ward … Georgiana, he said under his breath. It was odd, the way he so often thought of her as Mrs Ward.

  Of course, it went back to their days in Hull. He sighed. A lot of water had flowed under the bridge since then. He would always be fond of the older woman who had been his first lover, but he knew she had been right to refuse the idea of them marrying.

  He was proud of his child. She was beautiful with her bright-blue eyes, his eyes, and she was happy, always laughing. He detected a quickness in her, and intelligence.

  Georgiana was a good mother and was bringing Leonie up very well. Leonie was safe in Ascot. And he had her under his eye at all times.

  He now wrote: Saturday: Family. He knew his grandparents would be free to have supper with him, and with his parents and siblings. Lady Agatha, for whom his grandparents worked, was suffering with arthritis and had gone to Madeira by ship, seeking warmth in the sun. His grandmother suffered with arthritis in her right hand, and he had promised to get her a special ointment from an apothecary in Chinatown. He would talk to Roger Crawford tonight. Uncle George had invited him to supper with the inspector at Wu Liang in Limehouse. The special Chinese apothecary was not far from the restaurant. They would walk over there after they had eaten.

  James made a note in the book about supper with his uncle, and looked across at the door, hearing a knock.

  There was another one, and as he called, ‘Come in,’ Natalie’s face appeared and she came into the room, closing the door behind her.

  ‘Sorry, I’m late, James,’ she said, smiling. ‘The train was late getting into King’s Cross and traffic is a bit heavy this afternoon.’

  ‘It’s all right, Nat,’ he answered, smiling at her, glad to see her back at the London office after a week in Hull. She was as hardworking and diligent as always, and his right hand in many ways.

  Sitting down in the chair opposite, she said, ‘William sends his best.’

  James got up and walked around his desk, looking at her with a certain curiosity. ‘Is this becoming serious?’ he asked, his voice low. ‘You and William?’

  ‘In a way, yes,’ Natalie answered. ‘There are certain issues … but not yet. They might develop though.’

  Returning to his chair, James leaned across his desk and gave her a long, knowing look. ‘Location,’ he observed. ‘You living in London, and him in Hull. That’s it, isn’t it?’

  ‘That’s the main problem. It truly hasn’t become an issue. Still, I think it could.’ Natalie shook her head and then leaned back in the chair, staring at James, her eyes quizzical.

  He was reflective for a few seconds, and smiled. ‘Leave it alone for the moment. Let things take their course. Life has a way of sorting everything out.’

  She nodded. ‘I would find it hard not to work, and not to be in London part of the time. That most especially. It’s my home.’

  ‘I know. So would I.’ James paused, then said: ‘You’ll never believe who came to see me today.’

  ‘I won’t, I suppose. So please tell me.’

  ‘It was Alexis Malvern,’ James said, amusement in his voice.

  Natalie was so surprised that she was unable to answer immediately. Then she asked, ‘Why? What did she want? To say that she’s changed her mind about coming back to work?’

  ‘No, just the opposite, in fact. She came to apologize for being rude to me in the past, for her bad behaviour, for neglecting her duty to her father and the company. She was very sincere.’

  Natalie’s eyes narrowed. ‘Was she really?’ she asked in a doubtful voice.

  ‘Believe me, I know her, and she meant it. I think she came to her senses recently, and realized she had to get out of Kent.’ James sat back in the chair, and finished, ‘I believe she has been in a long depression about Sebastian Trevalian’s death. Something, or perhaps someone, pulled her out of it.’

  ‘That’s possible, I suppose,’ Natalie murmured. ‘Is she starting back next Monday as planned?’

  ‘She is, and I’ve more or less formulated a plan – a schedule, if you like – for her. I can’t teach her about every division since I have to run the entire company. So I will first give her a month with Peter Keller, since she knows a lot about the Wine Division, has been to Le Havre, knows Armand and those in the Paris office. What do you think?’

  ‘I absolutely agree. Of course that’s the answer. After a month with Keller, you’ll move her on to Goring, so she can learn about the warehouses, correct?’ Natalie raised a brow.

  ‘Exactly. A month with each division head, and I’ll spend time with her each week, checking her out.’ He laughed lightly. ‘And the year with her, training her, will pass quickly. I can leave the Malvern Company, and properly run Falconer.’

  ‘Can I come with you?’ Natalie asked, sounding suddenly sad, looking at him woefully.

  ‘Of course, you can, if you really want to—’ He broke off, grimaced, and continued, ‘At this moment I only have a dream …’

  She interrupted him and said, ‘I will make things right with William. I know I can. As you just said, life takes care of itself.’

  He nodded, and gave her a loving look. ‘You’re a good woman, Nat, a true friend and a wonderful colleague. I do have a plan to start something down here. And of course you can work at Falconer once I get it going at full speed. And we’ll tackle the William issue later.’

  ‘Thank you, James, and listen, I owe you an apology too. I haven’t been entirely honest with you about Irina …’ Her voice trailed off when she noticed how he had tensed in his chair, and his expression had changed.

  ‘What are you trying to say?’ he asked, sounding more puzzled than annoyed.

  ‘She begged me not to tell you, because she didn’t want you to be upset or distracted, but she was injured – as well as Aunt Olga – in the accident with the carriage. Her left leg and her left arm were broken. I’m afraid she’s still recuperating.’

  ‘Oh, Natalie, I’m so sorry to hear this. How terrible for Irina, but I’m happy to know she’s improving. You must send her my best for a speedy recovery. And I will write to her too.’

  ‘I should have told you the truth, James. I shouldn’t have listened to her. Again, I apologize. I wasn’t fair to you.’

  ‘And I accept your apology, my dear Natalie. I understand you were in a difficult situation. And now you’ve told me.’

  ‘Thank you.’ Natalie looked at him. ‘I don’t know when my sister will come back. Perhaps it would be wise for you to move on.’

  ‘I believe so,’ James answered, his voice mild, light. ‘I’ve a lot of work to keep me well occupied.’ He didn’t want to say he’d come to the same conclusion some months before. Irina Parkinson was utterly delightful but the more time had passed, the less he had heard from her. ‘So tell me about Hull.’

  ‘It’s all working extremely well. The arcade is a big hit, no question about it. Mr Malvern should b
e grateful to you. I call it a cash cow. It’s one of the biggest money earners in the company.’

  ‘I know, and he is grateful,’ James said, and then added, ‘By the way, Alexis Malvern is coming back to be trained to do my job. So she won’t be bothering you about running the arcades.’

  Natalie started to laugh, and then said, ‘I think I realized that, James. Anyway, I’ve always got you to look out for me, haven’t I?’

  ‘You do indeed. I’ve always got your back.’

  ‘And I hope I have yours.’ Natalie tapped her fingers on the desk. ‘Next time you come up to Hull there’s something I want to show you.’

  ‘At the arcade site? Everything is all right, isn’t it?’ He instantly sounded concerned.

  ‘Yes. However, I think I’ve found you something special—’

  ‘What do you mean?’ he interrupted, staring at her intently.

  ‘A little shop. One you could rent. We could easily find someone to run it. It would be the beginning.’

  THIRTY-FIVE

  Alexis stared at the calendar on her desk at her office at Malvern’s. It was Friday 23 October, and she had worked here for just over a month.

  How the time had flown, and she had certainly learned a lot. She fully understood why they called his office ‘the lion’s den’. James could be hard-headed, ruthless, tough, unmoving; he was so disciplined and he expected everyone to be exactly the same.

  He rarely lost his temper, however, so the atmosphere was calm. She realized, in the first few days, that he had cut the staff in half.

  When she mentioned this to her father, he had explained that James thought it took only one person to do one job, not three. ‘He runs a tight ship,’ her father had added, and had given her a huge smile, obviously delighted by this decision on Falconer’s part.

  She herself smiled at this moment, thinking that her father had been right all along about James Falconer. He really was a brilliant businessman, always out to win, and loyal to Henry Malvern. And a demon for work.

  As she had watched him from time to time, she had recognized he was a genius at handling people. He gave pay rises where he thought they were deserved, let people have an occasional Saturday off, and did a variety of favours for everyone. Kindness worked. Charisma, a natural, pervasive charm, and perfect manners went a long way in this world, and he was loaded with the lot.

  She herself had fallen under his spell a little bit, and often found herself working harder just to please him.

  And he was generous with praise and compliments to every member of staff for a job well done. Even to her, sometimes. His warm words pleased her.

  For the past few weeks she had been working with Peter Keller and had enjoyed being in the Wine Division. Keller had asked James if she could stay on for another two weeks, and he had agreed. Keller needed some special tasks done.

  Once a week she spent a day with James Falconer, going over everything she had worked on, telling him the outcome of the decisions she had made and why she had made them. He, in turn, gave her his opinions of her progress, and he was always pleased, congratulated her, which made her feel she was pulling her weight. This was the longest time he spent with her, first thing every Monday morning, reviewing the past week.

  In many ways it was trying for her, not because of her reporting in, but because of her longing for Falconer himself. She felt a powerful attraction to him; there was no question in her mind and in her heart about that.

  In fact, if she were scrupulously honest with herself, she had fallen in love with him on the trip they had made to Le Havre and Paris two years ago. She had believed there might be a life for her after all, and was pulled to him, needed his presence.

  But once back in London she had begun to feel guilty about Sebastian, and had fled to Kent. Originally, her motive had been to straighten herself out, put her grief behind her, and start all over again. With James Falconer, if he was willing.

  Then something strange had happened. She had begun to turn against him, and even now she did not understand why this had happened. She also realized she might well still be in Kent if not for Claudia, and also Jane and Reggie.

  Claudia had told her the truth about herself and her foolish behaviour. Jane had steadied her when she had been flummoxed by Reggie’s announcement that the house in Kent was entailed.

  Sebastian’s decisions and actions about Goldenhurst and his Will still came back to haunt her. This was because she truly was puzzled about it, did not understand his reasoning.

  Jane had warned her not to mention anything to Claudia about the entailment. When she had asked Jane why not, Jane had told her that Claudia had been at the reading of the Will and knew about it anyway. ‘Just let sleeping dogs lie,’ Jane had cautioned. ‘Just get on with your new life.’

  And she had done that. When she had gone to apologize to Falconer, it had been out of shame and disgust with herself for her rudeness. Every word had been sincere.

  Seeing him again, after so many months of absence, was something of a shock. And so was her emotional reaction to him. A rush of desire for this man, a need to know every part of him, to be part of him, took her by surprise. He was charm personified, and more handsome than ever.

  For a while she had believed this unexpected physical and emotional attraction would recede, just go away with familiarity, but it had not. In point of fact, she dreaded Monday mornings because she was always filled with desire for him, a need to touch him, to tell him she loved him.

  She never said anything and conducted herself with decorum. As the days had passed, gone into weeks, she had become aware that he was having a difficult time, too. She had caught the several odd looks he gave her, his caution when they were together, trying not to get too close to her, and ending their meetings quickly.

  When she had confided in Jane earlier in the week, Jane had given her a peculiar look, and then she had smiled knowingly.

  ‘Hasn’t it occurred to you he might be in love with you?’ Jane had asked.

  ‘Partially. What I mean is, why would he fall in love with me when you consider how badly I’ve treated him? I’ve humiliated him,’ she had responded.

  ‘Go and look in the mirror, my dear. You’re a very beautiful woman. Any man would want you. Anyway, you went to see him, apologized to him. That must have pleased him, boosted his ego no end,’ Jane had pronounced.

  She had explained to Jane that his ego didn’t need boosting, and that the secretaries looked at him like he was a god. This had amused Jane, who had reminded her that Falconer was a bit of an Adonis.

  Jane had not been able to come up with any suggestions that day, and had merely pointed out that things had to run their course. They had gone on to speak about Millicent Plymouth, the designer who was helping her to decorate her new house. She was clever and had good taste, according to Jane.

  Sitting up straighter in her chair, Alexis thought again about Falconer, wondering how to solve an unsolvable situation. The office was the wrong place to have any kind of conversation with him, especially one of a personal nature. Also, he was busy, and constantly surrounded by people.

  A thought crossed her mind. How on earth was she going to learn to be like him? That was why she was there: to be trained to be managing director. For a moment she was scared, and then pushed that thought to one side. She had a year to learn.

  Unexpectedly, it occurred to Alexis that she must find a way to get him alone so that they could be at ease with each other, more relaxed than they were at work. How to do that? Alexis pursed her lips. For once in her life she had no idea.

  There was a knock on the door, and it immediately opened. There he was, walking into her office. James Falconer.

  ‘Do you have a minute?’ he asked, striding forward, standing in front of her desk.

  ‘I do, and please sit down, won’t you?’

  He did. ‘Your father asked me to come and see you regarding your house. Basically, he thinks you might need help with certain things. So, here I
am. Do you want me to take a look around?’

  ‘Well, actually … yes, I do. Certainly. Oh yes. Yes.’ She was so flustered she almost stuttered.

  ‘Are you able to do it now? It’s turned five, and I happen to be going home. We don’t live far apart. In fact, if you’ve got your carriage, you could give me a lift.’ He raised a brow, his blue eyes riveted on her.

  ‘Why, yes, of course. I was thinking of leaving shortly.’ She was shaking inside.

  ‘Then let’s go, shall we?’ He stood up.

  She locked her desk, grabbed her handbag, and followed him out of her office, her chest tight with anxiety.

  Alexis’s driver Josh directed the carriage at a medium trot through the traffic of Piccadilly, heading in the direction of Mayfair.

  Inside the carriage, Alexis sat in one corner, Falconer in the other. Neither of them spoke. Eventually, much to Alexis’s relief, Falconer said, ‘Is your house in good condition or does it need a lot of restoration?’

  ‘It’s in good shape inside,’ she answered, surprised that her voice was steady. She was still shaking inside, and anxious, although speaking normally at least. ‘Outside the house looks like nothing, but the rooms are lovely, in fact,’ she added.

  ‘I like building projects,’ he confessed, his voice as steady as hers. ‘I learned a lot when we had to redo part of the arcade in Hull. After the explosion.’

  ‘My father told me how hard you’d worked, and what a splendid job you did.’ When he did not respond, she went on, ‘The arsonist was never found, I understand.’

  ‘No, he wasn’t. More’s the pity. But the Hull arcade is proving a huge success. That’s the most important thing.’

  ‘Yes, of course.’

  ‘Your father told me your house is on South Audley Street, but he didn’t say exactly where.’

  ‘Close to Mount Street,’ she answered. ‘And it has a mews at the back, with a carriage house and a flat above for a driver.’

  ‘Will Josh be living there?’ Falconer asked, sounding suddenly anxious.