CHAPTER NINE

Matt left for home the next day. Zoe watched him go with both relief and a strange aching sadness. He went off in his truck with as little ceremony as when he had arrived.

At least this time he hadn’t gone without saying goodbye. Did that make it better or worse? There had been nothing in his eyes to suggest that before too long he would be saying hello again.

Camille hadn’t gone back with him, as Zoe’s inquiry revealed. Apparently André Dupont had persuaded his granddaughter to stay a while longer. But Zoe couldn’t help wondering if it wasn’t the other way round, that perhaps Camille had failed to persuade Matt to take her back with him.

A few days after Matt’s departure an opportunity occurred for Zoe to ask Hannah something which had been bothering her.

‘Hannah, while Tony’s not around’—he was in his room catching up on his letter writing—‘there’s something I’d like to ask you. Please yourself whether you answer me or not. It’s none of my business. I’ve no right to ask, because it’s an unpardonable intrusion into your family privacy, but—’

‘It can’t be that, Zoe, whatever it is. You’re going to be part of this family; which makes all the difference. So go ahead and ask. I can always reserve the right to change my mind and not give you an answer if I find that it’s too sticky.’

‘It’s about Matt, actually.’

‘Is it now?’ Hannah said, her gaze floating shrewdly over Zoe’s troubled face.

‘It’s something Tony said about Matt. Naturally, it’s his version. I wondered if yours was the same.’ Zoe spotted the thoughtful look in Hannah’s eyes. If she was reading this right, it came to her that she shouldn’t have doubted Tony. In Hannah’s estimation, she should, as a loving fiancée, have believed implicitly that what Tony said had to be the truth, without needing confirmation. She wouldn’t have questioned anything that Matt had told her. Oh well, having gone that far she had to go on. ‘I understand that Matt and Tony’s father started out as equal partners, and that Matt bought Tony’s father out.’

‘Yes, that is so.’

‘Tony is under the impression that Matt cheated his father. And so Tony feels cheated. He thinks that he should be Matt’s equal partner and not just an employee.’

‘Oh, dear. It’s very sticky. You’re not going to like what I have to say. That is,’ Hannah qualified, ‘it’s not going to put Tony in a favorable light.’

‘That can’t be helped.’

‘No, I don’t suppose it can.’ Hannah sighed deeply. ‘I must tell you a little about Tony’s father, my late son-in-law. I don’t like speaking ill of the dead, but Edward Talbot was a weak man. Full of charm, of course, with good looks and a silver tongue that could talk the birds out of the trees, so I could understand what Nerissa saw in him, but he was lazy. He wanted all the good things in life, he had very expensive tastes, but he wanted these things without working for them. When he first went into business with Matt it seemed an excellent arrangement. Looking back, Matt must have had some awareness, but he didn’t say anything. It only came to light who was putting the real effort in when Matt was out of commission?”

‘Out of commission?’

‘Matt had an accident while driving a truck. It’s said that over half the road accidents to British motorists on the Continent occur within 150 kilometers of leaving the Channel ports, because of tight schedules and unfamiliar driving conditions. But Matt wasn’t the one at fault. He never set himself an impossible target, and he was used to driving on the Continent. It was a crazy vacationer who hadn’t left himself time to catch his ferry on the homeward trip. He had three children in the car and he was tearing up the road. Matt could have plowed into the car, and being in the much bigger vehicle he stood a chance of getting away comparatively unhurt, or he could have taken a foolhardy risk and swerved to avoid it. If you’ve come to know Matt at all during your stay here, you won’t need me to tell you what action he took.’

‘The foolhardy risk?’ The only lie she had ever found him out in. I might take the odd calculated risk, he had told her quite recently, but never foolhardy ones. But he had—once.

‘He swerved, turned the truck over, and spent the next six months in hospital. The main worry was his right eye.’

‘That faint scar across it?’

‘Yes. Brilliant surgery was performed on him, then complete rest was ordered. In doing as he was told, and saving his eye, he almost lost his business. Edward let it run completely down. If the boot had been on the other foot Matt would have worked himself into the ground to keep things stable for Edward’s return. Edward was simply too lazy to bother. Matt decided that if he was going to work round the clock to get himself out of the red it was going to be for himself and not for someone who wasn’t worth it. If cheating Edward Talbot was giving him an ultimatum, accept what’s on the table or we’ll both sit back and wait for the receiver to come in, then, yes, Matt cheated him. In my book it’s the other way round. Because of Edward’s initial connection with the business Matt has always felt under an obligation to keep Tony in a secure job. I think Tony is cheating on Matt in not being grateful. He should show a bit of loyalty instead of complaining of injustices done to him. If Tony wants what Matt has got, then he should do what Matt has done, start at the bottom and get it for himself instead of looking for the easy option. Tony is my grandson, my only grandchild, and I love him very much, but I’m not blind to his faults. You asked, and couldn’t lie to you. I had to say nothing, which would have been as good as saying that what Tony said about Matt was true, or tell you the facts. I didn’t have a choice, did I? I only hope that I haven’t lowered Tony too much in your eyes.’

‘Strangely enough, you haven’t. If anything, it’s made me understand him better. Anyone would find it difficult to live up to Matt’s example. Tony never had a chance. He could never accomplish what Matt has, even if he lived to be a hundred; he’s too much his father’s son. He probably realized all that at an early age, so he didn’t even try . . . It’s all so clear now. Matt’s a fine person, and I’m not minimizing what he’s done with his life, made of himself, it’s just that Tony comes out of a different mold. Matt’s like a robot the way he goes after things. In a way, it’s a little frightening.’

‘You think that Matt’s got no tender feelings?’

Was that what she’d implied? ‘I don’t know.’

‘Sometimes what we are isn’t entirely in our own hands, as you’ve just so rightly pointed out. Matt can’t help being like he is any more than Tony can. Spare some of your compassion for Matt. Perhaps life has made him that way. His accident robbed him of more than you realize. Brilliant surgery saved his eye, and his own efforts saved his business, but he lost the girl he loved.’

‘Yes, I remember you telling me there was a girl in his life. Was she very lovely?’

‘I wouldn’t know. I never met her. Matt said she was beautiful, but it must have been a superficial beauty. She can’t have been very lovely inside. I hated to see Matt so miserable, it tore me apart, and I begged him to get word to her about what had happened, but he said it would be no use. She was only interested in his position and his money. As he was without both at the time he had nothing to offer her that she wanted. He didn’t want her to see him as he was. He said it would torture him, although how he could be any more tortured than he was, I failed to see. However, Matt knew this girl, I didn’t. I had to trust him to know how she would react.’

‘You didn’t know her? Not even her . . . her name?’

‘I didn’t have a name; I didn’t know where she lived. I’ve asked myself since, had I known, would I have overruled Matt and got in touch with her? In my ignorance it was easier to go along with Matt’s wish that I didn’t. Not that I agreed with him. I like things out in the open, and I told him as much. Recently I’ve wondered if I was right to let it rest there. I ought to have been more persistent. I might have talked him into letting me contact the girl, have a word with her, get a feeling for the situation for myself. What if Matt was wrong in his estimation of her? That’s the question I’ve found myself asking over and over again just lately. Men, women too for that matter, can be, peculiarly blind to the truth when they’re in love!’

Zoe was too busy with her own thoughts to perceive the shrewd way Hannah was looking at her. ‘When . . . when did all this happen? How long ago was Matt’s accident?’

‘Let me see . . . Time goes so quickly when you’re getting older, but it must be getting on for . . .’ Her brow farrowed in deep concentration. ‘Yes, it must be all of five years ago.’

‘Thank you for telling me, Hannah.’

She knew that she had piqued Hannah’s curiosity, just as hers had been aroused when Hannah first spoke to her about the girl in Matt’s past, but it couldn’t be helped.

‘Thank you,’ she repeated, rising abruptly, needing to be alone to think things out.

When Hannah had first mentioned it, why hadn’t she probed? In being sensitive to Hannah’s feelings, honoring her reluctance to speak of a matter that was private to Matt, she felt that valuable time had been wasted.

Up in her room, she paced the floor restlessly. Five years ago! She was the girl, the girl whom Matt had been certain would turn her back on him in his misfortune. Miss Fortune. That damned name. It had been a bitter joke between them. He had asked her if it would have made any difference to the way she felt about him if he’d had nothing. She had replied truthfully that it would. He had taken it that she just wanted him for his money. He had thought she was like his brother-in-law and his nephew—Nerissa, too, for that matter—out for what she could get. The picture that Zoe had now was that even if they had bled him white, they still wouldn’t have been satisfied. Edward Talbot was dead, of course, so that only left Nerissa and Tony to be bitter and vindictive, jealous of Matt instead of being glad for him and proud to be associated with him. They wanted the high life but didn’t want to make the effort of earning it. They wanted it to be provided for them, and Matt thought she was the same. Her glib reply that he wouldn’t have had the same fascination for her if he hadn’t been so successful had convinced him that he was right. With relatives like his, no wonder he was suspicious and took the jaundiced viewpoint. She had meant that he wouldn’t have been the same Matt without his ambition and intelligence and commanding personality. It was the things that would get him to the top and keep him there that had attracted her, not the rewards!

But he hadn’t understood. Oh, Matt, those wretched years . . . The thought of him lying hurt in hospital and her not being there with him tore at her heart. She cried for the hopelessness of it all.

She dried her eyes. It wasn’t hopeless at all. She had to end her engagement to Tony. Her feelings for him had never been strong enough. He hadn’t been able to stamp Matt out of her heart. There wasn’t a man alive who could do that. And then she had to go back home and seek Matt out. And they had to talk. Perhaps nothing would come of it, but they had to talk.

Camille and her grandfather, André Dupont, were coming to dinner. The tangle of her own personal life would have to be put away for the time being. She had to get ready, then put on a bright smile, and do nothing to cast a shadow on the evening’s festivities.

She used extra makeup to counteract the natural sparkle that was missing and managed to get back downstairs minutes prior to the arrival of the guests. Hannah liked the courtesy of everyone being there for the greeting.

Camille was looking especially beautiful. There was something about her, a glow that didn’t come from makeup but was born from within. Yet at the same time there was something about her that undermined that look of well-being. She had forsaken her favorite red and wore a dress of sharp citrus yellow which showed off her luscious curves to perfection.

Zoe turned her eyes to Camille’s grandfather. Rich, distinguished, and handsome, André Dupont doted on Camille and would obviously tear the earth apart to grant her smallest whim. Some would say ‘lucky Camille,’ but Zoe wasn’t so sure. The most precious things in life had to be given freely. They become valueless when bought for hard cash.

Would Hannah and Monsieur Dupont ever make a match? she wondered. She had known Hannah for a short time, yet she felt deeply a part of her life. It was odd to think that in ending her engagement to Tony, if things didn’t work out between her and Matt, she would become nothing to Hannah and might never see her again. It was an unhappy, chilling thought. She dared not pin her hopes on making a future with Matt. In explaining what had happened five years ago, Hannah had said he’d lost the girl he loved. But had Matt said that in so many words, or had Hannah romanticized Matt’s feelings and made that assumption herself? Matt had never told her that he loved her. He wanted her in a physical way, he had never made any bones about that, but love was another matter entirely.

‘What a very deep look.’

Zoe turned to André Dupont, who had made the remark, and was sitting next to her at the table. ‘I’m sorry, Monsieur. I was miles away.’

‘Really? I should have thought only inches,’ he said, referring to the fact that Tony was sitting on her other side. ‘Being in love is not the simple state the popular ballads lead us to believe. It can be a complex and traumatic business.’

It was an observation that followed her own life too closely and invited Zoe’s sharp intake of breath, but then it occurred to her that Monsieur Dupont was talking to her in an abstract fashion and that his eyes were on his granddaughter.

His concentration directed her own gaze there. She saw the smile die on Camille’s lips and noticed the glazed look in the girl’s eyes before her lashes fluttered down, and then Camille folded like a rag doll and with boneless grace slid to the floor.

Zoe had never seen anyone faint so beautifully. At first no one seemed to realize what had happened, and then everyone moved of one accord. Tony was hampered by his crutches, but between them Zoe and André Dupont managed to transfer Camille to the sofa. She came round almost immediately, looking bewildered and obviously wondering what all the commotion was about.

‘You fainted,’ Hannah explained gently.

‘What a silly thing to do!’ Camille still looked confused, despite the laugh that came to her lips.

‘Perhaps I should take you home,’ André Dupont said with some perplexity, not seeming to know what would be best.

‘But, grandpapa, why? I’m all right now,’ Camille protested.

‘I’ve never known you to faint before,’ he said, his eyes appealing to Hannah for guidance.

‘There’s a first time for everything,’ Camille replied nonchalantly. ‘Honestly, grandpapa, I feel wonderful, so don’t fuss.’

‘Young girls do have these peculiar turns, André. I wouldn’t attach too much importance to the matter, if I were you,’ Hannah comforted.

André’s gaze rested on Camille, who now seemed quite recovered; her color was back to normal, and she was preening herself in a manner that suggested she was enjoying the attention. His anxiety lifted. ‘Yes, I suppose you are right. It would be a pity to curtail such a very pleasant evening.’

‘Good.’ Hannah’s tone was brisk. ‘Let’s return to the table.’

The incident was forgotten and not referred to again until the guests’ departure.

After depositing goodbye kisses on both of Hannah’s cheeks, Camille said, ‘Thank you for a perfect meal and a lovely time.’ Then she added apologetically, ‘I’m sorry to have caused that little stir during dinner.’

‘You must not give it another thought, mon enfant. These things happen. You might telephone me tomorrow to set my mind at rest that all is well with you.’

‘I’ll do better than that. I’ll come round, if I may, and then you can see for yourself.’

‘You are always welcome here, you know that.’

As André Dupont took his leave of her, Hannah said, her voice as light as a summer breeze, ‘Just as a precaution, why not let Camille be seen by her doctor?’

‘I am sure it is nothing, but perhaps that is not such a bad idea.’ There was no alarm in the dark eyes that dipped over the hand. Hannah offered for his parting kiss.

* * *

Why it came as a surprise, Zoe would never know. All the clues were there, and yet, as Hannah replaced the telephone receiver the next day, Zoe had no idea of what was coming.

‘That was André,’ Hannah explained. ‘The doctor has just examined Camille. It seems, after all, that André will get his long desired liaison with our family, if not in quite the way he had wished. I don’t know how to tell you this, Zoe. I’m very, very sorry, my dear. But Camille is pregnant.’

Camille pregnant. Liaison between the two families. Just who, exactly, was Hannah saying the father was?

‘I must telephone Matt,’ Hannah said, turning back to the telephone, lifting the receiver, dialing. ‘He’ll get here on the first available flight.’