Anna's Return (11 page)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Luckily for Anna, Janek did not press the question. As if
understanding she was too upset to speak, he helped her to her room and used to
bedside phone to ask someone to bring up a pot of tea.

“Now drink this,” he said, when the tea had arrived. “Don’t
the English always feel better after a cup of tea?”

“Yes,” she said, through a watery smile. “Thank you.”

“Now I want to know who’s hurt you.”

“I can’t say.”

“Is it …” Janek’s eyes darkened. “Is it a boyfriend? Is that
it?”

Anna shook her head. “No. I don’t have a boyfriend.” She had
never had a boyfriend, but she felt too embarrassed to admit that to Janek.
Having a boyfriend might have resulted in her letting go of her secret in an
unguarded moment and she could not risk that. Besides, for several years she
had only ever loved one man and he stood in front of her, offering her tea. She
could never admit that either. It would no doubt embarrass him, and make their
working relationship awkward.

“Is it something that’s happened at work? Has anyone been
unkind to you? If they have, so help me I’ll…”

Anna shook her head vigorously. They were getting on
dangerous ground. “It’s nothing, really. I suppose it’s just … well … women’s
problems.” As soon as she said it, she wished she had not. It was far too
personal a subject to be discussing with her employer. Her face flushed bright
red.

“Women’s problems?”

“Yes. Women’s problems.”

“Okay, well I’ll admit to not knowing an awful lot about
them. Do you need a doctor or anything? Painkillers? A hot water bottle? Anna,
let me know what I can do to help you feel better and I will do it.”

His kindness made her want to cry more than ever. How could
she possibly admit to him what had happened at Silverton Hall? He was a good
man, who helped people. She had seen it at Carmichaels, where he was adamant
that the hotel should employ refugees and others affected by the war. He paid
for all the European staff to learn English to improve their prospects, then
rewarded them accordingly with better jobs when their English had improved
enough so that they could deal directly with guests. It made her angry that
Reg, Vince and Florentyna took advantage of that kindness. But what could she
do?

She could almost see his look of horror when he learned from
Reg that she had tried to harm Teddy. Janek might not believe her side of the
story. In fact, he probably would not, on account of her having hidden the
truth for so long. Only now did it occur to her that by keeping it a secret,
she had made herself look guilty. But she was also betraying Janek’s trust by
not telling the truth about Reg’s scam.

“I would … I would just like to be alone for a while,” she
said, hiccoughing through her tears. “I don’t mean to be rude but…”

“I understand. Sometimes when one is wounded, it’s better to
have time alone.”

“Now I feel worse,” she said, with another sob. “Because you
really were wounded in the war and here I am making such a fuss about something
so trivial.”

Janek knelt down in front of her and put his hand over hers.
“If it makes you feel this awful, then it’s not trivial at all.” He reached
over and kissed her head tenderly. “I’ll be upstairs if you need anything.”

When he left the room, Anna went to her bed and collapsed in
a fit of sobbing, eventually crying herself to sleep.

Chapter
Twenty-Three

When she awoke the next morning, Anna decided she would go
and tell Janek everything. She owed it to him to let him know about the scam
going on in his hotel, and if it meant she was dismissed because of what
happened with Teddy, so be it.

Unfortunately when Anna went to Janek’s office, his
secretary explained that he had gone out for the morning. “He has a meeting
with the bank,” Miss Johnson explained.

“I see,” said Anna. “When will he be back? Do you know?”

“He has a lunchtime meeting with the board of directors,
probably to discuss what was said at the bank. You know they’re looking to open
another Carmichaels in Chicago. Mr. Carmichael is coming down from Scotland,
especially.”

“Oh yes, I remember,” said Anna. She had been instructed to
ensure Mr. Carmichael’s rooms at the hotel were in order. “I suppose I shall
have to see Mr. Dabrowski later this afternoon. Thank you, Miss Johnson.”

“Are you alright, Anna? You seem unwell.” Miss Johnson
looked quite strident and was known to be forthright, but underneath her
austere expression was a good heart.

“I am a little bit under the weather.”

“You should take the day off. Only this morning Mr.
Dabrowski was saying that you work too hard.”

“Did he? Well thank you.”

Anna left the office, feeling worse than ever. Janek’s
considerate nature filled her with guilt, along with the fact that he was so
busy himself. He was always so excited when they were working on opening a new
hotel. She hated that she would probably ruin his day but did not know what
else could be done.

It was difficult for her not to spend all day watching the
clock, waiting until the moment that she could speak to him. When one of the
staff called in sick, she took the opportunity to make herself busier,
insisting she would happily deal with room service until a replacement could be
found amongst the other staff.

It did help to take her mind off things, as she rushed from
room to room, fulfilling the guest’s demands. Most of them were pleasant
enough, but there were a few who were very demanding. Anna was able to calm
them down, and make sure they were happy before she left. She also made sure
that if anyone ordered alcohol that she brought it up from the storeroom
herself. This earned her some dirty looks from Reg, but as he was stuck on the
reception desk there was not much he could say or do about it.

Her final call of the day turned out to be to Mary
Carmichael’s suite. Miss Carmichael had lunched there with some friends, and
ordered coffee. In the way of people who are used to being waited upon, Mary
hardly seemed to notice who came into the room with the coffee. Anna might just
as well have been invisible. Not that she really cared. She did not like Mary
Carmichael, though was sensible enough to admit that her dislike was fuelled by
jealousy over Janek.

The women in the room were all much of a muchness. They wore
the same high fashions, the same red lipstick and all carried the same
handbags. They also all spoke in bored tones, as if life really were too
tiresome.

“So?” said one of Mary’s friends, “When are you going to
marry the Pole?”

“Oh darling, never,” said Mary, laughing.

“So why the rush down to London?”

“To make Jimmy Argyle jealous of course. The silly thing
won’t ask me to marry him, what with me being nouveau riche, but I know he’s
mad about me. And I want his title!”

“Janek has more money,” said her friend.

“Yes, and he’s very sweet, but he’s a foreigner darling.
Besides, he hasn’t got a title.”

Anna had to bite her lip so as not to speak out. Her hands were
shaking so much when she went to put the coffee on the table that the cup tilted
over, pouring coffee all over Mary’s skirt.

“Oh you little fool!” Mary stood up, frantically rubbing the
skirt with a napkin.

“I’m sorry, Miss Carmichael. It was an accident.”

“Accident! Oh yes, you would say that, wouldn’t you, Anna?
Would you believe girls that this pale little idiot has Janek in her sights.
Well you won’t anymore,” Mary said, viciously. “I’ll have my brother fire you.”

“It was an accident,” said Anna. “I’ll arrange the dry
cleaning for you.”

“No you won’t. You’ll get out of my sight, now.”

Anna fled the room and as with the night before, ran
straight into Janek’s arms. It occurred to her that her life would be simpler
if he were not there at her most embarrassing moments.

“What’s happened Anna? Tell me,” he commanded. “Has Miss
Carmichael upset you?”

She looked up at him, and realised that she could not
possibly tell him what Mary had said. Mainly because she did not trust her own
motives for doing so. “It was my fault,” said Anna. “I tipped coffee over her.”

“Yes, she did, and it was deliberate,” said a waspish voice
from behind them. Anna had not realised that Mary followed her out into the
corridor.

“I’m very sure it was not,” said Janek. “Of course we’ll
cover any dry cleaning.”

“Are you taking my word against hers, Janek?” asked Mary.
“Really, darling. You should be careful, or there will be further talk. I don’t
want to have to go to my brother and tell him that your judgement is impaired,
especially as he is still the major shareholder in Carmichaels.”

“Are you threatening me, Mary?” asked Janek.

“No, darling.” Mary looked contrite, but Anna felt sure it
was all an act. “Of course not. I would never do such a thing. I just think
you’re not thinking rationally. I’m sure you would have dismissed anyone else
who tipped coffee over one of your most important guests.”

“Thank you, Mary, I’ll deal with this,” Janek said, coldly.
“Anna, come with me.”

Anna followed him to his office, convinced that he was about
to dismiss her. His face was dark and angry when he closed his office door and
turned to her. “Now,” he said, curtly. “Tell me what happened.”

“It was an accident, honestly,” said Anna. “The cup could
not have been on the saucer properly. If you wish to take the dry cleaning bill
out of my wages…”

“That won’t be necessary.”

“I see. Well I suppose I should get my things.”

“Why?”

“If you’re going to dismiss me.”

“I don’t remember saying I was going to dismiss you.”

“But Miss Carmichael said…”

“Miss Carmichael is labouring under a major
misapprehension.”

“Yes, I know and I’m sorry there’s been gossip about us. I
know you’ve only tried to help me.”

To her surprise, Janek smiled. “That’s not the
misapprehension. But never mind that for now. What am I going to do with you,
Anna? You clearly need protecting from the Mary Carmichaels of this world.”

“I can take care of myself.”

“Yes, I saw that. Last night and today. You weren’t really
doing a very good job of it, if I remember rightly. What’s going on, Anna? This
is not like you. You’ve been through so many things in your life, yet at the
moment you look more lost than when I first met you on the train in
nineteen-forty.”

“I am lost,” said Anna, with tears pricking her eyes. “Look,
you’re going to fire me anyway, so I may as well tell you what I was going to
tell you.”

“About what happened with Mary Carmichael?”

“No, not that.” She would never tell him that. To hear him
dismissed as a ‘foreigner’ had broken her heart. She would not break his too.
She hoped that one day he might realise about Mary Carmichael, but she could
not be the one to twist the knife it. “It’s about what’s been going on at the
hotel behind your back. And in telling you about it, I’m going to be condemning
myself.”

“What’s been going on?” Janek frowned.

“It’s Reg Turner…” Anna hesitated. She did not really want
to tell on Vince and Florentyna too. She suspected that they had both been
swayed by Reg’s stronger personality. Yet she had no choice. “Reg, Vince and
Florentyna have been watering down the bottles of alcohol and selling off the
left overs, then pocketing the difference.”

“How long has this been going on?” asked Janek.

“I don’t know. I only realised yesterday.” Anna quickly
explained about Major Dalrymple.

“So why did you not come to me straight away? Why did you
not tell me last night? I presume this is what you were upset about.”

“I was confused,” said Anna. A tear rolled down her cheek.
“Reg threatened me…”

“He did what? Where the hell is he?” Janek made for the
door.

“No, not physically.” Anna put her hand on his arm to stop
him. “Not physically. He threatened me with something that he knows about me.”

“Anna if it’s about you being illegitimate, I already know
that. You told me yourself.”

Anna shook her head. “No, that’s not it. It’s the real
reason I had to leave Silverton Hall. I ran away.”

“I know that too.”

“But you don’t know why.”

“They made you unhappy.”

“Yes, they did. But … the truth is my brother fell from a
tree, and he said I’d told him he could climb it, so my stepmother thinks I
tried to kill him. She threatened me with the police and… so I took some money
that the butler, Mr. Stephens gave me and ran away with it. I did try to pay
him back, but he can’t have received it, as he is still looking for me.”

“The posters in Hyde Park,” said Janek, thoughtfully.

Anna nodded miserably. “Reg said my stepmother is still
talking about having me arrested for it all. He said that if I told you about
the scam, he’d tell you about me. I was going to tell you today. It’s just that
last night I was so confused. I’d kept the secret for so long…”

Janek opened his mouth to speak, but was halted by a knock
on the door. “Come in,” he said, abruptly.

“Sorry to bother you, Mr. Dabrowski,” said Miss Johnson,
“but the board of directors have arrived.”

“I need a few more minutes,” said Janek.

“Come on old boy,” said a voice from Miss Johnson’s room.
Michael Carmichael came bounding into Janek’s office. “We’re waiting for the
good news. Oh…” He looked at Anna. “Sorry, Mary did tell me you were dealing
with this.”

“I am,” said Janek.

“Good. Good man. We don’t want Carmichaels to get a bad name
for service now, do we?”

Janek turned to Anna. “I’ll speak to you after lunch. But…”

“Oh get it over with,” said Carmichael. “I’ll do it for you
if you like. You’re dismissed girl. And don’t think you’re getting a reference
either.”

“Thank you, Mike. I said I’d deal with it.” Janek’s eyes
flashed angrily. He turned back to Anna. “I
will
speak to you after
lunch.”