by Polly Carter
But he also wanted to bring Pearl out into the open, and introduce her to the part of his life he’d kept hidden. He had no doubt his mother would be difficult. He couldn’t imagine the first time Pearl met her being at a private family meal where Pearl would be too exposed, too vulnerable, too much at Linda’s mercy. At least tonight, with so many other people around and so much interest on Ray, he could introduce Pearl without her having to be the centre of attention all evening. He felt Pearl’s hand grip his more tightly as they approached the steps leading up to the wide open, magnificent double wooden doors. Pausing for a moment, he turned to face her.
“You ready, baby?” he asked, searching her face and finding it unusually inscrutable as she silently nodded. He couldn’t shake the uncomfortable feeling that something was going on that he wasn’t privy to. He didn’t like it. The sooner the introductions were made, a polite amount of time elapsed, and his duty done he would be getting her out of here and into his arms as quickly as possible. He dropped a small kiss on her lips. “Then let’s find you something to eat, and introduce you to the family. Don’t worry, they will be stunned that I have managed to find such a beautiful girl. And they will love you, too. Of course they will. How could they not?”
They both pretended not to notice that Marcus’s voice was just that bit brighter than usual as they went in through the doors.
“Marcus! Where on earth have you been? I have been searching all over for you. Who is this person?”
They were barely inside before they were arrested by Linda’s commanding voice. Marcus froze. This was it. Breathing deeply, he forced himself to relax, laid his arm possessively around Pearl’s shoulders and faced his mother who, the minute she’d caught sight of her son, had crossed the room swiftly and effortlessly despite six-inch heels and a vivid red dress that could have been painted on.
Glaring imperiously, Linda’s eyes travelled slowly down the length of Pearl, then up again stopping at the diamond collar. Her expression didn’t alter as she swung her eyes from the jewel to Marcus, but Marcus felt the immediate drop in temperature. His mother was the only person he’d ever known who became colder and more impassive the angrier she was. He’d never seen her so much as raise her voice, but her icy displeasure could burn as effectively as the hottest rage.
“Mother,” he began, keeping his voice calm and his arm around Pearl, “this is Pearl Sinclair. Pearl, my mother, Linda Holding.”
Pearl offered her hand to shake, but Linda didn’t even dignify it with a glance. Pearl withdrew her hand, clasping it to her other and squirming her fingers. Under her dress, her toe, trapped by its shoe, was trying to mimic the movements it so desperately wanted to make poking the ground.
“I’m disappointed, Marcus,” Linda said calmly. “You should have told me you’d invited the lass from the shop. Anyway, I told you I needed to speak with you before people arrived. I will speak with you now.” Her voice was too low for anyone but Marcus and Pearl to hear, and she kept her expression polite as she nodded and greeted people walking by without missing a beat.
“There’s nothing for you to say to me that you can’t say in front of Pearl.”
“Oh, but there is.”
“Well, I’m not leaving her here alone if that’s what you think.”
“I can’t think why not. There’s plenty of rich men,” Linda replied coolly, raking her eyes up and down Pearl again with no attempt to conceal her contempt. Marcus’s face froze with suppressed fury and he was about to take Pearl and leave when Linda stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Very well. Ray!” Linda called, having spotted her elder son in a nearby group. Ray, who appeared immediately, had been hidden from Pearl’s view, so to her it was as though he had mysteriously materialised in obedience to her call. Somehow, Pearl thought, with this woman, it didn’t seem entirely without the realms of possibility. She felt her skin crawling.
“Yes, Mother,” Ray said as he joined them, then caught sight of Pearl. “Hello,” he said, drawing it out and running is eyes appreciatively over her.
“Ray. This is Pearl Sinclair. Pearl, my prodigal brother, Ray,” Marcus introduced Ray who didn’t hesitate to hold out his hand to Pearl.
“Delighted indeed, Pearl. And I see why Marcus has been keeping you hidden and all to himself!”
“Don’t be vulgar, Ray,” Linda said in the same tone she might use to offer a guest a piece of cheese. “I need Marcus for a moment. Look after this girl, please. Perhaps she’d like a glass of lemonade. And see she doesn’t disappear or get robbed while we’re gone.”
Marcus’s fists clenched in rage at his mother’s cruelty towards Pearl. She was deliberately reducing her to nothing by refusing to use her name, treating her like a child by offering her lemonade, and even insinuating she might run off with the collar she’d rightly guessed he’d bought.
“Go on, brother,” Ray replied amiably, ignoring his mother’s scolding. “It will be a privilege to be seen with the loveliest woman at the party. And I can find out all your secrets.” He winked at Marcus, who grimaced. “Come on, beautiful, I want to flaunt you and see if I can’t make some of these other single lovelies jealous. They might see me in a whole new light if they see me with you.”
Marcus saw Pearl smile shyly at Ray’s good-natured flattery, and he felt a pang as he watched Ray tuck Pearl’s arm around his own and lead her off. He trusted his brother to take good care of her, but her innocence and lack of artifice shone like her diamonds among the sophisticated set around her. She had so wanted to enjoy tonight, and he was furious with his mother for being so unpleasant and spoiling things.
“I will not have you being rude to Pearl, Mother!”
“I have no idea what you mean, dear,” she replied, taking his arm and acknowledging everyone around them. “Come. We will speak in private.”
“It had better be important,” Marcus growled as Linda led him out of the salon in which the guests were gathered, down a short hall and into an office. “And quick!”
Switching on the light and closing the door behind them, Linda poured two glasses of fifty-year-old Glenfiddich single malt Scotch whisky, handed one to him and bade him sit down.
“I think I’d rather stand,” Marcus said grimly, but took the glass. “What do you want? You go first, then I have something to say, and as soon as I’m done, I’m fetching Pearl and we’re leaving. So, get on with it. I don’t like her being out there on her own when she doesn’t know anyone.”
“Well, she wouldn’t know anyone would she?” Linda waved her arm airily. “She’s obviously not from the world we inhabit. And there’s no need to worry about her. Ray will keep her amused. He’s had plenty of experience with girls like that.” Her voice was calm and her body relaxed as she leaned against the desk and regarded him. Only a narrowing of her eyes, betrayed the emotions behind them.
Marcus strode over to her and slammed his glass down on the desk beside her. “You will not refer to Pearl as ‘a girl like that’! I love her and I intend moving in with her immediately. Tonight. I also plan to make her my wife sooner rather than later if she’ll have me.”
“That would be a huge mistake, dear, and one I’m not willing to let you make. My marriage was a mistake, but at least it had its compensations. Marriage to that girl won’t. I can see she is pretty enough, but girls like her are a dime a dozen. What else does she have? Money? Breeding? Class? Family?”
At the mention of family, Marcus was transported to Jack and Mary’s kitchen with its comfortable and cosy ambience. It was a different meaning to ‘family’ than his mother was using, but one that he was beginning to think he might greatly prefer.
“Marcus, dear,” for the first time, Linda’s voice had softened. She put her hand on his arm. “I owe you a lot, I know that, although I don’t often say it.”
Marcus almost jumped in surprise. His mother had always been reluctant to give praise or show her emotions. He stiffened, immediately wary, sensing a trick.
“Don’t make that
face,” Linda patted his arm. “We owe each other. I looked after you and Ray, the business, and our future after your father deserted us leaving the gigantic mess he’d created. And you looked after me when Ray ran off and left us in the lurch. We’re a good team. We’ve accomplished a lot. We saved the business and built it up, bigger and stronger than it’s ever been, and together we can do it again. But I want you as CEO. You can hand over to Ray later if that’s what you decide to do. But for the foreseeable future, you are the best man for the job. You know the business inside and out. You might think I’ve pushed you too hard, but that’s why. No one is better qualified to lead the company than you. You can’t let us down.”
Marcus was silent. He wanted to tell his mother she was wrong, but she wasn’t. It would take Ray time to learn everything he needed to know, and the business would not survive another mistake. At its heart, it was solid, but it had a crack. It needed the right action to fix it. The wrong action could destroy it. He shrugged.
“Very well. I’m prepared to make a deal. If you can talk the board into appointing me despite me having no dowry, I will step in as CEO for as long as it takes to get the company back on track, and I will ensure Ray has all the training, help and support he needs to take over from me. As soon as he’s ready, I’ll step down and hand over to him.”
Linda allowed herself a rare smile.
“In the meantime, though,” Marcus continued. “I will move in with Pearl and you will accept her as part of the family. That is my condition.”
Linda’s face recomposed itself into fake concern. “But, Marcus, that’s not possible, is it? I’ve talked to the board, and they are adamant they will only appoint someone if they bring capital with them. I’m sorry, Marcus, it’s time to repay everything the business has done for you and to do your duty. Once you are married, have a baby on the way and have settled into your new role at the company, you’ll be quite happy. You’ll see.”
“Are you still on about this marriage nonsense?”
“Of course. It has to be done. There’s no other way. I’ve spoken to Tina. I like her. She’s a lot like I was at her age. She’ll make you a good wife. She’s always had a thing for you, Marcus, although sometimes you can be so difficult I begin to wonder why. She’ll keep you satisfied in bed. She’s prepared to have your children despite her figure, and she will give you access to the bulk of her money—with the usual pre-nup and caveats, of course.” She made the same airy hand-waving gesture, which she’d used earlier to dismiss his concern about Pearl.
Marcus was staring at her in disbelief. He thought he had made it absolutely clear that he would not be going along with any arranged marriage nonsense to Tina or anyone else, but Linda was acting as though it was a done deal.
“I gave Tina my card to buy a ring.” She grimaced as though with pain. “She made rather a big hole in it, but it is a magnificent ring. She bought it at Mon Addi obviously, so it would seem Marcie has developed new skills when it comes to choosing jewellery for the store.”
“Pearl does the buying.” Marcus mentally slapped his forehead. That’s what had happened at work on Monday to upset Pearl! Something must have been said about the ring being for Tina and him.
Linda ignored his comment. “I’ve told everyone we’re making an announcement tonight. I’m prepared to give that little girl a cheque to disappear, and you can be adult about this and get on with your proper life.”
Marcus suddenly felt all the tension leave him. “No, Mother,” he said calmly and firmly. “Not in a hundred million years. It’s not going to happen. No matter what you say or do, I shan’t be marrying Tina. I love Pearl, and she is the only woman I will be marrying.”
A ripple ran through Linda as her lips tightened, but was gone almost immediately. “I was afraid you might have some silly romantic notion like that, so I have another proposition. Tina and I have had frank discussions about all options and although this isn’t our preferred one, we are willing to compromise. Have another whisky while I explain.”
“Make it quick!”
Chapter 25
Pearl
Through the growing throng of guests, Pearl was glancing in the direction from which she was expecting Marcus to reappear. He’d been gone for ages. What could his mother have wanted? Certainly not to tell him how happy she was to have met her! Pearl’s hands rubbed each other for comfort as she remembered how blatantly her extended hand had been rebuffed by Linda.
She’d been so excited about coming to the party, but so far it was nothing like she’d imagined. She was glad Ray was with her; it would have been too ghastly if Linda had whisked Marcus off and she’d been left on her own. She could see a family resemblance between the brothers, she decided, although Ray looked more than the two years older that he was, and he was pale and thin while Marcus was strong and muscular. There was also an edge to Ray that Marcus didn’t have, a hardness that reminded her of her quick introduction to Linda. She wondered if he had it in him to be as kind and caring of others as Marcus.
“Can I get you something?” he was asking her. “Food? Drink?”
“I am quite hungry,” Pearl admitted. “I haven’t eaten since lunch.”
“Then food you shall have,” replied Ray gallantly, taking her into the next room where a large dining table was overflowing with every gourmet delicacy imaginable including, right in the middle, a roasted pig’s head with a sad expression and an apple in its mouth.
Averting her eyes, she helped herself to a sandwich and a few pieces of assorted chopped fruit, and then moved away from the table and started edging out of the room. Ray, chatting about some of the more exotic things he’d eaten in different places, including dog, which put Pearl off the rest of her half-eaten sandwich, didn’t seem to notice her discomfort at all.
“So, tell me about yourself, Pearl. How did you meet that handsome brother of mine?”
Pearl started to tell him about Mon Addi, but every few words they were interrupted by a man shaking Ray’s hand or a woman hugging him and kissing his cheek. While, they clearly wanted to catch up and welcome him home, they were also obviously curious about the woman in the diamond collar who was with him.
After the third time he had introduced her with, “This is Pearl,” without elaborating, Pearl started to feel he was deliberately not mentioning that she was Marcus’s girlfriend. This was supposed to be the night her relationship with Marcus stopped being a secret but, although Marcus wanted to make it public, it seemed the rest of his family were not so keen. She looked around, willing Marcus to reappear, but there was no sign of him. She was starting to wish she hadn’t come. The gown, the shoes and the diamonds weren’t hers, and she felt like she was in dress-ups, pretending to be someone she wasn’t. She didn’t know any of these people, and unlike Marcus who had always been so friendly, none of them had shown any interest in her at all apart from a few winks and lewd leers from men old enough to be her father, or even her grandfather!
One of the staff, unable to locate Linda, approached Ray to request assistance on a catering matter.
“Excuse me, Pearl,” Ray said. “I’d best go see to this. You’ll be right on your own for a minute, won’t you? Have something else to eat. And drink. Marcus should be re-joining the party soon and I won’t be long.”
Finding herself alone, Pearl wondered what to do. She couldn’t just stand there like a bump on a log. Keeping her head up and telling herself that, as the girlfriend of Marcus Holding, she had more right to be there than most of the other guests, she wandered out onto the patio area where, under coloured lights, champagne was flowing freely for the party-goers flirting, smoking, chatting and laughing in the balmy evening air.
No one appeared to notice her as she found a place to sit in the shadows. One thing she observed as she watched the guests arrive and settle into the party groove was that they stuck closely to their established groups. As each man arrived, he would scour the room for his tribe and head over with a loud “Hello, Bob!” or Fred or
Roger or whatever. And the women were doing it no less than the men, clustering in cliques, eyeing outsiders suspiciously. Pearl was very much an outsider and with no clique of her own, it seemed she had effectively vanished into the woodwork as far as the other guests were concerned.
From her hidden spot, she could see past the open doors through the next room and down the hall, so she would be able to spot Marcus as soon as he reappeared.
“So, when’s the big announcement?” she heard a woman’s voice ask. It appeared one of the cliques was gathered on the other side of the large potted bush Pearl was sitting next to.
“Soon. When everyone is here.” Pearl immediately recognised the important-sounding voice as belonging to Tina, the woman who’d bought the engagement ring. “Although I’ll be glad when it’s done; my hands are getting hot in these gloves. Linda insisted I wear them to hide the ring until the engagement is public.”
“Didn’t I see Marcus arrive with a blonde, though?”
“Her?” Pearl heard that practised titter. “She’s the sales girl at Mon Addi. Marcus, bless him, was being his usual chivalrous self, escorting her in when she arrived as apparently she couldn’t find a date, poor girl. Mon Addi’s manager, Marcie Jones, was invited too. Linda always invites some shop staff or other plebs to her parties. She likes to do something nice for people that would otherwise never get the opportunity to attend a party like this.”
“I heard Marcus has a secret lover. Maybe it’s the sales girl.” It was not offered as information; it was a saccharine-coated barb.
Tina’s laugh in response was brittle and the tone of her voice as fakely sweet as her antagonist. “Oh, Jasmine, I hardly think bonking a sales girl classifies as a secret lover. But it doesn’t matter anyway. Once we’re married, I will have his name, and my children will be heirs to the Holding fortune. I’ve agreed to allow him to play around on the side, although don’t be surprised if he no longer feels the need for variety once we’re married. I have some tricks up my sleeve he doesn’t know about yet. But who cares? Money and name is what matters, not outdated ideas about marital fidelity.”