Chapter 2

At long last Wednesday dawned and Veronica was standing in the foyer of the Savoy Hotel. A flunkey appeared and escorted her to Vane-Clatworthy's suite. He ushered her in and left, closing the door silently behind him. The old man was sitting in a very comfortable looking armchair and motioned Veronica to sit opposite him on a rather less comfortable chair.

"A young woman like you doesn't need too much ease, not like arthritic old me!" he chuckled wheezily.

She looked at this living legend closely, although at the same time trying not to stare rudely. She was a good mannered girl - always had been. He was certainly old and she could see that his reference to arthritis was no passing quip. The poor man was obviously crippled by this most distressing of maladies. But, old and infirm though he was, there was nothing feeble about the way he looked at her out of those pale blue eyes. He was obviously a man who missed nothing and was used to being obeyed. He motioned again, this time towards a drinks cabinet, and she saw again how terribly deformed his fingers were.

"Get us both a drink, my dear. If you wouldn't mind, that is. It's such a devil of an effort to move an inch some days. Sorry not to be doing my duty as a host!"

Veronica murmured that she was delighted to help and did as requested. The old financier opted for a gin and tonic and Veronica for a mineral water. She was not a great imbiber, and despite her necessary conviviality, she never indulged in the way so many of her male (and female) colleagues were wont to do.

She sat down again, sipping occasionally and waited for him to come to the point. This he did with no further ado.

"Well, young lady. I am a busy man and you are a busy woman. I am willing to give you the sum of one million pounds on condition you perform a series of tasks for me a week from today. I will send you instructions in good time. I never go back on a bargain and I think I can say the same of you. Straight as a die - saw it the minute you walked through the door. Shake hands and we'll meet again after your task is done. Remember to make the whole day free a week from now!"

Veronica grasped his deformed hand as gently as she could by way of sealing their bargain and her strange host rang a bell by his side. She soon found herself back in the Strand, at last believing that a fortune was soon to be hers! One worry at the back of her mind was about the nature of the tasks she would be asked to perform. She hoped they would not be too hard, but she was a resourceful young lady and felt quietly confident, if slightly nervous.

She went back to work and applied herself to her duties, with half her mind on the future. Soon she would be leaving all the uncertainties of this world of economic down-turn and redundancy threats. What would she do with the money? She would certainly not be content with investing it and living on the interest. Not likely! This would be the springboard to some kind of business enterprise of her own! She spent the six days before her appointment with destiny going over a variety of options. On the whole she was inclined to leave England and invest in some kind of tourist/leisure enterprise in Spain or Portugal. The fact that she had a task to perform before all this could be realised was increasingly irrelevant as far as she was concerned. She would be up to whatever he wanted her to do!

And finally, the great day was here! She woke that morning feeling sick with fear. What if she blew it and ended up at the end of the day in the same hole as at the beginning? She was shaking so much that it took her twice as long to get ready as usual. She decided not to go for customary morning exercise run today. Her instructions might arrive while she was still out of the flat.

At six - fifteen the doorbell rang. She answered the bell and was handed a package by a uniformed representative of one of the more superior kind of delivery firm. She had to sign for the package. She took the parcel inside and opened it. Inside there was a letter which she opened and read. The rest of the package consisted of shoes and clothes and one small packet. The letter told her that she was to dress in these clothes and no other.