Dangerous Rhapsody Read online

  Damon Thorne came back round the desk, and looked down at her piercingly. ‘Yes,’ he said forcefully. ‘I am going to help you, but at a price.'

  Emma's legs gave way, and she sank back down into her chair. Her relief was so great, she did not at first take any notice of his qualification. She sought the clasp of her handbag, and opening it she looked inside for her cigarettes. She felt she needed one.

  But before she could take out the packet, he lifted an onyx cigarette box off his desk and offered it to her. She took a cigarette gratefully, and allowed him to light it with his gold lighter. When she had inhaled deeply, and allowed her nerves to relax a little, the full implication of his words came flooding back to her. She looked up at him, puzzled, and shook her head.

  ‘I… I don't understand. Naturally, Johnny will repay every penny of the money he took.'

  ‘The monetary angle of all this is of concern to the accountants, not to me.’ His voice was curt.

  ‘But what other price could we pay?’ She was baffled.

  ‘Not “we”,’ he replied softly. ‘You.'

  Emma stared at him. Then she got to her feet shakily, and moved away from him involuntarily. For what possible purpose did Damon Thorne want her? Surely, after all this time, he could not still…

  ‘No,’ he said harshly, as though reading her thoughts. Don't imagine for one moment that I'm even remotely interested in you sexually!'

  He said it contemptuously, his mouth twisted, and Emma felt something inside her curl up and die. His eyes flickered appraisingly over her, insolent in their intensity, as though discounting the unknowingly appealing picture she made in her slim-fitting dark green suit, and white blouse. Although she was not a beautiful girl in the strictest sense of the word, her eyes were huge in her small, piquant face, and her mouth was full and generous. It certainly could be said she was more than pretty, she was attractive.

  ‘Then what do you want?’ she asked, twisting her gloves. ‘I'm a nurse, not a secretary.'

  Just at that moment, a telephone pealed on his desk. Reaching forward, he lifted the receiver and said: ‘Thorne. What is it?'

  He spoke for a moment, it was a technical matter, and Emma took little notice, but then as that call ended, the inter-communication system to one side of his desk buzzed. Swearing softly to himself, he pressed down a button. ‘Yes?'

  Jennifer Weldon's voice was cool and modulated. ‘The secretary is here from the Ministry, sir,’ she said. ‘His appointment is for eleven-fifteen and it is already eleven-twenty.'

  Damon Thorne glanced at the gold watch on his wrist. ‘Tell him I'll be another fifteen minutes yet,’ he said uncompromisingly.

  ‘But, Mr. Thorne…'

  ‘Tell him, Miss Weldon.'

  ‘Yes, sir.'

  He flicked up the button again. Emma had composed herself. The initial shock of his decision was wearing off but he still had not told her why he needed her.

  He looked across at her. ‘As you were saying,’ he said, smoothly, as though uncaring of the fact that he had just made the minister's secretary wait for personal reasons. ‘You're a nurse, and it's in that capacity that I require your services.'

  Emma swallowed hard. ‘I see.’ Although she didn't see at all. Could he possibly be ill? He didn't look ill, but he might be suffering from one of those awful diseases which revealed no noticeable symptoms at the beginning. She felt a trifle sick.

  Damon Thorne returned to his own side of the desk and lit another cigar. Then, when Emma refused to sit down again, he said:

  ‘You must know I've been married.'

  Emma nodded. Of course she knew. Had he not married Elizabeth Kingsford only weeks after their separation? And had not the knowledge torn her apart?

  ‘Well, I have a daughter, Annabel. She's six and a half.’ Emma nodded again. She knew this also. Despite their separation she had sought information about him avidly.

  ‘Something you may not know, something we have not publicized, is the fact that she's blind.’ He watched the reactions she gave; the widening of her eyes, the compassionate curve of her mouth. ‘When her mother was killed in the car crash, Annabel was with her. Elizabeth was driving too fast, the corner was too sharp, Annabel received a blow on her head, and when she regained consciousness, she couldn't see. It's as simple as that.'

  Emma shook her head. ‘I'm sorry,’ she said inadequately. ‘Will she ever see again?'

  ‘Specialists think it may be possible, I haven't their faith.’ He spoke heavily. ‘In any case, it's too early to tell. She's too young for any major surgery to be performed on her. I wouldn't agree to that.’ He shrugged his broad shoulders. ‘So that's the problem. The nurse-companion who has been with Annabel eighteen months now, since the time of the crash, is leaving to get married. I need a new companion for the child. I dislike strangers in my home; you, at least, would not be that. Is it agreed?'

  Emma felt bewildered. She needed time to think about something like this. To go and live in the same house as Damon Thorne, to see him often, to care for his daughter; it was the last thing she wanted to do. But what choice had she? Either she did this, and saved Johnny imprisonment, or she refused and Johnny would have to take his chances.

  ‘I… I have a job,’ she said, prevaricating. ‘I'm a staff nurse now. I expected to be a Sister by the end of the year. I don't know what to say.'

  He smiled his derisive smile. ‘Oh, I think you'll agree,’ he said callously. ‘After all, if you don't, things are going to be pretty unpleasant for your brother.'

  ‘You're despicable!’ she exclaimed hotly, unable to prevent herself.

  ‘Cynical is the word,’ he said mockingly. ‘And if I am, you have only yourself to thank, haven't you?'

  Emma turned away, unable to look at him any longer. He didn't know what he was saying; he didn't know what he was asking.

  ‘It seems I have no choice then,’ she said, in a low voice. ‘I… I shall have to give my notice in at the hospital. They'll expect a month's notice…'

  ‘Give them a fortnight,’ he said, abruptly. ‘I'll pay your salary in lieu of the other two weeks. If there are any complaints refer them to me.'

  Emma swung round. ‘You think money can buy everything!’ she cried angrily.

  He shook his head. ‘I know it can't,’ he said seriously. Then shedding the mood, he continued: ‘I don't know why you're behaving so angrily. You ought to be grateful to me. Instead of spending the rest of the winter in this cold climate, you'll be basking in the sun in the Bahamas.'

  ‘The Bahamas!’ Emma was astounded.

  ‘Of course. I live there now, didn't you know? Well, perhaps you wouldn't at that. Like Annabel's health, it's not for publication.'

  CHAPTER TWO

  WHEN Emma returned to the flat which she shared with Johnny, he was waiting for her. Since their parents’ death four years ago, they had lived in this small flat near Earl's Court, for their old home had had to be sold, and they had not been left with a great deal of money.

  Johnny rose from the couch on which he had been lounging at her entrance, and stared piercingly at her.

  ‘Did you see him? Is he going to let me get away with it? Have you managed to persuade him that it wasn't my fault? What did he say?'

  Emma shook her head wearily. ‘Johnny,’ she exclaimed. ‘Let me speak. You want to know so many things all at once. Yes, I saw him. No, you won't have to face a court case…'

  ‘Oh, Em, Em darling!’ Johnny lifted her bodily into the air and swung her round excitedly. ‘I knew you could do it. I just knew it!'

  Emma sat down on a chair and lit a cigarette with hands which were not quite steady. Her brain still would not assimilate itself to the proposed change in her circumstances. On top of all her own difficulties there was the added problem of Johnny himself. Although he was twenty-six, a year older than herself, he had always seemed much younger, and it had been Emma who had borne the brunt of of any unpleasantness he had got himself into. To imagine herself leavi
ng him, going to live thousands of miles away from him where she would be unable to see that he ate regularly, that he bought enough clothes that he did not drink too much.

  Johnny was also smoking now. He waltzed round the room, holding his cigarette between his teeth. ‘Em, you're a marvel!'

  Emma sighed. ‘You haven't heard everything yet,’ she said dryly. ‘Even Damon Thorne wants something for his money.'

  Johnny halted abruptly. ‘What could he possibly want? Apart from his money back, of course.'

  ‘He wants me. At least, he wants my nursing experience. His daughter Annabel requires a nurse-companion. That's his price.'

  Johnny shrugged and grimaced. ‘Oh, well, that's not so terrible, is it? I mean, working for Thorne you won't be underpaid, will you? I thought at first you meant… ’ He stopped. ‘Why the long looks? Nursing for him will be a darn sight easier than slogging away in that hospital of yours.'

  Emma stared at him as though seeing him for the first time. ‘Honestly, Johnny, you really are the limit! You know perfectly well that I enjoy my work, and I was due for promotion. I don't want to give it all up to go play nanny to a small child. But you don't care about me at all, do you? Just so long as you get away scot free!'

  Johnny looked uncomfortable. ‘Don't be like that, old girl.'

  ‘Don't call me “old girl”,’ she cried angrily. ‘Anyway, you may not be so pleased with yourself when I tell you that I shall be leaving England. Annabel lives in the Bahamas. Damon Thorne has a house there, on one of the Cays not far from New Providence.'

  ‘What!’ Johnny was disturbed now. ‘But what about me… the flat?'

  Because the hospital where Emma worked was close by the flat, she had been able to spend all her free time there. She was virtually Johnny's housekeeper, and did all the cooking and cleaning, the shopping and mending. She had not minded; since Damon Thorne there had been no men in her life of any consequence, and Johnny had come to rely on her completely.

  ‘I'm sorry,’ she said now. ‘But that is the price we have to pay. Either I agree to Damon's request, and go out to Sainte Dominique to take charge of Annabel, or you go to prison, it's as simple as that.'

  Johnny clenched his fists angrily. ‘How typical of him to impose conditions,’ he exclaimed pettishly.

  ‘Johnny! You were the one to get us into this mess,’ replied Emma, unable to prevent herself defending Damon Thorne. After all, his conditions were not exactly stringent.

  ‘I know, I know. You needn't keep reminding me. But it's typical of him that he should do something so utterly despicable so that I suffer whatever happens.'

  ‘Oh, Johnny!'

  ‘Well, it's true, isn't it? Good lord, there are plenty of agencies in London where he could obtain a nurse or companion or whatever he wants with twice as many qualifications as you have for taking care of the kid. How old is she? She can't be more than six. It's positively ludicrous. Why does he want you? Why couldn't he just let me pay the money back and be done with it?'

  Emma shook her head. ‘I know nothing more than I've told you. I don't know why he wants me, from his attitude I should say he positively despises me.'

  ‘There you are, then. He's merely taking you to spite me.'

  Emma sighed. ‘Well, whatever his reasons are, we have to accept them. I don't suppose you're prepared to go to prison to spite him, are you?'

  Johnny bent his head. ‘No,’ he grunted disagreeably. ‘And how long do you expect to be away? What will I do after you've gone?'

  ‘I don't know, Johnny, I honestly don't know. It worries me just as much as you, believe me.'

  ‘What are the arrangements, then? He decided this pretty quickly, didn't he?'

  Emma bit her lip. ‘Oh, lord, I forgot to tell you. He already knew what you'd done. He was expecting me.'

  ‘The swine!’ swore Johnny furiously. ‘I might have known nothing could go on in those offices without his knowing everything about it!'

  ‘Well, it makes no difference really. It saved me a lot of explanations, that's all. We must just accept it.’ Emma slipped off her shoes, and then glanced at her watch. ‘Gosh, it's almost one. I have to be back on duty at two, and I have my resignation to write out, too.'

  Johnny moved about restlessly. ‘When do you leave?'

  ‘In a little over two weeks, I believe. His secretary is going to contact me and give me all the details. I suppose I'll have to buy some summer clothes – after all, it may be January here, but it's very warm in the Bahamas all year round.'

  Johnny made a disgruntled gesture. ‘Just imagine,’ he muttered. ‘I'm stuck here and you're going to be have the time of your life.'

  Emma, who had risen to her feet, swung round on him. Without her shoes she was only a little over five feet in height, but as Johnny was only five feet six himself it was not noticeable. ‘You really are the most selfish person I've ever met,’ she exclaimed hotly. ‘I don't particularly care where I'm going; I wanted to stay here – my friends are here, my work is here. Do you honestly imagine some isolated island, even if it is situated in a marvellous climate, can compensate for the things I'm going to give up? And most of all, how do you think I feel about living in Damon Thorne's household, as a member of his staff, subject to his commands?'

  Johnny had the grace to look a little embarrassed at last. ‘I suppose it will be pretty grim. After all, the life in Nassau is hardly the life you're going to be leading, is it? I'm sorry, Em. I guess I was a bit callous. I shall just have to get my meals out and take my laundry to the laundromat.'

  ‘Yes,’ said Emma slowly. ‘So long as you do that. For goodness’ sake, don't go around looking like a tramp, just because I'm not here to look after you.'

  Johnny grimaced. ‘I'm not a complete idiot, you know. But what about my job? Am I still employed, or not?'

  ‘He says you can stay on, although naturally the amount you took will be deducted in weekly instalments from your salary.'

  ‘Naturally,’ muttered Johnny glumly. ‘Oh, well, that's that, then.'

  Emma glanced at him, and then turning away walked into the bathroom. She had to change, and there might just be time to snatch a snack in the hospital canteen before she was back on the ward.

  * * *

  During the next two weeks Emma did not give herself time to dwell on the reasons behind Damon Thorne's demand for her services. Her days were full with her work, and with obtaining the necessary clothes and documents which would take her to Nassau, and at night, if she could not sleep, she took a sleeping pill and refused to consider the consequences.

  The staff at the hospital were naturally curious about her sudden resignation, and she had had to let it be known that she was taking up a post with Damon Thorne's household in the Bahamas.

  ‘But, darling,’ her friend Joanna Denham had exclaimed, ‘didn't you once know him rather well? I mean, his name is certainly familiar. Isn't he that American property millionaire you once ran around with?'

  Emma had stifled her embarrassment, and replied airily: ‘He's only half-American, actually. His mother was English. And yes, I did used to know him, but not… awfully well.'

  Their relationship, hers and Damon Thorne's, had been in the days before Joanna came to the hospital. She could only have heard gossip and Emma had no intention of illustrating their association. Instead, she made it sound as though they had merely been acquaintances.

  ‘Well, anyway,’ Joanna continued, ‘I think you're doing the right thing. Working in a hospital is all very well, but I'd give anything for a bit of sunshine myself.'

  Emma had let her resignation sound as though it was her decision, and not the result of coercion. Her one regret was that the Matron of the hospital had had such faith in her, and now it looked as though she was ungrateful for all the Matron had done for her. But it was impossible to explain, without involving Johnny, and after all, this was wholly for his benefit.

  The night before she left the hospital, the nurses threw a party for her, and after
wards they went back to the flat for a final nightcap. Apart from Emma and five other nurses, there were two medical students, two housemen, Johnny, and Martin Webster, a friend of his.

  They were a noisy crowd, and Emma thought regretfully that it would be a long time before she enjoyed herself so much again. They put on the record player, and danced to records, and teased Emma about the kind of life she was going to have. They all seemed to envy her, and Emma was beginning to think that it might not be so bad after all. Damon Thorne was hardly likely to be around much. He was too restless a man, too concerned with the power of his empire. And it was quite a way from London to Nassau, even in these days of fast travel. It wasn't so far from New York, of course, but she doubted his capacity for finding an island entertaining for long.

  She was in the kitchen, making coffee, when the doorbell rang. Johnny went to answer it, thinking it might be one of their neighbours coming to complain about the noise. But instead, Damon Thorne stood on the threshold.

  Emma had come to the kitchen door, to see what was going on, and when her eyes met those of Damon Thorne's her heart almost stopped beating.

  Johnny stepped back, and shrugged his shoulders. ‘Are you coming in, Mr. Thorne?’ he asked sardonically.

  Damon barely glanced at him, but stepped past him into the lounge. His bulk seemed to dominate the room, and the girls and boys stopped dancing and watched him.

  ‘Can I see you for a minute, Emma?’ he asked, his eyes surveying the debris of full ashtrays and empty glasses.

  Emma bit her lip. ‘I… well… as you can see, there's a party going on,’ she said awkwardly. ‘Couldn't it wait until the morning?'

  ‘I'm afraid not. The kitchen will do.'

  He crossed the room, the others stepping back to allow him passage as though it was his right, and Emma grimaced to herself and stood back into the small kitchen. Damon followed her in, and firmly closed the door behind him, leaning back against it. Immediately, they could hear the others begin talking and laughing again, and Emma relaxed a little.