by Caro Fraser
‘So it’s true about this man Davies – that you’ve been living with him for the past however many weeks?’
‘Yes.’
‘My God. Poor Toby.’
‘Look, I don’t know how to explain it. When Toby came back from his weekend away – the weekend it happened – I felt I had to tell him. He was so devastated, I couldn’t stay in the flat. I had nowhere else to go, so … well, I was at a low ebb, and when Leo offered—’
‘So it was his idea? Pah! He is clearly a disgusting creature. Another man’s fiancé – unspeakably low behaviour.’ Sir Vivian frowned in disgust. Sarah had undeniably behaved badly, but he couldn’t help feeling that the real culprit in all this was the odious Davies.
‘The blame lies with me,’ said Sarah meekly, and in a manner intended subtly to suggest to her father the exact opposite, that she had in fact been the victim of a callous seduction.
‘Hm. Yes and no,’ replied Sir Vivian. Then he added, ‘You have been foolish beyond belief. Moving into that man’s house has merely compounded the problem. But I don’t see that the damage is irreparable. You and Toby could still—’
‘It’s completely finished, Dad,’ said Sarah quickly. ‘There is absolutely no way we’ll ever put it right. I won’t be marrying Toby.’
There was a long silence. Sir Vivian sighed and said, ‘Sarah, I can’t hide from you the fact that all this makes me profoundly unhappy. Naturally I cherished the prospect of my daughter marrying the son of my oldest and dearest friend. I remember when you and Toby got engaged, thinking that it seemed to be too good to be true.’ He rose from his armchair. ‘I suppose there really is nothing left to say. Obviously it is impossible for you to speak to the Kitterings. I shall have to make what reparations I can.’
Sarah was inclined to observe that it was nothing to do with the bloody Kitterings, that it was between herself and Toby, but she restrained herself. She crossed the room and gave her father a gentle kiss. ‘I’m sorry you’re so disappointed, Dad.’ He made a movement of impatience, refusing to look at her, and she added quietly, ‘I’m pretty miserable myself, in case you hadn’t realised.’
He nodded glumly. Sarah picked up her handbag and let herself out.
Sir Vivian sat back down in his armchair to mull over the whole wretched business. It seemed such a waste, all so unnecessary. Sarah and Toby had been admirably suited. Obviously Sarah must take her share of the blame, but clearly the influence of this odious man Davies lay at the heart of it. He was, if Colin Fryer and others were to be believed, a man of foul perversions. Bisexual, indeed. The world might nowadays smile on such people, but Sir Vivian believed such distorted lusts had to be evidence of deeper corruption. To think he had seen the man’s name in the applications list for the High Court Bench, too. Well, even if he couldn’t salvage the mess of Sarah and Toby’s relationship, there were certainly other things he could attend to. He would make investigations.
Mission accomplished, thought Sarah, as she headed back to the station. Her father was angry and sorrowful, as expected, but at least she’d managed to deflect his wrath towards Leo, and that would burn itself out harmlessly over time. As for how things worked out between her father and the Kitterings – well, she really wasn’t bothered. At least she’d escaped from the prospect of having Caroline Kittering for a mother-in-law. And an economics teacher for a husband.
She decided to put the conversation with her father to the back of her mind and concentrate on the rest of the day. The job interview had left her feeling pretty upbeat and in the mood for some retail therapy. It was almost eleven, so maybe she should get in a couple of hours of shopping, maybe rustle up a friend for lunch. Then in the afternoon she would buy some delicious food, and later on cook dinner for herself and Leo. She felt bad about the way things had been between them lately. Sarah had been convinced that Leo was having an affair with the girl she had seen leaving his house, and that he hadn’t told her because he was hoping to have the best of both worlds. So, not prepared to let herself be played like that, she had kept a cool distance, and stayed out of his bed. Whatever he thought, Leo had said and done nothing to alter the situation. But the girl, whoever she was, seemed to have faded from the scene. Leo was home most evenings, working, reading, with no sign of any woman in his life. So perhaps she had been wrong. In which case she should start making up for lost time. They could spend the evening together and see where things went from there.
On the way to the station she rang and arranged a late lunch with a friend who worked in a firm of solicitors in Chancery Lane, then she took the tube one stop to Embankment and walked up to browse the shops around Covent Garden.
Leo and Gabrielle were snatching a hasty lunch at a restaurant in Holborn, just round the corner from the arbitration rooms where Leo was involved in a two-week hearing.
‘I only ever see you for an hour here and there,’ complained Gabrielle. ‘It’s hardly quality father-and-daughter time. In fact, that evening when I first came to your house is probably the longest we’ve ever spent together.’
‘OK. So, what are you up to this weekend?’
Gabrielle thought of Anthony, and wondered if she should tell Leo she was seeing him. No, not till she got to the bottom of whatever strange relationship the two of them had. And it wasn’t something she could see herself exploring right at this moment. ‘Nothing in particular. Why?’
‘Feel like spending it in Antibes with me?’ He signalled for the bill.
She smiled. It sounded like an idea. ‘What’s in Antibes?’
‘I’m in the process of buying a small property down there. A friend of mine had a yacht down there that he wanted to sell, and in a somewhat rash and inebriated moment, I bought it. I think I had the vague idea I could live on it, but it’s not really practicable. Not at my age. So I decided I needed somewhere to stay as well. What started out as a minor indulgence seems to have snowballed into a major extravagance. I’m going down there first thing on Saturday to look at a couple of places I’ve earmarked. I think I know the apartment I want. It’s in a building tucked away in a cobbled courtyard behind the main market street.’ Gabrielle was delighted with the notion of helping Leo buy a house. ‘Yeah, OK – I’m up for it.’
‘Excellent.’ He paid the bill and got up. ‘In which case you’re going to have to let me dash back to my laptop and try and book flights. Come on.’
It was half one when Sarah emerged from Nicole Farhi with the last of her purchases, a very sexily cut pair of blue trousers and a wrap-over dress. She’d spent far more than she’d intended, but was feeling very happy about it. She was strolling up Long Acre with bags on either arm, heading towards the wine bar in Holborn where she had arranged to meet her friend, when suddenly she saw Leo coming out of a restaurant not ten yards away. Sarah stepped into a shop doorway. He was with a girl – the same girl Sarah had seen coming out of his house on the night she had moved in. She watched as they stood talking on the pavement for a moment. Leo said something to the girl which made her laugh, then he lifted a strand of hair from her face and kissed her lightly on either cheek, and they parted, Leo turning and heading towards Kingsway.
The girl walked past Sarah, oblivious. Sarah had time to look at her properly, see how young and lovely she was. So there it was. She’d been right from the outset. He was obviously in a relationship with her, this girl who looked barely more than a teenager. No wonder he had left her alone, made no moves towards her. Well, at least she knew where she stood now. He was only letting her stay in his house out of kindness – making love to her the night that Toby was away had been a piece of opportunism. Naturally he had behaved as though there was no one in his life, because that was what he wanted her to think. The plans for a cosy dinner and a pleasant evening of sex suddenly looked like a dismal joke. It was as well there was a job on the horizon. The sooner she got away the better, to rid herself of the delusion that there could be anything lasting between herself and Leo.
On Saturday morning
Leo and Gabrielle arrived in Nice a little before noon, and drove in a rented car to a hotel in Juan-Les-Pins, where Leo had booked rooms. Then they drove round Cap d’Antibes to the town and had a late lunch at a bistro before heading to the estate agent’s office.
‘I looked at a few places online,’ Leo told Gabrielle, as they waited for the agent to fetch the keys, ‘but this was the one that really caught my eye. I hope it’s as good as its pictures.’
Gabrielle was flicking through one of the brochures. ‘The way you described it makes it sound a bit poky. Why don’t you go for one of these apartments with a pool? Something a bit more modern and luxurious?’
‘Because I like the old town. I want to feel a part of it when I come here, be able to step out and buy croissants first thing, watch the market come alive at weekends. Anyway, who needs a pool when you have a beautiful beach a couple of minutes away? Not a huge fan of chlorine, personally.’
The estate agent, a slim, self-important young man, appeared with the keys and escorted them on the short walk to the apartment, which was on the third floor of an old building overlooking the Cours Massena. The ground floor of the building was a café-patisserie, and the apartment entrance was at the back, in a narrow cobbled street, through high wooden gates leading into a charming courtyard dotted with pots and shrubs. A gnarled bougainvillea creeper, wintry and naked, shrouded the doorway to the building.
The agent led the way upstairs to the apartment, and showed them around with great aplomb. ‘Vair light and airy. Vair unusual for the Old Town,’ he told them, leading them through the empty rooms. ‘Bedrooms are at the back, so all is quiet, oui? But the big living area through here has a balcony, quite charmant.’ He unfastened and flung back the wooden shutters, then opened the long windows to a balcony, with a high, wrought-iron surround.
They stepped outside, and the estate agent gestured towards the castle, whose medieval ramparts were visible. ‘That is where the Picasso Museum now is. Vair important tourist destination.’
Gabrielle leant on the iron railing and gazed down at the busy street which sloped away to the harbour. She smiled and turned to Leo.
‘It’s absolutely amazing. I take it all back. Imagine sitting out here in summer, sipping pastis, watching the world go by.’
They went back into the living room, and at that moment clouds parted in the winter sky outside, and the parchment-coloured walls and scrubbed floorboards were suddenly washed with sunshine. Gabrielle gazed around.
‘It’s beautiful. Makes me want to go out and start buying things to furnish it.’
‘I hoped that particular task might appeal to you.’
She laughed. ‘Is that why you brought me down here? To do the place up?’
‘Only partly. You also speak French very much better than I do. I thought we might get through the formalities faster if you were here. Seriously, I wanted to see what you thought of the place.’
‘Well, I love it, and I don’t mind helping out with red tape.’
They went back to the agent’s office and completed a volume of paperwork. The agent seemed mildly discomfited to discover that Gabrielle spoke perfect French. It was half past three by the time the lease was signed, and the keys handed over. Leo and Gabrielle took a leisurely drive back along the coast, had cocktails in Juan, then ate dinner at Tetou. The next day they spent browsing furniture and antique shops, ordering beds, tables, chairs and sofas, and buying kitchen and bathroom equipment. At the end of the day they had dinner at the hotel and talked over the day’s purchases.
‘That was such fun,’ said Gabrielle. ‘Like furnishing a doll’s house. And so lovely to be spending someone else’s money.’
‘I’ll have to take a few days off in the New Year to come down and take delivery of the furniture. Which reminds me,’ Leo fished in his pocket and pulled out a set of keys and handed them to Gabrielle, ‘these are for you. I had them cut before we went out yesterday evening.’
‘Keys to the apartment?’
Leo nodded. ‘I can’t see anyone else using it. I like to think I have a project to share with my daughter. Come down whenever you like, bring a girlfriend, enjoy Antibes and Juan in season. Sometimes I’ll be here, sometimes I won’t.’
She leant across and kissed his cheek. ‘That is so amazing. Thank you.’
‘I say girlfriend, but you’re welcome to bring your boyfriend down, too, if you like.’ Leo paused. ‘You still haven’t told me anything about him.’
Gabrielle knew that to hesitate or equivocate would be fatal. She said calmly, ‘Actually, he’s someone you know. I only found out recently.’ She glanced down, stirring her coffee. ‘He’s in your chambers. Anthony Cross.’
As soon as she spoke his name, she could feel the tension crystallise. When she looked up, Leo’s face was giving nothing away, though a muscle had tightened in one cheek. ‘Really? You should have said something before.’ His expression might be unreadable, but Gabrielle could detect an edge to his voice.
‘I told you – I didn’t know. We haven’t being seeing one another very long.’
Leo nodded. He picked up his coffee and took a sip. ‘Does he know about me?’
‘What? That you’re my father? Of course not.’
‘I’d have thought it would be a point of interest.’
‘To be honest, I haven’t told anyone. No one knows, except my family. Not even my best friends.’
Leo nodded, saying nothing.
‘What’s wrong?’ asked Gabrielle. She asked the question in apparent innocence, knowing full well what was wrong. Far from being appalled or disgusted at the knowledge, confirmed now by Leo’s behaviour, that there was something going on between him and Anthony, she felt excited and curious. The knowledge gave her a strange sense of power over both of them. She tried to imagine, thinking of her own affair with Anthony and the hours spent in his bed, Leo enjoying the same pleasure.
‘Nothing’s wrong.’ Leo gave a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. ‘When were you thinking of mentioning it to people? About my being your father?’
‘I don’t know. I probably won’t, unless it comes up. I mean, it’s hardly the kind of thing you go around telling people randomly, is it?’
Leo didn’t know how to respond. He was stunned by the misfortune that, of all the people in the world, she should be seeing Anthony. Sleeping with him, too, no doubt – possibly even in love with him. Why was it his immediate instinct that the relationship should be destroyed? Was he jealous? Afraid? The lightning thoughts and impulses prompted by her revelation began to settle and rationalise. She was right to say that the information that Leo was her biological father was not something she was going to broadcast. She would only tell people who mattered to her. Thus, she was only likely to tell Anthony if the relationship developed into something serious. God alone knew what would happen then. It would be beyond anyone’s control. If Anthony found out now – and it wouldn’t be from Gabrielle, it seemed – his reaction would probably be to end the relationship. That would probably be for the best. She herself had said she hadn’t been seeing him for very long.
He tried to relax his manner. ‘Well, life is full of coincidences, I suppose. He’s a lovely chap. Very bright.’
‘He speaks very highly of you.’
Leo studied Gabrielle, wondering if there was something which he wasn’t quite grasping. She was his daughter, after all, and devious behaviour was very probably in the genes. But he could read nothing in her expression, which was as sweet and open as ever. Best to let it go, while he worked out how to deal with the situation. He glanced at his watch.
‘Probably a good idea to turn in. We’ve got an early flight tomorrow.’
They went to their separate rooms. Gabrielle lay in bed, thinking, wondering how and when she would ever be able to tell Anthony that Leo was her father. She wasn’t sure, after this evening, that it was necessarily a good idea. But how, in all conscience, could she not?
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
; Every year, when Christmas came to 5 Caper Court, Felicity cast herself as the unofficial Mistress of Revels, and would go around chambers decked out in her flashing Santa Claus earrings, humming cheesy Christmas pop songs, and draping pieces of tinsel over everyone’s PC. Her special pleasures were decorating the Christmas tree in reception, and arranging the food and drink for the chambers Christmas party, at which she would later get happily hammered.
But this year she didn’t seem to have the heart for it. She couldn’t even be bothered getting out the box of tinsel from the coat cupboard. The Christmas tree stood in reception as usual, tastefully decorated by a couple of the secretaries, but the clerks’ room was sombre and bare. Everyone noticed, and everyone was privately dismayed – even the senior members of chambers, who every year pretended to shudder at Felicity’s enthusiasm for sparkle and for singing ‘I Wish it Could be Christmas Every Day’ while doing the post.
‘Not very festive round here,’ remarked Jeremy Vane to Leo, as he fished his mail from his pigeonhole. ‘Not even a Christmas card in sight.’
‘Everyone sends electronic ones now.’
‘I know. Ghastly.’ He glanced at Leo. ‘How was your weekend?’
‘I spent it in the South of France.’
‘Oh? Whereabouts?’
‘Antibes, the old quarter. I bought a boat from Jamie Urquhart in the autumn, and realised I need a place to stay if I was going to be serious about sailing her, so I’ve rented an apartment down there.’
‘Antibes – bit of a glitzy place, isn’t it?’
‘It can be. But I don’t think I quite make the glitzy category. The apartment’s tiny, and my yacht looks laughable compared to the enormous things on the international quay—’ Leo broke off at the sound of raised voices on the other side of the room, and he and Jeremy turned to see Felicity shouting angrily at young Liam, who was looking aggrieved and upset, while Henry seemed to be doing his best to calm things down. Suddenly Felicity burst into tears and fled from the room.