And Blake, my poor darling love, will come home to his empty nest.
Thirty-one
We travel for many hours, stopping only at rest stops. Finally we arrive at a farmhouse in the moors. Here the countryside is wild and deserted. A strong wind is blowing as I get out of the car.
‘Where are we?’ I ask.
But the men simply smile politely. ‘They will tell you when the time comes.’
Inside it is warm. A fire is already roaring in the fireplace. From the kitchen come delicious smells of roasting meat. I am shown to my room upstairs. It is pleasant enough, with blue patterned wallpaper and a double bed with a thick mattress. There is a crib in it too. As instructed I brought no clothes for Sorab or me. The man tells me everything I need is in the drawers and cupboards. I can already see the exact same brand of formula that I use for Sorab on the dresser.
He leaves and I go to stand by the window. The moors seem to stretch into the horizon. Not a single dwelling in sight. Fear gnaws at me. Why am I here? I know Blake’s father said this is to be my temporary home until everything is arranged, but something feels very wrong.
Another voice in my head frets, you didn’t keep your promise to Blake. But I had no choice. I protected Blake with my own body. I walk away from the window and lie down on the bed, curling my body around Sorab’s sleeping one. I close my eyes and pretend I am in my bed in St. John’s Wood until there is a knock on the door.
‘Dinner is ready,’ someone informs.
I wash my hands and freshen up before going downstairs. I put Sorab in the playpen and one of the men puts a plate of food on the table and withdraws from the room. I hear him open the front door and go outside. I eat alone. The food is wholesome and steaming hot, and I finish it all. Something tells me I am going to need all my strength.
I fall asleep while I watch TV in my room.
I am awakened by a hand over my mouth. My eyes jerk open. A man’s voice urgently whispers, ‘Please don’t make any noise.’ A small torch is switched on. ‘Blake sent us,’ and he dangles over my eyes, in the light of the torch, the ruby and black diamond necklace that Blake put around my neck in Venice. I gaze at it as if hypnotized, but in fact I do not need the necklace. I recognize the man. Brian, the one who felled Rupert.
‘Can I take my hand off now?’
I nod.
‘Take nothing. Just pick up your baby and keep him as quiet as you can,’ he instructs.
Carefully I lift Sorab out of his crib and lay him across my chest. He makes a small sound, but does not wake up. We go down the stairs. The house is dark and silent. As we round the corner of the dining room, I see an inert shoe and quickly look away. I knew I had made a mistake from the moment I got into the car with those men. Now I know I am on the right path. Come what may. We get into the car and the car pulls away. I don’t look back. I look down on Sorab’s sleeping face and will him not to wake up, buy the noise of the helicopter blades wake him up. He screams his head off and does not stop until we touch down on a helipad in a totally different part of England.
Thirty-two
‘Put your hand out for her to smell you,’ says Brian.
The German shepherd looks at me warily. There is not an ounce of friendliness in her. This is the dog version of Mr. Barrington Senior.
I put my hand out.
‘Guard,’ Brian orders. The dog sniffs my hand and goes back into his sit position.
‘Now, hold out your son’s hand.’
I hesitate. Sorab’s hands are so small and there is something about the dog that I don’t quite trust. It has been trained to kill on command.
Brian turns to one of the other men and says, ‘Give me your shoe.’
The man takes his shoe off and holds it out to Brian. He lets all four dogs sniff it. ‘Guard,’ he says, and throws the shoe into the air. It falls about thirty feet away. All four dogs run towards the shoe and form a circle around it, their backs to it.
‘Go get your shoe back,’ he tells the man.
The man begins walking towards his shoe. Five feet away from his shoe, the dogs growl viciously and bare their teeth. Their bodies are crouched, ready to pounce in attack. The man stops in his tracks.
‘At ease,’ Brian says, and in unison the dogs leave the shoe that they had been guarding so ferociously and trot back to him. He praises them then gives them treats.
‘Let them smell the boy.’
I bend down and hold Sorab’s hand out in front of their black faces. One by one they sniff his hand and go and sit by their master.
‘Guard,’ their master says. Immediately their ears stand to attention. Brian disappears and the dogs stay with Sorab and me as we catch the last of the day’s sun. As soon as we go through the front door, the dogs stop following us and begin patrolling the grounds.
It has been two days that we are living in this house. It is surrounded by high walls, a massive manned gate, and teams of dogs that patrol the grounds incessantly. There are CCTV cameras every few yards and security staff watching their screens twenty-four hours a day.
I wonder where Blake is and why he has not come for me, but I feel no fear. I know Sorab and I are safe here. I think about Billie. There is no way to contact her either. There is no Internet or a phone line. That evening I dine alone and go to bed early. I feel lonely but I am not bored. I know that somewhere out there Blake is executing the plans that I have seen so many times in his eyes.
It is 2:00 am when I feel the mattress depress next to me.
‘Blake?’
‘Who else did you expect?’
Thirty-three
I lunge into his arms with a yelp of pure joy and rain kisses on him; his lips, his cheeks, his eyelids, his hands. ‘I’m sorry, I’m so sorry I ran away. I thought I was doing the right thing.’
‘It’s all right. I knew you would. Once you sold yourself for your mother. I knew you would do the same for me.’
I cannot hold back the tears. He did understand. I had no choice. I had to break my promise to him.
‘I love you, Lana Bloom, I love you more than life itself.’
‘Oh, darling. I’ve waited so long to hear you say that.’
‘I’ve loved you for a very long time. I thought you’d know. My every action screamed it. Even when I thought you left, I couldn’t forget you. We have this unbreakable connection. No matter what you do, I still long for you. I always have and I always will. Could you not tell?’
‘Maybe, but I couldn’t be sure. Why couldn’t you tell me?’
‘Because I wanted my father to think the relationship was temporary. It gave me time to lay down my plans.’
‘If you had told me I wouldn’t have told anyone, anyway.’
‘And take the risk that you would blurt it out accidentally in a conversation with Billie or Jack? No, the stakes were too high. It involved you.’
‘Will you tell me everything now?’
For a moment he hesitates.
‘Please.’
He nods and switches on the bedside lamp, and suddenly I see how worn he looks. There is also a look in his eyes that I wish wasn’t there. It is the look of a man who has had to tell the vet to end his beloved dog’s suffering. I lay my palm on his cheek. ‘Are you OK?’
‘Yes. I was always safe. You were the one in danger.’
‘As you can see, I am just fine.’
He takes a deep breath, his chest collapsing. ‘Oh, God, the thought that you might not have been.’