Summer at Tiffany's (10 page)

‘Oh Bas,' Cassie said, her hand above her heart. ‘It really
is
love.'

Bas shrugged; he was famously unlucky in matters of the heart, always falling for the unavailable or the un-gay. ‘We'll see,' was all he said, but Cassie could see by the way he lingered on the image a second, before closing down his phone, that he had already fallen hard.

‘When are you seeing him next?'

‘He's coming out to New York next month.'

Cassie nodded but her heart filled with dread. How many people could sustain long-distance relationships, especially after such a short ‘courtship'?

‘So out with it then, how did you meet?' Cassie asked, wanting all the gossip.

‘I was doing the Isabel Marant show,' he said. ‘And obviously Jerome Dreyfuss is Isabel Marant's partner so he was around at the castings and stuff.'

‘I want to meet him.'

‘You will.'

‘Henry and I could come over one weekend.'

‘Great.' Bas frowned suddenly as his tummy rumbled loudly. ‘Hey, now where'd Nooks go? Don't tell me we've lost her too. I'll never get fed at this rate.'

Anouk, left unattended for half a minute, had already wandered off again. Cassie saw her peering into one of the Tiffany's windows behind them.

‘Honestly, Nooks!' Cassie said, walking over with Bas and joining her. Thick sprays of white orchids were arranged in each window, every one of which was enclosed like a tiny, private theatre with jet backdrops and pinprick cones of light. The scene for this display seemed to be an enchanted forest as animal silhouettes were cut out from the pages of books and diamonds twinkled like dew in the grass or stars in the night sky.

‘I love that bracelet, you see it?' Anouk murmured, pointing to a floral diamond design draped over the branches of a tree.

But Cassie didn't see it. She straightened up, realizing where they were. She and Henry had history with Tiffany's. They had
form.
He'd bought her engagement ring here . . . ‘Hang on. Where did Henry have to get something from?' she asked, feeling suddenly chilly in the sunshine.

‘In here,' Bas said, jerking his head towards the vast girder-strapped Art Deco building that was the Tiffany flagship in London. ‘Why?' Bas asked.

Cassie felt her heart drop to her feet. No. No no no.

She rushed over to the door, standing between the two potted bays and the security guards flanking them like a matching pair. Henry was standing within, in profile to her, smiling as he chatted to the sales assistant at the desk and she handed him a receipt. Oh God. Cassie felt gripped by sudden panic. Had he . . . had he misconstrued their make up? Had he taken their reconciliation as evidence of her capitulation on the issue?

Everything felt wobbly suddenly. Her legs, her heart, her future. He was moving too fast. Why couldn't they just
be
?

She caught her breath as he turned, his smile brightening as he caught sight of her, illuminated and unmoving in the sunny doorway. He walked over, looking indecently good in his scruffy jeans and T-shirt, the distinctive blue bag swinging in his hand.

‘Hey.' He kissed her on the lips, that light in his eyes that was reserved for her alone, flickering on a low flame, ready for later. ‘You took your time.'

‘Nooks,' she whispered, hoping that would suffice as an explanation. It was all she was capable of right now. What was in that bag?

‘What's in the bag?'

‘This?' He held it up. ‘Something for you, of course. I should have given it to you ages ago.'

‘Really?' Her voice was a croak and she felt alternately cold then hot, prickles of anger, rushes of panic that he was putting her in this position, beginning to ignite in her bloodstream.

‘But you can't open it yet. Wait till we get to the pub. Poor Bas is going to keel over if we don't get him caffeinated and carbed up.'

‘Well can I hold it?' she asked, trying to reach for the bag. If she could gauge the weight of it, if she could glimpse the size of the box inside . . . But Henry shook his head, his long arms easily keeping it out of her reach as he fondly tapped the end of her nose with his finger. He was completely oblivious to the maelstrom of emotions raging inside her right this very moment.

‘Let's go.'

*

Ten minutes later, they were in the Builder's Arms, just behind the King's Road. Henry's bright mood had been soured slightly by the fact that its dark timbered confines had been overhauled in favour of a Farrow and Ball makeover so that the interior was now all battleship grey panelling with trendy wallpaper and black and white photos. Bas didn't care. They had placed their orders and his food was coming. He would live to fight another day.

Cassie wasn't saying much. Her heart had been banging repeatedly against her ribs all the way for the rest of the walk, wanting to know what was in the bag whilst desperately not wanting to know either. She didn't want another fight.

‘So come on then,' Anouk drawled, drumming her manicured nails on the table impatiently. ‘Let's see what's in the blue bag. Cassie may be able to stand it but I cannot.'

Henry winked at Cassie as he finally slid it over the table towards her. ‘Nice to see someone got lucky –
again
,' Bas said in mock complaint as he rolled his eyes.

Cassie checked her hands weren't shaking before she placed them on the bag, but she didn't notice she was holding her breath. Warily, she peered in – only to be hit by a wave of relief. She pulled out the flat, rectangular box that couldn't in any way have been used for what she'd feared.

An enormous smile enlivened her face. ‘Oh!' she said excitedly, as intrigued now as she had been terrified a moment ago, biting her lip as she gently tugged on the satin ribbon and lifted the lid.

‘Passport cover,' Henry said triumphantly as she pulled out a soft Tiffany blue leather jacket. 'I've been telling you for ages that you need one. It's never looked right since you put it through the wash in your jeans.'

‘You bought me a passport cover,' she whispered, clutching it to her chest.

‘I did,' he grinned, delighted by her response. ‘So you like?'

‘I love it,
love
it,' she replied, leaning forwards on her elbows to kiss him on the lips. ‘You're always so amazing to me.'

‘I wanted to treat you,' he murmured, his eyes on her lips.

‘Although you know we can't afford –' She stopped, as she realized suddenly that he didn't know. Not yet.

‘Listen, there's going to be no more worrying about the rent or eating jacket potatoes for dinner for at least six months. This expedition's going to mean we can relax for a little while, at least –'

He stopped suddenly, growing pale, and Cassie knew he'd finally remembered the missed meeting. The grant had been a promise for so long now, he had stopped thinking about it as a variable at all; all he'd had to do was turn up at the meeting and turn on the charm – he could do that in his sleep. Only . . . ‘Oh
shit
.'

‘What's up?' Bas asked, taking in their stilted body language.

‘. . . Uh,' Henry stalled, his mind whirring as he took in the ramifications of the missed meeting. The expedition was supposed to be leaving in a fortnight. Everything was in place – sponsors, team, the weather even; the grant was just the final instalment needed to actually cross the t's and get everything kicked off at last. ‘I was on my way to pitch for the grant when Arch collapsed,' he said slowly, his voice quiet.

‘Oh
merde
!' Anouk exclaimed sympathetically.

Henry shook his head, distractedly. ‘Christ, it went right out of my head.' He winced, raking a hand through his hair and looking more ill by the moment. ‘How could I have . . .' he looked at Cassie. ‘How could I have
forgotten
?'

‘There's been so much going on,' she said quickly, pained by the expression in his face. ‘Of course you haven't had time to think about it. You've been completely focused on Arch.' And her. He'd been distracted by her last night.

‘I'm sure when you explain to them what happened, they will understand,' Anouk offered.

He looked over at her, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. ‘Yeah?'

‘Of course,' she shrugged with utter conviction. Cassie widened her eyes, desperately trying to message her to shut up, but Anouk just gazed back quizzically.

‘You're right.' Henry stood up from the table, reaching for his phone in his jeans pocket. ‘I'll call them now. I've left it too long as it is.'

‘No!'

He fell still, looking back at Cassie.

She swallowed. How could she tell him, in front of everyone, that that dream was dead? Well, for this year anyway.

But she didn't need to tell him. He read it all in her face, slumping back into his seat, the phone still turned to ‘off' in his hand. ‘. . . Oh, right.'

Bas and Anouk looked over at her quizzically but Cassie couldn't take her eyes from Henry's face – the way his lower lip had pulled down slightly, the way his Adam's apple bobbed in his throat as he swallowed the disappointment. For this wasn't just any lost deal – the arcane world of exploring was becoming more and more difficult to pursue. The hidden world was shrinking as cities spread and satellites peered into the most remote uninhabitable reaches of the planet from space. Even the final frontiers, the polar caps, were commonly visited now, with tourists travelling to see the aurora borealis, charity groups making ever more elaborate and obscure sponsored expeditions and every financial superpower in the world muscling in for fishing, mineral and drilling rights.

When he spoke, it was slowly. ‘Did they leave a message at the flat then?'

‘No. I met up with Bob Kentucky yesterday,' she said in a quiet voice, her hand reaching for his.

Henry looked surprised that she even knew Bob Kentucky's name. ‘I called the Explorers in New York,' she said. ‘They told me he was staying at the Travellers Club so I went up to see him yesterday afternoon.'

Yesterday afternoon? Henry's eyebrow lifted faintly as he registered what she'd been doing instead of waiting around at the hospital and guilt creased his brow at the accusations he'd thrown her way last night. He shook his head, dropping it into his hands, his fingers pulling tight against his hair. Cassie wanted to cry. She wanted to cross the table and sit on his lap and tell him everything was going to be OK. But she couldn't, because she didn't know that it was.

‘He
wanted
to give the grant to you. You were right, they were completely on board with it. But . . . they had to make a decision there and then. The other committee members were all flying out again that afternoon and with the other applicants there and you not . . .' She shrugged. It didn't need to be spelled out.

Henry nodded but was silent, his eyes studying the grain of the table, her hand in his as he absorbed the ramifications of what this meant – it was over. £120,000 was too big a hole to breach. He was going to have to let go of the team he'd cherry-picked, explain to UNEP they now had a gap in their conference schedule, apologize to National Geographic who'd been making noises about branding him as the thinking man's Bear Grylls . . . It wasn't just a personal disaster, it was a career catastrophe.

Bas shot Anouk an aghast ‘OMG' look as silence covered them all like a cloak. He'd never seen Henry at a loss before. No one had. What could any of them possibly say?

‘Well I wouldn't change any of it,' Henry said, trying to be positive. ‘Arch comes before any job.'

‘Exactly,' Cassie murmured, still gripping his hand. ‘And you can regroup for next year. The Explorers are still desperate for you to take the flag with you.'

Henry shrugged, the movement seemingly painful for he winced a little.

‘Christ, I can't believe you tracked him down,' Henry mumbled after another pause, forcing a grin that couldn't quite get to his eyes. He was putting on a brave face in front of their friends, but Cassie could see the worry in his bones. ‘Who's the explorer in this relationship, me or you?'

‘What's meant for you won't go past you, mister,' she smiled back, eyes shining with fierce love as she squeezed his hand this time.

‘And don't I just know it!' he replied, picking up her hand and kissing the back of it. She knew from the way his eyes locked on hers that he was referring to the small issue of having ‘waited' for her decade-long marriage to end before he could make her his. They would weather this, somehow . . . He looked back at the others who were rolling their eyes at each other again. ‘Don't worry, I'm not going to kiss her.'

‘Thank God for tha—' Bas began.

‘Gah, who am I kidding? Of course I am!' Henry grinned, tugging on Cassie's hand and pulling her towards him for a kiss.

Everyone laughed, the sombre mood broken – or at least postponed for a private moment later.

‘So what shall we do tonight?' Anouk asked, moving the conversation onto happier ground as their drinks were brought over. ‘Do you think Suzy will come home? We could cook her a special meal. She must be dropping, after spending so long in the hospital. The food in those places is always so bad.'

‘Yeah, she's shattered,' Henry said, reaching thirstily for his pint of Harvey's. ‘But now Arch is going onto the general ward, I think she'll just have a quiet night in with Velvet. She's missed her like mad.'

‘Poor thing,' Cassie murmured. ‘I think a quiet night's in order for everyone isn't it? You've barely slept or eaten since Wednesday either,' she said, tenderly pushing his hair back from his face as he drank deeply. ‘How about takeaway and a film?'

‘Sounds great,' he part-sighed, part-groaned as he placed the pint glass, half empty already, back on the table. ‘But we'll have to wait a day.'