Kane and Abel

by Jeffrey Archer

  ‘We’ll have to tell them soon,’ he said, placing his bow on a table and taking her into his arms.

  ‘I know. I just don’t want to hurt my father.’

  ‘Me too,’ he said.

  She avoided his eyes. ‘Next Friday, Papa will be back from Memphis.’

  ‘Then it’s Friday,’ said Richard, holding her so close she could hardly breathe.

  Richard returned to Harvard on Monday morning and they spoke to each other on the phone every night, remaining resolute, determined that nothing would stop them now.

  On Friday, Richard came back to New York earlier than usual and spent the afternoon alone with Florentyna, at her apartment. At the corner of Fifty-Seventh and Park, they stopped at the flashing ‘Don’t Walk’ sign, when Richard turned to Florentyna and asked her once again if she would marry him. He took a small red leather box out of his pocket, opened it and placed a ring on the third finger of her left hand, a sapphire set in a circle of diamonds, so beautiful that tears came to Florentyna’s eyes. It was a perfect fit. Passersby looked at them strangely as they stood on the corner, clinging to each other, ignoring the green ‘Walk’ sign. When eventually they did observe its command, they kissed before parting, and walked in opposite directions to confront their parents. They had agreed to meet at Florentyna’s apartment as soon as the ordeal was over.

  Florentyna walked purposefully towards the Baron hotel, trying to smile through her tears and occasionally looking at the ring. It felt new and strange on her finger and she imagined that the eyes of all who passed would be drawn to the magnificent sapphire, which looked so beautiful next to the antique ring that used to be her favourite. She touched it and found that it gave her courage, although Florentyna was aware she was walking more and more slowly as she neared the hotel.

  When she reached the reception desk, the clerk told her that her father was in the penthouse with George Novak, and called to say she was on her way up. The elevator reached the 42nd floor far too quickly, and Florentyna hesitated before leaving its safety. She stood alone in the corridor for a moment before knocking quietly on the door. Abel opened it immediately.

  ‘Florentyna, what a lovely surprise. Come on in, my darling. I wasn’t expecting to see you today.’

  George Novak was standing by the window, looking down on Park Avenue. He turned to greet his goddaughter. Florentyna’s eyes pleaded with him to leave. If he stayed, she knew she would lose her nerve. Go, go, go, she said in her mind. George sensed her anxiety immediately.

  ‘I must get back to work, Abel. There’s a goddamn maharajah checking in tonight.’

  ‘Tell him to park his elephants at the Plaza,’ said Abel genially. ‘Now that Florentyna’s here, stay and have another drink.’

  George looked at Florentyna, but the message was clear.

  ‘No, Abel, I have to go. He’s taken the whole of the thirty-third floor. The least he’ll expect is for the vice president to greet him. See you soon, little Kum,’ he said, kissing her on the cheek and briefly clasping her arm, almost as though he knew she needed strength. As soon as he had gone, Florentyna wished he had stayed.

  ‘How’s Bloomingdale’s?’ said Abel, ruffling her hair affectionately. ‘Have you told them yet they’re going to lose the best junior supervisor they’ve had in years? They’re sure going to be surprised when they hear that Jessie Kovats’s next job will be to open the Edinburgh Baron.’ He laughed out loud.

  ‘I’m going to be married,’ said Florentyna, shyly extending her left hand. She could think of nothing to add, so she simply waited for his reaction.

  ‘This is a bit sudden, isn’t it?’ said Abel, sounding more than a little shocked.

  ‘Not really, Daddy. I’ve known him for some time.’

  ‘Do I know the boy? Have I ever met him?’

  ‘No, Daddy, you haven’t.’

  ‘Where does he come from? What’s his background? Is he Polish? Why have you been so secretive about him, Florentyna?’

  ‘He’s not Polish, Daddy. He’s the son of a banker.’

  Abel went white and picked up his drink, swallowing it in one gulp. Florentyna knew exactly what must be going through his mind as he poured himself another drink, so she got the truth out quickly.

  ‘His name is Richard Kane.’

  Abel swung around to face her. ‘William Kane’s son?’ he demanded.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘How could you even think about marrying William Kane’s son? Do you know what that man has done to me?’

  ‘I think so.’

  ‘You couldn’t begin to know,’ shouted Abel, and let forth a tirade of abuse that seemed to go on forever, and only served to convince Florentyna that her father had gone mad. In the end she interrupted him.

  ‘You’ve said nothing I don’t already know.’

  ‘Nothing, young lady?’ he shouted. ‘Did you know that William Kane was responsible for the death of my closest friend? He caused Davis Leroy to commit suicide and, not satisfied with that, he tried to bankrupt me. If David Maxton hadn’t come to my rescue, Kane would have taken away my hotels and sold them without a second thought. Where would I be now if he’d had his way? You’d have been lucky to end up as a shop assistant at Bloomingdale’s. Have you thought about that, Florentyna?’

  ‘Yes, Daddy, I’ve thought of little else for the past few weeks. Richard and I are horrified about the hatred that exists between you and his father. He’s facing him now.’

  ‘Well, I can tell you how he’ll react,’ said Abel. ‘He’ll go berserk. That man will never allow his precious WASP son to marry you, so you might as well forget the whole crazy idea.’ His voice had risen again to a shout.

  ‘I can’t forget it, Father,’ she said evenly. ‘We love each other, and we need your blessing, not your anger.’

  ‘You listen to me, Florentyna,’ said Abel, his face now red with fury. ‘I forbid you to see that boy ever again. Do you hear me?’

  ‘Yes, I hear you. But I won’t be parted from Richard because you hate his father.’

  She found herself clutching her ring finger and trembling slightly.

  ‘It will not happen,’ said Abel, the colour in his face deepening. ‘I will never agree to the marriage. My own daughter deserting me for the son of that bastard Kane. I say you will not marry him.’

  ‘I’m not deserting you. I would have run away with him if that were true, but I could never marry anyone behind your back.’ She was aware of the tremble in her voice. ‘But I’m over twenty-one, and I will marry Richard. Please, Daddy, won’t you meet him? Then you’ll begin to understand why I feel the way I do about him.’

  ‘He will never be allowed to enter my home. I do not want to meet any child of William Kane. Never, do you hear me?’

  ‘Then you leave me with no choice but to decide between you.’

  ‘Florentyna, if you marry that boy, I’ll cut you off without a penny. Without a penny, do you hear me?’ His voice softened. ‘Use your common sense, girl - you’ll get over him. You’re young, and there are lots of other men who’d give their right arm to marry you.’

  ‘I don’t want lots of other men,’ said Florentyna. ‘I’ve met the man I’m going to marry, and it’s not his fault that he’s his father’s son. Neither of us chose our father.’

  ‘If your own family isn’t good enough for you, then go,’ roared Abel. ‘And I swear I won’t have your name mentioned in my presence again.’ He turned away and stared out of the window.

  ‘Daddy, we’re going to be married. Although we’re both past the stage of needing your consent, we do ask for your blessing.’

  Abel looked away from the window. ‘Are you pregnant? Is that the reason?’

  ‘No, Father.’

  ‘Have you slept with him?’

  The question shook Florentyna, but she didn’t hesitate. ‘Yes,’ she replied. ‘Many times.’

  Abel raised his arm and hit her full across the face. Blood started to trickle down her chin and she nearly fell
. She turned, ran out of the room and pressed the elevator button. The door slid open and George stepped out. She had a fleeting glimpse of his shocked expression as she stepped quickly into the lift and jabbed repeatedly at the Close Door button. As George stood and watched her crying, the doors closed slowly and she disappeared from sight.

  Florentyna took a cab straight to her apartment. On the way, she dabbed at her cut lip with a tissue. Richard was already there, waiting by the entrance, head bowed and looking miserable.

  She jumped out of the cab and ran to him. Once they were upstairs, she unlocked the door and quickly stepped inside, feeling blessedly safe.

  ‘I love you, Richard.’

  ‘I love you, too,’ he said as he gently put his arms around her.

  ‘I don’t have to ask how your father reacted,’ she said, clinging to him desperately.

  ‘I’ve never seen him so angry,’ said Richard. ‘He called your father a liar and a crook, nothing more than a jumped-up Polish immigrant. He asked me why I didn’t want to marry someone from my own background.’

  ‘What did you say to that?’

  ‘I told him someone as wonderful as you couldn’t be replaced by the daughter of some suitable family friend, and he completely lost his temper. He threatened to cut me off without a penny if I married you,’ he continued. ‘When will they understand we don’t give a damn about their money? I tried appealing to my mother for support, but even she couldn’t control my father’s anger. He ordered her to leave the room. I’ve never seen him treat my mother that way before. She was weeping, which only made my resolve stronger. I left while he was in mid-sentence. God knows, I hope he doesn’t take it out on Virginia and Lucy. What happened when you told your father?’

  ‘He hit me,’ said Florentyna very quietly. ‘For the first time in my life. I think he’ll kill you if he finds us together. Richard, darling, we must get out of here before he discovers where we are, and he’s bound to try the apartment first. I’m so frightened.’

  ‘No need to be frightened, Florentyna. We’ll leave tonight and go as far away as possible, and to hell with them both.’

  ‘How quickly can you pack?’ asked Florentyna.

  ‘I can’t. I can never return home now. Once you’ve packed some things, we’ll leave. I’ve got about a hundred dollars with me and my cello, which is still in your bedroom. How do you feel about marrying a hundred-dollar man, whose next job will be busking on street corners?’

  ‘As much as a salesgirl can hope for, I suppose,’ Florentyna said while she rummaged in her bag. ‘And to think I dreamed of being a kept woman. No doubt you expected a dowry. Well, I’ve got two hundred and twelve dollars and an American Express card. You owe me fifty-six dollars, Richard Kane, but I’ll consider repayment at a dollar a year.’

  Thirty minutes later Florentyna was packed. Then she sat at her desk, scribbled a note and left it on the table by the side of her bed.

  Richard hailed a cab. Florentyna was relieved to find how calm he was in a crisis, and it made her feel a little more confident. ‘Idlewild,’ he said, after placing Florentyna’s three suitcases and his cello in the trunk.

  At the airport he booked two tickets for San Francisco; they chose the Golden Gate city simply because it looked the most distant point on the map from New York.

  At seven-thirty the American Airlines Super Constellation 1049 taxied out onto the runway to start its seven-hour flight. Richard helped Florentyna with her seatbelt. She smiled at him.

  ‘Do you know how much I love you, Mr Kane?’

  ‘Yes, I think so - Mrs Kane,’ he replied.

  50

  ABEL AND GEORGE turned up at Florentyna’s apartment a few minutes after she and Richard had left for the airport.

  Abel was already regretting the blow he had struck his daughter. He did not care to think about a life without his only child. If he could only reach her before it was too late, he might, with gentle persuasion, still talk her out of marrying the Kane boy. He was willing to offer her anything, anything, to prevent the marriage.

  George rang the bell twice, but no one answered, so Abel used the key Florentyna had left with him for emergencies. They looked in all the rooms, not expecting to find her.

  ‘She must have left already,’ said George as he joined Abel in the bedroom.

  ‘Yes, but where?’ said Abel, checking the empty drawers. Then he spotted the envelope on the bedside table, addressed to him. He remembered the last time a letter had been left for him by the side of a bed that had not been slept in. He ripped it open:

  Dear Daddy,

  Please forgive me for running away, but I love Richard and will not give him up because of your hatred for his father. We are going to be married, and nothing you can do will prevent it. If you ever try to harm him in any way, you will be harming me.

  Neither of us intends to return to New York until the senseless feud between our family and the Kanes is ended. I love you more than you can ever realize, and I will always be thankful for everything you have done for me.

  I pray that this isn’t the end of our relationship, but until you come to your senses, ‘Never seek the wind in the field - it is useless to try and find what is gone.’

  Your loving daughter,

  Florentyna

  Abel collapsed on the bed and passed the letter to George. When George had read it he asked helplessly, ‘Is there anything I can do?’

  ‘Yes, George. I want my daughter back, even if it means having to deal with that bastard Kane. There’s only one thing I’m certain of: he’ll want to stop this marriage whatever sacrifice he has to make. Get him on the phone.’

  It took George some time to locate William Kane’s unlisted home number. The night security officer at Lester’s Bank finally gave it to him when George insisted it was a family emergency. Abel sat on the bed in silence, Florentyna’s letter in his hand, reading again the Polish proverb he had taught her as a little girl that she had now quoted to him. When George reached the Kane residence, a formal voice answered the phone.

  ‘May I speak to Mr William Kane?’ asked George.

  ‘Who shall I say is calling?’

  ‘Mr Abel Rosnovski,’ said George.

  ‘I’ll see if he’s in, sir.’

  ‘I think that was Kane’s butler. He’s gone to look for him,’ said George as he passed the receiver over to Abel. Abel waited, his fingers tapping on the bedside table.

  ‘William Kane speaking.’

  ‘This is Abel Rosnovski.’

  ‘Indeed?’ William’s tone was icy. ‘And when exactly did you think of setting up your daughter with my son? At the time, no doubt, when you failed so conspicuously to cause the collapse of my bank.’

  ‘Don’t be such a damn—’ Abel checked himself. ‘I want this marriage stopped every bit as much as you do. I only learned of your son’s existence today. I love my daughter even more than I hate you, and I don’t want to lose her. Can’t we get together and work something out between us?’

  ‘No,’ said William. ‘I asked you that same question once in the past, Mr Rosnovski, and you made it abundantly clear when and where we would next meet.’

  ‘What’s the good of raking over the past now, Kane? If you know where they are, perhaps we can stop them. That’s what you want too. Or are you so goddamn proud that you’ll stand by and watch your son marry my daughter rather than help—’

  The telephone clicked as he spoke the word help. Abel buried his face in his hands and wept. George took him back to the Baron.

  Through that night and the following day, Abel used every shred of influence he had, and every contact he could call on to find Florentyna. He even rang her mother, who took pleasure in letting him know that their daughter had told her all about Richard Kane some time ago.

  ‘He sounded rather nice,’ she added.

  ‘Do you know where they are right now?’ Abel asked desperately.

  ‘Yes, I do.’

  ‘Where?’

 
‘Find out for yourself.’ Another telephone click.

  During the next few days Abel placed advertisements in newspapers, and even bought radio time. He tried to get the police involved, but they would only put out a general call, as Florentyna was over twenty-one. Finally he resigned himself to the likelihood that she would be married to the Kane boy by the time he caught up with her.

  He reread her letter many times, and resolved that he would never attempt to harm the boy in any way. But the father - that was a different matter. He, Abel Rosnovski, had practically gone down on his knees and pleaded with the man, and he hadn’t even listened. As soon as the chance presented itself, he would finish William Kane off once and for all.

  George became fearful of the intensity of his old friend’s determination. ‘Shall I cancel your European trip?’ he asked.

  Abel had completely forgotten that Florentyna had planned to accompany him to Europe when she had finished her two years with Bloomingdale’s at the end of the month. She had been going to open both the Edinburgh and the Cannes Barons.

  ‘I can’t cancel,’ he replied, although he now didn’t care who opened the hotels, or even whether they were opened at all. While I’m away, George, keep looking for Florentyna. But if you find her, don’t let her know. She mustn’t think I’m spying on her; she’d never forgive me if she found out. Your best bet may be Zaphia, but be careful, because you can be sure she’ll take every advantage of what has happened.’

  ‘Do you want Osborne to do anything about Lester’s stock?’

  ‘No, nothing for the moment. Now is not the appropriate time to finish Kane off. When I do, I want to be certain that he can’t recover. Leave Kane alone for the time being. For now, concentrate on finding Florentyna.’

  Three weeks later, Abel opened the Edinburgh Baron. The hotel looked quite magnificent as it stood on the hill dominating the Athens of the North. Long before Abel opened a new hotel, he would go over everything himself because he knew that it was the little things that annoyed customers. A small electric shock caused by nylon carpets when you touched a light switch, room service that took forty minutes to materialize or rubber pillows that curled around one’s ears.