Family Secrets (12 page)

Rhianna hadn’t got the heart to tell her that he’d obtained two complimentary vouchers through his work. After all, he had invited her to accompany him and that was all that mattered so far as she was concerned.

“I’m going to have to get something new to wear, aren’t I?”

“You certainly are. It’s a good excuse to spend some money. Look, you need to get a new dress and Dave and I need to buy me a ring. How about we close early on Saturday so we can hit the shops?”

“Fine - I’ll need some time to get ready.”

Rhianna found it hard to concentrate on her work that morning, day-dreaming about the coming Saturday.

Rhianna popped across to the bakers to see if they could provide refreshments for the
Meet
the
Artists
Evening
and to leave some fliers. She then went into their friendly off-licence to ask if they could have wine on a sale or return basis, as usual, and borrow some glasses.

The decoupage class that week was a great success. The three dimensional cards were delightful and the group of five ladies and two men were more than willing to lend their handiwork for a display. The gallery was looking good.

On Saturday, Rhianna didn’t have too much time to choose a dress. She had managed to fix a hair appointment for late afternoon. She had almost given up, when she found the dress of her dreams in a little boutique tucked away in a side street. It was sapphire-blue with some silver stitching, calf length and with a fairly low-cut bodice. It fitted as if it had been made for her.

At the sales assistant’s suggestion, she added a shrug in silver and white.

She had her hair trimmed, washed and blow-dried and was pleased with the result. She spent a long time in the bath and dressed carefully. She kept her make-up to minimum, added silver drop-earrings and sprayed herself liberally with some French perfume Fiona had given her for her birthday.

Lawrence
looked good in a silver-grey suit with a pale blue shirt and tie beneath. He stood looking at Rhianna.

“You
look absolutely amazing,” he told her. “I love what you’ve done to your hair and that dress matches your eyes.”

“Thanks,” she told him, her heart beating fast. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”

The
Silver
-
Lake
Hotel
was, as Fiona had predicted, extremely upmarket. Rhianna sank into the oyster coloured carpet in the foyer and admired the miniature fountain and exotic plants. They were shown to a table in a secluded alcove. Her heart sank when she saw the menu for it was mainly written in French.

“My French isn’t very good,” Rhianna confessed.

“No problem - I’ll translate.”

Rhianna
chose onion soup, coquilles St Jacques villageoises, followed by a chicken dish - poulet aux haricots verts with pommes mousselines. Lawrence ordered a bottle of Merlot to accompany the meal.

They
talked about recent holidays they’d been on, art exhibitions they’d visited and generally got to know one another.

“That
was fantastic,” she told him savouring the last spoonful of the tarte au citron she’d chosen for dessert.

They sat over their coffee in the opulent lounge for a long time and then he led her to the ballroom which was magnificent.

Marcus
had preferred clubbing and noisy music but this was more to her taste. Lawrence was a good dancer and she loved being with him. He held her close and whirled her round the floor. She smelt the fresh scent of his cologne; felt the warmth of his body against hers, his sheer masculinity. At last they sank into chairs at the side of the dance floor, laughing and breathless.

She was suddenly aware of a hand on her shoulder and whirled round.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, from a distance you looked like…I thought you were Tina.”

“Tina and I have been history for over two years now,” Lawrence told the attractive, dark-haired woman rather more sharply than he intended and she coloured slightly.

“Hello Laurie - so sorry, my mistake, similar colouring.”

The man standing beside her raised his eyebrows skywards.

“Whoops - told you, you needed glasses, darling!”

Lawrence
introduced the couple as Sheila and Dean Campbell - a couple of friends who used to live in Brookhurst, but Rhianna wasn’t listening.

Something
had suddenly sprung into her mind - something that was so improbable that she could hardly give it credence. It would explain such a lot and it was staring her in the face. She felt faint - the room span alarmingly and a little moan escaped from lips.

“Rhia - what’s wrong?”

Lawrence’s voice was coming from a long way away. He was sitting beside her, concern etched on his face. She gazed at him, as if through a haze, wondering if he could read her mind. Perhaps, he already knew what seemed so obvious to her now.

“Nothing - just a bit dizzy - so silly,” she murmured, feeling distinctly queasy.

“It’s hot in here,” Sheila said. “I’ll fetch you some water.”

She returned a few minutes later with a glass. Rhianna sipped the iced water thankfully.

“Oh, dear - I’m so sorry - causing you all this problem.

“No problem at all,” Laurie told her gently. “I’ll take care of Rhia; you two go and enjoy the dancing. Nice to see you again. I’ll give you a bell some time.”

They went into the foyer, which was considerably cooler, and, presently, he took her arm and led her into the bar. He had a pretty strong feeling he knew what had caused her giddy spell, but there was absolutely no way he could ask her outright - particularly not now.

It was just sheer bad luck that Sheila and Dean Campbell had chosen to come to
The
Silver
Lake
Hotel
that evening. They were both more Tina’s friends than his. They’d known full well that he and Tina had split up, but must have thought they were back together again.

Sheila would make short work of telling Tina of their encounter and that he had a new lady friend.

Rhianna sipped the brandy Lawrence handed her and spluttered as it hit the back of her throat.

“I feel such a fool, Laurie,” she told him. “I’ve never fainted in my life but I came pretty close to it just then. So sorry.”

His eyes were full of sympathy. “No, need. As long as you’re OK now - that’s the main thing.”

He took her hand in his; gently encircling her wrist with his firm, strong fingers and suddenly everything was all right again.

The evening had come to an abrupt end. After a while, she went to the cloakroom and splashed her face with cold water and tidied up and then he drove her home.

Rhianna dozed off and, when she awoke, they were outside her house. Lawrence took her key, opened the door for her and switched on the hall light.

“Are you sure you’re going to be OK, Rhia? You’re still very pale.”

“Absolutely. I feel fine now. It was a lovely hotel, Laurie - the meal was wonderful. Sorry if I’ve spoilt the evening for you.”

She sniffed as a tear trickled down her cheek. “I was having such a great time. Don’t know what came over me.”

He caught her in his arms and stroked her hair. “You’ve had so much to contend with in recent weeks. It’s hardly surprising you’re feeling a bit off colour.”

He was reluctant to leave her. Holding her so close against him was tantalising. He could feel the soft contours of her body through her thin gown - smell her delicate scent and it was awakening feelings deep within him that he’d never thought to experience again.

His mouth sought hers and he kissed her tenderly and then more passionately and felt her respond. Her hands reached up and entwined in his rich chestnut hair.

The magnetism between them was undeniable. But now was not the right time to take their relationship to a further level. Lawrence was all too aware that Rhianna was emotionally fragile and he refused to take advantage of the situation when she was in such a vulnerable state. Using every ounce of self-control, he moved away from her.

“I’ll give you a ring tomorrow - see that you’re OK. But now, you must get some rest. And, Rhia?”

She looked at him, her blue eyes shining with unshed tears.

“We’ll go back to
the
Silver
-
Lake
another time - in the summer. Would you like that?”

“Need you ask?” she whispered.

He smoothed her hair from her forehead and dropped a kiss on her brow.

“Promise me that if there’s anything bothering you, you’ll tell me.”

“Promise,” she murmured but, for the moment, she knew she couldn’t voice the thought that was in her mind. It was as if by not saying it out loud, it couldn’t be true.

Chapter Eleven

On Sunday morning Rhianna woke with a thumping headache. It took her a little while to recall what had happened. She remembered that the evening which had started out so full of promise had ended up in disaster and she had cried herself to sleep.

Something had been whirling around in her subconscious and now it reared its ugly head to confront her again. Her colouring was the same as Anna Soames and her daughter Christina’s. Could the truth be staring her in the face? Could she be related to them?

She scrambled out of bed and had a glass of water and a couple of paracetamol. After a quick shower, she felt rather better and made some toast and tea, poured some orange juice and tried to puzzle things out.

She was aware that the sadness that engulfed her was only partly due to the knowledge that her father had deceived her. The rest was knowing that Lawrence had probably chosen to go out with her because she reminded him of Christina Soames. And then she remembered his kisses. Surely it wasn’t just physical attraction on his part? Was he that good an actor?

The phone rang whilst she was tidying up.

“Hi, Rhia - just phoning to find out how you are this morning,” came Lawrence’s voice, and she immediately felt better.

“Fine, thanks,” she lied. “Thanks for looking after me last night.”

“Perhaps we overdid the dancing.”

“No - it was just so hot in that room. They must have turned the heating up too high.”

“Perhaps, well, as long as you’re OK. What are you doing today?”

“Oh, just a few necessary boring chores. I might begin another painting presently. How about you?”

“I’ve promised to help my father replace a broken fence panel.” He laughed. “Don’t we lead exciting lives?”

After a few more minutes he rang off.

Rhianna decided not to waste the day moping. She would have liked to have phoned Letitia but realised she’d have been in church. Instead, she went upstairs to the spare room and studied the portrait of Anna Soames.

“You are the cause of all this trouble,” she said sternly. She took a long look at the portrait at Anna’s penetrating blue eyes and blonde hair. Everyone said that Tina took after her mother in looks, but Rhianna’s father had been equally fair and his eyes were a paler blue - more like Tina’s.

Rhianna
didn’t want to admit it, even to herself, but she realised that there was a strong likelihood that Christina and herself might be half-sisters. A thought suddenly struck her; she even had the name,
Anna
, as part of her own name,
Rhianna
.

*

Letitia had made out she didn’t know who had fathered Anna’s child. Well, the time had come for things to be brought into the open. It was necessary for a confrontation; to clear the air once and for all.

Rhianna
wondered just how much Lawrence knew. More, she suspected, than he was prepared to let on. She was beginning to wish she’d never allowed herself to get involved with all of this, because then - she wouldn’t have met Lawrence Lorimer. She knew that she was more than a little in love with him.

Picking
up the portrait, she stowed it away in the attic again and then settled to her painting. It was best to keep herself occupied. It saved her from brooding.

*

The following morning Fiona breezed into the gallery and waved her hand in front of Rhianna. “Da-dah!”

“Wow!
That’s lovely, Fi,” Rhianna told her, admiring the neat, solitaire diamond ring. “But, should you be wearing it here?”

“Oh,
I’ll stick it round my neck in a minute. I just couldn’t wait to show it off…Now, come on - tell me about your date with Lawrence. What was that hotel like?”

“Fantastic
- the food, the surroundings - everything about it.”

Fiona
gave her friend a knowing look. “And did he stay over?”

“No
he didn’t,” Rhianna said sharply; the colour staining her cheeks.

Fiona’s
eyes widened at her tone. “Sorry - did you have a row?”

Rhianna
sank down on one of the stools. “Absolutely not. I’m afraid I - er - wasn’t too well.”

“Too
much champagne?”

Rhianna
shook her head. “Giddy spell - probably all the rushing around and rich food. Anyway, Laurie was very kind.”

“Poor
you.” She stared hard at Rhianna. “I’ve never known you get giddy before - must have been all the excitement.”

Rhianna was determined not to say anything further. She couldn’t bear her friend to cross examine her. She didn’t want to admit to her true feelings for Lawrence.

“Now,
enough of that, we’ve got a
Meet
the
Artists
Evening
to arrange for this Friday.”

Fiona
clapped a hand to her mouth. “Help! I’d practically forgotten about that in all the excitement… So what are we waiting for? Let’s get cracking.”

Rhianna
indicated the pile of fliers on the table.

“Well,
at least we got these printed last week.”

“Mmm…”
Fiona was looking dreamy again and Rhianna sighed and waved some of the fliers in front of her.

“Come on, Fi. We really do need to be organised if Friday evening is going to be a success.”

“Right
- well, I’m sure it will be… Actually, Rhia, I almost forgot to tell you. I’m having an engagement party next Saturday at the Golf Club. Dad’s checked and it’s available. After all, we couldn’t expect to have it at my parent’s place and Dave’s flat is far too small.”

“Well,
that’s great Fi, but isn’t it a bit short notice to get everyone together?”

“Oh,
I’ve e-mailed most of the gang already and they’re up for it. Laurie’s invited, of course, and Matt. I’ll leave you to e-mail Laurie.”

Rhianna
hesitated. Her mouth felt dry. “I’m not sure…Actually, Fi, I’m beginning to think he’s dating me on the rebound. I think I remind him of Tina. She and I have got the same colouring.”

Fiona
looked at her as if she’d gone mad.

“Are
you telling me that Laurie ought to steer clear of all blue-eyed blondes for the rest of his life - just in case they remind him of Tina Soames? Personally, I think you’re being paranoid, my friend.”

“Oh,
perhaps I am. I so much want to believe that he’s dating me for myself, but then, something happens to make me doubt it.”

“Marcus
has a lot to answer for, doesn’t he?” Fiona commented. “Just tell yourself that not all men are like him. Why can’t you just enjoy yourself? Anyway, you don’t have to stick together. It’s my party and I want all my favourite people there - including the gorgeous Laurie.”

Rhianna
suddenly felt selfish. “Of course you do. OK, but I want to make one thing clear - I’m not into casual flings.”

Fiona
raised her expressive eyes skywards. “Pity - you need to loosen up a bit - follow your heart.”

“I
prefer to follow my head as well as my heart,” Rhianna rejoined.

She
knew she wanted Lawrence to be at the party; remembered those magical kisses but, the closer she got to him, the more it was going to hurt if he let her go.

“I’m
just going across to the bakers’ to check that everything’s in hand for Friday.”

There
was a queue and, by the time she returned, Fiona had already e-mailed Lawrence and received a reply.

“Rhia
- did you hear what I said? Laurie’s accepted.”

Rhianna
nodded, trying not to show how pleased she was. Her heart was thumping away - behaving like a traitor. She knew that she’d wanted him to stay over on Saturday night, but, now that she’d had time to think things through, she realised that she’d been feeling very vulnerable. She needed to be sure of his feelings for her, before their relationship developed any further.

*

The week was busy and Rhianna immersed herself in the gallery, trying to put any doubts to the back of her mind. After all, she told herself, another week or two would hardly make any difference when it came to finding out the truth about Christina Soames’ parentage.

She
had spoken to Letitia briefly on the phone, but hadn’t mentioned her suspicions. Instead, she’d told her how the exhibition was progressing and about Fiona’s engagement and the planned
Meet
the
Artists
Evening
on Friday.

“How
I wish I could be there,” Letitia had said wistfully. “You must promise me you’ll take a lot of photographs.”

“I
certainly will, but you’ll see most of the stuff when we bring it to Brookhurst for the exhibition there.”

“I’m
looking forward to that. Come again, as soon as you can. You’re always welcome - you know that, don’t you, dear?”

“Of
course, I do,” Rhianna assured her grandmother. “See you soon.”

*

All the members of Rhianna’s decoupage class said they would come on Friday evening. Their display of Easter cards was delightful. Fiona had produced some realistic sheep and lambs to complement it. She was excellent at paper flowers and had crafted a number of those too.

Friday
was there before they could turn round. They closed the gallery mid-afternoon in order to get things ready for the evening.

“Why
do I always feel nervous on these occasions?” Fiona asked.

“No
idea. I’m the same,” Rhianna told her. “Now - if we’re quick - we can fly home; get a quick meal and shower and change.”

They
took a last look round the gallery. Everything was ready. The displays were inspiring. Rhianna felt a thrill of excitement. It promised to be a good evening.

Rhianna
had a quick supper, showered and changed into a black trouser suit with a coral blouse. She dug out an attractive bead necklace, swept back her hair and fastened it with a wooden buckle. She was just checking the effect in her wardrobe mirror, when the doorbell rang.

Lawrence
was standing on the doorstep. She looked at him as if he were the last person on earth she expected to see.

“Hi
- I realise I’m a bit early and the gallery was closed so thought I’d come round to yours.”

“Hi,”
she returned briskly, her heart missing a beat. “Come along in. I’m nearly ready. Have you eaten? I can make you a sandwich. We’ve still got about half an hour before we need to be there.”

“Oh,
it’s OK, I realised you’d be busy so I stopped en route, but I’d love a coffee.”

He
followed her into the kitchen. “You’re looking better than when I last saw you.”

“Oh,
I’m absolutely fine,” she assured him, a shade too quickly.

“Rhia, we need to talk.”

“Yes
, but not this evening. Right now we both need to focus on the gallery.”

He
caught her hands between his and forced her to look at him. His green eyes met hers in a searching gaze.

“Let’s
go to Brookhurst again soon - see Letitia. There are things that need to be said, but it concerns the three of us.”

She
shook herself free, trying to remain composed, even though her pulse was racing.

“Yes,
I agree about that, but we’ll have to discuss it later.”

She poured him a filter coffee. “Take it into the sitting-room. I need to finish getting ready.”

He
was looking at a photograph of her parents when she entered the room.

“Your
mother was a very attractive woman,” he commented. “I can see where you get your looks from, Rhia.”

She
smiled, pulse racing. “Right - are we ready then for this bonanza?”

*

Lawrence whistled when he saw the exhibition. “Wow! You and Fiona have done me proud. The whole place looks amazing.”

“Well,
if you hadn’t provided us with the paintings, there wouldn’t have been an exhibition. Matt’s sold quite a few of his, so we had a lot of empty wall space to fill.”

“My
parents wanted to be here, but they’ve gone to my brother and sister-in-law’s for the week-end. I said I might bring them one day next week - if that’s OK?”

“Yes,
of course, they’d be most welcome.”

Rhianna
felt a little thrill of pleasure that he wanted to introduce her to his family.

“Ah
here’s Fiona and Dave.”

Fiona
pounced on Lawrence and introduced him to Dave. Lawrence congratulated them both and kissed Fiona warmly on the cheek. Matthew arrived shortly afterwards with his girlfriend, Leigh, and a few minutes later the gallery seemed to be buzzing with people.