Sleeping Cruelty Read Online Free Page A

no one was able to pinpoint any dramatic change in Maynard and therefore didn’t whisper about his growing show of confidence and polish, and William enjoyed watching his protégé emerge.
    Neither did success come overnight – it took a great deal longer. Three years after that breakfast meeting, Maynard’s star at last rose. He took his seat in a by-election, and became the young hope of the Conservative Party. Aged thirty-eight he was now courted by the Party elders, who showed interest in grooming him for a big political future.
    For William, it was not a question of basking in the young man’s glory, but of watching his protégé quietly from the sidelines with almost fatherly pride. Maynard became well known for his fearless stance, and was an almost constant media focus. Acting classes and elocution lessons improved his pose and diction, which meant that his television appearances gained him respect and attention. He ate up his fame with relish. Without doubt Andrew Maynard was earmarked to rise to the top.
    Even though William had never hinted that he wished to be repaid for his generosity, it was at this time that he was knighted for his constant support to the Party. His charitable donations brought him to the attention of the peripheral socio-political scene and he was more socially active than ever before.
    Sir William was inundated with invitations to fund-raising events and charitable functions. He couldn’t calculate on how many boards he now sat as an ‘honorary member’, and he enjoyed his new standing. He was a wealthy man but, until this stage in his life, had kept a low profile. It was not until Maynard had crossed his path that he had appreciated his fortune or used it for anything other than to expand his own companies. Hecontinued to work on pet projects but only when he felt so inclined.
    William knew that his seemingly bottomless wallet was his biggest social asset but he nevertheless found most of the company he attracted delightful. A number of ladies used him as their escort, and he took on this role with enthusiasm. Not that he found any of them sexually attractive – far from it. It was being at the hub of the social world that he liked, and he took to collecting all the newspaper photographs and articles in which he featured. And all of the changes in his life had come about through Andrew Maynard, who now occupied the place of the family he had lost. He had little contact with his own children due to his ex-wife’s bitterness, and at times he looked on Maynard as a son. It was as if Maynard had opened a door inside William that allowed him, at this stage of his life, to enjoy living.
    Even with all his millions, William had always felt second rate. His self-consciousness when moving in his ex-wives’ aristocratic circles made him uncomfortable and aware of his social short-comings. Now he blossomed, and for the first time discovered he was comfortable with himself. His background, which had been an embarrassment to his wives, was acceptable. As a self-made businessman he was applauded in the post-Thatcher line-up. And it was all due to Andrew.
    Niggling doubts arose only on the odd occasion when he had dinner with Maynard. Sometimes William felt as if the young man only accepted his invitations out of politeness, but they were still pleasant evenings. The pair would discuss the present day’s news, Party developments and so forth, but nothing personal. In fact William could not recall ever having any conversation with Maynard that embraced his private life, apart from on one evening. Maynard told him of how he had lost both parents and then, shortly after his mother’s death, his elder sister had been killed in a car accident. William had commiserated, hoping for more details, but Maynard had been his usual reticent self: he said that his sister was much older and they had little knowledge of each other’slives – she worked abroad as a nanny and had never shown any interest in his