Martine The Beginning (Cruising to Love, The Prequel) (17 page)

 
“Good.  Wonderful.  Fantastic.”  Lucas kissed her resoundingly. They were still kissing when Lillian came in with Martine’s dress.

  She closed at six.  Lucas had stayed with her, and started making a list of what he
’d need to do the renovation. He was already in a dark business suit, ready for the dinner.

  Martine went into her room and found some black stockings, and her one pair of high heel

black sandals.  They would have to do.  The budget was tight, and now there wasn’t the bakery money coming in, she was not going to be extravagant.

  She couldn
’t wear a bra with that dress, of course, and she thought she needed some sort of necklace…so she looked in her mother’s jewellery box, and found a long strand of pearls.  She took an amethyst brooch, probably Victorian, and hung it on the pearls.  That was going to have to do…

  He smiled when she came out.  The dress looked very elegant coming. She twirled around for him.  It was sexy going. So sexy.  Lucas felt himself becoming aroused at the sight of Martine
’s bare back.  He knew how smooth, silky, her skin felt.  He wasn’t going to let anyone else dance with her, he decided.  Not in that dress.  Not with that bare back.

  He helped her on with her coat.

  The taxi came and off they went to the Four Seasons, where the dinner was being held.

  Martine had never been to the Four Seasons.  She was overwhelmed by the grace and elegance of the design.  She looked with great interest at the art, and smiled to herself.  One day
…

  She told John when they were seated at a large table of her sale that afternoon, all due to his column.  He was pleased.

  Penny was stunning in a teal cocktail dress and silver heels.  She had such beauty.

  And Sir Charles was ther
e
with his wif
e
at the head table, of course..

  Presently, four other people joined their group at the table.  They were friendly, and the meal was very enjoyable.  Sir Charles and a couple of others made speeches, and when that was finished, the dance floor was opened up.  Lucas swept Martine up and onto the floor before anyone else had a chance. 

  He was an extremely good dancer, and Martine glided along with him, following his lead.  He held her close to him, his hand in the middle of her back.  She was so aware of him.  They smiled at each other…

  There was a tap on Lucas
’s shoulder.  It was Sir Charles.  “I’m cutting in, old chap.  I have to dance with Martine.  My wife is there in the navy blue…” Lucas grinned ruefully and went to ask Lady Harrington to dance. 

  Sir Charles guided her around the floor. 
“I’d just like to tell you that I have to steal Lucas from you for a while.  The Minister is here, and I want to make sure they meet.  Be good for Lucas’s business…”

  Martine smiled. 
“You can have him, but for less than half an hour, Sir Charles…”

  Sir Charles laughed.  He wasn
’t used to young ladies telling him what he wasn’t going to do.  “Oh,” he said, “One more question.  That lovely blonde girl sitting with you, is she married or engaged?”

 
“No.”  Martine looked up at the older gentleman.  “Why do you ask?”

 
“My nephew.  He’s been staring at her all night.  He’s usually quite reserved and composed, but I think he’s just fallen in love

with her.
”

 
“And is your nephew married or engaged?”

 
“Heavens no, but he should be.  He’s thirty three, time he was settled down, raising a family.”

 
“Penny’s only twenty.”

 
“Is she now?  And what does Penny do?”

 
“She’s a singer.  Just signed a contract with Domino Records.”

 
“Hmm…Bertie will be interested to hear that.”

 
“Oh, is Bertie in the music business?”

  Sir Charles laughed. 
“Heavens no, he heads an investment firm.” 

 
“Oh.”  Martine couldn’t think of anything else to say.

  The music ended, and Sir Charles walked her back to the table.  John and Penny were there.  Lucas was not.   Martine introduced John and Penny to Sir Charles, and he bowed and left.

  “Nice old gentleman,” remarked Penny, “Who is he?”

 
“Sir Charles Harrington, one of the richest men in England,” said John. “You move in high circles, Martine, it seems.”

 
“Lucas moves in high circles, John, not me.  Sir Charles is one of Lucas’s clients.  And he did buy two pictures from me today.  He’s the one whose foundation is now our April charity. But he didn‘t come because of Lucas, he came to the Gallery because of your article, John.”

 
“Ah…” said Penny. “Where’s Lucas?”

 
“Probably meeting someone Sir Charles wanted to introduce him to,” answered Martine.

  Just then a very pleasant looking man in his thirties approached the table.
“Excuse me, are you Martine?”

 
“Yes.”

 
“I’m Bertie.  My uncle sent me over to dance with you.  He’s stolen your Lucas for a bit. He said to tell you he’s a little scared of you and will try to keep it to twenty nine minutes…”

  Martine laughed.  Bertie offered his hand, and she got up and went to the dance floor.  Once again, she had an excellent partner.  Bertie led her through the cha cha, and soon she was doing steps that Penny and John hadn
’t shown her.  The band stopped and Bertie took her back to the table, asking a waiter to bring a bottle of champagne and five flutes on the way.

  Martine smiled, remembering Sir Charles
’s comments.

  Penny came and sat down.  John had been snagged by someone on the way back to the table.  Bertie beamed at her.

  “Are you Penelope Martin?” he asked.

 
“Yes.” she replied.

 
“I’m Bertie. I’m quite a fan of yours.  Saw you in concert with the Blue Boys.  Glad you’ve moved on past them.  Understand you’ve just signed with Domino.

 
“Yes, just this week.  How did you know?”

 
“Uncle Charles.  He knows everything about everybody.  Don’t let that façade fool you. He’s got the sharpest mind I know.”

 
“Oh.”

 
“Would you care to dance with me, Penelope? I’d be most honoured to have a dance.  Would your young man mind?”

 
“Oh, no.  He’s really just a friend, not my young man…” Bertie offered Penny his hand and led her to the dance floor.

  John came back and sat down. 
“Oh…look who Penny’s dancing with. Well, I guess that puts an end to my chances with her…”

  Martine smiled. 
“Penny’s not shallow, John.  She likes you.”

 
“But Sir Bertram Huflingshire-Jones has something, I don’t know what it is, but something that attracts women like moths to a flame.  Martine, it isn’t his money, and he’s at least as rich as his uncle, and he isn’t handsome, and he seems quite ordinary, but I’ve seen more women fall at his feet than you can believe…no, if he’s interested in our Penny, I’ll be out of the picture faster than you can blink. 

 
“And it will all be done so nicely.  Strings will be pulled.  I’ll get a promotion to an editor’s job in Birmingham or something like that…” He took a drink of champagne.  “Let’s dance, Martine.”

  They danced two dances, but John
’s eyes were glued to Penny.  And Penny’s eyes were glued to Bertie. And Bertie’s eyes were glued to Penny.

  Martine led John back to the table.  This wasn
’t furthering her cause.  Publicity.  But in a few minutes, one of John’s cronies came up and was introduced to Martine, and then another,

and soon she had four newspaper men sitting with her, laughing and drinking Bertie
’s champagne.  As soon as a bottle emptied, another came, and each time the waiter said “Compliments of that gentleman,” gesturing toward Bertie.  And Bertie and Penny danced and danced and danced.

  Lucas was gone a lot longer than half an hour.  Martine did not want to get drunk.  She drank very little, a glass of wine, at the most half a

bottle when she and Penny went out.  She knew that to become tipsy would be so wrong…she got up and went to the Ladies.  On the way back, she found their waiter and told him she only wanted to drink sparkling water, and slipped him a ten pound note.  He smiled.

  He brought her a champagne flute filled with sparkling water
…

  Lucas eventually reappeared, looking both pleased and rueful at the same time.  He took Martine
’s hand and immediately led her onto the dance floor.  The band was playing a slow waltz.  Lucas held her close.

 
“So sorry, darling…”

 
“I know, Sir Charles told me he was stealing you to meet the Minister.  He told me it was very important.”

 
“Yes, it was.”

 
“Then, stop looking guilty, darling and let’s just dance.” Martine smiled up at him.  “Now, if I’d caught you with Belinda, it would be a different story.  She plans to seduce you, you know.”

  Lucas looked down at her, very serious.
“Martine, you are the only woman in my life.  You always will be.  Please remember that.  It takes two to rumple the sheets, darling.  And in my bed, that will always be you and I.”

  They smiled into each other
’s eyes, oblivious to the fact that someone had just snapped their picture.

 
“I’d better tell you, though, Martine, that I did ask Belinda about painting me nude.  I want to

hang it on the bedroom wall, to remind you who your husband is when I
’m away.  Because I will be away a fair bit, as you’ve already seen.  Then you told me about Belinda’s proclivity for sleeping with her nude models. So I’ve decided to have you take my picture, and she can paint me from that.  It will be just the way you want to look at me, darling.  And all she’ll ever see will be that photo.”

  Martine smiled.  Oh this might be fun
…

  By the time they returned to the table, Penny was sitting there and Bertie had gone.  John
’s nose was no longer out of joint.  He was holding Penny’s hand.  But Martine had known Penny for half her life.  She could tell that the spark had disappeared for Penny…she would be nice to John, see John, but she had no future plans for John. Too bad, John was a nice man.

  They got a taxi home just before midnight.

  “Do you need anything from the Gallery?” asked Lucas as the taxi came down their street.

 
“No, darling, I already brought everything I need for tonight yesterday.  Before you came home.”

  Lucas paid the taxi and they went upstairs.  Opened the door and Martine felt as if she was home.  Such a nice feeling to be there with Lucas.

  He helped her off with her coat, and she kicked off her shoes.  He took off his jacket and

his tie, undid the top three buttons of his shirt.  Kicked off his shoes.  They sank onto the sofa,

he had his arm around her.  Martine realized how very tired he was.  He must have been working eighteen hours a day while he was away, she thought.  If he wasn’t dead tired, he’d surely have been all over her, in that dress?

  She looked at him.  His eyes were closed, he was dozing.

  She gently got up and went into the bedroom.  Took off her lovely dress and necklace and hung it up. Pulled her green nightgown and robe out from the back of the wardrobe where she had hidden it.  She went into the bathroom and brushed her teeth, washed her face.  She looked at herself in the mirror.  She knew that she looked quite beautiful, with her red hair, the curls tamed to soft waves, and her green eyes.  The emerald nightgown and robe accentuated her cleavage and emphasized the alabaster quality of her skin.  She turned off one bedside light.  Went back into the living room.

  She leaned down and kissed Lucas, a tender kiss.  His lips parted under hers, and she sat on his lap, and kissed him sensuously, her tongue exploring his lips, then probing gently into his mouth.  His arms came around her, and his response became as sensuous as hers. His eyes

opened and he smiled at her.  “You are an incredible woman, Martine.  I’m so lucky to have you…”

  She stood up and offered him her hand.  She led him into the bedroom, unbuttoned his shirt and ran her hands over his chest, circling his nipples, then she kissed them.  Her hands found

his belt, and she undid it, the fasteners on his waistband, the zipper on his fly, all undone.  She pushed his trousers down and they fell to the floor.  He stepped out of them. He smiled down at her and untied the bow that kept her robe together.  He slipped it off her shoulders. He reached over and turned down the covers.