by Karen Aldous
‘Ok, this could work.’ And another woman in Riquet’s life would certainly add more emotional suspense. Evie scratched her head, the ideas and scenarios cramming her head. Maria Mendoza was certainly coming to life within the script. Evie imagined her quite an enigma. A resourceful intelligent woman, an eye-catching beauty, with a tragic past – but also a longing for Riquet.
Quivering with anticipation, Evie’s fingers raced across the pages as though possessed. It was then she heard the beep of a car horn. She peered up to the gates, squinting, her mind a blur.
‘Oh, Cally.’ Collecting herself, she rose to her feet. ‘Sweetheart, look, Aunty Cally is here,’ she said scuffling to open both gates. She signalled to her sister to drive in and, locking up the gates, greeted Cally at once.
‘Lovely to see you again,’ Cally shrilled, racing out of the car and hugging her tight. ‘Ahh, and look at this little beauty.’ She rushed to the trampoline, unzipping it with haste and wrapping Charlotte into her arms. ‘God you are so yummy, I could eat you!’
Charlotte giggled. ‘Yummy. I eat you.’
Evie and her sister giggled too and Evie felt a flutter of relief that Charlotte recognised her auntie this time.
‘Auntie Cally has brought you a few presents, she has. You and your mummy will just love this little dress. Come on, let me show you.’
With Charlotte still in her arms, Cally opened the boot of the car and pulled out her travel case.
‘I’ll close it.’ Evie told her as her sister appeared to be struggling with the one hand. ‘Come and sit over here in the shade. This heat is too much.’ She led her to the comfy chairs where she had been writing. ‘I’ll get you a drink. Would you like some fresh lemon? I made it this morning.’
‘That sounds perfect. I’m so thirsty.’
When Evie returned with a tray containing a large jug of iced lemon and glasses for the two of them, and Charlotte’s beaker, Cally had almost emptied her case. Clothes, make-up and shoes were piled to her side, and a small collection of pink-wrapped items sat on Cally’s lap. A red-cheeked Charlotte was gazing at Cally whilst tearing paper off one of the gifts. Evie caught sight of the shell-pink fabric.
‘Oh poppet, what have you got there?’
Charlotte bunched the fabric in her fingers as the paper dropped and handed it back to Cally.
‘Oh, Charlotte, what a beautiful dress. Thank you Cally.’ Evie reached across her sister’s lap. ‘Cally, it is gorgeous, so pretty. As you can gather, she’s not yet into clothes. Won’t be long, I’m sure.’ She held it up. ‘You will look such a pretty little girl in this, Charlotte. Please say thank you to Auntie Cally.’
But Charlotte’s fingers were busy exploring the other wrapped items.
‘I just fell in love with it when I saw it.’ Cally smiled.
‘Charlotte, wait. You say thank you to Auntie Cally and then she will let you have another present.’
After a few sulks and tears, Charlotte relented with her ‘tank you’ and proceeded to open another dress, a puzzle, crayons and a colouring book. As Cally began helping her with the puzzle, she turned to Evie who was picking up the jug of iced lemon.
‘Oh, Evie, under those clothes is my old laptop. It was on the top to go through security. That’s your pressie. Sorry it’s not wrapped.’
Evie’s chest heaved as she put down the jug from which she was pouring. ‘Oh, Cally, I’m so grateful.’ She threw her arms around her sister’s neck, kissing her cheeks. ‘You are a life saver. I can’t thank you enough,’ she said, running over to the pile.
‘Jeez,’ Cally blurted a laugh. ‘It’s only a laptop.’
Trying to hold in her excitement, Evie gently shifted the clothes back into the case in as neat a pile as her patience could muster, then snatched up the device, kissing it like a revered masterpiece. ‘Great. This will let the caged bird sing.’ She sat down and opened the lid of the laptop.
Cally gawked, her brows meeting. ‘What do you mean?’
Evie’s hand smacked her mouth as she glared back at her sister. She was so used to voicing thoughts to herself or to Charlotte. Cally didn’t understand what it meant. She thought back to earlier, when Maria Mendoza’s name fell from the sky like some divine inspiration. ‘I can work from here, with the research I’ve done, I can write lots of articles about the area and then email them out from the library.’
‘And if the magazine want an article, how will you know? Are you going to visit the library twice a day? You need an internet connection here.’
Evie pursed her lips. ‘Mmm. Yes, I know. That’ll be next. A phone line installed for the internet.’
‘Does Seb monitor the cameras and alarm remotely?’
‘No. I don’t think so. Why?’
‘I wondered if he had an internet connection already here, that’s all.’
‘I’m sure he doesn’t. Ew, that gives me the creeps. What a thought!’
‘What’s going on with you and Seb? I promise not to judge.’
Evie shrugged. It was a good question. In truth her head was still all over the place trying to make sense of everything. Being pre-occupied with her work, for Ben and at the language school, she hadn’t had a second to think about what was really plaguing her, only that deep down she now knew she craved to work and have that freedom of choice. One thing was driving her, however, and that was Ben. Although it was impossible to get involved with him – and she would never jeopardise his future by getting him involved in scandal, however much she was drawn to him – he had given her this hope, this new perspective. He had opened her eyes to what she could do for herself. And that was to start being Evie Grant, the person she should be, with her own identity. Not the wreck of a person shut away from the world, but Evie Grant, writer, researcher and earning for herself. It time she was honest with herself. Should she risk discussing it with Cally?
‘I really don’t know, if I’m honest. Seb can be lovely one minute, then distance himself the next. And he’s hardly here so there’s not much of a relationship to speak of. Please don’t repeat any of this to Mum.’ Evie said, watching her sister’s head slant downwards and fearing she’d revealed too much.
Cally lifted her head. ‘The least of your concerns is Mum worrying about your love life. She has problems of her own. I’ll come to that in a minute. ‘You won’t do anything rash will you, like leave yourself homeless? My place isn’t big enough and Mum and Dad are miles away.’
‘No. I… well, I haven’t had time to think things through yet.’
‘So, it’s something you have considered?’
‘Vaguely I suppose.’ Evie tucked the laptop on the side of her seat.
‘You have a lovely home for Charlotte so I wouldn’t jeopardise that until you know for sure; besides, where would you go?’
‘I wouldn’t do anything rash. I don’t really know how I would manage on my own. I should work out what I really want. I’m going to have to think about it all.’ Evie held her head. The pressure was becoming heavy on her mind.
‘Sounds to me like you want to get away from him.’
Grabbing her hair and swinging it to one side, heat flushed Evie’s cheeks. She peered at the glasses, still to be filled.
‘I’ll get some ice,’ she said, dismissing herself.
Inside, she knew now it was the truth. She had realised after her conversation with Ben. But it was too soon. She still relied on Seb. Her loyalty was still with him, despite their differences. Not only did she feel Seb’s distance but she also knew she was falling for Ben and her feelings for him were so different to what she had for Seb. Ben made her feel at one, not only with him, but with herself. That is what she’d come to realise these last few weeks, but how could she explain that to Cally when she could barely understand it all herself? She knew now, her love for Seb wasn’t real. Maybe she had fallen for what Seb offered and to her it was a chance of happiness and she’d been able to pretend they were a family. In reality, their relationship had died when she told him
about the pregnancy. Her family had seen it coming. He wasn’t very nice and in all probability he was just keeping her sweet to stay in control. That was probably why she felt trapped. He was keeping her here to hide her away from publicity and scandal and she was now hankering to be free of his increasingly constricting shackles. But what her sister said was true. She would need a home for Charlotte, if she decided to break away. It was all very daunting and, if she was honest, it scared her witless.
Carrying a glass of ice, she returned and slid some in each glass of juice, topping them up.
Cally looked up and smiled. ‘Ooh, thank you. So much more refreshing with ice,’ she said picking up her glass and gulping a mouthful. ‘Look, I’ve been thinking. If you do decide you want to get away from here, we can look for somewhere like a refuge where you would feel safe. We’d plan…’
‘The thing is, I like it here. I have Suzanne close by. I’m close to the canal and… Ben and the work I’m doing.’
‘Well there may be a refuge close to here. I’m happy to help. And, I mean help. Not interfere.’
Evie returned to her seat, not wanting to feel pushed. ‘Anyway, enough about me, what’s this about Mum?’
Cally rubbed the back of her neck and stared helplessly at her sister. ‘Well at least think about it. As for Mum, she’s not been great, apparently. Dad says they may return to England.’
‘But I thought she was in Florida for the climate?’
‘I know. I’m not sure what to make of it, to be honest. Something is wrong. Dad seemed in a tizzy, saying something about their jinx since their plans to move there. I might fly over next week or the week after and find out what’s what.’
‘Oh, she seemed in good spirits when I spoke to her.’ Evie handed Cally her glass. ‘Here, poppet,’ she said, filling Charlotte’s beaker.
‘Yes, she said you’d rung. That’s wonderful.’
‘A start. I hope they’re ok?’
Charlotte had glided off with a piece of jigsaw, then picked up Evie’s notepad on the other side of the table and delivered it to Cally’s lap.
Cally picked it up. ‘Oh, thank you. Is this a present for me?’
‘Pesant.’ Charlotte produced a wide grin.
‘Aww,’ Cally murmured as she flicked through the notepad in her hand. ‘So sweet. And a message…’ she twisted her wrist to read it ‘… Maria Mendoza is a peasant girl…’
‘Oh, that’s mine,’ Evie said, alarmed. ‘I was writing a character sketch for Ben. Well, not for Ben, for me really.’
‘Of course, I remember now, you were going to carry out research. Did you do it?’ asked Cally, handing the notebook back to Evie and lifting Charlotte onto her lap.
‘Yes, quite a bit of it. I’ve just taken it upon myself to create my own character from it. It’s been so fascinating. I’ve passed all the research to Ben.’ Evie’s face burned just mentioning his name.
‘And, this Ben guy, is he fascinating too?’
This time her cheeks must have flamed because as she pressed her hand to her cheeks to try to cool them, she realised this was something she’d not really admitted to herself as yet. She knew she would never want a relationship with someone like Seb again. She wanted a home filled with love.
‘Yes, I suppose he is. He’s hot and, he… I don’t know, he shows far more interest in me than Seb does. Maybe it’s because he’s allowed me into his world and I’ve been doing something interesting for a change instead of sitting around waiting and moping. He even invited me to his birthday bash with his friends. That’s more than Seb has done since… well, it’s different.’
‘And, are you going?’
‘No.’
‘Why not?’
Rolling her tongue around her teeth, Evie sighed. ‘I don’t think it’s right. I shouldn’t. I might do something I’d regret, or Seb would find out and turf us out. It’s bad enough I’ve started this teaching job.’
‘Oh, well done – and don’t be ridiculous, you’re not doing anything wrong – but good for you, how is the job going?’ Cally pushed her sunglasses back on her head.
Evie nodded. ‘Pretty good. Suzanne was brilliant with all the prep, and I enjoyed it. It’s nice to learn and to get out, and Suzanne and Charlotte get on well too.’
It was hard for Evie to decipher her sister’s expression. Cally’s squint penetrated her. It appeared fretful.
Cally brushed her nose with her forefinger. ‘Evie, what’s wrong with going out for a change? Christ, Seb can’t stop you. You are a free human being. Anyway, it’s work and you’ll be out in a group, it’s not a date is it?’
Evie felt the tension tighten in her neck. This was the sort of reaction she’d expected from Cally. It made her feel quite dumb. ‘No, but, he still worries about scandals and was extremely annoyed I wanted to work. I’m risking it as it is.’
Cally shook her head. ‘He’s a bully, he really is. Was Charlotte invited to this bash?’
‘Myself and Seb. I didn’t ask, but I doubt it. Ben has special guests, two top actors are going. It’s not likely he’ll want kids there.’
‘But Suzanne would help you.’
‘She’s at a wedding this weekend in Holland.’
‘Oh, is it tonight?’
‘Tomorrow night.’
‘Well, that’s sorted then. I’m here tomorrow night. Charlotte will be safe here with me.’
Evie shook her head. ‘No, really. I’d rather not. I would rather spend time with you. I rarely see you.’
Cally’s knees bounced, making Charlotte giggle as she played with her aunt’s hair. ‘Evie. That’s sweet, but a few hours won’t break us. Besides, I’m here till Monday.’
‘Thanks Cally, but no. My mind is made up. He’ll be busy with his guests, and although they’re a lovely crew, I’m not exactly stimulating company for them.’
‘Woo, steady on. No need to put yourself down. It sounds to me like you’ve thrown yourself into the heart of the project and have plenty to talk about. I’d go if it was me. There could be future work possibilities, as well as a possible romance.’ Cally winked.
Evie shot her sister a frown. ‘I’m not looking for romance. I just said he was hot.’
Charlotte wriggled down from Cally’s lap. ‘Jamp-leen,’ she demanded, trotting over towards the trampoline.
‘What’s the magic word?’
Charlotte turned to her mother, curling her tongue. ‘Peas.’
‘Good girl.’ Evie got up from her chair and scooted up behind her. She lifted her in and secured the zipper. Cally followed. They both stood mesmerised as Charlotte sprang up and down.
Cally gave her a mocking sneer. ‘He’s hot, involves you and treats you better than Seb. Oh, Evie, don’t kid yourself. You like him. Nothing wrong with that. Is he single?’
‘It doesn’t matter, does it? I can’t risk Charlotte’s future, end of.’ Evie said, annoyed and feeling the pressure. She wasn’t used to opening her heart to her family and now she had exposed it. She could be imagining it, but Cally seemed keen for her to be out of Seb’s life and she truly wasn’t ready for such a major step. Yes, in her heart, she would love to go – but there was too much at stake. And besides, Seb’s reaction was likely to be brutal.
‘Ok. I’ll stop. I’m only thinking it’s an opportunity for you to get out and socialise. It will do you good to let your hair down a little. You deserve to. It can’t be easy being stuck in with a child all day and night.’
Evie pouted at her sister. ‘Thank you. I know you’re only trying to help but let’s change the subject. I’ll go and get lunch. We’ll eat at the side terrace. Do you want to take a drive out? If it’s ok with you to drive, I thought of a place to go to after lunch.’
‘Of course, sounds cool. I’ll take Charlotte to wash her hands for lunch.’
As Evie dressed the plates with layers of salad, she couldn’t help wondering why she was so reticent about her situations with Seb and Ben. Cally wasn’t as harsh or quick to judge as she us
ed to be… although maybe a bit pushy. In fact, much of what she suggested was constructive and made a lot of sense. But she didn’t even know if she should leave Seb. She needed time to organise her thoughts and work out a strategy to deal with it all.
Charlotte rushed out to the dining terrace. ‘Pish, Mummy.’
‘No, chicken salad, poppet.’
As they sat down to lunch at the bench table under the shade, Cally beamed. ‘This looks and smells delicious.’
‘I’m hoping it tastes it too.’ Evie grinned, stabbing her fork in layers of thick green lettuce.
‘Oh, I meant to ask you. Has that creep been back?’ Cally asked, peering curiously at the bushes.
‘I’ve seen him a couple of times,’ Evie nodded.
‘Did you have a look on the CCTV? Were there any images of him?’
Feeling her chest constrict, Evie confessed. ‘I managed a quick look. They all looked far away or blurred. I couldn’t really get to grips with working out how you capture the image. I don’t know, if I’m honest. They’re not particularly clear. The cameras only pick up what’s within the grounds really. I could make out a head in one, but not enough to identify anyone.’
‘Did you really study journalism?’
‘Yes.’
‘And they didn’t teach you how to operate a camera? One of your most essential tools.’
‘Well they’re all automatic, aren’t they? I didn’t need to know how a security system worked.’
Cally shook her head. ‘I would have thought you knew how to zoom in. That’s all. Mind you, I suppose, you don’t even have the phone… never mind.’
‘I texted Seb, asking him to add some cameras.’
‘Oh good. Has he done it?’
‘Not yet. He texted back to say he would deal with it as soon as possible. I’ll text him again.’
