by Anne Mather
Oh, no! She groaned disgustedly. Not that! Why had she attracted that kind of attention? Couldn’t a woman enjoy a drink, on her own, without some pervert thinking she was desperate for some company?
She looked up, her hand going automatically to the stem of her glass. She was quite prepared to use the glass as a weapon, if necessary, but when she focused on the intruder her whole body went limp.
‘Virginia?’ she said unbelievingly. ‘My God, Virginia, is that you?’
CHAPTER ELEVEN
‘SSH, keep your voice down, for goodness’ sake!’
The woman sitting opposite Camilla glanced half fearfully about her, and raised one hand in a warning gesture. As she did so, the black veil that completely shrouded her head and shoulders floated ethereally about her, giving Camilla the momentary illusion that none of this was quite real.
‘Virginia—’
‘Please don’t use my name,’ the woman implored warningly, leaning towards her across the table. ‘Someone might hear you. Someone might recognise me. I’m not supposed to be here. He would kill me if he knew.’
‘Alex?’ Camilla frowned. ‘I’m sure you’re wrong.’
‘Alex?’ For a moment Virginia seemed puzzled, and then she shook her head. ‘Oh, well, never mind that now. I needed to speak to you, Camilla. That’s why I’m here.’
‘But how did you find me?’
For the moment Camilla could only think of inconsequential details, and Virginia sighed. ‘I knew you were at the office. Don’t ask me how, I just did. I…was waiting when you came out of the Conti building. I’ve been following you ever since.’
Camilla was stunned. It was difficult to assimilate the fact that Virginia was actually sitting here, talking to her. After the past few days, when her and the child’s possible whereabouts had been paramount in everyone’s mind, it was hard to believe she was not just a figment of her imagination. But it was Virginia, albeit much thinner than Camilla remembered, her thin claw-like hands opening and closing against the edge of the table, her features practically obscured by the funereal veil. She might not have wanted to be recognised, but her appearance had certainly attracted attention. Camilla could only assume she was more desperate than any of them had realised.
‘Don’t you think you should let Alex know where you are?’ she ventured now, and Virginia sighed.
‘Doesn’t he know?’ She sounded bitter, her nails beating a rapid tattoo against the surface of the table. ‘I should have guessed he’d have the phone bugged when I rang you. But—it was a risk I had to take.’
Camilla put out her hand. ‘Virginia—you need help—’
‘Oh, yes, I need help all right!’ exclaimed the other woman, flinching away from Camilla’s touch. ‘That’s why I need you. You’re the only person I can trust.’
Camilla caught her lower lip between her teeth. She was no expert, but she could see that Virginia wasn’t well. Her hands, when they were not engaged in the agitated tapping, shook, her skin was unnaturally pale, even allowing for the veil, and she was ultra-sensitive to being touched. The classic symptoms of someone who was badly in need of a fix, she thought anxiously. Oh, God, if only Alex were here! But then, if he were, Virginia wouldn’t be.
‘Don’t…don’t try psychoanalysing me, Cam,’ Virginia said now, her voice low but with an underlying note of hysteria. ‘I don’t have much time, and there’s so much you must know.’
‘Vir—’ Camilla bit off the name. ‘Please, you must let Alex help you.’
‘Alex?’ Virginia snorted. ‘You really think Alex would help me now?’
‘He has before,’ said Camilla quietly, and Virginia’s eyes flashed with a momentary trace of anger.
‘So—he has been talking about me, has he?’ she declared, twisting her hands together until the knuckles were white and tortured. ‘Did he tell you he hates me? Was that how the story began?’
‘No.’ Camilla sighed. ‘Vir…he doesn’t hate you. He just—wants you to come back.’
‘You mean, he wants Maria back,’ contradicted Virginia cynically, and for a moment she was perfectly calm. ‘Well, you can tell him he can have her. But only on my terms.’
Camilla stared at her. ‘Oh, Virginia!’
‘Don’t look at me like that. As if you pity me. I don’t need your pity, Camilla. Pity’s impractical. I need your help.’
‘Why?’
‘Why?’ Virginia tipped her head back against her shoulders for a second, and drew several gulping breaths. ‘That’s a good question, Cam. But I don’t know if I can answer it.’
‘Try.’
Virginia’s chin dropped to her chest. ‘Oh—it’s a long story. You don’t really want to hear it.’
‘Look, I am interested; try me.’
‘OK, I’ll explain, but I know you won’t approve.’ Virginia took a deep breath. ‘I married Alex for his money. And we didn’t live happily ever after.’
Camilla frowned. ‘But you had Maria.’
‘Yes, we had Maria.’ Virginia’s lips twisted. ‘And I suppose you think having a baby with a man makes everything else all right.’
‘No—’
‘Good. Because it doesn’t. Oh, you might as well know, I only had Maria because I was afraid Alex might dump me. Why do you think the marriage has lasted this long? I can assure you, it wasn’t because we’ve been working at it.’
Camilla didn’t know what to say. ‘But you must have loved the baby,’ she ventured, and Virginia gave her an old-fashioned look.
‘Must I? Cam, I’m not the maternal type. Maybe if she’d been a boy…’ She moved her bony shoulders in a dismissive gesture. ‘What does it matter? It’s all hypothetical anyway. Grant says—’
‘Grant!’ Camilla’s jaw dropped. ‘Grant Blaisdell!’ she echoed, and Virginia uttered a low groan.
‘Oh, God, he really will kill me now,’ she moaned, wrapping her arms about herself, and rocking backwards and forwards in her chair. ‘Cam, you’ve got to promise me not to tell Alex about Grant. Please, if you care anything about me you won’t mention his name.’
Camilla was staggered. ‘You mean…he is involved in this?’
Virginia pressed her lips together. ‘I can’t answer that.’
‘You just have.’ Camilla rubbed the back of her neck disbelievingly. ‘Grant Blaisdell,’ she said again, moving her head from side to side. ‘I don’t believe it.’
Virginia shrugged. ‘How else do you think I knew you were at the office? Grant told me. Oh—inadvertently, I think. But he told me just the same.’
‘But Virginia, the man’s a creep!’
‘No, he’s not.’ Virginia was defensive now. ‘You don’t understand, Cam. Grant and I have known each other for years. He…he was the one who introduced me to Alex, actually. We knew one another in London. Before he came to work for the Conti Corporation.’
‘You did?’ Camilla’s tongue circled her upper lip. ‘Even so—’
‘Even so nothing! He loves me, Cam. I know he does. And I love him. I do.’
Camilla studied Virginia’s face, but it was difficult to read her expression through the veil. Nevertheless, there had been an element of self-delusion in her words, and Camilla wondered if Virginia was having second thoughts.
‘You said I was the only person you could trust,’ she reminded her now. ‘Where does…Grant…come into all this?’
‘Oh…’ Virginia moved her head frustratedly. ‘Well—if you must know, it was his idea.’
‘Kidnapping your own daughter and disappearing, you mean?’
‘It wasn’t like that.’
‘I’d say it was exactly like that,’ retorted Camilla, and then, realising she was in danger of alienating the other woman, she tempered her tone. ‘But what did you hope to achieve by it?’
‘You wouldn’t understand.’ Virginia looked sulky now.
‘Try me.’
‘No. I…oh, it’s all gone wrong, terribly wrong!’
Camilla’s mouth went
dry. ‘Maria’s all right, isn’t she?’ she asked. ‘Nothing…nothing’s happened to her?’
‘No.’ Virginia was indignant. ‘What do you think I am? She is my daughter, too, poor little bitch.’
‘So—what do you mean?’ Camilla tried to be patient. ‘What has gone wrong?’
‘I don’t know. I don’t know.’ Virginia’s shoulders hunched, and she put one hand over her head in an unknowingly protective gesture. ‘Cam—I want to trust him. I do. But…I’m not sure any more. I’m not sure of anything.’
Camilla hesitated. ‘You’re talking about…Grant?’
‘Who else?’ Virginia didn’t seem to comprehend that she could have meant someone else. ‘He said we’d be together. He said I wouldn’t have to worry about…about anything. But he’s changed, Cam. He’s changed. I don’t know what he’s thinking any more.’
Camilla blinked. She had the feeling she was on the brink of learning everything, but, like a novice in a minefield, she didn’t know where to proceed. Virginia’s mood was so mercurial, so volatile. Any minute she might change her mind, and if Camilla said the wrong thing she might lose this chance forever.
‘Virginia,’ she said softly, ‘you said you could trust me. So—why don’t you? Tell me what you want me to do.’
Virginia sighed, and cast another nervous glance over her shoulder. Then, anchoring her trembling hands together again, she said, ‘I want you to talk to Alex.’
‘Me?’ Camilla caught her breath.
‘Yes, you.’ Virginia nodded vigorously, the veil flapping about her cheeks like the wings of a bat. ‘You’ve got to persuade him to do what Grant wants him to do. If not…if not…’
Camilla was horrified. ‘You’re afraid of him, Virginia!’
‘No.’ But the word belied the agitation she could not conceal. ‘Cam, this is important to me. I need you to intercede on my behalf. If…if anything goes wrong—’
‘What could go wrong?’
‘Don’t ask.’ Virginia got up from the table. ‘Believe me, you don’t want to know,’ she added harshly, and before Camilla could do anything to stop her she hurried away across the paved courtyard.
Camilla went to follow her, but the waitress appeared, and, realising she hadn’t paid for her drink, she fumbled in her bag for some notes. Flinging them on to the table, she raced after Virginia, but the other woman had left the building, and when Camilla emerged into the sunlight there was no sign of the dark-clad figure.
* * *
She took a taxi back to Kumaru. She did consider returning to Alex’s office, but the thought that she might encounter Grant Blaisdell made that a negative option. She had no wish to see him again, and even the knowledge that her instinctive dislike for him had not been misplaced did not make the thought of meeting him again any more acceptable. Indeed, she was half afraid that if she did see him the temptation to confront him with his involvement might have got the better of her. And, if fear of what he might do if he discovered she was deceiving him had added to Virginia’s general air of edginess, Camilla had no right to betray her.
This time she had no difficulty in gaining access to the estate, though running the gauntlet of the avid news-people did put a strain on her nervous system. She kept her head averted, one hand half covering her eyes, as the taxi driver drove between the peering faces, hoping the flashing cameras wouldn’t capture her image on film.
Mama Lu met her at the door, and, judging by her expression, her return was not a moment too soon. ‘Where’ve you been?’ the housekeeper exclaimed, accompanying her into the coolness of the living-room. ‘Alex has been on the phone every half-hour, wanting to know if you got back. Seems like you two can’t be together but what you’re spatting. D’you want to share with me what it was you had to tell him, now? Like a trouble shared, is a trouble halved—isn’t that what they say?’
Camilla hesitated. It was probably unwise to discuss anything with Mama Lu, knowing, as she did, that whatever she said would get back to Alex one way or the other. But the urge to talk to someone who posed neither a threat nor a disaster was appealing, and as she toyed with the prospect the housekeeper took charge.
‘You sit yourself down, and I’ll go and get us some tea,’ she announced, taking Camilla’s silence for assent. ‘Then we’ll have a good old bitch, hmm? Like about men, and how they screw up our lives.’
She was gone before Camilla could either agree or disagree. Moving with the unexpected lightness of foot that was peculiar to her, she hurried away to prepare a tray, and Camilla sank down on to one of the squashy couches by the window. She felt too weary to offer much of an argument anyway, she decided. It had been a tiring day, and it wasn’t over yet.
The tray Mama Lu set before her a few minutes later looked every bit as inviting as the meals she had enjoyed since she had come here. Or perhaps ‘enjoyed’ was not precisely the right word, she conceded. Mealtimes, particularly if Alex was present, had become something of an ordeal, and, although the food was delightful, she hadn’t been able to appreciate it.
However, after not having any lunch, Camilla found she was hungry now. With Mama Lu’s encouragement, she swallowed at least half a dozen smoked-salmon sandwiches and drank several cups of tea, finishing with a fluffy scone fairly oozing with cream and jam.
The housekeeper sat beside her, her generous bulk causing a corresponding dent in the soft leather. But she rationed herself to only one sandwich and one cup of tea, seemingly content to watch Camilla empty the plate.
She waited until Camilla was swallowing the last morsel of pastry, before saying gently, ‘So…what happened? Was it to do with Mrs Virginia?’
‘Was what to do with Virginia?’ Camilla felt the guilty colour invade her cheeks as she spoke, and then, realising what Mama Lu was referring to, she recovered herself. ‘Oh—you mean my reason for wanting to see Al—Mr Conti.’ She paused to give herself time to get her breath back. ‘Yes. Yes, it was. I—um—I remembered she had mentioned the fact…that…that I had been here three days. When…when she phoned, I mean.’
‘Aha!’ Mama Lu inclined her head. ‘And?’
‘Someone must have told her,’ explained Camilla quickly. ‘Someone else. I…thought at first it must have been a member of the staff here. Or…or one of the security people.’
‘I see.’ The housekeeper nodded. ‘But not now, hmm?’
‘Not now what?’ Camilla was confused.
‘You said you thought at first it might be someone here. But now you’ve changed your mind. Why’s that?’
‘Well…’ Camilla’s face felt hotter than ever. ‘I mean—who would do it? I’m sure all the staff are…are trustworthy.’
‘I’d say so,’ agreed Mama Lu, shrugging her plump shoulders. ‘So what did Alex say?’
‘Alex? Oh, you mean Mr Conti.’ Camilla used every opportunity to gain herself some time. ‘Well—he had already worked that out, I think.’
‘And that’s why he was mad?’
‘He wasn’t mad.’ Camilla put up a nervous hand to her hair. The knot she had secured that morning was still intact, though somewhat the worse for wear, judging by the damp strands that trailed down her neck. ‘Gosh, it’s hot, isn’t it? Even with the air-conditioning.’
Mama Lu lifted her shoulders. ‘It depends what you’ve been doing, doesn’t it?’
Camilla sighed. She was tempted to ask Mama Lu what she thought she had been doing, but fear of what the other woman might say held her back. Instead, she picked up her bag and smoothed the shiny leather, allowing the silence to stretch before making her excuses and leaving.
‘So who does Alex think told her you were here?’
Evidently Mama Lu couldn’t read her mind, Camilla decided with some relief. But her question needed an answer, and she made a helpless gesture. ‘I don’t know.’
‘Who do you think it was?’
‘Me?’ Camilla couldn’t look the woman in the eyes, but she darted a swift glance at her. ‘It…it could be anyone,’ she
stammered, wishing she were not such a poor liar. ‘Someone…someone in the office perhaps. Lots of people work there.’
‘Like Mr Grant maybe?’
‘Mr Grant?’ But Mama Lu was too perceptive, and Camilla was finding it increasingly difficult to hide her reaction. ‘As…as I say, I don’t know, do I?’ she dedared, wishing she had never started this. ‘I—er—I think I’ll go and take a shower. Walking round town has made me sticky.’
She got up stiffly, but Mama Lu levered her bulk off the sofa to block her exit. ‘You want some advice?’
‘Some advice?’ Camilla tried to look condescending, and failed. ‘I don’t think I—’
‘You got something to tell Alex—anything at all—you tell him. Don’t wait for him to find out for himself. Not unless you think you can handle the fall-out, that is.’
Camilla swallowed. ‘Mama Lu, this is ridiculous—’
‘Is it?’ Mama Lu didn’t look as if she thought it was. ‘You been missing for the best part of three hours!’
‘I went shopping.’
‘What’d you buy?’
Camilla gasped. ‘I don’t have to answer that.’ She took a deep breath, and then, rather recklessly, she challenged, ‘Where do you think I’ve been? Having lunch with Virginia, perhaps?’
* * *
Camilla sat on her balcony, watching the shadows deepen over the terrace below. It might be the last chance she had to enjoy the reflected rays of the sun, turning the sky to molten gold on the eastern horizon, and she tried to enjoy the exotic spectacle. The sea was changing colour, too, the blue paling to smoothest silver, shining opaquely, where the earth and sky combined.
The air was delicious, warm, and subtly scented, yet cool against her skin. She could probably feel its coolness because her body was so hot, she thought uneasily. Not even an ice-cold shower could temper her emotions.