Love in Disguise Part 19

The flight to London was a bumpy one but no more uncomfortable than her own thoughts, and she arrived nauseated and shaken at Heathrow. There had been no English papers on the aircraft, and once through Customs she made her way to the news-stand, intent on finding out the latest news.

A man knocked against her, apologising as he stepped back. He was holding a professional-looking camera, and glancing past him Anthea saw several other photographers in the vicinity. Hastily she hurried on, wondering if they could be looking out for her. Had they discovered she had gone to Portugal and was on her way back? Mark had continually told her that the newspapers hounded him, and she remembered his warning to her never to make any comments to them. Two more photographers came sidling in her direction, and she nervously backtracked. It was foolish to go to the news-stand. There might already be photographs of herself in the latest edition, and if someone recognised her from it... Donning a pair of dark glasses, she picked up her suitcase and ran, only breathing a sigh of relief as she settled into the back of a hired car that had been waiting to pick up a fare outside the terminal building.

Unwilling to give the driver her real address, she told him merely to take her to the north side of Eaton Square, explaining that she lived down a mews and it was quicker for her to walk than involve him in a detour. He accepted this without comment, and three-quarters of an hour later deposited her at the intersection she had requested. Anthea paid him off and waited for him to drive away before heading towards the house. She was some fifteen yards away from it when she saw a group of men clustered at the bottom of the steps. Her first instinct was to turn tail and run, but afraid this might attract notice she set her teeth and walked on, keeping her eyes lowered as she came abreast of them and maintaining an even pace until she reached the next corner, when she broke into a run and headed for the mews which would bring her to the back entrance of the house. Desperately she hoped Dickson had left the door unbolted. She reached the garage and then came to the green wooden door that led into the patio, breathing a sigh of relief as it moved inwards at her touch. She stepped through and closed it behind her, then ran the few yards to the kitchen door. This was locked and she rang the bell, shaking with nerves and trying not to cry. The door opened and Monsieur Marcel stood there.

'Mademoiselle 1' He was astonished. 'I thought you were in Portugal.'

'I came back to see Mr. Allen.'

'Grace a Dieu! He will need you. It is always bad when a friend is involved.'

'Mr. Goderick was never a friend of Mr. Allen's,' she cried, and then stopped, knowing it was dangerous to say more.

'Maybe not a close friend,' the Frenchman said, 'but still close enough. And to do such a terrible thing..... There are so many people involved, mademoiselle. Thousands of investors have lost everything. Their entire savings!'

Anthea dropped her case and pushed past him, intent only on reaching Mark. In the main hall she stopped, not sure where he would be. She had gone through such turmoil in the last few hours that the tranquillity of the hall struck her as incongruous. A vase of flowers stood on the side table; a long Persian runner glowed like a dark jewel on the polished parquet floor and a dark green palm tree stood in a mahogany tub in one corner. Everything looked exactly the same as when she had left here; it was hard to believe that the world of its owner had come crashing down upon his head.

'Mark!' she called, and ran into the library. It was empty and she sped across to the drawing-room. This was empty too, and as she returned to the hall Dickson came out of the lift.

He was too well trained to show his surprise at the sight of her, and merely said: 'Mr. Allen is in his bedroom, if you are looking for him.'

Murmuring her thanks, Anthea raced up the stairs, too impatient to use the lift, and was breathless by the time she reached the second floor. Mark's room was at the far end and only as she came to it was she overcome by nerves. Before they could take a hold of her she rapped on the door and went in.

He was lying on the bed in a dressing gown, his face unshaven and flushed, though she was not sure if it was from excitement or tiredness. Speechlessly he stared at her, and she took advantage of his surprise and came boldly over to him.

'There didn't seem much point in staying in Portugal any longer. I thought I might... that I might be of more use to you here.'

'How? By trying to appease my conscience?' he asked bitterly. 'Do you have any idea how I feel? Of what I've gone through in the last couple of months?'

'I know it hasn't been easy for you. I wish you'd told me... given me the chance of helping you.'

'How?' he asked again. 'By telling me not to blame myself? By saying J did the only thing possible?'

'I don't know what I would have said,' she replied truthfully. 'I don't know enough about the circumstances to form an opinion.'

'That's never stopped you from judging me before! Are you sure you haven't come back to tell me what a swine I was to pretend friendship with a man and then put a knife in his back?' He half sat up. 'Or do you feel more sympathy for Claudine?'

'Don't 1' Anthea cried. 'I've no pity for Claudine. Forget her.'

'I wish I could. Her behaviour sickened me.'

Anthea moistened her lips. So Claudine had already turned away from him. 'M-Mark,' she stammered, 'I'm so sorry. But surely you must have realised she wouldn't want you once you... You can't have been so blind not to know the sort of woman she is?'

'I know exactly what she is.'

'But it didn't stop you...'

'No,' he said heavily, 'it didn't stop me from using her.'

It seemed a strange word, but she did not dwell on it, intent only on making him see that she was here instead to stand by him, to give him any help she could, no matter how paltry it was.

'Let me help you, Mark. I won't pretend I can forget the thousands of people who've lost their savings because of you-but I'm positive you didn't deliberately set out to swindle them. You were ambitious and you wanted to succeed too quickly. But you're not a crook-I'll never believe that-and even if they put you in prison, I'll still wait for you.'

'You'll what?' He jumped up from the bed, tall and menacing. The flush on his skin had deepened to red and his eyes-without their glasses-blazed at her. 'You will wait for me?' he repeated.

She knew she had given herself away, but she did not care. If he could gain the smallest comfort from her love, it would be worth her loss of pride. 'Yes, Mark, I'll wait for you.'

'Until I come out of prison?'

'Yes.' She clasped her hands tightly. 'Do you think they will? I mean, if you sold everything you had, if you tried to pay back as much as you could? Or will they take everything anyway? I'm not sure what happens in a case like this,' she finished.

'You certainly aren't,' he said dryly, 'but you've obviously made up your mind I'll be left destitute.'

'What does it matter? You can begin again. We can even emigrate. You can make a new life for yourself in another country. The most important thing is not to give up.' She came close to him. 'I suppose you sent me away because you knew you were going to be discovered. But it was wrong of you. I want to be with you; to help you.'

'Why do you keep on about my being arrested?'

'I read it in the paper. At least, I didn't read it myself- the paper was Portuguese and the woman in the newsagent's translated it for me.'

'Translated it?' Mark echoed jerkily, and sank down on the bed. 'Please, Anthea, begin at the beginning and tell me how you found out about my downfall.'

'I saw a photograph of you and Jasper Goderick,' she said, and taking a deep breath, went on to tell him all she had learned. 'That's why I came back. I was sure Claudine wouldn't stand by you.' Her hands clenched. 'I could kill Jasper for what he did to you!'

'I think it's more on the cards that Jasper would like to kill me because of what I did to him.'' There was an odd note in Mark's voice, a jubilance behind the weariness that made her look at him suspiciously. Was he becoming lightheaded? Could it be a sign of shock? As though aware of what was going through her mind, he reached out and pulled her down beside him.

'Tell me again why you came back?' he said in a tight voice.

'To be with you. To let you know I'll... I'll wait for you.'

'And if I'm left with nothing-what will you do then?'

'I'll get my degree and teach. I'm a good housekeeper too.'

'Perhaps I could become a butler when I come out of prison.'

'Don't joke!' she cried, and turning her face into his shoulder burst into tears.

Mark put his arms around her and cradled her close, stroking her hair with a trembling hand. 'You fool,' he said tenderly. 'You silly little fool!'

'I know,' she gulped, 'but I can't help it. I know you don't love me, but I'll---'

'I do love you,' he interrupted. 'I love you so much that I've often felt like strangling you because you didn't know it.'

Her sobs stopped as if by magic, and she stared at him through tear-drenched eyes. 'You're making it up!'

'So you think me a liar as well as a crook?'

Her tears flowed again and he gave her a little shake. 'Anthea, don't,' he said fiercely. 'Don't you know when you're being teased?'

'How can you tease me at a time like this?'

'Because the time is right,' he said huskily. 'Here I was full of guilt and hating myself, then you walked in and made me feel it was good to be alive.'

'I did?'

'Of course you did! Wipe your eyes and listen to me. I don't know if the Portuguese papers got the story backwards or if your translator was standing on her head when she read it to you, but Jasper is the one who's been arrested for fraud, not me. I was the one who discovered it'

'You?' she gasped.

'Yes. We were having merger talks, as you know, and I began to go through his books. He had kidded so many people for so long that I suppose he grew careless. Or maybe I was a bit more astute than the other people he'd been dealing with. Anyway, I realised what had been going on and I had to make a decision. Either to stop the talks and let him continue the way he was-building a bigger and bigger empire on fraud-or to take my information to the Director of Public Prosecutions.' He sighed. 'It wasn't an easy decision. I've know Jasper quite a few years and it goes against the grain to destroy someone, even though you despise what they're doing.'

Unbidden, Claudine came into her mind. Her expression must have given her away, for Mark gave her another shake. 'Claudine's known for years what Jasper was doing and she also knew it was only a matter of time before he was found out. So she offered to give me additional information about some of his deals.'

'Because she loved you?'

'Because she has a fair stake in Jasper's business. She pretended she was also against what he was doing, but I'm pretty sure she condoned it. Anyway, her evidence will save everyone a lot of time and effort. It will also add a few more years to Jasper's sentence, but that won't worry our Claudine.'

'So that's why she didn't want him to know she was seeing you?'

Mark nodded. 'Once the story broke, Jasper would realise it was because of me. She was afraid that if he knew she was seeing me he would also suspect she'd done the dirty on him.'

'As she did!'

'As she did,' he agreed. 'Once she knew Jasper's ship was sinking, she couldn't swim away from the wreck fast enough.'

For a brief moment Anthea paused. 'Is she swimming in your direction?'

Mark tried to look modest and failed. 'I believe that was her intention. However, I made it quite clear that I wasn't available.'

Anthea drew a deep breath. 'She as good as told me you were in love with each other.'

'She wanted you to think it. She felt if she could keep us apart she'd stand a better chance of getting me for herself.'

'She nearly succeeded. If I hadn't misunderstood the story in the Portuguese papers, I'd never have come back.'

'You speak as if I've no mind of my own,' Mark protested.

'I'm not sure a man has against a determined woman.'

'Like you, you mean?'

'Like me,' she said, and pulled his head down to kiss him. 'When did you fall in love with me?'

'I'm not sure. I became aware of you when you started answering me back! Then when you put on that grey dress I bought you-and looked so ghastly in it-I felt such tenderness for you that I began to see what was happening. I knew for sure the day your parents came to tea and let the cat out of the bag.' His eyes twinkled. 'Or should I say let the girl out of the disguise?'

She giggled. 'You were so furious.'

'And jealous,' he added. 'You deliberately used Roger to annoy me.'

'You used Claudine.'

'I bet she didn't give you as many sleepless nights as Roger gave me!' He was unexpectedly savage. 'I'm going to make you pay for every one of them.'

'How?' she asked, nestling close.

'By making you spend the same number of sleepless hours with me.' He ran his lips along her cheek to her eyelids. 'That should cover us for our first month of marriage,' he said huskily.

'And after that?'

'I'll think of something. I'm nothing if not inventive!' Once more his mouth lay on hers, moving gently, insistently, with a promise of passion to come.

'Darling Mark,' she whispered. 'I always wanted to marry an inventor!'

end.