Heading back along the corridor, the house felt deserted. It was quiet, much quieter than normal. Where was everybody? She checked her watch to make sure that it wasn’t a meal time, but no, it was way too early for lunch. She checked the dining room just in case, but it was empty. The parlour and library were also deserted. She even checked the secret games room under the stairs, but it, too, was empty. It was eerily quiet and so unusual for no one to be at home. Standing in the main entrance hall, Anais dithered, wondering where to look next, but then it hit her. The cellar, with its security screens showing every room, would soon tell her the location of The Manor’s inhabitants.
The cellar was also empty, which was surprising, as she expected to see Andrew in his usual place at the computer. She didn’t need him, though, just the sixteen screens that filled the wall flickering from one room to another. At first she thought the whole manor was empty, as she couldn’t find anyone on any of the screens, but as she watched, one of the screens flicked over to the surgery. Everyone was there, crowding around Rafe’s bedside. She scrunched up her eyes to look more closely to see if she could spot Aethelu, but by the time she had gotten close enough, the screen flicked over to the empty library. The Manor had more rooms than screens so each room was only shown for thirty seconds before it flicked over to another room. She waited for the screen to show the surgery again. It flicked across and she studied the people in the room. She could definitely make out Winnie at the front and Aldrich and James behind her. The screen flicked over again to the library. She sighed. She may as well get it over and done with and go up to the surgery. She was just about to leave when she saw movement in the library. She’d not noticed before because he had been so still, but she could now see that someone was sitting in the library in one of the chairs with his or her back to the camera. She only noticed now, because whoever it was moved their hand on the side of the chair. As she watched, the hand lazily picked up a stick that was leant against the side of the chair. It wasn’t a stick, though; it was a walking stick, a walking stick she would recognise anywhere. It had a silver tiger topping it. It was Rafe in the library! She had assumed that Rafe was in the bed in the surgery so she’d had no need to look at the bed’s occupant. If Rafe was in the library, who was lying in the bed in the surgery with the whole family standing around?
Chapter Eighteen
It seemed like an age before the picture flicked back to the surgery. When it did, her eyes automatically went to the bed. Her view of the occupant of the bed was obscured by James who was in between them and the camera. She quickly scanned the people who were standing round the bed. Where was Aethelu? It must be her in the bed. Anais didn’t wait around for another cycle of the cameras. She ran to the door and called the pantry lift. Its slow descent frustrated Anais. She tapped her toe impatiently and waited. What had happened to Aethelu? Was it Jago or something else? She prayed that Aethelu was ok. What if something awful had happened and she wouldn’t get a chance to apologise. It didn’t bear thinking about. As soon as the lift reached the floor, she jumped on and pressed the button repeatedly, as if pushing it more than once would make it move more quickly. Once it reached the kitchen, she flung the pantry door open and raced across the kitchen. She opened the kitchen’s outside door and ran across the courtyard. The wind howled past her ears and the rain pelted down, drenching her as she had not stopped to put a coat on. Her entrance to the surgery was so dramatic that everyone turned to look at her, as she came in. She ignored the looks and ran straight to the bed. There, eyes closed, was Alex. She stopped dead in shock. She thought back to when she had been watching the screen but realised she’d not seen Alex.
She looked around. Aldrich, James, Andrew, Winnie and Arcadia were there, but Aethelu was absent.
“What happened?”
Winnie came forward and put her arms around Anais. Her eyes were red rimmed from crying.
“We don’t know. We’d just got over Rafe being ill and now Alex is here.”
“I saw Rafe in the library.”
“Yes. He is fully recovered from whatever Jago had done to him, but now Alex…” She began to sob.
Arcadia took over for her. “Rafe was well enough to leave the surgery a couple of days ago. We never found out what was wrong with him. Then, an hour ago we found Alex at the bottom of the stairs like this.”
“Had he fallen?”
“No. It was Jago. He was found in exactly the same way as Rafe. Same message pinned to his clothes. Not a mark on him, but he’s in a coma. We called August, but he told us you had left. August is on his way over now.”
“So you found him at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the main doors? Jago had gotten into the grounds again?”
“The main staircase. He got into the house again.” She looked over at Andrew who bowed his head.
“I don’t know how he is doing it. The doors were locked, the windows shut. No alarms were triggered, and he didn’t show up on the cameras again. I’m sorry,” he added.
Suddenly the door opened and August tried to squeeze in. He saw Anais.
“I was wondering where you had got to.”
“Out!” Aldrich’s voice carried over them all. “I cannot treat my son with all these people in the room.”
Anais had to concede he had a point. There was now such little space in the surgery that the door wouldn’t close. They all trooped out except Aldrich, James and Winnie who stayed behind to run tests on Alex. Back in the kitchen, Anais remembered why she had come back to The Manor in the first place. She took Arcadia to one side.
“Where is Aethelu? I’d think she’d want to be with Alex.”
“Oh, darling. You don’t know what it’s been like since you’ve been gone. Sit yourself down. I’ll make you a hot chocolate and fill you in.” She pit-patted across the kitchen and poured some milk into a small pan, which she placed on a lit burner of the stove. As she made the hot chocolate, the others all went their separate ways. Andrew left the kitchen via the pantry, obviously heading down to the cellar. August headed up the spiral staircase to the main house.
“Ever since Rafe decided to tell all, followed by Alex spilling his guts, the whole house has been at war. Honestly, you were better off out of it. Aethelu stopped speaking to Alex because of you, and Rafe, because he hurt Andrew. Andrew, in turn, hasn’t been anywhere near Rafe since he punched him, and to top it all, Alex and Rafe had a big fight because Alex blamed Rafe for the big mess they were all in. Poor Mama has barely stopped crying over it all. Let’s just say that things have been strained all round.” She placed a mug of hot chocolate in front of Anais and sat down.
“So where is Aethelu?”
“She was rather upset.” Arcadia sipped her hot chocolate daintily.
“Arcadia, where is she?” Anais repeated her question.
“She left, about a week ago. She’s gone to stay with Ava and Alfred for a while, just while things calm down.”
“She’s been gone a week, and no one thought to tell me?” She couldn’t believe this was happening again.
“She needed some time. I’ll be willing to bet that she’ll be home soon. I actually thought she’d be home before you were.”
“This is the third time we’ve been separated. The third time she’s gone to stay on the yacht. I feel like time is repeating itself. Why does this keep happening? How does Jago keep coming in and hurting people without anyone seeing him?” She knew she was babbling, but she was well and truly sick of it all.
“Oh, darling. It’s not the same this time. She’ll come round and be home before you know it.”
“That’s just it. I don’t know it. I don’t know anything. I’m sick of the uncertainty!” She stood up, leaving her hot chocolate. “I’m not waiting around this time. Are they still docked in Tenerife?”
“Yes, why? What are you planning to do?”
“I’m going to get her and bring her back.”
She didn’t wait for the expected response, but instead, left the roo
m and made her way to her bedroom to pack. The last few months had been dictated to her by the family, by Jago, by everyone but herself. She was taking control and no one was going to stop her. She was quite ready for the family to tell her she was not allowed to go and so was totally unsurprised when there was a knock on her bedroom door.
“Anais?” It was Winnie.
“Come in.” Anais threw a couple of sundresses into the bag.
“Anais, love…” Winnie started, but Anais cut her off.
“Winnie. I can’t stand it here anymore. I stayed at August’s, because I was asked to and look what happened? She left anyway, plus Jago is walking around like he owns the place, putting people in comas.”
“I’m not here to try to stop you. I agree entirely. You’ve been a wonderful addition to our family and we’ve treated you poorly.”
“No, Winnie.”
“Let me finish. You have transformed Aethelu. She is a different person since you’ve been here. I know what happened between you and Alex, and I know that Alex has a tendency to over-exaggerate. I think Aethelu knows that you would never cheat on her, but you are the first person she’s let into her heart. She knows how much Alex loves you, and she knows that you care about him. It didn’t help that you two conceived children together even if it didn’t come to pass. That is something that she will never be able to give you and she knows that, too.”
“I love her, Winnie. I care about Alex very much, but I’ll never feel about him in the same way I feel about her.”
“I know, sweetheart. You should definitely go. Now forgive me but I also want you to go for my own selfish reasons. You are right about Jago. Nothing can stop him. I can’t sleep for worrying about it. With you gone, that is one less person I have to worry about.”
“Winnie. I’m sorry, I should have thought. Of course, you are worried. Do you want me to stay with you?”
“Come here.” She hugged Anais. “I wouldn’t keep you here for anything. I do have one proviso, though.”
“Yes?”
“I’m driving you to the airport and making sure you get on that plane safely. Have you booked a ticket?”
“I was planning to get the first available flight and wait at the airport.”
“Don’t be silly. I’ll go and book you a ticket, whilst you pack. I’ll meet you in the entrance hall in half an hour.” She got up to leave.
“Winnie. Alex is going to be ok. I know it.”
“I know, love. Rafe has recovered fully. I firmly believe that if Jago wanted to kill him, he would have. He’s playing a game with us. I just wish I knew the rules.” She left the room, leaving Anais to finish packing. She still had her passport in her travel bag from when she was in Las Vegas, so all she had to do was throw a few outfits in the bag.
Something Winnie had said had struck a chord with her. She did care about Alex greatly. She’d been so caught up with her own feelings about Aethelu that she’d paid no thought to poor Alex. She felt momentarily ashamed. She’d barely looked at him lying there in a coma; she was too busy thinking about herself and Aethelu. She looked down at her watch and saw that she still had twenty minutes until she had to meet Winnie. She picked up her bag and ran downstairs, leaving it in the entrance hall.
Opening the door to the surgery quietly, she was surprised to find that neither Aldrich nor James were still there. She was so used to their presence there that she almost felt like she was intruding. Alex, lay on the surgery bed where Rafe had been before, looking peaceful. It was difficult to believe he was in a coma and not just asleep. She brought the one chair in the surgery towards the bed and sat down beside him. His arm was above the sheet, resting on his chest. Anais gently took it and held it with her own. The paleness of his skin, coupled with the coldness of it, gave him almost a marble-like quality. She watched his chest rise and fall steadily with each breath, the only indication that he was still alive. Any anger she felt towards him slipped away. He had done something terrible, but deep down she understood why. He loved her, plain and simple. No man had ever loved her as much as Alex did, or had ever done so much for her. In her pain at nearly losing Aethelu, she hadn’t considered the fact that Alex was feeling the same pain at losing her. The difference was that she was never Alex’s to lose in the first place. She knew the pain would be just as raw for him.
“Alex. I’m so sorry. I never meant for this to happen. I know that in another place or time, I could so easily have fallen in love with you.”
She kissed his forehead and left the surgery. The tear that rolled down his face was missed by her.
Once inside the car, Winnie passed her a ticket, directions to the marina and a phone number for Alfred and Ava.
“It should work as long as they’re in dock or on land. Their phone on the boat is terribly unreliable as you know, but if you need it, the number for that is on there, too.
“Thank you, Winnie. You are a real friend.” She leant over to kiss Winnie’s cheek.
“I’m just fearful for all your safety. I feel better the further you all are away. Jago only seems to attack us when we are at home.”
“That’s true, he does.” She was going to add more, but they were in a drop off only space and the car behind them was beeping his horn at them. “Ok, gotta go. Love you, Winnie!”
She picked up her bag from the back seat of the car and got out onto the pavement.
“I love you, too.” Winnie called from an open window. “Be safe and call me as soon as you find her.”
Winnie put the car into gear and drove away, leaving Anais suddenly feeling alone. Rain had started to spatter down from the grey clouds, so she made her way into the main airport building before the heavens opened completely.
The queue for her flight was quite short, as it wasn’t due to fly for another three hours. She didn’t mind, though, because she loved to browse the duty-free shops. Once through the baggage x-ray area, she found a seat and ordered a coffee. She sat near one of the huge windows overlooking the runway to watch the planes taking off and landing. She loved airports. Everyone was happy. Excited holiday makers looking forward to a break in the sun, loved ones coming home after a time away. She grinned whilst she sipped her coffee. Despite the reason she was flying to Tenerife, she was still going to see Aethelu and that was all that mattered. She’d also get to see a bit of sunshine, something she sorely missed from her days in LA. As if the weather knew what she was thinking, a loud roll of thunder suddenly echoed through the sky and the few raindrops turned into a deluge. The rain was so heavy that Anais could barely see the British Airways flight that was currently taxiing up the runway, ready to take its passengers to warmer climes. She finished her coffee and thought back to what Winnie had said in the car. Jago had only attacked them in the house or on the grounds. She’d not noticed before because when she was attacked all those months ago, the whole family had been there. Since then though, she and Alex had been to America, Rafe had been to Africa, Arcadia to her home in the South of France, and this was Aethelu’s second trip to Tenerife. Jago was obviously well travelled. Why not attack them abroad where it would be difficult for the family to help. He obviously waited until Rafe got back from Africa to hurt him. It made no sense. Now that she came to think about it, why attack at all? He obviously had access to the house despite Andrews’s best efforts. August had told her that the tree branch over the electric fence, the only way to get into and out of the property undetected, had been cut down. He must know that they were working on the Elixir by now, so what did he have to gain by hurting the family? He must also know that by hurting Aldrich’s children, he was setting back any effort to get the Elixir finished. Aldrich would obviously make looking after his sons a priority over making the Elixir. The more Anais thought about it, the less sense it made. He had attacked both Rafe and Alex, somehow putting them into a coma but Rafe had come out of it with no lasting effects. Why not kill him? He’d shown, by murdering Anais’ own mother and father that he had no qualms about killing. The onl
y reasoning she could come up with was that he had a disturbed mind. He was probably completely insane and it made no sense, because there was no sense in it.
Getting nowhere, she decided to have a stroll around the duty-free shops. It would pass the time until her flight was called. She bought some lovely smelling perfume as a gift for Aethelu and a box of chocolates and a bottle of brandy for Ava and Alfred. She assumed that Aethelu was staying with them and if all things went well, she would end up staying with them for a few days, too. As she made her way to the checkout, she noticed a shelf with some compact cameras on it. She realised she’d not gotten a single photograph of herself and Aethelu together. She actually couldn’t remember the last time someone had taken a photo of her, at all. It was probably over a year ago when she lived in Los Angeles. She paid for her items then made her way to the shelf of cameras. Picking up the first one, she randomly pointed and clicked. An image showed on the screen of the airport duty-free shop. It looked good, but she knew nothing about cameras.
“Excuse me,” she spoke to a passing shop assistant, “but could you help me? It’s been a while since I bought a camera, and I’m not sure what to look for.”
“Of course. The one you have there is good, but if you are looking for a sharper image, then I recommend this one.” She pulled it off the shelf and shot off a few frames of the airport terminal.
“See how clear it is.”
She proceeded to list all the features, which sounded impressive, although Anais wasn’t entirely sure what most of it meant.”
“Ok, I’ll take it. Thanks.” She looked for a box with the right make and model, but to her dismay, there didn’t seem to be one.
Infinite Spring Page 17