As usual Claire looked soignee in Pucci pants of tangerine silk with a white shirt, and she gave Jane a mocking glance as she approached.
'I can see ypu're going ashore,' she said. "You've got that expectant look about you!'
Jane flushed. 'As a matter fact I am. I've never been to Monte Carlo.'
'Really? I thought your school spent a summer here? Be linda mentioned something about a chateau in the hills.'
The flush on Jane's cheeks deepened. 'It must have been the term I was - the term I was away with measles.'
How awful to get measles when you're a teenager,' Colin intervened. 'I had it when I was fifteen and felt an awful ass.'
Jane looked at him gratefully, certain that he knew Claire was trying to bait her. Or did he suspect she was only pretending to be who she was? She dismissed the thought instantly and, deciding his defence of her was due to kindness and nothing else, gave him an extra warm smile.
'We're going ashore too,' he said. 'Spending the day at the Sporting Club. Care to come along?'
Jane nodded, hoping against hope that Stephen would accompany them. Almost as the thought entered her mind she saw him walking along the deck towards them.
thought you'd gone ashore without me.' He spoke to them all, but looked at Jane.
"We'd never go without you, darling,' Claire drawled, and stood up, stretching herself like a cat
The tight line of her pants emphasized every curve, and the eyes of the men were upon her, Stephen's glance as admiring as the rest. Jane knew a stab of jealousy and she walked to the gangplank and descended to the harbour.
If she had been delighted with Cannes, she was enthralled by her first view of Monte Carlo. Beyond the tree-lined promenade honey-coloured houses mounted tier upon tier up the hill, while flanking one side stood the great Rock, atop of which perched the fairy-tale palace of Monaco with its gaily-coloured sentry boxes and stone turrets.
'How about a drive before we get settled?' Colin suggested. 'If Janey hasn't seen Monte Carlo before I'm sure she'd like to have a look at it.'
Jane nodded and he signalled a couple of fiacres. She was disappointed to see Stephen commandeered by the Texan and his wife, although her disappointment was mitigated by the fact that Claire was forced to join herself and Colin.
They set off at an easy pace and spent the next few hours exploring the small stretch of coast. Jane began to understand why it was called the Land of Palm Trees and Mimosa, for the scent of flowers was overpowering, while no matter what narrow road they turned into or what steep hills they climbed, there was always the brilliance of blossoms and the shade of palms. But the intense colour of the scene, the glaring whiteness and the brilliant greens and reds made her eyes ache, and she was glad when they paused for a drink in the little hilltop of Roquebrune.
Iced drinks finished, they drove back along the coast and around Monte Carlo itself. Jane was surprised to find that it covered only a few hundred square yards and seemed largely made up of hotels and restaurants, its centre broken by a pretty square fronting the world-famous Casino. Fabulous Monte Carlo - home of the rich, hopeful Mecca of the poor!
It was just noon when they reached the Sporting Club and settled themselves around the turquoise swimming-pool, set with white chairs and gaudy parasols. An orchestra played to one side and waiters flitted between the sunburnt men and women.
Lunch was a gay affair, interspersed with light wine and lighter conversation, after which they retired to the beach huts and changed into swimming costumes.
Jane wore the inevitable bikini, a white broderie anglaise one this time, piped with scarlet. A red bandana held back her blonde lair and scarlet-tipped toenails gleamed from beneath gold sandals.
Although too pale-skinned to acquire the same deep tan as Claire, she was nonetheless delighted with her honey-gold appearance and was happily conscious of the admiring male glances that followed her as she rejoined her party. Stephen was the only one who had already changed, and though she had seen him in swimming trunks before, her new-found love for him made her intensely aware of his appearance. Never had she seen anyone whose physique was more symbolic of his character, for the words that one could have used to describe his personality would have applied equally well to his looks. The broad shoulders and chest, the narrow hips and strong, sinewy legs exuded the same dynamic force- fulness, while the firm column of his neck and the carriage of his head, with its rough black hair, bespoke a proud sensitivity.
If she were guilty of staring at him, he was equally guilty of staring at her, and embarrassed colour flooded into her face.
'I didn't know girls still blushed,' he murmured. 'You're a strange mixture, Jane.'
'Don't you like it?'
'I more than like it, as you very well know.' He waited until she was lying on the mattress beside him. 'It's a funny thing, but since meeting you I've realized something I've always refused to acknowledge until now.'
What's that?'
'That newspapers can lie!'
She burst out laughing. 'According to my father they're lying all the time!'
'As a newspaper proprietor I can't be expected to agree with that.' He grinned. 'Seriously, though, you're so different from what I'd expected."
Again he was repeating himself and again she felt a tremor of anxiety as she wondered what he would say when he discovered the truth. Would his feelings for her overcome his pride or were they too new to withstand the shock of discovering that she was not an heiress? Not that the lack of money would be a deterrent; if Stephen loved a woman he would disregard her background. What he could not disregard would be deceit.
'Now you're looking moody again,' he teased. 'Come on, Jane. You didn't have much lunch. Let's go for a swim.'
Claire, approaching silently, picked up the last sentence. 'Don't tell me you're going to get Janey into the water at last!' she drawled.
With a start Jane recalled that she was supposed to be afraid of the water. What a good thing Claire had mentioned it. Otherwise she would more than likely have given a beautiful display of aquatics]
'Of course Jane's going in,' he replied. 'She's not scared with me.'
Pulling her to her feet, he led her over to the pool.
'I'll have a quick dip first,' he said, 'and give you a chance to come in. If you're like most non-swimmers I expect you'll do it a toe at a time.'
He dived in and swam to the far side, leaving Jane to sit on the edge. She longed to dive in too, but realizing it would give the game away, did what Stephen expected and inched herself into the pool. It was a painful process, for her body had been wanned by the sun and the water struck cold, but gritting her teeth, she gradually immersed and then docked in completely.
'Good girl,' Stephen called, and swam bade towards her.
There began for Jane one of the most difficult half-hours she had ever spent, as she pretended to a fear she did not have and a clumsiness she did not feel. But gradually she dropped both reactions, and taking the chance that Stephen might guess she had fooled him, she started to do the breast- stroke properly. However, she need not have worried over his reactions, for with typical masculine ego, he assumed her amazing progress to be the result of his own tuition.
'I've never known a girl catch cm so quickly,' he said. Have a shot at swimming the width.'
'I don't think I could,' she protested.
'Of coarse you can. Come along.'
Realizing this was one more nail of deceit in her coffin of lies, she did so, rewarded to hear Stephen clap as she readied the far side.
'I'll have you a first-class swimmer in no time,' he called. 'Now you've done enough for the moment Go and lie in the sun.'
Obediently Jane returned to the mattress, leaving him to continue his swim. The rest of the party were also in the water and she watched enviously as they dived and somersaulted. Claire was certainly a wonderful swimmer and took every opportunity of showing off, making sure she remained as close to Stephen as she could.
It
seemed an eternity, yet it could only have been ten minutes, before Stephen came out of the pool and walked towards her. He was half-way when he was hailed by a pudgy-faced young man on a Lilo, and after a brief conversation they both came across to her.
'I'd like you to meet a new passenger,' Stephen explained. 'He's been here a couple of days waiting for us to arrive. Lord Rupert Copinger - Miss Janey Belton.'
Jane restrained a desire to giggle, for it would have been difficult to find anyone who more resembled their name than Lord Rupert. Tall and gangling, with large, knobbly joints and frizzy hair on his chest and head, he gave the appearance of a badly manipulated puppet.
Was this the man Cedric Belton had lined up for his high- spirited daughter? Ted Wills, no matter what he looked like, could not be worse!
'Delighted to meet you,' Lord Rupert said in a high- pitched voice. 'I've heard a lot about you.' He squatted down on the mattress beside her and smiled, showing large teeth that added to his unprepossessing appearance.
'I shouldn't believe all you've heard,' Jane said shortly, and tried to rid herself of the antipathy she felt towards him.
'Oh, but I do,' he said. 'I'm a very trusting person.'
"How long have you been here?' Stephen intervened, deliberately changing the subject.
'I told you - two days - and before that I was in Biarritz. I was going to join the Cambrian in London, but I had to leave England earlier.'
'An irate father after you?' Stephen quipped.
Lord Rupert shook his head. 'An irate bookmaker.
Money's the very devil. Every time I lay my hands on some I swear I'm going to save it - but I never can.' He ran a bony hand through his hair. 'Sometimes I think I'll have to get another job.'
'Another one?' Stephen raised his eyebrows. 'I never knew you were in one.'
'Oh yes. I worked for a publicity firm. Wet nursing elderly Americans. I stuck it for quite a while, but eventually I forgot to be polite, and they fired me. But I'm not sorry. I needed a holiday after all that work, so I booked on the Cambrian
Jane wondered where a self-confessed pauper had obtained the money for such a cruise; yet many society people in the same financial straits seemed able to do what they wanted regardless of cost. Claire was a prime example, though there were admittedly many ways for a woman to acquire money… Her glance slid over Lord Rupert and moved quickly away again. Not even for his title could she imagine any self-respecting woman warming to him.
'I must say I was surprised to find you on board,' Lord Rupert remarked to Stephen.
'Doctors' orders. And damned tedious ones too. At least they would have been if I hadn't met Jane.'
Vacant grey eyes stared at her. 'Ah yes, Jane. My favourite name for a girl Old-fashioned but charming.' Once more his large teeth showed in a smile. 'Would you like to come in for a swan?'
'I've just been in, thanks.' Not caring that he might consider her rude, she lay back and closed her eyes. The two men spoke desultorily for a while and then she felt a shadow on her face as they got up and moved away. Within a moment Stephen came back and sat down again.
'Well, that's got rid of him,' he said softly. "What an ass he is.'
Jane opened her eyes. 'Where's he gone?'
'I edged him over to the pool and introduced him to Claire. Luckily she'd never met him before.' He turned his head. 'Damn. It didn't take her long to decide he's no use!'
Jane followed his gaze and saw Lord Rupert sitting dejectedly at the side of the pool, his knobbly knees half immersed in the water.
'Fancy Cedric—' she stopped. 'Fancy my father thinking I could fall for him. I couldn't even fancy him pickled!'
'Pickled he mightn't seem so bad,' Stephen replied. 'But stone cold sober he's impossible! Mind you,' he went on, 'I've often thought it unbelievable that anyone could be quite as stupid as Rupert.'
'What do you mean?'
'Merely that he's occasionally done a few things that haven't fitted in with the picture. We belong to the same club and we've sometimes played poker together; For an idiot, he's a surprisingly good player.'
Jane pondered the words as she continued to rub oil on herself. 'Why would someone pretend to be a fool? It doesn't make sense.'
'Why not? It's a great advantage to be underestimated. I've often wished people didn't give me credit for more brains than I've got. You can be for more clever if your ability isn't known.'
'I hadn't thought of that,' she said slowly. 'But I see what you mean.'
Indeed she did see what he meant, saw tilings he had not meant either, things that only she herself could see.
'When yon said Lord Rupert often came into large sums of money, how much did you mean?' she asked.
'Mercenary, aren't you?' There was a slight coldness in his voice. 'Even you would consider them large. Last year, for example, he hired a lodge in Scotland for the grouse season, and at the rate he entertained he got no change from twenty thousand pounds."
The grouse season. August the twelfth. Was it coincidence that in the July of last year a priceless jewelled cross had been stolen from the private collection of a millionaire in Suffolk? She remembered her father talking about it and explaining that thefts of that sort were the most difficult to recover.
'At least one can trace a painting or a vase, but when one is dealing with a diamond cross, it's well nigh impossible. The whole thing can be broken down and the stones sold singly or even re-cut.'
Was it possible that Lord Rupert could be the man she was looking for? It was no more impossible than that Stephen could be the suspect. She replaced the lid on the bottle of oil and lay down, marshalling the facts as she knew them. According to Janey Belton, Lord Rupert had been lined up as a prospective suitor. That meant he was anxious to marry money. He was perennially hard up, yet came into large sums which, instead of saving, he lavishly spent. How could one acquire large sums of money spasmodically? Gambling was one answer. Yet was Lord Rupert a known gambler? She turned her head and looked at Stephen, who was leaning back on the mattress beside her, smoking a cigarette.
'Does Lord Rupert gamble much?'
'Not as far as I know. He's not one of these perennial gamblers, if that's what you mean.'
At least that answered one question in her mind. But if he was not a gambler then where did he procure those sums of money? Her suspicion of him grew, and as it grew, so did her excitement. Yet was Lord Rupert sufficiently intelligent to be a good enough thief not to be caught? From his conversation he appeared a complete fool, and yet, if he were a complete fool, how did he get such large amounts of money?
Jane sat up and hugged her knees. Was it possible that Lord Rupert Copinger was only pretending to be simple- minded? Indeed, she found it difficult to believe that anyone could be quite such an ass as he was. What if the whole thing were an act? If he were using his idiocy merely as a cloak to hide an extremely subtle and ingenious mind? After all, who would suspect an aristocrat of being a thief, particularly if that aristocrat were well known for his stupidity? The more she thought about it, the more convinced Jane became that Lord Rupert was as good a suspect as Stephen. A better suspect, in fact, because she did not love him and would be delighted if she could shift her suspicions from one man to the other.
In front of her, Lord Rupert swung his legs away from the side of the pool and stood up. He remained for a moment where he was, looking around him uncertainly, and then, suddenly becoming aware of Jane watching him, he grinned vacantly and waved.
Feeling herself to be all kinds of a hypocrite, Jane gave him a wide, come-hither smile to which he responded by striding over to her.
'You should have come in for a swim,' he said with the eagerness of a puppy. 'The water was awfully warm.'
'I'm sure it was, but I was too tired. You could be an angel and offer to buy me a drink, though. I'm terribly thirsty.'
'I'd be delighted to. Shall we stroll over and have it at the bar?'
'Lovely.'
Conscious of Stephen turnin
g his head sharply to look at her, Jane stood up and allowed Lord Rupert to take her arm.
'I won't be long, Stephen,' she said.
'Be as long as you like,' he replied coolly, and turned over on his stomach as she walked away.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Jane spent a boring and unrewarding hour with Lord Rupert. He added nothing further to what she already knew about him, beyond confirming her suspicions that no one could be so foolish unless it was by intent.
'Won't you find it dull not doing anything at all?' she asked as they sipped their orange juice at a small table overlooking the beach.
'I've still got the estate to attend to,' he replied. 'Mama does most of it, though, because I hate anything to do with farming. But when my publicity job ended I decided I'd had enough work for a while. That's why I came on this cruise. I must say you're even prettier than I'd expected.'
'I didn't know you'd expected me to be anything.'
'Oh yes. Your father told me…' He stopped and turned red.
'I didn't know you'd met my father,' Jane said, looking at him with innocent eyes.
It was a few months ago at my club - he said you were going on this cruise.'
For a moment Jane wondered whether Cedric Belton could be paying for Lord Rupert's trip. If he were intent on his daughter marrying a title it would be one way of achieving it.
'I'm surprised Daddy never mentioned your name to me,' she went on. 'He's awfully keen on titles.'
Lord Rupert seemed surprised that she should mention such a thing.
'It's because he came up the hard way,' Jane continued. 'Men of Daddy's type think a title's more important than anything else in the world. But personally I consider the whole thing a nuisance. I mean, what do you do with it these days?'
'It's invaluable if you want to go into business with Americans.'
Well, I don't want to go into business with Americans.'
Lord Rupert laughed uproariously and she glanced surreptitiously across to Stephen, seeing with irritation that Claire had joined him.
'Do have another drink,' Lord Rupert said, interrupting her thoughts.
Rachel Lindsay - Moonlight and Magic Page 10
