Margaret Way - Hidden Legacy

“Neither can I!” In the golden heat Alyssa found herself shivering convulsively.

THERE WAS AN AUTOPSY. Everyone accepted the coroner’s verdict. The blow to the head wasn’t the cause of death, although it was the major contributing factor. Zizi had drowned. She would’ve become dizzy, lost consciousness, then slipped beneath the water. It was all too tragic.

Once her body was released by the coroner, the funeral quickly followed. Zizi had expressed the wish to have her ashes scattered in the Coral Sea, but Mariel as next of kin wouldn’t have it. She overrode that wish, insisting on having Zizi’s casket flown to Brisbane where she could be buried in the family plot so “we can keep an eye on her.”

Such an odd way to put it!

It was a small, private family funeral, although Mariel had been too upset to come. No notice had been placed in the papers. Yet when Alyssa accompanied her parents back to the car after the short service, she saw Brett, dressed in a black suit with a white shirt and black tie, standing some distance off. The sight of him chilled her.

“Isn’t that Brett?” Stephanie asked. “I expect he feels dreadful.”

“How did he even know about Zizi?” Alyssa looked at her father. “Did you tell him, Dad?”

“My dear, Brett has left the firm,” Ian Sutherland answered.

“When was this? Why didn’t you say anything?” she asked incredulously.

“We felt you had enough to contend with. Brett handed in his resignation. I accepted it. I could see he was deeply distressed by the breakdown of the relationship. I don’t think there’s any question that he was—is—madly in love with you. I was sorry to lose him, but it’s better that way, the situation being what it is. He won’t have the slightest difficulty getting into Havelock Hayes. I told him I’d put in a word for him. Brett’s certainly clever, but I have to tell you now that the relationship is over, your mother and I feel relieved. We weren’t all that happy about you and Brett.”

Alyssa looked from one to the other, having difficulty taking it in. “You never said.”

Ian Sutherland smiled wryly. “You’re twenty-six years old, Alyssa. Your mother and I left it to your own good sense, didn’t we, darling?” He glanced down lovingly at his wife. “You deserve someone with a more open nature,” Ian Sutherland said, picking his words carefully. “More openhearted. I don’t know exactly what it is in Brett, but no doubt you do. There’s something…secretive about him.”

Alyssa tried to calm her thoughts. “Things bothered you both and you didn’t tell me?”

“Actually, darling, we were on the brink of expressing our concern.” Stephanie put an arm around her daughter and gave her a little hug. “But just as your father said, you handled it yourself. Trying to put up with someone who constantly needs attention is difficult. That’s going to be a problem for Brett. In a sense he’s his own worst enemy.”

Alyssa fell silent. She was too distressed to pursue the subject.

“Well, there you go!” her father exclaimed, as though that settled it. “Best acknowledge the poor chap. It was decent of him to come, although I always got the feeling he saw Zizi more as an opponent than a friend. Still, no reason not to be kind to him. Your mother and I will wait in the car.”

Alyssa felt no desire to acknowledge Brett. Had her parents known he’d struck her, things would be very different. Brett’s certainty that she wouldn’t tell them was evident in his coming here. He had plenty of self-confidence, the ingrained belief that he was always right, and she’d come to suspect he enjoyed danger. Why was he really here? It wasn’t to pay his respects to Zizi. It could have been sadistic curiosity. That was more in keeping with his character. Or perhaps he was trying to demonstrate to her what a civilized person he was.

She moved toward him but stopped halfway, forcing him to join her on the path. No way was she was leaving her parents’ sight.

“What are you doing here, Brett?” He appeared thinner than usual in his elegant Italian suit. There were dark shadows beneath his eyes as if he hadn’t slept. He wore an air of dejection, but that, of course, could be an act. She realized Brett had the ability to play many roles.

He seemed surprised by her question. “I came to pay my respects, of course,” he said in a subdued voice.

“How extraordinary, given your attitude toward Zizi.”

His smile was more of a grimace. “I wanted this chance to tell you I can never forgive myself for the things I said about her. I never meant a word of it, Ally. That was my jealousy talking. I’ve never loved a woman like I love you. I regret my behavior more deeply than I can ever say. I beg you to forgive me. I love you so much. I’ll never stop loving you.”

Alyssa nodded slowly. “I used to hear that all the time from men who beat up their wives and girlfriends,” she said. “I love you. I can’t live without you, followed by I’ll kill you and the kids if you don’t come back to me. Some of them did. You didn’t think you could get away with it, did you? With me?”

“I went crazy!” Brett said, abandoning that dull voice. “I’ve never struck a woman in my life before.”

“Somehow I have the feeling you have,” Alyssa answered, playing a sudden hunch. “I bet if I had the firm’s investigators make some inquiries, they’d come up with something. I’m reasonably sure I’m not the first female to suffer your aggression.”

Panic flashed across his face so quickly she would have missed it if she hadn’t been studying him intently. “You wouldn’t.”

“No, I wouldn’t.” She shook her head. “But you have a violent streak, Brett. You didn’t keep it hidden for long. My advice is to seek help. I mean that. What would you have done if the crack to my head had been more serious? Would you have called a doctor, an ambulance, my parents? Would you have relied on me to lie for you? I wouldn’t have.”

“Yet you haven’t betrayed me, have you?” A flicker of triumph came into his dark eyes as he stared at her.

Alyssa stared back in stupefaction. “I kept quiet for the sake of what I thought we had, Brett. Also, I’m giving you a chance to seek professional help. I have no wish to harm your legal career, but if I ever hear you’ve attacked some other woman, I’ll come forward to back her story. So watch out!”

He took a step toward her and despite herself Alyssa felt her blood freeze. “Ally, that will never happen.”

She was in control again. “Don’t touch me, Brett.” She wondered why she felt such alarm. He didn’t look threatening, but appeared to be buckling beneath the weight of remorse.

He drew back, smiling at her so tenderly it made her ill. “Sweetest love, will no amount of repentance wash away my sin?”

Another person, another role! “What are you playing at now, Brett?” she asked. “As far as I know, you have no links with any religion.”

He looked puzzled. “I believe in good and evil, Ally,” he said with absolute conviction. “I mightn’t believe in God, but I believe in the devil.”

“Maybe that’s because you’ve seen him!” She had no idea where that remark came from. “But you can’t have one without the other. If there’s a devil, there must be a God. Pick which team you want to be on.” She was on the verge of walking away from him. “I won’t thank you for coming today, bearing in mind your attitude to Zizi. It was just a pretext to see me.”

“I admit it.” Persuasion poured into his hypnotic eyes. “Perhaps you’ll see me some other time?” he asked, his voice full of a touching hope.

Alyssa didn’t reply.

“I give you my word I’ll seek help. I love you, Ally,” he repeated passionately. “I want to be with you. You were never in any danger that awful night.”