Chapter 4 #2
She had a small sitting room off her bedroom, where she read or watched TV at night.
She was comfortable in the apartment alone, although happier when he was there.
They sat in her little study sometimes in their bathrobes after they’d made love or before they went to bed, on the nights when he could stay with her.
They were at the mercy of his wife’s schedule, when she was in Greenwich, or in the city.
His family home was farther up Fifth Avenue, a dozen blocks away, an easy walk for him, if he even had half an hour to spend with her.
Sometimes he showed up just to kiss her good night, or make love to her if he had time.
They usually went to bed shortly after he arrived, which was a sign that he couldn’t stay for long.
She liked their quiet nights together, when they had time to talk, or sit by the fire, drinking wine.
She created an atmosphere for him that was like a warm embrace in his busy world.
She always had time for him, to make him feel special and important, which he was to her.
She was the perfect mistress. Never tired, or sick, or too busy for him, or in a bad mood, or with problems of her own, or worried or sad.
She kept anything unpleasant to herself and didn’t trouble him with it.
She was beautiful for him at all times, exquisitely dressed, her hair and nails perfect, her smile flawless, her arms outstretched, and her body hungry for his.
She thrilled at his touch and drank in his every word.
He was already an important man in the world, but he felt more so with her.
They had just made love and taken a warm bath afterward, and were sitting in her study in their robes, when he noticed the books she had ordered about intellectual property law after their meeting with Robert Farr.
She had started reading them, and they were fascinating.
She loved reading them now, with her mother in mind.
Anson looked surprised when he saw them.
“What are those? Remnants of your law school days? You can throw them away.”
“I’ve been reading them. They’re very interesting,” she said evenly, not wanting to contradict or upset him. “Just keeping up my legal skills.”
“Why? You won’t ever need them again. That’s ancient history now.” He dismissed them, picked them up, and dropped both books in the wastebasket near her desk. She was startled and didn’t know what to say. He had made himself clear.
“It’s good to keep my mind alive. I was an attorney, after all.”
“For about five minutes. You’ve probably forgotten it all by now.” He looked less relaxed than he had before he saw her books, but happier again once he’d thrown them away.
“Actually, I was surprised that I remembered some of it, and I was never well versed in intellectual properties. The firm I was working for was all about estates, taxes, and business. Intellectual property seems like more fun.”
“None of that is fun,” he said with a determined look.
“I’m your fun now, Veronica. And your joy, I hope.
What are you doing for Christmas?” He changed the subject, knowing that she usually spent Christmas Eve at her mother’s and wouldn’t this year.
He had never been able to spend holidays with her, and she didn’t expect him to.
“I’m going to spend it with my sister Olivia. Charlotte is taking her kids to Paris, Quinne’s with her boyfriend, and Isabelle will be at her in-laws, so Olivia and I are at loose ends. There’s a farm in Connecticut we thought we’d stay at. It’s very peaceful.” He frowned as soon as she said it.
“I don’t like that idea,” he said firmly.
He was a very handsome man, exuded power and strength, and was used to the people around him doing what they were told.
He was almost fatherly with her at times.
At fifty-seven, he was twenty-one years older than she was.
She was thirty-six, and had been his mistress and willing slave for a decade.
“I’ll be in Vermont with Anne and the kids.
If I get some free hours, I could come down to see you.
That won’t work if you’re not here. I’ll be on a tight turnaround.
” He often was, but they both knew that it was a four- or five-hour drive from his house in Vermont, in good weather, and the round-trip drive alone would take him nine or ten hours.
There was no way he could see her in “a few hours,” but he wanted her there anyway.
And his plans changed constantly, between the time he spent in Washington, D.C.
, engaged in politics, planning his campaign, meetings, conference calls, and events he had to drop in on.
He had very little free time, was most often rushed, and almost never left his family on vacation, although he had once or twice if Veronica was nearby.
Sometimes he had her stay at a hotel in the area or even the same hotel when he was traveling.
He liked the security of knowing that she was close at hand, and waiting for him at all times.
It was the arrangement she had agreed to ten years before and had lived up to, to the letter.
This was the first time she had mentioned going out of town herself and it upset him.
“You’d need a helicopter to come down from Vermont fast enough and get back in time,” she said calmly.
“I could say I have an important meeting,” he insisted, determined to cancel her plans, and he could sense her resistance.
“This Christmas is going to be hard for us,” she said gently, “and Olivia and I are both going to be alone. We need a change of scenery, or we’ll sit around crying about my mother, especially with the others away. They have children, and Quinne has her boyfriend. Olivia and I are both alone.”
“Stay in the city and go to a movie, or midnight mass. The country would be depressing, and you could get snowed in for days.” She didn’t answer him, but what he said weighed heavily on her.
She didn’t want to refuse him, but she and Olivia had their hearts set on Christmas at their mother’s farm, with their mother’s decorations all around them.
It was the next best thing to spending it with her.
And they were planning to stay for a week or ten days, through New Year’s, which Veronica didn’t say to Anson. She didn’t dare.
“I’ll talk to her about it,” she said quietly.
She didn’t want to argue with him in the little time he had.
“Will I see you again before Christmas?” she asked in a soft voice, not wanting to pressure him, which he always reacted badly to.
She got more from him if she didn’t ask, but she liked to know, so she didn’t have false hopes of seeing him, and get disappointed.
“I’ll come by to give you a kiss before we drive to Vermont,” he said vaguely, and didn’t say which day.
He never did, until an hour or less before.
But she never lost sight of the fact that she owed him her lifestyle and everything she had.
She had a financially stress-free life because of him.
She never had to worry about money. And didn’t need to now, thanks to her mother, but Anson didn’t know that.
He thought he was still her only benefactor, but the landscape had changed, which he was unaware of. She was grateful to him anyway.
He didn’t spend the night with her that night.
He dressed slowly and reluctantly and hated to leave her, but he needed to get home.
He had early meetings the next morning and was appearing on a morning news show to talk about a bill he had proposed.
He kissed her tenderly when he left, and she fished her law books out of the wastebasket after he was gone.
She put them in a drawer so he wouldn’t see them the next time he came.
She didn’t change her plans to go to the farm with Olivia.
She didn’t want to disappoint her sister, or herself.
She had never defied Anson before. She always did what he wanted, but there had been the slightest shift, and after the revelations about her mother, something deep inside her had changed.
She still loved him, but she had more confidence in herself, and she liked the legal aspect of having a hand in defending her mother’s work.
She couldn’t give that up for him, or the chance to visit the farm again.
She was certain he would never know. He wanted her to be in the city, waiting for him, but he never spent holidays with her, and she knew he never would.
He would never know she was gone, and when he snuck off for a minute on Christmas Eve or Day to call her, he could reach her on her cellphone.
That was all he wanted from her or had to give on holidays.
He belonged to his family then, and never to her.
She was excited about going to her mother’s farm.
It subtly changed the balance with him, as did her unexpected inheritance.
She was no longer dependent on him. He didn’t know it, but she did.
—
Veronica went to her mother’s apartment and picked up her Christmas decorations, which were neatly put away in boxes in a storage closet.
It was emotional seeing them and made her cry for a minute, and then she carried them to her car.
She loaded up her car with them, had taken a single suitcase with her, and picked up Olivia, who was waiting in front of her building in her wheelchair, with the doorman carrying her valise.
He put it and the wheelchair in the car and they took off, like two giddy girls.
Olivia had called Ellen, the housekeeper, to tell her they were arriving.
She didn’t sound too pleased, but they had a gift for her, a warm scarf and matching gloves and a wool hat.
They chatted on the way to Connecticut and played Christmas carols on the radio.