Hillary followed Alicia and Chloe back down the corridor to their own part of the Hall, fighting the urge to look behind her to see if Darius was watching. Chloe chattered on for a few seconds about nothing in particular then turned to Alicia. ‘Are we going to the beach, darling, or what?’
Alicia nodded. ‘You’ll come too, won’t you, Hill? It’s going to be a scorcher of an afternoon.’ She didn’t bother to wait for a reply.
When they went downstairs to the kitchen they found that Odile had prepared a light picnic, including a cool-bag containing a couple of bottles of white wine. Happy and laughing, they all piled into Alicia’s Mercedes with its distinctive personalised number-plate. By car the journey to the beach took no time at all, although parking proved to be a bit more of a problem than they had anticipated. They were just turning around to drive up the coast road for the third time when Darius’s familiar green Range Rover pulled up in front of them. The driver’s door swung open and he jumped out, now dressed in khaki shorts and a matching cotton short-sleeved shirt instead of his usual smart trousers and jacket. He looked tanned and relaxed. Hillary realised she wasn’t used to seeing him like that; it also made a pleasant change to see him smile.
Not only was he smiling but his tone was cheerful. ‘Looking for somewhere to park, ladies? Follow me.’
He drove slowly down the road for about a quarter of a mile, then turned into a private road. As they drove on for about half a mile, the road petered out into a track which ended abruptly at the edge of a heavily wooded area. Alicia parked next to him and they all climbed out, looking around in confusion.
Finally Chloe spoke. ‘Where are we, Darius? Where’s the beach?’
‘You’re back on Harwood land and the beach is on the other side of those trees. Although it’s not a private beach, I think you’ll find it’s nicely secluded.’ He pointed to a small sandy path that led off to the right.
Hillary followed his finger with her eyes, then, noticing a similar path leading to the left, she asked, ‘Where would that path take us? To the witch’s cottage?’ From the moment they arrived she had felt like a fairytale character lost in the forest, although one glance at Darius’s baffled expression made her feel distinctly idiotic instead.
‘That path leads to the local naturist beach,’ he explained patiently.
‘Oh, is it full of wild birds and things like that?’ Chloe asked.
Hillary laughed and flashed an amused glance at her, automatically assuming that she was joking but her expression was completely serious. Hillary was relieved that Chloe’s stupid remark easily outweighed her own.
Alicia was obviously used to her friend’s naivety. ‘He means it’s a nudist beach, you idiot.’
Far from looking hurt at Alicia’s remark, Chloe appeared fascinated. ‘Really,’ she gasped. ‘We must check that out one day soon, Alix.’
Darius caught Hillary’s expression and winked. Feeling extraordinarily pleased, she grinned at him then gestured towards their picnic basket. ‘Are you busy? Would you like to join us?’
His sweeping glance took in the whole of her body, setting it instantly on fire once again and reminding her of their encounter less than an hour earlier. She had removed her T-shirt in the car and was now dressed only in her brief white bikini top and shorts. Under Darius’s piercing gaze she may as well have been stark naked.
He shook his head regretfully. ‘I would love nothing better than to spend the afternoon with four such gorgeous ladies but I have work to do, I’m afraid.’
Chloe giggled. ‘There’s no peace for the wicked, is there, Darius?’
Looking genuinely sorry to leave them, he gave a little wave before turning the Range Rover around and heading back in the direction of the main road. As soon as he was out of sight, Hillary, Alicia, Chloe and Odile collected their assorted bags and rolled-up towels and trudged, slightly dejectedly, down the sandy pathway to the beach.
From the moment they rounded the trees and surveyed the breathtaking view Hillary felt her spirit lifting. Mile upon mile of golden sand stretched out endlessly in front of them and to either side as far as the eye could see. In the distance something shimmered in the heat haze but Hillary couldn’t be certain if it was the sea, or merely the horizon. For a split second she forgot she was in Norfolk, it was so easy to imagine that such a beach was somewhere more exotic.
Although it was a public beach, it was scarcely populated and they were spoilt for choice. Being the most practical of the four, Hillary suggested that they walk as little as possible and the others readily agreed with her. There really was no need to venture very far. After about ten minutes of unpacking and unrolling, they found themselves reclining comfortably on their respective towels and deckchairs, dousing their burning bodies with liberal quantities of suntan lotion.
Hillary closed her eyes, her olfactory sense revelling in the unmistakable aroma of coconut milk on salty, perspiration-drenched skin. She sighed contentedly; summer was definitely her favourite time of year. She loved the beach and worshipped the sun. There was no doubt about it, right at that moment she was in heaven.
Odile uncapped a bottle of cold Frascati and using her free hand she groped around in the picnic basket. ‘Damn, I forgot to bring the plastic cups,’ she said.
‘Never mind, darling.’ Chloe reached out with one perfectly manicured hand and took the bottle from her, raising it to her lips. ‘We’ll manage.’ She took a long draught and offered it to Alicia who shook her head dejectedly.
‘I can’t, I’m driving remember.’
The other three tut-tutted in sympathy, then Hillary produced a second bottle. ‘I don’t know if you packed this intentionally but it’s a low-alcohol wine; you could have a sip of this, Alicia.’
Alicia glanced at the label, then raised the bottle to her lips. ‘Thanks, Hilly.’
For a while they lay back and soaked up the sun in silence until, fortified by alcohol no doubt, Chloe declared out of the blue that she intended to find at least one lover with whom to spend the summer.
To Hillary’s dismay her sister agreed. ‘I’ll say, I can’t lie around here for weeks on end wearing hardly any clothes and not have my many desires satisfied.’ From under her lashes she studied Hillary’s shocked expression. ‘Don’t look so horrified, little sister. It won’t be the first time I’ve had a little flingy-wingy and let’s face it,’ she added, her voice taking on a slight edge, ‘darling hubby’s not exactly lily-white in that department.’
‘Do you mean he’s had an affair too?’ asked Hillary, aghast.
Alicia laughed wryly. ‘An affair. An affair!’ She paused for effect then, speaking in a low voice, said, ‘You may not be aware of this, Hillary, but Clive has screwed over half the women in his bank, he sees it as a perk of the job.’
Hillary took another gulp of wine; she wasn’t sure that she wanted to know all the sordid details of her sister’s marriage. But it was too late. By now, Alicia, bolstered by interjections from Chloe, was warming to her theme, the two of them denigrating their husbands totally, both in bed and out of it.
Only Odile, it appeared, was satisfied with her sex life. ‘My Theo is a wonderful, sensuous lover.’
Alicia eyed her jealously. ‘Well, Odile, what exactly do you mean?’ she asked. She stopped and glanced at the young woman’s profile as she turned her face up to the sun.
‘Mmm,’ Odile responded. ‘I don’t want to go into details. Just take my word for it.’
‘Come on, Odile.’ Alicia took another sip of low-alcohol wine, obviously hoping it would have some kind of placebo effect. ‘I want the details! You can’t just say he’s wonderful and leave it at that. What exactly do the two of you get up to?’
Odile threw back her head and laughed. ‘All I can say is he’s wonderful. In my limited experience anyway. Believe it or not, Theo is only my second lover.’
Chloe looked at her askance. ‘But I thought . . .?’
Odile smiled an easy smile and rolled onto her stomach.
‘I’m so sorry, I’ll rephrase that. Theo is only my second male lover.’
The three women stared wordlessly at Odile’s back. Alicia gave Chloe a questioning look but the dark-haired woman shrugged and shook her head. Hillary stifled a giggle – for two such women of the world it didn’t take much to shut them up. Nevertheless, she couldn’t help stealing a glance at Odile herself, wondering what it would be like to be made love to by such a beautiful young girl. Feeling herself becoming embarrassingly warm, she stood up abruptly. ‘I’m going to find the sea,’ she said.
The others made no attempt to follow her as she strode determinedly along the beach. After a few hundred yards she slowed her pace, allowing her mind to drift as she scanned the horizon. Although it had only been the day before that she’d had sex with Michael, she was already feeling unbearably frustrated; her erotic senses had been stirred first by her meeting with Darius, then Haldane and now Darius again. If she was being honest, she too was longing for the start of a holiday romance of her own. The question was, with whom?
The rest of the day passed uneventfully. A brief swim was followed by a picnic, then sunbathing, more swimming and finally home to take-away pizza and an early night. Hillary thought she would never hear the last of it as Alicia, Chloe and even Odile ribbed her about being an old fuddy-duddy and a party-pooper. Even Hillary’s protestations that at least she had been swimming and walking on the beach while they had not moved from their towels cut no ice with them.
‘Come on, Hillary,’ Alicia urged. ‘We’re only going to the village local for a drink, that won’t kill you.’
Hillary shook her head, laughing. ‘It’s no good, I’m whacked and I just want an early night. Besides,’ she added, ‘I’m not much of a drinker.’
She knew Alicia was likely to take her remark as a criticism of her own drinking habits and was proved right. ‘Nor am I.’ The older woman pouted. ‘And remember who had to stay sober this afternoon because she was driving.’
Her voice rose a little at the end and Hillary tried to placate her. ‘It’s okay, I’m not saying you shouldn’t go. Just don’t hassle me simply because I don’t always want to follow in your footsteps.’
They were tiptoeing onto dangerous ground now. An oft-trod, sisters-only battle zone.
Odile was quick to intervene. ‘Leave Hillary alone, for God’s sake, Alicia, and let’s just go before they call last orders.’
Hillary waited until they had gone then wandered into the sitting room. She switched on the television and stared blankly at the screen. Given that she had no other diversions, a half-hour or so of mindless situation comedy was her best option, at least until tiredness overtook her completely.
From the seclusion of his own rooms, Darius watched the women return, eat their pizza and argue about going to the pub. In a way he was disappointed that Hillary had declined to accompany them. If Hillary had agreed to go he would have contrived a casual meeting with her there and possibly even detached her from her sister and friends. Now there was no possibility of meeting up with her tonight, unless she decided to go exploring again, of course. His sex organs stirred at the thought, remembering the way she had felt that morning and the way she had looked the night before, naked before the mirror. If she trespassed into his domain tonight she would not escape lightly, he would make sure of that.
Observing her as she watched the television soon began to bore him but his ennui was relieved by the ringing of the telephone. Not taking his eyes from the screen he picked up the receiver and held it to his ear; the voice at the other end was familiarly soft and sexy with a husky Scottish burr.
‘Ilona!’ he said, genuinely pleased to hear from her.
‘Darius, I have been thinking about you. Torran is almost ready to return and I wondered if you would like to see me too for a few days.’
‘I always want to see you, you know that.’ Darius’s tone held genuine affection. ‘I’ll send Farboys up for you and Torran tomorrow, if that’s not too soon.’
‘Really, Darius,’ the woman admonished, ‘there’s no need to fly us down. The boy and I can always travel by train.’
Darius was firm. ‘I don’t want any arguments. Unless you hear from me to the contrary the ’copter will be waiting for you at the brewery landing pad at four tomorrow.’
The woman acquiesced and they spoke for a few more minutes, catching up on a little gossip even though they would be seeing each other in person the following day. Then she rang off and Darius returned to watching Hillary.
Damn! She had fallen asleep on the sofa. By the look of her she would be out like a light until her friends returned home. He flicked around the other TV screens then switched them off completely. Reclining in the familiar embrace of his dark leather chair, he contemplated the imminent arrival of Ilona.
Darius was right in his assumption that Hillary would not waken until disturbed. Oblivious to his secret observation, or the flickering television screen, she slept on until the peace of the house was shattered by a cacophony of laughter and drunken giggles. Alicia, Chloe and Odile had returned from the pub more than a little worse the wear for drink.
Chloe struggled with the front door key. ‘I can’t get it in, I can’t get it in,’ she wailed over and over again.
Alicia snorted. ‘You sound like my Clive.’ She put on a whining voice intended to emulate her husband. ‘I can’t get it in, Alicia! My dick is so small, I can’t get it in!’
The three women screamed with laughter all over again.
Odile wiped her streaming eyes. ‘My God, Alicia, you are so cruel.’
The older woman wagged a finger at her and tutted. ‘Not cruel, Odile darling, just honest. Anyway,’ she added, after a moment’s consideration, ‘you don’t appreciate what it’s like. Your boyfriend is some kind of superstud, remember?’
Odile looked at her, embarrassed. ‘I didn’t say he was a superstud, Alicia. And for goodness sake don’t let on to Theo that we’ve been discussing him in that way.’ She blushed coyly, then glanced at Chloe who was still struggling with the front door.
Alicia put out her hand. ‘For goodness sake, Chlo’, give me that fucking key before we wake up the whole place.’
Odile watched amused as Chloe handed over the key meekly. She couldn’t help grinning at Alicia’s words. Hearing her cultured tones say ‘fucking’ was similar in shock value to hearing the Queen fart. Not that she ever had, of course. The thought made her chuckle out loud.
Chloe looked at her friend askance. ‘Come on, share the joke.’
Odile shook her head and tried to keep a straight face. At that moment Alicia managed to wrestle the door open and they stumbled into the darkened hallway. The light shining from the sitting room and the muted sounds of the TV told them that Hillary was still up. Immediately they all turned to each other, put their fingers to their lips and hissed, ‘Shh,’ very loudly.
Hillary woke up with a start and for a split second wondered where she was. Then Chloe, Odile and finally Alicia staggered into the room, all looking equally dishevelled.
‘I take it you had a good time,’ Hillary said, drily stating the obvious.
The three women nodded in unison, then collapsed in giggles. Hillary sighed, it could turn out to be a long night. As it happened, a few minutes later Chloe suddenly decided that she felt sick and bolted for her bathroom and Alicia sank down on the sofa and promptly passed out. Hillary glanced at Odile, a questioning look in her eyes. Odile nodded silently.
With a bit of a struggle the two women managed to get Alicia up the stairs and into her own room; with a final heave they threw her on the bed.
Odile glanced down at her crumpled form. ‘Should we undress her, do you think?’
Hillary felt guilty. Normally she would have agreed immediately but, bearing in mind Odile’s disclosures on the beach about sleeping with women, she decided Alicia probably wouldn’t thank her for it.
‘No, that’s okay, let the silly bitch sort herself out in the morning.’ She
knew she sounded unnecessarily harsh but she didn’t want to be forced to explain her reasons for not wanting to undress her sister in front of Odile.
Although she looked a little taken aback, the young woman nodded and started to leave the room. Hillary followed her and bade her goodnight before opening the door to her own room. Despite the fact that she had slept for a good few hours already that evening, she felt as though she hardly had the strength to undress herself. Deciding it must be the sea air that was tiring her out, she stripped off her clothes and jumped into bed, falling back into a deep sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
The next day dawned just as hot and as humid as its predecessors. The sun’s warming rays were already permeating the thick stone walls and forming an invisible blanket of heat over the fresh, early-morning atmosphere. Hillary lay back against the pile of soft, downy pillows too relaxed to move as a magpie alighting on the window ledge commanded all her attention. As though initiating a conversation with her, the magpie opened its beak and emitted a strange cry that she knew she would never forget and broke the silence of a place that otherwise still slept.
A few moments more peace ensued, then she heard the customary first thing in the morning symphony begin: footsteps and banging doors, the hiss of a shower and the clanking deluge of a cistern emptying, whispered voices and giggles. Another half-hour and her second full day at Harwood Hall would begin.
She felt the slight feeling of anticipation bubbling up within her that she had often felt as a child, the expectation of the unexpected. And, although she truly felt a valued and accepted member of their little group, the prospect of the coming day thrilled her for more than just intellectual reasons. Her sensual self, which already revelled in the relaxed heat of a summer’s day and the scent of salty skin, was on red-alert to the possibilities of a lascivious encounter with not one but two very different, very delectable men.
The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea Page 5
