She was pathetically eager to please. Not like her step-mother. Lisa didn't seem to care whether she pleased or not. He still had difficulty in believing she was now the second Mrs Gueras, despite having been there himself and watched the marriage ceremony.
'Have you ever been on a honeymoon, Bishop?' persisted Rebekah. 'No.'
'Is that because no one's ever wanted to marry you?' 'Yes.'
'Louise will, won't you, Lou?' she jeered.
'Bugger off , you horrid toad!' snapped Louise. Rebekah ran out of the room, well pleased with what she'd said. She hated Louise almost as much as she hated Bishop and knew that her shot about marriage had gone home.
'She didn't look all that special to me!' commented Toby Walker's second wife. 'She's very thin—apart from the obvious bulge, that is!'
'She was always slim.'
'I said thin. Neal Gueras is rather old for her.' 'She's thirty years younger than him.'
'Didn't you mind her leaving you for a geriatric? Or did your perpetual virility wear her out?'
'She went off me, all right? End of subject.'
'What very poor taste she must have. Imagine trading you in for such an old model. Mind you, he is disgustingly rich!' Toby nodded, remembering very well that it hadn't been like that at all, and wondering if he'd ever manage to lose his permanent burden of guilt.
On the day that Lisa and Neal returned to Beckett Lodge from their honeymoon on the beautiful, tiny Caribbean island of Aruba, Louise took to her bed with a cough, Ruth went out to look at a neighbour's horses and Rebekah locked herself in the schoolroom and refused to come out. Feeling thoroughly rested and extremely content, Lisa entered her new home in excellent spirits. Within two hours she knew that for everyone's sake the girls must leave earlier than had been planned.
Neal, similarly relaxed and elated, had no patience with them. Lisa suggested allowing them a couple more days to settle down but he refused. Louise and Ruth were to go to their uncle in Dover while Rebekah's nanny was sacked.
'She simply needs to mix more with children her own age,' explained Lisa, worried that Rebekah too might be banished if she didn't speak up in her defense. 'I'll look at local private schools.'
'Very well, but any more trouble from her and she's going away. I will not have you upset.'
That night, in the privacy of their king-size bed he reached for her yet again as he had done every night of their honeymoon. Lisa understood he was trying to prove to himself that he could give her as much satisfaction as she gave him but wished he wouldn't try so hard. Now that the baby was larger lovemaking was awkward, and the more her husband tried the more she tensed up.
When it was over he lay on his back, staring at the ceiling. 'I don't understand it,' he complained. 'I've never had this trouble with other women.'
'You know why it is, and I honestly don't mind. I enjoy our love-making. I don't feel frustrated or deprived, so can't you just accept that?'
'I regard it as a personal insult. I am your husband now. Surely it's about time you started to relax and take a more active part? I'm not asking you to swing from chandeliers, just make a little bit of effort.'
'I think junior is taking too active a part for my liking!'
Neal put an arm round her. 'I suppose that is a bit off-putting for you. Let's hope things pick up once he's born.'
Lisa was disconcerted by the speed with which he was willing to vocalise his discontent. After all, he'd known what she was like in bed before and sworn it didn't matter. Apparently that wasn't true. She only hoped this didn't apply to everything else he'd said. 'I'm sorry,' she whispered. 'I'm going to try and be the best wife in the world for you.'
'So I should hope!' he joked, turning over to go to sleep. 'After all, that's why I chose you.'
When Lisa went down to breakfast next morning, the two older girls' cases were in the hall. They themselves were sitting silently round the long mahogany dining-table, their plates of kedgeree virtually untouched.
'What's your uncle like, Ruth?' Lisa asked.
'Like Daddy only more interested in us. We'll probably have quite a good time, although they haven't got their own horses.'
'Who cares about bloody horses!' snapped Louise, glaring sullenly at her stepmother. 'It's not an animal I'm going to miss.'
'Yes it is, it's Bishop!' teased Ruth.
'You can shut up too. What's it like, Lisa, coming home and turning your stepchildren straight out? Does it make you feel good? I 'd have thought our going to boarding school in Paris next term was early enough to have the place to yourself, but apparently not. To be fair, you were just as quick to get rid of your own brat. What's wrong with her anyway, she looks weird!'
'She's autistic, and as soon as this baby's born I'm having her brought back here.'
'Only if it's a boy.'
'How do you know that?'
'Bishop told me. He said we were lucky to be going away. Apparently your daughter's utterly revolting. She and Rebekah should get on well together.'
'Shut up, Lou,' remonstrated Ruth. 'It isn't kind to talk about Lisa's daughter like that.'
'It isn't very kind to send us away from home either.'
'Daddy did that. You know full well nothing happens unless he wants it.'
Lisa pushed aside her scrambled eggs, wishing that she was back in her cottage. Although Jessica had been noisy and tiring, she'd been totally without malice. The hatred emanating from Louise made her feel physically sick.
'There's the car!' shouted Ruth, spilling her coffee all over the damask tablecloth. 'Come on, you know what Steve's like about being kept waiting.'
'Tough, he's only a servant. Not that I want to hang around here,' Louise added pointedly. Neither girl said goodbye before they left.
When a pale and subdued Rebekah slid into her place a little later, Lisa hardly noticed. She was wondering if the girls had been right and she should have stood up for them more, but they were Neal's children and she was afraid to interfere too much in case he started interfering in Jessica's upbringing. Life, she realised, was going to be a tricky balancing act for a time.
She didn't see Neal until mid-morning, and even then he was preoccupied. Murmuring something about work and needing to spend time with Bishop, he drank a cup of coffee with her and then went off to the annexe, leaving her to familiarise herself with the, house and servants.
By the end of the day she knew that the household ran impeccably. Wakefield, the cook and the housekeeper had their set routine and were loath to make changes. She'd cast an eye over the accounts and found them to be in order, and studied the menus for the next week, including a dinner party on the Friday evening.
'I'm allergic to venison,' she told Cook, pointing to the planned dinner menu.
'What would you prefer as an alternative?' 'Perhaps pheasant?'
'Certainly. The first Mrs Gueras left everything to me but if you wish to discuss the meals… ?'
'I definitely do wish to discuss them. Every morning when I'm here, and at least a week in advance when we have guests coming. The first Mrs Gueras wasn't a fit woman. I am, and I intend to have a great deal more say in the running of things than she did.'
Cook didn't show any sign of resentment, but Lisa suspected she was merely too well-trained to show it. 'About the annexe,' she continued. 'There seems to be a tremendous amount of food and drink sent there. Why's that?'
'Your husband often has people staying there. I take my instructions from him.'
'I thought it was only Bishop and security men who stayed there?' 'I really couldn't say, madam.'
'I'll discuss it with my husband. One more thing,' she added. 'I'd prefer coffee to tea on my morning tray.'
'I'll instruct Ann.'
Lisa then wandered round the grounds and noticed Rebekah swinging listlessly on a rope ladder, near the start of the parkland. 'Why don't you show me round the park?' she called, and was pleased to see how her step-daughter's face brightened.
'I'll show you some of
the secret walks!' she said excitedly. 'I'm the only one who knows how to find my way through them!'
In the annexe things were not going so well for Neal. He sat at the head of the table listening to the people around him, fingers tapping his notepad.
'There's no doubt they're bringing some of the stuff in,' said a thin-faced man called Keith. 'It's not as pure as ours and it's got a lower street value but it does limit our potential.'
'Are the Bellinis behind this?'
'They steer well clear of drugs. All Renato seems interested in is the bank.'
'And women!' laughed Mike.
Neal frowned at him. 'What about the casinos?'
'They've applied for a couple of licences but we can always try and have them turned down.'
'It isn't a question of trying. I don't want those licences issued and I'm leaving it to you, Bishop, to make sure they're not.'
'It'll cost us.' 'How much?'
'Less than a wedding reception at Claridges.'
Neal was too experienced to rise to the bait. 'In that case money won't be a problem. See to it.'
'There's protection,' continued Bishop. 'Presumably you want your new wife to have a minder?'
'Not an obvious one. She's a complete innocent. The last thing I want is to arouse her curiosity. On the other hand… '
'She's an obvious target for P2 if they want to muscle in. They're well aware that she'd make a more valuable hostage than Naomi.'
'Had you anyone in mind?' asked Neal icily, suddenly picturing Lisa kidnapped, tortured and half-starved, just as he'd once had the wife of a thriving loan merchant abused until the man agreed to hand over his list of clients and leave the country.
'I thought Mike could do it. He's been training and he's used to Mrs Gueras. She won't suspect anything if he's the one who drives her around. He's even practised getting out of road blocks on the police skid pan, haven't you, Mike?'
'Yep! Passed with flying colours too.'
'You might have to die for her!' said Neal softly. 'I'd expect nothing less. In fact, should she be killed and you survive, I'd rectify matters personally.'
'No problem.'
Bishop gave a sigh of relief. Mike wasn't his idea of a perfect bodyguard, but if things went wrong, Neal himself had made the final decision.
'Anything else?' Neal was anxious to get back to his new wife. 'Apart from the next big job, which still needs a lot of groundwork done, there's only the problem of Renato Bellini.' 'What problem's that?'
'We think he's here to get back the gold we took from his bank.' Neal smiled. 'Of course he is! Did you think he'd come to enjoy our winter weather? Don't worry. A few more dinner parties, a couple of discreet meetings, maybe a very small concession in some area and he'll be off. You can safely leave Bellini to me.' 'And your good wife,' murmured Bishop. 'What did you say?' All the men sat very still.
'I was merely remarking on the wonderful way your wife has with him. They seem to have such a lot to talk about when they meet up.' 'That's one of the reasons I married her!' snapped Neal, colour flooding his face because he knew that Bishop was deliberately trying to make him jealous, and—even worse—succeeding. 'She's a wonderful hostess.'
'And so say all of us!' exclaimed Bishop when he and Mike were alone in the room.
Mike smiled. 'She's all right, there's no side to her. I like her.' 'Then you'll die content, won't you? I'm getting back to London. Derren tells me we've got trouble with some of the girls at the casinos. They're providing extra services out of working hours.'
'Life's just one problem after another!'
Ignoring Mike's amusement, Bishop gathered up his papers and left. In his opinion not enough had been done about Bellini, and if Neal wasn't going to take the Italian seriously it might pay him to keep in touch with the man himself. It wouldn't be the first time he'd run with the hares and hunted with the hounds.
At three-fifteen p.m. on the 22nd March, in a private room at Queen Mary's, Paddington, Lisa finally gave birth to the baby on whom Neal had gambled so much. For sixteen hours he had paced the floor of the waiting room, refusing to go in to the delivery room with his wife or to leave the hospital. He knew very well the risks he'd taken in .order to make Lisa his wife and knew the trouble that could be caused should the marriage fail, as it very well might if the baby was a girl.
At three-twenty the consultant obstetrician, wiping sweat from his forehead, hurried into the waiting room. When a man paid as much as Neal Gueras for attention, he didn't expect to have a nurse break the news to him.
'Well?' He was braced for disappointment.
'You have a fine healthy son, Mr Gueras. He weighs 9lbs and is already crying lustily. Your wife is rather tired but… '
'A son!' His face lit up and he found himself shaking with reaction. After three bitter disappointments and so many risks he'd finally got what he wanted. 'I have to see him,' he said, brushing the specialist to one side.
'Your wife is very tired but I'm sure she'd like to see you for a few minutes.'
'If she's too tired I'll just see my son.'
'They're together!' He couldn't keep the note of disapproval out of his voice, having seen Lisa struggle to produce such a large baby without the use of any painkillers in case they damaged the child.
Neal realised he wasn't behaving in the way expected of him and managed an apologetic smile. 'I'm sorry, you must think me very selfish. How is Lisa? I thought that as she'd already had one child… '
'It was a bit of a struggle. Her pelvis seems to have become tilted and that made the last stage very difficult. However, she's as excited as you are at the end result!'
He went quietly into the room where Lisa and his son were resting. She looked tired but there was a flush of triumph in her cheeks and her eyes were shining with excitement. 'Isn't he gorgeous!' she exclaimed, holding out the dark-haired, red-faced baby for him to admire.
'He's certainly big! I can't believe it, darling. This is the happiest day of my life.'
'I'm pretty excited too. He's so perfect, not a bit like… '
'Didn't I tell you he'd be fine? You should have more faith in me! The doctor said it was pretty painful for you.'
'Not really, more like hard work. They asked me what we'd decided to call him and I explained we hadn't dared to choose in case he turned out to be a girl.'
'I want him called Alexi,' said Neal firmly. 'Alexi James?'
'If you like. I can't believe it!' he repeated, putting one tanned finger gently against the baby's hand. 'Now then, tell me what you'd like as a reward? You can have anything in the world, anything at all.' Bellini had been right, thought Lisa. For this one brief moment she could ask for anything. The chance might never come again because already she was learning how quickly her husband tired of things once he'd obtained them. 'There's only one thing I really want,' she said slowly.
'Name it, darling, and I promise you it's yours.'
She raised her eyes to his and was stunned by the emotion in them as he gazed at his newborn son and heir. 'I want Jessica to come home to Berkshire.' Her voice was soft and for a moment he didn't seem to have heard. Then all the adoration vanished from his eyes and he stared at her in disbelief.
'I thought you 'd got over that!' he exclaimed. 'When I said you could have anything, I meant diamonds, rubies, emeralds, jewellery of some kind, not… '
'Jessica's all I want.' 'But… '
'I want my daughter back.' She surprised herself by the hardness of her tone.
'Darling, I… '
'I've given you your son, now let me have my daughter.'
'Very well!' He took the baby from her and walked across the room to the window so that he could stare hungrily down at the tiny features. 'Have her back,' he snarled, 'but don't think I'll forget this.'
'It was always intended that she'd come to Berkshire. You said she could have the top floor.'
'I'd have promised you the moon in order to make my son legitimate, but I wouldn't have gone out and got
it after he was born.'
Another point to the Italian, she thought with dismay. He'd made it clear that Neal's promises weren't usually honoured. 'I'm staying here ten days,' she said calmly. 'By the time Alexi and I get home, I want Jessica and Nurse Antony in their rooms at Beckett Lodge.'
'And—if they're not?'
'I shall tell everyone how you broke your word twice over.'
Neal remained with his back to her, his features twisted with fury, and it wasn't until he had himself under control again that he turned to her with a valiant attempt at a smile. 'I can't imagine why we're quarreling like this, darling. Of course Jessica can come to live with us. As long as I'm not expected to see her and she isn't allowed near Alexi.'
'I'll see to that.'
'You don't want anything else as well? Not even an eternity ring?'
She thought an eternity ring would be highly inappropriate. 'No thank you. I really am very tired now.'
'I'll be back tonight with some flowers. I assume flowers are acceptable?' And he bent over to give her a kiss. She lowered her face but he lifted her chin with his right hand and kissed her full on the mouth.
'You're mine!' he whispered triumphantly. 'My very own wife, mine forever. I think an eternity ring would be very suitable.'
Fighting back a desire to pull away she allowed his tongue to dart into her mouth for a moment before he stood up and began to re-button his jacket. 'Only another six weeks to wait!' he murmured. She was grateful he was going to give her any time at all.
When he'd gone, leaving her alone with Alexi, she looked ruefully at their son's elongated head. 'They are not long, the days of wine and roses!' she quoted, knowing full well that the honeymoon was truly over and hoping that somehow she'd find the strength to be the kind of wife that he was going to expect from now on.
Ten days later a proud Neal escorted her out of the hospital and into the waiting car. There were one or two photographers waiting to take their picture and Neal smiled broadly for them. Lisa kept her eyes fixed on little Alexi and tried to quell her excitement at the thought of seeing Jessica again.
Betrayal Page 30