The Hornbeam Tree (44 page)

Hardly able to believe what he’d said, or the matter-of-fact way in which he’d delivered it, she stopped and turned to face him. ‘I take it you’re not serious,’ she said.

Experiencing relief that she’d responded that way, he said, ‘On the contrary, I’m absolutely serious. I thought you would welcome it as a chance to find out if your relationship could work.’

Her eyes turned bright with anger. This wasn’t making any sense, because no-one could just let someone they loved –
someone they were supposed to be rebuilding a relationship with
– take off with another man. If the roles were reversed and there was a chance of him going somewhere with Andraya she’d not only be beside herself, she’d be doing everything she could to stop him. So something wasn’t right, and she had a horrible, sickening feeling she knew what it was.

‘I want to know what’s going on,’ she demanded. ‘Why are you doing this?’

‘You told me last night that you don’t know what you want,’ he reminded her. ‘I’m trying, for all our sakes, to help you find out, and I thought spending some time with him …’

She was shaking her head. ‘No, there’s more to it,’ she insisted. ‘You’re trying to get me out of the way and I want to know why.’

He frowned in confusion. ‘What on earth are you talking about? I’m not even going to be here myself. I’ll be with Tom, in France. Jesus Christ, Laurie. You’re the one having an affair here, not me, so don’t …’

‘Are you sure about that?’ she cut in.

His jaw immediately tightened. ‘Yes, I’m sure, but obviously you aren’t.’

Fury was draining the blood from her face. ‘I know she’s in London,’ she told him, her eyes blazing the challenge.

He didn’t even flinch. ‘This has got nothing to do with her,’ he responded, ‘so before we go any further with this, let me say it again,
you
are the one having an affair …’

‘And you are the one who seems ecstatically happy about it. So I want to know why? Doesn’t it bother you, to think of me with another man? You know what we’ll be doing, so doesn’t it mean anything to you?’

His face was turning pale, as his anger clearly deepened. ‘If that’s what you think, then we could be wasting our time,’ he said darkly.

‘I don’t know what to think,’ she shouted, ‘but I do know that I’m finding your response to me and Nick very strange indeed.’

‘Well I’m sorry if I can’t oblige with the way you think I should respond,’ he said bitingly, ‘but this is it! This is the way I’m handling it, and if it doesn’t work for you, then I’m afraid that’s your problem, not mine.’

She was so angry now that it was right on the tip of her tongue to tell him that there was no point going on, they clearly weren’t ever going to work things out, so they might just as well stop trying. Had an exuberant dog not suddenly bounded up to her out of the blue, knocking her back a few paces, nothing would have stopped her.

Immediately the dog’s owners came rushing up to apologize, the dog was scolded, and as Laurie assured them there was no harm done, while ruffling the dog’s head, the moment of intense anger passed.

As the couple walked on, Elliot turned back to Laurie. ‘If you don’t want to go to Europe with Nick, no-one’s going to be happier than me,’ he told her.

She turned sharply away to look off across the river.

‘I can’t help noticing that you aren’t turning the opportunity down,’ he commented.

Her eyes came back to his. ‘Why should I, when you’ve made it perfectly clear you don’t want me in your bed,’ she snapped nastily.

‘Not while you’re sleeping with another man,’ he told her. ‘Now let’s drop this, shall we? We’re starting to become a sideshow, and I don’t think that’s what either of us wants.’

Realizing that they were indeed attracting attention, Laurie fell into step beside him as he turned back in the direction of Shad Thames, and though still furious, she slipped a hand into his pocket, and felt his fingers link around hers.

Neither of them spoke the entire way back, though she was acutely aware of the mounting tension. As they rode up in the lift, still silent, they stared harshly into each other’s eyes, letting the air between them continue to simmer. Then quite suddenly, Elliot tilted her face to his and kissed her fully on the mouth. Almost buckling under the powerful surge of desire, she did nothing to resist. When the door opened he was still kissing her, and he didn’t stop until one of their neighbours gave a polite little cough to let them know she was there.

Apologizing, they stepped out of the lift, but as they started towards the front door Laurie stopped dead in shock.

Elliot collided into her, then he too saw the woman standing outside their apartment.

‘Elliot, darling,’ Andraya purred, her big sultry eyes and pouting lips oozing more appeal than could ever be decent. ‘I am sorry. Have I come too early?’

Laurie’s heart twisted with horror. He’d invited her here?

‘What the hell are you doing?’ Elliot demanded. ‘I told you …’

‘I know, darling, you told me not to come while she was here, but I thought …’

‘For God’s sake! It’s over, Andraya,’ he shouted.

Andraya’s lustrous eyes stayed on him as she let her raincoat fall open. Beneath was a skintight, snake-print cat suit that was open to the waist and revealed almost all of her enormous olive-toned breasts. ‘I understand you are saying that for her benefit,’ she purred, ‘but she needs to know the truth, Elliot. I’m sure he’s told you that it is over between us,’ she said to Laurie, ‘and it was … I thought I was bored, you see, but I was wrong … He is such a good lover, as you know.’

Laurie could hardly tear her eyes away. This was her nemesis. Her arch-rival. The source of all her misery and nightmares. She was like a snake shedding its skin in that cringingly tarty catsuit with its zip right down to her navel and all that garish black and silver lycra clinging to her limbs. Even so, there was no denying the power of her sexuality, nor the mesmerizing potency of her beauty, for it emanated from her in waves strong enough to stun any prey. Even Laurie couldn’t claim to be immune, for next to a woman like Andraya it was hard to feel anything but drab.

Then she realized Elliot was saying nothing, and Andraya was smiling into his eyes.

‘When you called yesterday,’ Andraya was murmuring, her carefully manicured fingers stroking her cleavage, ‘I know straight away that …’

Laurie looked at him. He’d called her!

Unable to bear another moment, she spun round and started to run. Elliot tried to grab her, but she was too fast, and tearing open the fire door she raced down the stairs to the car park.

It was only when she was halfway to Nick’s that she realized Elliot had neither tried to call her mobile nor come after her.

The chicken was roasting away, the potatoes had just gone in and the rest of the vegetables were chilling out in cold water ready for the big steam-up. Now Katie had time to relax with the paper for ten minutes before Molly emerged from the shower, where she was currently blunting razors with her unhairy legs.

‘Come on Trots,’ she said to the dog, who was looking all downcast and fluffy after being plopped in the bath following her morning walk, ‘time for coffee and a cuddle.’

As she led the way into the sitting room, her eye was caught by a small grey metal case that was poking out from under a cushion on the sofa. Recognizing it as Laurie’s organizer, she felt surprised that Laurie hadn’t missed it – or maybe she had, and hadn’t realized it was here. ‘Better call and let her know it’s safe,’ she told Trotty.

After dialling the Butler’s Wharf apartment, she carried the phone back into the sitting room, and was just sinking into her sumptuous fireside chair when Elliot’s voice came down the line.

‘Hi, it’s Katie,’ she told him. ‘Are you still in bed?’

‘At midday?’ he responded, ‘that would be a treat. Is everything OK your end?’

‘Yes, yes. We’re all sizzling along. I’m calling to tell Laurie she left her life-support machine here yesterday, in case she’s looking for it. By that, I mean her Palm Pilot thingy.’

‘I don’t think she’s missed it,’ he said. ‘Or she hasn’t mentioned it, but she’s not here, I’m afraid.’

‘OK, I’ll try her mobile, but before I go, am I allowed to ask how things are between you?’

Elliot sighed. ‘Probably about as bad as they can get,’ he answered. ‘Andraya turned up with no warning about twenty minutes ago and now Laurie’s on her way to Nick’s, or I presume she is. She has to go there anyway to pick up the pages he brought back from the States, and I’m trying to take your advice to give her some space.’

Katie’s head drew back as she looked at the phone in amazement. ‘I don’t think now is the time to do that,’ she told him. ‘It’s reassurance she needs, after coming face to face with your mistress.’

‘She’s
not
my mistress, and let’s not forget, Katie, Laurie’s the one having an affair here, not me.’

‘No, what she’s doing is fixating on another man because she’s afraid of trusting you again, and if Andraya’s going to start popping up all over the place … Where is she now?’

‘God knows. I managed to get rid of her, but Laurie had already gone by then.’

Katie shook her head in dismay. ‘Elliot, you have to get that woman off your back, or you really will be heading for trouble.’

‘Believe me, I’m trying, but she’s not someone who has a great understanding of no.’

‘Then you’ll have to be blisteringly brutal,’ Katie told him, standing up as she heard a car arriving outside.

‘Even more than I already have,’ he said wryly. ‘I didn’t end it with much subtlety, I can tell you, but that’s a story for another time.’

‘I’m afraid it’ll have to be, as my lunch guests have just bowled up early,’ she said, giving Michelle a wave. ‘But I will say this, there’s giving someone space and then there’s giving them so much space they end up thinking you don’t care. So remember what I told you, make sure she knows she’s loved, then let her take a look at what she’s doing.’

Elliot groaned. ‘This is too much for a mere male,’ he complained. ‘Tell me, was suggesting she should go to Europe with Nick next week the wrong thing to do?’

Once again Katie looked at the phone in amazement. ‘What did she say?’ she demanded.

‘She wasn’t very pleased.’

Katie chuckled. ‘I’ll bet she wasn’t. I’ll bet she doesn’t go either. In fact, if it weren’t for Andraya’s bad timing, I’d say you’d be very much on course for relationship rescue right now. But all is not lost. You love each other, and in the end that’s what really counts. Now I really must go.’

‘I love you,’ he told her. ‘I’ll call again later. And thanks.’

‘Any time.’

Going to drop the phone back on its base, Katie beamed as Michelle came in the door with a bottle of champagne and a huge bunch of roses. ‘Bottle from me, flowers from Tom,’ Michelle declared.
Then
frowning, ‘Are you OK? You look a bit peaky.’

‘Charming,’ Katie retorted, and shoved her aside to get stuck into a good hearty hug with Tom. ‘How was the hotel?’ she asked.

‘It was great,’ he answered. ‘Kind of old and charming and quintessentially English.’

‘Much like the piece you were there with?’ she said cheerily.

Michelle’s eyes narrowed. ‘I missed you,’ she told her.

‘I missed you too.’ Walking into each other’s arms, they embraced warmly. ‘Can we open the bottle now?’ Katie asked.

‘I hope so,’ Tom answered. ‘We’re celebrating.’

Katie’s brows arched curiously, though one look at their faces was enough to confirm her earlier suspicions. ‘Don’t tell me, you’re going to make an honest woman of her,’ she declared.

Tom grinned. ‘That’s the plan. And we’re going to base ourselves here, so you don’t have to worry about a thing.’

Feeling her throat tighten, Katie wrapped Michelle in her arms again. ‘I’m so happy for you,’ she whispered. ‘I knew it would happen, of course, though God knows you took your time, the two of you.’

‘Which is why we’re not going to waste any more,’ Tom informed her, starting to open the champagne. ‘Just as soon as we can arrange it, she’s going to become Mrs Chambers.’

Michelle’s eyes were so full of love as she looked up at him, that Katie might have imitated a violin had she not felt herself moving close to tears.

‘I’m such a sentimental old thing,’ she laughed, dabbing them away, and deciding that perhaps it wouldn’t be a good idea to tell them that Molly already had designs on Tom as a father, since, for the moment at least, it was the wrong mother.

‘We’d like Molly to be bridesmaid,’ Michelle said, taking some glasses down from the cupboard.

‘And you to be my best woman,’ Tom added.

‘Oh my, oh my,’ Katie cried, as more tears began flowing down her cheeks. ‘How wonderful. Of course, we’d love to, both of us. Wouldn’t we, Molly?’ she said, as Molly dropped down from the last stair into the kitchen. She was wearing, Katie noted immediately, not only the earrings and necklace Michelle had told her last night were actually from Tom, but a snazzy little top that concertinaed over her C-cups at full stretch. The sulky little smirk that she reserved for people she was happy to see, while not necessarily wanting them to know this, was also in evidence. In fact, Katie thought with a thud of alarm, she’d obviously decided to have a go at hooking Tom on her mother’s behalf.

‘Wouldn’t we what?’ Molly asked, blushing as Tom looked at her admiringly.

Bracing herself, and already praying the response wouldn’t be too shudderingly horrible, Katie said, ‘Tom and Michelle are getting married.’

Molly’s face instantly drained.

‘Have some champagne,’ Katie coaxed, thrusting a glass at her.

‘I don’t want it!’ Molly snapped.

‘Hey, Molly,’ Tom chided. ‘I thought you’d be happy for us.’

‘What’s it got to do with me? I don’t care what you do,’ Molly said tightly, and shooting Michelle a scathing look she stalked out of the door.

‘No, don’t,’ Tom said, as Katie started furiously after her.

‘But she can’t be allowed to get away with that,’ Katie protested.

‘Look, deep inside she’s suffering,’ he said gently, ‘we know that, and we know why. So it’s not something that can be dealt with by hauling her back here and making her apologize. We have to come at it another way, and I don’t think today’s the day to start trying. So let her go, she’ll come back when she’s ready, and if we feel it’s appropriate to deal with it then, we will. If not, it
will
be dealt with, and hopefully in a way that’s going to make her less hostile towards Michelle, and a little more receptive to what’s actually happening.’