by Rachel Green
“If you look at the screen in front of you,” Raul said, “you can see readings for the wind direction, our current speed, the depth sounder.”
“How fast can it go?”
“Fifteen knots on a good day.”
At the moment they were only doing seven but the proximity of the water made it feel a whole lot faster.
“If the wind picks up I’ll open the staysail. Let’s put it on autopilot for now.”
“Autopilot?” she queried.
He tapped some buttons on the touchscreen and then took his hands off the wheel. Margot was amazed when both steering wheels then moved under neither of their control, the computer keeping them on course. She gave him a peeved look.
“I thought you said sailing was difficult?”
“Someone has to be here to press all the buttons.” He grinned. “Come on, let’s go up to the bow.”
He led her along the narrow walkway at the boat’s edge, explaining the function of the various ropes and pulleys along the way. A stainless-steel guard wire was all that separated them from the sea, and with the boat leaning Margot had to concentrate hard to stay on her feet. Raul paused at the front of the cockpit and pointed to a pair of sun loungers at the base of the mast. “This is the sunbathing area,” he said. “Clothes optional.”
Margot rolled her eyes. “Keep dreaming.”
The anchor controls were next, and then the guard wires came together at the prow. Raul gestured for her to stand out there – it seemed a bit theatrical but Margot wedged herself into the space.
“Isn’t it wonderful?” Raul called out.
It certainly was invigorating. Leaning out, face tingling in the wind; if she didn’t look sideways Margot could almost convince herself it was just her and the water and the salty sea air. Like she was flying. And the thrust of the powerful boat behind her, pushing them onwards, stirred something quite elemental. A couple of minutes may have passed before she found herself stepping back to Raul, her cheeks glowing, brimming with good feeling, the incident with the winch now completely forgotten.
***
The wind stiffened as they sailed past the lighthouse at the tip of Cap Béar. Their speed increased to ten knots so Raul switched off the autopilot and took back the controls. He pushed another button to unfurl the staysail and seconds later the boat was moving along at a cracking speed, riding the waves in choppier water. Margot remained fixed to her seat, watching the numbers on the screen creep up, while Raul stayed busy at the wheel. Carpe Diem had gone from a luxury cruiser to a full-blow racing yacht.
But the constant up and down motion soon made her feel queasy. Pitching and rolling, rising and falling; she closed her eyes and worked on keeping her head still. It wasn’t long before she was re-tasting her breakfast. Raul gave her a concerned look.
“Are you okay?”
“I don’t think those pills work.”
“Why don’t you go below? Have a lie down.”
Margot opened her eyes and breathed in deeply through her nose. If she focussed on the horizon then hopefully she would be okay. “Is it much further?”
“It’s not far. I’ll move in closer to land. It should be a little calmer.”
He pushed the button to furl the staysail and the boat slowed down. A few taps on the touchscreen altered their course and the boat turned towards the craggy red cliffs of the Côte Vermeille. Raul took them in until they were only a few hundred metres offshore and then tacked again, changing their bearing due south. They rounded a headland and the water became calmer. A little further on they sighted a cove and headed straight for it. The horrible rolling motion finally petered out.
“Feeling better?”
Margot took a deep breath. She nodded. “A little.”
They entered the mouth of the cove and Margot took off her sunglasses to gaze up at the cliffs. A few small houses were perched on green strips right up at the top, but there was nothing that resembled the architectural marvel she’d seen on the internet.
“There’s a whole series of coves running along this stretch,” Raul said, busily tying up ropes. “I’m sure it was hiding away in one of them.”
He came back to the wheel and they continued under power of the engine. They hugged the coastline, never straying more than a couple of hundred metres offshore. Jagged cliffs and sandy coves unfolded before them, and there were few signs of life. Occasionally they spotted a house, nestled on a ledge or clinging to a promontory, but mostly it was uninhabited.
A few kilometres on they came to a cove that was so secluded they very nearly missed it. From its narrow mouth the cove opened up into a teardrop shape. And there, staring straight back at them from a sheer red cliff, was the house they’d been looking for. Raul cut the engine and let the boat drift.
If anything, the house was more even impressive than it had appeared in the photos. It looked like a spaceship had made a mistake with its transport device and materialised halfway into the landmass. Trees shaded its uppermost levels, while garden terraces stepped down the slope like paddy fields on a hillside in Asia. The swimming pool was an amazing feat of engineering: a blue glass box jutting out the rockface. As Margot took it all in it she couldn’t help but feel envious.
“There,” Raul said. “You’ve seen it. Can we go back now?”
Margot finally drew her eyes away from the incredible spectacle. She didn’t give him an answer but the look on her face was easily understood.
***
They’d drifted in a little too close for comfort so Raul fired up the engine and moved them further out to sea. He dropped anchor around a kilometre offshore and from there they still had a clear view of the house through the mouth of the cove. He fetched a pair of binoculars and handed them to Margot who sat down on the edge of the boat, feet dangling over the side. She tried to focus on the house, but with the boat moving so much it was difficult to keep it in view. When she finally got it sharp, the detail was quite good. She could see the huge walls of glass, the bronze ring sculptures, some sun loungers lined up on the terrace. A small private beach lay at the base of the cliff with a walkway on one side leading to an empty jetty. At first it appeared the beach was accessible only by sea, but when Margot looked more closely she saw that the rockface was punctuated by a series of wooden staircases. In places they disappeared behind rock, but they must have linked up to create a continuous route down from the house. And vice versa.
A swell came in, making the boat roll uncomfortably. The queasiness came back with a vengeance and Margot was forced to get up. She pushed the binoculars into Raul’s chest. “Here. You have a look.” She retreated into the shade of the deck salon and buried her face in a cushion. Why hadn’t the human body been designed for sea travel?
When she next looked up, Raul was leaning with his elbows on the cockpit roof, binoculars pointed at the cove.
“Is anything happening?”
“A rather splendid Cormorant is sunning itself on the rocks over there.”
Margot exhaled. “I meant in the house.”
“Oh, okay. Well, it’s hard to tell. I mean, I see a lot of moving rock. Somewhere in the middle of it all is a big glass house.”
Margot hissed in frustration and pushed her face back into the cushion. Raul peered down under the canopy.
“What?”
“Can you see any people?”
“Not right now, no.”
He seemed indignant but looked again. After a few moments he sighed. “I see a garden, I see a swimming pool. The doors in the glass wall are open but I can’t see anyone inside.” He lowered the binoculars with another defeated sigh and this time came to join her in the deck salon. He sat down close beside her. “Margot, what are we doing here?”
“It’s called surveillance,” she said, her voice still muffled by the cushion.
“You’re making yourself ill and we’re both getting grumpy. Is it really worth it?”
A sharp pain spiked through her head and Margot was tempted to give
in. Perhaps she should just forget the whole thing, accept she wasn’t cut out for this and go back home. But no. She wasn’t a quitter. She took the cushion away from her face. “Keep watching. I’m going for a lie down.”
After making her way gingerly down the companionway steps, she hurried into her cabin. A green-gilled version of herself briefly flashed back from the bathroom mirror before her stomach clenched and bile shot into her throat. Face down in the toilet bowl, Margot longed for the moment she next laid foot on dry land.
***
Margot dozed on her bed. When she came to, the queasiness had abated and her headache eased. She actually felt hungry, and thirsty. It was eleven-forty-five and the sun was dazzling.
She went into the galley and dropped two slices of bread into the toaster. She downed half a glass of water from the jug. When the toast popped, she spread it thickly with butter and wolfed it down in less than two minutes. After washing her hands and face in cold water she went up on deck, feeling a little more human.
To his credit, Raul was still leaning on the canopy, watching the house through the binoculars. Margot donned her yachting cap and picked up his sunhat and then went to his side. “Have I missed anything?”
“You look better.”
“Thank you.”
She handed him his hat but he placed it on the canopy. He raised the binoculars back to his eyes.
“Some people have come out onto the terrace. A man and a woman.”
“How old?”
“The woman is a brunette. Mid-forties. The man is shortish. Salt and pepper hair. Around the same age as myself but not nearly as handsome.”
Margot rolled her eyes.
“What are they doing?”
“The woman is lying on a sun lounger. The man is sitting at a table at the opposite end of the terrace. They look like they’re ignoring each other so I’m guessing they’re husband and wife.”
“Will you please take this seriously.”
“I am taking this seriously.” He passed her the binoculars. “I assume that’s Enzo?”
Margot had a quick look. It was Enzo, all right. She nodded, and quickly handed them back. “Keep watching.”
“Are we going to be doing this all day?”
“Until something interesting happens, yes.”
“Wonderful,” Raul said flatly and went back to the surveillance.
They didn’t speak for a while and Margot drifted off into thought. She wondered whether to bring him on board with her plan – she hadn’t yet said anything about her listening device – but then she wasn’t yet completely decided on what she intended on doing with it yet. If she could somehow get into the house and plant it in the right place all they would have to do was sit back and listen. He would surely incriminate himself at some point.
“The man has just got up,” Raul said. “He’s walking along the terrace to another set of doors. He’s going inside. It looks like an office. He’s—oh my!”
“What?”
“There’s another woman in there. This one’s blonde and very attractive. She’s wearing a short yellow dress and her legs go on, and on, and—”
Margot thumped his arm. “You’re not meant to be enjoying this.”
Raul gave her a peeved look. “You told me to describe what I see.”
“Stick to the facts.”
“The facts? Okay, well, the facts are Enzo and the young woman are still in the office. No, wait a minute … maybe I’m wrong. This one could be his wife.”
“What do you mean? What’s going on?”
“He and the woman in the yellow dress have just kissed on the lips. Now they’re fooling around on the terrace. The other woman has seen them but she’s doing nothing about it. You don’t think—” He suddenly lowered the binoculars and gave Margot a confused look. “Maybe they’re having a ménage à trois.”
“Given what else he’s been up to I’d say that’s the least of his sins.”
“You don’t seem shocked.”
“Why? Are you?”
Now it was Raul’s turn to tut. “You French.”
“I’m half English, remember?”
“Oh, yes. So how does that work – you sleep with two men and then blush over your cups of tea the next morning?”
Margot thumped his arm again. “You’re meant to be watching the house.”
“So I am. But will you please stop hitting me?”
They narrowed their eyes at each other before Raul went back to the surveillance.
He was quiet for a few minutes. The sun was hot on their backs and Margot got distracted when she gazed down into the water. It looked so cool and inviting she was tempted to jump in. There was surely some wonderful diving to be had around here.
“Oh, here we go.” Raul shuffled his feet, growing excited.
Margot leaned in to his side. “Here we go what?”
“Enzo and the young woman are back in the office, only I don’t think it’s work they have in mind. They’re smooching on the desk. Enzo’s slipping his hands around her waist. They’re kissing. Hot lips running up and down each other’s necks. She reaches behind to unzip her dress. It slides to the floor. Now she’s taking off her bra while Enzo hooks his thumbs into the sides of her—Oh, my.” He tore his eyes away from the binoculars, apparently struck dumb.
“What?” Margot snapped in frustration. “Why have you stopped?”
Raul looked at her most solemnly. “Because I’m a gentleman, not a Peeping Tom.”
Margot hissed. “Give them to me!”
She tore the binoculars out of his hand and leaned with her elbows on the cockpit roof. She focussed, located the woman on the sun lounger, swung across the terrace to the open doors. There was Enzo, and the woman in the yellow dress, but all they were doing was sitting in the office working at a desk. What the …? She turned sharply to Raul. “They’re not doing anything!”
He smirked. “You seem disappointed.”
Her blood boiled. “You swine!” This time she thumped him hard.
***
Margot stormed off down the companionway steps, closing the hatch doors firmly behind her. She stood in the salon for a few moments, grinding her teeth in anger. If there was one thing she hated it was being wound up. When she’d calmed down, she moved to the navigation console and punched the button to switch on the screen.
A few minutes passed before the hatch doors reopened. Raul’s voice came down through the gap. “Are you still angry with me?”
“Yes!”
“Oh.”
He didn’t come down. When Margot twisted round, she could see him hovering at the top of the steps, looking sheepish.
“Would it help if I said I’m sorry?”
“No,” she snapped. “It would help if you jumped in the sea.”
“Oh.”
Margot sighed. She couldn’t stay mad at him for long.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be getting my own back.”
Raul smiled.
Forgiven, he came down the steps and fetched the open bottle of wine from the fridge. He began to pour out two glasses, but Margot declined. She wanted to keep a clear head. He poured himself a large one instead and then joined her at the navigation table, peering at the screen from over her shoulder.
“So what’s the plan now?”
“Shush. I’m thinking.”
He gulped some wine. “Okay. Well, I don’t wish to be rude, but could you think a little more quickly? If someone sees us hanging around out here they might get suspicious.”
Margot propped her chin on her hand and studied their position on the chart. There was a whole series of coves stretching away to the south and from what she could see on the map the area was sparsely populated. She sat back, and folded her arms.
“Let’s go a little further south and then come back after dark.” She tilted her eyes to his. “Maybe they’ll put on a better show for you when the lights go out.”
***
If anything, the coast be
came even more idyllic – the cliffs more craggy, the beaches more isolated. They came upon a perfect half-moon bay with a wide sandy beach nestled at the base of a sheer wall of rock. Raul dropped anchor in water so calm and blue it could have come straight from a holiday brochure.
As the sun climbed higher in the sky the air grew hot. The cliffs trapped in the heat, making every metal surface painful to touch. After they’d eaten a lunch of sautéed tomatoes and fried olive bread, Raul declared it was time for a siesta and he took off his shirt and lay flat on his back on one of the loungers. “Coming to join me?”
Margot stayed under the cover of the canopy, for once preferring the shade. “No thanks.”
She looked at his bare hairy chest as he settled himself down. He could do with shedding a few pounds though he didn’t carry it too badly. “I hope you’re wearing sunscreen.”
“I’m Spanish. I was born under a baking sun.”
“It won’t stop you getting skin cancer.”
“Said the lady who smokes like a chimney.”
Touché. Margot put on her sunglasses and lay down on the bench instead. With her head propped on a cushion she could see past the guard wire to the empty beach. Tame white waves washed up the smooth golden sands. It was tempting to swim over, go for a little exploration, see if there was any way of climbing that cliff. In many respects life on board a yacht suited her perfectly – being able to just dive over the side and swim in open water whenever she liked.
She turned onto her other side and raised her head with an additional cushion, too keyed up to settle. There was a small opening at the front of the canopy and through it she could see Raul’s upper torso, his oily brown skin sizzling in the heat. It was good of him to do all of this for her, especially as she’d not really given him anything in return. Margot reached across the table for her bottle of water.
“Are you still awake, old man?”
“Do I look like I’m still awake?”
She dripped some water onto her fingertips and flicked it at him. If he noticed he didn’t show it. She dried her hand and then lit a cigarette.