Chapter 9

"Is that your daughter, Sir Alan?"

Count Alexander, having taken the Abbot's advice and returned to his responsibilities in England, had been invited to a reception in connection with an Anglo-Russian friendship committee at the house of one of the MPs who belonged to the said committee. The MP in question was Sir Alan Henderson. As soon as he had heard the man's name, Alexander had been reminded of his beloved and vanished Emma. And now that he was Sir Alan's guest he saw her picture on a sideboard in one of the reception rooms.

It was a younger and happier Emma whose schoolgirl face smiled out at him. But it was certainly the same delightful if foul-mouthed and well plastered woman he had rescued from a night in a police cell.

Sir Alan nodded and Lady Henderson looked sad, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue.

"Yes. That's our Emma. I threw her out a couple of years ago and have little idea what has happened to her. She disgraced us all and chucked away what could have been a brilliant career. The last I heard she was employed as a "model" And we all know what that means!"

"I have seen her recently. I know all about her rather lurid recent past and it makes no difference as far as my estimation of her is concerned. You see, I happen to love your daughter very much. She is a fine young woman under that hard exterior, but she made one terrible mistake and won't forgive herself for it. I want to help her and I know I could, but she disappeared off the face of the earth a few months ago. I should have realised she was your daughter, I suppose, but she never said you were an MP - just referred to you as 'Daddy'".

Sir Alan looked uncomfortable at this. He still loved his only child as much as ever, but his upbringing had been strict and his sense of right and wrong had been beaten into him as a boy. It was hard to forgive in others what he would never forgive in himself. Like too many others, Sir Alan had yet to discover that it is only by forgiving oneself that true redemption is possible.

"You might try Ferguson if you want to find her. If anyone knows where she is, he will. He's our family lawyer. If she needed any legal work done I daresay she'd go to him. He was always fond of her. If you hear anything, let me know."

And Sir Alan dismissed all further unwelcome thoughts about Emma from his mind. But Lady Henderson accompanied the Count to the door at the end of the evening.

"Please keep me in touch with whatever you find out, Alexander! I haven't heard from her for over four months and that really is unusual. I was on the point of going to Missing Persons about her. I'm sure she wouldn't have remained in Australia for this long. I'm her mother and I know her too well - she wouldn't stay away from England for more than a couple of months. Not her."

But the Count did not get to see Mr Ferguson for two months. Mr Ferguson had been knocked down by an errant motorist and was in a coma for weeks. As soon as he was fit to receive visitors Alexander went to visit him.

"It's holding up all our work, Professor. Your security at that outstation sucks. We want his invention on the production line on time. We may have to do without all your research. Maybe transfer the project to the States, where it should have been from the beginning any way!"

One of the Professor's transatlantic clients was remonstrating with the harassed scientist over lunch at the Professor's club. He cursed Emma under his breath. If he ever got his hands on that foul mouthed and insolent little bitch... ! Maybe a trip to the island by helicopter, risking going to a horrible watery grave was going to be essential, after all.

"May I remind you that my chief has all the rights, even if I have done the work? And he would take a lot of persuading. "

"Maybe I'd better talk to this Count fellow, then."