Judith remembered the Councilman’s refusal to use planes for his many jaunts to other parts of the country. Speaking up for the first time, she asked, “Will you be driving or going by train?”
“Driving to Boston and taking a train from there,” the Councilman told her. “So I can’t be back before Monday or Tuesday.” He beamed at Alan. “Maybe by then you’ll have a strategy of your own worked out.”
“You only say that because you know I won’t,” Alan said sullenly. “I’d think you’d stay in town with this breaking!”
“More important things to look after,” Fred Harvey assured him with a wise smile. And with a farewell nod to Judith, he said, “Don’t forget that job is always open to you, Judy.”
“The knowledge of it sustains me,” Judy told him in the same mocking manner.
“Good luck!” the Councilman said to Alan as the young lawyer saw him out
“Thanks!” Alan said a shade too bitterly. When the Councilman had gone out, he closed the door after him and turned to give Judith a glance. “What do you say to that?”
“I’m not surprised,” Judith said.
“I suppose I shouldn’t be, either,” he admitted, starting to pace back and forth in her office. “I should have known North wouldn’t give up so easily.”
“He rarely does.”
“But what he has to gain in this case is not that great! I can’t see him holding up the bridge just to win the contract for the rest of the steel.”
“Isn’t it more than that? A need to prove that he can have his own way in Port Winter?”
“I suppose so. He hates to be crossed.”
“And this bridge business has been a reverse for him the whole town knows about,” Judith pointed out. “He’ll probably never rest easy until he has won the battle.”
Alan gave her a surprised look. “You’re not agreeing with Harvey that I should play along with North’s crowd in this to keep my position?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know enough about it. But I would hate to see you resign.”
“It may be all I’m honorably able to do,” he said. “If Mayor Devlin can’t dismiss this at the Council meeting, we’re in the soup. Once the Council votes for a delay, the Senator has won the first round.”
“Will the Council take the petition seriously?”
“That will depend on how many S.C. North supporters there are among the Councilmen,” Alan said. “We know our side will lose one vote with Harvey away.”
“Surely he could have stayed here another day,” she said.
“No point in asking him. He had no intention of staying, and he’d only have refused me.”
“Still, you weren’t very polite in accepting his advice.”
“That kind of advice! What did you expect me to say?” Alan demanded.
She smiled ruefully. “Of course it’s up to you.”
Alan smiled at her apologetically. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to put you on the griddle.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“You’ll be wanting to accept Harvey’s job offer,” he told her. “I think he means it, by the way.”
“I’m sure he does,” she said, looking amused. “But it’s the last job I’d ever want. He’d be impossible to work for, far too nervous.”
“Nervous?” Alan said in surprise. “That’s not an adjective I’d apply to him. He’s like an iceberg.”
“I bet that’s a front,” Judith told him. “And I’m sure his wife and his secretary would both tell you he’s a nervous wreck.”
“Could be,” Alan said, but he sounded doubtful. “I think I should pass along some of Harvey’s gems of wisdom to the Mayor. Get him on the line for me.”
Judith did this and then worked at her desk as Alan gave the Mayor a summary of the conversation between himself and Fred Harvey. The phone talk ended with Alan inviting the Mayor to his office later in the afternoon. When the young man hung up he called out to her, “The Mayor will be dropping by about four o’clock.”
“Fine,” Judith said. “I’ll keep you clear of any appointments at that time.”
“What have I for the rest of the day?” he wanted to know.
She rose from her desk and went in to stand by him. Checking the appointment book, she said, “The union representative at one-thirty. A Mrs. Regan about a property being sold to the bridge authority at two o’clock. After that there is only Mr. Stevens coming in to discuss his suit against the bus company.”
Alan listened. “Doesn’t sound too bad,” he said. “It will give me time to work out some ideas for the Mayor.” Then suddenly he groaned and clapped a hand to his temple. “I forgot Pauline!”
“You said she was in New York.”
Alan shook his head. “She’s getting back on this morning’s plane. I told her to meet me here and we’d have lunch together.”
“You can still manage that if you don’t waste any time.”
“It will make it tight,” he mourned. “And I could have used that time to consider my plans. Now I’ll have to spend the entire noon hour hearing Pauline talk about the marvelous paintings she picked up while she was away!”
Judith smiled. “Isn’t she entitled to some enthusiasm for her work?”
He sighed. “All right; take her side. I guess I’ll have to suffer through it. But when we leave, be sure to mention I have an appointment and have to be back early.”
“Then she’ll think I’m a cat with designs on you.”
“Better that than that I overstay my lunch hour with her,” he said. And then his thin face brightened. “Maybe she won’t come! Perhaps she’ll decide to stay in New York another day.”
But Pauline Walsh put in an appearance at exactly ten minutes to twelve. She was a tall, slim, blonde girl with a great deal of dash. She was wearing her hair in a short, graceful coiffure, and the suit she had on was of some satiny silver material. She wore tall boots of a matching shade, and her skirt line was enough above her knees to reveal a fetching pair of legs. Yet for her height she carried the short skirt very well.
She always politely referred to Judith as Miss Barnes, and as she swept into the outer office with a smile on her lovely face, she said, “Is Alan in, Miss Barnes?”
Judith got up. “Yes. He’s expecting you.”
“Grand!” Pauline rolled her eyes. “I was afraid with all his business problems, he’d forget about me.”
“No chance of that.” Judith smiled. “He’ on the phone. As soon as he hangs up, I’ll let him know you re here.”
“I had a wonderful trip,” Pauline went on in her breathless way. “Picked up some divine clothes for myself! Saw a lot of my old friends and discovered a great new talent for the gallery!”
“You must have been busy!”
“I didn’t have an idle moment from the time I stepped off the plane,” Pauline assured her. “I had the paintings sent on ahead. And I’m having a party to introduce them at the gallery on Friday night. Why don’t you come?”
The abrupt invitation left Judith at a loss. “I’m afraid I’m not a good potential buyer,” she confessed. “I haven’t any spare money these days.”
“That doesn’t matter, darling!” Pauline protested in her breezy manner. “You have plenty of friends to tell about the paintings. You have good taste. You’re exactly the type of person I want there.”
“I’ll think about it,” Judith promised. “And thanks.”
“You haven’t been out much socially lately,” Pauline said, studying her. “I’m sure you’ve been missed. It would do you good to come.”
“I’d enjoy it, and I will try to be there.”
“Be there!” Pauline insisted. And with a conspiratorial smile: “I’ll tell Alan to make sure you don’t offer any last minute excuses.”
“He’s off the line now,” Judith said, grateful for a diversion. “I’ll tell him you’re here.” And with this she ushered the blonde girl into Alan’s office.
Not long afterward Pauline and Alan
came out together on their way to lunch. Alan paused to give Judith a knowing glance and ask, “Just what do I have after I come back?”
“The appointment with the union representative at one-thirty,” Judith said, taking her cue. “It’s very important you be back in time for it.”
Alan was as solemn as if the little dialogue hadn’t all been pre-arranged. “I’ll keep that in mind,” he assured her.
As they went out the door, Pauline called back to her, “And don’t you forget about Friday night!”
CHAPTER FIVE
Left to her own resources for the lunch hour, Judith decided that rather than hurry out somewhere for a quick snack, she would have a sandwich and milk sent in. This would leave her with some time to finish a novel she’d been enjoying in her rare free moments. Also, it would allow her to remain in the office and take any phone calls. There could be some important messages with the present crisis pending.
This decided, she phoned her order to the fountain service around the corner and settled down with her book. No phone calls came in and there were no interruptions by callers until the boy came with her lunch. After he had gone and she’d finished it, she checked the time. It was still a few minutes short of one o’clock, so Alan would not be back from his luncheon engagement for a half-hour. Again she relaxed to enjoy the novel.
She hadn’t read more than a few lines when the office door opened and she raised her eyes to see Brandon Fraser come in.
“Is Alan back from lunch yet?” he asked.
She smiled. “No. Miss Walsh returned from New York, and they’re having lunch together. I don’t expect him until one-thirty.”
“Oh!” The news didn’t exactly seem to cheer the reserved head of the law firm. “Is he usually away from the office that long for lunch?”
“No,” Judith said hastily. “He often has something sent in.”
“I see.” Brandon Fraser nodded, his lips tight again, as if he suspected she was trying to put a good front up for Alan and wasn’t impressed by her assurance that Alan often had lunch as he worked.
To make it seem more convincing, she decided to add lamely, “Of course we have no set rule about it.”
The gray-haired man’s smile was cold. “So I gather,” he said. His hand were clasped behind his back, and he stood ramrod straight, his deep-set eyes studying her. “How do you like working as my son’s secretary?” he asked.
Judith managed a smile. “I’m very happy here,” she said. “Of course I’ve known Mr. Fraser since school days.”
“I’m aware of that,” the precise voice said. “I haven’t forgotten our families have been neighbors all these years. I know you call Alan by his first name. You needn’t do otherwise for my benefit.” He glanced around the office appraisingly. “I’m not a client to be impressed.”
“No, sir,” she said in a small voice.
Brandon Fraser continued his study of the office. “This place is shamefully shabby. I must see that it is redecorated in the same style as my own office.” He gave her a sharp glance again. “It was too bad about your father,” he said. “How is your mother these days?”
“She isn’t too well,” Judith said. “So she doesn’t go out much.”
“The last of the Melrose line,” Brandon Fraser commented thoughtfully, “excluding yourself, of course. And I think of you as a Barnes. I’m afraid the Melrose blood ran a bit thin.”
Judith was uneasy in the stern presence of the elder Fraser. “I have some cousins in Vermont,” she ventured. “They’re the closest relatives I have left.”
The deep-set eyes fixed on her. “You used to go out with Alan, didn’t you?”
“Long ago, during high school days,” she said with a smile.
He stared at her in silence for a moment. “Yes, I remember. He brought you to the house quite a few times.”
“Before he left for college,” she said.
Brandon Fraser frowned. “I seem to remember seeing you even after that,” he said. “Didn’t you know my late son, Brian, as well?”
“Yes,” she said quietly. “Brian and I went out together some.”
The deep-set eyes glowed with pleasure. “Brian was a fine boy, wasn’t he?”
“He was.”
Alan’s father was so deep in his own reverie that it was doubtful if he heard her. With a nod of his head, and almost as if he were talking solely for his own benefit, he said, “If Brian had lived, he would have had a brilliant future! First in sports, studies and everything! He put Alan to shame! If Brian had lived, he would be doing important work for the firm by now!”
Judith couldn’t help saying, “How lucky that you still have Alan.”
He stared at her with a blank expression on his granite face. Then he moved across the office to look out of the window into the alley, his back to her.
“Were you in love with my boy Brian?” he asked. “Would you have married him if he hadn’t been killed?”
Judith was startled by the abruptness of the question. She hesitated as she sought for a proper way to reply.
With an effort, she said, “I liked Brian a good deal. But we weren’t serious about each other.”
Brandon Fraser kept his back to her. “I often wonder whom he would have married?”
Very quietly, she said, “I suppose that is only natural. I often try to imagine what would have happened had my father not died so suddenly.”
“I would have had fine, sturdy grandchildren by now,” Brandon Fraser said in his remote voice.
Judith felt a sense of guilt, as if she had allowed herself to be a party to the older man’s unhealthy brooding about this older son whom he had plainly worshipped to the point of obsession.
She spoke up, saying, “Alan is doing important work now. You must be very proud of him. It was an honor, his being made chairman of the bridge authority.”
Now the gray-haired man turned to her. “You think that?” he asked.
“Yes, of course.”
“I’d like to believe it was an honor,” Brandon Fraser said slowly. “But I am not by any means as sure as you appear to be.”
“I don’t understand,” she faltered.
He brushed the matter aside with a swift gesture. “It’s not important,” he said. “I understand the Mayor is coming by here later this afternoon?”
“Yes,” she said, hiding her surprise that he already was informed of this and wondering how much more he might know.
“Ask him to stop by my office a moment when he leaves,” Alan’s father said. “I’d like to speak to him.”
“I will,” she promised.
The gray-haired man hesitated. “Remember me to your mother.”
Judith smiled. “She’ll appreciate your thinking of her.”
He nodded absently. “You and I must have a talk sometime.”
Again she was surprised. “I’d enjoy that.”
“I’d like to hear more of your impressions of Brian,” he said. “It is almost like having him alive again to hear about him from someone who was a friend.”
“Yes, of course,” Judith said in a low voice, thoroughly embarrassed.
“You won’t forget my message to the Mayor?” Brandon Fraser asked, his hand on the doorknob.
“No, Mr. Fraser,” she said. “I’ll be sure to mention that you wish to see him.
“Thank you,” he said quietly, and went out.
Alan arrived back a few minutes before one-thirty, looking less than refreshed by his luncheon date with Pauline. He gave Judith a weary smile. “It was just as I told you. The whole noon hour I listened to the merits of this new artist she’s featuring at the gallery.”
Judith laughed. “At least it was a change.”
“Not the kind I needed. The union man hasn’t gotten here yet?”
“No. Your father came by a moment. He seemed to know the Mayor was coming in this afternoon and asked that he stop by his office on the way out.”
Alan’s eyebrows rose as he lingered by her
desk. “Someone must have leaked the news. There are not many secrets kept at City Hall.” Changing the subject, he added, “By the way, Pauline was very serious in inviting you to that party Friday. She wants you to come.”
“I doubt that I’ll be able to make it.”
“You can if you want to,” he told her. “And I think you should. I have an idea quite a few people we want information on will be there. It could be a great chance for you to mingle with them and find out what is on their minds.”
“Now I’m to play the role of lady spy,” she suggested archly.
Alan’s face was bleak. “We may have need of one.”
He went on inside, and almost as soon as he was seated at his desk the union representative arrived. He was a small, nondescript sort of man who acted as agent for the local. His name was Jack Smith, and he was as ordinary in every way as his name. She ushered him into Alan’s office and at his signal left the door open so she was able to hear what was being said.
After the routine preliminary remarks, Alan got down to business. “Just what is on your mind?” he asked the union agent.
“We aren’t happy with the working arrangements here,” Smith said in a nasal twang. “We’ve got men working overtime and only being paid the regular hourly rate.”
“I’m trying to keep to a tight budget,” Alan pointed out. “And we pay those same men for doing nothing days when it’s too stormy to work.”
“I don’t know about that,” the union man said uneasily.
“It’s true, just the same,” was Alan’s sharp reply.
“Also, we don’t think the working conditions at the bridge are safe enough,” the man went on. “The men are running too many risks.”
“We’re taking safety measures every day,” Alan insisted. “If they have any suggestions for making conditions better, they should pass them on to us and not bellyache to the union about it; give us a chance to benefit by their suggestions.”
“The feeling seems to be you wouldn’t want to do that.”
“I think I know our point of view on this better than you do,” Alan said in a biting tone, “or your informants. We are anxious to work with the men.”
“The union thinks they should have a new contract,” the man went on doggedly. “An official will be coming in to hold talks and meetings. If we don’t get the satisfaction we want, there’ll be a strike.”
Vintage Love Page 202