‘Three million dollars-worth, my three million dollars.’ She glared at Elsa. ‘They’ll print that, especially if I throw in the box set fraud. Nobody said you could do that?’
‘So, is that it?’ Elsa shrugged her angular shoulders. ‘Is that your scary threat that’s going to settle this? You’ll have to do better than that.’
‘Well, we’re playing my game but with your rules, so I guess my threat wasn’t dirty enough. Each one has to be worse than last―right? So try this one. A different story, a follow-up to that little spread you arranged in the magazine. Except that it will be in a nice glossy one, more local to you.’
‘What can you have to say that the public want to read?’
Claudia strolled about the office, ‘Imagine it? I met with my estranged mother. She was so delighted to hear about my little son, that she couldn’t wait to use him to steal my inheritance bequeathed to me by my dear grandmother.’
Elsa’s cool slipped. ‘I never used your son.’
‘Oh, but you did, Ma. You stood on my doorstep and said you would look for my weakness. By the time you’d traced me, to Larchwood, there it was…my baby boy. Then every step you took was leading to him. You knew exactly what was happening in my life. Did you think I wouldn’t realise that it was Todd, spoon-feeding you all that information? A hungry actor, desperate for a start in his career, a guy who wouldn’t do panto, but he sang like a little bird for you, didn’t he? What did you promise him, a green card? Movies? Work on Broadway? American TV…?’
Elsa got up from her chair and strolled around the desk towards Claudia. ‘I couldn’t have been better informed if I’d bugged that banqueting room where you work. He contacted me when he saw the magazine. Then got over confident and held me to ransom with information about your son. I actually paid him for it. Poor fool, thought he could make it here, but he’s just a snappy talker with a good body. I could round up any number of guys like that, waiting tables in the restaurants along the boulevard.’ She stared at Claudia for a moment, then sighed and returned to her desk, as if to deny her daughter any kind of victory. ‘Will you get on with it I’ve already told you, I have appointments?’
‘They’ll wait,’ Claudia said. ‘Of course they will, they need work, and you’re the great provider.’ She closed in on the desk. ‘By the way, I met Lennie yesterday. You remember him?’
‘That little jockey? Why would I be interested in him?’
‘Do you remember he got sacked for punching Joel Nixon’s nose, when we were shooting the final series of the ranch? They had to write an extra scene in it to explain the bruises. Don’t you remember?’
‘For goodness sake,’ Elsa muttered impatiently.
‘Do you really believe that everybody has a weak spot?’
‘I most certainly do.’
‘Even you?’ Claudia felt herself gaining ground as Elsa’s eyes flickered. She planted her palms on the desk and leaned over. ‘Think back, Ma, why did Lennie punch Joel’s face?’
‘How should I know that?’
‘Because you were supposed to chaperone me. I told you how Joel wouldn’t stop picking on me. I begged you to stay with me, but you were always somewhere else…schmoozing.’
‘You weren’t my only actor, I had my agency to run. He was just a big kid, jealous because you had the lead, and he only got bits here and there. You’d been in the business long enough to put up with a bit of ribbing.’
‘That despicable, arrogant bastard made my life a misery, constantly mocking me, dripping sly, quiet comments. It went on for months. Every day’s shooting was the same, even when we were on set, he couldn’t resist leaning over and saying something about my stupid curly hair, or my fanciful, English accent. He became more and more threatening. I had to drag my self-esteem off the ground every day he was on set. But what did you do about it…a big, fat nothing. Was it any wonder I became a feisty little tearaway?’
‘He was only three years older than you. You were quite capable of putting him in his place.’
‘He was over a foot taller than me, had no morals or a conscience. I wouldn’t stand a chance.’
‘With what?’ Elsa scoffed. ‘He had no talent. He came off the football field. He was only there for his brawn and his youth.’
‘That brawny youth threatened me. Said he’d put me in my place, and he’d do it on the next night shoot, the one where the barn catches fire. That night we were waiting to be called. We weren’t needed yet. When the fire kicked in, and everybody ran around shouting, he started to nudge me towards the stable door. Said he knew what to do with feisty little Brit bitches. I yelled for him to back off, but there was too much noise. He laughed and said nobody would hear me―they wouldn’t believe me either. They wouldn’t take my word against his. I was terrified. I looked for Mathew, but he was already filming. By then Joel had pushed me right into the stable. I even screamed, but there was nobody. Then Lennie turned up. Joel laughed, but Lennie lunged up at him and punched him in the face. He got into serious trouble for hitting a six foot, two hundred pound teenager, who was behaving like a dirty, old man.’ She paused a moment and then added, ‘I was entitled to your protection. After all, you had all the money.’
‘And you’re dragging all this up, because…?’
‘It’s another story for the magazine.’
Elsa Hamilton shrugged her shoulders. ‘Am I supposed to be afraid?’
‘Yes, Ma.’ Claudia spoke coldly. ‘You’re about to threaten my baby, so I have to stop you.’ She strolled to look at the picture gallery on the wall and stopped at the largest one. It was in a frame, a little girl with curly hair and a faraway look. There was also a display of current, successful, professional children. ‘Once I was your only one, but now you’ve got a whole collection of babies, princesses, cute little boys. They all want to be movie stars, do commercials, TV dramas and kid’s shows…the whole glitzy enchilada. And look at these pretty ingénues, ready to burst onto the screen as young, wide-eyed adults.’ She paused a moment and then looked at a large picture of an adult male, handsome, slender, tall, in his prime. ‘Look who’s all grown up. So, you kept him on your books, ignored what he threatened to do to your own 14-year-old daughter.’
‘It’s just business.’
‘Yes, your business, your precious business. I had lessons for almost everything, but the most valuable one, right now, is the one I learned from you…how to find somebody’s weakness and use it.’
‘To do what?’ Elsa Hamilton scoffed.
Claudia didn’t answer, she gestured to the gallery. ‘Beautiful, aren’t they? Elsa Hamilton’s precious little adorable pets, each one a bunny rabbit, a fluffy kitten, a pony…’
‘What on earth are you talking about?’
‘You took away my little pets, so I’m going to take yours. I can do that to you now, I’m not hampered by integrity. I’ll clear your agency of all your little baby actors. No child’s mother, pushy or otherwise, is going to entrust her valuable little girl or boy to you. You turned a blind eye when your own teenage daughter was being seriously threatened by Joel Nixon. Look at him now. The handsome, heartthrob doctor in that new series, a great hit I believe. He’s a big star. Much higher up the fame ladder than when I knew him, but just think how much further he’ll fall these days. I’m going to bring you down, Ma, and he’s going down with you. He can say goodbye to his fans, and you can say goodbye to your babies.’
‘You haven’t got it in you.’ Elsa Hamilton’s face showed her fear.
‘Once mud gets slung around here, it flies everywhere, and it’s going to stick all over your agency. The scandal would be huge. It would grow and spread, like a virus, through the media, the social media, too, gathering extra details that may or may not be true. Maybe even bring more victims into the open. I might not have been the only one. Other girls wouldn’t have had Lennie to protect them. The story will last long enough to ruin you and Joel Nixon. You’ll be lucky to manage a list of walk-ons and extras. You’ll proba
bly even call Todd back.’ She stared at Elsa and knew she had beaten her. It wasn’t a glorious victory, it hurt her deeply.
Elsa sat motionless for a few seconds, and then she said, ‘I suppose if this was a movie, I’d start applauding very slowly.’
‘I wasn’t acting, Ma. I was very serious.’
Elsa Hamilton sighed irritably. ‘All right, just give me the jewellery, and we’ll call it a day.’
‘This isn’t your day, it’s mine,’ Claudia scoffed. ‘I’ve already told you, there’s no jewellery. Maybe Grannie sold it. Good for her. This has been quite a shoot-out, and I can see that it’s hit you right in the reputation, which will remain intact at my pleasure. I’ll contact you with an address, and you are going to redirect any repeat royalties you receive to me. And that includes the box set. I’ll get my lawyers to draw up an agreement.’
‘And if I don’t?’
‘Then you can add fraud to your ruined reputation, I’m not afraid to take you to court anymore. Think of all those nasty rumours. Even your walk-ons and extras list will end up in the trash. They can’t afford to be ripped off. And, oh boy, how some of them gossip and complain. And think how many of them work in restaurants. By all means, take your commission. Shall we say ten percent?’
‘Twenty.’
‘Don’t push it. You can have 15.’
‘So you’ve struck a deal,’ Elsa said. ‘Did it all by yourself. Being a mother suits you, it’s taught you how to fight. All your actions, the move from London, the effort to keep me away, it was all for your son.’ She sighed. ‘Imagine that. You’ve cost me a fortune, you know that? The diaries were going to be made into a movie. I took a front-end payment.’
‘That was obvious,’ Claudia said. ‘Even you wouldn’t have pushed so hard otherwise. You took a big risk, it was illegal.’ Claudia turned from her and made for the door.
‘Wait!’ Elsa got up and approached. She stared for a few moments, then rested her hands on Claudia’s cheeks. ‘Come back, Claudie.’ The words came in a husky whisper. Claudia felt nothing, she just stared, silent and numb as the plea came again. ‘Come back! Work with me.’
Claudia was suspicious. She thought it was all over. But Elsa Hamilton never made affectionate gestures, certainly not to her. What was going to happen now? Was she grasping at straws? Was this an overture to a much bigger gesture? Claudia decided to have faith in her conquest over her lifelong bane. She remained calm and cold. ‘It’s over, Ma. Deal with it.’
Elsa dropped her hands to her sides, turned and walked away. Then suddenly, she whipped around and cried out as if she was grieving. ‘You could have been up there on those billboards.’ She thrust her hand towards the window. ‘I could have made a great star out of you.’ She pointed up to the picture of when Claudia was a Russian princess. ‘Look at her! Look at that child…that incredible child.’
‘I can see her, Ma. But look at her eyes, that isn’t acting, she didn’t want to be there. Maybe all these other kids do, but she didn’t. She just wanted her kitten back.’ Claudia stared for several seconds, then looked, for the last time, at the cold, grey eyes, ‘Goodbye Mother.’
Claudia made her exit as boldly as she had entered. As she walked along the boulevard, she felt high. She had won, for Justin, for Alyona, and for that little curly haired princess on Elsa Hamilton’s wall.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Claudia stood on the balcony. The cottage was quiet and still, so she knew she was alone. Her hair was still damp from her shower, and she wore a simple sundress. She could vaguely remember Fraser meeting them from the plane, Grace and Lizzy helping her to bed, but she had no idea when that was. Grace and Charlie were swimming with Lizzy. Laughter filled the air as they splashed about playing with the coloured ball brought for the children. Ruth and Nathan sat at a table. Life was going on, just as before. They made it look so easy.
She went downstairs, there was a note on the table, addressed to Claudia darling, and she sighed. Even now he used these terms of endearment. The note was to let her know that Justin had gone with Diana and Graham, to a children’s playpark in Florence. Claudia was disappointed, she longed to see him, to put her arms around his little warm body. He was safe now.
There was a large space in Claudia’s mind where her feud with her mother had dwelled for so long. It was like a dark, empty room, and she had no idea how to put some light into it to exorcise the abiding bitterness there.
She went out onto the veranda, sat down on the steps and looked at the flowers leaning over them. Her heart was breaking, and she desperately needed to find a way to get through what was left of the holiday, don her motley once again. Fraser would have the support of his cousins, no matter what he’d done, but they wouldn’t give him an easy time.
‘Claudia!’
Claudia’s heart leapt with surprise.
‘Sorry, darling, I didn’t mean to startle you.’
Claudia said the first thing that came to her mind. ‘Is Justin back? I haven’t seen him yet.’
‘Not yet… Can we talk?’
‘About Natalie?’
‘Yes.’
‘Then don’t bother. It’s none of my business.’
‘Of course it is. And we need to talk about it.’
‘What do you want from me, Fraser? Have you come to tell me that we’re going to live by the old rules again? The ones where I stay home and wait for your random visits, turn the other cheek and pretend that your love life doesn’t hurt like hell?’
‘You are my love life,’ Fraser protested.
‘So what does that make Natalie?’
Fraser scowled. ‘Do you think I’d keep seeing two of you? Does that sound like me?’
‘No,’ Claudia admitted softly.
Before Claudia could protest, Fraser sat by her side on the steps. ‘I don’t want Natalie. If you’d just listen for―’
‘Please don’t talk about her. I just want to wait for Justin.’
‘We’ll wait together. I know I handled this badly, and I’m deeply sorry. But you must let me tell you what happened. She’s done enough damage, don’t let her do any more. We’re not together anymore. She just turned up.’
‘And you felt the need to take her for a walk?’
‘Yes, to get her out of sight. She needed my help, she was desperate.’
Claudia scoffed. ‘Desperate?’
‘Natalie’s not like you and Lizzy. When life hits out at her, she can’t hit it back…she reaches for some guy to help her out. She remembered that I’d be here because she was originally invited to this holiday.’
‘I’m expected to believe that she travelled all this way? That you were the only man on earth that could help her?’
‘She was already staying in Verona, with a guy called Damien. They were celebrating their engagement, even making wedding plans. They were having lunch, drinking lots of wine when Natalie made a confession. It was a big mistake. She should have kept it to herself. Damien’s very jealous, but she’d had quite a lot to drink.’
‘What were you supposed to do about it?’
Fraser paused a moment and then said, ‘She told him about the time when I was in London, a few weeks ago, and she’d turned up at my apartment. She’d had a row with Damien, at a party. My place was nearer than hers, and she assumed I’d let her stay, but I refused and made her leave. I was angry that she still had a key, and she’d let herself in.’
‘So what was her problem?’
‘Damien didn’t believe that nothing happened that night, he threatened to break the engagement, stormed off back to the hotel. Natalie thought of ringing me and then remembered about the family holiday. She’d had too much wine to drive, so in her panic, she jumped on a bus to Florence and then got a taxi out here. I was furious, tried to hide her, afraid you’d see and get the wrong idea.’
‘You got that right.’
‘I drove her back to Verona, by then, I was just as angry as Damien. I confirmed Natalie’s claim that nothing happ
ened, told them to get on with it. By the time I got back here, you’d gone, and I was the one in trouble.’
Claudia felt dizzy from being pulled from one emotion to another. She looked down at her hands, they were clenched on her lap. ‘But the phone call.’
‘What phone call?’
‘I was upstairs, dressing Justin, ready to meet your parents. I overheard it. You were being very secretive.’
‘That wasn’t Natalie, it was your mother. She still thought we were cooperating with her and wanted an update. I didn’t want to tell you. I was overprotective after your accident.’
Claudia sighed heavily. ‘She’s still…’
Fraser put his arm around her shoulders. ‘No darling, she’s gone, you’ve seen to that. I heard the recording.’
‘Good performance, hmm?’
‘You were amazing.’
‘I’m not proud of it.’
‘But I’m very proud of you. All this talk about Natalie and her damn boyfriend is just information. Something you needed to know. But what a terrible waste of time it is. The holiday’s nearly over. Why spend it talking about them when we could be talking about us?’
After a few moments silence, Claudia began to breathe deeply, for the first time in weeks. The flowers suddenly looked more vibrant, the sky more blue. She hardly dare believe that Fraser had no intention of meeting up with Natalie. He even had an opportunity that night in his apartment, but he hadn’t taken it. She turned to him. ‘I really jumped to conclusions, didn’t I? I’m so sorry.’
‘It was understandable, sweetheart. I was an idiot. I should have kept it in the open, nobody would have questioned it. I was so afraid to lose you again.’
A sob caught in Claudia’s throat. She had been privileged to spend a little of her life with a beautiful man, and now she was blessed with another. She thrust her arms around his neck and felt the strength in his embrace. They kissed, with unashamed hunger, healing the conflict, doubts and the pain of too much time apart.
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