by Liz Harris
He’d been longing to see her again from the moment he’d left her, and he’d been intensely frustrated that his work was so all-consuming that he’d had to wait until Saturday to see her. On a couple of occasions in the week when he’d got home late in the evening, he’d been tempted to call her and ask her round, but he’d held off. He hadn’t wanted her to think that he took her for granted. No, their first time together in England had to be a proper date.
As he’d left his house earlier to go and collect her, he’d felt a momentary twinge of fear that the night might not live up to his expectations, which had been growing daily. But the evening had been everything that he’d hoped it would be, and more.
He glanced down at Evie and tightened his hold on her. She was even more beautiful than he remembered, and every bit as much fun. It had been as easy to talk to her as it had been in Italy, and he could truthfully say that he’d never had a dinner conversation that was as pleasant and relaxed as their conversation had been that evening. And nor had the time passed as quickly.
And the night wasn’t over yet.
He felt a stab of anticipation in his groin. She hadn’t hesitated to say yes when he’d suggested a nightcap back at his place, and unless he was very much mistaken, she was longing for what he hoped would take place as much as he was.
Glancing up at the sky as he walked along, he saw that it was full of stars. They would be the same stars that had shone down upon them on their last night in Italy, he thought – that unbelievable last night in Umbria.
He felt her eyes on him, and he looked back down at her.
‘You’re thinking about the stars in Italy, aren’t you?’ she said.
He laughed. ‘You must be psychic.’
‘No.’ She smiled up into his face and moved even closer to him. ‘As I’ve said before, just on the same wave length.’
He leaned down and kissed her hard on the lips.
The same stars that shone on Umbria and Hampstead shone also upon Holland Park.
Night had long since fallen by the time that Gabriela shut the lid of her laptop, got up from her computer chair and closed the magazine that had been lying on the desk next to her. She pressed it flat with her hand and carefully aligned it with the computer.
She took a small step back and stared at the magazine.
Then on a sudden impulse, she leaned over and ran her fingers slowly across the garish red letters that screamed out from its cover. With a thin smile of pleasure, she straightened up, switched off the desk light, and went out of the office and across the hall into the sitting room.
The moment she entered the sitting-room, she saw the empty coffee cup on the top of the glass table where she’d left it the night before. Next to it, the magazines were still in an untidy heap.
Through no fault of her own this had not been a normal day, she excused herself.
From the moment she’d returned home the night before, her routine had been disrupted. On a normal day, she would never have allowed anything to be out of place in her apartment, but this day had been different. On this day she’d had something to do that was more important than a momentary disarray. But she had now finished the writing she was doing, and had checked several times that it was to her satisfaction, and she would restore order the following day.
Yes, it was finished. A sense of anticipation stirred within her. She slid the fingers of her right hand between the fingers of her left hand, curled her fingers over the backs of her hands and pressed her palms together, squeezing hard until her knuckles were white.
She couldn’t wait for the next few days to arrive, and for the weekend, and for the Monday after that. The thought of seeing her plan in action, watching it bear fruit, filled her with ice-cold excitement, and she was impatient for the week to begin.
Restlessly, she dropped her hands, went over to the window and stared up at the sky, straining hard to see into the dark void beyond the stars. As she watched, the blackness of night gave way to the faces of the principal players in the events that were going to be acted out in the course of the following two weeks.
But hers was the starring role!
She almost laughed out loud. Yes, she had the starring role, but no one would ever know it. And that didn’t matter; not at all. It was more than enough for her that she would be the only person to know that she’d been the author of her own good fortune.
She sighed as she turned away from the window. It had been a long day, a day in which she’d had much to do, and she was now tired. But there was one more thing to be done before she could reward herself with sleep, and that was to note down what she must do in the coming week, as she did every Saturday.
Taking her slimline diary and a gold-topped pen from her bag, she perched on the edge of the sofa and started to list what she must do on each of the following seven days.
Top of the list was to ring Evie on the Monday or Tuesday evening without fail. That wouldn’t be a problem, though – she would be starting at the design firm on the Monday morning and there was bound to be something that she’d need to know that evening, and that would give her a plausible reason to telephone Evie, or maybe even to visit her.
And she must telephone Eduardo. He’d called her twice that day, but she hadn’t taken the calls; she’d been much too busy to stop what she was doing to talk about Evie, which was all he would want to do, she was sure. The sooner he got over that silly crush, the better. However, she must ring him in the morning. When she did so, she’d be sure to tell him how close Evie and Tom had become. She would leave it until quite late in the morning, though – Eduardo did not get up early on Sundays.
Evie and Tom. She paused. They’d probably ended up in bed that evening. Her lip curled in disgust – she didn’t want to think about it. She didn’t like to think about that side of any relationship. She’d had to let Evie have her evening with Tom – there’d been no choice – and there may even be one more such evening, but that would be the last; of that there was no doubt.
She slipped the top back on to her pen, and returned the pen and diary to her bag. Then she got up, walked out of the sitting room and went into her empty bedroom.
Curled up in Tom’s arms, her eyes wide open, Evie listened to the sound of his steady breathing, helpless against the cold dread that was creeping over her and wrapping its icy tentacles around her heart.
Full of regret and apology, Tom had told her that he had to work all through the next day, and that he had conferences every night in the coming week and wouldn’t be able to see her. But he wanted to take her out again on the following Friday evening, and on the Saturday, and she’d said yes to both nights. Friday could be the last occasion, though, on which she’d see his eyes crinkle with warmth as they gazed down at her; on which she’d sink into his arms and feel them tightening around her, sending a surge of electricity through her; on which she’d feel his bare skin next to hers.
Anguish tightened its hold on her and the night ticked slowly away.
Chapter Twenty-One
Those storm clouds gather…
‘That Gabriela’s bloody brilliant, Jess,’ Evie shouted in the direction of the kitchen as
she threw herself on to the sofa in the communal area of the Camden Town house.
‘Does that mean you rang the editor and it was all OK?’ Jess asked, coming out of the kitchen, a cup in each hand. She gave one of the cups to Evie and went round to the deep armchair on the opposite side of the teak coffee table. Clearing a space on the table, she put her cup down and sat in the armchair.
‘Spot on. Gabriela phoned last night about something she was unsure about after her first day at work, or so she said – really I think she just wanted to talk – and she said I should definitely ring the magazine tonight, rather than leave it till tomorrow morning. That way I’d avoid having yet another sleepless night. She’d picked up on the fact that I was tired from my voice, and she was dead right. I’ve been so worried about what the wanker would say that I haven’t
slept properly for ages. She thought I ought to have as clear a head as possible when I phoned him.’
‘So how did you start the conversation?’
‘I said exactly what Gabriela suggested; that is, that he wouldn’t get the story till Friday morning.’
‘And what did he say?’
‘Everything you would have expected. The shitbag’s got a limited vocabulary – virtually every word began with an f. I had to “fucking well get the fucking thing into his fucking hands by tomorrow fucking morning”. You know the sort of thing. I just let him rant, and when he’d more or less finished shouting down the line, I put the phone back to my ear and told him that if he wasn’t prepared to stick to our original agreement, I’d take my story to someone else. I was sure that there’d be any number of takers for the juicy little number I’d got.’
Jess giggled. ‘You’ve got some nerve, Evie, I’ll say that for you. Perhaps you should have stuck to muckraking as a career.’
Evie laughed happily. ‘You should have heard the change in his voice. It was like chalk and cheese. By the time I hung up, he was more than happy to wait till Friday morning – they’d find a way to work round my schedule, no problem. I shouldn’t worry my pretty little head about anything.’ She hugged her knees to her chest and grinned ecstatically. ‘Fantastic or what?’
‘Fanfuckingtastic, I’d say. You’ve done so well. That Gabriela is obviously pretty smart. Fancy her zeroing in right away on the fact that you were the one with the power.’
‘Or else she thinks like the sleazy element thinks. But whatever the reason, I’m soooo grateful to her. It feels as if a huge weight’s been lifted off me.’
‘So what happens next?’
‘Nothing till Friday. I’ll phone the editor on Friday, leaving it as late in the day as I possibly can to make it hard for him to talk to Tom before I do. I’ll tell him where to stick his job, and then I’ll tell Tom the truth when I see him that evening. Tom suggested that I stay on at the house on Friday until he gets home, which I shall do. We’re going out for a meal in the evening and there’s no point in my coming all the way back here first.’
‘It’s all coming together, isn’t it? I’m so pleased for you, Evie.’
‘You’ve no idea how much better I feel about everything now. I really can’t believe that me having been on the staff of Pure Dirt for a few minutes will mean the end of Tom and me – it’s not as if I ever gave them a story about anyone. No, that’s not going to happen. I think it’s going to turn out alright. All the same, though, I’ll be glad when Friday night is over.’
‘I can’t see Tom holding it against you, either. He must know you well enough by now to know that you’re not the sort of person who’d ever dish up dirt about anyone.’
‘I certainly hope he does.’ She gave a deep sigh, stretched her legs out in front of her and stared at her fluffy pink slippers. ‘It’s a shame it’s Tuesday, or I’d suggest that we go out and celebrate when Rachel gets home, but I don’t fancy having a head like whatever tomorrow morning. I want to have my wits about me this week.’
‘You ought to ring Gabriela and tell her what happened, if you haven’t done so.’
Evie pulled a face. ‘I seem to have had rather a lot of Gabriela lately. But you’re right, I should. After all, it’s thanks to her that I’m still with Tom and not a distraught wreck by now. I’ll make sure I don’t get into a conversation, though. I wonder what time she gets home. I don’t like to ring when she’s at work – it might be awkward for her.’
‘If it’s awkward, she won’t pick up.’ Jess stood up, picked up the empty cups and took them into the kitchen. There was a clatter as she put the crockery next to the sink. ‘Hey, talk of the devil,’ she shouted a moment later. ‘Get the door, Evie. It’s Gabriela – she’s getting out of a taxi. Wow! That gold jacket’s to die for. And my God, her fuck-me heels could be Miu Miu sandals!’
‘Shit, shit, shit,’ Evie muttered under her breath. A quick phone call would have been so much easier. She absolutely was not in the mood for another girlie evening with Gabriela, not in the middle of the week, not when all she wanted was a quiet evening with her housemates. Yes, she was very grateful to Gabriela, but enough was enough, and enough was fast becoming too much.
Reluctantly hauling herself up off the sofa, she shuffled to the door in her slippers. As she raised her hand to unlock the door, the bell sounded.
‘Hi, Gabriela!’ she said, opening the door wide and standing back to let her in. ‘I almost beat you to the door. Jess saw you getting out of a cab.’
Gabriela beamed at her. ‘Hello, Evie.’ As she stepped into the house, her expression changed to one of apology. ‘I hope you don’t mind me visiting you without an invitation. I had to call on a design company in Highgate to introduce myself, and the taxi driver said that we must pass fairly close to where you live, so I asked him to drop me here. But if it is difficult, I can leave.’ She half turned back to the door.
‘No, you’re OK. You must have a cup of something or a glass of wine. I won’t suggest a meal, though, if you don’t mind, as we’re eating scraps tonight. We’re clearing the fridge of everything left over from the last year – anything that isn’t too mouldy or green will be eaten. Also I’m pretty tired and want an early night. But come on in.’
She closed the door behind Gabriela and led the way into the communal area.
‘You can be sure that I will not stay for long,’ Gabriela began apologetically. ‘I know you are tired and that’s one of the reasons I am here. You sounded so tired last night that I was quite worried about you. Another reason is that I wanted to know how things were with the editor. These two things are obviously connected.’
‘That’s very kind of you, but you needn’t worry. I’m fine, or I will be when I’ve had a good night’s sleep. Here.’ She indicated the armchair. ‘Take a seat. What can I get you to drink?’
‘Just a coffee, please.’
Jess appeared in the kitchen doorway. ‘Hi, Gabriela! It’s nice to see you again. You sit down, Evie. I’ll get the coffee. D’you want another one?’
‘OK, thanks.’
‘Right. I won’t be two ticks.’
Evie sat down on the sofa and curled her legs under her. ‘You were absolutely right about the editor. I was going to phone you and tell you so. I’ve got a stay of execution until Friday, and that’s when I’ll quit the job. I’m really grateful to you for your advice – I would never have thought of that myself.’
‘Not at all. It was a pleasure.’
Jess came into the room carrying a tray with three coffees.
‘Thank you, Jess,’ Gabriela said, taking one.
‘I didn’t know if you took milk so I’ve put some in a jug. And there’s sugar, too. Just help yourself.’
‘You’re very kind.’
Jess put the tray down on the table and went and sat next to Evie. She took the last two mugs from the tray, gave one of them to Evie, leaned back and took a sip of her drink. ‘So, how’s the new job coming, Gabriela, or is it too soon to tell?’
‘No, I don’t think it is. I think I’m going to enjoy it. It certainly will be a challenge, but I like challenges. They bring the adrenalin and add excitement to life.’
Jess laughed. ‘I’m afraid I like my excitement to be outside my work. What exactly are you going to be doing? It’s a design company, isn’t it?’
‘Oh, it will be too boring for you if I explain. And it will take too long. I am overseeing a rather complicated design project for an Italian company. The company that I work for in Italy has transferred me here for a year to do this. But Evie is tired and I want her to have some rest so I will tell you about the project some other day, if you wish. Besides, I have something quite interesting to tell Evie.’
‘You do?’ Evie asked, surprise in her voice. ‘What sort of interesting?’
‘Our family has found a wife for Eduardo, and Eduardo is very happy about it.’
‘No kidding!’
Evie exclaimed. ‘That’s a bit sudden. Or isn’t it?’
A stab of mixed emotion shot through her. She was pleased for Eduardo – of course she was – but she was also a touch put out that he could transfer his affections from her to someone else with such speed. Mentally she kicked herself – how petty was that? She pushed back her grievance and focused on being pleased that a very kind man had found someone who wanted to share his life.
‘Not really. They’ve known each other for many years. Eduardo was very attracted to her, but her family could not resist an offer made to her by a very wealthy man with businesses that would have been compatible with her family’s businesses. They accepted his offer, and the two became engaged. Eduardo was heartbroken. But now, some months later, there is a problem about the engagement, and the girl’s family has approached my family this week, indicating very subtly that Eduardo would now be welcomed as a suitor.’
‘I’m so pleased, Gabriela,’ Evie said. ‘That’s wonderful news. He’s such a nice person, and he deserves to be very happy.’
‘I’m glad that one of us is pleased,’ Jess muttered. ‘I’m not. And Rachel won’t be.’
Gabriela laughed. ‘You’ll get over this great disappointment, I think, Jess. Rachel, too.’
‘I must ring Eduardo and tell him how happy I am for him.’ Evie looked at her watch. ‘In fact, despite the hour’s difference, it’s still quite early in Italy – I could ring him this evening.’
‘No, you must not,’ Gabriela cut in quickly. She leaned forward in her chair. ‘These are delicate matters, Evie, and family honour is involved. The discussions could still break down, although we hope very much that they will not. It would be humiliating for Eduardo if they broke down and people outside the family knew about this. Please, do not ring him, not until I tell you that it is a formal engagement. Then he will be very pleased to hear from you.’