The Monte Carlo Proposal. Lucy Gordon
of the ship’s stewards, enjoying a night out. Despite his fancy shirt and bow tie this man was short of cash. His winnings probably represented a fortune to him.
‘You’d better pick up your money,’ I said.
‘Can I risk letting you go?’
‘I’ve got nowhere to run.’
He released my wrist and bent to grasp some of the notes.
‘How about helping me?’ he asked, looking up.
‘I’d rather not touch your cash.’
‘OK, OK, you’re not a thief and I’m sorry I said it. Now, will you help me before a wind gets up and it blows away?’
I picked some up, deciding that my first thoughts had been right. Clearly this man needed every penny.
‘So now tell me what you’re doing here? Or can I guess? You’re running from Vanner the creep?’
‘Right! And from the other creeps that he wanted me to “be nice” to. This is his dress.’
His lips twitched.
‘I’ll bet he doesn’t look as good in it as you.’
‘Very funny. I jumped overboard to escape him, and now I don’t know what to do or where to go. I need the Consul, but Monaco is so tiny it probably doesn’t have one.’
‘Yes, it does—well, a Vice-Consul anyway. If you like I’ll take you to find him.’
I nearly collapsed with relief.
‘Would you really? Thank you, thank you—could we go now, please?’
‘All right. Just let me—’
‘That’s her!’
The voice came from the darkness, but it was followed at once by Vanner scurrying across the lawn like a black beetle.
‘Get her!’ he shrieked. ‘Arrest her.’
He was followed by two gendarmes who headed for me.
‘Hold on a minute, there!’
The man from the casino spoke in a lazy voice, but there was something about him that stopped everyone in their tracks.
Vanner recovered first.
‘This woman is a thief,’ he shrieked. ‘She stole money from me before leaving my boat. Look, she’s holding it. That’s mine. I demand that you arrest her.’
The gendarmes started to move again, but the man placed himself between them and me, and I realised again just how big he was. He could have dealt with two of them easily.
‘The money’s mine,’ he said. ‘This lady was helping me to pick it up. We hadn’t finished, as you can see.’
He indicated the grass, where some stray notes still lingered.
‘You’re lying!’ Vanner shrieked. ‘The money’s mine. She’s a thief.’
‘I suppose you’re Hugh Vanner,’ the man said, eyeing him with open contempt.
A new look, part caution, part suspicion, came over Vanner’s face.
‘How do you know who I am?’
‘I recognise you from the description.’
This was kind of a private joke, since only he and I knew what that description had been.
Vanner shot a look at me.
‘What have you been saying about me?’
‘That you’re a low-life who tried to force me to sleep with your business buddies,’ I said. ‘That’s why I had to jump overboard—’
‘With my money!’
‘Don’t say that,’ the man said quietly. ‘I’m warning you, don’t say it.’
‘You’re warning me? Who are you to tell me what to do?’
The man looked surprised. ‘I’m Jack Bullen.’
It was worth anything to see Vanner’s face at that moment. Even in the garden lights I could see him go green. This was the man he’d been trying to reach, to impress, and he’d met him like this.
Of course I knew there wasn’t a word of truth in it. I’d given him the clue to dealing with Vanner and he’d taken it up brilliantly. And who was to know he wasn’t really Jack Bullen, just as long so nobody saw his cufflinks?
‘You’re Jack Bullen?’ Vanner said in a strangled voice that did me the world of good to hear.
‘The one you sent the gold cufflinks to. Remember?’
Vanner gulped and began frantically back-pedalling with the gendarmes, assuring them that it was all a misunderstanding. They scowled at him, but finally departed.
‘That’s better,’ Vanner said, trying to sound in command of the situation. ‘Mr Bullen, you and me need to do some serious talking—’
‘When you’ve returned this lady’s property,’ he said coolly.
‘When I—?’
‘Her clothes, her passport, and whatever you owe her in wages.’
‘I suppose I’m well rid of her at that.’
‘Deliver everything to The Hawk. That’s where I’m going now.’
‘Fine, fine. We can share a cab to the harbour—’
‘No, we can’t. Send those things over and don’t keep me waiting.’
I couldn’t see him well as he said this, but I had a good view of Vanner, and I saw the startling change that came over his face—a kind of withering. He’d seen something in this man’s face that made him fall silent and take a step back.
The man took my arm and began to walk away.
‘Wait a minute,’ I whispered. ‘You were going to take me to the Vice-Consul.’
‘I’ve changed my mind. We’re going to The Hawk.’
‘Oh, no! Not another yacht. I’ve had enough of them to last a lifetime.’
I tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t release my arm. He wasn’t holding me all that tightly but there was no way I could escape.
He hailed a passing cab and almost tossed me into it.
‘Now, look here—’ I began.
‘No, you look here. You can go with Vanner, with the gendarmes, or with me.’
‘Or I can go to the Vice-Consul.’
‘If you know where to find him. And just how long do you want to wander around dressed—or rather undressed—like that?’
‘Are you daring to take advantage of my condition?’
‘That’s exactly what I’m doing.’
‘That’s blackmail.’
‘It’s what I’m good at. Now, shut up or I’ll toss you back into the water.’
I opened my mouth to tell him what he could do, but then shut it again. Not because I was afraid of his threats, or of him. I wasn’t.
But I’d seen a gleam in his eyes that undermined his words. He was laughing, challenging me not to laugh with him, and despite everything I found myself doing so.
That was the moment when it all began.
CHAPTER TWO
Jack’s Story
MOONLIGHT and roses. Trees waving gently