The Midnight Rose (66 page)

“Please do that. By the way, how is that delightful patient of mine doing?”

“Extremely well, thanks,” said Ari as Dr. Trefusis walked with him to the front door.

“I must admit to being very taken by her. I’m hardly surprised Lord Astbury was too. You’re a very lucky man, Mr. Malik.” The doctor smiled at him. “Good night.”

•  •  •

On his way back to Ash-burton, Ari turned into the Astbury Hall drive, parked his car in the courtyard and went off in search of Rebecca’s suitcase. It took him quite a time to locate the bush where Rebecca had dumped it, but when he did, he stowed it in the back of his car. Then he went inside the hall and made his way up to the attics to say good-bye to Mabel Smerden.

She smiled when she saw him. “Have you got time for a cup of tea, my love?” she asked him.

“No, Mrs. Smerden, sadly I haven’t. But I just wanted to say good-bye. I leave for London tomorrow and I saw Dr. Trefusis this afternoon. He gave me the name of an orphanage in London, so I’m going to investigate it while I’m there.”

“Good for you, and do let me know if you find out what happened to him, won’t you?”

“I will, and thank you for trusting me.”

“I’m glad for all of us that the truth has finally come out. My mum, Tilly, thought Anahita was a wonderful woman.”

“She was,” said Ari proudly.

“Oh, and by the way, I looked this out for you.” Mabel reached for a photo in a frame on the table beside her and handed it to Ari. “It’s the photo of the late Lord Astbury, Anahita and Moh that my dad took from the cottage by the brook.”

Ari gazed in wonder at the three people in the photograph. Their story was part of him now; he felt it in his bones. “Thank you, Mabel, I will treasure this all my life. Good-bye.”

Ari walked downstairs to retrieve his own possessions from his room. He studied Donald’s diary, before putting it in his carryall with the photograph. Anthony certainly wouldn’t have need of it now and after all, it was his family history too.

Taking his carryall down to the main entrance hall, he paused for
a few seconds under the great dome, thinking of Anahita and all that she had suffered at the hands of the Astburys. He was still wondering why it had been him whom Anahita had trusted to discover the story.

And then he heard it, soft at first, so soft he simply wondered whether his ears were ringing. But then, as the singing gained in strength, a pure, perfect sound that seemed to swell upward toward the vast dome above him, he was filled with a strange but beautiful euphoria.

Ari found tears in his eyes as he stood looking up, finally understanding everything, knowing then that Anahita had passed on far more than just her story to him.

T
hat evening, Ari and Rebecca ate supper together in her suite.

“You’re amazing,” he said as he poured her a small glass of wine. “If I’d had to go through what you did last night, I’d have been a wreck, I’m sure.”

“Well,” Rebecca shrugged. “I suppose I kind of understand weird behavior. Even though my mother wasn’t schizophrenic like Anthony, when she drank, she could behave aggressively. So I’m used to the strange side of human nature. It’s you who’s the hero, Ari, refusing to take no for an answer and insisting Mrs. Trevathan tell you where he’d taken me. Thank God!” She shuddered.

“No wonder Anthony didn’t want me investigating the cottage by the brook. He told me it was derelict when I asked him about it. Of course, the big question is whether you
are
related to Violet.”

“As I don’t know who my father is, I’ll probably never be able to find out. But you know what?” said Rebecca. “I don’t want to. The past is gone. I want to concentrate on the future now.”

“You’re right, there’s no point dwelling on the past, as you said. I have to follow your lead, be strong and get on with my future, whatever that is,” Ari sighed.

“Well, I’ll do my best to anyway. I admit that I cried buckets when I saw a photo of Jack with his new girlfriend in the newspaper they delivered to the room. Now, that really hurt.” Rebecca stood up, walked to the sofa and reached underneath it, sheepishly producing a newspaper. “It says, ‘
It’s over! Jack bins Becks for his new love! 
’ I suppose I wasn’t expecting anything less than I got.” She sighed in resignation.

“I’m sorry, Rebecca.”

“Don’t be. It’s for the best, really. I knew there’d be no going back once I told him to clean up his act. His pride wouldn’t have been able to deal with it.”

“And are the media circling like vultures to get your side of the story?”

“Apparently so. My agent called me while you were out. At least they don’t know I’m staying here for now anyway. But someone is sure to spill the beans—they always do.”

“God, Rebecca, your life isn’t exactly easy, is it?”

“My agent wants me to put out a statement, and you know what? I’ve refused. I’m fed up with playing the game. Who gives a damn what other people think! I know what happened and that’s all that matters. I’m so tired of it all.” Rebecca shook her head. “You won’t believe this, given the last twenty-four hours, but I’m actually sort of missing the peace and quiet of Astbury Hall. No one could get to me there with this kind of shit. I’m on a merry-go-round where my life is served up as public fodder and I just don’t want it anymore.”

“I understand,” said Ari.

“In fact, I’m dreading going back into it.”

“Speaking of going back, I have to tell you that I need to leave tomorrow morning. I’ve got some things I must do in London before I fly home to India at the end of the week.”

“Do you really have to? I mean, I understand, of course.”

“You’ll be safe now, I’m sure of that. Anthony is locked up, you’re here at the hotel with the film crew all around you and in a couple of days’ time you’ll be leaving yourself.”

“Yes, I will. So, is tonight good-bye?”

“I suppose it is, yes.”

“Well, all I can say is thank you for everything you’ve done to help me over the past few days. I’ll never forget it.”

“Or me, I hope.” Ari smiled at her.

“No, I couldn’t forget you,” she said quietly. “Anyway, as much as I hate to say it, I’ve got a busy day back on set tomorrow and I need to prepare. And I’m sure you have packing to do yourself,” she added.

“Okay. I’ll leave you to it.”

They both stood up.

“Well,” she said, smiling brightly, “I guess this is it.”

“Yes.”

They walked to the door in silence.

“Well, good night, and take care of yourself,” he said.

“I will.” Suddenly, Rebecca felt tearful. “I’ll walk with you to the elevator,” she said.

They left the room side by side and made their way to the elevator. He pushed the call button. Neither spoke as the elevator arrived.

“Well, good-bye, Ari,” she said as he stepped inside and the doors began to close.

He pressed the button to halt the doors. “Rebecca?”

“Yes, Ari?” she asked, her eyes downcast.

“Look at me.”

Rebecca looked up toward him and he read the emotion in her eyes. It mirrored his own.

“I want to say something before I go. We’ve both got a journey to finish over the next few days, and I have to return to India. But, I think we should meet again soon. Do you agree?”

The elevator doors began to close again. This time, Rebecca put her finger on the button to stop the doors closing.

“Yes,” she said.

“I want to say, also, that if you ever decide to come to India, please let me know.”

“I will.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

The doors began to close and Ari disappeared from view.

•  •  •

When she returned to Astbury Hall the following day to shoot her scenes, Rebecca felt a flutter of nerves.

“Try not to worry, Rebecca, we’re all here to protect you from any amorous suitors lurking down darkened corridors,” said Steve comfortingly as he accompanied her into Makeup. “Only one more day to go.”

“I’ll be fine,” she answered, embarrassed that some version of her story seemed to have already become known to the cast and crew.

Luckily, most of the filming was taking place outside and Rebecca was chauffeured back to the hotel the minute it was over.

Back at the hotel, Rebecca realized that now she was no longer staying at Astbury Hall, she couldn’t wait to leave Devon. She felt claustrophobic in her suite, albeit the largest in the hotel, and she longed for the wide-open spaces she’d grown used to.

“God help me when I get back to New York,” she said, thinking of her apartment on the high floor of a gleaming steel tower, where she’d be trapped by the paparazzi as soon as she returned to the city.

But it wasn’t just the sprawling gardens and wild, sweeping moors of Astbury she would be missing, she acknowledged. And it wasn’t Jack either. An emptiness she found difficult to describe had descended on her in the past twenty-four hours. Simply put, it was as if some part of her had disappeared, and there was a dull ache in place of it. Just now, she refused to acknowledge exactly what that might be.

On the final day of the shoot, once the director had called it a wrap, the cast and crew stood on the terrace in the glorious evening sunshine and drank champagne.

“Are you sorry it’s over, Becks?” asked James.

“In many ways, yes. It’s been an amazing experience. I think I’ve grown as a person, as well as an actress.”

“Indeed you have,” said Robert, putting his arm around her. “Wonderful job, darling, really wonderful. Expect awards aplenty next year.”

“Thank you, Robert. I hope I didn’t let you down.”

“Not at all, darling, not at all. And I hope we can work together again very soon.”

Rebecca glanced across the terrace and saw Mrs. Trevathan serving the champagne. Rebecca had avoided speaking to her in the past two days, unwilling to confront what had taken place. But now she knew she must go and say her farewells. Whatever had happened, Mrs. Trevathan had been very kind to her.

As the film crew began to pack up for the last time, Rebecca stepped inside the drawing room and went in search of her. She found her in the kitchen, washing up glasses.

“Hello,” she said shyly. “I’ve just come to say good-bye.”

Rebecca watched Mrs. Trevathan dry her hands on her apron and turn around to look at her, an expression of anguish on her face. “Rebecca, I’m so sorry for what happened to you. I hold myself entirely responsible. I was the one person who should have seen where all this was heading.”

“Please don’t blame yourself, Mrs. Trevathan, I certainly don’t. I think that you’ve been amazing caring for Anthony for all these years.”

“Well, we do what we must for those we love.” She sighed. “Anyway, I hope you won’t remember your time at Astbury as all bad.”

“Of course I won’t. Putting what happened a few days ago aside, I loved being here. And what about you? What will you do with Anthony no longer living here at home for a while?”

“The Astbury estate is in the hands of the trustees now, dear. They’ll have to decide what they think is best for the place. Even if they decide they’re going to sell it, that’ll take a while.”

“The trustees can do that? I thought it was only Anthony who could make that decision.”

“Yes, but sadly, his lordship will be declared as not of sound mind. I was going to write to you, dear, because I’ve been to see him every day in hospital and he wants you to know how very sorry he is that he scared you. The trouble was that he fell in love with you, and that made him extremely confused.”

“I know, Dr. Trefusis explained it to me. I’m so sorry.”

“No need for you to be sorry. You can’t help being who you are, dear, nor the effect you had on him. Anyway, if you ever wanted to write to him, I know he’d appreciate your forgiveness. It might help him.”

“Yes, I will.” Rebecca watched Mrs. Trevathan’s face brighten at her acquiescence. “So he’s a little better, you say?”

“Well, it’s early days, dear. I find it a bit difficult going to visit him; he cries a lot, you see, and asks to come home because he doesn’t understand yet where he is. He’s very confused, poor lamb. I can only hope they can stabilize him soon. It would be wonderful if you wrote. He has no one else, you see, except me.”

“I will. But right now, I’d better be going. I’m leaving for London straight from here.”

“I bet you’ll be glad to get back to your real life in New York.”

“Not just now, to be honest. I’ll miss you, Mrs. Trevathan, really.”

“Oh, stop it, dear, do! You’ll make
me
all weepy. Just lovely, you are, dear, lovely. Now, come here and give me a hug.”

Mrs. Trevathan opened her arms, and Rebecca went into them.

“Quite a time we’ve had here since you’ve arrived,” Mrs. Trevathan said, sighing, as she released Rebecca. “Are you going to see that young Indian chap again?”

“I don’t know.”

“It’s none of my business, but I thought you fit together well. And better for you in the long term than some fly-by-night actor.” The two of them were silent for a moment, remembering Jack.

“Maybe.” Rebecca nodded.

“Well now, you go off and make me proud of you.”

“I’ll try, I promise, and if ever, if
ever
, you wanted to come across to New York and visit me, you know there’d be a place for you at my apartment for as long as you wanted.”

“Thank you, dear. But I think we both know I can never leave his lordship, not even for a few days. You write to me as well, do you hear? And tell me what you’re up to.”

“I will, I promise, Mrs. Trevathan.”

“Oh, I’ve just remembered; I was going to ask you if perhaps you’d like to take this with you as a keepsake of your time here.”

Rebecca watched as Mrs. Trevathan reached across the sink to the window ledge and retrieved the rose which Anthony had cut for her in the Astbury gardens.

“Can you believe it continued to bloom since I first put it up in your room all those weeks ago?” said Mrs. Trevathan. “Then after you left a few days ago, the first petal dropped off. But it’s such a beautiful color. Perhaps you could press it and keep it in a book? It might help you remember Lord Anthony as he was.”