My Love Betrayed (11 page)

“Edna and Greg, please, if you’re to be staying
with us.” He smiled.

I forced a smile in return. No doubt I would get
used to it. Mr. Iveson. Greg. Greg stood up. “Well,
if you’ll excuse me then, I’ll call Ramirez and make
sure it’s all right with them. No, no, stay here, all of
you. It won’t take a minute.”

At first, the conversation was awkward, but
Edna soon channeled it into comfortable topics.
She was, I realized, an experienced hostess. At
some point, I found myself asking, “How long
have you lived in Mexico City?”

“About five years,” she said, with a slight sigh. “I
do love Mexico, you understand, but I also miss
Chicago. The only thing I don’t miss is the snow!”

I laughed. “I can see what you mean! I’m
enjoying the break from snow myself.”

Charles was quiet while we talked, and I looked
up once or twice to find him watching me oddly. I
tried to ignore it. Already I was feeling a little
safer. The idea of staying in such a beautiful house
was appealing, especially since it would only be for
a week or so. Impossible to feel embarrassed or
unwanted with Edna and Mr. Iveson being so
friendly.

Greg returned about then, saying, as he sat
down, “The police have absolutely no objections,
Ellen.”

“Good!” Edna said firmly.

“I agree,” Charles said, sounding irritated. “At
least she can’t do anything foolish here.”

“Foolish?” I asked quietly.

“Yes, foolish. It’s too far for you to walk back
from the office.”

“I needed to think!” I snapped back.

“Hey, truce!” Greg broke in. “We intend to take
very good care of Ellen, so there’s no more to be
said on the subject, okay?”

Charles and I glared at each other, while Greg
and Edna looked on, clearly amused.

Some time later, Greg drove us back to the
hotel. He said he’d wait downstairs while I got my
things. As I went upstairs with Charles, I asked
softly, wanting to break through the wall he had
seemed to erect between us, “What is it, Charles?
Are you relieved? You won’t have to worry about
me anymore.”

But he just stared at me as if I were some
stranger he’d never seen before, and I thought, All
right, if that’s the way you want it. I’m just as
relieved to be rid of you!

Actually, the person who was really relieved was
the manager of the Hotel Bamer. He came down as
I was checking out and was overly helpful and
polite. He escorted us, Mr. Iveson and me, to the
front door and, for the first time, I saw him smile.

Outside, Greg laughed. “They seem very eager
to be rid of you.”

“Well,” I said reasonably, “can you imagine
trying to run an expensive hotel with a guest like
me? It’s a miracle I didn’t scare away half the
guests!”

He laughed again and held the car door open for
me as I got in. My two bags were stowed in the trunk, and we were on our way. Mr. Iveson
chatted easily about Mexico City, and I just
listened. It was a very comfortable ride.

Edna was waiting when we got back to the
house, and she immediately took charge of me.
After showing me to my room and explaining
where everything was, she sat down on the bed and
stared at me oddly. After a moment, she seemed to
reach some sort of decision. She took a deep
breath and said, “Ellen, I want to warn you about
Charles Whitford. Oh, I know, it’s probably not
necessary, but just in case…. Ellen, there have
been some - I won’t call them incidentsproblems with Charles. Perhaps the kindest thing
one could say is that he is a very charming man,
but he doesn’t seem to be dependable. Or, rather,
he does seem to be dependable for a while,
then…. Well, there have been a few cases not
scandals, really but cases where certain young
women felt themselves badly treated. We all think
highly of Charles Whitford’s abilitites, of course,
but he does tend to take women rather lightly. Oh,
Ellen, I know I’m putting this very badly, but I
can’t bear to see a sweet young girl like you hurt!”

Stiffly I nodded, trying to keep my face a mask. I
was not going to cry in front of a stranger, no
matter how nice she seemed to be. Edna watched
me for a moment, then stood, smoothing her long
skirt. “I’ll leave you then, dear. Have a good
night’s rest. And don’t worry about Charles. I’m
sure my warning wasn’t really necessary. You look
like such a sensible young woman.”

And then she was gone. I got ready for bed, but I
couldn’t sleep. I was too keyed up over Rick, over Charles, over the attack, and over the kindness of
the Ivesons. My life was rapidly becoming an
impossible mess. But finally I did sleep, hoping to
escape, in dreams, the fears and uncertainties that
chased me.

Saturday. It was such a harmless-looking day
that I couldn’t understand why I was shivering. I
was sitting in the sun, sipping coffee and eating a
roll. Edna was with me, and Greg had driven to the
office to pick up some papers he had forgotten the
day before.

“Cold?” Edna asked solicitously.

“No, no,” I said hastily. “Just - I don’t know.
I’m still on edge, I guess.”

Edna nodded. “I know. I only hope that your
stay with us will help ease that. It’s been horrible
for you, I realize. Greg and I sympathize. It’s not
easy to be treated that way the way Kemmler
used you.”

“Used?”

“I’m not asking you to confide in me, dear. I’m
just saying that I know how you feel. I certainly
believe Rick didn’t tell you what was going on, no
matter what the police say. And if you did help
him, I’m sure you didn’t know what you were
doing.”

The faint chill turned to ice. Was that what
everyone was thinking? Were the Ivesons protecting me because they were truly concerned? About
me? Or because they were worried about the
company’s reputation? I wished that I were back at
the hotel with Charles, except except that could I
even be sure of what he thought? What about his
warning the morning of Rick’s arrest? And what
about Edna’s warning last night? Was I even sure
of Charles’s true role in the whole affair? Didn’t he
seem to know just a little too much?

Suddenly, I felt too tired to care what anyone
thought. I only wanted to leave, to go back to
Chicago where crazy things like this never
happened. At least, not to me. Maybe the police
would let me leave if I called them and invented a
little death in the family. I shook my head
impatiently, knowing that I had to try to be
rational about what was happening; I had to guess
what might happen next and try to protect myself.
If only I weren’t so tired!

Edna broke into my thoughts. “Did you bring a
long evening dress?”

“What? Oh, yes, yes, I did.”

“Good, because we’ve all been invited to a New
Year’s Eve party. Charles Whitford will join us as
your escort.”

I nodded, feeling rather dazed. Charles? Whose
idea was that? I wondered. And how did he feel
about it? Suddenly, I realized that Edna was
talking again. “I really don’t know who else I could
find for you. And Charles would naturally be
invited anyway.”

I nodded. “Of course. And after all,” I said, as
casually as I could, “it is a party. He needn’t feel
tied to me all evening, or Ito him.”

Edna smiled. “Precisely.”

Hating myself for caring so much about a man I
hardly knew, I still dressed for Charles that night. I
wore a silver-and-white dress with long, full
sleeves and a soft skirt that swirled around my
silver shoes as I walked. My hair curled down over
my shoulders and I wore no jewelry except a
sapphire pendant on a silver chain. The same
pendant, I reflected bitterly, that had probably
given Rick the idea for those earrings. But it had
been my grandmother’s and, in spite of the
old-fashioned setting, I cherished it as a reminder
of a woman, now dead, who I had once loved very
much.

As I stepped outside my room, I tried to stand a
little straighter, determined not to give my feelings
away. Downstairs, Charles was waiting alone,
staring at a shelf of books as though fascinated,
and I paused a moment before speaking. His
broad, impeccably dressed back was to me and I
found it hard to control my voice when I finally
said, “Good evening, Charles.”

Startled, he turned quickly to face me and, for a
moment, only stared. Then his voice came dryly. “Well, your stay here seems to be doing you good
already.”

I felt as though he meant to say something more,
but Greg’s voice boomed across the room just
then. “Charles! Good to see you! And Ellen. You
look very nice, my dear. Edna will be down in a few
minutes. Can I get you a drink, Charles? Ellen?”

“No, thank you,” Charles answered quietly.

I also refused. Greg suggested that we go out on
the patio and, relieved, we both agreed. It was
dusk and lights all over the city flickered in the
evening haze. “You know,” Greg said quietly, “for
all our jokes to the contrary, Edna and I really love
this place. If we had to go back to the States, it
would he hard.” He turned to look at us and
laughed, shaking his head. “Enough sentimentalism! I’ll have you thinking I’m going crazy! So.
Have you made any New Year’s resolutions,
Ellen?”

I smiled and shook my head. “How about you,
Charles?”

He hesitated, then nodded. “Yes. But I’d rather
not say what they are. Who knows”-he grinned at
us maliciously “what toes I might step on!”

“Shall we go?” Edna’s voice broke in from the
doorway. “We’re already fashionably late.”

Obediently, we all walked out to the car.
Although I understood the party wasn’t very far, it
didn’t seem to occur to the Ivesons to walk.

My first impression was that the entire American community was at the party. Our host’s house
was huge, but rooms still overflowed with people,
and the gardens were filled also.

When I asked Edna about it, she shrugged. “Just
about everyone is here. But don’t worry, things
will ease off in an hour or so as people move on to
other parties. We won’t, and by midnight there will
only be about a hundred of us left to bring in the
New Year.”

Somehow, within five minutes, I found myself
separated from Charles. And the Ivesons. Not that
it really mattered. I would surely find them again
when the crowd thinned, and meanwhile the
company was fascinating. I felt safe here and, for
the first time in several days, I began to relax. I
moved from circle to circle of people, joining a few
for a while, then moving on. Often, I found that I
encountered the same people, people who seemed
to have the same idea I had. One young man, in
particular, kept reappearing, although he said very
little to anyone.

After a while, I started wondering if he were
following me. By eleven o’clock, I was sure, and I
felt both flattered and amused by my silent
admirer. Finally, around eleven-thirty, he got up
the courage to speak to me. It was at a moment
when I found myself alone, yet surrounded by
people, all chattering happily. And it was a
moment when I missed Charles very much and
wondered if perhaps he had been avoiding me. It
seemed impossible that just by chance we had not
seen each other all evening.

Maybe, I thought, he just doesn’t care whether
he sees me or not. I found both possibilities
upsetting. So when the attractive young man
reappeared at my elbow, looking at me with
obvious approval, I felt defiantly inclined to flirt.

“Hello,” I said with a grin that matched his.

“Hi! I’ve been waiting all evening for a chance to
talk to you alone.”

“That sounds intriguing,” I said.

“Have you been in Mexico City long?” he asked.
“I can’t believe I wouldn’t have noticed you before
if we had met.”

“Actually, I’ve only been here a short time,” I
explained. “Working vacation, sort of”

“Oh? What do you do?”

“I’m a computer programmer,” I said.

He hesitated, then leaned closer. “I know,” he
said confidentially, “I’m supposed to say, `You
don’t look like a computer programmer!’ But I
suspect you’d find it more of a compliment if I
said, `Of course!’ or `How nice!”’

I laughed. “You’re so right! And it’s refreshing
to meet someone, especially a man, who understands that.”

“You know,” he said, grinning, “I like you. Let’s
find a quiet spot, and I’ll get us some champagne,
and we can talk and welcome in the New Year.
How does that sound?”

“Not a bad idea,” I conceded.

He led the way easily, almost as if he knew
exactly where he was going, instead of wandering
at random, looking for an empty room. At any
rate, he found one. “Are you sure our host won’t
mind?” I asked skeptically. “This looks like
someone’s private study.”

He laughed. “Don’t worry, I saw our host a little
while ago, and he’s in no condition to mind
anything. Wait here. I’ll get us some champagne.”

As the door closed behind my new friend, I wondered exactly what he had in mind. Ply me
with drink, then make a play for me? I’d hardly be
that cooperative. A friendly wrestling match? If so,
he was in for a surprise. My father had taught me
several standard holds and how to break them. I
was quite sure I could take care of myself. After the
danger of the past few days, it would be a relief to
only have to worry about an overamorous
admirer.