by Susan Lewis
‘But I don’t see him as a challenge, not in the sense you mean it, anyway. To tell you the truth, and you’re not to laugh at this, Felicity, but there have been times when I’ve actually felt afraid of him. I know it sounds a bit dramatic, but it’s true. The feeling goes, pretty quickly, I have to say that, and I feel pretty stupid for it after, but nevertheless there’s something about him that on the odd occasion very definitely unsettles me. I just wish I could put my finger on what it was.’
‘Does it matter, if you don’t want to get into a relationship with him?’ Felicity said, tasting the wine then nodding for the waiter to carry on.
‘No, I suppose not. Mind you, I’m finding that pretty difficult to fend off. But it does matter about Annalise. You remember I told you about Siobhan? Thank you,’ she added to the waiter.
Felicity nodded, ‘The woman he was sending the birthday card to?’
‘That’s her. Though more importantly it’s the name Annalise claims he sometimes calls her by. Well, he’s going away this weekend, and I reckon it’s to see her.’
‘So?’
‘So, Annalise says that it’s always after he’s seen this Siobhan that he beats her up.’
‘And you have some grand plan to stop this happening?’
‘No, not really. You know what Annalise is like, she won’t hear a bad thing said about him – unless she’s saying it herself. I just think …’
‘I just think we should change the subject,’ Felicity interrupted. ‘You’re like a mother hen where that girl’s concerned. Let her look after herself, and you, madam, start thinking about yourself for a change. Like what Luke Fitzpatrick can do for you.’
‘And what can he do for me?’ Corrie grinned.
‘Cristos Bennati.’
Immediately Corrie’s heart turned over. ‘What about Cristos Bennati?’ she said.
‘Oh come off it, he’s in town and you know it.’
‘So?’
‘So, Luke knows him, doesn’t he? And he’s your everlasting heart-throb, or so you once confessed to me. So, get Luke to introduce you.’
‘I can’t do that,’ Corrie said, not wanting to admit that this had crossed her mind more than once in the past twenty-four hours.
‘Why ever not? Jesus Christ, there aren’t many people who find themselves in a position to be introduced to Cristos Bennati. So go for it. What have you got to lose? And if you do, just remember, he’s a mere man. He’s made of flesh and blood like the rest of them, probably a bastard like the rest of them too. But you’d like to be able to say you’ve met him, wouldn’t you?’
Corrie laughed. ‘I’d die for it,’ she admitted. ‘But I think he and Luke have fallen out about something. Don’t ask me what, but I recall Luke mentioning it.’
‘So what? Ask anyway. You never know, this could be the start of something big.’
‘Well now you’ve just gone and put the kiss of death on it,’ Corrie complained. ‘There you are ten years older than me and still you don’t know that you should never voice your hopes. If you do, you might just as well kiss them good-bye.’
‘You didn’t voice them, I did. But if you are hoping for anything as far as Bennati’s concerned, anything meaningful that is, then if I were you I’d kill it stone dead right now.’
‘I know, he’d never look at anyone like me twice, and I’m fantasizing myself into a fairy tale.’
‘I don’t know about that, but what I do know is that he’s Hollywood. Which means that he just wouldn’t be good enough for you. You need a real man, Corrie, not a fake one, and that’s all Hollywood produces – fake people. They’re so up themselves it just isn’t true. Get Luke to introduce you to Bennati, then you’ll see what I mean. It’ll be great for the first half an hour, you can look at him and lust after him all you like, then listen to what he’s saying. Well, you’ll have to because he won’t stop talking – about himself. I say this because Hollywood people are all the same – me, me, me. It’s all so phoney and soooo boring, you’ll be crawling up the walls inside five minutes.’
Corrie was laughing. ‘But what if I’m not?’ she teased. ‘What if I fall in love?’
‘Then that’ll make two of you in love with him, won’t it?’
‘What?’
‘You and Bennati,’ Felicity laughed. ‘Come to think of it, it’ll probably make six million of you in love with him. Now come on, eat up, I’m starving.’
Luke was standing very still gazing out through the huge picture window overlooking the sea. The sun was dazzling, fusing the sea and sky into one. His hand was resting on the back of a chair and he could feel the warmth of her skin through the thin blouse she was wearing. There was the hint of a smile on his lips, but the sadness in his eyes was as unfathomable as the anguish in his heart. Even so, his voice was steady as he asked if she had received the flowers he’d sent.
After a while he turned, and looking down at her he lifted her hair in his hands. ‘You look lovely today,’ he said, and stooped to kiss the top of her head.
He pulled up a chair then and taking her hands said, ‘I’m glad you liked the flowers. I’ll send some more next week if you like.’
Siobhan stared unblinkingly out through the window, her gaze drowning somewhere in the vast expanse of brilliant white light. Her hands hung limply in Luke’s.
‘No walk today, I’m afraid,’ he chuckled. ‘But perhaps we could go for a drive. I’ve taken the roof off the car. No? OK, I guess it is a little too hot out.’ He paused and put his head to one side. ‘How are things at TW, did you ask? Oh, they’re just great. The ratings are up again. The new researcher’s working out just fine. I told you about her, didn’t I? Her name’s Corrie. Yes, of course I did.’ He laughed. ‘I’m getting pretty keen on her, you know. She’s kind of special.’ Again he paused as though listening. ‘What about Annalise? Well, to be sure, I’m keen on her too.’ He sighed. ‘I wish you could see her, Siobhan, it would be such a surprise for you. Just like it was for me when I first saw her. Sorry, what was that you said? Oh, yes, she’s very beautiful. And Corrie? Well, Corrie’s different. She’s more … Let me see, how would you describe Corrie? She’s striking. Yes, striking. And she’s, well, untainted by life. I feel so good when I’m with her.’ Again he chuckled. ‘It’s easy to forget how innocent she is when she looks the way she does … She has an amazing body. It seems to ooze sophistication, but at heart she’s almost like a … yes, like a child.’ He frowned then, and it was several minutes before he spoke again. ‘Yes, you’re right, my darling, she could be good for me. But, you know, she concerns me. Why? Oh, lots of reasons. For one thing she’s never taken in by flattery, like most women, and you should see her when she’s at work. She’s been with us such a short time, but to listen to her you’d think she’d been there forever. I have a suspicion that she’s nurturing an ambition to take over TW one of these days. Perhaps she could, given time, were it not for the fact that, as professional and single-minded as she can be, I think, no I believe, that beneath that bravado of hers, and that all too convincing act of self-confidence, she is fundamentally stupid. In what way?’ He shrugged. ‘Well, she’s a romantic,’ he answered, as though that explained everything. ‘Her heart will always get the better of her in any situation, I’m certain of it. In fact I’m counting on it.
‘But then of course there’s Annalise. Corrie knows now that Annalise is her sister, and that sentimental heart of Corrie’s means that she’ll do anything she can to stop Annalise from being hurt. That’s what Corrie’s like. She’s a decent human being. Which is basically what makes her stupid. She becomes confused when she’s confronted by the seamier side of life. Though I have to give her credit for the way she tries to deal with it, she never runs away, but she hates it all the same. I admire her courage.’ He paused, then his face hardened. ‘I wish I could say the same for her father,’ he growled. ‘I thought he’d have given himself up by now, but he hasn’t. He hasn’t got the guts. I don’t want to be the one to turn him in
though, because then I won’t be able to get to him. This way, while he’s here, on the outside, I can make him suffer for all he’s done … To you, Annalise …’ He sighed heavily and let his eyes drift for a while. ‘I don’t want to hurt Annalise, you know that Siobhan, don’t you? I love her. But Corrie is the woman I need. She could change everything for me … Yes, you’re right, it is a dilemma, but I can see that you don’t really want to hear about all this. Why don’t you tell me what you’ve been doing since I was last here?’
A gentle breeze lifted Siobhan’s hair and blew it across her mouth. Leaning forward Luke brushed it back into place. His face was very close to hers now, and he stayed like that, watching her, waiting patiently for her to speak.
Half an hour later he stood up, kissed her tenderly on the cheek, and left.
‘Corrie! Corrie! It’s me! Let me in. Please, let me in.’
Annalise was banging frantically on the door of Corrie’s studio, and as Corrie pulled it open Annalise virtually fell into her arms.
‘My God, what’s happened?’ Corrie cried when she saw Annalise’s face. ‘You look like you’ve seen a ghost.’
‘I have. At least, he’s like a ghost. Oh, Corrie, you’ve got to come. Please! You’ve got to come.’
‘Come where?’ Corrie asked, closing the door and stealing a quick look at the clock on the wall. It was one thirty in the morning.
‘To Luke’s. Oh Corrie, you should see him. It’s terrible. I don’t know what to do. I tried to talk to him, to make him tell me what was wrong, but he won’t speak. He’s just sitting there, like a zombie. It’s horrible – it’s as though … as though, he were dead. But he’s breathing, his eyes are open, but he just won’t speak. Oh Corrie, say you’ll come. Please! I didn’t know who else to turn to.’
‘You’d better wait while I get dressed,’ Corrie said. ‘Have you got your car?’
‘Yes, it’s outside. I tried to ring you,’ Annalise called up the stairs after Corrie, ‘but your phone was engaged for so long.’
‘Yes, I took it off the hook earlier,’ Corrie shouted over the balcony, not adding that it was so she could get some uninterrupted sleep.
Twenty minutes later Annalise was letting them into Luke’s apartment. Annalise seemed confused to find it in total darkness, and as they crept in through the door Corrie felt a sudden chill of unease.
‘You don’t think he’s gone out again, do you?’ she whispered to Annalise.
‘I don’t know. I shouldn’t think so. His car was downstairs. Shall I turn on the light?’
‘Yes, yes of course,’ Corrie said, sounding a lot more courageous than she felt. She started as the hall flooded with light, and looking at Annalise she could see that Annalise was every bit as nervous as she was. ‘Where was he when you left?’ Corrie asked.
‘In the sitting room.’
Corrie peeked round the door. ‘Well he isn’t there now,’ she said, surveilling the empty, moonlit shadows.
‘Perhaps he’s gone to bed?’ Annalise suggested.
‘Then we ought to go.’
‘But hadn’t we better check first? I mean, make sure he’s all right.’
Corrie looked hard at Annalise as she thought what to do. Then suddenly they leapt into each other’s arms as the bedroom door creaked open.
‘Oh my God!’ Corrie breathed, as an ominous shadow stole across the sitting-room floor. She looked up to see Luke’s silhouette framed in the bedroom door, and didn’t know whether it was her own or Annalise’s heart that started to thunder through her ears.
‘Luke?’ Annalise said tentatively. ‘Luke, it’s us. Are you …’
She stopped as Luke flicked on the light, and Corrie’s heart seemed to plunge to her knees.
‘What the hell are you playing at?’ Luke said, half shouting. ‘I thought you were burglars creeping about the place like that.’
‘But Luke, are you all right?’ Annalise cried, running to him.
Tightening the tie of his bathrobe he put an arm around her. ‘Of course I’m all right,’ he said. ‘Why shouldn’t I be?’
Annalise turned helplessly to Corrie, clearly hoping she would explain.
Corrie glared at her, then looking back to Luke she shrugged awkwardly. ‘Well, I guess I’d better be getting home,’ she said, feeling extremely embarrassed.
‘Oh no you don’t,’ Luke said. ‘I want an explanation from you two. Annalise, go and put the kettle on. Better still, get out the brandy. Not for you though, you’re to have tea.’
‘But Luke …’
‘Tea! Or orange juice. No more alcohol tonight.’
Meekly Annalise lowered her eyes and went off to the kitchen. Luke walked to the cocktail cabinet and took down a bottle of brandy. He grimaced when he saw it was empty, and put it back on the shelf.
‘That bottle was full when I left here on Friday,’ he said to Corrie, who was still standing in the hall. ‘When I got back tonight Annalise was here, waiting for me – well, there’s no need for me to explain what a state she was in, the empty bottle says it all. Did she drive over to your place?’
Corrie nodded.
‘Jesus, she’s going to kill herself one of these days.’ He smiled then. ‘You can come in, you know, I won’t bite.’
‘Did she really drink all that brandy?’ Corrie said, going to sit on a hard-backed chair between the two sash windows.
Luke shrugged. ‘She must have done. No one else has been here. So what did she tell you that brought you rushing over here in the middle of the night?’
‘Well, not much really,’ Corrie confessed. ‘I mean she was a bit hysterical, I didn’t stop to think that she might have been drinking. She said that you wouldn’t speak to her. That you were just sitting there, saying nothing.’
Luke laughed. ‘She’s right, I was. And she knows why, but I don’t suppose she told you that.’
Corrie shook her head.
‘I wouldn’t speak to her because she has some fixation that I have another woman. That when I go away for the weekend I go to be with this woman. She drives me so mad with her paranoia sometimes that it’s all I can do to stop myself hitting her. Well, actually, I have hit her before now. It’s the only way I can bring her hysteria under control.’
‘Luke?’
Both Corrie and Luke turned to see Annalise standing at the door. Sighing Luke held out his arms. ‘Come here,’ he said.
Annalise all but ran to him, and as he held her Corrie was struck by how tiny she looked in his arms. And his tenderness was so enveloping that it was almost like watching a father with his child.
‘I should be angry with you,’ he said, gently stroking her hair. ‘I’ve told you a hundred times not to drive that car when you’ve been drinking. Still, you’re safe now, so I guess that’s all that matters.’
‘I’ve made some tea,’ she said, gazing up at him with tears in her eyes.
‘Then you take yours to bed. I’ll be in shortly.’
Again Annalise went off to do as she was told and Luke turned back to Corrie. ‘Would you like some tea?’
Corrie shook her head. ‘No, I’d better be getting back.’
‘You’ve welcome to stay here. You can share the bed with Annalise. I’ll sleep on the sofa.’
‘No, it’s all right. Besides, I think she’d prefer that you slept with her tonight.’
‘How will you get home?’ he asked, as he walked her to the front door.
‘I’ll get a cab.’
‘At this time of night?’ He reached down for the handbag Annalise had left on the floor. ‘Here,’ he said, handing Corrie a set of keys, ‘take Annalise’s car. I’ll drive her to the office in the morning.’
As Corrie took the keys she looked into Luke’s face, but he bowed his head, as though not wanting to meet her eyes. Instinctively Corrie put a hand on his arm, but Luke merely reached out to open the door.
‘Thanks for bringing her back,’ he said.
As Corrie gingerly drove the Mercedes sp
orts car through the deserted streets of Knightsbridge she suddenly found that she was fighting the urge to cry. This was a stupid reaction, she kept telling herself, but she just couldn’t help it. It was upsetting her that Annalise hadn’t denied she’d been drinking, when Corrie was convinced she hadn’t been. At least not an entire bottle of brandy. Corrie just couldn’t understand why she hadn’t defended herself, and neither could she understand that dreadful sadness she had once again sensed in Luke. What was going on between them, she wondered. What really had happened to make Annalise come running to her like that? And why, for those few moments after she and Annalise had entered his flat, had she, Corrie, felt such an overpowering sense of fear?
Three days later, during a break in filming, Corrie and Annalise were strolling through Richmond Park. Annalise was giggling and kept digging Corrie in the ribs, trying to tickle her.
‘Will you behave?’ Corrie laughed, pulling Annalise’s arms behind her and pushing her away.
‘I can’t! I can’t! I can’t!’ Annalise cried, waving her arms in the air.
‘People are staring at you,’ Corrie told her.
‘Oh good! I want them to, and maybe one of these days, when Luke and I go public, they’ll remember seeing me in Richmond Park, screaming my head off with joy.’
‘Now don’t get carried away,’ Corrie said, not much liking being the voice of caution. ‘He’s only said he’s thinking about asking you to marry him.’
‘Oh, don’t be such a killjoy! If he’s thinking about it, that means he’s going to do it.’
Corrie was shaking her head in exasperation, but smiling nevertheless. The fact that Sunday night had not even been mentioned since didn’t even strike her as odd, she was getting used to these convenient silences by now. And now surely wasn’t the time to point out to Annalise that she really did have a whole heap of problems to sort out with Luke before she should even consider marrying him. Siobhan for one, whoever Siobhan was. Whether or not Luke had spent the weekend with her Corrie had no idea, but she rather suspected he had. Still, at least he hadn’t hit Annalise this time. And why not let Annalise be happy while she could, God knew she’d known enough misery at Luke’s hands. Corrie could wish though that she was able to shake off this dogged sense of foreboding – she hated being pessimistic, but try as she would she just couldn’t bring herself to trust Luke.