by Sara Wood
Her mouth pursed and then she began. ‘After marrying Taki, I was very busy, working all hours as a financial assistant in an insurance company. I didn’t have much spare time. Taki said he wanted me to be the financial director for the Kyriakis bank and I told him it was impossible. He explained I could get a huge salary for doing nothing and he could easily do the work for me. It was a very common arrangement between a husband and wife. He got me to sign a document which I read—and it all seemed above-board. I had no reason not to trust him. He brought other papers for me to sign later, which he said were virtually the same as the first document so I just put my name at the bottom as he suggested. I know it was stupid and I should have read them, but he was so tetchy, so I did what he asked, even when I’d given up work to look after Lexi when she was born. I had to trust him. It was a family business, and all the profits were going to him anyway.’
He frowned. ‘But there’s no evidence of any kind to back up your side of the story?’
‘None that my defence could come up with,’ she said dolefully.
‘There must have been files, accounts—’
‘Apparently when the Inland Revenue swooped, the office had been stripped clean.’ She hesitated. ‘Leon, I know you won’t like hearing this, but it looks to me that Taki knew he was in trouble and had taken steps to hide the evidence. He was certainly in an awful mood the fortnight before. Violent, drunk… That’s when I said I wanted a divorce. And he was out all hours of the night.’ She sighed. ‘He could have burned the books or thrown them in the river. And then a week before the Revenue descended, he was killed, as you know.’
‘He rang me a few days before his death,’ Leon said in a low tone. ‘He told me about the divorce and said he was resigning his post at the bank. He was coming home, and asked me to—’
God. He was a fool. Sharp and clear, an image came into his head. The container of Taki’s effects, shipped out before the Revenue’s investigation. He swore loudly and put his foot on the accelerator.
‘Leon!’ she protested. ‘What are you doing?’
‘Sorry.’ He eased off a little but stared fixedly ahead, desperate to get back. ‘Taki’s things are in the house.’
Her gasp told him that she knew what he was thinking. They were both silent and tense. He took a short cut and thistles slapped against the sides of the car as he negotiated the narrow lane. Never had the journey seemed so far.
Gripping the wheel, he tried to concentrate on the road but it was difficult. Bubbling up came wild hopes that tempted him to put his foot down and scream around the roads as if the hounds of hell were on his tail.
‘Deal with Donika,’ he called, slewing to a halt outside the house and leaping from the car.
His heart was in his mouth as his quick stride swallowed the ground, the steps, hall, stairs…
‘Please let something be here,’ he muttered, reaching the door to Taki’s bedroom. It was a chance. Thin and wild, but nothing more. A friend of his had unpacked the container and he’d never stepped foot in the large suite of rooms. He flung open the door and stood stock-still in amazement.
Inside, it was like Aladdin’s cave. Antique furniture was crammed into the room together with silk rugs, Lalique objets d’art, art deco clocks and figurines and oil paintings. Impatiently he scanned the expensive clothes, electronic equipment and luxury items. His brother had lived well. A shiver went down his spine. Perhaps too well.
He could have kicked himself. If he’d only come in, and seen all this, maybe he might have wondered how Taki had acquired all these goods. And he might have done a little detective work of his own.
His gaze alighted on a stack of boxes and files piled against the wall. For a moment he stared, unable to believe his brother’s deviousness. And then he clambered over a heap of designer jackets and with shaking hands he began to open the boxes, hurling papers aside when they proved to be useless.
‘Oh, my God!’ he heard Emma say.
‘Donika? Lexi?’ he enquired curtly, scanning a document.
‘All fine. Let me help, Leon,’ she cried, scrambling to join him.
‘It’s got to be here, got to be!’ he exclaimed, ripping open another box. She was looking at him oddly and he paused. ‘What?’
‘You care,’ she said gently. ‘You want me to be innocent.’
‘Of course I do,’ he yelled, frantically scything through the contents.
‘Why?’
‘Because I love you, of course, you…’ Had he said that? He blinked, suddenly still. He grinned at her. ‘I love you,’ he crowed and swept her into his arms.
‘Oh, Leon.’ She sighed, when they came up for air.
‘I love you,’ he said in delight, unable to stop himself. ‘Love you,’ he yelled. ‘I do. I really do.’
Emma giggled. ‘No need to sound so surprised. And now let’s seal that subtle declaration by proving I’m innocent,’ she suggested excitedly.
They fell on the boxes with renewed enthusiasm. And then he found the account books which had been missing. Two sets. All in Taki’s hand. Letters from Taki, rearranging pensions and selling off shares and then details of a Swiss bank account containing more money than Taki could ever have earned.
Leon was appalled. There was enough evidence here to have damned his brother. When they’d finished checking the last document, they had found nothing, not one thing that showed Emma had ever been a part of her husband’s fraudulent scam.
Dusty and dishevelled, Leon sank to the floor, shaken by the shame and the awful realisation that his brother had caused unbelievable suffering to the woman he loved.
‘My brother,’ he whispered, white with shock. ‘My own brother!’
CHAPTER TWELVE
EMMA took him by the hand and led him to his bathroom where she gently removed his clothes and hers, and showered the dust and memories from both their bodies.
‘How can you ever forgive me?’ he asked passionately.
‘It was Taki, not you,’ she said soothingly.
‘But I didn’t believe you—’
‘I was fooled by him at first, too,’ she reminded him. ‘He was miles away from you—how could you know how his hatred of you had turned his mind? He always said he wanted to be richer than you are. He found a way of achieving that. Besides, I was the one under investigation. There was nothing to point the finger at him. That’s why I was so frustrated. I couldn’t prove my innocence. He’d been too clever.’
Leon seemed to be in a total state of shock, just apologising and blaming himself for the misery she’d suffered. So she dried him and led him to bed where he lay on his back, his muscles tensed alarmingly while he stared hazily at the ceiling.
‘You lost your reputation, your job, your freedom and your child,’ he said hoarsely.
All that seemed so long ago. Water under the bridge. And the future was looking just wonderful. She smiled.
‘But I won a lot more. And I’ll get the rest back, won’t I?’ Lovingly she kissed his shoulder.
‘I can’t forgive myself,’ he muttered.
‘If I can, so can you,’ she said with a laugh. ‘Leon, I’m happy. Ecstatic. You love me. There’s only one more thing I want.’
He rolled over, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. ‘Cup of tea?’ he said jerkily, attempting a joke.
Emma smiled. ‘Lexi, you nut case. And,’ she murmured, sliding her hand over his chest, ‘something else, for the time being.’
He kissed her, his mouth desperate on hers. For a while he was like a tiger unleashed, his passion white-hot, each kiss more torrid than the one before. And gradually, soothed by her languorous movements and slow, seductive caresses, he grew less frantic and more tender.
‘I love you,’ he whispered, his voice cracking with emotion.
‘I love you back,’ she said in a purring voice, stretching her feline body luxuriously.
His mouth descended and she gave herself to him, utterly content.
They had been building up
to the big moment all day when Leon would tell Lexi that Emma was her mother. And now they all settled themselves on the sofa and Leon put on the video for them all to watch.
‘That is Emma,’ he said, as the picture came up. ‘I knew her a long time ago. She was my best friend. I loved her a lot.’
Sitting between them both, Lexi watched with enjoyment, laughing when Emma fell into the pond. ‘Again, please,’ she cried. So it was rewound and played once more.
Leon turned the television off. ‘Emma knew your daddy, remember?’ he murmured, cuddling Lexi close. Emma held her breath. ‘Sweetheart,’ Leon said gently, taking Lexi’s small hands in his, ‘do you like Emma?’
Emma quivered as her daughter flung her a big smile.
‘Lots,’ Lexi said, clapping her hands.
Emma felt a huge lump of emotion clogging her throat. This was the moment she’d been waiting for. Leon was clearly nervous. He swallowed.
‘Lexi, you are a big girl now,’ he said flatteringly. ‘Big enough for me to tell you something special.’
Lexi’s eyes grew enormous as Leon took a deep breath. Emma held hers, every nerve in her body screwed up in apprehension as Leon continued.
‘Sweetheart, you are a very lucky girl.’ He stroked Lexi’s soft cheek and kissed it while Emma felt her stomach knot up unbearably. ‘Emma,’ he said gently, ‘is your mummy.’
Lexi blinked at Leon and then up at Emma who sat with tears in her eyes.
‘Yes. I am your mummy, sweetheart,’ she said huskily.
At Lexi’s wriggle, Leon released his arms and the little girl slid off his lap. Emma smiled shakily and opened her arms to her beloved child.
But Lexi stood frowning. And then she ran out into the garden.
There was an appalled silence. Emma couldn’t speak, couldn’t think and had become frozen like a statue in her seat. She felt Leon get up and move to the open door, his feet sounding heavy and slow on the tiled floor.
Desolation swept through her. She stared blankly into space, unable to believe what had happened.
‘She’s talking to the doll you gave her,’ Leon said, from somewhere far away.
‘Calling it Mama?’ she choked.
‘Darling,’ he whispered and she knew she’d been right. ‘Come here,’ he begged. ‘I can’t let Lexi out of my sight. Come and sit with me.’
She couldn’t. There was no life, no energy in her body. ‘I feel sick,’ she mumbled, and rushed off to the bathroom.
Wiping her face later, she looked at her reflection in the mirror and wondered where the pale, tragic-eyed woman had come from. It seemed that the happiness of the past few days counted as nothing. She knew that was ridiculous, that she and Leon were made for one another and would be lovers for the rest of their lives, but…
‘Oh, Lexi!’ she moaned.
Suddenly she wanted Leon. With a sob, she ran out to him, absorbed his groan of utter relief and the frantic worry on his face, and hurled herself into the welcoming circle of his arms.
He rocked her like a child. ‘She’ll get the hang of it,’ he assured her. ‘Give her time.’
‘And if not?’ She snuffled into his shoulder.
‘She will. She cares for you. Hey, darling, sometimes I’m jealous of you two girls giggling together.’
She wouldn’t be cheered up. She felt even too numb to cry now. The ravages of the past few minutes had gone deeper than tears. She feared that she might never claim her daughter.
Leon eased her to the top step. They sat with their arms around each other watching Lexi whispering to her doll. Leon got out his handkerchief and blew his nose loudly. Miserably Emma looked at him and saw that tears were trickling from his eyes and he was blinking, trying to stop them before she noticed.
‘Oh, my darling,’ she whispered, laying her head on his shoulder.
He kissed her forehead. ‘I love you so much,’ he said brokenly. ‘I want Lexi to love you too—’
He muttered irritably as the phone set up its insistent ringing. ‘Cursed thing! I’ll put it onto the answer-machine—’
‘No. You answer it,’ she whispered.
Dropping a quick kiss on her head, he left her. She didn’t dare go into the garden. Lexi might be upset if she did. Emma bit her lip hard. She never imagined she’d ever be jealous of a doll in a bikini, she thought, trying to raise her own spirits. It didn’t work. The coil of nausea lurked like bitter gall in her stomach.
My child, she thought, tormenting herself. My baby! She had come so far, fought so hard and yet a tiny little girl had shattered all her dearest hopes.
‘Lexi,’ she mumbled, consumed with misery. She pressed a hand to her aching heart and tried to believe that it would be all right, one day.
And suddenly she saw that Lexi was scrambling up onto a low drystone wall—something she’d been told never to do. Before she could call out, Lexi was on top of it and had slipped.
Emma ran like the wind, her spine freezing at the blood-curdling scream. Lexi got to her feet and began to run to her, wailing at the top of her voice.
‘Mummy. Mummy!’
‘Oh-h-h!’ Emma shuddered as her arms enfolded her daughter, their tears mingling. ‘What is it, darling? Where does it hurt?’ she asked with a sob.
‘I f-f-fell.’ Lexi wept, pointing to her knee.
‘It’s all right,’ she said shakily. ‘Mummy will kiss it better.’ Emma bent and kissed the grubby little knee, tasting a tiny smidgen of blood. My daughter, she thought, her heart singing as she hugged the snuffling child. My darling daughter.
‘What’s wrong?’ came Leon’s anxious voice.
And Emma didn’t mind when Lexi slithered from her grasp and ran to him. Blurry-eyed she rose, feeling she could weep for joy.
‘And Mummy kissed it better!’ Lexi was saying with all the pride of a hero discussing his war wound.
‘Uh-huh.’ Leon’s voice cracked completely. He glanced up at Emma and cleared his throat. ‘That’s what mummies do,’ he said softly.
‘I said to dolly,’ Lexi said, ‘my mummy has come.’
‘I see. That was kind,’ Emma said.
‘Can you be my daddy?’ Lexi asked earnestly, as Leon dabbed at her knee with a handkerchief.
He smiled. ‘I would like that,’ he said fervently. ‘Emma?’
‘Need you ask?’ she whispered, feeling far too weak to stand unaided.
Shaking with emotion, Leon swept them both into his embrace: the two people he loved most on earth. He felt quite delirious.
‘This is an odd place and an even odder moment for a proposal, but I can do the bended knee and flowers and wine later. Just now,’ he whispered to Emma, ‘I have to know if you’ll marry me. I love you with all my heart. I want to be with you for ever. Please say yes,’ he urged fervently.
‘Oh, Leon, as if I’d ever refuse you. Yes, yes,’ she said breathily and, overjoyed, he kissed her.
‘Do mummy and daddies,’ said Lexi horribly loud in his ear, ‘do kisses too?’
He dropped a quick peck on the baby cheek. ‘Oh, yes,’ he said, feeling like shouting with happiness. ‘Lots.’
Emma laughed. ‘I love you both so much,’ she said breathlessly.
It was dreadfully late by the time the excited Lexi had gone to sleep. Emma sat on the terrace with Leon, curled up in the big cane chair with him, and listening to the frogs pulsing in the background while the bats laid on an aerial display. Somewhere in the distance she could hear the electronic call of the scops owl, and the occasional bark of a dog echoed across the peaceful valley.
‘Got any champagne on ice?’ she asked casually.
He gave a wicked chuckle. ‘Two bottles. One for each of us.’ His mouth met hers in a long, thorough kiss.
Emma felt drunk already. ‘Seems a waste to pour it down our throats,’ she murmured and, encouraged by his passionate growl, led the way indoors.
ISBN: 978-1-4592-0040-1
THE KYRIAKIS BABY
First North American Pub
lication 2001.
Copyright © 2001 by Sara Wood.
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