Authors: Jane Corrie
`Good gracious! What are you doing here?' she demanded.
Sarah blinked and looked at Sean. 'You know her?' he asked.
`Of course I do,' Mrs Bandaman replied airily. `We always know the press. You're on the Daily, aren't you?' she said to Sarah. 'I don't suppose you remember me, but we always invite the press to our annual conferences, and we had a very nice write-up to get that maternity unit we battled
for,' she added happily, then coming back to the present, looked at her brother. 'But what's the press doing here? Have I missed out on a story?' she enquired.
`Sort of,' Sean replied grimly. 'I'm afraid she got a bit too nosey, and found out something we can't afford to have published.'
Kathy Bandaman stared at her brother. `Really?' she said, and her bewildered glance went from Sean to Sarah. 'Well, I presume this has something to do with your work,' she said after an appreciable pause, now directing her attention back to Sean, 'but surely ' she broke off, lost for words.
Sarah decided to end all speculation. `I'm being kept here against my will, Mrs Bandaman,' she said quietly. 'I've given my word to Mr Cartier that I won't divulge anything I've learned, not until he gives the word, that is, but he doesn't care to believe me.'
Sean sent her a murderous look, but having now got started, Sarah was not about to give up, `Look, if I signed a statement to that effect, it ought to be good enough, oughtn't it? It stands to reason I'll lose my job if I renege on it,' she argued plausibly.
Kathy Bandaman looked hard at her brother. `Is this true?' she demanded. 'Are you deliberately keeping her here? After she's given her word that she wouldn't print anything that you considered confidential?'
`She's not getting the chance,' Sean replied flatly.
Sarah gave a loud sigh. `So you see,' she said
angrily, `I'm supposed to stay until they
publish—' she stopped short here; she had almost said 'the strike', and Sean was angry enough with her already without her adding to his fury. She had already sent whatever plausible excuse he had ready to give his sister for her presence in the homestead up in flames, but it was now or never for her.
Mrs Bandaman sat down slowly on one of the fireside chairs. It was plain that she was still bewildered. 'I can't say how sorry I am about this,' she said sympathetically to Sarah. 'I'm afraid I don't know your name?'
`Sarah Helm,' Sarah supplied, with a sinking feeling that she had lost out. She was there for keeps, she thought miserably.
`Oh do sit down,' Mrs Bandaman said quickly. `The least we can do is to make you comfortable.'
Sarah did not think that this was a good idea; she did not fancy Sean gazing down at her, from his great height, for obvious reasons; she was uncomfortable enough as it was.
`Sarah Helm,' Kathy Bandaman repeated slowly. 'I've heard that name before, but where—?' She glanced at her brother.
Sean had no intention of enlightening her, and Sarah knew why. His sister would see the real reason for his adamant refusal to let her go.
`Don!' Mrs Bandaman exclaimed, and looked back at Sarah. 'Were you—?'
Sarah's eyes went to Sean's grim face, as she nodded. There was no point in lying, and she waited to hear what she was sure was going to be a long bitter tirade on the subject—but she was in for a surprise.
`Oh, my dear, you don't seem to be having much luck with our family, do you?' Mrs Bandaman said sympathetically. 'You must have felt awful about what happened.'
Sean gave a derisive snort. 'Considering she broke the engagement off the day before it happened, I should hardly think so,' he said harshly.
His sister stared at him. 'Well, that just goes to show how sensible she was,' she stated firmly. `No doubt she found him out,' she added flatly.
Sarah could hardly believe her ears. At last, here was someone actually on her side!
`You never liked him, did you?' Sean accused his sister.
`No,' Kathy replied promptly. 'And neither would you have done. The same went for Granny Worthing—you didn't know the half of it. You were away on your travels most of the time, so you really couldn't see what he was like. The same went for poor old Granny. He used to make the odd visit to her now and again. He had great expectations there, you know.' Her dark eyes went to her brother. 'The fact that you were such good pals in your youth would bias you, but I knew what Don was like,' she said grimly. 'I could have put you right on several things if I'd chosen to when I was in my teens.'
Sarah was beginning to feel uncomfortable. This was family business, and no concern of hers.
It was evident that Sean felt the same, as he said harshly, 'Would you mind leaving us?'
Sarah didn't mind, and promptly made her departure before Kathy could request her to stay,
as she had been about to do, Sarah was sure, but she did not give her time to voice her request.
Going back to the kichen, she gladly accepted the coffee Lin had got ready for her. If he was curious about the outcome of the interview, he did not show it, but was more concerned about the fact of whether Mrs Bandaman would be staying for dinner, and a rearrangement of the menu.
While Lin fussed about the menu, Sarah's thoughts were on the ensuing events likely to arise from Sean's sister's revelations, and she felt a spurt of hope surge through her.
Sean had not been inclined to believe her, but she was sure that he would believe his sister, no matter how much it went against the grain. Therefore it stood to reason that he would have to release her, she told herself happily, and she cheerily started to help Lin prepare the lunch.
A lunch she found, to her consternation, that she was invited to partake with Sean and his sister, on Kathy's insistence, it seemed, as Sean's attitude towards her was just as unbending as it had been before.
Not that this surprised Sarah. She knew how it felt to have one's balloon burst. He could no longer treat her as a second class citizen, but she was soon to find that she had miscalculated her man.
After a few desultory attempts at conversation, hard going, because Sarah was not inclined to be forthcoming, and Sean giving barely polite remarks on whatever subject his sister tried to introduce, Kathy came to the point. 'Look,' she
said to Sean, 'will you let me take Sarah back to the Deckmans' with me? She must be bored to death out here. She's given her promise not to do anything about whatever it is that's so confidential—'
That was as far as Sean let her get. 'Sorry,' he said abruptly. 'It's still no go. She's staying here where I can keep an eye on her.'
Tor goodness' sake—!' his sister began, then was quelled by the look in Sean's eyes, and gave an exasperated sigh as she turned to Sarah. 'I'm sorry, Sarah,' she said slowly. 'He doesn't trust anyone, it seems.'
That was the end of the matter as far as Sarah's imminent release went, and she could have screamed with frustration. It was doubly hard for her to sit calmly after lunch and try to hold a cosy chat with Kathy Bandaman while Sean took himself off to check on the tyres of his sister's borrowed car, as she had mentioned the possibility of having a slow puncture.
All of which was untrue, Kathy confessed confidentially to Sarah as soon as Sean had left them. 'Julia would have fifty fits if she had heard what I said about her new Simca that she'd been good enough to put at my disposal,' she had added, 'but it simply is not possible to have a conversation with the pair of you glaring at each other. You mustn't let him bully you, you know,' she advised Sarah. 'The trouble is he's too used to having his own way, and he's probably got it in for you over Don, but I think I've scotched that nonsense.' She frowned. 'I'm afraid we're not going to get him to change his mind about your
coming back with me, but as soon as all this is over, you must come and stay with me, and give me a chance to make up for all this.'
Sarah thanked her solemnly, but made no promise. Once this was over, she devoutly hoped to be able to keep out of the Cartier family's way for the rest of time.
`Good gracious!' exclaimed Kathy suddenly, `what about your people? If I know Sean's highhanded way of managing things, that wouldn't occur to him,' she said worriedly, 'and I've been so muddleheaded since I found out the reason for your presence here that it didn't occur to me either,' she added apologetically.
Sarah regretfully assured her that she had no living relations. If she had had, no doubt she wouldn't be in this fix. Someone would have made a move to rescue her.
`But your paper?' Kathy asked. 'Do they still think you're on the assignment?'
`In a way,' Sarah replied, not willing to tell Sean's sister of the way her brother had explained her absence.
`Well, it's all highly unsatisfactory,' Kathy said indignantly. 'I have to leave shortly, and I don't want to leave you here. Look, if you grab your things and just go and sit in the car, there won't be anything that Sean can do about it, will there?' she suggested brightly.
`I wouldn't bet on it!' said Sean as he strode into the room at that point. 'Of course I've no wish to manhandle Miss Helm, but if she does attempt any such move I shall be forced to adopt such tactics.'
His sister looked shocked. 'Sean, you wouldn't!' she exclaimed unbelievingly.
Sean's hard gaze went from Sarah back to his sister. 'Try me,' he said quietly, then added in a conversational voice, 'I could let her go with you, and have her picked up by the Security people, but somehow I don't think either of you would care for that.'
As he had known, this bald statement quelled whatever rebellion Sarah and his sister planned, and in the pregnant silence that followed, he went on airily, 'One thing I'm curious about, is how you knew the name of Don's fiancée. I only discovered that she was a small-time reporter who'd gone on to higher things. Don appeared to have kept his private life close to his chest.'
`Granny Worthing's effects,' Kathy replied, still partially stunned at the thought of getting involved with the forces of the law. 'There was no one else to take them,' she said. Not that I bothered at the time. I just put them in the attic, always meaning to go through them, and throw out what wasn't suitable to keep.' She took a deep breath, and made a valiant effort to concentrate on the topic. 'We're doing a play and it's in the twenties period, and it occurred to me that Granny might have some old dresses we could use, so I opened the trunks, and while I was at it, I thought I might as well go through all the stuff. I found a letter from Don telling her that he'd just got engaged and giving her the girl's name,' she faltered here, and gave up trying to get interested in anything else but Sean's startling disclosure. 'Are you serious about getting Sarah arrested?' she demanded.
Sean gave her a pitying look. 'I happen to like my job,' he said grimly, 'and in spite of Miss Helm's obvious attractions, I can assure you that once the all clear is given, I shall speed her on her way so fast, she'll wonder what hit her,' he promised harshly. Now you'd better be on your way. I suppose you've got to call on the Cooks? Well, there's nothing wrong with those tyres, you've probably been driving too fast. The vehicle has to be run in at a gentle pace, remember—and not a word about anything we've just been discussing, not unless you want to see me out of a job,' he emphasised.
Kathy nodded slowly, then picked up her handbag, and with a glance at Sarah said unhappily, Tor goodness' sake, what do I tell Pauline?'
`Tell her I've got a crush on the girl,' he replied lightly, his blue eyes rested on Sarah's indignant features with a mocking light in them.
`Sean, really!' his sister exclaimed. 'You know perfectly well how she feels about you,' she scolded, 'although I'd rather she set her sights elsewhere. A little of Pauline goes a long way,' she ended sadly, and with a little wave at Sarah, she left.
Sarah, still fuming at Sean's sarcastic reference to her, actually cementing Pauline Cook's suspicions that she was a drifter that he had picked up, left the lounge for the kitchen quarters. She preferred Lin's company any day to that pompous individual's!
As far as she was concerned, there was only one bright spot on the horizon, and that was that her
stay was not indefinite, and sooner or later she would be sped on her way, as he had stated. She could only hope that it would be sooner, rather than later—and hadn't he piled it on! she thought furiously, as she started to help Lin with the washing up. As if he would lose his job! She didn't believe that for a moment. Sean Cartier would go to any lengths to get his way.
Whatever disclosures his sister had made about Don's past had not made the slightest difference to his behaviour towards her. By now, she thought angrily, she ought to have been receiving his apology, but she could no more imagine that than she could imagine her freedom at that point in time.
In this, however, she was shortly proved wrong, for as she sat playing Chinese Checkers with Lin that evening, Sean demanded her presence in the lounge, and for one hopeful minute Sarah wondered if the all clear had been given.
In the event, this hope was soon dispelled, as his first words were, 'I suppose I owe you an apology,' given in a stiff unbending manner, that didn't sound at all apologetic to the annoyed and disappointed Sarah.
`It's a little late for that, isn't it?' Sarah replied angrily, 'and I can't think why you're bothering. You certainly laid it on thick with your sister, didn't you? All that nonsense about losing your job, which I don't believe for one minute. Just as I've never believed in this wonderful find you're supposed to have made. It stands to reason that it would have been made public by now. No,' she