“We missed you, Samantha.” Olivia leaned back in her chair after sipping her gin and tonic. “Bennett was almost beside himself when he returned from his business trip and found you gone.”
What business trip? It was on the tip of Sam’s tongue to ask, but instead she said, “I left him a letter.”
“A short note saying that you couldn’t go through with the wedding is hardly an explanation.” Olivia’s tone remained mild, but Sam heard the censure in the words. “And then six months of nothing more than an odd postcard from Nice. Have you been in London the whole time?”
Sam took a fortifying swallow of her spritzer and wished she’d ordered something stronger. “Almost.”
“And you didn’t let us know.”
“As you said, Aunt Olivia, I’m an adult. I needed to be on my own for a while.” She paused, her eyes on the bubbles erupting from the surface of her drink as she leaned back in her chair. “Aunt Olivia, is Bennett still in London?”
For an instant Olivia appeared startled, her hand pausing in midair as she lifted her glass. She drank from it, her eyes guarded as she looked at Sam over the rim. “How did you know Bennett was in Europe?”
“I talked to James Michaels a few days ago. He happened to mention it.”
“Well, I may be having a holiday, but for Bennett it’s strictly business. Samantha, you know you let him down. And made yourself look like a fool in the process.”
Samantha stared at her aunt. Olivia had never spoken to her in this manner. “Isn’t it better to look like a fool before the wedding than end up in a divorce court later?” she asked tightly. “I’d think you’d be glad I realized it wouldn’t work before we actually married.”
“Why couldn’t you go through with it? You broke off two previous engagements. I was sure this time you knew what you were doing.”
Sam’s fingers clenched on the stem of her glass. Knowing that there was some justification for her aunt’s words, she muttered, “Maybe I’ll never marry.”
An image of Tony flashed through her mind. She quickly banished it. She’d thought he might break her unfortunate cycle of attracting the wrong men, but even that hopeful beginning seemed to be dying under pressure.
“It’s not too late,” Aunt Olivia said. “You can still marry Bennett. He would forgive and forget.”
Would he? Sam thought cynically. But why her? She couldn’t see him as sentimental. It had to be the money.
“No, Aunt Olivia. I’m not marrying Bennett. Besides, if he wants to speak to me, why hasn’t he contacted me?”
Olivia shrugged delicately. “He’s been tied up with business.”
The meal was served, each course presented with the grace and elegance French restaurants specialize in. Samantha welcomed the silence as she and Olivia applied themselves to the delicious duck with peaches, mixed salad, and perfectly roasted new potatoes.
Samantha couldn’t fathom the change in her aunt. Olivia had always been a charming companion, impulsive but generally unperturbed when things didn’t go according to plan. This evening she seemed tense, and at times defensive. On the telephone in London, as well as earlier today, she’d professed unconcern at Sam’s flight, saying she was an adult. But now her comments made Sam feel like a scolded child.
Sam resented it. She and her aunt had been friends, more truly equals than anyone would have expected, considering the twenty-year gap in their ages. But Olivia had this evening stretched the bonds of friendship to the breaking point.
However, by the time the pear tart was served along with after dinner coffee, Olivia appeared to regret her earlier remarks. She reached across the table and squeezed Sam’s hand. “I’m sorry, dear. Can we be friends again?”
Sam squeezed back, then on impulse leaned over and kissed her aunt’s cheek. “Of course, Aunt Olivia. Haven’t we always been?”
Olivia smiled, and Sam began to relax for the first time that evening. “You know, Samantha, I’ve always loved you like a daughter. I only want what’s best for you. Samantha, what’s wrong? You look so strange.”
And well she might, Sam thought. She could hardly believe her own eyes. Tony was walking across the dining room toward them.
What was he doing here? Surely he couldn’t have been so upset that he’d followed her all the way to Paris.
And what was she going to do now? She’d hoped the weekend with her aunt would take her out of the firing line. And get her the answers to some pertinent questions.
A breathing space away from Tony had seemed a good idea, as well.
With an effort she pasted a smile on her face, hoping it didn’t look as false as it felt.
“Hi, Sam.” He grinned at her before turning to Olivia. “And you must be Sam’s Aunt Olivia.” He shook her hand enthusiastically. “Sam’s told me all about you. I’m Tony Theopoulos.”
He glanced back at Sam. The rain-clear eyes were dark and troubled. Despite Sam’s professed fondness for her aunt, he sensed tension at the table. “May I join you?”
“Of course,” Sam said at once. It would have been churlish to refuse him, but a hundred questions beat at her brain.
The waiter chose that moment to approach their table with the check. “It’s my treat, Sam,” Olivia insisted, signing the slip with a flourish.
While she was occupied, Sam took the opportunity to whisper into Tony’s ear, “What are you doing here, Tony?”
His smile slid away, leaving behind an urgent intensity. “There’s something we have to discuss, Sam. It couldn’t wait until Monday.” He hesitated, then added, “I may need your help.”
She stared at him. “My help? What—”
“Shh. Later.”
He fixed the smile back on his face as Olivia asked him how he knew Sam. “London is like a small town. We Canadians usually manage to find each other.”
Olivia frowned thoughtfully. “Theopoulos, you say? I believe I’ve met your father. Isn’t his name Damian?”
“That’s right,” Tony said.
“Charming man. I’m surprised you and Samantha never met in Montréal.”
“I haven’t lived in Montréal for some years, and I’m in a different business than my father.”
“Hotels, isn’t it? It must be exciting.”
Tony’s eyes were on Sam, serious and very dark. “It has its moments.”
“But don’t you miss your family?” Olivia asked. “And Montréal? Samantha does, don’t you, Samantha?”
“Only occasionally,” Sam said. She turned to Tony. “How did you know where we were staying? Or did you just happen to drop by?”
“You mentioned that Olivia was staying at the Grosvenor. I phoned a friend there and he told me Olivia came here for the weekend. No big mystery.”
“I left word of my destination in case anyone called me,” Olivia said. “Did you know, Samantha, I’ve take a part-time job—volunteer, of course—working in Paul Messier’s office?”
Olivia often helped out with charity fund-raising projects, but this was the first Sam had heard of her getting interested in politics. “Oh, isn’t he the one who’s the new opposition leader in Québec?”
“Yes, but if there’s an election in Québec, he’s likely to become the next premier of the province,” Olivia said. “And from there he hopes to gain support to run on the federal level. Of course, that may take several years. Paul’s young, but he has all the earmarks of a great leader. It’s time we had some new blood in government.”
Tony had again lost his affable expression. He looked worried and, Sam thought suddenly, tired. “Is Bennett Price financing Messier’s campaign?”
Olivia gave him a brilliant smile. “Not by himself, of course. There are laws limiting party contributions. But Bennett likes Paul. He thinks he’ll be good for Québec, make the federal government take us more seriously. We need a strong spokesman for our rights. Just look at the way they’re handling that St. Lawrence fishing business and other trade agreements.”
“Didn’t they have a
conference on that last spring?” Sam asked.
“It was postponed.” Olivia’s mouth turned down. “It seems there was a security leak.”
“Involving Robert Dubray, I understand,” Tony said with crisp emphasis.
Until this moment Sam had thought the conversation innocuous, but all at once Olivia’s face turned pale. “What do you know about Robert Dubray?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
“Nothing much. Only what I read in the papers. And what I heard from Maurice St. Clair. Do you happen to know either of them?”
Olivia gave a laugh that sounded rather strained. Her face returned to its normal color. “I know Dubray, of course. He and Bennett—” She broke off. “Never mind. It’s all in the past now.”
“What did he and Bennett do?” Sam asked, holding her breath as she waited for the answer. “Did Dubray, when he was at city hall, help Bennett get contracts?”
Aunt Olivia turned her eyes toward Sam, her face wiped clean of any emotion. “Of course not, Samantha. Why would Bennett risk his reputation?”
“He seemed to need the loan I extended to him last spring. You wouldn’t know why, would you?”
Olivia reared back in her chair, her eyes cold. “Samantha, I’m surprised at you. Every company has occasional cash-flow problems. Bennett is good for the money.”
“How do you know, Aunt Olivia?”
“Your father had Bennett thoroughly investigated before he allowed you to get involved with him. His business is solid. So solid that I myself invested in the company. I’ve received an excellent return on the money. You should have followed my advice about investing in his company, Samantha. And you should have married Bennett.”
“Aunt Olivia,” Sam said warningly. “You promised to leave it alone.”
Olivia’s apologetic smile appeared to be aimed more at Tony than at Sam. “So I did. Forgive me, Samantha. You too, Tony, for airing the family linen in public.”
“Not at all.” Tony lifted the tall frosted glass the waiter set in front of him. “Here’s to health and success.”
An odd toast, Sam thought, finishing the last of her wine. But after a moment Tony explained, “It’s an old Greek saying. Without one, the other isn’t much use.”
Olivia laughed heartily. “There’s wisdom in that. I must remember it.” She drained her second gin and tonic. “You’ll excuse me, won’t you, Tony, for a moment. Coming, Samantha? Not that you need to powder your nose. How nice to be so young.”
“I’ll wait here, if you don’t mind, Aunt Olivia. You go on.”
As soon as Olivia was out of sight, Sam leaned across the table. “Okay, Tony, what’s going on? What do you have to tell me.”
“Maurice St. Clair wants to see you. I told him who you were. He wants to ask some questions about that day you left Montréal.”
“Why?”
His eyes slid away from hers. “I think I’ll let him tell you. How soon can you leave here?”
“Aunt Olivia has arranged some excursion for tomorrow.”
“Can you cancel it?” Tony asked.
“No, I can’t. And I don’t want to. Tony, I only came so I could talk to her about Bennett. I still haven’t found out anything. I need to stay.”
“I guess it’ll have to wait then.” He drank deeply from his glass, savoring the bite of the mineral water and letting it soothe his frustration.
Sam looked at him, wondering at his morose contemplation of his glass. “What was Maurice’s business with Dubray?’
“How should I know, Sam? I couldn’t very well just ask him.”
“No, I guess not.” She toyed with her empty wine glass, feeling as if she were banging her head against the wall of Tony’s moodiness. “What do you think of Paul Messier?”
This seemed to reach him. He sat up straighter. “I think your aunt’s an optimist to think he’ll get into power quickly. Still, money and influence in the right places might pave his way. Bennett’s money.”
Sam was shocked. “But that would be illegal.”
“Sure it would be, but do you think a few laws would stop a man like Bennett if he wanted something?”
She thought back over the last week and the frightening events that had befallen her, of which Bennett was the likeliest instigator. “An election is up to the people.”
“And people can be manipulated. But yeah, I agree, to a point. For Messier to make it in federal politics, one of the present party leaders would have to resign, and none of them look about to.”
He poured himself another glass of water from the bottle on the table. “Your aunt seems very fond of Bennett.”
Sam shrugged, more to ease the stiffness in her shoulders than from nonchalance. “She always has been. Tony, you tracked us down. Did you also manage to find out where Bennett’s staying?”
“No, but I tried. He’s not in any of the major hotels.” Leaning forward, Tony took his hand in his, rubbing it gently. “Sam, have you told your aunt what’s been happening?”
“No. I didn’t want to worry her.” She debated whether to tell him about the note with the roses.
“She doesn’t look the fainting type.”
“She’s not.” Sam shifted in her chair. “I guess I’m afraid she won’t take me seriously. She didn’t believe me about the note tonight.”
Tony sat up, every sense alert. “Note? What note?”
“The management sent roses to our rooms. Mine had a note with it. ‘Time is running out.’”
“Let me see it.”
“That’s just it, Tony. I ran to Aunt Olivia’s room, and when I got back, the note was gone.”
Tony slumped back. “So there’s no evidence. Sam, I don’t suppose you could take me with you tomorrow?”
“Take you with me?” Sam gave a short laugh. “Tony, I know what you’re thinking, but I’ll be perfectly safe with Aunt Olivia. You won’t need to worry.”
“You’re right, of course.” Tony swallowed his frustration. And his fear. There seemed to be enemies all around her. Even here she’d been threatened. He wasn’t even sure her aunt could be trusted. But he couldn’t fight phantoms.
Olivia returned to the table at that moment, forestalling any warnings he might have given Sam.
“Are you here on business, Tony?” Olivia asked brightly.
The sleek gleam of her hair and the flawless correctness of her dress suddenly irritated him. “Yes,” he lied.
Abruptly he got up from his chair. “And I’d better see to it. The hotel manager is expecting me. Good night, ladies. I hope you have a pleasant day tomorrow.”
* * * *
Tony was up early the next morning, loitering in the back hall of the hotel where he could also watch the lobby in case the women ordered breakfast from room service before going out for the day.
The elevator door opened and Olivia stepped out. Alone. As soon as she entered the dining room, Tony sauntered toward her, as if he’d just come out of the manager’s office. “Good morning, Olivia. Isn’t Sam with you?”
“She’ll be along shortly. She’s eating in her room.”
To avoid him? Tony couldn’t quite stifle the thought.
“Won’t you join me? Although I realize I’m hardly a substitute for Samantha.”
“I’d be happy to join you.” Tony smiled. Maybe he could get her talking. Sam’s absence might even work to his advantage.
“How well do you know Samantha?” Olivia asked after she’d ordered coffee and toast.
“We’ve been out a few times,” he said carefully, wondering what was behind the question.
Olivia nodded. “I must warn you that Samantha hasn’t shown very good judgment where men are concerned. Bennett had a stabilizing effect on her. But she apparently didn’t see how good he was for her. Her running away was ill conceived and impulsive. I do hope she’ll come to her senses.”
“Sam seems quite stable to me.”
“She’s nervous and jumpy,” Olivia pronounced. “Anyone who knows her can see
it. She’s afraid of her own shadow.”
When you’re fighting shadows it would be hard not to be a little nervous, Tony thought. He felt Samantha had shown remarkable courage and maintained her equilibrium in a situation that would have sent most women screaming to a nunnery or some other refuge.
“I suppose she’s attracted to you,” Olivia went on. “But don’t be fooled. Bennett is the man for her.”
Tony didn’t believe any such thing. Nothing about Sam indicated she felt anything for Bennett other than dislike. He decided to risk a direct offensive. “How far would Bennett go to get Sam back?”
Olivia’s mouth dropped open, spoiling her elegant facade. She snapped it shut, a guarded look deepening faint lines around her eyes. “What do you mean by that?”
Having scored, Tony considered it prudent to back off. “Nothing particular. Just that for a man who wants a woman, he’s not trying very hard to court her.”
“He’s busy.” The words were clipped. Olivia glanced at her watch, then rose from the table, the toast lying uneaten on the plate in front of her. “The driver will be here soon. I must see if Samantha is ready.”
“Give her my regards.” Tony watched as Olivia walked to the elevator, her back stiff. End of round one. He shrugged slightly and reached for a slice of toast.
A short time later he saw Sam and her aunt get into a chauffeur-driven BMW. Was Sam in danger? Although he didn’t completely trust Olivia, he couldn’t see her being a part of any plot to harm Sam. She would be safe enough for the day. In any case, short of following them, what could he do?
* * * *
“Who is this friend that we’re seeing?” Sam asked as the car left the city traffic and purred onto a broad country road lined with chestnut trees.
Aunt Olivia patted her knee. “It’s a surprise. You used to like surprises, didn’t you, Samantha?”
There had been too many surprises during the past weeks. Sam suppressed a shiver. “I was a child then.”
“You’ll like it, Samantha.” Olivia’s smile was confident. “You’ll see.”
The driver turned off into a narrow lane. White Charolais cattle grazed in the grassy meadows on either side. The pastoral tranquility was broken only by the sight of a power plant in the distance, and the column of steam that drifted lazily into the blue sky.
Past Tense Page 12
