Enjoy Reading --Moon Witch -Complete- Pg..17

The pretty stewardess came down the aisle of the plane and stopped beside the seat of one of her first class passengers. " We will be landing in fifteen minutes , Mr. Kyle .'she said smiling politely .

The man looked up from the file of papers he had been studying with deep concentration, frowning slightly at the interruption," What ? Oh , yes , fifteen minutes , thank you .' he nodded briefly , and returned to his papers , and the stewardess gave an almost imperceptible lift of her shoulders before returning to her fellow stewardess . She looked resentfully at her fellow stewardess and said :"Honestly ,I don't understand when I ve ever been so disappointed !"

The other girl smiled questioningly ." Why ?"

" Well , having Jarron Kyle as a passenger , of course . Heaven , the reputation he has I thought he'd at least notice me ! As it is , I do not think he sees me anything more than part of fuelage !"

The other girl laughed ," And he is attractive ?"

The stewardess shrugged . The plane landed at London Airport and was surprised to find both stewardess appraising him thoroughly . Turning his ryes to them ,he said ," Say , is anything wrong ?"

Both girls gave embarrassed smiles and one of them said ," I hope you enjoyed the flight , Mr. Kyle."

Nodding he shrugged his shoulder and walked down in to the airport building .

Meanwhile , Jarron Kyle was given V.I.P clearance of customs and carrying his briefcase , his overcoat slung over his shoulder , he crossed the reception hall to where John Mathews , his personal assistant was waiting for him . " Hi ,Matt.' He said warmly .

" Good to see you , Jarron . Did you have a good holiday ?"responded Matt grinning .

" Fine .' Jarron nodded , falling into step beside the other man ." Plenty of fishing -------------the way I like it .'

" Catch anything ?" Matt glanced his way .

" Depends what you mean ,' remarked Jarron dryly. " How is the old man ?"

"J.K ? Oh , he is okay , I guess . Are you driving up there tonight ?"

Jarron glanced at his watch ." I guess so . It's after five thirty -lets go have a drink and you can tell me what's happening .'

Matt looked at him thoughtfully.' I think that would be good idea, Jarron ." he agreed mildly .Matt said : " There has been quite an unexpected bombshell, actually . Want to hear it ?"

Jarron lit a cigar ," Of course ,' he said his eyes narrowing ,' Not another Bradford merger?'

" No.' Matt shook his head ." That deal J.K handled himself . I guess he thought he ought to pick up reins in your absence , so to speak . I don't think he will ever completely retire , do you ?"

Jarron took his Cigar out and studied the glowing tip ." So? What's this bombshell? Don't keep me in suspense, Matt.'

Matt replied ." You might find it amusing ,' he said ." You seem to have got yourself a ward , unless your solicitors can extract you from involvement , which knowing them . I guess they will .'

Jarron stared at him curiously ." A ward ? What the hell are you talking about ? A ward !' he looked exasperated . " What kind of ward ? A hospital ward ? A political thing ? What ? "

" No , Jarron nothing like that ! A ward -a kid , you know !"

" You mean like I've been made guardian to some kid ?" Jarron looked astound .

" Something like that ! Matt grinned . " Quaint, isn't it?"

Jarron swallowed his drink at a gulp , and ordered another ." I don't know what in hell you're talking about . Matt , come on , let's have it . From the top .'

Matt twisted his glass round his fingers ." Its quite simple , really , Jarron . Some old guy has made you his grand daughter's guardian till she is twenty one . Or eighteen , may be . I am not too sure about that .'

Jarron was growing impatient ." What old guy ?' he asked shortly .

Matt looked amused ." A man called Jeff died a couple of weeks ago ,'

" Jeff ! Jarron looked blank ." Do I know him - or should I say - did I know him ?"

Matt shook his head ." Unlikely ." he replied , he was a foreman in a warehouse or forty years before he died .'

Jarron breathed hard ." Matt, I'm warning you -----"

Matt laughed ,' Hold it , Jarron , do not blame me !. It's not my pigeon . Your father knows all about it . He used to know Jeff .'

" At last ! The first bit of information. How did my father know him ?"

" Well, I believe they began in the textile trade together , years ago , But when J.K left t start his own company , they lost touch . And perhaps they met again but when your father moved the head office to London , they lost touch again ."

" I still do not understand , Matt . If J.K knew him so well, why did not he make my father this kid's guardian ? And where are her own parents , anyway ?"

Matt said ,' Well , it's like this , you see. Jarron old man Jeff made the chairman of Kyle Textiles his granddaughter's guardian . He wasn't to know your father would have to retire and gave the chairmanship over to you when he was only fifty eight ,'

Jarron stubbed out his cigar savagely ." My God !" he said ,shaking his head ." That was eight years ago !'

" Yes , well , like I said , he was out of touch . I don't suppose he expected to die so suddenly -after all he was only fifty eight himself .'

" I see.' Jarron thrust his arms in to the sleeves of his overcoat ." What a goddamned situation ! And what about this kid's parents? Where are they ?"

" Her mother died in childbirth and the father was killed in earthquake in South America . He worked in some insurance agency ."

" Ah !" Jarron nodded, chewing his lip thoughtfully ," Oh, well , come on Matt . You can tell me more on our way to town ."

Outside the warm brilliance of the airport building a chilly fog had descended , making a damp January even more dismal. Jarron turned up the collar of his coat , and glanced cheerfully at Matt.' I guess I should have stayed longer . Who in hell would want to comeback to London from Jamaica at this time of the year ? I must be crazy .

Matt allowed Jarron to drive the car . ' You know fine you can't keep away ,' he remarked dryly .' It's in your blood: high finance, boardrooms, mergers , take-overs ; you name it , you can do it ?'

Jarron shrugged , turning car expertly on to the main thoroughfare ." You make me sound like a machine .,' he remarked wryly.

Matt grinned , glancing out of the window at the heavy gloom, illuminated by orange glow of fog lights. You're far from that . Jarron , thank God !' he said with enthusiasm .' Sometimes your father will say -too far!'

Jarron gave a heart laugh .' Jealousy , that's all matt. The old man was never able to settle for a quite life . He'd love to have been born thirty years later .'

Matt laughed now .' Oh , Yes , one of the jet-set , eh ? fast cars , the dolce vita!"

" Something like that ,' agreed Jarron , pressing his foot down the accelerator.' Tell me about the child now . What is she like ?"

Matt shook his head ,' I have no idea . I have not seen her . I only know she is still at school .'

Jarron raised his eyes heavenwards ,' And what does the old man say we do ?"

" I think he'd be waiting for you to come home to discuss it . He wanted to bring you back sooner , but I persuaded him you needed a holiday .'

" Thanks ,' said Jarron dryly.' That's what I was wondering about .It's not like J.K to hold back on me . He does not usually pull punches,'

" No, well, anyway , you will all about it soon enough . He expects you to drive up to his place tonight . "

" Does he ? Yes, well , maybe I'll take a rain check on that .' said Jarron, swinging round a jay-walking pedestrian."

" Do you think you should ? You know - his blood pressure-----

" All right , all right ,' muttered Jarron impatiently .' All right .Matt . We will just call at the apartment and leave my things there . What a life ! Six weeks Jamaica , and within an hour of arriving back in this country I feel as if I was never been away .

Malthorpe in the forest was in Yorkshire , a comfortable village , not far from the textile mills . It was international organization whose head office was in London .

Jarron and Matt arrived at the outskirts of the house late in the evening of the same day . J.K . as Jarron's father was always called liked that. It was a large and sprawling , without much elegance of design outside . Its part Georgian faade had been added to by succeeding generations . It now belong to no period . Inside , Jarron's father had installed every kind of modern convenience . The large rooms suited his expensive personality . It stood in thickly wooded grounds which stretched far distance across the fields . Jarron approached its entrance he was forced to stop and identify himself to Hedley , the lodge keeper .

" Well , we are in ,' he remarked dryly to Matt, as the car sped up the dark tree lined drive . ." It gets a little more like Fort Knox every time I come !"

" Your father is afraid someone will steal his precious antiques ,' said Matt as Jarron brought the car to halt . in the courtyard ,before the front door ,' And every new piece he gets adds to his collection .'

" And to his nerves .' said Jarron , sliding out of the car ." God , its cold !"

" Its not that cold ,Jarron . Its not even freezing or you would't have been able go as fast as you did on the motorway .'

" Want a bet ?' Asked Jarron mockingly as the door opened and lights flooded on out on them." Hello , Morris . On cue as ever ,'

The uniformed butler bowed politely and wished them good evening . Jarron nodded and extracted his cases and asked how his father was .

Morris came forward to take the cases ." Your father is quite well .Mr. Jarron. He is waiting for you in the library . Will you be wanting any supper , sir?'

Jarron mounted the steps followed closely by Matt carrying his briefcase and overcoat . " No thanks , not tonight , see you later , Matt.'

Matt Nodded and turned to leave . Jarron crossed the wide hall and entered the room on far side . The hall was lit and Jarron heard the prism tinkling slightly in the sudden draught from the front door . He entered the library which has walls lined with hundreds of books that Jarron was sure his father had never opened . J.K was not scholar , his success was due to his hard work and personality , he was not a man to sit back contently and let someone handle all action . Unfortunately , a severe heart attack eight years ago had convinced him that to carry on living at the rate he was doing would kill him within a year , so he had handed over the chairmanship of the Kyle companies to his son Jarron. He found his son could be as obstinate as he was , though he admired his son immensely for his work .

J.K was sitting beside the roaring fire , smoking a cigar , he looked up as Jaroon entered and smiled warmly .

" Well , hello , Jarron ,' he said ,' come and sit down ,is it freezing outside ?"

" What's all this about some kid I'm guardian to ?" asked Jarron after settling down .

J.K drew on his Cigar , nodding ,' Yes . Shanaya . Old Jeff's grand daughter !"

" But this is crazy , isn't it ?" Jarron looked impatient , running a hand through his dark hair ." Hell, how did he come to make you his grand daughter's guardian ?"

" Not me , you ! " said J.K with some satisfaction ," You , Jarron ! The chairman of the Kyle textiles!'

" That's only a formality ,' muttered Jarron , chewing his cigar ," You know damn fine it was you , and not me , he was talking about . Anyway , you still haven't explained ."

J.K shrugged his shoulders . He was like his son ." When I was young then I met Jeff and them we became friends . And I guess when his daughter and son-in-law died ,he felt disturbed for the child welfare . After all his own wife died during the war , he must have felt the girl was completely alone ."

" But why pick on you ? For the money ?"

J.K lips curled .' If you had known Jeff, you would not say a thing like that . He was the most honest , upstanding man ,I know . If he had wanted money he could have it . I offered him plenty of chances one way and another . No, Jarron , it must have been a kind of hopeful desperation . I guess. I don't think he knew heart condition . I guess he hoped to be around till Shanaya was old enough to find herself a man and get married ,' he sighed .' But it wasn't to be !'

" And the child have you seen her ? Since her grandfather died , I mean ."

" I have never seen her ,' said his father , lying back in his chair ." I suppose I ought to have gone over there this past week , but I thought I'd wait..."

" And let me do it .' said Jarron dryly ,' Clever !'

His father grinned ." Well, Jarron , you did insist on taking over every part of my duties . How was I to know you wouldn't object to me interfering ?'

" Crafty devil !' muttered Jarron , walking across to himself drink ." Okay , okay , what are we doing about it ?' he leant against a table , looking at his father ," Seriously !'

His father frowned ." Well. I guess it would be an easy matter to contest the will . After all , it would not be difficult to prove that it was I , and not you , who ought to be the -how shall I put it ?"trustee! And as I'm now retired , I imagine that would absolve our responsibilities legally ,' he said . " Besides , the will was made without our consent , and I suppose that means something ."

Jarron heaved a sigh ," What a situation ! What will happen to the kid if we do -absolve ourselves ?'

" I suppose she'll be put in a foster home , or something . Unless we provide funds to keep her until she's capable of keeping herself ."

" Where is she now ?"

" Staying with a neighbor , but as this neighbor has seven children of her own she has made it plain to the solicitors at least , that it can't be lasting arrangement .'

Poor kid !' Jarron swallowed the remainder of his drink ." Well , I suppose you want me to go and see her ."

" One of has to ,' said his father leaning forward." After all , it's only the decent thing to do .'

" And then what ?" Jarron stood up , loosened the top buttons of his shirt ." That's better ,' he sighed ." I think best thing is to provide for her , isn't it ?"

His father shrugged . " I have a desire to see Jeff's grand daughter , Jarron . Bring her here to see me .'

Jarron raised his eyebrows ," Are you serious ?'

" Why not ?"

" Well, I mean , you are going to bring a kid hereto see- well - all this and then put her back in her place ! Don't you think it's going to make her discontented ?"

" No , if she is Jeff's grand daughter ,' replied J.K firmly ." He'll have seen she has both feet on the ground ,'

" Anyway how old is she ?" Jarron frowned ," You never did get round to that .'

J.K shrugged ." I am not exactly sure . Fifteen or so I think .'

" Fifteen !" Jarron glared at him ." Fifteen . Do not you realize that girls of fifteen are practically grown up !'

His father narrowed his eyes ," How do you know that , Jarron . Or your tastes in women changing ?"

Jarron threw the end of his cigar in the fire .' If anyone else had said that to me ...' He said harshly .

" I know, I know ,' his father rose to his feet .' Nevertheless , you have known plenty of women , and may be you are right . May be she is not child after all . If this is the case , it would make our job easier . Unless...' J.K . looked thoughtfully .' I always wanted a daughter , Jarron .' he said reflectively ,' Oh, I know I wanted a son - but afterwards -------" he sighed .

Jarron walked to the door , stretching ." Oh, brother ,' he said sarcastically ." you are being maudlin . I am tired .I'm going to bed . Sleep on it and let me know what you have decided in the morning .'

His father compressed his lips , looking annoyed ." All right , Jarron , you have made your point .' he said shortly ." How hard you are !"

Jarron looked back at his father and repented ." I'm as you have made me , J.K. he said slowly ,' In your own image!"