For Jackson to join them was the last thing she wanted. Nothing mattered now but to get a safe distance from him until she could cope with what had happened.
* * *
The next few days passed in a daze: the flight to Monte Carlo, the drive to Amos’s magnificent house overlooking the bay, the feeling of having put trouble behind her at least for the moment.
Jackson stayed in touch, linking up via a video connection every evening, talking cheerfully to them from the screen. At first Freya watched these occasions from the sidelines, out of Jackson’s sight, not joining in the conversations.
But then he noticed her before she could slip away and cried, ‘Hey, there’s my little sister. How’s it going, sis?’
His use of the word ‘sister’ sounded like a message. He was telling her that their old pleasant relationship could be restored. But she doubted that could ever happen.
‘It’s going well,’ she said.
‘Glad to hear it.’
‘Is everything all right with you?’ she asked politely.
‘I’ve never had such a fascinating trip. And, Dad, when I see you I’ve got something to tell you that’ll really make you sit up...’
* * *
At last Jackson arrived at the villa. His greeting to Freya was friendly, without any tense edge. She knew a moment’s resentment that he’d brushed everything aside so easily. Clearly what had happened mattered little to him and he thought it was the same with her. Yet he was right, she realised. Casual indifference was the only thing that would make each other’s presence bearable.
Over a pleasant dinner Jackson told vivid tales.
‘I’ve never regarded myself as a man susceptible to magic,’ he said, ‘but the magic began as soon as I arrived. I was in a hotel that looked out over the desert where the great pyramids are, and I could see one from my widow. I’ll never forget standing there as dawn broke, seeing the pyramid slowly emerge from the darkness. And everywhere I went—the temples, the Valley of the Kings—there was something that would make me stare with amazement.’
‘But what was it you had to tell your father?’ Janine said. ‘We’re dying of curiosity.’
‘All right. Here goes. I had to study the Egyptian gods. There are many of them, with varying degrees of power. One of the most powerful is called Horus.’
‘But why should I be interested in him?’ Amos wanted to know.
‘Because he’s known as the Falcon god. I couldn’t believe it when I first heard that, but in pictures and statues he’s represented as a falcon. Look.’
He reached into a bag and brought out a small statue of a bird with a cap on its head.
‘That’s Horus the Falcon god,’ he said, handing it to Amos.
Janine burst out laughing at the sight of Amos’s face as he studied the figure.
‘You said it was powerful,’ he murmured.
‘He’s the god of the sky, the sun and the moon,’ Jackson explained. ‘I thought you’d enjoy that.’
It was rare for Amos to smile with genuine pleasure, but now he managed a grin.
‘That sounds about right,’ he said.
‘They knew about you all the time,’ Freya teased him.
As the meal ended Jackson drew his father aside to tell him more colourful stories about Egypt.
‘I’m so glad about that,’ Janine told her daughter when they were alone. ‘Amos is really enjoying it.’
‘I wonder how powerful Horus really was,’ Freya mused. ‘Maybe Jackson has exaggerated a bit to please Amos.’
‘Well, good for him if he has,’ her mother said. ‘It was nice.’
‘Yes. He is nice, isn’t he?’
The reminder of Jackson’s kindly side gave Freya a feeling of relief. At last she bade them all goodnight and went to bed. There she lay, brooding, wistful, daring to hope that perhaps the wretched memory could be banished into the shadows and their friendship could be restored. At last she fell asleep.
She was awoken by sounds coming from the next room, which she knew to be Jackson’s. He was talking in a sharp voice, as though annoyed. The other man’s voice sounded like Dan.
Rising quickly, she slipped on a dressing gown and went out into the corridor. Jackson’s door was closed but she could hear the angry voices clearly.
‘You should be ashamed of what you did,’ Jackson snapped. ‘And you damned well know it. Running off like that just before the wedding.’
‘Don’t heap all the blame on me,’ came Dan’s voice. ‘You were the one who made it happen.’
‘That’s not true.’
‘Yes, it is. You said it would be better to dump her then rather than later and I took your advice.’
For a moment Freya froze, then she flung open the door.
Jackson was sitting at his computer, confronting Dan, who glared back at him from the screen via a video link. Dan’s face had a self-satisfied expression that she realised she had seen many times before. But it faded as he saw her come to stand behind Jackson. Just for a moment he was taken aback.
‘Surprised to see me, Dan?’ she asked coolly. ‘After all the times you’ve avoided me it must come as a nasty shock.’
Jackson had also received a shock, going by his face as he looked up at her.
‘Freya,’ he said, almost stammering in his dismay, ‘it’s best if we talk later.’
‘I’ll talk to you later. I’ll talk to him now.’
‘There’s not much to talk about,’ Dan said.
‘What did you mean about taking Jackson’s advice?’
‘I told him I wasn’t keen on our marriage and he said I should dump you right away. I thought he knew best, so I did. I’ve got to go now, Freya. Goodbye.’
There was a click and Dan vanished from the screen.
Freya clutched her forehead.
‘He’s lying, isn’t he?’ she choked. ‘Tell me he’s lying. You never said anything like that.’
‘He’s twisted my words,’ Jackson said desperately. ‘He said he hadn’t ever wanted to get married. He proposed because Amos tried to scare him off, not because of love. I was appalled that he’d deceived you and let it get so far. I said he should have been honest with you from the start, that he would hurt you more if he married you without love and let you down later.’
‘So you did say it?’ she demanded, aghast.
‘Not the way he made it sound. I meant that he should never have planned a wedding in the first place, not that he should back off at the last minute. But he seized on it as a way out. Don’t you see? It gave him an excuse to shift the blame. All right, I was clumsy and stupid, but not malicious. Please, Freya, try to understand. I never intended it to happen the way it did.’
‘What do you mean about him proposing because of Amos?’
‘Oh, heavens!’ He groaned. ‘Amos tried to make him back off, threatened him. Dan lost his temper and—’
‘And that’s why he proposed to me?’ she whispered. ‘That’s all it was?’
‘Yes.’
‘He never loved me at all?’
‘I’m