Persuading Annie (31 page)

‘Jesus,’ he whispered. ‘Thanks.’

Right. Now, Sophie …

‘We think there may be an inside leak actually,’ said Jake
suddenly. Yes, it was worth risking everything. He couldn’t have kept a secret from her now if he’d tried.

Annie gasped. She spoke before thinking. ‘Oh don’t be ridiculous.’

Stung, Jake shot back.

‘I’m not being ridiculous. I’m being thorough. I’m doing what I’m paid to do.’

Oh, so this was purely business then. Victoria was right. He was a stubborn bastard.

‘Who would be a leak then?’ she asked disdainfully. ‘My father?’

He looked away from her, watching the rain.

Oh fine. Not talking now. How mature.

She tried another tack. ‘Look, I’m meeting Edward here any minute—’

‘Oh yeah?’ he stayed looking at the rain.

She stared at him. There was no need to be so rude. After all, she’d sat behind him and Sophie all the way through that wretched film and never once said ‘Oh yeah?’ to him in that tone of voice.

‘Yeah,’ she replied, making up for lost time.

Warm Interest finally lost the battle. In fairness, it had put up a good fight. Piqued, she indulged the victor.

‘I hardly think you’re in any position to have a problem with that, do you?’ she accused bitterly.

Jake suddenly looked straight at her.

‘As a matter of fact I do.’

She couldn’t believe her ears! She’d be damned if she was going to let those stupid dark eyes boring into her have any effect on what she said or did. Any more.

‘What the hell’s it got to do with you who I go out with? If you haven’t forgotten, we’re not going out with
each other any more, on account of you running out and leaving me—’

‘It’s got nothing to do with us going ou—’

‘Oh right. This is just friendly advice is it?’

Jake exploded.

‘
Friendly!
How can I be friendly? You lied to me about having my baby, then said you’d elope with me, then changed your mind at the last minute—’

‘I didn’t lie to you – or change my mind—’

‘Oh, what? So you knew all along that you’d dump me, did you?’

‘I MADE A MISTAKE! I THOUGHT I WAS PREGNANT AND I WASN’T. I’D ONLY JUST FOUND OUT WHEN YOU CAME INTO MY ROOM. AND IF YOU’D STUCK AROUND TO FIND OUT, YOU’D HAVE DISCOVERED I WAS AS UPSET ABOUT IT AS YOU WERE.’

Phew. Glad she’d got that off her chest. About time too.

She felt strangely light, as if she might blow away in the wind.

Jake stared at her in stunned silence. Too much information. Unable to compute. Focus, talk, breathe. When he finally spoke, his voice didn’t seem to be coming from his body.

‘Annie. All I’m saying is … be careful who you trust—’

‘HI THERE!’

They didn’t hear what the voice was saying at first, only that there was one, and it was obliterating their conversation.

Jake and Annie both looked to where the voice was coming from and saw a tall, slender shape standing in the light. They assumed the man was a mad stranger. Then Annie remembered. Edward! She then experienced a sinking
feeling that was so profound she feared her womb had prolapsed.

Edward seemed delighted to have found them together, yet conscious that delicate feelings needed to be soothed. He smiled warmly at them both before coming forward and shaking Jake’s hand so firmly, Annie worried for his shoulder socket.

‘We were just about to share a soggy bagel and double-strength, half-spilled coffee,’ continued Edward, holding up a wet paper bag. ‘Care to join us?’

‘I’m sorry,’ said Jake softly, staring fixedly at Edward. ‘I only like dry rye and decaff. Otherwise … obviously, hard to resist …’

Edward laughed.

Jake then gave Annie a short, blunt goodbye without meeting her eye, turned to Edward and said, in lieu of goodbye, ‘Edward’. And then he turned up his collar and ran off into the rain.

* * * * *

Edward and Annie stayed there until the rain finally came to a halt fifteen minutes later. Both Central Park and the rain soon lost their appeal as Annie got colder and colder. She just wanted to get back to the apartment and take off her soggy clothes. Have a hot bath. Close her eyes and marvel at what she had managed to finally say out loud to Jake. It was a truly momentous day.

And not only because of what she’d said. But because she finally realised that adverts are always better than the real thing.

* * * * *

When Annie reached the apartment, Victoria was still in the increasingly lengthy process of getting up. She was sitting in the drawing room eating a chocolate-flavoured children’s cereal, her finger flicking through the TV channels, her eyes glazed over. Annie, restless and on edge, went into the office and turned on the computer. Yep, there was a message.

She pressed the intercom button and buzzed Victoria.

‘There’s an e-mail for you,’ she told Victoria.

Victoria jumped in shock at the voice to her right. She turned, brushed aside the curtain and looked at the little grey box. The red light was flicking, showing that it was on.

‘For me? Are you sure?’

‘Yep,’ replied Annie into the office intercom. ‘From Charles.’

They swapped rooms. Annie went and sat in the drawing room, looking out at the park, feeling shell-shocked and depressed. She sat in the silence for a while until an ugly buzzing came from the intercom.

‘Annie! I need your help!’

It was Victoria from the office.

She found Victoria sitting staring at the computer, her hand over her mouth. Her eyes were watering.

‘You OK?’ asked Annie.

Victoria nodded.

‘How do I reply?’

Annie clicked on the reply icon and a space appeared for Victoria to tap her message into. She didn’t mean to pry but she couldn’t help but catch the first few words of Charles’s message.

My lovely Vicks
…

Victoria sniffed loudly while looking for the D key. She hit the E key instead.

‘Shit,’ she muttered. This might take some time, thought Annie.

‘Shall I leave you to it?’ she asked.

Victoria nodded.

Annie closed the door behind her. Good old Charles, she thought. He’d remembered.

* * * * *

Feeling shaken, stirred and swallowed in one, Annie left the apartment and headed for the Russian Tea Rooms to meet Sophie.

The fondness the two women felt for each other was now exaggerated greatly by the new fact that Sophie was engaged to David.

‘Oh Annie,’ Sophie grinned, as soon as they had ordered their food. ‘The poor boy was damaged, that’s the only word there is for it. I don’t like to say this about anyone,’ she said happily, ‘but David’s ex-wife was a complete and utter bitch. He says I’ve restored his faith in women.’

Annie smiled. How could Jake have compared?

By the time Annie got to The Frick Museum, her mood was buoyant again. She had told Jake what she should have told him years ago. It was over. She always felt better when surrounded by paintings and sculpture. It was as if heartache and fear didn’t exist in a world of such speechless truths.

Unlike the other museums in New York, this was just one very wealthy man’s art collection and it had a unique, eclectic feel all its own. Constables overlooked Rodin figures. The soft pastels of Whistler nestled amidst the dark forbidding Rembrandts. Annie was able to forget her chaotic thoughts and absorb herself in another world within moments.

And then, while staring at a Whistler woman, it suddenly hit her.

The woman’s body was turned away from Annie, but her gaze was direct and assertive. The woman had purpose, direction, hope. Everything she felt she lacked.

That was it!

Standing staring up at the picture, Annie decided she would phone her financial adviser this afternoon and find out exactly what her savings were.

She could hardly concentrate on the rest of the exhibition. For the first time in her life, she knew exactly what she wanted to do with it.

Today was getting more momentous every second.

* * * * *

The next day found Annie in SoHo, map in hand, walking purposefully from gallery to gallery. She knew down to the last cent what she could afford and what was out of her price range. She also knew her art and knew what she loved.

It took her all day, but finally she found a painting that she loved and wanted to own.

The brush strokes were large and free, the colours bold and bright. It had light and life and meaning and Annie stared at it, savouring the moment. The painting held an unmistakable message that pierced through the confusion of her life and clarified her world.

And it had a really nice blue in it.

She recognised the name of the young artist, and although the painting wasn’t cheap, Annie knew that one day it would be expensive – if not priceless.

Exhausted but happy, she took the painting straight to her room and placed it on the bed, leaning against the wall.

She knelt in front of the bed, placing her elbows on it, as if to pray, and stared intently at her new painting; her new beginning.

* * * * *

Back in North London, Charles walked quickly into his club, his collar turned up against the bitter winter cold. The gang was there, sitting in prime position by the log fire and he went over to join them.

‘You’re late, they’ve already started the counting,’ Edgar said accusingly.

‘Sorry,’ said Charles. ‘Couldn’t get a babysitter for the boys.’

They looked at him in silence.

He coughed.

‘Wife’s in New York with the family,’ he explained.

They continued to stare.

‘It’s not looking too good,’ primed Edgar. ‘There’s far more Trotskies than we thought. If we’re not careful there’ll be chintz curtains in here before you can say Fore. Every vote counts, men.’

They shared a drink, toasted Tradition and then went into the clubroom to vote.

Charles could hardly grip his pencil, his hand was sweating so much. He looked behind him and checked that none of the gang was anywhere near.

He closed his eyes, bit his lip and slowly but surely, put a big black cross in the square.

After all, what was life without progress?

24

ANNIE COULD HARDLY
wait until tonight. Now that she’d managed after all these years to get everything off her chest to Jake, a painful chapter in her life had finally closed once and for all. She could really start to enjoy herself for the first time in years and it started now. Edward had decided at the last minute to stay in New York for Christmas – his family were scattered all over the globe and Christmas had never been much of a thing for any of them. Annie’s own family had been only too delighted to welcome him into the heart of their celebrations. And although she had experienced a temporary blip in interest towards him when she’d thought Jake was out of her life, all that had changed now. Edward suddenly seemed the answer to all her prayers. Sane, safe and steady.

Who knew? She might even beat Jake to the altar after all …

The only fly in the ointment was that Davina would also be staying for Christmas. Annie had carefully avoided any show of interest in Davina’s plans because she knew that her own feelings would show through too clearly. So she’d
been grateful when her father brought the subject up a few weeks earlier.

‘Annie, will you be sharing Christmas lunch with us?’

Annie looked at him in some surprise. As opposed to what? she wondered.

‘Of course, Father,’ she said.

‘Splendid,’ he murmured. ‘Splendid. I’ll tell the chef.’

To Annie’s even greater surprise, Davina had turned to her and beamed.

‘I’m so pleased you’ll be with us. It wouldn’t be a proper family Christmas without you.’

Annie stared at her and turned to her father. Beaming proudly, he patted Davina on the hand.

‘Davina’s parents are in Switzerland this year. Skiing.’

‘I’d rather stay here anyway,’ said Davina, before adding with gentle humility. ‘You’re all family to me now.’

George beamed.

Annie marvelled that she wasn’t sick there and then.

No one else seemed in the least worried that Davina had become a permanent member of the family. In fact, Victoria was in an infuriatingly good mood. The boys were due out within days and she spent every spare moment checking her e-mails for messages from Charles.

Annie had invited Edward to the apartment for pre-opera family drinks. All were delighted to see him and, apart from Katherine, who kept a condescending distance, they all welcomed him like a long-lost family member. Annie felt as if the jigsaw pieces of her life were finally slotting into place.

Davina was probably the only person who seemed cautious with Edward, and Annie was pleased to see it. It made Edward’s presence all the more welcoming.

Annie couldn’t wait to see Cass and Brutus, who had arrived safe and sound in New York that day. Sophie and David and Fi and Tony were also going to be at the opera. The presence of Cass always soothed her and she felt the new couplings of Charles’s sisters would somehow be the Epilogue to the Jake chapter of her life. As the drinks started to drag, she found herself champing at the bit to get to the opera.

* * * * *

She wasn’t the only one champing at the bit to get to the opera. Jake squirmed in the corner of the taxi, wishing David and Sophie would stop smooching beside him. He should have arranged to meet them there. This was hardly what he needed on his way to Annie. The howling wind outside didn’t help either. It lashed against the car, making him feel even more vulnerable than he already did. He tightened his jacket around him, but it didn’t keep out the ice in his gut.

What Annie had said to him in the park – or rather, yelled at him across the park – had taken just long enough for him to walk about four feet away from her before sinking in. Dear God, she’d made an honest miscalculation – a mistake. All those years ago, she really
had
thought she was pregnant. And she’d come back into her room in halls, shaking and scared after finding out the truth, needing him and he’d … Oh God, it didn’t bear thinking about. All those wasted years … He could see her face now, all uncertain and young. And like a great bellowing idiot, he’d simply yelled at her. When she’d needed him most.