Levelling the Score

by Penny Jordan

  It was her ambition to build up a private agency that would provide all of these services and more, and she was convinced that she could do it, once she had enough capital behind her.

  Not even Susie knew what she was planning. To Susie her dreams would be mundane, boring even; Susie loved the bright lights of London, the glamour of the fashion world in which she moved. As an assistant editor on a glossy magazine, she lived every minute of her life to the full and wouldn't be able to understand Jenna's desire to return home.

  Her flat was on the ground floor of a small terraced house which belonged to a friend—a photographer who travelled a lot, and who was only too relieved to have a tenant as careful and reliable as Jenna.

  The house possessed a small backyard, which she had transformed with several coats of white paint and a collection of terracotta pots and trellising, holding up a collection of climbing plants. She spent most of the afternoon pottering around in it, enjoying the warmth of the early summer's day.

  Craig was due back tomorrow. He had been working in the Seychelles on a fashion feature for Susie's magazine.

  A charismatic, sometimes moody man in his late thirties, he was involved in what seemed to Jenna to be a hopeless relationship with a married woman who was tied to a physically handicapped husband. But then, who was she to criticise other people's relationships, she asked herself with a graceful shrug, when she deliberately held herself back from any form of emotional commitment?

  Was it prudence that made her so cautious, or was it fear? She pushed the thought aside, not wanting to give in to the mood of introspection slowly enveloping her.

  Crossly she blamed Simon Townsend for her unwanted thoughts. He had always had a disturbing effect on her, and apparently it hadn't lessened.

  If she had been so inclined, she could have been wryly amused by Susie's defection. Her friend had played the doting sister for so long that Jenna had long ago given up trying to make her see that her adored brother was only a man.

  On her way round the pretty town garden, she did pause to wonder how Simon himself would react to Susie's rebellion. His opinions had held sway with his younger sister for so long, it would probably come as an almighty shock.

  Susie's parents, although darlings, were almost as much in awe of their elder child as Susie herself.

  His father was a placid, kindly man, now retired, who had once taught at a local public school. His mother was the stronger character of the two, but without the bruising acidity of her eldest child.

  As a teenager, still raw from the loss of her own parents, Jenna had grown to look on Susie's mother and father as sort of adopted parents, just as Susie had come to look on Jenna's grandmother as a member of her family.

  A cool breeze sprang up, bringing goose-bumps to her arms. She went inside, showered and changed out of her jeans and T-shirt into a silky wraparound dress that emphasised the softness of her curves. Her hair hung down on to her shoulders, curling softly, her face—without make-up—oddly young and vulnerable. As she walked through her small sitting-room her eyes fell to the small tape recorder on the table beside the phone.

  Well, Susie had made her escape. It just remained now for her to convince Simon that his sister was safely ensconced with her.

  She was just about to start making her own early evening meal, when she remembered that she had promised to stock up Craig's fridge. Susie's visit had completely banished her promise from her mind. She glanced at her watch, and breathed a faint sigh of relief. There was still time to get what she needed from the shops.

  A row of lock-up garages to the rear of the garden held her small Mini. She drove it with the same care and caution she applied to everything else.

  Craig was a lazy cook, and so she stocked up on pizza, and a selection of cold meats and other delicacies from his favourite delicatessen.

  If he followed his normal routine, the moment he returned he would head for his dark-room, where he would develop the prints he had taken on location, and he would only emerge once he had finished working, whatever time of the night or day that might be.

  There was no sign of him when she got back and, using the key he had given her, she went up to his flat and put away her purchases, pausing to open the windows to let in some fresh air before going back down to her own domain.

  The phone was ringing as she walked in, and she picked it up without thinking, half anticipating hearing Craig's voice announcing that he was at the airport and on his way back.

  Instead, Simon's crisp, authoritative voice assaulted her unprepared ear-drum, her whole body tensing as she gripped the receiver.

  'Jenna, I understand Susie's staying with you?'

  'Yes…yes, she is…'

  'Could I have a word with her?'

  She stared blankly at the cream-painted wall of her sitting-room, and then thankfully remembered Susie's tape.

  'Yes… Yes, I'll just go and get her.'

  She fumbled with the 'on' switch of the tape, and accidentally knocked it to the floor. When she picked it up the tape was running, but no sound was emerging. She stared at it in horror. Something had gone wrong!

  She trembled as she picked up the tape machine, the fact that Simon was still waiting to speak to Susie forgotten as, to her horror, she saw that the 'erase' button of the tape was depressed.

  How had it happened? A fluke of mischance, catching it as it had fallen? Or had Susie—scatty, lovable, Susie—depressed it by mistake?

  She would never know; what she did know was that Simon was going to be unable to speak to his sister.

  She picked up the receiver and took a deep breath, forcing her voice to sound as light and careless as possible as she said calmly. 'Simon, I'm sorry. I've just been out to the shops… Susie's in the bath and apparently likely to be there for some time. She says she'll ring you later…' She crossed her fingers childishly and added, 'Are you going out this evening, or… ?'

  She was taking a chance on the fact that since it was a Saturday evening Simon was sure to be going out somewhere or other with his new lover.

  There was a pause, and then when he spoke there was a certain unnerving grimness about Simon's voice as he responded curtly, 'Yes…yes, as a matter of fact, I shall be going out.'

  He rang off before she could say anything else, leaving her feeling idiotically shaken and extremely unnerved.

  What was the matter with her? He was only a man, as she had so often remarked to her friend. She must be getting as soft as Susie to let him get to her like this.

  Ah well, it was over now. Simon had quite obviously accepted the fact that Susie was staying with her, and her friend had no doubt made good her escape with the unfortunate Peter, of whom Simon appeared to disapprove so heartily.

  She could relax and put the Townsend family firmly out of her mind. She had no plans for the evening; there were friends she could have gone out with, but it had been a hectic week with her boss returning from a week in the South of France, where he had been supervising the final details of a property he had been commissioned to work on. And on his return a dozen or more impatient clients had been waiting to see him.

  She was suffering from the pleasurable tiredness that came from having worked hard, both physically and mentally, and she was looking forward to a lazy evening with a tray of tempting nibbles, a pot of strong coffee and the latest Sidney Sheldon to keep her company.

  CHAPTER TWO

  « ^ »

  Jenna had just reached the part where the story was starting to develop properly when her doorbell rang. She groaned, putting her book down reluctantly. It would be Craig, too lazy to search for his own key again.

  She got up and went to open the door.

  'Hello, Jenna. I trust my sister is now out of the bath?'

  As she fought to control her shock, her attention slid past Simon's tall, laconic figure to the car parked just behind him. Good heavens, if that was Simon's, no wonder he had objected to Susie's new love running into the back of it! She blinked slightl
y as she took in the luxurious splendour of its dark maroon paintwork.

  'It's an Aston Martin,' he told her helpfully, following her gaze. 'The soft top signifies that it's a convertible.'

  The sarcasm underlying his words snapped her back to reality. This was the Simon she knew so well.

  'I can see that for myself.'

  'You can? You surprise me, Jenna! '

  What was he implying? She shifted uneasily from one foot to the other, not having the courage to ask. If she did, no doubt she would receive another sardonic insult.

  'Aren't you going to invite me in?'

  She didn't want to. Had he already guessed the truth, or was he genuinely expecting to find Susie inside her flat?

  The sudden screech of a taxi as it came to a halt inches from the Aston Martin's immaculate bodywork created a welcome diversion.

  The door opened and Craig emerged, looking very brown and slightly leaner than Jenna remembered.

  He paid off the taxi, and gathered up his belongings.

  'Hi, gorgeous… Missed me?' he asked, ignoring Simon to plant a warm kiss very firmly against Jenna's mouth.

  His action took her by surprise. An easy camaraderie existed between her and Craig but, while he would often slip his arm round her, or tease her about her non-existent sex life, this was the first time he had actually kissed her.

  'I hope you've got something in for supper, I'm starving… '

  'I filled your fridge for you,' Jenna told him automatically, her attention focused on Simon, and on the extraordinary tension that was emanating from him. What was causing it? The fact that she was keeping him waiting on the doorstep? And yet he hadn't seemed all that anxious when he'd first asked for Susie.

  'Lend me your key will you, Jen?' Craig asked. 'God knows where mine is.'

  She stepped back into the hallway automatically in response to his request, both men following her. When she emerged into the light of the sitting-room she saw that the tension had left Simon's face, and that he was his usual urbane, relaxed self.

  'Know you from somewhere, don't I?' Craig asked Simon, while Jenna got her spare key to his flat.

  'Not as far as I'm aware.'

  The silky denial irritated Jenna for some reason.

  'You've probably seen his picture in the gossip columns,' she told Craig, eyeing Simon with disfavour.

  'Really?' Craig looked curious, but not impressed.

  'Are you going to come up and have supper with me later, Jen?' Craig asked. 'Or…'

  'Jenna and I have some personal family business to discuss,' Simon answered smoothly for her. 'Private family business…'

  Craig took the hint, the look he gave Jenna over Simon's shoulder as he opened the door to leave making her expel a faint shaky sigh of relief.

  It was good to know that Craig would be upstairs if she needed him, although quite what Simon could do if he discovered that Susie had deceived him she wasn't too sure.

  'Er…would you like a cup of coffee, Simon, or…?'

  'What I would like, Jenna, is to know exactly what game my idiotic sister is playing now. And don't try telling me that she's staying here with you.' His eyes swept the neatness of the small room disparagingly. 'I know my sister…if she was here, there's no way she wouldn't already have littered the place with her possessions.'

  Jenna bit down on her bottom lip, knowing that what he said was all too true.

  'Where is she, Jenna?'

  The silkiness was gone from his voice now, leaving it hard and determined. He must be a very frightening man to face in court, she thought on a soft shiver.

  'Susie is twenty-four years old, Simon,' she told him, stalling for time. 'If she wanted you to know her every movement, I'm sure she'd let you know…'

  'Nice try, but it won't wash… Susie is up to something, probably with that moronic idiot, Halbury!'

  'Susie loves him,' Jenna retorted angrily.

  'So she is with him!' Triumph glinted darkly in his eyes. 'I thought as much, the stupid little fool… If she can't see that it's her trust fund he's in love with…'

  'You've no right to say that,' Jenna interrupted him.

  'Haven't I? Have you met Halbury yet, Jenna?'

  She bit her lip again, in vexed admission that he had caught her out.

  'You know my sister… How many times has she been in love in the last five or six years? Once a month on average, wouldn't you say?'

  Jenna was forced to concede that he had a point, but she conceded it in silence.

  'The man's nothing more than a fortune-hunter,' Simon told her bitterly. 'He's filled Susie's head with some idiotic idea that he's a talented fashion designer, and that with her money…'

  'Maybe he's right,' Jenna suggested tartly. 'Just because the all-seeing, all-knowing Simon Townsend doesn't approve of him, doesn't necessarily mean… '

  'All right, Jenna, you can cut out the acid remarks. He's been made bankrupt twice in the last four years. Before he started dating Susie he was involved with the eighteen-year-old daughter of a building millionaire, but Daddy realised what was going on and put a stop to it. Halbury must have thought he'd strayed into paradise when he found Susie.'

  His voice held such a ring of bitterness, that Jenna went cold with anxiety for her friend. It was true that Susie was not and never had been a good judge of character. She took everyone at face value, believing that all her fellow human beings were as honest and innocent as she herself.

  Because the Townsend family as a whole played down the money inherited from a wealthy industrialist uncle of their father's, Jenna herself had almost forgotten about it. Now her forehead pleated with concern, as she said slowly, 'But surely Susie can't touch her trust fund until she's thirty?'

  'Or marries beforehand, in which case she inherits when she's twenty-five—in four months' time,' Simon reminded her.

  Immediately Jenna felt herself flush with guilt. She ought to have questioned Susie more deeply, knowing her feather-headed friend's propensity for trouble, but she had been so caught up in the potential pleasure of putting Simon's nose out of joint that she had completely overlooked this facet of Susie's personality.

  Another unpalatable thought struck her. Had Susie, knowing how she felt about Simon, deliberately introduced him into the situation as a ploy—a decoy, so that she wouldn't question her too deeply? And then she remembered the rest of what Susie had told her.

  'Susie's old enough to make up her own mind about whom she wants to marry, Simon,' she told him. 'Since you know your sister so well, I'm surprised that you didn't realise what the effect of trying to force her hand would be,' she concluded, with an admirable attempt to mimic his own sardonic coolness.

  'Ah, I see… So now I'm featuring as the big bad brother, am I? I take it that Susie has been discussing John Cameron with you?'

  'She told me that you were trying to coerce her into marrying one of your friends—yes,' Jenna agreed baldly.

  His eyebrows rose mockingly. 'Is that really what she told you? Goodness me, she must have a more inventive imagination than I've given her credit for. And you believed her?'

  His smile wasn't kind, and it raised an anguished pattern of goose-bumps down the length of her spine.

  'Do tell me, Jenna—how was the dastardly deed to be accomplished? Was I going to drug her and carry her off somewhere, where I could keep her imprisoned until she agreed to marry John, or…'

  'Don't be so ridiculous!' Jenna snapped, interrupting him, bright flags of colour flying in her cheeks. 'I know what you're trying to do, Simon, but it won't work. I know you, remember…there are far more subtle ways of bringing force to bear on someone. Susie was afraid that she would let you persuade her into marriage with this—this John…'

  'Umm…I suppose she neglected to mention that less than twelve months ago when she first met him in Canada, she was actually engaged to John, albeit very fleetingly. She broke off the engagement when he told her that they would be living on his money.'

  Jenna felt
herself flush again. She wasn't sure whom she was the most annoyed with, Susie, Simon, or herself for being such a gullible idiot.

  'Where have they gone, Jenna? And don't bother trying to lie to me. I know she's gone off somewhere with this Halbury idiot.'

  'Cornwall,' Jenna told him, defeated. 'Your parents' house… She wanted time on her own with him, to get to know him properly…'

  Defeat and guilt tasted acid in her mouth. Simon was just as capable of shading the truth as Susie herself, but in this instance… She gnawed on her bottom lip, wishing she had never got involved in the situation in the first place.

  'What are you going to do?'

  'What do you think?' Simon asked ironically.

  'Go down and bring her back?'

  'Clever girl!' He glanced at his watch, revealing a tanned forearm, crisped with very masculine-looking dark hairs.

  'Enjoyable though I find your company, Jenna, I'm afraid I've got to go…'

  'Will you drive down there tonight?'

  He raised his eyebrows slightly.

  'Like a knight on a white charger, intent on protecting my sister's virtue?' He shook his head. 'No, not tonight.' He walked to the door, and then paused, turning to eye her thoughtfully. 'By the way, do give my apologies to your…friend, for interrupting his… homecoming… '

  Jenna caught the underlying message and gritted her teeth against it. 'There's no need to be coy, Simon,' she responded coolly. 'If you're trying to intimate that you believe Craig and I are lovers, why not come right out and say so? After all, there isn't any reason why we shouldn't be, is there?'

  'None,' he agreed cordially, giving her a hard-edged look. 'And although it's none of my business, I have to say that you hardly look the part of the eager lover, desperate to return to his arms,' he told her with gentle malice.

  She couldn't let it pass, it came too close to home, too close to a truth she couldn't bear to admit.

  'Craig and I have lived together for quite a long time, Simon,' she responded calmly. 'Neither of us seems to need the constant stimulation of new partners… But then we're all of us different, aren't we?' she added with an acid smile.