Lynda Plante - The Talisman

‘You are aware, sir, that the transportation of gems out of South Africa without an export licence is a criminal offence? Perhaps you would inform your brother that we wish to speak to him, and that he must contact us as soon as possible. I think it would benefit all parties if we were to discuss this amicably. Thank you for your time, sir. Good day.’

Miss Henderson jumped to attention as Alex opened his office door. Before the two men had left the reception area, Alex had cancelled his next two appointments. He ordered his car to take him to Greenwich, and left instructions that the board members were to wait for his return if he should be late.

Edward was lying on his bed, watching television. The room was littered with used cartons from take-away food, and the stale smell of hamburgers, brandy and cigars sickened Alex. He stared at Edward, waiting for him to acknowledge his presence. Eventually he walked across to the TV, switched it off and stood in front of it. Edward made no move to stop him, but yawned and asked, ‘What do you want?’

‘Some facts... about South Africa, about a man called Skye Duval... you listening?’

Edward laughed, wagging his finger at Alex. ‘Ahhh, and I thought for a second you were interested in my well-being. That’ll be the day, huh? The day anyone gives a fuck about me, I’ll be under the sod.’

Alex pulled up a chair and sat close to the bed. ‘Two so-called customs officials were at the office this morning. They had photographs of you and this man, Duval.’ He passed Edward their calling card, and waited as he turned it over. He looked at Alex with a bored expression, then sighed and lay back on the pillows.

‘Well, haven’t you got anything to say about it? Edward? They are making enquiries about illegal shipments of gems out of South Africa...’.

‘So what? Nothing to do with me.’

‘No? So how come they have photographs of you and this Duval character? Are you behind this company or not?’

Edward shrugged his massive shoulders and yawned. Alex stared at him, then pushed his chair back in anger. ‘Jesus, I might have known it, are you crazy? What in God’s name do you think you’re playing at?’

‘It’s got nothing to do with you.’

‘Like hell it hasn’t! I want to know what’s going on and I want to know now. You’re not dragging me down any sewer with you, you try it and I’ll...’

Edward reached out and grabbed his brother’s wrist. ‘What, Alex? What’ll you do? It’s none of your business, I’ll take care of it, all right? I’ll take care of it just like I take care of everything else...’

Alex brought his wrist up so hard he caught Edward’s face with his hand. Blazing with anger, he shouted, ‘You do that, Edward. If this is trouble, then you take care of it because, as from today, I wash my hands of you and your stinking deals...’

Edward applauded him, smirking, ‘That’s my brother talking... You do that, Alex. You go and wash your hands of me, but don’t come back with them held out begging when you fuck up!’

Alex slammed out of the room and hurried down the stairs. He brushed past Dewint, snatched his coat from him, and said, ‘Make sure he sees the doctor. Start cleaning the place up and I’ll sort someone out to give you a hand, all right?’

He hurried to his car.

Hearing a sound, Dewint looked up the stairs. Edward smiled down at him, then crooked his finger for him to go upstairs.

‘Run me a bath, and see if there’s anything in the wardrobe I can get into... now, Norman. Don’t bother cleaning the place, you’ll have plenty of time for that when I’ve gone.’

Alex strode back into his office. Miss Henderson scurried after him, telling him that the board members were all gathered and had been waiting for over half an hour.

By the end of the afternoon Alex was well pleased with his work. The board had discussed his taking over at length, and in the end it had been agreed that when medical certificates verified his brother’s precarious mental state, there could be no foreseeable opposition to Alex heading the company. As it was, no one could deny the fact that it was Alex who fronted the vast organization, and it would therefore only be a matter of time before he had the company legally under his control.

George Windsor, waiting to drive Alex home, reported that Edward was no longer in residence, he had done yet another of his famous disappearing acts. The doctors had been told he had gone abroad — somehow he had managed to get himself together and slip the net. Alex’s buoyant mood collapsed. Closing his eyes, he leaned back against the leather upholstery and spoke very softly, almost to himself.

‘Well, the seeds are sown, give the bastard enough rope and he’ll hang himself.’

Book Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Jinks had half expected to hear from her father. Over the years she had been used to his broken promises, but after the funeral and the subsequent meeting with Barbara, she had thought their relationship had become closer. But he didn’t contact her, and she made no effort to see him. In truth she had no need of him, her finances were always dealt with by Miss Henderson, and her allowance covered any expenditures she incurred.

She had flown to New York, returning after two weeks, having enrolled for the forthcoming term at Vassar. She also made her early morning appointment with Barbara, and they had bought a number of smart outfits in preparation for the trip to Paris. Barbara had already booked an appointment with an optician, and Jinks’ glasses were unceremoniously dropped in the waste bin, Barbara ignoring her pleas that they helped disguise her problem.

‘What problem? That you’re a bit shortsighted, or what?’

‘No, I have a lazy eye, my left one. Mother was always going on about it.’

Jinks could smell Barbara’s heady perfume as she peered closely, then held Jinks at arm’s length, scrutinizing her eyes. ‘Absolute rubbish, there’s not a sign of a squint, probably all in her imagination.’

She was positively smug with satisfaction when the optician announced that Jinks did not need any kind of correction to her sight. ‘You see? What did I tell you? All the years you’ve had those terrible things wrapped around your face and you never needed them. Typical! Once I asked your mother to be a guest at a Wild Life luncheon — you know, Save the Animals — my dear, she turned up with a silver fox fur dangling round her neck! It was frightful, all through the lunch I could see this wretched thing with its glass eyes glinting at me. She did it on purpose — typical! Your eyes, darling, are your best feature, and you must learn to make the most of them. In fact, you are going to learn to make the most of yourself...’

Jinks was paraded through beauty salons, her body massaged and creamed. Her hair was trimmed, but Barbara wouldn’t hear of her having it cut short. She ran her fingers through Jinks’ thick curls and instructed the hairdresser to simply thin and shape it. Jinks, beginning to trust Barbara’s judgement, didn’t argue. There was no particular warmth between them, and Barbara treated her neither like a daughter nor a friend. But if she felt it a chore to be Jinks’ chaperone, she never showed it. She felt slightly sorry for Jinks in some way; the girl’s helplessness and lack of social graces were a challenge to her. And unlike her own daughters, Jinks took her advice without question. Then, as the trip drew nearer, Barbara suggested to Jinks that she should stay overnight in Mayfair so they could travel to the airport together.

Jinks was given Evelyn’s bedroom. The small room contained little or nothing of the boy, but she took a sneaky look through all the drawers and even read some of the stories he had written when he was a child. They dined very formally and Jinks said little, but noted the interaction between her uncle and his elegant wife. They appeared as formal with each other as they were to her.