by Julia Bell
Anna climbed the stairs heavily, her heart breaking. She had been asked to leave when Jason returned, but she knew she couldn’t spend another night under Margaret’s roof. But she couldn’t go back to the house in Bishop Sutton, she hadn’t seen Ben and Mrs Wilby since New Year. What would they say if she suddenly turned up on the doorstep?
In her room, she packed a few things in a small bag and then made her way back down to the hall, down the few steps that led to the kitchen and then up the flight that finally took her to the apartment. John answered her gentle knock.
“Why, miss. What’s the matter?”
“Could you give me a lift to the home of Doctor and Mrs Orchard, please.”
“Of course, miss. I’ll just get the car keys.”
John asked no questions as he drove her to Wedmore. He pulled up at the gate and frowning, watched Anna make her way up the path of the modern bungalow and knock on the door.
Sarah answered. “Anna! What are you doing here?”
A steady stream of tears poured down her face. “Margaret has asked me to leave the Grange and I’ve nowhere else to go. Please could you help me?”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Sarah Orchard accepted the situation at face value, and like John, didn’t ask any intrusive questions. Being a doctor’s wife for many years, she had plenty of experience in dealing with the traumatic side of life but had always tried to keep a positive attitude. She made Anna as comfortable as possible and when her husband returned from a house call, he was concerned enough to give Anna a thorough examination. Except for her blood pressure being slightly elevated, he confirmed that a good night’s sleep would be beneficial. As for any other problems, they could be dealt with in the morning. He prescribed a mild sedative and told her to rest.
The following day, Anna spent the time in Sarah’s beautiful garden, wrapped in a blanket on the lounger. But one thing Sarah felt obliged to do was ring Margaret. The two friends talked for ten minutes and Margaret had to admit that she had been surprised when John had told her where he had taken Anna, but was satisfied with Sarah’s reassurances that she would take care of the mother-to-be. When Margaret asked if Anna could stay there until Jason returned from Canada, Sarah felt disturbed.
“She talked as though Anna was a package to be kept until its rightful owner collected it,” she said to her husband that evening.
The doctor frowned. “Jason will be home soon and she’s very welcome to stay here. I’m sure it’s all a terrible misunderstanding and will be sorted out when he gets back.”
Sarah was starting to have misgivings. She was quite concerned by the desperate look in Anna’s eyes and the way she couldn’t seem to focus or concentrate on anything. She knew that she was in a deep state of depression and that didn’t bode well with childbirth being so close.
Anna was grateful for Colin and Sarah’s kindness and she knew she should be showing her gratitude, but there was something dragging her down into a pit of misery. She remembered Sophia telling her that the memory of her rape ordeal wouldn’t vanish overnight; that it would be with her for a long time to come and she would need constant support.
But Anna hadn’t believed her. Since Jason had come back into her life, she had never felt better or happier. The nightmare of that terrible evening in the Marriott Hotel had slipped into the background as she and Jason planned for their baby. And it really had been their baby as he had helped her to believe that the child was his.
And only now, with Margaret’s accusations, did the awful truth dawn on her. She could be carrying her ex-husband’s child and the very thought filled her with horror. Suddenly she wished that she had taken Sophia’s suggestion and had the pregnancy terminated and then there wouldn’t have been any repercussions from her ordeal. For the first time since it had happened, Anna wished she could die. It suddenly crossed her mind to disappear, to live in the fields and woodland until her baby came and then perhaps she would give birth out in the open and she and the baby would die together. And then she noticed the photos of the numerous Orchard grandchildren and common sense prevailed.
“What do you mean, she’s not here?”
Margaret took in a breath. She knew that look on her son’s face all too well. “I told her she must leave after your return, but she left on her own accord. She’s staying with the Orchards.”
“And why did you ask her to leave?”
“I had a phone call. I was told things that I didn’t like to hear.”
“Such as?”
“That she’s not carrying your child. That it might be someone else’s.”
Jason closed his eyes in shock. “And who was this person who decided you needed to know this?”
“I have no idea. They didn’t give me their name.”
“You had an anonymous phone call?”
“Yes.”
“Mother! How can you believe gossip from…!” Suddenly Jason remembered his conversation with Deborah at the clubhouse at Christmas. She had levelled accusations at Anna and he had believed them.
Margaret started to feel uncomfortable. “She admitted it. Sort of.”
“Sort of?”
“She told me that you knew she might be expecting another man’s child.” She caught his sidelong glance and knew she had hit a nerve. “And I must say I’m surprised at you. After you accused her of having an affair, you then decide to take on another man’s child! I don’t know whether you’re very gullible or just plain stupid.”
Jason had heard enough and turning on his heels rushed out of house, ignoring the cries of his mother as she called his name. Within minutes he was on the road to Wedmore.
Sarah’s greeting was much kinder and her relief at seeing him was overwhelming.
“She’s in the garden, but she’s hardly spoken two words since she arrived. My husband is not too worried about her physical health, but she’s very depressed. It’s as if she’s lost the will to live.”
Jason stepped into the garden and saw Anna standing underneath a beech tree, looking up into its branches. He quickly went to her and put his arms round her. She sank against him and started shaking, her sobbing taking her over, her tears soaking into his clothing. He knew that it was better for her to get it out of her system and held her tightly, caressing her back and murmuring comforting words. Her body finally calmed and she stood quietly, still clinging to him.
“Dave will never let me go. He’s going to harass me until I die.”
“Please don’t say that. If you believe it then he’s won.”
“He’s already won. I can’t fight him any more.”
“Then don’t. Let me do all your fighting for you.”
She looked up and searched his face. “He’s going…to come back. When the baby’s born…he wants to know if it’s his. And if it is…he’s going to apply for access.”
Jason stared at her in disbelief. “He’s been to see you?”
“Yes. About six weeks ago.”
Jason couldn’t hide his horror. “Why didn’t you tell me!”
“I didn’t think it was important. I thought it was an empty threat.”
He thought rapidly. “We’ll get Nigel to apply for an injunction.”
“Do you honestly believe that’ll keep him away! An injunction will only goad him.”
“But he can be arrested if he comes anywhere near you.” She shook her head. “Then come back to Bishop Sutton with me. It’s your home.”
“I don’t feel I belong there any more and besides, I was hoping to have this baby at the Grange.”
He smiled and gently put his hand on her stomach. “Our baby.”
“Do you really still believe that?”
He nodded. “With all my heart.”
They held each other close for a few minutes until Anna said, “The last few days I’ve wanted to die.”
Jason’s heart went into his mouth as he remembered Sophia’s grim description of the fate of some of her clients. ‘Two took an overdose and one cut her wrists
!’
“Then there’s only one thing for it!” He held her away from him so that he could look her in the eyes. “Knowledge is the best defence, they say, so you must let me tell Mother what happened to you. We’ll admit that you could be carrying your ex-husband’s child and…”
She pulled away from him. “No! I don’t want her to know. I would feel so ashamed.”
“But it wasn’t your fault, sweetheart. She’ll understand. Then you can move back into the Grange in time for the baby and also everyone will be aware of your ex-husband and he won’t be allowed on the premises. You’ll be well protected.”
“Are you thinking of telling John and Irene too! And Fran? What about the rest of the staff?”
“No, of course not. What I’m saying is…”
Anna couldn’t believe what he was suggesting. She moved away from him. “Oh, why not tell everyone! Tell the whole bloody world, why don’t you! I know, why don’t you put it in the paper? Make it official that your fiancée was kept prisoner in a hotel bedroom and raped twice by her…!”
“Twice!”
She stopped short suddenly realising what she had just said. “Y…Yes.”
He stepped closer to her. “You never said that…! Oh, God, what have you been through!”
She put her hand over her mouth, trying to choke back the tears.
“I…I don’t want to think about it.”
He reached out for her. “Sweetheart, please come back to Bishop Sutton with me.”
“Please go, Jason. I need to be on my own.”
He shook his head. “I’m not leaving you on your own. I’m too scared for you.”
She gave a wry smile. “Why? Do you think I’ll do something silly?” His eyes turning dark told her she was right. “I won’t. So you don’t have to worry.”
He glanced around the garden. “OK, I’ll go. But I’m coming back tomorrow and the next day and the next, until I can persuade you to leave with me.” He reached for her hand and kissed her fingers.
He left her standing under the beech tree. Sarah was waiting for him.
“Will she be OK?” she asked anxiously.
“I don’t know. I hope so, but is it all right for her to stay?”
“Oh yes, absolutely. We’ll look after her.”
“I’m coming back tomorrow. By then she might have changed her mind and be willing to come home with me.”
Anna stared up at the beech tree. She remembered climbing one when she was a girl. But a bee had started pestering her and she had scrambled down, frantically trying to get away from it. She had cuts and bruises all over her legs and hands and her mother had laughed.
“You’ve done yourself more damage than the bee has.”
Was this happening now? Was she doing as much damage to herself as her ex-husband had done? She had sent Jason away at a time when she needed him the most and forbidden him to tell his mother her secret. But if Margaret knew everything, then she would understand. And what’s more she would take the necessary actions to protect her and her baby. Ignorance didn’t protect a person. Ignorance made a person vulnerable. Knowledge is the best defence, Jason had said. And he was right.
Suddenly she began to panic. She fled out of the garden and round the side of the bungalow just as Jason was pulling away from the kerb. He saw her, brought the car to a halt and climbed out. She hurried towards him as fast as her growing child would allow and flung her arms about his waist, pressing her face so hard against his chest, she could hear the steady beating of his heart. He had opened his arms to receive her and once entwined held her tightly, stroking her hair. For many minutes they didn’t speak, as she clung to him.
“I’ll come back to the Grange with you,” she whispered. “And you can tell Margaret everything.”
He smiled. “Go and get your things.”
Jason wanted to speak to his mother alone and so he sent Anna upstairs. She went to soak in a hot bath, leaving Jason to do her fighting, just as he had suggested. He went into the parlour and while his mother sat quietly, he told her about Anna’s frightening experience at the hands of her ex- husband and how the child she was carrying could be either man’s, but he hoped it was his.
Margaret couldn’t hide her horror. “The poor girl. If only I’d known the truth.”
Jason nodded. “And she needs our love, support and protection now. Her ex-husband is still threatening her even though they’re divorced. He wants access to the baby if it’s his.”
“Then after the birth, you must have a test.”
He groaned. “That was something I wanted to avoid. I was going to take on the child as mine. He was going to have my name.”
“It seems you have no choice now. At least a test will make it certain who the father is.”
“But if it’s his, then he’ll apply for access and Anna’s life will become intolerable.”
“We’ll have to face that problem when it comes. But one thing’s for sure, he’s doing it to cause trouble for you too.”
“Me?”
“Oh, yes. I think you’re his target not Anna. His jealousy of you has warped his mind.” She patted his knee. “If this had been two hundred years ago it would have been pistols at dawn. But in the twentieth century it comes down to a DNA test. That’s progress for you. But however you look at it, you’re in a deadly duel with this man.”
“Dear Lord, I hope you’re wrong!”
“Well, if it comes to a fight in a courtroom, you’ve got a good solicitor.”
Jason smiled and his respect for his elderly mother soared. She was a powerful force at seventy, goodness knows what she must have been like at forty. Anna appeared and the look on her face showed her apprehension. Jason took her hand and drew her down on the couch with him.
Margaret stood and came to sit next to her. “My dear, I’ll tell John and his family that no strangers must enter these premises without a prior appointment. Your ex-husband will not get through the doors of the Grange I promise you.”
Anna leaned against Jason’s shoulder and closed her eyes with relief.
“Thank you, Margaret. But I should have told you at Christmas when I found out I was pregnant.” She looked at Jason and grinned. “Me and my secrets!”
Nigel’s phone call came unexpectedly one scorching hot afternoon. Ben had opened all the windows and doors to allow any welcome draught of cool air to circulate round the house. Mrs Wilby had made her special lemonade and Hollie had been given the task of supplying it to anyone who needed it. Even the ice cold Natalie seemed to be melting under the heat.
Jason looked at his watch. “I think we’ll call it a day. It’s far too hot to work.”
Natalie turned in her seat, her blouse damp between the shoulders. “It is hot, isn’t it! I wouldn’t mind going if it’s OK with you.”
Jason smiled. “Get yourself off.”
After she had gone, he decided to phone Anna.
She answered with a soft laugh. “I hoped you’d phone too. I’ve had a call from Chris. He went gliding this afternoon and said he thoroughly enjoyed being up in the blue sky. How’s Martyn doing?”
“Graham is very impressed with him. He’s become an asset to the company and giving Graham a run for his money telling him all the new economic theories he’s learnt at uni.”
“It seems strange that he’s sleeping in my old bedroom.”
“He’s won Mrs Wilby’s heart and enjoys helping Ben with the cars. Hollie adores him and keeps reminding him that they will be stepbrother and sister.”
“Well, don’t indulge him too much.”
Jason chuckled. “I shall be there tomorrow for dinner as usual and this weekend, we’ll be descending on you for our summer visit.”
“I can’t wait to see everyone. I can’t believe it’s eight months since I last saw Ben and Mrs Wilby. Do you think they’ll notice a difference in my appearance?”
“Just a bit. They’ve bought something for the baby.”
“Oh, Jason. That’s so kind. I�
��ll be seeing the doctor next week and I’ll find out for definite if I can stay here for the birth or I must go into hospital. Will you come with me? He’s sure to be agreeable if you’re sitting there working your charms on him.”
“Of course I’ll come but I don’t think my charms work on Colin.”
She chuckled. “I’m in the rose garden at the moment and it’s lovely and cool.”
“Wish I was with you, sweetheart.”
“We’ll see each other tomorrow.”
“Wonderful! There’s something I need to discuss with you.”
“Goodness, that sounds intriguing. Can’t wait.”
After speaking to Anna, Jason sat quietly, looking around his office. He had lived in this house since he and Kiera had married and that was over eleven years ago. Jason shook himself from his reflections. That was the past and now he had someone else to think about and another child to care for. His life was changing and soon he would have quite an extended family. He had a plan but had kept it to himself until he could discuss it with Anna.
The telephone rang and it was Nigel. He seemed in a jovial mood and asked if Jason could meet him for a drink, with it being such a hot day. Jason agreed wholeheartedly.
“I’ve actually got you here under false pretences,” said Nigel, taking a gulp of lager.
“Suits me on a day like today.”
Nigel leaned forward, keeping his voice low. “Remember our discussion about how Deborah knew about Anna’s circumstances?” Jason nodded. “I think I might have found the person who’s been passing information from my office to Deborah.”
Jason felt intrigued. “Go on, then. Tell me!”
“My secretary, Maureen, has been with me for years and I trust her implicitly. I mentioned my concerns to her and she said that she had seen one employee in the general office, pop a computer disk into her handbag. Of course, that meant nothing since the disk could have belonged to the employee and contained personal information, bank accounts and such stuff. But I thought it worth investigating, so I had to put my trust in Maureen more than usual by asking her to go into the aforesaid handbag when the employee was out of the office and find out what was on the disk.”