Callander Square - Anne Perry [84]
And Freddie, Freddie would know that, and thrive on it. Great God, he could be paying him for the rest of his life, being sucked of substance, by a bloody leech—a vampire! This was terrible!
He found himself standing up, without having been aware of rising. He must do something, that was beyond question. But what? His brain was like a cheese, no sense in it. He could not do it alone, that much was sure. He had no ideas. Who could help? Must not let Adelina know, she would blurt it out all over the place. Anyway, she was one of the ones he must keep it from. She would not understand about Mary Ann, still less about Dolly. She would make life intolerable for him. And he valued the comfort, above all else the ease and graciousness of his home. No ugliness or need for the labor of the outside world intruded into it, and he intended to keep it that way, at all costs. And of course for purely practical purposes, he must protect his position at the bank, it was a very lucrative and pleasant situation. He had influence.
But none of that was any use now, and he could see it slipping away from him, and leaving him naked to the chill of life’s harsh realities—no succulent foods, no great fires, deep chairs, summer afternoons with strawberries, servants for everything, parties whenever he wished; naked, like a great white animal without its fur or its shell, ready to be shriveled by the first winter blast.
He must get help. Who was the most practical person he knew, the most intelligent? The answer was quick to come to mind, without question, Garson Campbell.
And there was no time to be lost. Anyway, he could not possibly rest until he had done something about it, his mind was in turmoil. He rang for the footman to bring his coat. It was an abysmal night, and he loathed getting wet, but the discomfort inside him was infinitely worse, and growing more acute with each new thought that came to his mind.
He found Campbell in and willing to see him, although in view of the urgency with which he announced himself, he would have been very surprised had he not.
“Well, Reggie, what’s the panic?” Campbell said with a slightly caustic smile. “William seemed to think you were in something of a flap.”
“My God, Campbell, I’ve discovered something appalling!” Reggie collapsed into one of the other chairs and gazed up at Campbell with thumping heart. “Simply frightful.”
Campbell was unimpressed.
“Oh. I suppose you’ll need a glass of port to help you recover.” It was an observation, not a question.
Reggie sat up in the seat.
“I’m not joking, Campbell, this is damned serious!”
Campbell swiveled round at the sideboard to face him, perhaps struck by the timbre of his voice.
Reggie could feel panic welling up inside him. What if Campbell would not help?
“I’m being blackmailed!” he blurted out. “For money! At least it’s only money at the moment. God knows what it could grow into! Campbell, my whole life could be ruined! He could take everything, like a vampire at my throat, sucking out my life! It’s obscene, it’s frightful!”
At last Campbell was impressed, his face altered and a hardness, an attentiveness came into his eyes.
“Blackmailed?” he repeated, his hand still holding the port decanter, but absently, forgetting what it was.
“Yes!” Reggie’s voice was climbing higher and higher. “A hundred pounds!”
Campbell had control of himself again. His mouth turned down at the corners.
“That’s a lot of money.”
“You’re damned right it is. Campbell, what am I going to do? We’ve got to stop this sort of thing, before it takes hold.”
Campbell’s eyebrows rose slightly.
“Why ‘we,’ Reggie? I agree, blackmail is a nasty thing, but why should I involve myself?”
“Because it’s Freddie, you fool!” Reggie lost his temper again; he was badly frightened, their whole manner of life was threatened, and here was Campbell standing