Robyn Donald - Mistresses - Blackmailed With Diamonds / Shackled with Rubies

‘Jack, it’s not fair to criticise him. He’s an old man—’

‘I’m not criticising him. He’s more than old, he’s scared stiff, or he wouldn’t have let it get this far. I don’t blame him for being too scared to do the right thing, but who looks after you?’

I didn’t answer.

‘It’s going to get worse, Della. It’ll happen again, and what will you do next time?’

‘I’ll think about that when it happens,’ I muttered.

‘I’m thinking of it now. Will you wake up and look ahead? He’s got the mind of a child. A loveable, crazy child, but the burden on you is going to get greater.’

‘It’s my burden and I’ll cope,’ I said crossly, remembering to add, ‘But of course I appreciate what you’re doing.’

He grinned at that hasty afterthought. To my relief he dropped the subject.

It was soon time to dress for the evening. I put on the blue dress, and when I’d pinned Charlie on the shoulder I looked quite presentable.

Jack didn’t say anything when he saw me, but he smiled and nodded. He was smartly but casually dressed, and looked as handsome as I remembered from the boat. His appearance had improved and he no longer looked ill these days.

Then I noticed his cufflinks. They were the shabby ones given him by Grandpa Nick. As though he was going to need good luck tonight.

He saw me looking at them, smiled self-consciously and pulled his jacket sleeves down to hide them.

‘Jack—’

‘They’ll be here in a moment. Are we ready?’

So he left me not knowing what to think, which was how it normally was these days.

Nobody was late. They all wanted to get a look at Jack. I had a busy time introducing them to him and him to them.

They were a good-looking bunch, I realised. Harry, his wife and two sons; Alec, sporting a black eye, his wife and grown-up son and daughter; Hetta with her three daughters, all beauties. Bill had no family, but he was a natural clown with a gift for making the party go. David and Ken were the other brothers, with five offspring between them.

I’d expected to hate it, but almost at once I knew that the party had the magic ingredient that would make it gel. In part it was Jack, who romanced every female in sight, from Hetta’s sultry daughter, Penny, to Lil, Alec’s stern-faced wife.

She had a lot to look stern about. Alec was fond of her, but he was a philanderer, and I guessed the black eye meant he’d been straying again.

Jack took personal charge of Lil—keeping an eye on her drink, joking with her, and looking deep into her eyes in a way that made her blush. I could see that she was forgetting everyone around her. Jack could have that effect on people.

Alec could see it too, and he didn’t like it. Leaving a group of men who were enjoying Jack’s finest single malt whisky, he edged forward until he was standing beside her.

‘Lil—’

She didn’t seem to hear.

‘Lil—’ He touched her arm.

She looked at him as if she’d never seen him before.

Alec was staggered. He was used to having Lil’s full attention, and to her letting him get away with anything because she loved him more than he loved her.

‘What is it?’ she asked.

‘Er—why don’t you come over here and talk to Bill?’

But Lil was enjoying the full blast of Jack’s charm and she wasn’t going to budge. I didn’t blame her.

‘I’ve known Bill for years,’ she told her husband firmly. ‘Why should I want to talk to him now?’

‘Well—’

She turned back to Jack. ‘Go on with what you were saying.’

Having received his dismissal, Alec drifted unhappily away.

There were other moments about that evening that I enjoyed very much. Ken, for instance, assuming that all businessmen were crooks of one kind or another, explaining to Jack in lurid detail exactly how he’d ripped off a firm called Callon Inc.

‘Very ingenious,’ Jack said, straight-faced. ‘I never knew there were such flaws in the security system. I must have a talk with them first thing on Monday.’

‘You?’

‘I own that firm. Didn’t I say?’

Ken blenched. ‘No, you didn’t say.’

‘I’m grateful to you. You’ve done me a favour. Perhaps you’d care to look over some other firms of mine and tell me where they can be attacked.’

Ken looked suspicious. ‘You mean—you’re not going to cut up rough?’

‘I’d look a bit silly doing it now, wouldn’t I?’

Later Jack had a long chat with David. I couldn’t make out details, but from the way they had their heads together it seemed very man to man. I discovered afterwards that David—who, as everyone agreed, had never been the brightest tool in the box—had asked his advice on the best way to manage the extra activities with which he supplemented the income he earned from his ‘antiques’ shop.

Only when it was too late did he remember that Jack was on the other side of the fence, so to speak. I saw him gulp as realisation hit, and I saw Jack grin at him, then put his finger over his lips.

‘You’re a fraud,’ I told him softly. ‘You’re making them think you’re one of them.’

‘Why shouldn’t I be—in spirit, anyway? Della, tell me something. Do any of your family indulge in rough stuff—knocking people about, that sort of thing?’

‘Certainly not,’ I said, offended. ‘They’ve never been like that.’

He nodded. ‘That’s what I thought. Hetta, come and have a drink with me.’

By that time there was music playing, and when they’d drunk champagne he swept her into the dance.

She was only allowed to keep him for one dance. All the pretty young girls were queuing up to be his partner, but he made them wait, asking the older women first.

I still wonder what alchemy made him invite Lil to dance to pop music. How did he know that hidden in that heavy body was the girl who’d wowed them at the disco twenty years ago? It took only a few brash chords to lure her out again, and then she and Jack were flinging themselves all over the place. Everyone cheered and clapped, and with the last chord Jack drew her back into a theatrical simulation of an embrace.

Alex didn’t like that, I was happy to see. He didn’t like it at all.

I remembered the dances on The Hawk , all the tension, the edginess, the attitudes, with nobody relaxed. Jack looked far more at home at this one, I had to admit.

Ken drifted by while Jack was dancing with Penny.

‘You’ve landed on your feet,’ he murmured to me.

Ken has always been crude.

‘It’s not like that,’ I said.

‘Go on. I know what these apartments cost. I investigated them last year for a client, and if Jack can afford this, then, like I say, you’ve landed on your feet.’

‘I haven’t landed anywhere. There’s nothing between us.’

‘So why’s he giving you a party and meeting your family? I don’t see any other guests here.’

I couldn’t answer that.

‘Well, if you don’t want him there’s plenty who do. Look at Penny, for instance.’

‘I should think everyone’s looking at Penny,’ I said, trying not to sound as grouchy as I felt.

‘Very nice-looking girl. She’s recently been doing some glamour modelling. Big success. She’s got a gift for it, if you know what I mean.’

I knew exactly what he meant.

Ken moved off and Grandad took his place, saying to me, ‘Don’t let them see you mind, luv.’

‘I do not mind,’ I said, a tad sharply.

‘Then why are you looking as if you’ve swallowed a lemon?’

‘I’m not.’

‘You are.’

‘Well, I’m a wallflower, aren’t I?’ I complained. ‘Who can I dance with?’

‘You can dance with me.’

‘Right, I will.’