by Jane Corrie
When she looked up from her preparations she found Janus studying her with those very blue eyes of his that echoed the bright blue of his short-sleeved shirt. 'You took your time,' he drawled.
Rebecca met his eyes with a shade of annoyance in hers. 'You did say nine-thirty, didn't you?' she queried coldly.
He shrugged nonchalantly. 'You could have had your breakfast here,' he said silkily.
`If you'd taken the trouble to dress, I might have done,' Rebecca replied disdainfully.
As soon as she had said it, she knew it was a
mistake; the flash in his eyes told her so, and so did his answer.
`I do as I please,' he ground out, 'and I'm not having my actions queried by you. You're a nobody to me, just a piece of office furniture I picked up in my travels, and don't you forget it. I don't care a damn for your maidenly virtue—if that's what it is, although I doubt it. I've a feeling you wouldn't have complained if I'd had a title, or the hope of one. You're such a damn snob! Well, you've nothing to fear from me. I've told you that before, haven't I? You're welcome to any titled fool you can get—when I go back home again. Until then, watch your step,' he warned her harshly.
Rebecca kept her eyes on her book, and that was just as well, because if he could have seen the fury in them she would have been in more trouble, but her stiff, 'Yes, sir,' told him that she understood, and they got down to work.
Curiously enough, after that first flash of temper, Rebecca felt quite pleased with the way things were going. As long as Janus looked on her as a piece of furniture she was safe, and there would be no complications.
The philosophy behind these thoughts was the outcome of her childhood, had Rebecca known it, and would not have been admitted if told so. Her fear of falling in love was the -main cause. As long as she was treated with contempt, her heart was safe. She was not fool enough to admit that she had lost her heart to a man who despised her. Her thoughts were the same as they were before he
came into her life. It would take an exceptional man to make her change her mind.
The first few days were spent in meetings, and she lost count of the number of people she was introduced to, and as the meetings were held in Janus's suite, she wondered if she was ever to be given the chance of exploring Funchal, since only business seemed to be on the agenda, and recalling what Janus had said on that first morning before they had left for Cambridge, Rebecca felt a little peeved. There was the rest of the week, of course, and a following week to go, with the possibility of things easing up before the end of their stay, but Rebecca was not counting on it.
Even the first party they attended was held in the hotel, and even though Rebecca could remember a face it was not so easy to place their names, and as the list lengthened she gave up trying to remember who was who.
The actors, of course, were different. As there were only five of them, three women and two men, this was not difficult, particularly as the women hung around Janus for most of the evening and were not inclined to be over-friendly towards Rebecca, seeing her as a rival rather than a secretary.
This was understandable from their point of view. The heroine in the story was a willowy redhead, and the description suited Rebecca, who was not only a willowy redhead but had looks as well. There was also the plain fact that at first sight of her standing by Janus's side they must have received a jolt where their hopes were concerned.
Whereas Janus was entertained by the women,
Rebecca was on the receiving end of much interest from the men. Guy Tindall, the hero of so many box office successes, did his best to monopolise. Rebecca's attention, but she took care not to favour a particular person and divided her time between him and the other actor in contention for the lead, Daniel Dupre, whom she preferred to the older man, He was much the quieter of the two and did not set out to impress her.
The party finally broke up ip the early hours of the morning, and Rebecca, not used to late nights, escaped to her room on seeing that Janus was still in the clutches of the starlets, as he had once referred to them, and appeared to be enjoying himself, but as Most of the other guests had departed, including Guy Tindall and Daniel Dupre, who had reluctantly made their farewells as they had to be on the set at the crack of dawn, as they put it. Rebecca, escaping from the clutches of a balding elderly man whom she had a vague idea was a producer, left the scene, trusting the women would fully occupy Janus's attention, and she doubted that he would know that she had left. After the preliminary introductions he had ignored her, leaving her to her own devices, although several times during the evening she had felt his eyes on her—probably making sure that she did not purloin any of the jewellery the women were wearing!
After a shower, Rebecca slid into bed with a thankful sigh. If that was film life then they were welcome to it! The determinedly gay atmosphere of the party had depressed her, because it had not seemed real, and she wondered if the frantic efforts of the starlets to
impress Janus had anything to do with it. She had
expected to see Isobel Archer at the party, but there
had been no sign of her, and that meant that Janus
had not invited her, because she was in Madeira; she had rung him up shortly after their arrival.
Rebecca shrugged as she put out the bedside light. That was what came of chasing a man like Janus Leon. Isobel would be sure to hear of the party, and no matter what Janus had said about her being as hard as nails, Rebecca still felt sorry for her; she had not forgotten that pleading note in her voice before she had left that morning.
Her, she thought, and several others, and turned her mind to the three beauties vying with each other for the lead in the film, and wondered who would eventually get the part. Looks would have nothing to do with it, nor would winning ways, but only good acting. Rebecca knew enough of Janus by now to know that he would not be influenced any other way.
Eventually sleep claimed her, and she did not awake until well after nine. She had to scramble to get down to breakfast, noticing as she left the suite that as yet there was no sign of her boss, and she concluded that he, like her,' had overslept, but she was not banking on it. Late nights did not seem to affect Janus, and she did not mean to be late for work.
It was a rush, but she made it, walking into the office only a minute or so after nine-thirty, only to And that Janus had left a note for her to say that he would be out until six, and there was a tape she could get on with.
After her rush to get to work on time, Rebecca
was furious that he had not bothered to tell her of his plans the day before. She could have had a full breakfast instead of making do with orange juice and a cup of coffee if she had known. In future, she told herself, she would go to the office first, in case this happened again, and she would now go down and finish her breakfast—and take her time about it!
When she got back to the office, it was well after ten, and she started on the tape, now in a better humour, for she had worked out during breakfast that it would not take her long to finish the tape, and from then on she had until six to please herself what she did, and a visit to Funchal was the first on her agenda.
Her fingers pounded the Machine and words filled the page she was typing, and her thoughts were on the story unfolding before her. As she listened to Janus's deep resonant voice, she acknowledged that he had not lost his touch. The book was a winner and would sell as well as the others.
She wondered when he had made the tape. It must have been in the early hours of that morning, probably to make sure that she had something to do, she thought sourly. He would not like to think of her taking it easy, he was paying her well enough.
By lunchtime, she had finished the tape and was looking forward to her afternoon off. She would have lunch in the hotel first, and be off on her wanderings afterwards.
The sun was shining in a blue sky, and Rebecca, glancing out of the window at the pool below, and seeing the recumbent forms of the sunbathers, was tempted to do a spot of sunbathing herself.
She
could spend perhaps an hour there, and still have time for her walk.
As she was on the point of tidying her desk, the office door opened, and expecting to see Janus, she gave an inward groan when she saw Guy Tindall, and wished she had put the latch down on the door after returning from breakfast. Janus had his key, and had told her to lock up after her, if she left the suite in his absence.
`I'm afraid Mr Leon's out,' she said brightly. `He'll be back around six,' she added.
`As a matter of fact, it's not Janus I wanted to see,' Guy Tindall replied in that rich deep voice of his that had earned him so many admirers. 'I didn't think you'd be still slaving away,' he added loftily. 'I hoped to find you at a loose end. How about dinner with me this evening?' he asked, giving her a smile that would have melted any other female's heart but Rebecca's.
She tried to look regretful. 'Sorry, I'm a working girl,' she said, softening her refusal with a smile. `Thanks for asking me, anyway,' she added, as she picked up the sheets of the typed manuscript in a manner that suggested that she was very busy.
`I thought the age of slavery was over,' he said with a wry twist of his lips. 'No one, but no one, works in the evenings, not unless there's a rush on. Okay, how about this weekend? And don't tell me you work weekends as well. We can go to a party I've been invited to, or just have a quiet dinner somewhere, if you prefer it.'
Rebecca did not intend to give way, even if her boss approved of her accepting a date with the man who
was probably going to get the lead in the film She was looking forward to some time on her own, and had to repeat what she had said before about her being a working girl, and at the beck and call of her boss.
To give him credit, Guy took her refusal with good grace, but he threatened to have a word with Janus about the way he treated his secretary, and to ask his permission to take her out. With these words he took his departure, much to Rebecca's relief.
After a light lunch, she went back to the suite and changed into her bathing suit, then putting on a light skirt and a button-down blouse over it, and collecting her sunglasses and lotion, she made her way to the pool and settled down in a shady spot near the water on one of the lilos provided by the hotel. The shade was necessary, as it was very hot, and Rebecca did not intend to go down with sunstroke and be left to the tender care of Janus Leon.
As the afternoon drowsed on, Rebecca, who could feel the rays of the sun through the leafy cover of the tall trees that formed the barrier between the hotel and the steps that led down to the beach proclaiming that this was private property, felt so relaxed that she decided to stay and let the world go by. The thought of going back into the hotel and changing again to go down into the town did not appeal to her; besides, it would be after six by the time she got back, and for all she knew, Janus might want some work done, and would be in a foul mood if she was missing.
Having convinced herself that she ought to stay put, Rebecca gave herself. up to her sunbathing,
and let the warm rays of the sun sink through to her recumbent body.
After tea by the pool, she went back to the suite, giving herself plenty of time to have a shower and change, ready for her boss's return. By now she knew that when he gave a time he kept it, providing he was not held up somewhere.
Just before six, and with an inward feeling of relaxation, she went to the office to wait for Janus. As she had presumed, he was on time, and when he strode into the office she was at the desk awaiting orders, but instead of work, she found herself undergoing a third-degree concerning Guy Tindall's visit. The actor had apparently wasted no time in carrying out his threat of talking to Janus.
`How long did he hang around up here?' Janus demanded.
Rebecca blinked at the sudden question. 'Oh, not long,' she replied crossly, feeling like a child being questioned by her father.
'Well, I'm glad you didn't encourage him,' Janus said abruptly. 'And if you get any more wolves hanging around, let me know. I suppose Daniel Dupre will be the next one to try his luck,' he added grimly.
Rebecca could have screamed, but said nothing. She had liked the younger man, he had not been at all pushing in his manner and had not set out tq impress her in any way.
`Prefer him to Guy Tindall, do you?' Janus asked softly, reading her thoughts with an accuracy that no longer surprised her.
`As a matter of fact; yes,' Rebecca replied frankly. 'I did prefer him I thought he was a much
more natural character,' she added emphatically.
`It wouldn't be because he's the third son of an earl, I suppose, would it?' he sneered. 'Guy Tindall has no such illustrious parentage.'
Rebecca drew in a deep breath. He was accusing her of being snob again! 'I didn't know where either of them came from,' she said icily. 'But it proves my point, doesn't it? Breeding does count,' she added meaningly, not caring whether this upset Janus or not, she was tired of being unfairly accused.
Mad was not the word. He was furious, and he caught her wrist in an iron grip. 'Still regretting not landing John Sanderson, are you?' he said silkily. `Settle for a third son, would you? I suppose there's always the chance of an early demise for the two elder ones. One word from me, and he wouldn't touch you with a bargepole, madam, so watch your step!' he advised her grimly, and releasing his hold, pushed her towards the door. 'I've got a date tonight, so I'll not need you until the morning. Don't leave the hotel,' he warned her harshly.
When Rebecca had reached her room, she drew in a shuddering breath. She had only envisaged working for him, but had not seen herself under house arrest wherever she went, and her first reaction to Janus's order was to disobey it. If she went for a walk there was no one to stop her, she told herself, providing Janus had left for his date, and if he was still in the suite when she left, she could always say that she was going down to dinner.
To while away the time until Janus had left, she walked over to the window and looked out at the midnight-blue sky gleaming with countless stars.
Ahead of her she' could see the dark outline of a hillside with tiny twinkling lights that denoted homes built on the hill, and she drew in a breath of wonder. It was like a fairy land, and would have been so much more appreciated had she been happy, but her last encounter with Janus had taken away all appreciation of the finer points of life.
He had chosen a fine time to revert to the past, she thought wearily, just as she was beginning to think he had forgotten it, and just because he thought she was showing an interest in someone. She knew she ought to have held her tongue, but he had provoked her. By now, she thought, she ought to be used to him, and stray away from topics that annoyed him, but as far as she was concerned, he disliked her to the point of turning any topic to her disadvantage. Whatever views she held were, as far as, he was concerned, biased by snobbery.
When they got back to London, she would contact Laura and ask her to tell Janus what really happened that night. The danger as far as Caroline Carmichael was concerned was now over, and she did not intend to spend the rest of her time shackled to the side of such a man Rebecca told herself stoutly. She could depend on Laura, particularly if she saw a chance of taking over from Rebecca, for she knew that she would keep her word and take a course of typing and shorthand, fired by what she considered was Rebecca's stroke of luck.
A glance at her watch told her that dinner was now being served, and collecting a light wrap to put over her shoulders, she picked up her shoulder bag and left the suite without encountering Janus,
and presuming that he had left for his date, silently wished him a good time, for that would put him in a better mood the next morning, then, feeling like a pupil playing truant, she skirted the dining room passage and made her way to the foyer and freedom.
CHAPTER NINE
TAKING care to avoid the numerous taxis that swept into the drive of the hotel, taking guests out for an evening of pleasure, Rebecca left the hotel grounds, and coming out on to the main road to the town, she noticed that there were pl
enty of taxis cruising around in the hope of picking up passengers, their bright green tops with black bodywork made them easy to spot at a distance, and she thought fares must be cheap with so many of them plying for trade. She thought of the busy streets of London and what a time she and Barbara had had in trying to get a taxi, and having flagged one down only to find someone nearer grabbing the taxi before they could get to it. She must remember to tell Barbara what the service was like in Madeira, she thought with a smile.
Ahead of her lay the town's twinkling lights, and on the other side of the road as she went down the hill, were the brilliantly lit entrances of other hotels. Above the town, the hills that she had seen from her bedroom window gave the same panoramic
view, only on a wider vision, the bright twinkling lights looking like stars against the dark outline of the hills, and again she experienced that sense of wonder, tinged with sadness.
Tearing her eyes away from the hills, she saw a small park on her left, with a lake, the area clearly defined by soft lighting, that showed a black swan regally patrolling its boundaries, and as she moved into the enclosure, she noticed several more now op the farther banks settling down for the night. There were seats dotted around the lake, and bright flowers set in borders gave it a peaceful setting.
From beyond the lake ahead of her she could see more twinkling lights, and after accustoming her eyes to the view, she saw that she was looking at the harbour which lay farther down the hill. She stood for a few moments silently taking in the peace and tranquillity around her, then reluctantly turned back to the road again. She might not get another chance to explore the town, but if she had an hour or two to spare she could always find this place again.