La Fleur Rouge The Red Flower Read online

  As she sat there listening, an inner voice told her to be careful of what she said. He’s trying so hard to help me. I don’t want to sound unappreciative. “Greg,” she said, “I’m grateful. Really I am. But you’ll have to give me time to think this over.”

  She rose from her chair and prepared to leave, trying desperately to control the fear and disappointment she felt - disappointment not only that things weren’t going as smoothly as she had hoped, but that Greg seemed suddenly more like a stranger than the man she had come to know and love.

  She walked over to the door and put her hand on the knob. As she turned back, she noticed an odd expression on his face. Was he fearful of something? Of course! He’s afraid I’ll lose out if I say no!

  The nagging doubt dissipated and her confidence in him returned. Poor Greg. He’s trying so hard to help me. Maybe he’s right, she rationalized. He knows the business better than I do. Her heart went out to him, and she walked back and put her arms around him.

  “Greg, please don’t think I don’t appreciate what you’re offering to do. I just need time to think. I’ll let you know.”

  She gave him a peck on the cheek and left.

  But as she entered her apartment, the anxiety which had plagued her earlier returned. What should I do? The uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach told her she didn’t like this. It didn’t seem right to have someone else’s name on something she had written.

  Oh, I’m sure it’s only temporary, but this whole thing doesn’t make sense. How are they going to produce it with Greg’s name on it, and then tell the whole world that I wrote it? The public would never trust him again, and she knew he wouldn’t risk that.

  She went to the bay window and looked out. How she wished her thoughts were as clear as the cloudless sky she found herself staring at. I’ll call Jenny, she decided. She wanted to tell her about her engagement, anyway, and this was a good excuse to ask her advice at the same time.

  She and Jennifer Gordon had been roommates in college, and Jenny always came up with the right solution whenever Hilary turned to her. Even though Jenny now lived three thousand miles away in California, they had remained close.

  Jenny sounded breathless when she answered. “Hello?”

  “Jenny! I hope I didn’t call at a bad time.”

  “Hilary? Hi! No, I was just taking my afternoon swim in the pool. What’s up?”

  Hilary could hardly wait to tell her. “You’ll never guess!” she exclaimed. “I’m engaged to the most wonderful man!”

  “Oh, Hilary!” Jenny cheered. “That’s great! Anyone I know?”

  “No, but you’ve heard his name! It’s Gregory Wilcox! You know - he’s written all those great musicals!”

  “Where in the world did you meet him?” Jenny asked.

  “I went to see him one night about my writing, and we fell in love. Isn’t that exciting?”

  Jenny was quiet for a moment. “Isn’t this kind of sudden? You didn’t mention him when we talked a month ago.”

  Hilary laughed. “It sure is! It’s all happened so fast! I can’t believe it! Oh, Jenny, I’m so happy that an important person like Greg could love me! And he’s trying to help me with my writing.” She paused, almost afraid to continue - - afraid that Jenny might say something to spoil the moment. “There’s - - another reason I called. I - - I need your advice.”

  She took a deep breath, giving herself time to gather her thoughts and figure out how to explain the problem in a way Jenny would understand. When she finished, she wasn’t prepared for Jenny’s reaction.

  “Hilary - - how long have you known Greg?”

  “Just a month. I told you.”

  “How do you know you can trust him?”

  Hilary was stunned. The very suggestion was unthinkable! “Jenny, this is Gregory Wilcox! The most famous composer of musicals in the world! Of course he can be trusted!”

  Jenny was silent for a moment. “Well, did you want my advice or not?” She sounded a little annoyed.

  Hilary hesitated. “Of course I want it. That’s why I called you. Jenny, what should I do? I don’t feel right letting someone else - even Greg - put his name on something he had nothing to do with. It just doesn’t seem honest. Of course - - “ she hesitated, trying to find an excuse for him - “he did say he’d do some rewriting.” Did Hilary detect a reluctance in Jenny’s attitude?

  As usual, Jenny had just the right answer. “Why don’t you call this producer?” she suggested. “What did you say his name was? Jay Stuart? Ask him if you couldn’t be billed as a collaborator. I’m really surprised Greg didn’t think of it.”

  A great sense of relief swept over Hilary. “Thanks, Jenny! Why didn’t I think of that? I’m sure it was just an oversight on Greg’s part. I’ll call Jay Stuart right away and let you know what he says.”

  CHAPTER IV

  Hilary reached for her address book where she had recorded the number of Jay Stuart’s hotel earlier. For only a moment she hesitated. Then, very decisively, she dialed the number. Doubts tried to crowd in, but she pushed them out. You know this is the right thing to do.

  “Room 212, please,” she told the hotel operator.

  It took only a moment.

  “Hello?” she heard on the other end.

  What a nice voice, she thought. Refined, gentle. For a moment she couldn’t speak.

  “Hello? Is anyone there?” Jay asked.

  Did Hilary detect a slight Scottish burr? She came to with a start. “Oh! Yes! I’d like to speak to Jay Stuart.”

  “Speaking. Who is this?”

  “Mr. Stuart, it’s Hilary Simone.”

  “Hilary! What happened this morning? I thought we had an appointment at nine o’clock.”

  “Didn’t you get my message?”

  There was a pause on the other end. “What message? I got no message.”

  Hilary was dismayed. “Greg Wilcox told me he’d take care of it. Didn’t he tell you?”

  “I’m afraid not. Are you a friend of his? I saw him this morning and he said nothing about it.”

  Hilary was deeply puzzled. “I’m Greg’s fiance,” she told him. An unexplainable chill ran up her spine. “I can’t believe he didn’t tell you I couldn’t make it. He said he’d take care of it for me.”

  “I was looking forward to reading your musical,” Jay told her. “Would you like to set up another appointment? I’m due back in New York tonight, but I think I could squeeze you in. It would be nice to meet Greg’s fiance. So you both write, do you? You have a lot in common.”

  Hilary thought for a minute, almost afraid to speak. “He told me he showed you my musical.”

  There was a dead silence on the other end. When he spoke, he sounded perplexed. “He showed me his new musical. It’s great! The best one he’s ever written!”

  Hilary tried to grasp what he was saying. “I didn’t know he’d written a new one. He said nothing about it to me.” Suddenly a horrible thought crossed her mind. “Would you mind telling me the name of it?”

  She waited, hoping she was wrong.

  “It’s a real catchy title,” Jay answered, his voice full of enthusiasm. “’The Pepper Pot!’ It’s a story about a family whose lives revolve around a pepper pot. Quite a different idea. But every one he’s written is different from the others. He’s amazing. I don’t know how he manages to be so versatile.”

  “That’s strange,” she said. “My musical is a story about a family whose lives revolve around a ginger jar!”

  “I guess your minds run in the same channel!” Jay enthused. “Quite a coincidence.”

  Her heart pounded with fear as she remembered what Jenny said about trusting Greg, and she became suspicious. She didn’t like what she was thinking, but she couldn’t help it. She started to sing one of the tunes from “The Gin
ger Jar.” Her lovely voice came over the telephone as clear as a bell.

  Jay was enthralled. “Yes!” he exclaimed. “That’s one of the beautiful songs from ‘The Pepper Pot.’ It’s the best musical he’s ever written! Pure genius! It’s just perfect the way it is! No rewriting is needed!”

  Hilary put her hand over her mouth to keep from screaming. Her world came crashing down around her, and she felt helpless to pick up the pieces. How could Greg have done this to her? Why?

  “Are you sure Greg didn’t show it to you?” Jay continued. “He must have. Otherwise, how would you know the tune you just sang?”

  When Hilary was finally able to speak, her voice sounded hollow, devoid of emotion. She shivered, suddenly very cold. “He said it was his musical? He didn’t write it. I did. Only I called it ‘The Ginger Jar.’ He changed the title.”

  She swallowed hard as she struggled to stop shaking.

  Jay paused for a long moment before he spoke. “That’s a very serious accusation, Miss Simone. There must be some mistake.”

  Hilary brushed the tears from her face. “No. The only mistake is the one I made when I showed him ‘The Ginger Jar.’ I can’t believe this.”

  Jay’s voice sounded strained and aloof as he answered. “I can’t believe it either. That’s not the Greg I know.”

  “Maybe neither one of us really knows him,” Hilary replied. “He told me you insisted he put his name on it - that it needed a known name. Otherwise, people might not come to see it. He said it would be a start for me - that this sort of thing is done all the time in this business, and after it became a hit, you’d tell the public that I wrote it. This made no sense to me, so I called to ask if I couldn’t at least get credit as a collaborator.”

  Jay was silent for what seemed ages before he spoke. “Miss Simone - “ he hesitated - “I don’t mean to sound insulting or hurt your feelings, but I’ve worked with Greg for a long time, and I simply can’t believe what I’m hearing - not about Greg.” He sounded distant and cold. “I wouldn’t produce anything that didn’t have the real composer’s name on it. Would-be writers have claimed before that Greg has stolen their material, but they’ve never been able to prove it. How do I know you’re not one of them?”

  Hilary, in a daze, barely heard what Jay was saying. Could Greg possibly have stolen from others?

  “You’d better give me a chance to speak to Greg about this,” Jay continued. “This doesn’t sound like him. I’ll get back to you.”

  Before she knew it he had hung up. She sat with the phone in her hand, barely able to breathe. She felt as though she were drowning in a sea of lies, with no one there to save her.

  Then, with great resolve she dialed Greg’s number. “Greg,” she said, “we have to talk! I’m coming over!”

  She slammed the phone down, grabbed her jacket and purse, and ran out the door. It was getting dark, and ominous clouds hung over the city. She could see lightning and hear thunder in the distance, like an omen of the battle that was about to begin. Just like this rapidly changing New England weather, her life which she had thought was rosy had suddenly taken on a whole new stormy turn. Tears of anger streamed down her face as she drove through the streets of Boston toward Greg’s home. She felt betrayed.

  Greg opened the door.

  Hilary, her face streaked with tears, stood there shaking with outrage. She tried to speak, but her voice stuck in her throat.

  Greg pulled her inside and led her to the sofa.

  “Hilary, what’s the matter with you?” He sounded impatient. “You agree with me, don’t you? You’ll do as I suggested? You know I’m right. It will be a start for you, so why are you so upset?”

  She stared at him. Suddenly she felt she was speaking to a total stranger. Her voice trembled with rage. “How could you do this to me?”

  Greg masked his face with a hurt expression. “Do what?”

  “You know very well what I’m talking about!”

  Greg looked evasive. “No, Hilary, I don’t. Why don’t you tell me?”

  Hilary felt numb. How could I have thought I loved this man? “What were you planning on doing if my musical became a hit and Jay Stuart wanted more?” Her voice was cold as steel. “Did you plan to steal from me again? Or maybe you planned to plagiarize someone else!”

  “I didn’t steal from you, Hilary. I told you, Jay wants to put my name on it because it’s better box office if people think someone like me wrote it. He knows it’s yours.”

  Hilary jumped up from the sofa. “Liar!!” she screamed. “He told me you never mentioned my name! You didn’t even explain why I never showed up for my appointment. You changed the title of my musical and said it was yours! How could you?”

  An ugly expression came over Greg’s face. “You called Jay? I told you I’d take care of everything for you!”

  “Then why didn’t you? Oh - - I guess you did! But not the way you promised!”

  Hilary thought he was going to hit her. A sharp ring on the telephone interrupted them.

  “Hello?” Hilary heard him say. “Yes, Jay. I was just about to call you. I understand you had a call from my fiance. It’s all a terrible mistake. She’s here now and we’re discussing it. She’s been very anxious to get started with her writing. I guess she thought if her name were on it, that would be a way to do it. Oh, don’t worry. I’ll straighten her out. See you tomorrow, and we’ll take care of the contracts. Yes. I’ve already sent my application to the Library of Congress by Express Mail. They should have it first thing tomorrow morning.”

  With every fiber of her being Hilary wanted to snatch the phone out of his hand and shout the truth to Jay. But she felt rooted to her seat. Her legs felt paralyzed.

  Greg hung up and spun around to face her where she sat in shocked silence. “How dare you call Jay and try to ruin my reputation?!” he yelled.

  He gripped her arm so hard she winced. This brought her to her feet as she tried to break away from him. She ran for the door, but he was too fast for her. He pulled her around to face him.

  “You’d better listen to me, Hilary!” he said in a threatening tone. “This is the way it will be when we’re married, and you’d better get used to it!”

  “Never!” she screamed, yanking her arm from his grasp.

  If Greg had thought he could rule her with an iron fist, he was wrong. Sweet, naive Hilary was fighting back. As she turned again to leave, he lunged forward and struck her in the face so hard that her knees buckled.

  She couldn’t believe it! Not Greg, the man she had agreed to marry! The man - no, not a man! A beast and a thief! Why hadn’t she realized before what he was really like? This was a new side to his nature that she had never seen, and it disgusted her. But as badly as she smarted from his blow, the physical pain didn’t equal the sorrow she felt at the death of her shattered dreams. Gone were the idealism and hopes, and in their place was a strength and determination she hadn’t known she possessed till this moment. Never again would she be so trusting.

  She struggled to her feet and rushed toward the door.

  “Where are you going?” Greg hastened to her side and tried to pull her back.

  Hilary glared at him. “Don’t you touch me!” she hissed, shaking herself free from his grip.

  He backed off, and Hilary suddenly found the courage to do what she knew she must. She removed the engagement ring from her finger and handed it to him. “Here!” she sobbed. “I won’t be needing this any more.”

  She stood there, a desolate figure, tears running down her face and aching inside. But she held her ground.

  Greg looked at her with disbelief written all over his face. She had always been so sweet and trusting, but here she was standing up to him. He’s scared! she realized. He needs my ideas! For just a moment she felt a sense of power.

  He managed a laugh. “
Hey - - Hilary,” he said in the most tender and reassuring tone he could muster, “there’s no need for this. Come on. We can work this out.” He tried to take her in his arms.

  She pushed him away. “No!” she snarled. “How could I have been so blind? Who are you going to steal from next time?” She looked at him with contempt. “And I thought you wanted to help me!”

  She broke away and ran down the walk.

  As she stumbled toward her car she could hear Greg cursing.

  “You little nobody! You can’t desert me now! I’ll get even with you! I’ll follow you wherever you go and ruin your reputation! I’ll tell them you can’t write a thing on your own! I’ll tell them you’re nothing but a plagiarist! They’ll believe me, not you! I’ll see to it that no one else ever gives you a chance!” He chased after her, still shouting threats. “And don’t you ever dare call Jay again!” he warned her. “I’ll see you dead first!”

  Hilary drove through the dark streets of Boston alone with no one to sympathize with what she was going through. Her ears rang with his words and his threats. The sense of power she had felt moments ago left her as suddenly as it had come.

  She pulled over to the side of the road and shut off the engine. As she sat there, her arms and head draped over the steering wheel, she suddenly straightened up with new determination. The old, naive Hilary was gone - left behind in Greg’s study. This was a brand new Hilary. One she had just met.

  She reached for a tissue and wiped her eyes. Next, she gave her makeup a quick touch up to hide her tear-streaked face, turned on the engine, and headed in the direction of the hotel where Jay Stuart was staying.

  She realized now that she should have insisted on going with Greg when he showed Jay her musical. How could I have been so stupid? Hindsight is great, she thought bitterly. Foresight is better. Why didn’t I see it coming?

  She drove into the underground garage of the Copley Plaza and parked her car. Not bothering to be announced, she sped through the lobby and up to the second floor. She fairly flew down the corridor and knocked on the door of Jay Stuart’s room.