Challenge Page 16

  'But that's ridiculous,' said Jessica. 'I put them there myself yesterday--you saw me.'

  'I know. And nobody knew they were there except you and me.'

  `No.' Suddenly and sickeningly Jessica recalled telling Leandro; more than telling him, had she not actually waved at the picture, virtually showing him where the safe was'?'

  'What is it?' asked Sue quickly.

  'Nothing,' said Jessica unconvincingly. She had gone very white.

  Was this why he had not wanted her to go back to her own cabin? To keep her from finding out that the safe had been rifled?

  Sue said, 'Do you realise that if it hadn't been for the set you mailed to Andrew, there wouldn't be any

  record of the plans at all? Or any proof that you'd done the work?'

  Jessica shrugged. 'That wouldn't be the end of the world. I dare say I could put them together again. Unless all my workings have been stolen as well?' she added as an afterthought.

  Sue shook her head. 'They're all still there on your desk. At least, as far as I can tell. I checked and I couldn't see that there was anything missing.'

  `So why bother to steal all these copies?' asked Jessica, pale but still fighting.

  `Because apparently Prince Giorgio has to talk to the local people by the end of this week,' said Sue. 'I didn't know that. Did you?'

  Jessica shook her head very slowly. She felt as if her heart had suddenly grown too big for her chest. It hurt.

  `He was keeping it quiet because he didn't want a big protest meeting, I think. Sandra knew, but no one else.'

  `Spinoletti,' said Jessica in an unrecognisable voice. `Oh, the Mayor. Yes, well, he had to know, of course. He arranged it.'

  `So if he knew, presumably Leandro Volpi also knew,' said Jessica in a voice like iron filings on steel. Sue's eyes met hers in sympathy.

  `Yes, I suppose so.' She did not say that she had already come co the conclusion that Jessica was now painfully and so reluctantly reaching.

  Sue said, 'I don't understand, because it's something to do with ecclesiastical law, I think, but if Prince Giorgio can't convince them that his scheme is a good one this week, they can stop him more or less permanently. He needed your plans because they show where and how the water source will be tapped, demonstrating that it won't be deflected from the village or the fields. And now he can't do it.'

  `Yes, he can. Unless Andrew's copy has been lost in the post,' said Jessica. 'Have you rung him?'

  `Not yet. I wasn't sure what to say.'

  `And didn't trust the lines from the yacht?' Jessica gave a wintry smile. 'Very wise. Don't ring him. I'll fly back to London myself and collect them. If I'm too late for a flight this evening, I'll stay overnight in Genoa and pick up the first flight out in the morning.'

  Sue said, almost imploringly, 'Jess, you don't know it was him.'

  `Don't I?' asked Jessica bleakly.

  `It could have been anyone. The servants, say.' `They've been here for years.'

  `Well, Signora Volpi, then,' said Sue desperately. 'I wouldn't say she's long on loyalty.'

  `Maybe not, but she likes money. I can't imagine her doing anything that would make Prince Giorgio less rich.'

  `One of the guests from the party then. Or Sandra, even.'

  `Don't be silly, Sue,' Jessica said wearily. 'I know you're trying to help, but it really hasn't got much point.' She swallowed suddenly, remembering something else. 'His tracksuit in there has got paint on it. I remember seeing that the paint was flaking in our corridor. And when I walked into a door—well, I didn't, I was hit over the head.' She shut her eyes tight. `He must have done it. I -wasn't sure at the time, but now. .

  Sue said gently, 'Go to him. Ask him. Don't condemn him unheard, not if it's important.'

  `It isn't important at all,' said Jessica with resolution. 'Not to me. Not to him. Except of course it is nice to know why he's been chasing me as he has. I was beginning to wonder. It's always satisfying to have a mystery solved.' Her voice broke.

  Sue looked appalled. 'You're in love with him,' she whispered.

  'I am not!' It came out like a whiplash.

  `Jess, for heaven's sake!'

  Jessica almost pushed past her. 'I shall go and see Prince Giorgio,' she said. 'At once. Would you talk to Enrico about getting me off this damned ship and back to Genoa, please?'

  She did not wait for Sue's reply. Prince Giorgio's apartments were in a corridor at right angles to Leandro's. She went in after only a perfunctory knock. Leandro and his uncle were confronting each other, looking very stern. Their expressions turned to amazement when she appeared, then Leandro took a step towards her.

  She ignored him, addressing herself to his uncle. 'I'm told that my own copy of your plans is missing.'

  The Prince looked startled at this abrupt statement. `Well, yes, but. .

  `I am to blame,' said Jessica in her most professional voice. 'I should have delivered them to you personally.'

  If possible, the Prince looked even more uncomfortable, 'My dear young lady, you are hardly to blame. I cannot involve you in my—er—private affairs, but I can assure you that no blame attaches to you whatever.'

  `Nevertheless, I must do what I can to make amends.'

  The Prince looked tired. 'My dear child, what can you do? I have been very secretive, but I suppose your excellent secretary has told you that I need a full set of the plans by Friday night. Even if you worked the clock round, you could not reproduce everything in that short time.' He shrugged. 'I must resign myself and chalk it up to experience.'

  `That will be unnecessary.' Jessica spoke with precision. She avoided Leandro's eye. 'I posted a copy to my partner, for his views and for our archive. I will have it copied and return it to you.'

  They both stared at her.

  `But—I did not think it would be possible.' The Prince gave a great shout of delighted laughter. 'But that is wonderful! Do you hear Leandro? It will not be total defeat after all!' He clasped her to him and kissed her enthusiastically on both cheeks. 'I did not know what a treasure I was employing when I gave you the contract, my dear Jessica. I congratulate you. I congratulate myself. Leandro, my boy, you will see, you will see!'

  `I look forward to it.' Leandro's voice was even. You would not have thought that he had been totally found out and defeated at every turn. In spite of her misery, Jessica could not help admiring his cool.

  `I'll go then,' she said. 'If I could just borrow a ride into Genoa?'

  `I will take you,' Leandro said swiftly.

  Jessica sucked in her breath. 'No, thank you.' `But certainly. .

  `I would rather you did not,' she said in a voice of deadly quietness.

  Prince Giorgio, suddenly distracted from his transports of triumph, looked sharply between the two of them.

  Leandro said, 'If I promise to leave the Lamborghini behind, will you let me drive you to Genoa?' Jessica turned to face him then, her green eyes wide

  and steady.

  `I think I would prefer to be certain that I will arrive,' she said clearly. 'Prince Giorgio will send me in one of his chauffeur-driven cars.'

  Leandro looked as if she had struck him.

  The Prince said, 'Of course, of course. But I assure you, you would be quite safe with Leo.'

  Jessica gave a crack of laughter before she could stop herself. Leandro's head went back. His mouth was a grim line and he looked suddenly very tired.

  Jessica said to the Prince, 'I do not want to pry into your family affairs, signor, but can you tell me that you don't know who stole the plans?'

  `No,' he said heavily. 'No, I cannot do that. I know very well, as I think you must also by now.'

  `Yes,' agreed Jessica. She felt sick. 'It's obvious, when you know the answer, of course. And I don't want to get involved. So I prefer to take a car driven by a stranger, if you don't mind.'

  The Prince cast an apologetic look at Leandro. `But—forgive me, my dear, I understood that you were already involved in my family.'

&n
bsp; `No,' said Jessica in a voice not much above a whisper. 'No. And I don't want to be. I'll just get my case and go.' She let her glance rest somewhere in mid-air between them. 'I'll bid you both goodbye,' she said, before she fled.

  Sue had her overnight case packed. There was a shoulder bag with lire and travellers' cheques in a pouch beside it, together with her passport.

  `Are you sure you'll be all right?' Sue asked worriedly.

  `Yes.' Jessica checked her papers and zipped them into the overnight case's safety pocket.

  `There's a late flight; it leaves at ten-fifteen. If you miss it I've booked a hotel room you'll find the reservation in your passport. Go straight to the Alitalia desk, they'll have your flight tickets. I paid by American Express, so all you need to do is pick them up and board.'

  Jessica hugged her. 'Thank you. I'll see you in London. Come back as soon as you've cleared up here.'

  `You're not coming back, then?' said Sue, not really surprised.

  `Andrew can do it.' Jessica gave a travesty of a smile. `I've earned a holiday. I'm going to stay with Mother, I think.'

  Sue nodded. 'Well, good luck. And bon voyage.'

  Jessica went swiftly to the boat deck. A dark figure detached itself from the railings and handed her down the companionway into the launch. She did not look at him, she was so blinded by tears.

  There were two others in the launch: Gianni, whom she knew, at the helm, and a short fat man who doubled as steward and chauffeur. Presumably he would be driving her to Genoa.

  In her ear Leandro said, 'Unless you change your mind.'

  Jessica went rigid. She did not turn, continuing to stare straight ahead at the back of the little man's head.

  Leandro said, 'Why are you running away, Jess?' There was no laughter in his voice at all. 'Second thoughts?'

  `First thoughts,' she corrected hardily. 'This afternoon I wasn't thinking at all.'

  `Oh, my love!' He put out a hand to stroke her hair and she recoiled violently. His hand fell to his side. After a pause he said, 'I won't try to stop you, Jess. But you can't go on running for ever. When you're ready we'll talk.'

  `I do not,' gritted Jessica through her teeth and an infuriating film of tears, 'want to talk to you.'

  `Not now, perhaps. . .'

  `Ever,' she said with unmistakable conviction.

  He shook his head—as if she was the one who was at fault, she thought, her temper flaring. He said soothingly, 'Things will look different tomorrow.'

  `No, they bloody well won't!' She rounded on him as her temper went up like a flare. 'You've shot your bolt with me, Leandro Volpi. Oh, you were very clever, very convincing. I'd never have guessed it was just for show. But I've found you out now and I don't want any more of it. Do you understand me? I don't ever want to see you again!'

  She was panting by the time she had finished. Apart from the steady chug of the launch's engine there was absolute silence. Leandro stood like a statue.

  Then he said slowly, 'You said you trusted me.'

  Jessica gave a hard crack of laughter. 'Yes. That must have given you a good laugh!'

  He turned away sharply. 'Were you lying then?'

  `I told you I wasn't thinking. It will teach me,' she

  said bitterly, 'to keep my wits about me in the future.' `It will indeed.' His voice sounded muffled.

  They were coming into the little port, curving carefully between the moored sailing vessels. Leandro went to the prow to help the others. Finally they were still and the engine was cut.

  Leandro came back to her, helped her courteously to disembark. She found, in the lights of the port, that he was wearing his dark glasses again. Her lip curled.

  `Really, you're just one affectation after the other, Leandro,' she said disdainfully, and flicked the glasses off his nose on to the paving stones.

  He stood rocklike, not attempting to retaliate, not attempting to pick them up.

  `Goodbye, Jessica,' he said in a remote voice. 'I hope you will be happy.'

  He turned his back on her and jumped back into the boat before she could find a suitable retort.

  CHAPTER TEN

  THE journey home passed in a haze. Jessica sat in the aeroplane like a zombie, feeling emotional exhaustion wrapping around her like another life. She looked blankly at the air hostess when she was offered a snack, accepted wine which she forgot to drink, and eventually fell into an unreal torpor that had the appearance but not the relaxing qualities of sleep.

  The flight went to Gatwick. The arrival hall was almost empty. They must be the last flight of the day, she thought. That would mean there would be no taxis; she had arrived late at Gatwick before. Oh well, the train was just as quick, though less convenient, and she was too tired to care much about anything.

  But Andrew Lamont was waiting for her at the barrier, his childish face screwed up in an expression of respectful gravity, his natural exuberance damped.

  `You look all in,' he told her, escorting her out to his waiting car.

  Andrew fancied himself as a sportsman and as a result his chosen vehicle was one designed to carry hockey sticks and fencing foils in preference to people. Jessica slotted herself into the passenger seat, swinging her feet sideways to avoid a pair of mud-encrusted hockey boots.

  `Sue sounded very mysterious,' said Andrew tentatively, having negotiated his machine on to the motorway. 'Conspiracies galore, I gather.'

  'Yes.' Jessica sounded as empty as she felt.

  `Um—is there anything I can do?' he asked, rather pink-faced at the embarrassing intimacy of the question.

  `Not a thing,' she told him. 'Except take your copy of the plans out to Portofino.'

  `That's in hand. I've already had copies made, and I've lodged one at the bank for good measure,' he added, plainly proud of himself for his forethought.

  `Good thinking,' Jessica congratulated him. 'I wish I'd had the sense to do that at the start. Not that it will make that much difference now. The Prince knows who stole the blueprint and he knows there are other copies. So it's checkmate.'

  'Ah.' Andrew drove for several minutes in silence. 'He?' he asked at last, delicately.

  `Leandro Volpi,' said Jessica without expression.

  'Oh, you mean the nephew chappie.' Andrew whistled silently. 'Gosh! Family feuds in a big way there.' He looked at her curiously. 'He was the one you called the Body Beautiful, wasn't he?'

  She swallowed. 'Yes. He is—very.'

  `Gosh,' said Andrew again, sounding faintly put out. He was kind and talented and enthusiastic, but he was little and round; nobody was ever going to call him beautiful. 'Sounds a bit of a pain.'

  Jessica nodded her head. 'That too.'

  `Sounds to me as if you're well out of it,' Andrew told her.

  'Yes,' she agreed desolately. 'Yes.'

  She saw him off in the morning. To begin with he was not inclined to play messenger boy, but he grew so intrigued with the tales of high living and family feuds that he extracted from Sue's telephone conversation, that in the end he decided to make the immense sacrifice and travel out to Italy himself.

  With Sue and Andrew both out of the office, Jessica was tempted to stay in London and remain the public face of Shelburne and Lamont. But she was too tired to concentrate and too wretched to pretend, so in the end she decided to surrender to her feelings.

  `I'll be at the address on the index card,' she told Sue's assistant. 'Don't give the phone number to anyone, or the address, but if there's anything you can't handle you can get in touch with me there.'

  `What if anyone rings for you?' asked Diane professionally.

  `I'm out of town taking a short break and can't be disturbed. I'll call them when I get back in a week or so. In the meantime, they can talk to Mr Lamont who will be back the day after tomorrow.'

  `Right,' Diane nodded. She gave Jessica a sunny smile. 'You certainly look as if you could do with a holiday, Miss Shelburne. You must have been working a twenty-hour a day. Have a nice time.'

  `Th
ank you,' said Jessica drily.

  Her mother was surprised to see her. She too echoed Diane's strictures.

  `Is it work that has done this to you?' she asked after dinner on the first evening.

  Jessica's smile slipped a little. 'That's what everyone keeps asking me.'

  Her mother asked quietly, 'Are you in trouble, Jessica?'

  She bit her lip. 'I don't know. I hope not, but maybe.' Her mother's brows rose. 'Surely you know?'

  'No, not yet. It all depends on whether I can get over

  it. This time.'

  `Ah,' said her mother, putting both elbows on the table and resting her chin on her hands. 'A man.' Jessica's eyes flashed. 'Is it so surprising?'

  `No, dear,' her mother said calmly. 'I've been expecting it.'

  `What?'

  The only surprising thing,' she went on, unheeding, `is that it hasn't come before. One bad apple Chuck

  and then you more or less went into purdah. It's not normal, Jess.'

  Jessica gave a spurt of laughter. 'That's just about what he said.'

  `Then he sounds sensible, at any rate.' Her mother looked at her narrowly. 'Have you known him long?' `Less than a month,' said Jessica defiantly.

  If she hoped to shock her mother she was disappointed. 'They're always the worst, the ones you fall for immediately. I remember I realised I was in love with your father after about ten minutes.'

  `I am not,' said Jessica, goaded, 'in love with him.'

  `Aren't you, dear? Or do you just not want to be? It doesn't usually work, you know,' said her mother kindly.

  Jessica left the table abruptly and retired to bed. Her mother, with what she felt was a total lack of maternal sympathy, could be heard singing blithely as she washed up in her pretty kitchen.

  The next day Jessica announced that she was going to work in the garden. Her mother acquiesced. Jessica set about digging up a huge patch of plantains and goose-grass with a will. She refused to stop for lunch, going grimly on with her work until her hands were sore where she gripped the fork and her back was aching.

  It was as she was taking another ferocious thrust at a clump of weeds that she heard a step behind her.