‘Please, Paige,’ Clem pursed her lips theatrically.
‘I said I’ll think about it, and I will,’ she said, wondering why her life seemed to be one dilemma after another.
Chapter Thirty-two
‘I know her from somewhere,’ whispered Clem out of the corner of her mouth, as she edged closer to Paige a few days later.
Paige stopped sketching to look up. ‘Me too,’ Paige said, inwardly cringing as Lucinda strode purposefully down the narrow pavement towards the shop.
‘Blimey, she looks like she’s on some sort of mission.’ Clem went forward to greet the customer.
Paige wasn’t surprised. She put down her pencil.
‘Good morning,’ Lucinda said a false smile on her face as she looked down her nose at Paige. ‘We’ve met before.’ It was a statement, rather than a question.
‘May I help you?’ offered Clem.
‘I want a pair of knee-high, black patent leather boots,’ Lucinda said, her vowels clipped and tone icy.
‘Have we met?’ Paige asked, not giving Lucinda the satisfaction of thinking she remembered her. She turned to address Clem. ‘Why don’t you fetch the new designs? Most of them arrived this morning. I think we could have exactly what this lady is looking for.’
‘Of course,’ Clem said, unable to take her eyes off the vision in front of her. ‘I won’t be a moment.’ She raised her eyebrows as she disappeared into the back room.
Paige turned to face Lucinda with a fixed smile on her face.
‘So, you do remember me,’ she said, a smug look on her face. ‘I wondered if you would.’
Paige shrugged. ‘You were at the races the other evening.’
‘Yes, with Sebastian,’ she said territorially. ‘It turned out to be a bit of a drama in the end, of course. Stupid bloody jockey could have had Sebastian killed pulling a stunt like that.’
Paige tried to live by the premise that the customer was always right, but in this instance, she couldn’t stop from disagreeing with what she’d just heard. ‘I doubt he fell off his horse on purpose.’ Paige stifled a further retort, when Lucinda waved a manicured hand in front of her face.
‘Maybe not, but still, if he can’t ride properly, he shouldn’t take part in something so dangerous.’ She stepped forward, extending her hand to Paige. ‘Anyway, enough of that nonsense, I’m Lucinda Barrow-Hughes,’ she said not taking her eyes of Paige for a second.
Paige took the proffered hand and shook it briefly. ‘Paige Bingham,’ she said, not quite sure why they were being so formal.
‘I thought I’d come and introduce myself to you, especially since Sebastian seemed so reluctant to be the gentleman and do it himself the other night.’
‘OK,’ Paige said, still a little baffled. Lucinda obviously wasn’t aware that she and Sebastian had spent the night together. Paige was unsure where the conversation was leading and waited for her to continue.
‘I thought it only right that we meet properly.’
‘You do?’ Paige didn’t care how she went about it. She hoped Lucinda didn’t end up buying any of her designs before leaving. She knew that seeing them being worn by that spiteful woman would leave a sour taste in her mouth.
‘Yes.’ She put her hand down into her large handbag and pulled out a newspaper. ‘I don’t usually buy this tat, but had to make an exception when I saw this earlier today. She held up the paper, so that Paige could get a clear view of the headlines. ‘Now, I don’t know what you’re thinking when you read this, but I have a feeling you’re under the misapprehension that you’re a little more important to Sebastian than you actually are.’
Paige stared at the letters emblazoned across the page. ‘A Jersey Affair?’ For a few seconds Lucinda’s voice seemed muted. Paige stared at the picture of Sebastian’s mouth close to hers. It had been by the enclosure when he’d lowered his voice to whisper something to her. Her heart pounded at the realisation that she was now public news. She covered her open mouth with one hand, and looked across at Lucinda’s face, her mouth still moving.
She read the beginning of the article. ‘Who is the mysterious woman seen here kissing Sebastian Fielding, and what family secrets is she hiding? We’ve discovered some of them, but if there’s anything you can share about this Jersey Affair please email …’
‘And I’m sure you’re aware, that as his fiancée, this is a little humiliating for both of us.’
Stunned at her words, Paige stared blankly at her. ‘I’m sorry, what did you just say?’
‘You heard.’ She drew back her full red lips to display two rows of blindingly white teeth. Then, as if bored with the effect she had on Paige, threw her head back and laughed. ‘Well, ex-fiancée, if you want to quibble about details,’ she corrected herself with a slight shrug of her shoulders, as if her blatant lie was a mere trifle. ‘If I’m being perfectly honest, that is, but I think it’s only fair to let you know that I intend rectifying that tiny discrepancy in the very near future.’ She folded the paper and slotted it back into her bag.
Lucinda examined her immaculate manicure briefly, looking thoroughly satisfied with the reaction she’d caused. ‘Now, you want to take advice from someone who knows Sebastian better than you could ever hope to, do yourself a favour and prepare to walk away from any thoughts of a relationship you may expect to have with him.’
Paige wished she possessed half the self-confidence Lucinda seemed to enjoy. ‘You’re right, I didn’t know of your connection to him, and as far as my relationship with Sebastian is concerned, it’s nothing to do with you.’ She could feel her face reddening.
Lucinda laughed. ‘Whatever. I just think you should prepare yourself. After all, he now knows I’m back and for good this time,’ she said, with emphasis. ‘It’s only a matter of time before we carry on from where we left off. Seb has never been able to resist my charms.’ Paige wasn’t sure, but she thought she heard a slight waver in Lucinda’s voice. ‘It’s only fair I should warn you. Although they do say all’s fair in love and war, and all that rubbish.’
Paige was astounded by the woman’s ego, but sensed that for all her protestations, she had probably been as shocked by the headlines as Paige had been. ‘You seriously think you can come here and warn me off a man?’ Paige shook her head and smiled. ‘What are we, teenagers?’
Lucinda thought for a second. ‘Sebastian is simply suffering from a case of hurt pride. After all, men do tend to take it badly when you leave them. It’s as if you’ve insulted their masculinity, don’t you think?’
‘I wouldn’t know.’ Paige wasn’t sure if she should feel sympathy for this woman or loathe her. ‘I can’t imagine Sebastian having any problem at all with his masculinity.’
Lucinda threw her head back and laughed loudly. ‘Good point.’ She gave Paige a withering look. ‘You can’t seriously tell me you see yourself as having a future with him, do you?’ Then, when Paige didn’t reply straight away, she continued. ‘For heaven’s sake, be realistic. I dare say he’s more than happy to spend the occasional night with you.’ She studied Paige intently for a moment, and then seemingly satisfied with what she saw, continued. ‘Yes, I thought so.’
Paige, hating that this venomous woman seemed to know she had slept with Sebastian, swallowed back the tears of humiliation and fury that were threatening to flow. ‘Now you listen to me,’ she said, determined to keep her voice down so as not to alert her sister. ‘You seem to have a very high opinion of yourself, but that doesn’t give you the right to come marching in here and insult me.’ She took a breath, to regain some control of her voice. ‘It’s none of your business what Sebastian and I have between us.’
Lucinda slowly pulled the thick strap of her black Dior crocodile handbag up onto her blade-thin shoulder. ‘All I’m saying is that it’s obvious by the look of horror on your face when I showed you the newspaper that you couldn’t cope with the attention you’d inevitably receive should you end up with him. And, whatever Sebastian professes, both you and I know he wi
ll at some point find you lacking, at least in that department.’
Paige wished she could argue with her, but doubted she’d have the first clue how to deal with determined paparazzi.
‘I suggest that if you want to protect yourself from being disappointed,’ Lucinda added, ‘you should take the only option open to you, and finish it, sooner rather than later.’
‘Here we are,’ Clem said, cheerfully, carrying three large boxes containing Paige’s latest designs. ‘What’s the matter?’ She looked from one to the other, confused by the obvious tension in the room.
‘Nothing. Miss Barrow-Hughes has changed her mind about the boots. She was just leaving,’ Paige said, as calmly as she could, walking over to the doorway. ‘Weren’t you?’
Lucinda ignored her, giving Clemmie the benefit of her perfect smile. ‘I think I’ll leave the boots for now. This lady has had a bit of a shock.’
Paige closed the door behind her and leant heavily against it.
‘What happened?’ Clem lowered the boxes carefully onto the floor.
Paige told her sister all about the headlines and picture in the paper.
‘Bloody hell, that’s so exciting.’ Clem squealed. ‘Imagine you, a mystery woman.’
Paige frowned. ‘There’s nothing good about this, Clem. I didn’t see the entire story, but I did spot them asking people to email with any information they might have about me. Do you really think our family would welcome that sort of intrusion into our private lives?’
Clem’s expression changed. ‘Shit, what about Luke’s court case last year? The poor guy had to cope with living on a small island and being accused of money laundering.’ Clem shook her head. ‘We know he was found innocent, but it still didn’t stop people from gossiping and imagining the worst about him.’
‘Exactly,’ Paige bit the side of her thumb nail. ‘I’m going to have to stop this thing with Sebastian before I hurt anyone.’
‘Oh, no,’ Clem strode over to her and hugged Paige tightly. ‘I’m so sorry. I know you haven’t said much, but I could tell you really liked him. You would never have spent the night with him if you didn’t.’
‘That picture was only taken last night,’ she said miserably. ‘The paps didn’t waste any time using it for a story about me. How do people cope with this sort of thing every day of their lives?’
‘Who knows? Some of those celebs tip off the papers when they’re going out so that they take pictures of them. It’s a completely different way of living when you think about it, isn’t it?’
Paige nodded. That’s what she’d thought, and it wasn’t a way of life she had ever wanted for herself. She sat down on a nearby chair, upset that her brief relationship to Sebastian would have to end so soon.
She arrived back at her cottage at the end of the day and spotting a stranger at the entrance of her shared driveway wondered if he could be from the newspapers. She stared at him for a moment, but he turned and walked away. Certain she was becoming paranoid Paige unlocked the house and walked inside.
‘Did you see him?’ she asked Clem, when her sister followed her inside the house.
‘Who?’
‘There was a man, just by Olly’s mum’s house. He seemed to be watching the cottage.’
Clem widened her eyes. ‘Oh my God, do you think he was a pap?’ Without waiting for an answer, Clem raced outside.
‘Get back in here,’ Paige said following her, blinking when a camera went off in her face as soon as she stepped through the doorway. ‘Shit.’
‘Bugger off,’ Clem shouted. ‘We’ll call the bloody police if you don’t leave us alone. This is private property.’
Paige grabbed her sister by the wrist and pulled her back into the house. ‘This is ridiculous; I’m not going to have people coming here and taking photos of us.’
Her mobile rang a couple of hours later. Paige, checked, and seeing it was Sebastian, immediately switched it off. She needed time to think and was still trying to absorb what had happened earlier in the day. Mulling over Lucinda’s words, only helped instil them into Paige’s tired brain and made her realise she couldn’t ignore what had happened.
She had seen for herself how he lived, his home and everything that went with it. It should have dawned on her when she’d seen him on all the news channels just after his uncle’s death. Sebastian’s life was interesting to the journalists, whether she liked it or not, and if she was involved with him in anyway, then it went without saying that hers was too.
He needed a partner who could cope with all the attention and probably enjoy it for the most part. Paige swallowed the lump constricting her throat. As nasty as Lucinda might be, Paige realised that it could never possibly work between her and Sebastian and that he and Lucinda were probably much better suited as a couple.
The following day Olly arrived at the cottage to take Clem out for a meal. He held out the Jersey Gazette in his hand. ‘Have you seen this?’ he announced, before closing the front door.
‘What is it?’ asked Paige not wishing to see a continuation of the previous day’s news. She peered over the paperwork she had been working on.
‘Look.’ He flicked through the pages, folded them back on each other, and slapped it down noisily in front of Paige on the table. ‘There,’ he pointed. ‘It says, “Sir Sebastian Fielding with Miss Lucinda Barrow-Hughes turning heads at the Annual Charity Ball.” I know you and he sort of got it together, but you would let me know if you had feelings for him, wouldn’t you?’
‘Of course.’ Paige stared at the paper, tears blurring the picture in front of her. ‘She’s his ex-fiancée, I already knew that.’
‘You knew? I didn’t think you bought the papers.’
‘She told me,’ said Paige quietly, refusing to volunteer anything more and not wishing to worry him by telling him about the photographer on her doorstep the previous day.
His eyebrows shot up and he leaned back to check Clem wasn’t waiting for him. ‘Well?’
Paige told him about Lucinda’s visit to the shop.
‘How weird,’ Olly said. ‘Why would she bother to go to all that effort, if she was so sure you meant so little to him?’
Paige willed her sister to hurry up and get ready. ‘I’ve no idea.’
‘Then you’re being bloody dim.’ He shook his head. ‘She went out of her way to warn you off. Surely you can see that she considers you a threat?’
‘Do you really think so?’
Olly covered his face with his hands. ‘It’s bloody obvious to anyone with half a brain cell.’
He pushed her shoulder lightly. ‘I don’t know what Jeremy said to you, but you seem to have a lack of awareness when it comes to how fabulous you are. He glared at her. ‘That jilting bastard has a lot to answer for. Not every man is a selfish, conceited arse, Paige. Just because Sebastian Fielding didn’t make the choice you hoped for with your concession, it doesn’t mean he’s a shit.’
Paige shrugged him off. ‘Fine, but it doesn’t take away the fact that I don’t want to have my life to be dragged through the papers. When I saw Sebastian in Sorrento it was completely different from how it would be over here.’
‘Talk to him,’ he said. ‘Maybe he knows ways to protect you from all this nonsense?’ Olly smiled.
‘What?’ She couldn’t imagine how he’d be able to sort this out.
Olly winked at her. ‘I hope Lucinda Barrow-whatsit bought something while she was giving you the low-down?’
‘No,’ Paige said. ‘Arrived, let me have it, and buggered off without parting with a penny.’
The Jersey Scene series box set Page 57
