Rachel Lindsay - Moonlight and Magic

by Rachel Lindsay

  Jane looked up sharply. 'How do you know about that? The papers only mentioned that an English girl had helped in his capture. They didn't give my name.'

  'I met a girl in the States called Claire Saunders: She assumed you'd told me the whole story. I got the impression she'd had a pretty sticky interview with Scotland Yard herself.' Janey twisted the ring on her hand and looked at it admiringly. 'I can't say I liked her much, though I sympathized with her for not giving the man away. After all, they'd known each other since they were children. Anyway, let's forget her. I've more important things to talk about. My wedding for one; and your being a bridesmaid for another.'

  'A bridesmaid?'

  'Yes. Dad's paying for the clothes, so you've no excuse for refusing.'

  'I wouldn't dream of refusing. I'd love to be your brides maid.'

  'Good.' Janey glanced at her watch. 'I must dash now. If there's one thing Ted can't stand it's being kept waiting.' At the door she paused and put her arm round Jane's shoulder. 'I'd love you to meet him soon. Are you free to have dinner with us tomorrow night?'

  'I'd love to.'

  'Good. Let's make it the Savoy. The Grill Room at eight. And bring a man if you want to.'

  In a flurry of skirts she ran down the path, and Jane returned to the sitting-room. Janey's happiness served to remind her of the difference in their lives, made her realize that though she still loved Stephen she could not allow him to ruin her future. It was stupid to go on refusing the dates that had come her way since she had changed jobs, or to keep rebuffing Robert Foster, for though he had not repeated his offer of dinner, she knew she had only to give the slightest hint of a change of attitude for him to start bombarding her with invitations.

  'I'm not going to mope any more,' she said out loud. 'Enough's enough!'

  True to her word, she took the first opportunity to go into his office the next day, using some ad. copy as her excuse. After he had seen it she did not immediately leave, a sufficient change in behaviour for him to notice.

  'How come you're not rushing out on me?' he asked. 'Aren't you scared of me any longer?'

  'I was never scared,' she laughed, 'merely careful!'

  'And does your sitting here mean that you're no longer being careful?'

  She grinned, and he grinned back at her.

  'Miss Berry, ma'am, will you do me the honour of having dinner with me tonight?'

  'Yes, please,' she said. 'But can you come as my guest? I've been invited to the Savoy.'

  He came round the side of the desk and stood next to her, only a litde taller than she was, yet with the assured grace of an athlete. 'I know there's a great big mystery tied up in your past, Jane, and I'm not going to pry into your affairs. I just want you to know that I'm glad you're starting to think in terms of the future again, and I hope you'll include me. I'm a patient guy, and I'd like you to look on me as a friend, a sort of sheep in wolfs clothes!'

  'A very nice sheep,' she said. 'Thanks, Bob, I will.'

  Dinner at the Savoy turned out to be much nicer than Jane had anticipated. With Ted, Janey was a different person; hanging on to his every word, agreeing with what he said and leaving him to do most of the talking.

  'You're not a bit the way I imagine,' Ted said to Jane during a temporary lull in the conversation. 'Whenever one thinks of reporters one—'

  'I know,' she interrupted. 'But honestly, I'm just an ordinary girl.'

  'Not ordinary. There aren't many girls who'd have the nerve to impersonate my beloved fiancee!'

  They all laughed, Janey most of all. 'I don't see why you should give Jane credit for being brave,' she said. 'Why, she rang up the night before and told me she'd changed her mind.'

  Ted raised his eyebrows. 'So you did get cold feet?'

  'Yes.' Alcohol had loosened Jane's tongue and she felt no embarrassment in admitting her reasons. 'I didn't want to snoop on innocent people. I wanted to help Janey and I'd have agreed to the impersonation if I needn't have written the articles. But I couldn't see Frank Preston allowing me to go on the cruise in those circumstances!'

  'What made you change your mind all over again?'

  Briefly she spoke of her father's job with the Metropolitan Insurance Company, of her realization that only she could help him. But though she glossed over the story, Janey's eyes gleamed with excitement

  How absolutely thrilling! So it's really your father I've got to thank for your going on the cruise. He'll have to be bridesmaid at my wedding too!' She giggled. 'The least we can do Is to drink a toast to him.' She raised her arms to attract the attention of their waiter and then stopped, her expression changing. 'Well, well, look who's just come in.'

  Jane turned, her body tensing as she saw Claire, lovelier than ever in a simple black dress, diamonds sparkling at her throat and wrists. But it was not the girl who caused her to lose colour, but the man walking directly behind her. Stephen.

  Seen in casual clothes on the sun deck he had looked handsome, but here, in this glamorous setting among beautifully gowned women and well-groomed expense-account men, he stood out head and shoulders. 'And not just physically, either,' she thought, for he exuded a dynamism that made all heads turn to watch him.

  'Can anyone tell me the name of that gorgeous hunk of man?' Janey asked.

  'Stephen Drake,' Jane said quickly. 'He was on the - he was on the Cambrian.'

  'What a pity I didn't know,' Janey giggled. 'Who is he?'

  'He owns the paper Jane used to work for,' Bob Foster replied. 'A tycoon with a capital T.'

  Janey's reply was forestalled by Claire and Stephen walking past their table. 'Hello, Claire,' she called.

  Claire stopped, her smile artificial. 'Hello, Janey!' She put her hand on Stephen's arm. 'Darling, would you like to meet the real Janey Belton?'

  Stephen nodded, murmured a polite greeting and looked so obviously anxious to move on that Claire gave them an apologetic glance and followed him.

  'Well, well,' Janey said. 'I did get the frozen mitt!'

  Bob looked at Jane. 'So did you. Didn't he remember who you were?'

  'Too well.' Aware of the curious eyes of the three people around her, she felt some explanation was necessary. 'He was furious when he found out I was one of his reporters.'

  'Why?'Janey asked indignantly. 'Couldn't he take a joke?'

  'Not when he thought it was on him.'

  'What do you mean?'

  'Nothing,' Jane said. 'I was talking for the sake of talking.'

  Janey appeared to be satisfied with this reply, but when they were in the cloakroom collecting their coats she broached the subject again.

  'You don't normally talk just for the sake of talking. What really gives between you and that dreamboat? I mean, it took no imagination to see he was absolutely livid with you.'

  'We quarrelled.'

  'That much I gathered! You looked like a ghost when you saw him. If I didn't know you better I'd have said you were in love with him.'

  Jane turned away, but not quickly enough to hide the tears in her eyes.

  'Gosh, Jane. Then it's true! I'm awfully sorry. I'd never have teased you if I'd known.'

  'Why should you know? It's just one of those things.'

  'I don't believe he's indifferent to you. If he was he wouldn't have ignored you just now. What happened?'

  Jane sighed. 'When he found out what I was he assumed I'd gone on the cruise to find a rich husband as well as a story.'

  'Why should he think that?'

  'Because I didn't tell him my identity at the very beginning.'

  'Why didn't you?'

  'I'd promised my father,' Jane said wearily.

  'I see. Well, you'd have thought he'd have realized by now why you couldn't tell him.'

  Jane nodded miserably. 'His own paper featured Colin's arrest on the front page.'

  Janey put on her mink jacket, her expression thoughtful. 'We'd better go. Bob and Ted will be wondering what's happened to us.'

  They walked out of the cloakroo
m and up the stairs. 'Why don't you go and see Stephen? Maybe he's waiting for you to—-'

  'I'll never go and see him. Never!'

  'What about my going?'

  'Don't you dare!' Jane seized the other girl's arm. 'You ' must promise me you won't go.'

  'Come on, girls,' Ted called. 'The taxi's waiting.'

  It was only later as she was lying in bed that Jane remembered that Janey had not given her the promise she had asked for. 'I'll ring her in the morning,' she thought sleepily. 'The last thing I want is for Stephen to think I'm running after him.'

  But in the morning, when she telephoned the Belton house, she was told that Janey had gone to Paris for a few days to choose her trousseau, and by the end of the week her desire to extract the promise had abated: after all, Janey would be far too busy with her own affairs to bother with anyone else's.

  It was not until some ten days later that the two girls met at the beige and gilt salon of the fashion house, where the bridesmaids' dresses were being made. Janey looked lovelier than ever, her sparkle and vitality a striking contrast to Jane's pallor and fragility.

  'I wish you'd been able to come to Paris with me,' she said. 'Dad didn't let me out of his sight for a minute!'

  'Wasn't Ted with you?'

  'He only came over for the week-end.' Janey tilted her head. 'From the look of you, it would have done you good to have come with him. You look ghastly.'

  Aware of the shadows beneath her eyes and the holloas that had appeared on her cheekbones, Jane essayed a laugh. 'I've been living it up too much.'

  'Every time Madame comes to try on her dress,' the fitter said reproachfully, 'we have to take in the waist.'

  'All to the good. Paris has decreed waists are back again!'

  'So are bosoms,' Janey intervened. 'And if you lose any more weight, you won't have one!'

  Jane pretended not to hear, concentrating instead on the hemline and whether or not it should be shorter. The decision settled, the fitter helped her out of the dress and took it away, leaving her to put on her own clothes.

  'Are you still seeing Bob Foster?' Janey asked.

  'Yes, quite a bit.'

  'I'm glad. Any romance in the offing?'

  'No.' Jane's voice was muffled beneath her dress as she slipped it over her head. 'And not likely to be either. I don't love him.'

  'I suppose it's still Stephen Drake?'

  There was no need for any reply; the sudden flush to the curve of Jane's cheek was answer enough.

  Janey stood up. 'I've masses to do. Do you mind awfully if I don't wait for you?'

  'Of course not.'

  With a quick hug, the younger girl hurried from the cubicle and Jane slowly finished dressing and followed her.

  'What a beautiful bride Miss Belton will make,' one of the vendeuses said. 'I always think blondes look particularly lovely in white.' She glanced at Jane's corn-coloured hair. 'Are you engaged, Madame?'

  'No, I'm not.'

  'Well, I do hope we'll have the pleasure of dressing you when the happy day comes.'

  The smile stiff on her face, Jane stepped into the street. Her day would never come unless she were able to put Stephen out of her mind. A change of job had done little to help and she wondered whether a change of country might not be the next move.

  She mentioned this to her father later that evening, and he received the news without surprise.

  'I've been expecting you to say this since you got back from Greece. I knew there was something in the wind when you left the paper.' He puffed at his pipe. 'Running away won't help, you know. If you're upset about anything, you'd be better off to face it.'

  'There's nothing to face.' Although she had never before discussed her emotional life with her father, she knew that now was not the time for pretence. 'I'm in love with a man who doesn't love me and that's all there is to it. I hoped that changing my job would help me to forget him, but I was wrong.'

  'A change of country won't do the trick either. What you need is a change of man! Foster seems very fond of you. Why not give him a chance?'

  'Because it isn't fair to him.' She sighed. He's asked me to marry him and I've refused.'

  Her father grunted. You're not cut out to be an old maid. You might not think you'll fall in love again, but I'm willing to bet you will. The only question is how miserable you're going to make your life in the interim.'

  Jane asked herself the same question as she went up to her room that night. How long would it be before the memory of Stephen dimmed? At the moment she had only to clear her eyes to see his face, to feel the touch of his lips and the pressure of his body. With an exclamation she walked over to the window and breathed in the cool air. In the distance a clock chimed twelve, and she sighed. Where was he now? Dancing with Claire or another woman? Or was he perhaps in Fleet Street looking at the early editions of his paper? Wherever he was and whatever he was doing she was sure of one thing: he was giving no thought to the girl who had once worked for him, whom he had admitted he might have loved had the circumstances been different.

  'But he didn't trust me,' she said aloud, 'and without trust there can be no love.'

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  In the weeks that followed Jane forced herself to accept her father's advice and, as if sensing her change of attitude, Bob Foster insisted on seeing her as often as possible. Gradually she began to rely on him more, to think of him as a part of her life, though there were still occasions when her heart beat fast at the sight of a tanned face or a dark head glimpsed in a crowd.

  At last the great day drew near and Jane travelled down to the magnificent Queen Anne house where the Beltons lived. It was set in acres of woodland and was exactly the sort of background she had assumed her friend would have, 'The sort of background that all the women in Stephen's life would have too,' she thought bitterly as she entered the room that had been given to her and looked round at the opulent furnishings.

  As soon as she had unpacked she went along to her friend's bedroom and knocked on the door.

  'Come in,' came the gay answer. 'If you can manage to find enough space!'

  Jane stepped inside, laughing as she saw the confusion. The entire room seemed to be swamped with clothes: evening dresses and afternoon dresses were strewn side by side and the bed was heaped with piles of pastel-coloured lingerie, the floor covered with shoes and slippers and sandals. In the midst of it all stood the future bride, her blonde hair shining in the sunlight, her eyes sparkling and full of happiness.

  'You don't intend taking all these clothes away with you?' Jane asked in mock horror.

  'Every single one.'

  'But you'll never wear them.'

  'Of course I will. We're going for a month, you know. It's

  Dad's wedding present to us. Just think of it - four lovely weeks in the Bahamas. Even Ted's excited, though he tries to pretend he isn't.'

  'Any chance of my taking your place on this trip?'

  'Not likely! Anyway, you'll be having your own honeymoon before long.'

  'I doubt it'

  'We'll see.' There was a strange look on Janey's face. 'My intuition tells me you'll be a Mrs. before the year's out.'

  'If Bob's asked you to—'

  'Bob hasn't said a word.' Janey rummaged in her jewel- case and extracted the ruby necklace. 'I'd like you to wear this tomorrow. It'll go with your dress.'

  'I'd rather not, thanks. It reminds me of Colin.'

  Janey was taken by surprise. 'Do you mean you still think about him?'

  'Yes. It's horrible to be responsible for another person's death.'

  'What rot! You were only doing your duty. Honestly, you're crazy to give him another thought. He was a thief and a murderer too, from what you've told me. Anyway, take a leaf out of Claire's book. She doesn't appear to have lost any sleep over him.'

  Jane walked over to the window and looked out at the beautifully kept lawns. 'Have you seen her lately?' she asked, her voice casual.

  'I haven't seen her with Step
hen Drake, if that's what you mean.' Janey's voice was half hidden in the wardrobe and when she spoke again it was to comment on her wedding dress. 'I hope Ted's going to like it. I wanted a slinky skirt myself, but I knew he fancied something pretty-pretty! Gosh, only tonight to get though and then I'll be his wife.'

  They intended to go to bed early that night, but Janey's spirits were too volatile to let her rest, and though Ted did not appear, half a dozen other young people arrived, mostly school friends of Janey's. Watching them together, Jane was once again conscious of coming from a different world, of being older than her years.

  Knowing she would not be missed, she went to bed, but sleep would not come and she watched the sky turn from black to grey and then rosy pink, falling into slumber as the first early birds began their chorus.

  It was ten-thirty before she awakened, and only then because an anxious maid came in with her breakfast tray, warning her that she had barely an hour before she was due to leave for the church. She washed in the luxurious peach- mirrored bathroom that reminded her of the Cambrian and slipped into the shell pink brassiere and pantees that matched her dress. Carefully she applied her make-up, though nothing could completely hide the lavender shadows under her eyes nor disguise the thinness of her face. Yet she knew she had never looked lovelier, for tiredness and pallor gave her an ethereal aura heightened by the deceptively simple dress, with its round-necked bodice and graceful swirling skirt, the chiffon floating round her like morning mist.

  Janey had left instructions that no one was to visit her other than the vendeuse who had come down to make sure the wedding dress was in order, and promptly at eleven she descended the stairs to the hall where her father, Jane and three child bridesmaids were waiting. It was the only occasion since she had known him that Jane could remember Cedric Belton losing his voice, and he stared in silence as his daughter glided towards him, a vision of loveliness in white tulle, her blonde hair held in place by a diamond tiara, her face softened by clouds of veiling.

  'My little girl,' he said at last, his staccato voice broken. 'If that young man of yours doesn't make you happy, I'll - I'll tar and feather him!'