The Golden Anklet

by Beverly Hansford

  Bob gave her a quick peck on the lips and then dashed across the stones again to collect his shoes. When he returned, Jane smiled at him as she took his hand again. She looked at him in the gathering dusk. ‘Do you do that with all your women?’ she asked breezily.

  Bob squeezed her hand. ‘Only those I’m falling in love with,’ he replied, laughing.

  Chapter 14

  Jane awoke to a bright sunny morning. She did her usual thing of glancing at the bedside clock and then, satisfied that she had not overslept, lay there for a few minutes, contemplating the day ahead. It was the start of a new week. She had always been inclined to be a bit ‘Monday morning-ish’, but lately she had felt even more reluctant to get up. So much had happened over the last few weekends that when Monday came she felt she wanted to rest and absorb the events of the previous two days. Today was no different, and it was the weekend that dominated her thoughts.

  Before the meeting with the orphanage manager, Laura Brompton, she had had high hopes that she would learn something that would establish who she actually was; when the meeting proved to be so negative, she had been plunged into despair and left feeling completely miserable. The unexpected encounter with Lucy had immediately lifted her out of her misery, and when Lucy had suggested that perhaps she could delve deeper into the orphanage records, Jane had been filled with optimism. Somehow she felt confident that Lucy would produce something.

  As usual Bob had been supportive and attentive and she had been glad of his down-to-earth and easygoing attitude to everything. He had been superbly patient when she met Lucy. The two old friends had chatted continuously while he sat quietly waiting for them to finish, and he had shown an interest in their conversation by making the odd comment or asking a question.

  Jane had been aware for some weeks that she was steadily falling in love with Bob. His caring, unhurried approach to things suited her. It kept her feet on the ground and in a way reminded her of Graham. She needed somebody like that around. She had been unsure whether Bob shared her feelings about their relationship, but she strongly suspected that he did. Now and then he would let his feelings show, and that always gave her a big boost. She suspected that beneath his calm exterior a fire waited to be ignited. Over the weekend, things had changed. She knew now that Bob felt the same about her as she did about him. Their relationship had taken on a new dimension, and she liked it.

  The time she had spent with him over the weekend had been extremely enjoyable. On the Saturday evening it had been late when they eventually retired to his bedroom. Their lovemaking had been slow and passionate and it had been almost the next morning before sleep had at last overtaken them.

  The next morning Jane had woken up slowly, at first slightly disorientated at finding herself in a strange bed. Bob was no longer beside her, but she could hear some movement downstairs. Perhaps he was making some tea. That would be nice, she contemplated. She lay there contented, with little inclination to stir further at present.

  Suddenly Bob appeared in the doorway, his face full of smiles. He was barefoot and was wearing a tee shirt and jeans. He was holding something close to his chest.

  He bent down to kiss her. ‘Good morning,’ he greeted her. Jane raised herself in bed to meet his lips, remembering to hold the duvet against herself to cover her nakedness. She put one arm around him and drew him towards her.

  ‘Good morning, darling.’ It was the first time she had called him that.

  Bob suddenly backed off and displayed what he had been holding to his chest. It brought a squeal of delight from Jane.

  It was a large photograph – the one Bob had taken of her the previous evening. It showed Jane standing on tiptoe on a stone in the middle of the stream. Her arms were outstretched, and in each hand she was holding a shoe. She was looking straight at the camera and laughing.

  Jane could not conceal her delight. Words poured out in a torrent. ‘It’s beautiful! When did you do it? Can I keep it?’

  Bob grinned at her, pleased at her reaction to his handiwork. ‘Of course you can. It’s a present for you,’ he replied. He decided to elaborate a bit more. ‘I knew it would turn out to be a good shot. I got up an hour ago to print it out and mount it.’

  ‘It’s fantastic. Thank you.’ Jane moved to kiss him again.

  It was Bob who broke off their embrace. ‘I’ve got some tea here,’ he announced cheerfully, retreating to the landing, where he had left a tray with two steaming mugs on it. He handed Jane one and then perched on the side of the bed with the other.

  They spent a long time sipping their tea and chatting, and then Bob politely announced that he was going to ‘get some breakfast going’, leaving Jane to get up and have a shower.

  After a relaxing morning pottering about and going for a walk, they prepared lunch in Bob’s kitchen. It was late in the afternoon when Jane took her leave and drove back to Kew, remembering that she had a few routine jobs to do at home before the new week started.

  *

  The sound of a car starting up brought an end to Jane’s reminiscing, reminding her that she had a train to catch. In a flash she was out of bed and heading for the bathroom. As she passed the dressing table, she could not help pausing to look once again at the photograph Bob had given her. Just looking at it gave her a thrill. For her it firmly cemented in place her relationship with Bob.

  Less than an hour later, after a quick shower and a hurried breakfast, she was making her way down the stairs to the front entrance. Usually she did not meet any of the other residents, but this morning, just as she opened the front entrance door, Gerald appeared. He had been out for his morning paper. He beamed when he saw her.

  ‘Ah, Jane. Just the person I wanted to see. I wanted to ask you something – and also, how did you get on at the orphanage on Saturday?’

  ‘Hello Gerald,’ Jane responded cheerfully, at the same time conscious that she had only just enough time to catch her train. As briefly as she could, she related Saturday’s events to Gerald, finishing with her hope that Lucy might come up with something.

  Gerald thought for a few seconds, absorbing the news. ‘So we’ll have to wait and see what comes up,’ he remarked thoughtfully.

  ‘Yes. I hope she contacts me soon. I’m sure she will,’ Jane replied quickly. She was beginning to panic about her train. It prompted her next comment. ‘I’m just dashing for my train now. We could chat about it tonight if you’re free,’ she suggested, at the same time trying to ease herself away from Gerald.

  ‘Yes, yes, of course. Don’t make yourself late.’ Gerald was on the verge of being embarrassed.

  ‘No, I’m fine. I’ll just about make it.’

  Her reassuring smile encouraged Gerald to ask the question he had on his mind. ‘I just wanted to ask you if you could confirm the name of the matron at the orphanage. I seem to remember you said it was a Mrs Marshall.’

  ‘Yes, it was a Mrs Marshall,’ said Jane hastily, already turning away to leave Gerald.

  ‘Excellent. I’ll talk to you later,’ he called after her. He had taken her hint and was moving towards the entrance door as he spoke.

  ‘Fine,’ Jane called over her shoulder as she hurried on her way.

  She almost had to run to the station. She wondered why Gerald had asked her about Mrs Marshall, but her curiosity was overtaken by the fear that she might miss her train. Luck was on her side. The train was a couple of minutes late and she just made it to the platform as it arrived. It was the usual packed environment, but she managed to grab a seat.

  It was a few minutes to nine when she pushed open the heavy door of the office and climbed the stone staircase to the first floor and the offices of Discerning Woman. Margaret was already seated at her desk. She greeted Jane with a smile and a cheery ‘Good morning!’

  ‘Good morning, Margaret,’ Jane replied cheerfully as she walked past.

  Once in her own tiny office she dumped her bag on the floor beside her desk and gave her customary glance at the items from Friday that neede
d her urgent attention this morning. A coffee would be a good idea before she started, she decided. She made her way to the tiny kitchen, passing Amy’s desk on the way. It was unoccupied: Amy was rarely on time for work. Five minutes later, Jane arrived back at her desk, a mug of coffee in her hand. She had hardly put the mug down before the internal telephone rang. It could only be one person: Annette Burrows.

  Jane picked up the handset and gave her usual reply. ‘Jane.’

  ‘Ah, Jane, you are there. Can we get together?’ It was indeed Annette.

  Jane looked at her desk and stifled a sigh. ‘I’ll be right up,’ she replied.

  ‘Can you get Amy up as well?’

  Jane glanced through the glass partition wall of her office. She could see that Amy had just arrived at her desk. ‘I’ll tell her,’ she said.

  There was a curt ‘Fine’, and then a click as Annette put the phone down.

  Coffee in one hand and notepad in the other, Jane was on her way. As she passed Amy’s desk, after her good morning greeting she whispered, ‘Annette wants to see us.’

  Her announcement brought forth the usual grimace. ‘What’s she want now?’ grumbled Amy.

  ‘Most likely wants to find us some more work to do,’ Jane replied breezily. After her weekend with Bob, not even Annette could spoil her morning.

  They made their way upstairs to Annette’s office. Annette was on the phone, but she put it down as she gestured to them to sit down.

  Greetings were brief. Annette picked up some paperwork from the side of her desk and, placing it in front of her, started the proceedings. She clasped her hands together for an instant, looked at Jane and Amy and then announced, ‘I’ve been thinking.’

  There was a slight pause as Annette looked closely at her audience as if to ensure that she had their full attention. She need not have been concerned on that point: as soon as Jane and Amy heard her statement, they were fully alert. Whenever Annette made such a remark, there was little doubt that it would mean some disruption or alteration to their work. Satisfied that they were listening, Annette continued.

  ‘I think we need a book review section. It’s the one thing we lack. What do you think?’

  Jane and Amy were taken slightly off balance. Jane for one was completely aware that although Annette was asking their opinion this was a completely cosmetic exercise – she had already made up her mind to do what she was proposing. Jane’s normal reaction to such suggestions was to accommodate them as best she could, and with the least disruption. She thought for a second, and then made a calculated reply.

  ‘It might mean we would have to drop some other feature to do it,’ she suggested tactfully. Then, as another thought came to her, she added, ‘That is, unless we increased the number of pages.’

  Annette had already thought of this. ‘That’s all in hand. I’ve had a word with the printers and it’s arranged. We can take in more advertising to cover the additional cost.’

  ‘Who would do the book reviews?’ asked Amy.

  Annette immediately snuffed out any problem with her reply. ‘I know a few people in that line. And I thought we might be able to do some of the reviews in-house.’

  ‘I don’t think I’d have time for that,’ remarked Amy bravely.

  Jane was more diplomatic. ‘It might be best to have an experienced person, at least initially, to do them,’ she suggested.

  Annette did not respond directly to Jane’s remark. Instead she went on to outline how she thought the review pages should look and the type of books they would feature. It was more than evident that Jane, with Amy’s help, would have to sort out all the practical details. It wasn’t until a good hour later that they were able to return to their own desks.

  Amy’s first remark summed up her feelings. ‘Bloody cheek, expecting us to do the reviews.’

  Jane burst out laughing at her colleague’s outburst. ‘I doubt if it’ll come to that. She said she’s already got somebody lined up for that job. Most likely one of her friends,’ she added.

  ‘Well, I’m not doing it,’ grumbled Amy. In the next breath, she asked, ‘Do you want a drink?’

  Jane grinned. ‘A cup of tea would go down well,’ she replied.

  Amy disappeared into the kitchen, and Jane retreated to her office to tackle the items on her desk.

  *

  Despite the early disruption to her plans, Jane’s day went quite well. She ploughed through her work and managed to get through to everybody she wanted to talk to on the phone. She even had time to take a proper lunch break and do some shopping. It was bang on half past five when she said her goodnights and left the office.

  Several times during the day she pondered over the question Gerald had asked her. Why did he want to know about Mrs Marshall? No doubt he would enlighten her in due course. During her time at the orphanage, Mrs Marshall had seemed a remote figure, someone she had learnt to respect and, in a way, fear. Certainly she had only spoken to the matron when addressed by her, or when she had been summoned to her presence – usually when she had done something wrong or something was about to happen that would affect her personally.

  As the working day drew to a close, Jane’s thoughts turned to Lucy. Dared she hope for a telephone call from her that evening? She prayed it might happen. For her, so much depended on what Lucy might come up with. Her time with Bob over the weekend had diverted her from her anxiety, but now that she was on her own she realised that her concerns were always just under the surface. Who was she? What was her background? She was desperate to find answers, and Lucy had now become a key part of her search.

  It was close to half past six when Jane let herself back into her apartment. She carried out her usual routine, changing out of her business suit and busying herself making an evening meal. All the time she had her ear alert, listening for the telephone and the doorbell. Would Lucy ring tonight? She also knew that most likely Gerald would like to see her. She regretted not giving Lucy her mobile number. She used her mobile more and more now, and there were times when she debated the logic of still having a landline, as she found that she was not using it so often now.

  By half past seven she felt she could wait no longer. She would just have to go down to Gerald’s apartment and satisfy her curiosity. She hoped Lucy wouldn’t phone while she was out. After making sure that the answering machine was switched on and working, she made her way downstairs.

  Gerald and Anna were clearly expecting a visit from her. Anna immediately ushered her into the lounge and announced that the coffee was ready. Gerald was sitting on the sofa, some papers close at hand. He greeted Jane with a beaming smile.

  ‘Ah. Hello, Jane. I’ve got some news for you,’ he announced.

  ‘He’s been on that computer all day,’ laughed Anna. ‘I’ve hardly seen anything of him,’ she added, hurrying to the kitchen, assuming that Jane wanted some coffee.

  ‘I think I’m taking up a lot of everybody’s time,’ said Jane as she sat down opposite Gerald. She was concerned that so far she had only had a fleeting look at the family history program on her computer. She felt that she was relying on everybody else to delve into her past.

  Gerald did not reply.

  Anna reappeared in the lounge and stood in front of her. ‘Now, young lady,’ she asked, ‘have you had anything to eat?’ Her stance was that of the critical mother.

  Jane gave a little smile as she replied. ‘Yes, I have, thank you, Anna. I made myself a meal as soon as I got home.’

  Anna looked at her as if she did not believe her. ‘You young girls don’t eat enough,’ she commented, almost disapprovingly, scrutinising Jane’s lean frame.

  Jane just smiled again and remarked, almost under her breath, ‘Oh, but I’m fine.’

  Anna gave up and retreated to the kitchen. As she departed, she remarked over her shoulder, ‘It’s all to do with fashion. Young women have to be underweight these days.’

  Jane looked at Gerald. He was grinning at her and gave her a wink.

  ‘She�
�s only jealous,’ he whispered.

  Jane just smiled politely. She had grown used to Anna’s approach to eating and had long since realised that this was the reason for her overweight appearance.

  Gerald looked at Jane over his half-frame spectacles. ‘I’ve found out something about your Mrs Marshall,’ he declared, almost triumphantly.

  ‘What is it? Tell me!’ Jane was full of expectation.

  Gerald had a confident smile on his face. He waited a few seconds and then calmly announced: ‘Mrs Marshall is your aunt.’

  Chapter 15

  Jane stared at Gerald with a mixture of shock and disbelief. It took her several seconds to assimilate what she had just been told. When she did reply her response was loaded with questions and doubt.

  ‘But how can that be? Mrs Marshall treated me exactly the same as all the other children in the orphanage.’ She thought back to her time there. Then another thought struck her. ‘And if I had an aunt, what was I doing in an establishment for orphans?’

  Gerald glanced at her again over his spectacles. ‘It certainly is most odd,’ he agreed.

  Their conversation halted briefly as Anna returned with a tray bearing the coffee and a plate piled with slices of fruit cake. A mug of coffee was placed in front of Jane and the plate of fruit cake offered.

  ‘Now, you must try this cake. I baked it especially for you today,’ Anna insisted.

  Jane didn’t really want anything more to eat, but out of politeness she took the smallest piece of cake she could see.

  Anna sat down opposite Jane and Gerald.

  It was Jane who took up the conversation about her past again. The constant nagging thought struck her yet again as she nibbled her cake. She took a sip of coffee and then voiced her anxiety.

  ‘I still don’t understand why I have a dead person’s identity. It doesn’t seem to make any sense.’

  ‘It certainly is most peculiar,’ remarked Gerald. Perhaps as a bit of reassurance to Jane he added, ‘But there’s got to be an answer somewhere.’