Anna's Return (10 page)

Chapter Twenty

Janek watched Anna from his balcony, her glossy black hair
shining in the morning sunlight as she walked back to the hotel. He had
returned whilst she was out walking, and his first thought on arriving back at
Carmichaels had been of seeing her. In fact, his thoughts all the time he was
away were of Anna.

Despite his pleasure at seeing her again, he was troubled.
There had been no question that he would help Anna when the Voronins asked him
two years earlier. He would never see her out on the streets, and she had been
so dazed by the sudden defection of people she thought of as family, he had
been afraid she would not be able to focus on finding somewhere else quickly. Thankfully
for her peace of mind, the Voronins had written to her from exile as soon as
they could, asking her forgiveness. Being the girl she was, she forgave them
without question.

“It must have been so hard for them, worrying all the time
about being sent back to Russia,” she confided in Janek. “I thought it was just
… oh a ghost story … like tales of the bogeyman. I had no idea just how
terrified they were. They liked living in the west with all the freedom that entailed,
and I think they wanted Nicky to grow up in a free country.”

“It is difficult to completely give up your home,” Janek
said, with fellow feeling for the Voronins. With the situation as it was in
Poland, he could not return either and wondered if he ever might. “It was a
very brave decision for them. I hope they find the freedom they craved.”

Once she had heard from her friends, Anna settled into
working at Carmichaels better. Janek suspected that for a while she waited for
a call from them, to tell her it had all been a mistake and she could return to
her job. Even though Janek knew it was rather selfish of him, he was relieved
when they did not.

But he had inadvertently made things strained between himself
and Anna. He knew that the rest of the staff gossiped about her relatively
quick promotion to housekeeper. As far as Janek was concerned, she deserved the
job, and she was very good at it, but others did not see it that way.
Therefore, he did not want to fuel that fire by being seen talking to her too
often. He did not much care about his own reputation – he was worldly wise
enough to realise that men were never totally ruined by gossip in the way women
were.  But he cared deeply about Anna’s reputation. He knew how cruel the world
could be about successful, intelligent women.

That did not solve the problem of how he could spend time
with her without inciting gossip, which was something he dearly wanted to do. Her
blossoming, which had begun under the care of Madame Voronina had continued
during her time at Carmichaels. She had become a confident young woman, which
only added to her beauty. But she was also kind and thoughtful. Even the staff
who gossiped about her could not put their hands on their hearts and say they
did not like her.

“Oh just ask her,” he muttered to himself. “Never mind what
others think.”  Except he did mind, for her sake.

“Talking to yourself, darling?” said a voice from behind
him. It was Mary Carmichael. Janek was struck by how very hard Mary tried to
look attractive, compared to Anna who hardly tried at all, and yet was ten
times lovelier. He pushed the unkind thought aside. It was not Mary’s fault she
was not Anna.

“Mary! I didn’t hear you arrive.”

“I wanted to surprise you, darling.” Mary threw her coat
over the back of a chair and sat down at the patio table. “Scotland was so
boring without you, and you never come up to see us anymore.”

Janek smiled. “Mike may sleep as much as he likes in this
partnership. Unfortunately I have to work.”

“You work too hard. Everyone says so, including my brother. This
is why I’ve come down to rescue you. What about a show, and dinner afterwards?
Dancing even. You remember how to dance, don’t you?”

“Vaguely.”

“Do you remember how to kiss?” Mary crossed her legs in a
sultry fashion.

“I thought we agreed, Mary…Or at least you did. You had
other fish to fry.” There was nothing bitter about the way Janek spoke. In fact
he smiled indulgently as he said it. He was well aware of Mary’s fickle nature,
and did not resent his part of one of her flash in the pan love affairs.

“Oh that was then. I’ve made a dreadful mistake, darling.
Can we try again?”

“No, things have changed. I’ve changed, Mary.”

“So I’ve heard. The staff here does like to gossip you
know.”

Janek’s smile faded. “Really.”

“Yes, about you and the housekeeper. She’s that girl you
escaped from France with, isn’t she? The one we met in Hyde Park, with that
funny little Russian boy. Honestly darling, it’s very naughty, fraternising
with the staff. You must know that.”

“I am aware of that,” said Janek, biting down the anger he
felt about Mary pinpointing his own concerns. It only proved to him that he was
right to keep Anna at a distance. He hated the idea of people talking about her
in such a way. “The staff – and you – have got it entirely wrong. Me and Anna
are friends, nothing more. So perhaps the next time you join in the gossip, you
could add that to the story.”

“Oh now you’re sulking and you’ll be no good to me
whatsoever. I’m going shopping.” Mary stood up, smiling smugly. Janek had the
distinct impression that Mary’s plan, whatever it was, hard worked. “Let me
know about dinner and a show later, when you’ve made up your mind. Hmm?”

Janek was about to ask her what she meant by ‘made up your
mind’ but he already knew Mary was not really talking about dinner and a show.
It was possible that Mary only wanted him because she thought she could not
have him.

At that moment it seemed as if a cloud passed in front of
the sun, and a shiver trickled down his spine. Mary was a nice enough girl most
of the time, but she did not like to be thwarted in love. If she had made up
her mind to have him, then she intended it to happen. She might even add fuel
to the flames of gossip running around the hotel. He had no choice but to keep
his relationship with Anna on a purely professional footing. Gossip was bad
enough. But Mary’s claws were sharper than any of the staff’s tongues, and he
did not want Anna to be wounded by her.

His decision meant that when he went to Anna’s office later
that day, he was much cooler with her than he intended to be.

“How are things?” he asked. “No problems with the staff?”

“No problems at all. They’re very good staff, Jan … Mr.
Dabrowski,” said Anna, who always reverted to his formal name when they talked
business. She looked bemused. Normally he asked about her first, and then the
business. Despite her answer, he sensed she was holding something back.

“If there’s anything I should know…”

“No, nothing at all. I’ll come to you if there are any
problems.”

“Very well. Don’t let me keep you from your work any
longer.”

It felt to Janek as though an eight foot high glass wall had
been erected between them. He told himself as he left her office that he was
doing it to protect her. But part of him wondered how much he was guarding his
own heart against being hurt. He had lost everyone he loved before the war, and
despite his success and the fact that he if anyone asked him he would have said
he was happy, he had a deep seated fear of losing another loved one. Perhaps
that was why he had avoided falling in love. He thought of Anna, looking
bemused in her office, and knew that he had already failed to keep his heart
safe.

Chapter Twenty-One

Anna could not help wondering what she might have done to
annoy Janek. He had seemed very tense when he came to see her. Was it possible
that Dalrymple had complained to him and he thought she was neglecting her
duties by not mentioning it?

She struggled to concentrate on her work for the rest of the
day. Perhaps she should say something? She had not yet spoken to Vince O’Brian.
He might be able to shed light on it. The more Anna thought about it, the more
she hated mistrusting her work colleagues. She knew what it was to be falsely
accused, and she could not bear the thought of making someone else feel the
pain of suspicion.

“You’re lost in thought, so you are,” said Vince O’Brian
from her office doorway. She was surprised to see him. It was about five
o’clock and he was not due to start his shift until eight.

“Vince! I was just thinking about you.”

“I’m very glad to hear it,” he said with a smile. Vince
often tried to flirt with Anna, but she just laughed it off. He flirted with
everyone.

“Not you personally.” She quickly explained about Major
Dalyrymple’s complaint. “I was afraid the supplier might be watering down the
whisky,” she added hastily.

“I’ll keep an eye on it,” said Vince. “I came to tell you
that me, Reg and Florentyna are off out for a pub meal until the evening shift.
We wondered if you’d like to come.”

Anna shook her head. “Sorry, I’ve loads to do here. I’ve
barely caught up today.”

“You work too hard, so you do,” said Vince. “Come on with
us. Reg said he’s got something to tell you.”

“Oh. Okay. I suppose I can spare an hour. Just give me a few
minutes to freshen up.”

The pub they chose for their meal was not the nicest place
in London. In fact, Anna would have said it was very dodgy. She felt uneasy as
they took their seats.

“What is it for you, Anna?” asked Reg, who waited at the
bar.

“Oh, just a shandy please,” she said. “This is …” she
started to say to Florentyna, but could not finish the sentence. She could
hardly say the pub was nice. It was far from it. “It’s nice to be out,” she
said instead.

“Yes, it is. Reg wanted to talk to you.” Florentyna seemed
ill-at-ease.

“Yes, Vince said. What about?”

“Perhaps you’d best let him tell you,” said Florentyna.

Reg returned with the drinks, and Anna could not help
feeling uncomfortable under his searching stare.

“The thing is, Anna, we need to bring you on board so to
speak,” he said, after he had taken a sip of his pint.

“On board?”

“Yes. You see, there are certain … shall we say … customs at
Carmichaels … that you need to abide by. Now we all know how friendly you are
with Mr. Dabrowski.”

“He’s my employer, just as he’s yours,” said Anna, not quite
liking the tone of Reg’s voice.

“Yes, quite. Well … we’ve got a little money making scheme
going…”

“The watered down whisky,” said Anna, feeling as though the
ground had been taken from under her. “Reg…” She looked around the table,
“Vince, Florentyna, you know it’s illegal. Carmichaels could be shut down if it
were found we were giving guests watered down alcohol. I’ve no choice but to
report this. You must know that.”

“Yes, yes, Florentyna said you might say that,” said Reg.
“But … erm … I suppose that depends how much the boss knows about your little
secret.”

“My secret?”

“That little redhead who was at the reception desk this
morning. Pretty little thing she was. She asked if you were Anna Silverton. Of
course, being a loyal friend to you, I told her you weren’t. But then I spoke
to Florentyna here.” Florentyna was staring studiously at her glass of stout.
“And she told me that you were. So I phoned Silverton Hall, pretending I was
asking for a reference for an Anna Silverton. I had a very interesting chat
with Lady Geraldine about you and what you did to her son. Oh and the theft of
some money.”

“I didn’t do anything to him!” Anna said, tears pricking the
back of her eyes. “And I didn’t steal anything.”

“That’s not what Lady Geraldine says. So the way I see it,
Anna, if you keep our secret, we’ll keep yours. Isn’t that right, Vince?”

“Yes,” said Vince, looking at his feet as if his shoes were
suddenly very uncomfortable.

“Isn’t that right, Florentyna?” Reg turned to his
girlfriend.

“Yes, love,” she said, looking just as unhappy as Vince.

“So we’re agreed,” said Reg. “We’re all in this together.”

“I am not with you,” said Anna. “I want no part of your
scam.”

“That’s alright. I didn’t think you would and I don’t want
to split the money any more anyway. You’ll just be a good girl and turn a blind
eye, won’t you? Won’t you?”

Anna nodded, miserably. It was all too much for her. Reg had
left her little time to think about what to do. She should go straight to Janek
and tell it all, whether she lost her job or not. But the secret she had kept
for so long was threatening to ruin the life she had built for herself. If Reg
wanted revenge, he could easily tell her stepmother where she was, and then she
might be arrested.

“So,” said Reg, clapping his hands together, “let’s eat.”

“I’ve got no stomach for any food,” said Anna, standing up.
“I’m going back.”

“Aw, now come on, love, don’t be like that,” said Reg. His
vice-like grip on her hand belied his friendly tone of voice. “You sit with us
and eat some pie and chips.”

“I don’t want anything.”

“I want you to stay.”

“I want to leave, and you don’t want me to make a fuss in
front of all these people, do you?” said Anna, tight-lipped.

“Let her go, Reg,” said Vince. “You’ve gone too far, so you
have.”

“We agreed…” said Reg, menacingly, his grip on Anna’s arm
tightening as he spoke.

“You agreed, and we just followed along as we always do. But
I’ll not stand by and see you harm a woman.”

“Oh,” Reg laughed. “Finally getting some backbone are we,
Vince?”

Vince looked up at Anna. “I’m sorry, Anna. I didn’t want it
to be like this. You run along home now. Let her go, Reg, or so help me…”

At that, Reg did what all bullies do when confronted. He let
Anna go.

As she ran out of the pub, she could hear Vince and Reg
arguing. She took one look back and saw Florentyna crying into a hankie. In her
anger, she thought it served Florentyna right for getting involved with such a
man.

By the time she reached Carmichaels, she was feverish and
overwrought. She ran into the lift, barely noticing that someone followed her.

“Anna?” It was Janek. He quickly pressed the button so that
the lift door closed, hiding them from the curious bystanders. “Anna, what is
it?”

She burst into tears and he took her in his arms. She felt
safe and warm, but deep down knew that she could not enjoy that feeling for too
long. “Darling, please tell me who’s hurt you?”