Twice Upon a Time (16 page)

‘And when are we being shipped out?’

‘Same time,’ said Cinda.

There was a knock at the door.

‘Come in!’ she called, expecting Ludo.

Gus opened the door. Cinda stared at him stonily.

‘My mother would like your presence in the sitting room,’ he said.

Jonas stood up and looked over at Cinda.

‘Not you,’ said Gus curtly to Jonas, who sat down again quickly, shocked at Gus’s tone.

Cinda stood up and put her feet into her white flip-flops and pulled her hair into a bun. She was wearing denim cut-off shorts and a white tank top, the Ibiza bracelets up her arm.

‘You might want to get changed,’ Gus said, looking at her outfit.

‘No, I think this is exactly what a trashy Australian gold-digger would wear to meet a queen,’ Cinda said, walking past him. She thought she heard Jonas chuckling as she walked down the hallway.

Gus followed her. ‘I am sorry you had to hear that,’ he said.

Cinda wouldn’t look at him. She reached the sitting room and knocked.

‘Come in,’ she heard, and opening the door she saw a handsome woman in a beautifully cut lilac-and-white dress. She had the blonde hair of her sons but stronger, more Italian features.

‘I’m Lucinda Bloom,’ she said, extending her hand and doing the little bow Ludo had mockingly demonstrated to her once. ‘Or Cinda, as my friends and family call me.’

‘Pleased to meet you, Lucinda,’ said Queen Sofia. ‘You can call me Your Highness.’

The message is clear
, thought Cinda, as she stood in front of the regal woman.
I am not an equal, and I shouldn’t forget it.

‘My son seems very fond of you,’ the queen said, getting straight to the point and gesturing to the seats for Cinda to sit down.

Cinda waited for the queen to sit before she did.

‘Yes, we are good friends,’ she said carefully.

‘He wants you to stay in Paris while he is away in Africa,’ said the queen, her eyes boring into Cinda’s.

‘Yes. And I have agreed,’ said Cinda formally. ‘I will also be bringing Jonas Cooper with me.’

Cinda heard a sound from Gus, who had slipped into the room behind her.

‘Where is this Jonas?’ asked Sofia, looking over at Gus. ‘I need to meet him too.’

Gus rolled his eyes as he left the room.

The queen looked at Cinda closely. ‘Ludovic speaks highly of you,’ she said.

Cinda’s stomach was in knots. ‘He’s a great guy,’ she said eventually.

‘And a prince,’ said the queen with narrowed eyes.

Cinda was silent, wishing Jonas would come down quickly. She needed reinforcements to face this woman.

As though answering her prayers, the door opened and Jonas swept into the room.

‘Queen Sofia, what a pleasure,’ he said. ‘Jonas Cooper.’ He bowed low. ‘Wow, you are so much more beautiful than on your postage stamp!’ he exclaimed. He turned to Gus. ‘Am I right or what?’

Cinda drew in a sharp breath, half-expecting the queen to explode. Instead the queen laughed. ‘It’s a terrible photo, I agree. But I don’t always get to make the final decision,’ she confided.

‘No way! You should totally get final say,’ Jonas gushed.

The queen sat down and gestured for Jonas, Cinda and Gus to join her.

‘Are you enjoying our country?’ she asked.

Cinda nodded, and Jonas smiled. ‘It’s wonderful,’ they said in unison.

‘Good,’ said Sofia. ‘We spend autumn in Paris,’ she continued. ‘I’d be delighted to extend an invitation for you to stay there, in the guest apartment.’

Cinda bit her tongue. She was pretty sure Ludo had forced his mother to let her stay, so the queen was hardly
delighted
, but she decided not to say anything. Homeless people didn’t get to choose where they stayed, and a royal apartment in Paris was hardly a bad place to wait for Ludo.

‘That’s very generous of you,’ she said, trying to make her voice sound warmer.

The queen turned to Jonas. ‘Have you been to Paris before?’

‘Briefly, before Cinda and I arrived in Italy.’

‘So only as tourists?’ said the queen, looking at Cinda some-what patronisingly. ‘
Living
in Paris is a very different experience.’

Jonas glanced at Cinda and then back to Queen Sofia.

There was tension in the room, but Cinda refused to let the queen know she was intimidated.

‘Living as a royal is a very different experience, regardless of the city, I’m sure,’ she said firmly.

To her credit, the queen didn’t baulk at that, but Gus uncrossed his legs and crossed his arms.

‘Perhaps you’re right, Cinda,’ said Gus. ‘That must be why Ludo prefers to spend time with common people. So he can have a
real
experience.’

Cinda had never wanted to slap anyone quite so much. ‘I would rather be common and kind than a bully and royal,’ she spat at him.

Gus leant forward. ‘Are you calling my family bullies?’

Cinda leant forward, so their faces were close. ‘I’m saying that just because your ancestors fought to take over land and riches, and won, doesn’t make
you
better than anyone else, regardless of that legacy. You are only as good as the life you have lived.

Gus stared at her and leant back in his chair.

‘I didn’t know you were a socialist,’ said Jonas, trying to lighten the mood. ‘Somebody get her some red socks so she can protest through fashion.’

The room was silent for a moment, and then the queen burst into laughter. Jonas joined in, but Cinda and Gus sat in stony silence.

The queen cleared her throat, bringing order to the room. ‘Now, about this painting. I’d like Augustus to sit in Ludo’s place while he’s away. You can just pretend he’s Ludo.’

Cinda tried not to allow her shock to register, nodding calmly instead. ‘Of course I can try, but Ludo has qualities that will be hard to reproduce without him being present. Qualities I don’t think Augustus has, unfortunately.’

Gus leant forward. ‘What sort of qualities?’

‘His ability to slum with the commoners,’ Cinda said tartly, and she saw the corners of the queen’s mouth turn up in amusement.

The queen waved her hand at Gus. ‘That is not important now,’ she said, and she turned to Cinda.‘Enjoy Paris, it is the city for artists and lovers,’ she said and she looked at Jonas. ‘Ludovic tells me you’re a fashion designer. Would you like to come and inspect my capes?’

‘There’s an offer that doesn’t come around very often,’ quipped Jonas, and he followed the queen from the room, turning to grin at Cinda as he left.

Cinda was alone with Gus.

‘Do you love him?’ he asked, turning to face her.

Cinda straightened her shoulders. ‘That’s none of your business.’

‘It is my business. Ludo makes everything my business. Even you, now that I have to babysit you in Paris.’

Cinda glared at him. ‘You don’t have to do anything for me in Paris, Gus. Trust me.’

‘Do you love him?’ he repeated the question slowly.

She thought about Ludo. She loved being with him. Her stomach flipped when he held her, and their kisses were extraordinary. It must be love.

She looked Gus in the eye and nodded.

‘Yes, I do. So what are you going to do about it?’ she challenged.

Gus just swallowed and looked down at the carpet for a second. ‘Nothing,’ he said. ‘I will see you in Paris.’

‘Can’t wait,’ she called sarcastically as he left the room.

Somehow, having the final word didn’t make her feel like she’d won anything this time.

Autumn

18

Gus drove into the underground car park and turned off the car. His bodyguards were in the car behind him and they parked and waited.

Gus wasn’t ready to leave the car just yet; he had to get his thoughts together.

Cinda and Jonas had been in Paris for three days and he was avoiding them. His fight with Cinda had unsettled him. Her accusation that he was a bully had struck a nerve. It was easy to deny, in some ways. But a part of him wondered if it wasn’t true.

Cinda said she loved Ludo. Why did this upset him so much?

She loves him.
The words rang in his head and he shook it to try and replace them with some intelligent thoughts.

His mother had entrusted him with the task of making Cinda see Ludo for the playboy he was, but Gus wondered now if that was really his job. Eventually Ludo would slip up and show Cinda what an irresponsible idiot he was, all by himself.

Why had this girl come into their lives and turned everything upside down? Before Cinda, things were just fine. Why was he now questioning everything in his life, and why the hell did he think about her every morning and night?

Perrette will make a wonderful queen someday
, he reminded himself. And she had the approval of his mother.

A knock at the window made him jump. He saw the inquiring face of his bodyguard and he opened the car door.

‘Is everything all right, Your Highness?’

‘Of course,’ he snapped. ‘I’ll let you know when I need your.’

He walked brusquely to the elevator to take him up to the penthouse apartment.

The doors opened into a lavish foyer and he pressed the doorbell, hearing the faint chime from inside the apartment.

The maid opened the door and gave a slight curtsey.

‘I’m here to see Lucinda and Jonas,’ he said as he walked in, his bodyguards standing discreetly behind him.

‘Miss Cinda is not here,’ said the maid with a smile. ‘She is on an excursion.’

‘An excursion? Where?’ This wasn’t part of the plan.

‘She is painting at Monet’s garden,’ she said. ‘And Mr Jonas is at an interview.’

Gus froze, the word
interview
echoing in his head. He turned and strode back to the elevator.

‘Take me to Monet’s gardens,’ he snapped at one of his guards, realising he’d never been and didn’t know the way.

He sat in the back-seat of the car, aware he didn’t look at all like a tourist in his sleek navy suit and tie. He pulled off the jacket and the tie and rolled up his shirtsleeves.

At the front of the gardens, he jumped from the car. ‘Don’t come with me,’ he said over his shoulder, breaking one of the cardinal rules of his position.

‘But –’ one of the guards began to say.

‘That’s an order,’ interrupted Gus.

He walked up to the gates and bought a ticket.

Taking no notice of the beautiful surroundings, he moved through the crowds, looking for Cinda among the tourists.

He walked over a bridge, hardly noticing the waterlilies, and through the rose garden, not registering the last blush of roses or the yellowing leaves on the wisteria.

And then he saw her.

She was sitting on the ground, wearing a jade-green sweater and a long flowing scarf in silver. Her jeans hugged her perfectly and his heart skipped a beat. He reminded himself why he was there.

Storming up to her, he stood in front of her, hands on hips.

‘What the hell is going on?’ he asked, looming over her.

She looked up at him in surprise. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a messy topknot with a pencil stuck through it, and she had a confused expression on her face. Gus had never wanted to kiss anyone more.

‘I’m sketching the lake, but I now seem to have a pair of legs in the picture,’ she said, peering up at him.

‘Jonas is at an interview.’

‘And?’ She gave up with a loud sigh and stood up to face him.

‘What is he talking about? The family’s private business? Is it with
Hello
?’

Cinda started to laugh. ‘You’re such an idiot sometimes,’ she said, shaking her head.

‘How dare you speak to me like that,’ he hissed.

‘And how dare you speak to me like that,’ she returned with equal disdain.

Their faces were inches apart and he could feel the heat from her cheeks as she glared at him. ‘Jonas is at a
job
interview. At a fashion house. But of course you’d expect us to sell you out,’ she gave a bitter laugh. ‘Because that’s what gold-diggers do, isn’t it?’

Gus felt his own face redden as the realisation of what he’d done sank in. He knew immediately that Cinda was telling the truth, and wondered why on earth he had assumed the worst. He liked Jonas. Had no idea how to apologise.

‘Well, what did you expect me to think?’ he asked, putting his hands in his pockets and taking a step back from her.

‘I expect you to ask before you jump to conclusions,’ she said as she bent down and picked up the pad and pencil and put them in a large tote bag. ‘But jumping to conclusions seems to be your favourite thing to do.’

She turned and walked away, leaving him standing beside the waterlilies, alone.

‘Lucinda, wait,’ he called, but she kept walking.

He started jogging to catch up with her. ‘Please stop,’ he said as he reached her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

She spun to face him. ‘Please leave me alone.’

‘Let me apologise first.’

‘No,’ she said angrily. ‘You only want to make yourself feel better. Nothing you say will take away what you said, or the fact that you sent Ludo away because you didn’t think I was good enough for him.’

She turned on her heel and walked up the path and out through the main gates. Gus stood helplessly, watching her leave.