Milly had turned away again. He watched her thoughtfully.
Before his arrival she had changed out of the suit which she had worn earlier into orange slacks and a plain black sweater, relieved only by a triple strand of pearls. The effect, Richardson thought, was simple and physically exciting.
As she returned to the living-room he found himself admiring her gracefulness. There was rhythm and economy about each of Milly's movements and she seldom wasted a gesture.
'Milly,' he said, 'you're an astonishing girl.'
She brought their drinks across the room, ice clinking. He was aware of slim legs and firm thighs under the slacks; again the unselfconscious rhythm of movement… like a young, long-legged racehorse, he thought absurdly.
'Astonishing in what way?' Milly asked. She handed him his glass and their fingers touched.
'Well,' he said, 'without the filmy negligee routine, pants and all, you're the sexiest thing on two legs.'
He put down the glass she had given him, stood up, and kissed her. After a moment she eased herself gently free and turned away.
'Brian,' Milly said, 'is this any good?'
Nine years ago she had known what love meant, and afterwards the intolerable anguish of loss. She supposed she was not in love with Brian Richardson, as she had been with James Howden, but there was a warmth and tenderness; and there could be more, she knew, if time and circumstance allowed. But she suspected they would not allow. Richardson was married… he was practical; and in the end it would mean, once more, breaking… parting…
Richardson asked, 'Is what any good, Milly?'
She said levelly, 'I think you know.'
'Yes, I know.' He had returned to his drink. He held the glass against the light, inspecting it, then put it down.
She wanted love, Milly thought. Her body ached for it. But suddenly the need for more than physical love overwhelmed her… There must be some permanence. Or must there? Once, when she had loved James Howden, she had been willing to settle for less.
Brian Richardson said slowly, 'I guess I could kid you with a lot of words, Milly. But we're both grown up; I didn't think you'd want it.'
'No,' she answered, 'I don't want to be kidded. But I don't want to be an animal, either. There ought to be something more.'
He responded harshly, 'For some people there isn't any more. Not if they're honest with themselves.'
A moment after, he wondered why he had said it: an excess of truthfulness perhaps, or merely self-pity, an emotion he despised in others. But he had not expected the effect upon Milly. Her eyes glistened with tears.
'Milly,' he said, 'I'm sorry.'
She shook her head and he went to her. Taking out a handkerchief, he gently wiped her eyes and the rivulets beneath.
'Listen,' he said, 'I shouldn't have said that.'
'It's all right,' Milly said. 'I was just being womanly, I suppose.'
Oh God, she thought, what's happening to me – the self-reliant Millicent Freedeman… crying like an adolescent. What does this man mean to me? Why can't I take something of this kind in my stride as I've done before?
His arms went around her. 'I want you, Milly,' he said softly. 'I don't know any other way to say it, except I want you.'
He lifted her head and kissed her.
Hesitancy assailed her. 'No, Brian! Please no!' But she made no effort to pull away. As he fondled her, desire grew stronger. Now, she knew, she cared. Afterwards, there would be loneliness again; the sense of loss. But now… now… eyes closed, her body trembled… now.
'All right.' Her voice was husky.
The light switch snapped in the silence. As it did, faintly from outside came the high-pitched whine of aeroplane engines high over the city. The sound came closer, then receded as the night flight to Vancouver – Senator Deveraux among its passengers – turned westward, climbing swiftly through the darkness.
'Be gentle, Brian,' Milly whispered. "This time… please be gentle.'
Part 6 Alan Maitland
Chapter 1
In Vancouver on Christmas morning Alan Maitland slept late, and when he awoke there was a furry taste in his mouth from the drinks he had had at his law partner's home the night before. Yawning and scratching the top of his crew-cut head which itched, he remembered they had killed a couple of bottles between the three of them – himself, Tom Lewis, and Tom's wife Lillian. It was an extravagance, really, since neither he nor Tom had money to spare for that kind of thing, especially now that Lillian was pregnant and Tom was having trouble keeping up his mortgage payments on the tiny house he had bought six months ago in North Vancouver. Then Alan thought: Oh, what the hell, and rolling his athlete's six-foot length out of bed, padded barefoot to the bathroom.
Returning, he put on old flannel trousers and a faded college T shirt. Then he mixed instant coffee, made toast, and scraped on some honey from a jar. To eat, he sat on the bed which occupied most of the available space in the cramped bachelor apartment on Gilford Street near English Bay. Later the bed could be made to disappear into the wall like a retracted landing gear, but Alan seldom hurried this, preferring to meet the day gradually, as he always had since discovering long ago he could do most things best by easing into them slowly.
He was wondering if he should bother frying some bacon when his phone rang. It was Tom Lewis.
'Listen, you lunkhead,' Tom said. 'How come you never told me about your high society friends?'
'A guy doesn't like to boast. The Vanderbilts and me…' Alan swallowed a piece of half-chewed toast. 'What high society friends?'
'Senator Deveraux, for one. The Richard Deveraux. He wants you up at his house – today; chop, chop.'
'You're crazy!'
'Crazy, my eye! I just had a call from G. K. Bryant – of Culliner, Bryant, Mortimer, Lane, and Roberts, otherwise known as "we the people". They do most of old Deveraux's legal work, it seems, but this time the Senator has asked for you specifically.'
'How could he?' Alan was sceptical. 'Somebody's made a mistake; got a name wrong obviously.'
'Listen, junior,' Tom said, 'if nature endowed you with above-average stupidity, try not to add to it. The man they want is Alan Maitland of the thriving young law firm – at least, it would be if we had a couple of clients – of Lewis and Maitland. That's you, isn't it?'
'Sure, but…'
'Now why a man like Senator Deveraux should want Maitland when he can get Lewis, who was a year ahead of Maitland in law school, and considerably smarter, as this conversation demonstrates, is beyond me, but…'
'Wait a minute,' Alan interjected. 'You did say Deveraux.'
'Not more than six times which, I admit, is not enough for penetration…'
'There was a Sharon Deveraux in my last year of college. We met a few times, went on a date once, though I haven't seen her since. Maybe she…'
'Maybe she did; maybe she didn't. All I know is that Senator Deveraux, on this clear and sunny Christmas morning, is waiting for one Alan Maitland.'
'I'll go,' Alan said. 'Maybe there's a present for me under his tree.'
'Here's the address,' Tom said, and, when Alan had written it down, 'I shall pray for you. I might even call our office landlord and get him to pray too; after all, his rent depends upon it.'
'Tell him I'll do my best.'
'There was never a doubt,' Tom said. 'Good luck.'
Chapter 2
Senator Deveraux – not surprisingly, Alan Maitland thought – lived on South West Marine Drive.
Alan knew the Drive well, by reputation and through occasional contact during his days in college. High above downtown Vancouver, facing southwest across the North Arm of the widening Fraser River towards pastoral Lulu Island, the area was a social mecca and seat of much accumulated wealth. The view from most points along the Drive was remarkable, on clear days extending as far as the US border and the State of Washington. It was also, Alan knew, a symbolic view, since most who lived there had either attained social eminence or were born to it. A second symbolism was in the great, patterned log booms, moored in the river below or towed majestically by tugs to sawmills. Logging and lumber founded the fortune of the Province of British Columbia and even now sustained it largely.