a very simple way.’
‘Tell me.’
‘I won’t marry Dan. I’m going to marry you. That way I’ll be your protector. So come on—we’re getting married. That’s an order.’
‘Hey, I was going to say that.’
‘Tough. I got in first.’
‘Yes,’ he said happily. ‘You did. I guess I’ll have to get used to you taking command.’
‘You’ll have to get used to me protecting you as much as you protect me.’
‘Joint partnership.’
‘Fifty-fifty.’
Solemnly they shook hands.
‘I can hardly believe in such happiness.’ She sighed blissfully. ‘And it’s even more lovely in this place, where so many of the family are happy too. All except—’ She broke off and sighed.
‘Your mother and my father,’ Jackson supplied. ‘Yes, it’s sad, isn’t it? How can we really enjoy our own happiness when things are still so wrong between them? At first I thought they’d sort it out soon and rediscover what they used to have. But it’s getting worse.’
‘It’s because he overheard Mum say she had doubts about him and wasn’t sure that they’d stay together,’ Freya recalled. ‘That really seemed to knock him sideways.’
‘Yes, he’s used to women wanting him more than he wants them. I’m sure he could win her over if he tried, but he doesn’t know how to give in, to say he’s sorry.’
‘He’d see it as a weakness,’ Freya said. ‘And he avoids that like the plague. I remember him telling you that you shouldn’t let anyone know anything about you that they could see as weak and use against you.’
‘Right. He’s never understood that when you really love someone you’re not afraid to let them know your weakness, the way you know mine.’
‘Mum hated coming here to Russia. She thinks Varushka was the great love of Amos’s life because of the way he rushed out here to her deathbed.’
‘She’s wrong. I think Janine means more to him than any other woman has, but he doesn’t know how to show it. Even with her he can’t risk seeming vulnerable, and it could be the worst mistake he’s ever made.’
‘But if they can make it right,’ Freya said hesitantly, ‘how will you feel? After what you told me about your mother—’
‘I know. But I like Janine. She’s always been pleasant to me. And she’s his victim too. As for Amos, he’s still my father, and I’d still like to see him find happiness in love.’ He drew her closer. ‘Especially now that I’ve found it myself.’
‘Yes,’ she murmured. ‘Enough about them. I want to think only of you. Come to me, my darling—come to me—that’s right—yes—yes—’
* * *
The christening was held in a little church on the edge of town. Everything went perfectly. Janine showed no sign of trouble, and Freya began to hope that all would be well.
Afterwards Leonid led the way to his mother’s grave at the back, followed by the family, including Amos and Janine.
Freya tried to draw her mother away, but Janine resisted.
‘I will go where my husband goes,’ she said.
Varushka’s marble gravestone was simple but lovely. Flowers lay around the base, put there earlier by Leonid.
‘It’s beautiful,’ Charlene said. ‘I wish I could read the Russian words.’
‘They just give the date she was born and the date she died,’ Leonid told her.
He said the words in English, and at once Freya sensed disaster. For the date of Varushka’s death was the exact date of Janine’s birthday.
She had coped with Amos’s absence on that day, but now the coincidence of the dates seemed to make everything worse. Janine didn’t speak, but she turned and walked away.
Freya hurried after her.
‘Mum, the date’s just an unlucky coincidence.’
‘I spent that day in tears. It was my birthday, and we were going to have a lovely celebration holiday together. But that was the day he said goodbye to her—held her in his arms, kissed her, told her he loved her. The very same day.’
‘He’s coming over,’ Freya murmured.
Amos and Jackson were approaching.
Janine turned to face Amos, who tensed.
‘What’s the matter?’ he demanded. ‘Why do you look at me like that? I was only paying my respects.’
‘Drop the pretence,’ Janine snapped. ‘She’s the one who has your heart. I’ve known for months now—ever since you dumped me to rush here to her deathbed. You chose her over me.’
‘No!’ Amos said explosively. ‘No, that wasn’t what happened. I came because I had to.’
‘Yes, she wanted you, so you had to. When we get home I’m leaving you.’
Amos drew a sharp breath. Freya and Jackson exchanged glances, both sensing that Amos was about to make a momentous decision.
‘All right,’ he said. ‘Here’s the truth. I didn’t come here from choice. I was blackmailed.’
‘Oh, Amos, please—do you expect me to believe that Leonid blackmailed you?’
‘No, not him. He knew nothing about it. It was—’ He stopped and a shudder went through him. ‘It was Perdita.’
Janine didn’t speak, but her face showed her scepticism.
Amos tore at his hair.
‘It’s true,’ he cried. ‘Perdita was a journalist in those days. She found out about a slightly iffy deal I’d done. She could have caused me a lot of trouble if she’d talked. And she threatened to do exactly that if I didn’t come out here to see Varushka before she died. That was why it happened so suddenly. I only had a few hours to save myself from disaster. I didn’t want to come. Over the years I’d seen Varushka so rarely that I barely knew her. But I had no choice.’
He took a deep, painful breath.
‘That’s the truth, my dear. Please believe me.’
The word ‘please’ made everyone look up, alert, wondering if they’d heard properly. Amos had actually said please to a woman.
And Freya saw something else. There on Amos’s face was the same defenceless look she’d seen on Jackson’s face the previous night.
It was a look that neither man had ever worn before. She
