Rachel Lindsay - Mask of Gold

by Rachel Lindsay

  Alvin stopped and she tried to walk past.

  'Wait a minute, Carolyn. Where are you going?'

  'For a breath of fresh air. I thought I saw your car go up the drive.'

  'You did, but I got the chauffeur to let me off here. I needed a walk.'

  'Don't let me stop you.' Again she tried to move, but he barred her way.

  'How's Piotr?'

  'Much better, thanks. And thank you for the fruit you sent him.'

  He peered into her face. 'You're not looking well, though, what's the matter with you?'

  'I'm feeling tired. I hope you're better,' she said politely.

  'Yes, much better. There's something I'd like to explain.'

  "You don't owe me any explanation. We both lost our heads a bit, that's all. I'm glad I was able to find out you can be human. I almost doubted it before.' She laughed nervously. 'Hell, it's even given me something to think about. The great Alvin Tyssen able to forget himself and kiss a girl as if he knew how!'

  'Don't talk like that.' His fingers dug into her arm. 'It's not like you to be bitter and cynical.'

  'Why not? You called me hard and a gold-digger not long ago. Surely you haven't changed your mind?'

  'I'm damned if I know,' he said harshly. 'When I first saw you I was sure, but now——-'

  'Would you like to experiment again, or was that your maximum effort?'

  'Please!' He put his hand on her arm. 'You're saying these things because you're hurt.'

  'If I were Mrs. Anderson I'd be hurt more. After all, you went straight from me to her.'

  For the first time she saw him change colour. 'You hit hard, don't you, Carolyn?'

  'Only when I'm hit first.'

  Before he had a chance to reply she slipped past him and was soon lost to sight in the dark.

  Carolyn did not return to the house until she knew the family were all settled in the dining-room. Quietly she went into the kitchen and asked Cook if she would prepare a tray. 'I'll have it in the day nursery with Miss de Mancy.'

  Ignoring Cook's look of surprise, she went up the back stairs and along the first landing. Margaret was sitting beside the fire in the nursery, the door leading to Piotr's room half open, and she smiled bleakly as Carolyn came in.

  'He's settled for the night. I hope you're not going to disturb him.'

  'Not if you don't want me to.' She sat down. 'I thought I'd have supper here with you. Though why you won't come to the dining-room I can't for the life of me figure out.'

  'When I'm on duty I like to respect the rules, it's so much simpler.'

  'But you're my future sister-in-law. I didn't ask you here professionally!'

  'I've got complete charge of Piotr, and that's the same thing.'

  With relief Carolyn saw Betty come into the room and set the table for their supper.

  'I told Mrs. Nichols you wouldn't be coming down and she said all right. Just ring the bell when you want me to bring coffee.'

  The telephone rang in the distance and Betty hurried out. They heard her running down the stairs and then come up again a moment later.

  'It's for you, Mrs. Kolsky,' she panted, 'Mr. de Mancy.'

  Derek was apologetic on the telephone. 'I'm sorry I can't get over tonight, but I'm starting Mrs. Anderson's portrait in the morning and I've got to prepare the canvas.'

  'If I'd known I'd have come down to the cottage.'

  He cursed mildly. 'I'd come up for you in the car, but it's out of order.'

  'Never mind. I'll see you tomorrow instead.'

  'I'll be at Tyssen's house all morning. Mrs. Anderson is staying there while I paint her. Carolyn, are you there?'

  'Yes, but the line's bad. I'll ring you back later.'

  'Could I have a word with Margaret first? She's cleared up some of my paints and I'm darned if I can find them.'

  'O.K. I'll get her on the line. Hang on.'

  Margaret was annoyed that she had to go and speak to Derek. 'If he'd look properly he'd find them,' she grumbled. 'Tell him they're probably under his bed.'

  'You tell him,' Carolyn retorted, 'he's your brother!'

  Margaret marched out and Carolyn sighed. She could hear the murmur of conversation in the hall and wondered why she could not like her future sister-in-law. She glanced at the nursery door and impulsively walked into the room. She stopped, aghast. The windows were both wide open and a damp wind blew the curtains. Piotr lay half uncovered and the cold air was blowing against his body. She pulled the covers over him and hurriedly closed the windows.

  'What are you doing in here?' Margaret said from the doorway.

  'I came in to look at Piotr and found the windows open.'

  'Fresh air's good for him.'

  'Not when it's blowing in from the sea at half-past eight at night. It'll give him pneumonia.'

  'Of course it won't! You'll make him soft, the way you carry on.' Margaret's face was mottled with temper. 'You've no right to interfere.'

  'Aren't you forgetting yourself? Piotr's my stepson, and I also happen to be a nurse.' She walked out of the room. 'Come and finish your supper, Margaret. I don't want to quarrel with you.'

  Margaret resumed her seat in silence and Carolyn tried to make conversation. 'Did you manage to help Derek find his paints?'

  'No. I'll have to go to the cottage myself tomorrow and have a look. If Derek's portrait of Alvin's lady friend is successful it could lead to a lot more work. Why, he might even do one of Mr. Tyssen himself. Those sort of men always like to have their portraits hanging in board rooms.'

  'I doubt it Alvin would have the patience to sit.'

  'I haven't much patience to sit either. If you don't mind, I'll go and have a bath.'

  Reluctant to stay alone in the nursery, Carolyn walked along to her bedroom and did the same, but lying in the soapy water brought no relaxation and she was still awake in bed when she heard Alvin's precise voice say good night to Jeffrey and Mrs. Nichols on the front step. The car door slammed, the engine purred into life, grew louder and slowly died away, and Carolyn turned her head into her pillow and began to cry.

  As Christmas drew near, preparations were made to decorate Piotr's room. Ella was giving a large Christmas party and although Carolyn had not refused, she had no intention of going.

  'This will be the first Christmas for years that we've had a child in the house,' Mrs. Nichols said. 'I never believed it when I was told that women were more stupid over their grandchildren than their own children, but that's certainly the case with me. He's a little thing, but he's made all the difference to the place. And to think I didn't want you to come here!'

  'Do you mean you haven't any more regrets?'

  'Not about the money. Jeffrey's getting married soon so I don't have to worry about him, and my own annuity is enough for me.' Mrs. Nichols looked round the room. 'It'll be pleasant to have just the three of us here. Although I suppose you'll soon be getting married yourself.'

  'I want to wait until Piotr's better.'

  'You worry about the child too much. You're as bad as I am.'

  'I can't help it. Particularly when I think how nearly he could have been killed.' Carolyn put her hands to her temples. 'And then the damn money would have come to me. That would have been the end.' She jumped up and paced the room. 'I've been on to Mr. Arnold again and he's promised to see a Q.C. early next week to try and find a solution. I don't care how he works it as long as you and Jeffrey become the beneficiaries instead of me. I feel that…'

  She stopped and looked towards the door. Margaret was standing there and Carolyn had the uncomfortable impression she had been listening for a long time. 'It would serve her right if we'd been talking about her,' she thought.

  'Come in, Margaret,' Mrs. Nichols called. 'I haven't seen you all day.'

  'I'm going out for a walk. Piotr's having a rest and I'll be back before he wakes up.'

  She turned on her heel and disappeared and Mrs. Nichols looked at Carolyn, made a face and diplomatically said nothing.

&
nbsp; The following morning the specialist came to remove Piotr's cast and Carolyn watched anxiously as it broke away to disclose the leg and thigh.

  'I don't think there's anything to worry about there,' the doctor said in an undertone. 'The X-rays couldn't be better. These young bones knit together quickly.'

  'Not quickly enough. It seems like a year that he's been in bed.'

  'Could you prescribe some medicine?' Margaret interposed. 'His appetite has been poor this last week.'

  ' 'Cos the food tastes funny,' Piotr said, wrinkling his nose. 'I don't want to eat it, but Margaret makes me.'

  'And so she should, or you won't grow up to be a big strong fellow.' The man patted the dark head and then with Carolyn at his side left the room.

  Later that day she went upstairs again to speak to Margaret. 'You never mentioned to me that Piotr wasn't eating well.'

  'I didn't want to bother you. You worry too much about him as it is.'

  'I'm still entitled to know.'

  Margaret's eyes filled with tears. 'I'm perfectly able to look after Piotr without coming to you every minute. Don't you trust me, Carolyn?'

  'Of course I trust you,' Carolyn stammered, 'but I like to know what's going on.'

  'I'm the nurse in charge of him.'

  'I know you are. You point it out often enough. You don't want to be regarded as my future sister-in-law, so I've done my best to see that you're treated in a completely professional way and, professionally speaking, you're obligated to report to me as Piotr's stepmother.'

  'I'm obligated to report to the doctor.'

  'Only when you're in a hospital.' Carolyn's voice softened. 'I don't like quarrelling with you, but your attitude makes it impossible for us to be friends.'

  'I'm sorry. It's because I've been ill.'

  'Perhaps you should stop working here. I can easily manage Piotr on my own.'

  'No, no!' Margaret's hands twisted convulsively. 'I like looking after him. Don't send me away. I want to stay here.'

  Carolyn sighed. 'I will if you promise to take a little more time off. You've been cooped inside too long.'

  'I don't need any time off. I hate walking anyway. The roads here are like rivers of mud.'

  'Why not borrow the car and drive into Chichester to the pictures?'

  'Thank you,' Margaret said composedly. 'I will.'

  It was only when she was going downstairs that Carolyn remembered this last remark. Surely Derek had told her his sister could not drive? Yes, he certainly had. She frowned and rubbed the side of her face. Perhaps Margaret had learned to drive in the meantime. It was certainly necessary, living out in the wilds like this.

  She walked into the deserted drawing-room and picking up her knitting, sat down on the settee. Now that Piotr was on the road to recovery Derek would start asking her to name a date for their wedding. Since the day when—shamed by the knowledge of her love for Alvin—pride had made her turn to Derek, he had done everything in his power to make her feel like a woman who was loved. The fact that her response was a pretence—made for the benefit of the Nichols and particularly Ella—had in no way impinged on him, and she was faced with the dilemma of either marrying a man she did not love, or telling him the truth and ending their engagement. Yet to do the latter would immediately become known to Alvin, and the very thought that he might—even for an instant—believe her response to him in the flat had been a real one—filled her with such determination to prove the opposite that it was even better to marry Derek than for Alvin to have the faintest suspicion that she cared for him.

  Unable to stop herself, the memory of Romaine, her body visible through its filmy negligee as she had bent over Alvin, came back to taunt her, and she buried her head in her hands and wished she had never set foot in England and met Alvin Tyssen. Even in the few moments when they had met last week she had sensed he was sexually attracted to her. Yet for a reason she still could not fathom he was determined to dislike her. Could he be afraid that if he allowed himself to fall in love with her he would no longer be his own master? Was that why he felt Romaine suited his requirements? Even as his wife, with his fortune at her disposal, Romaine would be the least demanding of women as far as his time was concerned. 'But I wouldn't,' Carolyn thought. 'If Alvin were mine, I'd want to share all his thoughts, all his every problems.' Her eyes brimmed with tears and unable to stop herself she began to cry.

  'Indeed and all, I've never known a girl shed so many tears during her engagement!'

  With a start Carolyn looked up to see Derek towering over her. 'It's just nerves,' she lied. 'They took the cast off Piatt's leg today.'

  'How is he?'

  'Wonderful.'

  'Then that's reason to be happy, not miserable.' He handed her a handkerchief. 'Here, wipe your eyes or you'll make me wet.' He sat beside her and caught her hand. 'Surprised to see me?'

  She nodded. 'I thought you were with Mrs. Anderson, working on her portrait.'

  'She's in London today.'

  'How's it getting on?'

  'Very well. But for the rest of the sittings she'll be coming to the cottage. I can't work in Tyssen's home. The atmosphere gets me down.'

  'Is she pleased with the portrait, or hasn't she seen it yet?'

  'No, she hasn't. But she'll love it. I've done a straight piece of work without any adornment.' He took out his pipe and sucked on it. 'She's a beautiful woman.'

  'If you like that type.'

  Carolyn spoke so coldly that Derek pulled her into his arms. "You know the type I like, sweetheart—and it's not a beautiful woman with no character behind it.'

  'I think she's got a lot of character,' Carolyn replied dryly.

  'But not the kind for me.'

  'She's just out for what she can get.'

  'I don't think she's getting much of it at the moment,' he grinned, 'leastways not from the sex point of view.'

  'How do you know?'

  'She let something slip the other day. I gather he's more lavish with his money than with his love.' He tilted Carolyn's chin. 'Don't let's waste time talking about Romaine. I want to talk about you.' He eyed her keenly. 'There's something worrying you, isn't there? I can see it on your face.'

  'It's just reaction over Piotr.'

  'It's more than that. Come on, m'darling, out with it.'

  She twisted her hands together. How soft her palms were, how long and delicate the nails; a far cry from the work-worn hands of six months ago; yet she would have given anything to have been able to turn back the clock. But that was impossible. Neither the past not the present could be changed—not even the future, unless she were prepared to tell Derek she could never marry him. She sighed, deciding for the moment to shelve the problem of their relationship. Right now there was the problem of Margaret to deal with.

  'Well,' Derek said, 'you still haven't told me why you're upset.'

  'It's—it's Margaret.'

  'Margaret!'

  'Yes. I'm afraid she's rather—rather difficult.'

  'In what way?'

  Carolyn hedged on the truth. 'It's hard to explain. I suppose it's because I used to look after children too, and I can't get used to Margaret's system. I think it would be much better if she left.'

  'Have you told her?'

  'Yes—but she doesn't want to go.'

  Derek's bushy eyebrows drew together. 'If you really want her to, I'll see she does. But I wish for my sake you'd keep her on. She's devoted to Piotr and it'd make her ill again to be at the cottage doing nothing.'

  'Why can't she take a job somewhere else?'

  'I'm not happy for her to be too far away from me. She's still a bit edgy.'

  'I know,' Carolyn said dryly.

  He rubbed his beard with his hand. 'This is a pretty fix. But you're the boss. I love Margaret, but I'm not going to have you upset. I'll tell her to leave.' He hesitated. 'Would it be all right with you if I didn't tell her at once? I'd like to lead up to it.'

  Derek's quick acceptance of her desire for Margaret to l
eave made Carolyn feel guilty. 'Don't tell her for the moment. I had a few words with her a little while ago and it might make a difference. Let's wait and see.'

  He stepped over and caught her hand. "You're an angel. And now I think you deserve your surprise. It's waiting for you outside.'

  Her face lit up. 'I love surprises. What is it?'

  'You're a real kid, Carolyn.' He kissed the tip of her nose. 'It's your portrait. Close your eyes and I'll bring it in and stand it up over the mantelpiece.'

  Carolyn shut her eyes. She heard Derek cross the floor and stop a few feet away from her. There was the crash of an ornament and a muttered imprecation.

  'I've broken one of these damn china cats on the hearth,' he said.

  'Fine.' She still kept her eyes closed. 'At least there's no hope of getting it mended! I might even try and break a few more myself. Hurry up, Derek, I'm getting impatient!'

  'Half a minute. I want to fix it in position.' There was the dull slap of canvas against the wall. 'That's got it. You can open your eyes now.'

  Carolyn did so and stared at the painting above the mantelpiece. The fair hair seemed to catch every spark of light that came into the room and gave a radiance to a face that was the epitome of g;race and innocence; an innocence not even belied by the slanting green eyes that seemed to follow you as you moved.

  'Do you really see me like that?' she asked. 'So—so untouched?'

  Derek bit the stem of his pipe. 'I do and I don't. This painting got out of hand the minute I started it. I thought I knew what you were like, but my brush painted something entirely different.'