The Golden Anklet

by Beverly Hansford

  *

  The sound of her mobile alerted Jane. She woke up with a start, stretched full length on the settee. She must have fallen asleep, lying there and thinking about things. For a few seconds she struggled to recall where the ringing was coming from. Then she realised she had left her mobile on the dressing table. She dashed into the bedroom to retrieve it. Grabbing it, pressing the answer button and putting it to her ear came automatically.

  ‘Hello.’

  ‘Jane, it’s Bob. I’ve been trying to get you on your landline for ages. It’s always unobtainable.’

  Jane glanced at her watch. She had been asleep for over an hour.

  She gave a hurried ‘Give me a second’ and hastened into the hall. She picked up the telephone handset and clicked it into place. It had not been replaced correctly.

  She spoke to Bob as she returned to the lounge. ‘Darling, I’m dreadfully sorry. I had one of those wretched sales calls earlier in the evening and I can’t have put the phone down properly. I really am sorry.’

  She heard a chuckle at the other end of the line. ‘Oh, that’s OK. I just wondered where you were. You know, you can register with a number to eliminate those calls.’

  ‘Yes, I know. I did do it once, but it’s possible it’s run out or something.’

  ‘Anyway, how are you? You sound a bit down this evening,’ said Bob..

  Jane knew it was true. She struggled to be a bit more cheerful. ‘Darling, I am sorry. I’m missing your company. It’s just that the meeting with Miles Ashington has made me a bit emotional. I’m feeling better just talking to you.’

  ‘That’s what I was ringing about. How did things go?’

  Jane thought for a second, recalling the afternoon’s meeting, before answering. ‘He was quite helpful really, but from what he told me it looks as if I am Ruth Ashington.’

  She hesitated for a second before asking the question that had suddenly occurred to her. ‘How do you fancy tying up with Ruth Ashington instead of Jane Carroll?’

  ‘Poppet, I don’t care if you’re called Dracula. I will still love you.’

  Bob’s reply almost brought tears to Jane’s eyes. His reply had sounded so loving. Her voice was soft and quiet when she replied. ‘Darling, thank you for saying that.’

  Bob wanted to know more. ‘So, what did you find out?’ he asked eagerly.

  Jane thought for a moment, formulating a brief résumé of the afternoon’s events, and then related as much as she could remember.

  When she had finished, Bob’s reaction was immediate. ‘Phew. That’s a bit of a load to accept all at once,’ he replied thoughtfully. ‘I mean, being rejected by your mother and then put in an orphanage is a bit weird.’

  A slight wave of emotion swept over Jane as Bob reiterated the circumstances of her upbringing, but she managed to control it.

  ‘So what will the next step be?’ he asked.

  Jane forced a little laugh. ‘I’m not sure. Accept that I’m now called Ruth Ashington, I suppose.’ She thought for a second. ‘I’m not really sure I want to be Ruth Ashington. I think I prefer to be Jane Carroll – but that person doesn’t exist,’ she said quietly.

  Bob was quick to make a suggestion. ‘It’s not all that difficult to change your name,’ he pointed out.

  Jane had to agree. ‘Yes, I know. I did have some experience of that when I lost Graham. I changed my surname back to Carroll. My married name was Hawkins.’

  Bob did not respond to Jane’s reply. Instead he started to ask her more questions about her visit to Miles Ashington: where did the well-known businessman live? What did he look like? Did they talk about anything other than Jane’s early life? He had a host of questions to ask.

  Answering Bob’s questions lifted Jane briefly out of her gloom. It was good to change the subject and talk about other aspects of the afternoon, including Miles Ashington’s dinner invitation. When she had finished she was not quite prepared for Bob’s next suggestion.

  Bob hesitated a second before speaking. ‘I’ve just been thinking. Since you’re feeling a bit sad about this afternoon, would you like to cancel the session at the studio tomorrow?’

  Jane reaction was immediate. ‘No, no! I want to do it. I’ll be there as we arranged.’

  It was a turning point. Jane did her best to throw off her gloom and they chatted over their plans for the following day. They talked for a long time. By the time they had wished each other goodnight, it was already turned half past nine.

  *

  The following day did not start well. Jane had had a disturbed night. Though she had gone to bed at her normal time, sleep had not come immediately. She had started to go over the events of the afternoon again, and her thoughts had kept her awake. It had been early morning when she had finally dropped off. The result was that she overslept.

  She woke from a muddled dream and for a second or two had a job to remember where she was. As recollection jolted her back into reality, a quick glance at the bedroom clock told her that she was late. The hands indicated that it was a quarter to eight. Remembering that she had a hairdressing appointment at half past eight made her jump out of bed in a flash. A quick shower and a hurried cup of coffee was all that time would allow. Desperation prompted her to use the car to get to her appointment on time.

  Emerging from the hairdressing salon, she made a quick call into the supermarket close by to stock up on provisions. She purchased more than she had intended and in the end was glad she had the car with her.

  While she was struggling up the stairs leading to her apartment, she met Gerald and was reminded that despite her good intentions she had not contacted him the previous evening to tell him what she had learnt during her meeting with Miles Ashington.

  On seeing her, Gerald’s face immediately broke into a smile. ‘Ah, Jane, good morning. I was just thinking about you.’

  ‘Good morning, Gerald. I’ve been meaning to contact you and update you on what’s been happening. I’m sorry I didn’t make it yesterday evening.’

  Gerald brushed aside her apology. ‘You’re a busy person,’ he commiserated.

  ‘Would you like to come up now, and I can tell you all about it?’ she suggested politely.

  Gerald hesitated. ‘Well, if you’re sure it isn’t inconvenient, I could come up for a few minutes,’ he replied, looking a bit anxious.

  Jane’s response was to smile at him and start climbing the stairs again. Gerald offered to carry one of her bags, for which she was grateful. Just in the short trip from the car the plastic handle had been biting into her hand.

  They arrived at her apartment. Jane fumbled for her keys and let Gerald into the hall. They were both relieved to put down the bags of shopping.

  ‘Will you come into the lounge and sit down for a minute?’ asked Jane.

  Gerald shook his head. ‘No. I can’t stay very long. I’m meeting Anna at the shops.’

  Jane felt relieved. She knew that time was already running out for her meeting with Bob.

  ‘Anna and I are most interested to hear what happened when you went to see Miles Ashington,’ said Gerald.

  Once again, Jane related briefly the information she had gleaned from Miles Ashington. She finished up by stating her new identity. ‘So it now looks as if I have a new name – Ruth Ashington.’ She forced a smile and then added quickly, ‘But I think I’ll remain Jane Carroll for the present.’

  When Jane had finished, Gerald’s reaction was spontaneous. ‘Well, of course we expected that. What we need to do now is to fill in the details.’

  Jane was a bit surprised by Gerald’s matter-of-a-fact answer. It seemed to her that he was quite happy to acknowledge that she was now Ruth Ashington. She was formulating a suitable reply, but Gerald seemed keen to tell her something.

  ‘But I’ve got a bit of new information for you,’ he said.

  The tone of his voice stirred Jane’s curiosity. ‘Tell me,’ she prompted.

  Gerald needed no urging. ‘I told you Eric had the bit betwee
n his teeth,’ he announced with a smile. He continued before Jane could say anything. ‘He’s been delving into the Ashington family. He’s discovered that Miles Ashington changed his name to Ashington just before he married Ann Ashington.’

  The news brought an exclamation of surprise from Jane. ‘Gosh! He never mentioned that to me. He said he was a distant cousin of Ann’s.’

  ‘It’s quite possible,’ Gerald pointed out quickly.

  ‘I suppose so,’ said Jane thoughtfully, her initial surprise dispersing.

  ‘But here’s more from Eric,’ Gerald remarked.

  ‘Please tell me,’ urged Jane.

  ‘Miles Ashington was married previously. He was divorced shortly before marrying Ann Ashington.’

  ‘That’s odd. I thought it was his first marriage.’

  Gerald shook his head. ‘At the time of his marriage to Jane he had a seven-year-old son.’

  ‘Phew. That’s interesting,’ said Jane. ‘He never mentioned any of that yesterday.’ She added thoughtfully, ‘But I suppose he didn’t have any need to. We were talking about me.’

  Gerald nodded in agreement. ‘Absolutely,’ he said.

  Suddenly he glanced at his watch. ‘Goodness!’ he exclaimed anxiously. ‘Anna will wonder what’s happened to me. I must be on my way.’

  Jane ushered him out. ‘Thank Eric for me, and I hope I haven’t made you late.’

  Gerald was already hurrying away, talking as he went. ‘Oh, he’ll most likely find out more. He doesn’t give up.’

  He had disappeared before Jane could say anything else.

  Jane closed her door, realising that she, too, was late. Gone were her plans to do a few jobs before going to meet Bob. Now she only just had time to get ready.

  Gerald’s revelation about Miles Ashington had been most interesting. It made Jane wonder what other dark secrets about the Ashingtons would come to light. Somehow she had an inkling that there was more to learn about the family she was apparently part of.

  Chapter 30

  Jane arrived for work early on the Monday morning. For several days now she had made a point of getting up just those few minutes early and catching an earlier train. Her strategy was twofold. One, the train was less crowded, and two, arriving first in the office gave her the opportunity to do one or two jobs and plan her day without any interruptions.

  She felt quite buoyant. In spite of her initial reaction on the Friday to her meeting with Miles Ashington, by Saturday evening after talking things through with Bob she had begun to see things in a different light. Bob had been extremely supportive, and his logical reasoning had filtered through to her. She had become much more philosophical over the whole thing. As Bob had pointed out, she was still the same person as before Friday, and it would not be too difficult to change her name.

  She had enjoyed Saturday, in spite of the late start and the time spent talking to Gerald. In the end she had had to call Bob on his mobile to tell him that she was running late. She had eventually met him in a pub close to his studio. Being Saturday, it was not at all busy, and they had had a quiet drink and a spot of lunch, taking their time and chatting about the events of the previous few days. Talking things over with Bob had allayed many of Jane’s fears and worries, and when they eventually emerged from the pub she was feeling much better about things.

  In the studio, Bob made them both a mug of coffee and Jane sat and enjoyed watching him set up the lighting to take the photograph of her. When he announced that he was ready, she obediently slipped out of her jacket and blouse and sat as she was directed. Bob took a number of head and shoulder shots of her and at one point asked her to take off her necklace. She enjoyed seeing Bob at work and admired his skill and dedication. When he at last announced, ‘That’s it. Finished,’ she wanted to see the photographs, but Bob insisted on not showing her anything until they had been printed.

  For the first two days of the week Annette was out of the office a good deal and the staff only saw her briefly at intervals. Jane and Amy were pleased about this, because it enabled them to concentrate on their work without the interruptions that usually took place when Annette was in the office for any length of time.

  It was on the Wednesday morning that things started to happen. Jane was again in the office early and was surprised to see Annette also arrive extremely early, long before the official starting time for the office. She continued working, expecting to hear the buzz of the internal phone. It did not happen for several hours. There was no mistaking the voice on the other end when she answered it.

  ‘Have you got a minute to come up, Jane?’

  ‘Yes, of course. I’ll come right away.’

  Grabbing her notepad in case she needed to take any notes, Jane made her way up to Annette’s office. Amy made the usual face as she passed her desk. She had heard the phone ring and knew where Jane was heading.

  Annette looked up from her desk as Jane entered the office. An almost full cup of coffee was beside her.

  ‘Come and sit down, Jane. Would you like a coffee?’

  Out of politeness, Jane helped herself to half a cup. She did not really want it, as she had just had a mug of tea made for her by Amy.

  She sat down opposite Annette and waited for the usual flow of questions about work, or the sudden ideas about future projects. This time it did not happen immediately.

  Annette looked at Jane for a second and then with a slight smile she announced, ‘I was talking to a mutual acquaintance of ours the other evening.’

  Jane was thrown off balance initially. Who on earth could Annette know who knew her? All she could answer was, ‘Oh. That’s interesting.’

  Annette studied Jane for a reaction. Perhaps she had expected her to ask who it was they both knew, but as no enquiry was made she was forced to reveal the name anyway. She said just two words.

  ‘Miles Ashington.’

  Jane did her best to hide her surprise. The last thing that she wanted was to talk to Annette about Miles Ashington, least of all about her own involvement with him. She struggled for an instant to find a suitable reply. In the end all she could find to say was, ‘I wondered who it was.’

  Annette did not seem inclined to leave the matter at that. Instead she volunteered more information. ‘You appear to have made quite an impression. He asked a lot of questions about you.’

  Jane gave a forced little laugh, more to hide her anxiety than anything else. Her reply was deliberately vague. ‘Nice ones, I hope.’

  Annette nodded. Taking a sip of her coffee, she glanced over her cup at Jane. ‘Miles was most interested in you. He wanted to know a lot about you.’

  Jane was stumped for a suitable reply for an instant. She need not have worried. Annette was in full control of the conversation. After taking another sip of coffee, she replaced her cup and saucer on the desk and looked at Jane again with a rather curious smile.

  ‘I am extremely intrigued why you wanted to see Miles. Was it something to do with work?’ She stopped suddenly in mid-track, remembering something, and then added quickly, ‘You know we already did an article on him some years ago?’

  Jane’s heart sank. It was no good. Annette was clearly too curious to let the matter drop. She seemed determined to find out some information from Jane, but the last thing Jane wanted to do was discuss her meeting with Miles Ashington. She thought desperately for a solution to her predicament.

  She answered Annette’s question first. ‘Yes, I know. It was just about the time I joined the magazine.’

  She sipped her coffee to stall for a bit more time. As she did so she formulated a brief reply that she hoped might satisfy Annette. She made eye contact as she spoke again. ‘I wanted to have a short discussion with him, because I’ve been looking into my family history and there’s a possibility I am related to the Ashington family on my mother’s side.’

  Having delivered her explanation, Jane waited. Would it be enough to stop Annette asking further difficult questions?

  Her idea appeared to
work. Annette beamed admiringly at her. ‘Well, you couldn’t be connected with a more influential and respected family,’ she remarked.

  Jane decided that perhaps her best strategy now would be to ask questions instead of answering them. ‘What’s Miles Ashington like?’ she asked quickly, before Annette could say anything else.

  Annette took up the prompting. Looking at Jane all the time, she delivered her appraisal. ‘He is a most charming man. I have met him on a few occasions socially. His wife, Gail, is very nice as well. They are quite well known in town for their entertaining, and their dinner parties are legendary. I’ve been invited to a few of them.’

  It was a surprise to Jane that Annette was so well acquainted with Miles Ashington. She decided to try to find out a bit more about him while she had the opportunity. ‘He appears to be a very wealthy man,’ she observed casually.

  Annette nodded. ‘He is,’ she said. ‘Extremely wealthy. He is head of I don’t know how many companies and has several houses dotted about the country, as well as a yacht somewhere. He is also a generous donor to charity and political campaigns.’

  She ended by looking at Jane, as if to determine how she was reacting to the information.

  Jane responded with another comment. ‘I believe he has a son from a previous marriage.’

  Annette thought for a moment before answering. ‘Yes, I met him once, briefly.’ She hesitated again, and then added quietly, ‘I cannot say that I was as impressed with him as I am with his father.’

  ‘What does he do?’ asked Jane. ‘The son, I mean.’

  Annette laughed. ‘Much the same as his father – heavily involved in business interests – though I think he is taking a bigger load off his father’s shoulders these days.’

  ‘Are there no other children?’

  Annette shook her head. ‘None that I am aware of,’ she replied. ‘Miles has been married at least four times,’ she added casually. ‘He has only been married to Gail for about three years.’