Smokescreen. Anne Mather

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ like that. The trouble was, Henry Gantry had repented nothing. He had lived his life the way he chose to live it, and at the end he had had only gratification for his own shrewd reasoning.

      The sun was hidden by a cloud suddenly, and the bright afternoon with its promise of spring became at once dull and overcast. Although it was barely three o’clock, it would be dark soon, and Olivia quickened her step to where the chauffeur, Forsyth, was standing beside the Rolls.

      A flutter of condolences surrounded her as Forsyth opened the door of the Rolls for Olivia to ascend. Malcolm Birk, Henry’s managing director, and his wife, pressed forward to offer their regrets, Barry Freeman, the company secretary, Sean Barrett, another director; Mortimer Lloyd, Lane Grimond, Paul Sloane, James Farrell; Olivia acknowledged all their commiserations with unsmiling politeness, aware as she did so that each one of them was concerned for his own ends and no one else. Henry had been right about one thing, she thought, sinking back against the soft leather upholstery; they were like a pack of wolves, intent on the kill. And if her position had not been so secure, she would have been the first casualty.

      Expelling her breath on a sigh, she became aware of Forsyth’s eyes watching her through the rear-view mirror. But his eyes showed concern, not avarice, and she allowed a slight smile to touch her lips in answer to his unspoken question.

      ‘I’ll be all right,’ she said, drawing off the black suede gloves which had hidden her narrow fingers. Examining the square-cut sapphire that nudged the broad gold wedding band on her left hand, she shook her head half disbelievingly. ‘I’ll be all right, Forsyth,’ she said again. ‘You’ll see.’

      There were reporters at the gates of the cemetery, a gaggle of them, with notebooks and cameras, leaning dangerously close to the car as it passed to take yet another picture of the grieving widow. For it was quite a news story: a young woman, of only twenty-two years of age, whose marriage to a man more than forty years her senior had made her a celebrity; a bride of only six months, widowed by her elderly bridegroom, and suddenly one of the wealthiest women in the world.

      Olivia could not hide from the flashing light bulbs, so she did not try. She sat there, cool and remote, her intense composure yet another source of speculation for the gossip-hungry readers of the gutter press. She knew everyone thought she had married Henry for his money, and she supposed she had, in a way. But not in the way they meant; not even in the way his business associates believed; and certainly not for the reasons Henry himself had put forward.

      It was only a fifteen-minute drive from St Saviour’s cemetery to the house she had shared with Henry for the past six months. They had not had a honeymoon; it would have been an unbearable irony. And in any case, Henry had already been a sick man. He had known the few months he had left to him, and while Olivia might despise his memory, she could not help but admire the strength of will which had kept this knowledge in the back of his mind. Only his closest associates, like Francis Kennedy, had been aware that ill health had impaired his ability to function as he would have liked. But who would have believed it, after all? He had been a fighter to the last. And only the gauntness of his features in these last few weeks had betrayed the hours of pain he had suffered in silence. He had always looked so strong; a fine figure of a man, with his broad shoulders and tall physique. Indeed, when the pictures of their wedding appeared in the papers, not everyone had envied him his good fortune. Some had envied Olivia too, and not just because Henry Gantry was reputed to be the fifteenth most wealthy man in the world.

      The Rolls slowed as they turned into Virginia Drive, and the tall steel gates of the house confronted them. Virginia Drive wasn’t really a road at all, it was a cul-de-sac, with only the high walls of Henry Gantry’s property on either side. The gates, which were set squarely at the end, guarded the entrance to the private estate, and were patrolled day and night by armed guards with dogs. As the Rolls approached, it was identified, and the heavy steel gates swung back with mechanised smoothness. Olivia received a polite salute from the guard on duty as she passed, and although in the beginning she had been embarrassed by this mark of respect, now she raised her hand automatically, without even giving it much thought.

      A gravelled sweep curved between tall hydrangeas and rhododendron bushes, before emerging into the wide forecourt before the house. The house itself was casually elegant, a neo-Georgian edifice, with a pillared portico and panelled doors below a fluted fanlight. A series of box hedges gave definition to the terrace, and beyond them a manicured expanse of lawn, inset with a lily pool and flower beds, provided a formal display. Everywhere was immaculate, as immaculate as an army of gardeners could make it, and because Henry Gantry had believed in paying for service, he had never suffered from any shortage of staff.

      ‘Will you be wanting the car again today, Mrs Gantry?’

      Forsyth’s polite enquiry drew Olivia’s attention, and she looked at him almost absently. She had been absorbed with her thoughts, absorbed with the enormity of the task that confronted her, and Forsyth’s simple question required some concentration.

      ‘No,’ she said at last. ‘No, I don’t think so, thank you, Forsyth. You can take the rest of the day off.’

      ‘Why, thank you, Mrs Gantry.’ Forsyth was pleasantly surprised. He walked round the car and opened the door for her as she moved to alight. ‘Take it easy, hmm?’ he added, as she accepted his hand, and the sympathy he had shown her in the car was renewed in that warm grasp.

      ‘Thank you.’ Only briefly, her rare smile showed, and then she released herself and walked towards the house as other cars pulled up behind them.

      The hall of the house was high-ceilinged and wide, carpeted in blue and gold, and supporting a huge chandelier. There were other lights, set around the walls, whose discreet positioning highlighted some of the many original paintings Henry Gantry had collected during his business career; and as they were presently lit to allay the gloom of the lowering skies, the hall had a warmth and an intimacy it was sometimes lacking.

      The house itself was built on two levels. Where Olivia stood to allow the butler, Hamish Murdoch, to help her to remove her coat was the upper level, and to either side of her, the drawing rooms and the library opened on to this level. The stairs, that gave access to the first floor, also rose along one panelled wall, and the gallery above provided further space for Henry’s collection.

      Ahead of her, Olivia could see the sweeping arch that framed the shallow steps that led down to the dining room and sun lounge, and her late husband’s study. This part of the house faced south, and a series of glass doors in each of the rooms gave access to a pool patio, which Henry had used frequently when the weather was good enough. Below the patio, the ground fell away gradually to the river, the Thames at this point being deep enough and wide enough to create a natural barrier to intruders.

      A cold buffet had been laid in one of the drawing rooms, at Olivia’s suggestion. She had not wanted a formal gathering in the dining room, and besides, this way no one would notice how little she ate. Francis Kennedy, typically, was the first to arrive, and he surreptitiously took over, organising drinks for those who wanted them, and generally taking the pressure off Olivia. She knew she would feel grateful to him, for easing her position, if only she could stop thinking of the motives behind his conciliatory smile.

      Henry’s solicitor was there; Adam Cosgrove had known Henry all his working life, and Olivia supposed it wasn’t unreasonable that he should feel some remorse. Nevertheless, she thought he looked at her with more than a degree of calculation, and she wondered if he was speculating how best to present his suit. It was a little distracting to consider how many people had depended on Henry for their livelihood, and who now depended on her! How would they feel when they learned what she intended to do? She was realistic enough to know that they would not admire her for it.

      ‘Olivia!’

      A СКАЧАТЬ