Dead Line

FORTY-TWO

She had been a forward kind of girl ever since she was small. Her father had died when she was four, and after that it had been her mother and little Jana all on their own. Her mother had told her you get nowhere by being shy, and from an early age she had been comfortable with adults – especially men, for it was men she mainly met. She’d started helping in the Moravian tavern where her mother worked almost as soon as she could read; taking her cue from her mother, she would talk easily with the customers, tease them when they wanted to be teased, play coquette when they wanted her to be a Shirley Temple. She’d even imitate the saucy way her mother spoke to Karl, the tavern owner, though it wasn’t until she was nearly twelve that she realised her mother’s duties included more than being a barmaid.

Moravia and her home town seemed a million miles away now. Her mother had been bitter when she’d told her that she was off to work in the West. ‘You can take the girl out of Ostrava,’ she’d warned, ‘but never Ostrava out of the girl. You will be back.’

Fat chance, thought Jana now, comparing the opulent surroundings of Gleneagles with her all-too-vivid memories of the smoke-filled, sour beer-soaked confines of the tavern that had been home. She worked hard in the restaurant here, but no harder than she had at home, and the pay was a fortune by Moravian standards; she’d even sent some money to her mother. She was fed well, and she got every seventh day off. Other waitresses complained about the quarters in the staff hostel behind the hotel, but to Jana they seemed positively luxurious.

True, the social life was a bit limited: the pubs in nearby Auchterarder were not exactly lively or even particularly friendly, especially when the locals heard her foreign accent. The other staff at the hotel were perfectly nice, but she didn’t have much in common with the girls, many of them Poles, and the boys were too young for her taste.

Not that she was looking for a serious romance. ‘You think you will find a knight in shining armour to sweep you away?’ her mother had demanded. ‘You think that’s what happens to waitresses and chambermaids?’

Of course she didn’t think that, though funnily enough the knight had appeared. He hadn’t exactly said he was going to sweep her away – but Sammy was a good lover, and he had said they’d see each other again.

And sure enough, he had texted her that he was coming back. But she was still surprised when she had glimpsed him, walking across the lawn towards the tennis courts that afternoon. She’d been tempted to call out to him, but didn’t when she saw that he was with some others -including young Dougal, who had tried to chat her up that night at the staff’s darts evening. He was sweet and not bad looking, but much too young for her.

There was a woman with Sammy, but she felt no need to be jealous. She was a real old frump.

Jana kept her mobile phone on while she served lunch and at three, while she was still clearing up after the late customers, there had been a text message. 6 pm by the equestrian centre. S.

There was no sign of him on the road outside the equestrian centre and she waited impatiently. Then from a clump of dark fir trees at one side of the building came a low whistle. She moved cautiously towards the trees until she could make out a lean figure standing underneath a branch. Her heart lifted as she realised it was Sammy.

‘What are you doing in there?’

‘Shhhhh,’ he replied, stepping out from underneath the trees. He merged into the background in his black jeans and a grey turtleneck, but she could see his face clearly. Once again she thought how handsome he was.

‘What’s the matter? Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?’ she demanded huffily.

‘Of course not,’ he said. ‘But we need to be careful, for your sake as well as mine. I’m here on business this time, with colleagues, and if they saw me with you it would be a bit hard to explain. They’re very strict about this sort of thing. I could be suspended, or even worse.’

‘Oh,’ she said, now sharing his concern.

A car accelerated on the road behind her and Sammy started, moving quickly back into the shelter of the trees. She followed more slowly and the car’s headlights just touched her as it passed. They stood under the bough of a tall spruce. She felt like a teenager on a furtive rendezvous. There was something thrilling about the whole encounter.

‘I didn’t know you were coming,’ she said a little petulantly.

‘I didn’t know myself, honestly. I only arrived last night. Anyway I’m here now,’ he added firmly.

‘How long are you staying?’

‘Only until tomorrow, I’m afraid.’

‘Well, at least that gives us tonight.’

‘Don’t you have to work?’

‘You’re in luck. I’ve got the night off.’ She had managed at the last minute to switch nights off with Sonja, one of the Polish girls. ‘What’s your room number this time?’ she asked, smiling up at him.

But he was shaking his head. ‘I’m not in the hotel. I’m sorry, but I’m in a Glenmor house with my colleagues. I can’t try and smuggle you in there; we’d get caught.’

‘Oh,’ she said, unable to disguise her annoyance. Why had he bothered to contact her then? ‘But you’ll be back for this conference, won’t you? Don’t tell me you’ll be staying with these people then.’

‘I won’t be staying at all. Officially I’m not going to be at the conference,’ he said flatly, then looking at her his tone softened. ‘But don’t worry – I’ll be nearby. Only no one’s to know that I’m around. It’s strictly hush-hush. Do you understand?’ There was a hard edge to his voice which scared Jana a little, and she nodded right away.

‘Good. Now listen to me,’ he said, putting an arm around her shoulders. She tried to snuggle up against his chest, but he held her away. She could feel the strength of his arms, and wished they could be somewhere more private. ‘There’s something I want you to do for me during the conference. Two things actually – things I can’t do myself, because I won’t be here. Will you do them for me?’

She looked up at him and said, ‘That depends.’

‘Depends on what?’ There was that hint of coldness in his voice again.

She detached herself from his arm, then took him by the hand. ‘It depends on how nice you are to me now.’ And she pulled him in the direction of the woods behind them.

‘What are you doing?’

‘You know. Come on,’ she said, ‘the pine needles back there are very soft.’

It was dark when she walked back to the hotel, brushing off the pine needles from the back of her skirt. She laughed inwardly at the ridiculousness of it all; she could have been a schoolgirl again, meeting Franz, the lawyer’s son, by the river near the tavern. But she couldn’t help herself; she had never been able to.

Besides, the man was so attractive, far too much so for her to miss the opportunity. He could be a little cold, Jana decided, almost steely, but then, that was part of his attraction.

She thought of what he had asked her to do. It certainly seemed odd, but she reassured herself that it couldn’t be anything wrong, or else he wouldn’t be coming back after all these international bigwigs had been and gone. She was a bit frightened, but she hadn’t wanted to admit that. She’d have to find someone else to do the other thing – how could she be five miles away at the same time she was waiting on tables at dinner? But she knew that her friend Mateo, one of the busboys, would do it for her. He was Spanish and he had an enormous family. What had he said? Twelve brothers and sisters. Five hundred pounds wasn’t to be sneezed at and all he had to do for it was walk up some hills.