Lady With A Past

by Lilian Cheatham

  The sky was grey and sullen overhead, and Josey saw why he had suggested the raincoat. The trees near the beach were stunted and twisted, some of them into gargoyle-like shapes, and beyond them, a long line of sea oats and the dunes provided a protective cover. But once they were on the beach, the full force of the wind hit them, tearing at the buttons of Josey’s raincoat’ and fluttering her scarf.

  Abruptly, she stopped and dug in her heels.

  ‘What’s this all about?’

  ‘I brought you out here so we could talk. I didn’t think you’d want to be overheard.’

  Josey bit her lip. ‘Do we have anything confidential to say to one another?’

  He looked at her remotely. ‘I think so—when - it’s about Maud.’

  Her heart jolted. ‘Is Maud really ill?’ she half-whispered.

  He frowned. ‘Of course she isn’t ill!’ he said exasperatedly. ‘Are you going to pretend you didn’t know she was faking?’

  ‘No.’ Josey was slightly taken aback by his frankness. ‘But why do you say faking?’ she added quickly. ‘Surely you know by now thateverything is larger than life with Maud? She may have really thought she was dying, particularly after John Trescott’s sudden death.

  Besides, that’s how it is with her. A headache becomes a brain tumour and a faint becomes a heart attack.’

  ‘You don’t have to explain my aunt to me, Miss Smith,’ he snapped.

  ‘I know her as well as I you do. But you must allow me to know the difference between faking and the real thing.

  After all, I saw her while she was in the hospital, and I talked to her doctor. Maud faked that little drama.’

  ‘Did—she?’ she faltered.

  ‘Yes. She did it, partly, to bring me to her side.’ He smiled bleakly.

  ‘I had been neglecting her lately. But her real purpose was to get you here. You had refused to come.’

  ‘Yes,’ she agreed hesitantly, ‘but, you see …’

  ‘All too well!’ he cut in crisply. ‘Obviously, this island is devoid of the sort of opportunities a girl like you craves. It didn’t have much to offer, did it?’

  She blinked. She wasn’t stupid—she had already realised he wasn’t friendly—but she hadn’t expected a personal attack. She pulled herself together and tried to meet it. ‘Perhaps you’d tell me why I agreed to stay, then?’

  ‘Gladly.’ He was looking grim. ‘She offered you an inducement. Me.’

  The man was mad. ‘And that kept me here?’ she asked incredulously.

  ‘Panting with eagerness.’

  She snorted on a gust of mocking laughter. ‘I think you natter yourself, Mr Macallan.’

  ‘No, I know your type.’

  ‘For someone who’s known me all of five minutes, you’re hardly in a position to categorise me as a type!’ she snapped.

  ‘Don’t be a fool, Miss Smith. You must know that my aunt has been talking about you to me for years. Mostly as a prospective wife.’ He ignored her stunned look of horror. ‘She stepped up her campaign when I saw her in the hospital, and I saw then that this meeting was inevitable.’

  ‘I don’t believe a word you’re saying!’ she gasped. ‘Maud wouldn’t do something like that!’ But she knew, with a sinking heart, that Maud would.

  Hadn’t she done the same thing to her? Except—not the same. Something here didn’t make sense.

  He was looking at her cynically. ‘Miss Smith, for years I’ve done everything possible to avoid you. You’d be surprised at how many of Maud’s little dinners I’ve had to be back out of, when I’ learned you’d be there.’

  She burst out laughing—she couldn’t help it. In spite of her embarrassment, she could not restrain her amusement at the tactics Maud had used to keep them apart.

  ‘I’m glad you think it’s funny!’

  She managed to swallow her laughter and the merriment died slowly in her eyes. ‘I’m sorry. I don’t think you’d appreciate the joke.’

  ‘I’m sure I wouldn’t. Are you trying to cloud the issue?’

  ‘And what is that? Maud’s matchmaking tendencies?’ Her lips twitched.

  ‘You take yourself too seriously, Mr Macallan. Continue to employ those evasion tactics—they’ve worked so far.’

  His eyes chilled to ice and he looked at her with distaste. ‘Don’t be cute!’ His voice was so cutting that she flushed. ‘I want’you out of here by tomorrow morning at the latest! My aunt is very fond of you—too fond—and I don’t intend for you to abuse her confidence.’

  Josey drew a sharp breath. ‘What makes you think I’d do that?’

  ‘Your past record!’ His lip curled. ‘You forget, I’ve listened to Maud talk about you for years. And one fact has emerged—you are an ambitious woman of the particular type I despise.’ It’s mutual, buddy, she thought viciously, then he knocked her back on her heels.

  ‘Then, of course, there’s your manipulation of John Trescott.’ ‘What do you mean?’ she snapped. ‘I went by the Trescott home recently, hoping to talk to you, to discuss this—obsession—of Maud’s with you, perhaps even gain your cooperation. Instead, I found the Trescott sisters who asked for my advice as a lawyer. I had to admit, after listening to them, they had a legitimate grievance. They were his only relatives yet he left his estate to you. Fifty thousand, wasn’t it? They can’t hope to maintain that house on their small income so they’ll probably lose it. How will you enjoy your money, Miss Smith knowing it comes to you at the expense of two old women who have been left homeless?’

  Josey was stunned by this hailstorm of half-truths. The trouble was, knowing the truth, she had not taken the old women seriously. They were not destitute—they were merely misers. John knew that. His lawyer had wanted to threaten them with a suit for slander to stop their talk, but Josey had held back, filled with a reluctant sort of pity. And this was where it had got her!

  She opened her mouth to explain, then closed it again. If Thorne Macallan accepted her explanation, which was doubtful, he would want proof, and she was damned if she would give him the satisfaction!

  ‘I wasn’t aware you were the type of man who listened to the gossip of old women,’ she said sweetly.

  A muscle clenched in the corner of his mouth. He didn’t like that, she saw triumphantly. ‘As a lawyer, I have to listen to a lot of people whom I may not personally admire,’ he said evenly. ‘You will be relieved to know that I told them they hadn’t a chance of bringing a suit. John Trescott had a right to leave his money to his mistress if he wished to.’

  Ah, he could be cruel! Apparently, the gloves were off. Josey glared furiously at him. Her voice was gritty with anger as she said, ‘I hope you don’t repeat any of that to Maud. She has a tremendous loyalty to John, and she wouldn’t appreciate you slurring his memory, quite apart from what you’ve implied about me.’

  ‘I have no intention of repeating any of this to Maud.’

  ‘No, I suggest you don’t. If you did, you’d find she knows all about John’s bequest and approves of it.’

  ‘That was clever of you, but then, I’d never accuse you of being stupid,’

  he murmured drily. ‘Whereas you,’ she went on coldly, ‘have been quite stupid. By putting my back up, you’ve made me quite determined not to leave. Goodbye, Mr Macallan.’ She turned to go.

  He gripped her arm. ‘Not so fast. We haven’t finished.’ She raised her eyebrows haughtily, but his grip tightened. ‘You might as well leave, Miss Smith. There’s nothing for you here. In a big city, with your looks and money, you could make a good marriage, if that’s what you want. Perhaps even a brilliant one. Not every man is as fastidious as I am,’ he added deliberately. : ‘Please remove your hand, Mr Macallan,’ she said icily.

  He droppeLd his hand and hooked his thumbs in his belt loops. ‘I suppose you’re waiting for me to make it worth your while,’ he said dryly.

  ‘Very well. How much?’

  ‘Why, Mr Macallan, are you trying to bribe me?’ she asked sarcastically. ‘You�
��re damned right I am.’ ‘And you think money will make me leave Maud?’ ‘If the price is high enough,’ he retorted coolly.

  ‘How much?’

  She paused, savouring her reply. ‘Hmm. Another fifty thousand will give me a nice round sum in my bank account.’ She looked at him expectantly, her eyes wide with innocence.

  ‘You must be mad! Or unbelievably greedy!’ His face hardened. ‘You’re not serious?’

  ‘You are 50 discerning, Mr Macallan,’ she cooed.

  ‘So you had no intention of leaving—or it’s some sort of blackmail scheme to extort money from me? I’ll warn you, Miss Smith, try that sort of thing and I’ll see you put in jail.’

  She slapped him then—to her astonishment. It was an instinctive reaction to his mention of jaiU She had always abhored violence and since her term in prison, she had found any form of it sickening. She had seen it break out there over something as unimportant as a pack of cigarettes. But his contemptuous way of riding roughshod over her feelings plus his mistreatment of her in court had finally goaded her into losing her temper—something she had sworn not to do. She exulted in the thrill of primitive pleasure it gave her even as she watched with fascinated terror ass the imprint of her palm spread across his face.

  He stared at her without flinching, his eyes deadly with rage. ‘You little bitch.’ His mouth barely parted. ‘Do that again and I’ll make you regret it.’

  She flung her head up defiantly. ‘Don’t think I don’t know what’s wrong with you, you hypocrite!’ she cried. ‘You’re scared to death Maud will change her will in my favour!’

  His face darkened. ‘So that’s it! His eyes glittered at her. ‘Having fleeced John, you’re after Maud! You greedy little tramp, I’ll ruin you first!’

  She swung at him again, but this time, he caught her hand before it made contact. Exerting pressure, he twisted it cruelly behind her back, bringing her almost to her knees. ‘I told you I’d make you regret it if you tried to hit me again!’ he said softly. “Promise to behave and I’ll let you go.’

  She glared at him. ‘Go to hell, you basta.. .’ The words broke off as he twisted viciously, and she blurted out a cry of agony. ‘L-let me go!’ He released her slowly.

  ‘You’re going to hear me out, Miss Smith,’ he said grimly. ‘I have no intention of allowing you to victimise my aunt. I know all about you.’ He smiled coldly at her expression. ‘Oh, yes, she told me all about how she met you and sponsored you to John Trescott. It was a damned stupid thing for her to do, for she didn’t know a thing about you, except that you had crawled into her life like a street-wise little alley cat!’

  : Her eyes deepened until they were tawny points of fury. She was beyond all caution now, her heart and mind closed to everything but bitter memories of the past. ‘I have no intention of obliging you by leaving Maud! And your threats and insults don’t scare me, either! You’re a liar and a bully and a dishonest lawyer, Mr Macallan, and you’re a sadistic coward, too! You should be disbarred!’

  ‘My legal reputation is something I don’t have to prove to you,’ he said indifferently. ‘So keep your filthy little tongue out of my affairs.’

  ‘Your legal reputation isn’t worth two cents if you betray your clients as you did—s-someone I know!’ she raged at him.

  He frowned. ‘What are you talking about? Who? I want an explanation of that particular piece of slander.’

  Josey was jerked out of her rage by a belated sense of caution. ‘I don’t have to explain I anything!’ She met his frown bravely.

  ‘You damned, well do! Are you trying to blackmail me? Or, are you merely throwing out wild accusations at random?’ he added contemptuously.

  Her temper flared again. ‘Oh, no, not at random!’ she said harshly. ‘I know from personal experience that you’re a liar; a filthy shyster lawyer who uses every slimy little legal trick in the book to distort the truth!

  But I can fight dirty, too. I’m an alley cat, remember?’

  ‘You’re hysterical,’ he said coldly.

  By now, she was spitting with rage. She even resembled the alley cat he had likened her to. Her eyes were narrow golden slits. Her hair had pulled loose from her scarf, and stood on end, glittering with copper fire. ‘I’m fighting mad, Mr Dirty Lawyer Macallan!’ She choked on a sob of fury and raised a hand to dash away a tear of rage. ‘You’ve insulted me and questioned my love for Maud, and I won’t stand still for it any longer! This is one alley cat who isn’t going to lay down dead just to please you! In case you haven’t got the message, I’m not ever going to let you push me around again!’

  He stared at her frowningly, his black brows shadowing his cold grey eyes. She cast him one more fierce look of loathing, then turned and began to run clumsily back across the dunes.

  It had begun to rain and the water mingled with Josey’s tears. She didn’t notice. Sobbing wildly she stumbled on, unaware that he watched her with a flat, unwavering stare until her figure disappeared behind the trees.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  ‘WHY did you do it, Maud?’

  Josey had rushed to Maud’s room as soon as she got in to demand an explanation. She hadn’t stopped, except to strip off her raincoat, and she was in no mood to be put off. But Maud made her wait and get a towel from the bathroom, then dry her hair before she would discuss it. Finally, she put her book down deliberately and peered at Josey over her spectacles.

  ‘Did it work?’ she enquired with interest. ”Work? I’ve just had a knock-down, drag-out fight with your nephew! I slapped him and he nearly broke my arm!’

  ‘Then it worked,’ Maud said with relish. ‘What are you talking about?

  Maud, be serious! Thorne and I hate one another! He asked me to leave—no, he told me to leave! I wouldn’t be surprised if he left himself, if I don’t.’ ‘Oh, no, he won’t leave. He’s too stubborn.’ Maud was looking amused. ‘He promised to stay through the holidays and he’ll stay—to spite you, if nothing else. He may try to force me to get rid of you, but I shall cry and have heart palpitations ..’.’

  ‘That won’t fool him!’ Josey said scornfully.-‘Of course not,’ Maud returned calmly. Then she grinned wickedly. ‘Oh-h! He must be infuriated!’ she exulted.

  ‘That’s another thing. What have you been saying to him, Maud?

  From what he told me,you’ve been throwing me at him as a—a marriage

  partner. Why?’

  ‘It seemed the best way to keep you two apart,’ Maud murmured.

  ‘He hates being pursued.’

  ‘Thanks a bunch,’ Josey said bitterly. ‘Couldn’t you have just told us both the truth? Why, now, are you trying to throw us together? Maud, nre you plotting something?’

  ‘Yes,’ Maud admitted. Her eyes were a guileless blue.

  ‘If that means what I think it does, I can tell you I wouldn’t marry your precious nephew if he was the last man on earth. I despise him!

  No, I—I hate him!’

  Maud chuckled.

  ‘I’m leaning tomorrow, Maud. I’m quitting and going back to Atlanta.’

  Maud yanked off her glasses and glared at her. ‘Oh, no, you aren’t, Josey Smith? she said darkly. ‘You’re going to stay and-see this thing through!’

  ‘Sorry, Maud, but not even for you will I stay in this house and put up with that man.’

  ‘You’re staying! You owe me one, There was a long pause. ‘Yes, I guess Josey said bleakly. ‘But I never thought you’d call in the debt, Maud.’

  Maud flushed. ‘Okay, so I’m a bitch for putting it on that basis,’

  she admitted defiantly. ‘But this is something that means a lot to me.

  You’re going to have to stand up to Thorne and not let him intimidate you. In other words, I’m counting on you to slug it out with him.’

  Josey’s mouth twisted. ‘That’s hardly an incentive to marriage,’

  she commented dryly.

  ‘Oh, I don’t expect you to marry him!’ Maud sounded surprised. ‘I mean—you an
d Thorne? Well, really, it would be like mixing oil and water. All that pressure I put on him when I was in the hospital was just to—er—ginger things up a bit. It created an atmosphere of intrigue. No, all that I want from you, Josey, is one small favour. I want you to shake him loose from a man-eating lark he’s tied up with.’

  ‘A man-eating shark?’ Josey repeated blankly. g ‘Are you—do you mean—a woman

  ‘You .might say that. A very predatory female, anyway.’

  ‘And I’m supposed to take this predatory female’s place in your nephew’s bed?’ Josey asked

  Lord, no? Maud looked horrified. ‘I just want you to put a spoke in her wheels. By now, Thorne should be finding you a challenge—you —he’s not used to a woman who says “no”.’ Maud’s eyes twinkled. ‘This woman is extremely possessive. I’m counting on her jealousy to cause trouble between them. It’s tailor-made, Josey! And hating him as you do, you shouldn’t mind making trouble for him.’

  ‘I don’t like the set-up,’ Josey said bluntly.

  ‘Where’s your fighting spirit?’ Maud demanded.

  ‘I think I left it on the beach,’ Josey smiled weakly. Her words seemed to indicate an acquiescence of sorts and Maud’s eyes brightened.

  ‘Josey, dear, the last thing in the world I’d want is for you to get hurt, but you don’t like the man. This woman, Eve Sanders, is here now. She came with him this morning and has got a suite at one of the hotels. She practically forced me to invite her to dinner—I told you, didn’t I, that she was cleverer—although I made it clear that she wasn’t welcome. But she’s persistent and thick-skinned where he’s concerned, and I’m afraid he’ll drift into marriage with her.’

  ‘He’s succeeded in remaining a bachelor so far.’

  ‘Yes, but she means to have him. Dolph Sanders had no intention of proposing, either, but He found himself married to her. She knows I hate her, and she has taken pleasure in hinting that after they’re married, she’ll separate Thorne from me.’ She added desperately. ‘Josey, he changes when he’s with her. She appeals to the cold, cynical side of his nature.’