Promises After Dark (After Dark Book 3)

by Sadie Matthews

  ‘Really? What?’ I walk into the hall and see a large rectangular white box on the floor. It’s wrapped with a red ribbon.

  ‘Open it,’ says Dominic from behind me.

  ‘Okay.’ I go over and pull at the end of the ribbon. It slips gently apart. I lift up the white cardboard lid and see inside a stunning black silk and cashmere coat, edged with black fur at the collar. I gasp.

  ‘You looked wonderful in the coat you wore in New York. You loved it but you gave it back without a second thought. So I wanted to give you one of your own.’

  ‘It’s beautiful,’ I say, enchanted. I lift it out and Dominic holds it up for me while I slip my arms into the silken interior. It fits perfectly and is incredibly cosy and warm. ‘Thank you, Dominic, I love it!’ I hug him impulsively and kiss him on the cheek, while he laughs.

  ‘You’re very welcome. Happy Christmas.’

  My face falls. ‘But I haven’t got you anything!’

  He runs a finger down my cheek. ‘Don’t worry about that. You’ve just given me the most delicious Christmas present I could imagine.’

  Wrapped up in my gorgeous new coat, I’m ready to face the chill outside. With my arm tucked inside Dominic’s we walk together through the wintery streets to the Mayfair restaurant that Dominic has booked. As we go in and the maître d’ steps forward to greet us, Dominic says, ‘Are the other guests here yet?’

  ‘They are, sir.’

  I give Dominic a puzzled look. I thought that this evening was just for us – and I hope suddenly that the other guests aren’t Anna and Giovanni. That’s one surprise I think I could do without.

  After our coats are taken, we’re led through the plush dining room to a white-covered table at the back where I can already make out another couple. As we get closer, I realise with delight who the woman is.

  ‘Laura!’

  She gets up, a big smile all over her face, and greets me with a kiss when I reach the table. ‘So I finally get to meet the gorgeous Dominic!’ she says as he comes up behind me.

  ‘The pleasure is all mine,’ he says with perfect charm, kissing her on each cheek. ‘Thank you for coming along with Tom. I asked him if he’d see if you’d like to meet at last.’

  On the other side of the table, Tom Finlay is standing up, looking both happy and a little bashful. ‘Hi, Dominic. Actually, if you hadn’t asked us along tonight, I was going to take Laura out anyway – if she wanted to.’

  Laura laughs and flushes lightly. ‘Well it’s all turned out very nicely, then, hasn’t it?’

  I look at Dominic, my eyes sparkling. He knew I was dying for him to meet Laura and he must have been listening hard when I mentioned that she and Tom had hooked up. The fact we’re spending the evening with them means he wants us to be a proper couple, part of one another’s world, getting to know each other’s friends.

  ‘I thought you might like this,’ he murmurs softly to me, a gentle smile on his lips.

  ‘I love it, thank you so much!’

  Tom steps forward to greet me. ‘Hi, Beth.’

  I laugh as we exchange hello kisses. ‘Fancy seeing you here. I hope you’re well, Tom.’

  ‘Very well.’ He looks happily at Laura who smiles back at him with shining eyes.

  So it looks like it’s turning out well. I’m delighted for her, and it’s even better that her new boyfriend should be a friend of Dominic’s as well. Perfect.

  We enjoy a wonderful evening of good food, wine and lots of convivial talk and laughter. There is the sense that the holidays have finally begun and we discuss our plans for Christmas. Laura and I are both going back to our respective family homes to spend time with our parents. Tom tells us that he’ll be with his twin brother and his family at their home in Scotland. At last I turn my gaze to Dominic. He looks amazing tonight, and he seems happy, strong and confident. I also get the feeling that he’s preparing himself, as though he’s a soldier who has been called up to fight and this is his last night of freedom before the battle begins.

  ‘What about you?’ I ask, fiddling with the stem of my wine glass. ‘Have you made your Christmas plans, Dominic?’

  He nods. ‘Yes. I’m flying out to the States later tonight. I’m joining my sister in New York.’ He gives me a meaningful look. ‘And I have an important meeting that I have to attend.’

  I can guess what he means. Andrei. It’s time to confront him with all we know, to strike the counter blow and see what happens. Sadness rushes through me. I don’t want Dominic to leave me. It feels so wrong that we should be apart for any time at all, but particularly at this time of the year.

  But you’re going to your family – there’s no question of not doing that, I remind myself. Then I realise I’ve been nurturing a little secret fantasy that maybe I can take Dominic home with me, introduce him proudly to my friends and family, show him all the places that meant so much to me when I was younger. That’s not going to happen now. I suppress a sigh. Oh well, it was pretty unlikely. I shouldn’t be greedy. I’ve had so much of him lately. And I know that big decisions are approaching on the horizon if what Dominic said last night means anything – decisions about where and how we live. That’s exciting. It’s something to look forward to. I smile and join in the chatter as brightly as I can.

  We leave around eleven, and outside in the chilly air we wish one another a happy Christmas.

  ‘I’m taking Beth home,’ Dominic says. ‘Do you want to come, Laura?’

  She shakes her head. ‘I’m staying with Tom.’ She looks bashful but happy. ‘I’ll see you in the morning, Beth.’

  ‘See you then.’ I kiss her goodbye and wish Tom a very happy Christmas. Then Dominic ushers me into the warm interior of the waiting car and directs the driver to take us back to my flat. I snuggle up to Dominic and watch as the glittering lights of the city fly past the window, enjoying the pleasure of being close to him and trying not to think that soon we’ll be apart.

  I hope for traffic jams and snarl ups that will keep us together for longer but the roads are clear – lots of people must have already left for Christmas – and we get to the flat quickly. The driver pulls over and we get out, strolling together towards my front door.

  ‘Thank you for a marvellous day, Beth. I loved every moment of it.’ He puts his arm around me and drops his lips down to kiss me tenderly as we both remember the panting joy we shared earlier in the day.

  ‘I don’t want you to go!’ I say, turning to him, suddenly miserable.

  ‘I know – I don’t want to leave you either. But it’s just for a short time. I’ll be back soon, I promise and then our new life can begin.’ He hugs me and then says, ‘I have a Christmas present for you.’

  ‘Another one? You’ve already given me this beautiful coat.’

  ‘Yes, another one. I was going to save it for a slightly more romantic moment, but this feels like the right time. And I want you to have it before I go.’ He takes out a small black box from his pocket and hands it to me. ‘Open it.’

  I fumble with the tiny clasp and then lift the lid to reveal a small hoop of diamonds that glitter with extraordinary brilliance in the light from the streetlamps. ‘A ring,’ I say wonderingly. Dominic is staring at me intently as I regard the beautiful circle of diamonds in their platinum setting. I look at him questioningly. I’m not sure what kind of ring this is, and I don’t want to get it wrong.

  As if reading my mind, he says softly, ‘This is a promise ring. You can wear it wherever you choose.’

  I can hardly breathe as he lifts the sparkling ring from its velvet bed and holds it out. I hesitate just for a moment, and then I raise my right hand to him. He smiles and slips the ring down onto my fourth finger where it fits snugly, flashing at me as I move my hand.

  ‘A promise ring,’ I say softly, not able to take my eyes off it.

  ‘It’s my promise that I’m yours now and that I want us to be together. Whenever you’re worried or in doubt, I want you to look at it and remember this promise. Will you do
that?’

  I throw my arms around him, sobbing and smiling. ‘Oh yes, Dominic, I will! Of course I will!’

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  The countryside is rushing by the window as the train takes me further away from London and my life. It feels very strange to be going home. The closer I get to my old existence, the more unreal I feel my new one is. Everything I’ve lived through and experienced begins to feel like a fantasy, something I dreamed.

  Only the glitter of the beautiful ring of diamonds on my right hand reminds me that it is all real.

  Why did you get him to put it on your right hand? Why not your left?

  I stare at the sparkling stones and I know I did the right thing. This is, as Dominic said, a promise ring. A promise of amazing things to come. He’s asking me to accept his commitment for us to love one another and see what life – real life – together is like. The next step awaits us if we want it.

  I think of him now thousands of miles away from me in New York. I can’t help a sense of fearful apprehension when I think about him confronting Andrei. When they faced up to each other that day outside Andrei’s apartment, they were like two snarling dogs ready to rip one another apart. I dread to think how Andrei will react when Dominic tells him that he is prepared to take him down once and for all.

  Running my fingertips over the bumpy surface of my ring, I send up a silent prayer that Dominic will be all right. All I can do now is hope – and wait.

  ‘Beth, oh Bethy!’ My mother wraps me in her arms and showers me with kisses. ‘I’ve missed you!’

  ‘I’ve missed you too. Hi, Dad.’ I hug my father too, filled with happiness to be home. ‘Wow, it’s good to be back.’

  My mother stands back and looks at me. ‘You’ve changed!’ She frowns. ‘I can’t see exactly what it is, but you’re definitely different.’

  ‘She’s grown up,’ my father says wistfully.

  ‘I had to, sooner or later!’ I say jokily but I know that I’m a different Beth in so many ways. I’ve seen another world to the one I grew up in, I’ve travelled and I’ve worked and discovered resources inside myself I didn’t know I had. And . . . I blush a tiny bit to think of it . . . I’ve learned some pretty amazing things about love and sex as well. It’s almost comical to think of how innocent I was when I left home last summer to travel to London, and yet I thought I knew it all. Well, I know a lot more now, that’s for sure!

  Mum begins to bustle round me. ‘Come on, let’s get your luggage in your old room, and then we’ll have some tea and talk while I get on with this cooking. I’ve got a mountain to do before tomorrow!’

  It’s like I’ve never been away. The house is just the same, a mix of cosiness and chaos, and it’s like dozens of other family Christmases – the hot scented fug of baking and roasting, the sound of carols coming out of the radio, the frantic air of organisation as my father is sent on last-minute errands to the butcher’s, the log man, the coal man, and my mother does her usual thing of trying to get ahead. My two older brothers, Jeremy and Robert, are stretched out in the TV room, watching Christmas specials with a bowl of crisps in front of them and cans of beer already open, waiting for what Christmas goodies are offered to them. In the sitting room, a tree, hung with all the old familiar decorations including a shabby old blue tinsel star, perfumes the room with pine and a twine of holly decorates the mantelpiece. There are already presents under the tree and the room is full of Christmas cards. It’s all just the same.

  This year, I’m the one who’s different.

  That evening we crunch through the frosty village to midnight mass. The voices of the choir soar upwards in the beautiful old tunes and we all join in with the Christmas hymns, belting out ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’ with all our strength. The church bell starts to chime as we make our way home, ringing in Christmas. A message pops through to my phone.

  Happy Christmas, gorgeous girl. I’m thinking of you. I love you. Dx

  Tears start in my eyes even though I breathe a happy sigh and smile.

  I look up at the clear night sky peppered with sparkling stars. Somewhere, thousands of miles away, it’s still daytime. It’s still Christmas Eve and he’s thinking of me.

  ‘Happy Christmas, Dominic,’ I whisper. And I slip my phone back in my pocket so that no one knows about my message. It’s for me alone.

  Christmas Day is merry and exhausting. After breakfast, we gather by the tree to open our gifts. As I stretch out my hand to take a parcel that my brother Jeremy is passing me, my mother’s eagle eye catches the sparkle on my finger.

  ‘What’s that, Beth?’ She reaches out and takes my hand, gazing down at the circle of diamonds on my finger. ‘This is very nice. Who gave it to you?’

  ‘Oh, it’s just a bit of costume jewellery,’ I say airily. ‘From a friend.’

  She looks at me suspiciously but I send her a look that I hope translates as: ‘I don’t want to talk about this right now in front of the others, ask me later!’

  Mum seems to understand, though she drops my hand reluctantly and murmurs, ‘Those diamonds look real to me!’ under her breath. I wish I’d remembered to take the ring off but I know that secretly I couldn’t bear to. The ring is my link to Dominic, my promise. I want to be able to look at it at any moment, and remember.

  We open our presents, and exchange thanks and kisses. We all have a familiar haul in front of us: the whisky, slippers and handkerchiefs for my father, the soap and scent for my mother, and books, films and music for the rest of us. It’s the usual comfortable set of presents from the people we love, and that makes them special. I’m excited that everyone seems to like the gifts I brought back from New York: a silver charm bracelet from Bloomingdale’s for my mother, baseball tops for my brothers and a J Crew sweater for my father.

  ‘Hold on,’ says my father, and he reaches out for a parcel I put under the tree the night before. ‘Who’s this for?’ He pulls out the beautiful pale blue box wrapped with a white ribbon and examines the tag. ‘To darling Beth, Happy Christmas, Love from Mark.’ He hands it over to me. ‘Something fancy from your boss, by the looks of it.’

  I take the parcel and open it slowly, with everyone watching.

  ‘Gorgeous ribbon,’ breathes my mother. ‘You should keep that. You could use it again.’

  I lift the lid of the box and reveal a mound of the softest tissue paper underneath. Holding my breath, I put my fingers into it and find another small box, this time in navy blue watered silk. I open that and reveal inside a perfect miniature painting in an oval gold frame. It must be eighteenth-century; a portrait of a girl with rosy cheeks and pink rosebuds in her powdered hair. One hand is lifted by her cheek and holds another flowering rose as she gazes out of the picture with merry blue eyes and a smile on her red lips.

  There is a tiny note next to it in Mark’s elegant flowing hand. It reads: In memory of your Fragonard.

  I gasp. Could this be a Fragonard? It certainly looks like his style, but it can’t be possible. A real Fragonard miniature would be worth thousands. There’s no way Mark would give me that as a gift. This must be of his school, a painting in his style. Mark has given it to me to remind me of the painting I bought for Andrei, the stunning portrait of the reading girl. I gaze again at the bright rosy face, so perfectly realised by the artist’s brush. It’s beautiful. I love it.

  ‘Let me see,’ says my mother, craning curiously. ‘Oh, that’s very pretty. What a lovely present! I saw something just like that in the gift shop of the V & A.’

  I stare at my painting. I don’t think this is from a museum gift shop, but maybe it’s better if my parents think it is. They wouldn’t like me to accept anything too valuable.

  I think of Mark at home with Caroline this Christmas. I wonder how he is and if his fever is any better. I’ll call him later, I decide, to wish him a merry Christmas and thank him for this beautiful gift.

  In the event Christmas Day is busy, and I spend most of it in the kitchen helping my mother prepare the feast.
After an enormous lunch that goes on for hours, we do the traditional family things of playing games and teasing each other over yet more food – cheese, biscuits, chocolates and Christmas cake. There’s time for a quick walk around the village, stopping to chat to people we know, as the sun goes down.

  When we turn for home, my father and brothers walk on ahead while my mother and I stroll along behind, and I tell her all about New York. I know she’s dying to ask me about my ring and I’m just working up to mentioning Dominic when I see a familiar figure in a puffy jacket and a woolly hat, walking along with a girl in a big fluffy white coat.

  ‘Isn’t that Adam?’ asks my mother, squinting over, trying to make him out in the failing light.

  ‘Oh – yes, I think it is.’ I stare over, not quite sure how I feel to see my old boyfriend. It’s hard to believe that I once considered him the love of my life. He looks like a stranger now – pleasant enough but nothing special. Compared to Dominic, he seems pallid and ordinary.

  ‘Adam!’ calls my mother and waves as he turns to look.

  ‘Mum! Why did you do that?’ I hiss, shooting her daggers.

  ‘No harm in letting him see what he threw away,’ murmurs my mother, smiling in a satisfied way. Sure enough, Adam has recognised us and is walking over, bringing his reluctant companion with him.

  ‘Hi, Mrs Villiers,’ he says as he comes within earshot. He looks at me. ‘Hi, Beth.’ He gestures to his girlfriend. ‘You remember Hannah.’

  I look over at her and remember the last time I saw her – she was under Adam with her legs wide open as he pounded in and out of her. ‘Yes. How nice to see you again.’

  She scowls at me and grunts something, shoving her hands deep in her pockets to indicate her boredom with the situation. I smile at her. I owe her one for deciding to sleep with my boyfriend.

  ‘How are things, Beth?’ Adam asks cheerily. ‘You’re looking really well. You still with that bloke you met in London?’