Rachel Lindsay - Mask of Gold

by Rachel Lindsay

  'I'm afraid this is the only one ready. But you can have another one tomorrow.' He moved back to the door, his brown hair glinting red as it caught the dim light outside in the corridor. 'Will you be able to find your way down when you've put the nipper to bed?'

  'I'll try.'

  Left alone, Carolyn hurriedly unpacked the few things she and Piotr would need for the night. The room was still bitterly cold and the old-fashioned bathroom that led out of it even colder. Quickly she undressed Piotr and put him to bed, feeling an unexpected pang of heartache at sight of his smallness in its huge depths.

  'Don't leave me, Caro,' he whispered.

  'It'll only be for a moment. I want to get you some warm milk and cereal. You haven't had a proper meal since lunch-time.'

  'I'm not hungry.'

  'You will be when you see the food!'

  She was almost at the door when it opened and the same maid who had let her into the house, stood there with a tray in her hand.

  'Cook sent up some soup for the little boy.'

  'How kind. I was just coming to get something.' Carolyn took the tray and perched on the edge of the bed.

  The girl came forward and glanced round the room. 'Beats me why they didn't give you the nursery suite. It's much more cheerful than this.'

  Carolyn smiled at the words 'nursery suite', conjuring up as they did a picture of an era long since vanished. 'Did many children live here?' she asked curiously.

  'Only Miss Rosemary and Master Jeffrey. Miss Rosemary used one of the rooms as a sitting-room for herself when she grew up, but it's been closed since she ran off with that…' She stopped and turned her back. 'I talk too much. Cook's always telling me off.'

  'Never mind—I'm very tactful! And thanks for bring up the tray.'

  Although he had professed not to be hungry, Piotr drank all the soup and, with the warm fluid inside him, settled back drowsily against the pillows. Carolyn moved quietly about the room, careful not to disturb him as she changed into a dark silk dress and cardigan. Then she relaxed in a chair and turned off all the lights except one.

  'You're not going to leave me?' Piotr asked sleepily.

  'Not yet, honey.'

  'Why didn't Grandma kiss me?'

  'Because you were crying. She'll kiss you in the morning to make up for it.'

  'No, she won't. She doesn't like me.' He sat up and peered at her in the gloom. 'I don't like her either—she's a stinker!'

  'Piotr! That's quite enough. Now go to sleep.'

  He snuggled down again and Carolyn marvelled at his perception : not that it had needed much to sense the dislike of the family. The fact that she had been Peter's second wife might have accounted for their antagonism towards herself, but she could not understand why it should affect their attitude towards Piotr. She shivered and hugged her cardigan closer, wishing she had never set foot in this house and wondering how soon she would be able to leave it. Yet where could she go? She had used up most of her savings to come from Canada, and unless she spent Piotr's money, she was practically penniless.

  A slight sigh came from the bed and Piotr stirred in his sleep. She tiptoed over and gently pulled the bedclothes higher. 'If they don't want us,' she whispered against the dark head, 'we'll go back—even if I have to wash dishes all the way across the Atlantic!'

  Outside in the corridor she hesitated, wondering which way led downstairs. A glimmer of light in the distance indicated the stairs and she made towards it. In the lower hall she hesitated again. No sound came from any of the rooms and she hesitantly opened the door of the drawing-room and went in.

  The girl she had seen on her arrival was sitting alone in front of a log fire, and she looked up as Carolyn came in.

  'I was beginning to think you'd got lost.'

  Carolyn shivered. 'Frozen would be a better word.'

  'You're not used to British weather!'

  'It's colder in Canada,' Carolyn said dryly, 'but the heating's better!'

  'Come closer to the fire and get warm.' The girl hesitated. 'Has—I'm afraid I don't know his name—has the little boy settled down?'

  'Piotr? Oh, sure. He's fast asleep. I'm sorry he cried when we arrived, but it was all rather strange for him.'

  'Poor little boy!'

  The girl's pointed face was illuminated by a gentle smile that gave her an illusion of beauty. In repose she could easily be overlooked, for her large pale eyes, pale brown hair and thin figure were all equally undistinguished.

  'Are you a relation?' Carolyn asked. 'We weren't introduced.'

  'I'm hoping to be a relation. I'm engaged to Jeffrey.'

  'Did I hear my name mentioned?'

  Carolyn swung round to see Jeffrey Nichols at the door. He had changed into a dinner jacket and she noticed with some discomfiture that the girl she had been speaking to was also wearing evening dress.

  'I'm glad you and Ella have introduced yourselves,' he said. 'Which reminds me—what's your name? I can't keep calling you Mrs. Kolsky.'

  'Try Carolyn.'

  'Carolyn it shall be.' He helped himself to a cigarette and blew out a cloud of smoke. 'This is an amusing situation when you think of it. You're the wife, or should I say widow, of my late but not lamented brother-in-law. Would that make you my sister-in-law?'

  Carolyn moved closer to the fireplace. 'Is that remark supposed to be funny?'

  He shrugged an apology. 'I was talking for the sake of talking. A bad habit of mine. Well, I've apologised now, sister-in-law Carolyn, climb down off your high horse.'

  Impatiently Carolyn swung round. Jeffrey was sitting on the arm of Ella's chair and, caught in a pool of light from a nearby lamp, she saw he was older than she had first thought. Surely Peter had told her he had met Rosemary through Jeffrey? If so, that would make them nearly the same age.

  'If you're thinking about me,' Jeffrey said coolly, 'your thoughts can't be very complimentary.'

  She blushed. 'I wasn't only thinking of you, I was thinking about Peter too.'

  'Then your thoughts couldn't have been complimentary to him either!'

  'Jeffrey!' Ella remonstrated. 'Behave yourself!'

  'Why should I?'

  'Because it's bad manners not to.'

  'Hoity-toity!'

  'Really, children!' The door swung open to admit Mrs. Nichols. 'Don't tell me you two are quarrelling again?' She turned to Carolyn, her expression growing frigid. 'I hope you found everything comfortable?'

  Carolyn hesitated, but good manners won the day. 'Yes, thank you. I'm sorry Piotr wasn't on his best behaviour, but it was a long day for him.'

  'Considering who his father was, I wasn't surprised at his display of temperament.'

  Carolyn was too shocked by the raw antagonism to reply and silently she turned away and sat in a chair, watching as Jeffrey ambled over to the sideboard and poured a drink for his mother. They both had the same warm brown colouring, though in Mrs. Nichol's case Carolyn suspected that nature had been abetted. She tried to find some resemblance to the snapshot of Rosemary, but there was no similarity between the elfin-faced girl and the thin-mouthed, middle-aged woman who sat like a ramrod in her chair.

  'What will you drink, Carolyn?' Jeffrey asked.

  She started and shook her head. 'Nothing, thanks.'

  'Surely you're going to drink a toast to your arrival?' He raised his glass. 'If not, I'll do it for you. To the Controller of the Household—short may she reign!'

  'I'll have a whisky and soda if you don't mind, Jeffrey.'

  A man's voice spoke quietly and Jeffrey swung round. 'Hello, Alvin. I didn't hear you come in.'

  'I've only just arrived. Unlike Ella, I forgot to bring a change of clothes with me, so I had to return home.'

  'You needn't have bothered, Alvin dear.'

  Mrs. Nichols oozed graciousness, but the man she addressed made no answer and merely stepped forward into the circle round the fire. From where she was sitting, Carolyn was able to study him without his being aware of it. He had been here on her ar
rival she remembered, but now, in a dinner jacket, he looked entirely different. Hair she had mistaken for grey was, in reality, silver blond, and his skin was so pale that even the glow from the fire failed to give it any warmth. His mouth was long and thin, and as he turned to accept his drink from Jeffrey, he stared directly at Carolyn. Unflinchingly she stared back at him, disconcerted to find she could not see the expression in his eyes, for they were hidden behind fine silver-rimmed glasses.

  'Is this your first visit to England, Mrs. Kolsky?'

  'Yes. I still can't believe I'm really here.'

  'Pinch yourself. You'll find it's not a dream.'

  His soft voice was tinged with such a dislike that Carolyn was convinced he would have enjoyed doing the pinching himself, and again she wondered what was causing this animosity.

  Mrs. Nichols came forward and gave Alvin her arm. 'We can go in for dinner now, Alvin dear. I'm sure you must be hungry.'

  Ella and Jeffrey followed her, leaving Carolyn to bring up the rear, though a quick half smile from Ella indicated an unspoken apology for what she obviously knew to be a determined study in rudeness.

  The dining-room was far colder than the drawing-room, and appeared even more so by the heavy, old-fashioned furniture, blue damask curtains and icy crystal chandelier that glittered down upon the long, dark table. A quantity of massive silver ranged along the sideboard and ponderous cutlery marked each place on the white damask cloth. Mrs. Nichols took the head of the table with Alvin and Ella on either side of her, and Jeffrey next to his fiancee.

  'Will you sit next to Alvin?' Mrs. Nichols said.

  Carolyn slid into her chair, shivered slightly as the cool leather seat struck through the fine material of her dress.

  Almost immediately a maid came in and began to serve the meal. There was iced grapefruit followed by cold salmon, and a sad-looking dessert of stewed fruit that had all too obviously just left the refrigerator. Carolyn hastily put down her spoon.

  'Aren't you hungry?' Mrs. Nichols asked pointedly.

  'Yes, I am. It's just that it's so cold.'

  'If you want anything different in the future you must say so.'

  'You're very kind.'

  'I do not mean to be.' The older woman spoke with an effort. 'Whatever I say to you, please do not think it stems from kindness.'

  Mortified Carolyn stared down at her plate.

  'We'll be having coffee in a moment,' Ella whispered across the table. 'That'll warm you up.'

  'I've been warned about English coffee,' Carolyn said with an effort, 'but the stuff on the boat wasn't too bad.'

  'You'll like ours,' Ella said. 'Alvin gets in direct from South America.'

  'With his own home-produced cream,' Jeffrey interpolated.

  Carolyn turned to the pale faced man at her side. 'Are you a farmer?'

  'Not professionally. But a great deal of my land is given over to it.'

  She looked Jeffrey. 'Have you much land here?'

  'Only three acres. We've nothing so pretentious as Alvin.'

  'Three acres still seems a lot to me, after living in a city. When I wrote to you I'd no idea that..She stopped, and as no one said anything to help her, finished up quickly: 'I'd no idea it would be anything like this.'

  'Indeed,' Mrs. Nichols said coldly.

  'I was mainly concerned about a family for Piotr,' Carolyn rushed on. 'I explained it all in my letter to Aunt Agatha. I'm afraid I don't know her last name.' She looked at the silent faces. 'I was under the impression she lived here.'

  'That is so.' Mrs. Nichols closed her eyes and opened them again.

  'Then perhaps I could see her later this evening.'

  Ella's spoon clattered to the floor and there was a momentary diversion as Jeffrey leaned forward and picked it up.

  'That would be a somewhat difficult task, sister-in-law Carolyn,' he said as he replaced the spoon on the table. 'As I am sure you already know, my inestimable aunt died six weeks ago.'

  There was an oppressive silence and Carolyn looked round at the four accusing faces. Jeffrey and Mrs. Nichols were now openly hostile. Ella's eyes dropped as Carolyn looked into them and the man at her side did not even glance round but stared stonily at the wall opposite.

  'How awful! I'd no idea. You must have thought me terribly tactless.'

  'Clever would be a more appropriate word,' Mrs. Nichols said.

  'I don't understand. I know it must have been painful for you to listen to me talk about—about Aunt Agatha, but I assure you I had no idea she was dead. Why should I try and be clever about it?'

  'Why indeed?' Jeffrey murmured. 'After all, you're here, and that's what you wanted.'

  Carolyn lifted her head sharply and temper got the better of discretion. 'Not for myself, I assure you. I'm only here because of Piotr. I know what it's like not to have a family. That's why I wanted his life to be different. But you've made it quite clear that I'm wasting my time. You were determined to dislike Piotr before we ever arrived. But you needn't strain yourselves any more. I'd rather bring him up alone than among people who don't want him!'

  'There's no need to become hysterical,' Mrs. Nichols said. 'You can't blame us for feeling the way we do. And there's no point in saying you intend leaving. Idle threats are not——————————— '

  'They're not idle, Mrs. Nichols! I mean every word. I'm sorry it's too late for me to go tonight, but I'll leave first thing in the morning.' Carolyn pushed back her chair and without waiting for anyone to reply, fled from the room. She was half way up the stairs when someone called her name, but still unused to her new surname, she did not stop, and the voice called again, louder this time.

  Carolyn turned and looked down into the hall. The blond man was standing there, his silver-rimmed glasses glinting in the dim light.

  'What do you want?' she asked.

  'To speak to you. Come down, please.'

  'I've nothing to say to you.'

  'Perhaps not, but I've plenty to say to you. Come down,' he said again. 'I dislike having to shout.'

  It was a command and instinctively she obeyed it, pausing on the last step but one. 'Well?'

  Without answering he turned and led the way into the drawing-room. Shivering with cold, she knelt in front of the fire, holding her hands out to its warmth. The man came and stood beside her and after a moment she stood up and looked at him. They were so close that she could see the fine lines etched on either side of his mouth, but even now it was impossible to see the expression in his eyes for the lenses of his glasses distorted them, only the pale, glittering fawn of the irises coming through.

  'I suppose Mrs. Nichols asked you to speak to me? Well, I'm not going to take a lecture from you. I know your sister's getting engaged to Jeffrey, but that doesn't give you the right to interfere.'

  'I've no intention of interfering. As far as I'm concerned you can——- ' A knock at the door interrupted him and he paused as a maid came in with a tray of coffee.

  'Mrs. Nichols told me to bring it in to you, sir.'

  'Thank you.'

  The girl set the tray with its single coffee cup down on a table. The door closed behind her and the man picked up the cup and handed it to Carolyn.

  'No, thanks. It was sent in for you!'

  'There's no need to be childish as well as rude.'

  'I'm not the one who's childish.'

  Deliberately he put sugar into the cup, stirred it and sipped, then carrying it in his hand came across to stand beside her again. He was only a little taller than she was, and used to looking up into a man's face it was strange to see one almost level with her own.

  'Hell,' she said breathlessly, 'let's get it over with! Then I can leave you without being accused of any more rudeness.'

  'If I were to continue with any accusation, it would be for cruelty.'

  'Cruelty?' She stared at him in amazement. 'I don't know what you mean. I'd no idea Aunt Agatha was dead. And now I know that she is, I'm leaving first thing in the morning.'

&
nbsp; 'For a woman as intelligent as you obviously are, that is a singularly stupid remark to make. You know very well you have no intention of leaving here.'

  'Is that so? And what do you expect me to do? Stay here and make the best of it?'

  'Yes. That's what Mrs. Nichols and Jeffrey have to do.'

  'No kidding,' she said sarcastically. 'I don't think they'd go and leave me in sole possession.'

  'They would if it were possible, but unfortunately the annuity Miss Nichols left her sister-in-law and nephew was done so on condition they remained here.'

  'That shouldn't be a hardship for them. They've lived here for years already!'

  'With Miss Nichols as mistress. But now…' he turned and set down his coffee cup.

  'But now?' she prompted.

  He faced her. 'With yourself in charge, it's quite another proposition.'

  'In charge of Piotr, you mean?'

  'A skilful way of putting it, Mrs. Kolsky. But as the person in charge of Piotr is also trustee for the money Miss Nichols left him…'

  'So that's why they hate me!' Carolyn's words came out on a sigh. 'What would have happened if I hadn't married Peter?'

  'Mrs. Nichols and Jeffrey would have been the boy's legal guardians.'

  'Then I'm glad Peter married me before he died.'

  'I'm sure you are.'

  Her eyes flashed angrily. 'Not for the reasons you think! I'd no idea this Agatha woman would die and leave Piotr anything. Neither had Peter.'

  'Nicely spoken, Mrs. Kolsky, but unfortunately not true. Miss Nichols wrote and told her niece exactly what she was planning to do.'

  'Then Rosemary didn't tell Peter. Or if she did, he didn't think it important enough to tell me.'

  The man laughed sharply. 'No one would consider half a million pounds unimportant!'

  Carolyn caught her breath. 'Half a million?'

  'Yes. The boy gets it when he's twenty-one. But until then, his guardian has control of all the interest that accrues, and that won't be less than thirty thousand pounds per year, I assure you.'

  'It's incredible! I'd no idea there was so much money involved.'

  'Then you should be even more pleased that you married Peter Kolsky.'