‘Yes, I hear that’s quite a common occurrence for you.’
A deathly silence fell over the room and Hillary looked up to see who had spoken. It was Darius.
‘I let myself in,’ he explained, inclining his head towards the open kitchen door. ‘You were all having such a good time I didn’t really want to intrude.’
‘Nonsense, you’re very welcome.’ Alicia fluttered around him like a bird of paradise, albeit one that was a little worse the wear for alcohol.
As Alicia pulled out a spare chair and poured him a glass of wine, Hillary eyed him thoughtfully over the rim of her glass; she was still smarting at his remark and wondered what he had meant by it.
He glanced in her direction and their eyes met, his smiling face suddenly becoming very serious. She tried in vain to hold his gaze but faltered and looked down at the table. The others had returned to cracking jokes and every so often Darius would interrupt with one of his own. Only Hillary remained silent. There was no point trying to question him while there was so much activity going on around them; she would have to wait until they were alone. Oh, God! A strange trembling started deep in her belly just at the thought.
She knew she was drinking too much but she couldn’t help herself, she felt so nervous in Darius’s presence. Occasionally she would glance up at him and catch him staring at her, at other times it seemed he was the life and soul of the small gathering. She glanced surreptitiously at Chloe and Alicia. He was certainly the centre of attention of every other woman in the room at any rate.
‘I met Torran by the way,’ she blurted out suddenly, her voice sounding strangely loud even to her own ears.
‘Oh, did you? Isn’t he lovely?’ Chloe sat down next to her, ignoring the look of annoyance on Gus’s face.
Hillary took a large sip of wine. ‘I quite fancied him.’ She giggled and almost fell off her chair.
Darius looked like thunder. ‘I would say that boy needs a girl of his own age, wouldn’t you?’ He looked at Clive and Gus for support.
Alicia laughed throatily. ‘We know exactly what he needs.’
Chloe snorted rudely at her remark and Hillary blushed hard. She desperately wished she hadn’t mentioned Torran. Now Chloe and Alicia had grasped the subject with both hands, taking it in turns to describe just what they would do with him given half a chance.
Hillary couldn’t bear to look at Darius because she was so embarrassed, and she felt incredibly sorry for Clive and Gus. It was obvious from their expressions that their wives didn’t perform half the antics with them that they claimed they would love to do with the young Scots lad. Just as their imaginations were becoming far too outrageous, Darius stopped Chloe and Alicia in mid flow.
‘Actually, ladies – well, all of you really.’ His sweeping glance took in Clive and Gus as well. ‘I came to invite you to a party, or at least to give you prior warning. I daresay you’ll get an official invitation from my secretary.’
Alicia and Chloe looked at each other and grinned. Chloe clapped her hands. ‘Oh goodee! I love parties. When is it?’
‘Next Friday. I’m holding it here. Well, not here exactly,’ he amended quickly, noticing Alicia’s look of panic. ‘It will be in the main Hall, the part that’s usually closed up.’
Despite her drunken and confused state, Hillary couldn’t help feeling excited at the prospect of a party, especially one that was almost on their doorstep and where Darius would be the host. ‘I’ll come,’ she slurred, nodding her head sagely.
‘What a relief for all of us.’ Darius’s tone was tinged with sarcasm but when she looked up she noticed, with profound relief, that he was no longer glaring at her. She forced her lips into something resembling a smile in return.
Darius stood up. ‘I must be off now. Thanks for the drink.’ He nodded at Chloe and Alicia who simpered and giggled, then he turned to Gus and Clive. ‘I hope we’ll see you at the party, I know you spend the week in London but as it’s on a Friday?’
‘We’ll be there, mate,’ Gus assured him, the influence of liquor causing his carefully controlled accent to slip a little.
‘Wild horses and all that,’ confirmed Clive, raising his glass in Darius’s direction.
It seemed to Hillary that Darius took all the spark from the evening when he went. She stared remorsefully into her glass of wine, wishing she didn’t feel so drunk. She could hear Chloe and Gus rowing in the hallway and even Alicia was subdued.
‘I think I’ll go to bed.’ Hillary stood up and wobbled a little, holding on to the edge of the table for support.
Clive locked the back door and Alicia turned off the light, mumbling, ‘We’ll sort out this mess in the morning.’
Hillary looked at her sister closely, wondering if she was referring to the remains of their Chinese meal, or the additional damage her ill-guarded remarks about Torran had done to her marriage.
‘I’ll help you,’ muttered Hillary, falling through the open doorway to her bedroom. Under the circumstances, it was just as well she didn’t hear Alicia’s reply.
Back in his own room, Darius cursed himself for his unguarded remark. It wasn’t like him to allow his feelings to show or, for that matter, to even have such feelings. As far as Hillary was concerned it had not been a good day for him. First of all he had found her in the garden, half naked and flirting with Torran. Then, to add insult to injury, the village grapevine had finally reached his ears. Knowing the object of his desire had already been well and truly taken by the remarkable Norwegian, Haldane, was almost too much for him to bear.
For over an hour he had paced the great Hall ranting and raging, until Ilona had begged him to stop. Finally, she forced him to listen to the voice of reason.
‘Be sure, Darius, that their coupling was a passing thing. You are the one destined to break her in properly.’ And it was she who, in a flash of inspiration, suggested the party. ‘Leave the details to me Darius, just make sure she attends.’
He nodded, his expression concealing the churning excitement he felt within him. This would be the first such party Harwood had seen for many, many years – the last had been held by his own father and resulted in the final subjugation of Ilona herself.
He considered the older woman thoughtfully, remembering what he could of that momentous occasion almost twenty-five years ago to the day. His father had been old then, already well into his sixties, and he, Darius, had been at a particularly awkward age. Caught between childhood and manhood and beset by puberty, he had been a maelstrom of conflicting emotions. Ilona then must have been maybe nineteen or twenty – about the same age as Fearn but far more knowing even then.
He hadn’t actually been allowed to attend the party, of course, but he would never forget the indefinable air of tension that hung over the house as the preparations took place. And then, on the great night itself, he had sneaked into his father’s study, drawn back the heavy drapes intending to stare out at the clear night sky and found himself confronted, not by a window but a two-way mirror and beyond that the answers to all the questions that had tormented him thus far.
Throughout the long night, as the band played and the sound of laughter and the occasional smashing glass filled his ears, his eyes were glued to the bed beyond the mirror and the scenes enacted on it. Men with women, women with women, men with men, one at a time or all together. His introduction to the mechanics of sex was comprehensive and the best education a boy of his position could receive.
Darius shook his head and rephrased the thought, it was the second best. The best of course was when his father ordered Ilona to teach him personally. Just returned from their honeymoon, although his father and Ilona were never formally married, Ilona had sent for him. Having used a maid to prepare him first, she had gently instructed him in the ways of the flesh. He shivered, remembering that night as if it were yesterday, and his cock stirred in response to the recollection. Glancing at Ilona’s profile as she stared thoughtfully out of the window, he suddenly felt as though he were fourteen
all over again. It was time to relive some memories.
8
Not surprisingly, Hillary awoke the next morning with a raging hangover and a terrible feeling that she had done, or said, something she would regret. Gradually the events of the previous day slowly unwound in her memory like a video film. She paused when she got to the part where Darius arrived for the second time, replaying the scene over and over again in her head. Whatever he had meant by his opening remark, it was obviously a thinly veiled reference to her sexual exploits. Well, damn him, the arrogant bastard! What business was it of his?
Her anger gave her fresh impetus and she leaped from the bed, showered and dressed in yet another bikini and sarong, this time in black and white. She found Alicia and Chloe sitting in the kitchen looking strangely subdued. From the silence that permeated the rest of the house she guessed Clive and Gus had already left for London.
Pausing only to pour a cup of coffee for herself, she sat down next to her sister. ‘Cheer up, Alix, he’ll be back next weekend.’
‘I know. That’s why I’m miserable.’ Alicia managed a wobbly smile and Hillary grinned back.
Chloe piped up. ‘Actually we’re doubly miserable because we’ve arranged to meet them mid-week.’
‘Really, why?’
‘It’s that damned horse,’ Alicia explained. ‘In a fit of temporary insanity Chloe and I agreed to go and take a look at it. It’s stabled somewhere near Newmarket and Clive and Gus are going to meet us there on Wednesday.’
‘Oh,’ Hillary said, surprised. Flicking through a copy of Horse and Hound occasionally was about as near as Alicia had ever got to horses.
‘Well, we do have a teensy-weensy ulterior motive,’ Chloe admitted.
Hillary laughed. ‘I thought there had to be something else. Go on then, what is it?’
‘Well.’ Alicia was all smiles now. ‘Do you remember the boys mentioning that they only owned half the horse?’
‘Yes. The other half is owned by a pair of brothers, isn’t it?’
‘That’s right,’ Alicia said, before pausing for effect, ‘well, this is what they look like.’
She placed a photograph on the kitchen table and Hillary leaned forwards to take a proper look. It depicted a very impressive-looking horse and what looked like a couple of Argentinian polo players, both kitted out in tight white breeches that didn’t leave much to the imagination.
Hillary used her hand to wipe imaginary perspiration from her brow. ‘Phew, that’s a pretty impressive sight.’
‘I’ll say,’ said Chloe, grabbing the photograph and practically drooling over it. ‘And the racehorse looks quite healthy too.’
‘Boom, boom!’ All three laughed in unison.
‘You have to admit, these are seriously gorgeous guys, are they not?’ Alicia tried to keep her laughter under control.
Nodding enthusiastically, Hillary took another look at the photograph. ‘Are they polo players?’
‘No, not as far as I know anyway. I think they just fancy themselves in the clothes.’
‘I’m not surprised, I fancy them in the clothes. I just can’t wait to see what they look like out of them as well.’ Chloe looked deadly serious.
‘Well, I’ll bet you can’t wait for Wednesday.’
Alicia smiled at Hillary, then she had a thought. ‘Why don’t you come with us, Hillary? It’ll be a good laugh and we can all go in my car and stop at a pub or something on the way. What do you say?’
‘Oh, I’d love to.’
She felt quite excited as she’d only ever seen racehorses on television. Funnily enough, she didn’t feel particularly thrilled about meeting the two brothers. They looked far too vain and sure of themselves and, anyway, she had enough man problems to be going on with.
‘They’re Italian by the way.’ Alicia nodded at the photograph. ‘Not Argentinian or anything. Their names are Carlo and Guido if I remember rightly.’
Suddenly their attention was distracted by the sound of footsteps outside on the patio; the back door opened and Torran’s silky dark head appeared.
Alicia and Chloe were both instantly flustered by his unexpected arrival and made a great show of adjusting their bathrobes and combing their fingers through their tousled hair – only Hillary had showered and dressed so far that morning.
Torran smiled disarmingly, his eyes twinkling. ‘I’m sorry to disturb you, ladies, but I was wondering if you needed anything from the village? I’m just on my way down there, you see.’
Hillary spoke for all three of them. ‘No, thank you. I think we have everything but it was nice of you to offer,’ she added graciously.
‘Okay, see you later.’
It seemed incredible how much more relaxed and cheerful he seemed compared with the day before. Of course, as soon as he had left Alicia and Chloe soon found their voices.
‘Isn’t he lovely?’
‘Did you see that bum?’
‘. . . and that hair?’
‘. . . and those lovely eyes?’
Hillary let them carry on for a few minutes, then coughed politely.
‘Oh, sorry, Hillary, we were miles away.’ Alicia took a sip of her cold coffee. ‘Ugh, disgusting, I’ll make some fresh.’
Chloe glanced at her watch. ‘No time, darling, Odile will be back in a minute and she’ll expect us to be ready to go.’
‘Go? Go where?’
‘Out, Hills. We’re all going out for the day. We’re on holiday, remember?’ Alicia spoke to her as if she were a small child.
‘Am I included in this trip?’ Hillary asked.
‘Of course, why wouldn’t you be?’ Alicia looked surprised that she could think anything else.
‘Well, it’s just that you didn’t actually mention it to me, that’s all.’ Hillary grinned.
‘Really?’ Alicia looked at her, incredulous. ‘I thought we all discussed it last night.’
Hillary felt instantly sheepish. ‘Oh, in that case perhaps you did. I was well out of it, if you remember.’
‘So you were,’ mused Chloe. ‘What was all that about between you and Darius by the way?’
‘I don’t know what you mean.’ Hillary began uncomfortably.
Just then, to her intense relief, they were interrupted by Odile who, having returned from taking Theo to the station, was now looking forward to their day out together.
‘Oh, come on, you guys!’ she wailed, looking dismayed at Chloe and Alicia’s dishevelled appearance.
‘Two secs, Odile, honest.’ Alicia dashed out of the kitchen, followed by an equally guilty-looking Chloe.
The young woman sat down heavily at the kitchen table and Hillary poured her a cup of coffee. She sipped it then smiled gratefully at Hillary.
‘Thanks, I needed that.’
‘Did Theo get off all right?’ Hillary asked, wondering if it was safe to mention his name.
‘Yes,’ Odile sighed. ‘I will miss him terribly. But,’ she added, brightening, ‘soon I will be going to Paris to join him and we will have the most wonderful time together.’
Hillary smiled wistfully, it was nice to see two people who were genuinely happy together.
Amazingly, Chloe and Alicia reappeared before Odile had the chance to finish her coffee.
‘Are you going to come with us, Hillary?’ Odile looked enquiringly at her.
‘I don’t even know where you’re planning to go.’ Hillary laughed.
‘Shopping in King’s Lynn, or perhaps Norwich, followed by a film, followed by dinner, followed by – who knows what?’ Chloe ticked off each item on her fingertips.
‘It sounds hectic.’ Hillary grinned. ‘I think I’ll stay here.’
‘Don’t you ever get bored with your own company?’ Chloe asked, amazed.
‘I think perhaps Hillary is hoping not to be alone for very long.’ Odile winked at her.
‘Oh, that big Norwegian, you mean.’ Alicia’s tone was deliberately dismissive. ‘Well, don’t do anything I haven’t tried yet, will you, Hilly?�
��
As much as she loved her sister, Hillary couldn’t help breathing a sigh of relief when she and Chloe finally left, although she half wished Odile hadn’t gone with them. The house suddenly seemed too quiet and she would have loved the opportunity to get to know Odile a little better as she felt instinctively that they had lot in common. As if deliberately trying to recreate the previous day, Hillary fixed herself a jug of Pimms but this time took two glasses out to the patio. Just in case, she told herself. She also rummaged around in Alicia’s room until she found a couple of magazines that she hadn’t read and took those out too.
She glanced around, hoping to catch a glimpse of Torran, then she remembered he had gone to the village. With a sigh of disappointment she lay down on the sun lounger, rolled onto her stomach and unhooked her bikini top, then, with an air of bravado, she removed it completely and dropped it on the flagstones. When Torran finally returned, he found her prostrate, struggling to coat her back with suntan oil.
‘Here, let me do that for you.’
Hillary almost sat up in surprise, then remembered that she was topless and sank down into the mattress as far as she could. She sensed him approach her, then he took the bottle from her trembling hand, poured a little of the oil into his palm and began rubbing it into her sun-soaked skin.
For an uncultivated country boy he certainly had a gentle, rhythmic touch, she thought to herself dreamily, almost moaning aloud as he inadvertently brushed his fingertips over a particularly erogenous zone. As he moved up her back he lifted her hair; she raised her arms and held it over her head, exposing the full length of her neck. Inexplicably, she felt as though she had just revealed an extremely intimate part of her body to him.
Eventually she found her voice. ‘Have you done this before by any chance?’
‘What? Covered a beautiful woman in suntan oil? No, I have not, I’m afraid.’
She noticed that his accent was very pronounced today and wondered if he was more nervous than he appeared.
‘Don’t worry, you’re doing a wonderful job.’
She squirmed luxuriously as he massaged the oil into her shoulders and turned her head to one side so that she could see him. Unlike the dark, almost austere, trousers and jacket that he’d been wearing the day before, he was now dressed in a pair of black denim jeans and a white cotton vest. As he poured a little more oil onto his palm she noticed that he wore a silver ring on the middle finger of his right hand bearing a design of a coiled serpent.
The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea Page 13
