The hotel had its own private stretch of beach reached from a path that twisted amid flowering shrubs down a low cliff. Ben tried to run ahead of them down the path, and Norrie called sharply, 'Ben, wait.' She tried to grab him but was too loaded up with bag and beach towels and Ben chortled happily as he ran away from her. In two strides Bruno caught him up and swung him up on to his shoulders, Ben not knowing whether to be angry at having his run for freedom curtailed or pleased to be up so high where he could see over the shrubs to the sea.
They found a vacant area near some rock pools, hired loungers and settled themselves down. It was a hot and lovely day, one of the few perfect days in an English summer, and already the people on the beach were in their swimming things, soaking up the sun while they got the chance. Ben wanted to make a sandcastle, so Bruno knelt in the sand to help him. While his back was turned, Norrie took off her sundress and began to apply suntan oil to her front. She had almost finished and was doing her arms when Bruno turned to get something and caught sight of her. His eyes darkened as they went over her tall, slender body, glistening gold in the sun, and Norrie felt as if she was standing there on the beach stark naked, her private femaleness exposed to his gaze. Instinctively she moved her hands to cover herself until she realised what she was doing. 'You louse!' she swore at him.
Bruno gave a small, sardonic smile and turned back to Ben.
Angrily Norrie stretched herself on the lounger, put on her sunglasses and picked up a book. For that, he could just look after Ben for the whole day for all she cared.
The sun was hot and Norrie was tired; soon she put the book down and closed her eyes, dozing. 'I'm taking Ben down to the sea for a swim,' Bruno's voice above her wakened her about half an hour later. He was standing over her, dressed in a pair of brief white bathing trunks, long legs slightly apart, his hands on his hips. He had a beautiful body, with muscles in all the right places, and Norrie's breath caught in her throat as she remembered that once they'd had a shower together and she had washed him all over before he hadn't been able to stand it any longer and had lifted her and then . . .
'Touché.' The irony in Bruno's voice brought her eyes flying up to his and she flushed, realising that she'd been staring.
'Ben can't swim,' she said, trying to get back to the commonplace.'
'So I'll teach him.'
'You be careful with him.' She sat up. 'He's all I've got.'
Bruno's eyes flashed with anger. 'Don't worry. He's all I've got, too,' he told her grimly.
Norrie watched them go down to the sea hand in hand, the tall man and the very small boy, her thoughts a mess. She had to fight a sudden, idiotic wish that the picture they represented was a true one; a man, a woman and their child. But it was all so much of a sham. More even than Bruno knew. She should have told him everything last night; she'd intended to at first, but he'd been so angry that she hadn't dared. Ben, she knew, was the main reason why he'd held his temper in check rather than the fear of her threats. He had enough strength to have silenced her screams and taken her if he'd really wanted to. But he hadn't because he was afraid of frightening his son, but if he'd known that Ben wasn't his ... They'd reached the sea now and Bruno was giving Ben his first swimming lesson, the water only coming up to his knees before it was deep enough for the child. Picking up her book, Norrie tried to read again but found it impossible to concentrate, and so sat watching them, thinking, remembering, wishing.
'Cigarette?'
Her thoughts were interrupted some time later and she blinked herself back to reality to find that a man who'd been sitting a few yards away had got up and was holding out a pack of cigarettes. He'd had a woman and two young children with him, but Norrie saw that they were down on the edge of the water. She shook her head. 'No thanks, I don't.'
'No vices, eh?' The man gave an insincere laugh. 'Mind if I do?' He lit the cigarette and said, 'It's my wife's turn to be at the kids' beck and call today. We take it turn and turn about. Is that what you and your husband do?'
'This is our first day here,' Norrie looked away, hoping he would get the message, but the man squatted down beside her on Bruno's lounger, told her that he had already been there a week and proceeded to advise her on where to go, the best times to eat in the hotel, the best garage in the area, and a dozen other things that Norrie hadn't remotely considered she might want to know. He was a limpet, impossible to get rid of without being downright rude, but Norrie tried because she didn't like the way he kept eyeing her or the familiar way he assumed that she wanted to know him. Unfortunately he was still there when Bruno brought Ben up from the beach. He stood up and put out a hand to shake Bruno's. 'Hallo there. I'm Tony Hills. Just been giving your wife a few pointers about the hotel and that.'
Bruno didn't seem to see his hand; he nodded curtly and looked at Norrie. 'Ben's thirsty. If you'll put some dry trunks on him, I'll take him to get a drink.' The other man cleared his throat, but when Bruno took no further notice of him went back to his own patch of beach where he was almost immediately joined by his wife and children, the wife giving Norrie a somewhat harassed and uncertain smile. As soon as he was out of hearing, Bruno said derisively, 'You certainly don't waste any time.'
'He spoke to me, and I couldn't get rid of him.'
Wrapping Ben in a towel, she pulled off his wet trunks and began to rub him dry.
'Really? I can't imagine any man staying near you unless you gave him come on signals.'
'Why not? You hung around and you certainly didn't get any come on signals when you came to Welford.' She helped Ben into his dry trunks. 'Come on, pet, put your shirt on now. It's getting hot and you don't want to get burnt.'
'No. Don't want it on.' Ben tried to pull away from her, throwing himself about as only a small, determined boy can.
'Put your shirt on. Do as Norrie tells you.'
Bruno's tone stopped Ben and he stood docilely as Norrie put on his shirt, but the fact that he'd obeyed Bruno somewhat annoyed her. She looked up at Bruno and said nastily, 'My, what a big he-man you are to little boys of three.'
Bruno's mouth tightened. 'Don't push it,' he warned.
But Norrie knew she was safe on the beach and chose to goad him. 'I shall do and say anything I damn well like, and until you pay the price you'll just have to put up with it, won't you?'
Anger flashed in his eyes and he opened his mouth to make a biting retort, but just then Ben gave a shout, and he turned to grab him down from where he'd already climbed about four feet up the cliff. 'Do you want a drink?' Bruno demanded with Ben under his arm.
'No.'
'Suit yourself.'
He strode off and didn't remember to put Ben down until the child beat at him with his fists.
Norrie turned over on her front and closed her eyes, determined not to give the nearby family a chance to speak to her again. She must have dozed off again because the next thing she felt was a rush of cold water on her back. 'Hey! Stop.' She sat up to find Ben grinning at her warily, an empty plastic bucket in his hands. 'Why you little monkey.' Norrie jumped up and he gave a shriek of fear and excitement and fled to a safe distance before he stopped to make sure that she wasn't chasing him. 'Ugh, it was half full of sand and pebbles.' She tried to wipe some off her back and then saw the grin on Bruno's face. 'I suppose you put him up to that. It's the sort of small-minded thing you would do.'
Bruno's face changed and he reached out and took hold of her wrist, hurting her. 'Don't you dare accuse me of being small-minded.'
'Let go of me, you're hurting.'
'Too bad.' He grinned insolently down at her.
'I say—er—is anything wrong?' It was the other man from the hotel.
Bruno glanced at him and said maliciously, 'Not a thing. Is there, darling?' And jerking her forward, he put his arm round her and kissed her.
'You pig!' Norrie moved away as soon as he released her and lifted her hand to wipe her mouth, glaring at him. Then, her hair swirling like a golden flame about her head, she turned and
ran after Ben, chasing him through the soft sand.
They spent the rest of the day on the beach except for a break at lunchtime, but Norrie was far from enjoying it. She didn't like the way the man sitting nearby kept looking at her or the admiring glances his wife kept giving Bruno whenever she thought Norrie wasn't looking. And it didn't help when Ben started playing with their children so that Norrie had to answer when they spoke to her, out of common politeness. Bruno just lay back on his lounger, closed his eyes and appeared to go to sleep, but whether he really was or not was debatable because Norrie could have sworn that he once or twice snorted derisively when Tony Hills paid her a compliment.
It was almost a relief when it was time to go back to the hotel for the evening, and because Ben ate separately, they were able to more or less avoid one another until it was time for dinner. Bruno had gone down ahead to the bar and Norrie reluctantly joined him, making sure that she was wearing one of her own dresses. And she was glad she had, because it was soon pretty obvious that he had already had several drinks. Not that his speech was at all slurred or anything, and no one looking at him could possibly tell, but his anger was more brittle and his emotions weren't so successfully hidden or held in check. He had another double Scotch before they went in for their meal, and he drank nearly a bottle and a half of wine during it. Then he had brandy afterwards although Norrie refused. She was treading very warily, not speaking unless he spoke to her and then being terribly careful in what she said. The last thing she wanted was a scene in the dining-room, or to provoke him into anything drastic when they got to their suite and shut out the rest of the hotel. He had a brooding look she didn't like and Norrie decided to stay down in the lounge for as long as possible.
So when Tony Hills and his wife came up to join them, Norrie smiled and made them welcome, encouraging them to talk and stay there. But their company also had an adverse effect because Tony ordered another round of drinks and after that the men took it in turns.
It was a hellish couple of hours; Tony tried to flirt covertly with Norrie and his wife was ogling Bruno, who kept laughing when he shouldn't and not when Tony told one of his rather risqué jokes. And it was all a mistake because Bruno was drinking more than he would have done if they'd been by themselves.
At length, getting desperate, Norrie stood up and said, 'If you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed. All this fresh air has made me tired.'
'What a good idea.' Bruno caught her arm, 'I'll come with you.'
'Oh, that's all right, you stay and chat. I don't mind going up alone.'
'Oh, but I wouldn't dream of it.' He finished his drink and stood up, his fingers biting into her arm. 'Good night.' He nodded to the others.
'Er—before you go, old chap, I wonder if I might have a word,' Tony said, also getting to his feet.
'Yes?' Bruno raised his eyebrows.
'In—er—private, if I might, old man.'
Bruno frowned, but said, 'Oh, very well.' And the two men went off.
Norrie groaned inwardly as she escaped upstairs. Oh, hell, I bet he's going to ask Bruno to lend him some money. That will just about push him over the edge. Going into the suite, she hurriedly made sure that Ben was okay and then went into the bedroom, only to stand transfixed when she saw that the key wasn't in the lock. She yanked the door open again but the key wasn't in the other side. Bruno must have removed it earlier and she hadn't noticed. She waited for him to come upstairs, furious enough now not to be afraid.
She stood in the middle of the sitting-room, ready to let fly at him, but when Bruno walked into the room the words died in her throat as she saw his face. He was laughing, but it was an angry, sardonic kind of laugh that appalled her. 'What is it? What did he want?'
'What did he want, your friend Tony Hills?' Bruno leant back against the wall and shook with laughter, then he straightened up and came over to her, put a hand on her neck and caressed her cheek with his thumb, not roughly, but not gently either. 'I'll tell you what he wanted, my lovely bride.' For a moment his hand tightened. 'Your—filthy little admirer wanted to do a swap tonight, his wife for mine.'
'He what?' Norrie stared at him in horror.
'Mm. Ironical, isn't it, when you think about it? He casually asked for what I haven't even had myself.' And he began to laugh again.
'How dare he? The vile, horrible .. . What did you say?' She caught hold of his lapels. 'Bruno, what did you say to him?'
'What? Oh, I didn't say anything. I just hit him.' He grinned. 'And I damn well enjoyed it, too,' he added, flexing his knuckles in remembrance.
'Good. I'm glad. I hope you knocked him down. As if I'd even contemplate going to bed with a creep like him. Surely they could see that when I was with you I wouldn't want anyone else?'
Bruno laughed. 'Yes, I did knock him down. He's probably still lying out there in the garden.' Then he seemed to realise what she'd said, because he stopped laughing. 'Wouldn't you want anyone else?'
Her anger evaporated as she looked into his eyes. 'No,' she admitted after a long moment.
Lifting his hand, he placed it on the other side of her face and stared down into her eyes. 'What the hell happened to us, Norrie?'
She tried to shake her head but couldn't. 'I don't know,' she admitted wretchedly.
'Couldn't we start over again, couldn't we?' he asked earnestly, a note almost of pleading in his voice.
For a moment Norrie closed her eyes tightly, then said, 'No. It's too late.'
'Not if we try. Surely we can try. For Ben's sake if nothing else.'
Tears gathered in her eyes. 'Bruno, Ben isn't.. .'
But he bent and kissed her, his lips compulsively taking hers, desperately seeking and slowly getting a response. He held her head in his hands and kissed her for a long time, only reluctantly lifting his head to look down at her closed eyes and sensuously parted lips. Slowly Norrie came back to reality and read the unspoken question in his eyes. It would be so easy to just nod and let him pick her up and carry her into the bedroom, to close the door and . .. Her eyes suddenly opened wide and she stepped away from him. 'What's this—plan B? Or just something you cooked up on the spur of the moment?' she demanded fiercely.
Bruno's eyebrows went up in surprise. 'I don't know what you mean.'
'No? Well, you must certainly know what plan A is.'
'What plan? What are you talking about?'
'Your plan to get me into bed with you,' Norrie answered contemptuously. 'Were you going to try charm again or just force your way in? Why else would you take the key out of my bedroom door?'
He shoved his hands in his pockets. 'I haven't got the damn key.'
'Who else would take it? Give it to me.'
'I haven't got it I tell you.'
'Don't lie, Bruno. You had it all worked out earlier today that you'd ...'
'Well, you're damn well wrong. And you don't need the key because you're safe enough from me. I'm not going to try and force myself on you when Ben's in the next room. If you don't know that you ought to.' Striding past her, he pushed open the bedroom door and looked at the lock and then inside the room. 'Come here.' He was pointing inside and when Norrie went up to him she saw the key lying on the carpet a few feet away. 'It must have fallen out. Ben swung the door pretty hard when he was anxious to get down to the beach this morning, didn't he?'
'Yes.' Norrie bent to pick up the key. 'I—I'm sorry.'
Bruno looked at her, his mouth set into a thin line. 'We'll leave here in the morning,' he said shortly.
The London flat was large but had only two bedrooms, one of which contained a king-size double bed, and the other Bruno had had redecorated to suit a three year old boy, with wallpaper depicting colourful trains, boats and planes, and red and white miniature-sized furniture. With his expected new way of life in ruins, Bruno ended up in the child's room and Norrie and Ben shared the big bed for a couple of nights until she bought a put-u-up for the boy which she squeezed into a corner of the larger bedroom.
She had thou
ght that once they were in London and Bruno going to his office every day, the atmosphere between them would clear a little, but somehow the tension became daily worse and it was only Ben's presence that many times stopped it from exploding. It came very near to it once when Norrie bought Ben some new clothes which he insisted on wearing, running to meet Bruno at the door when he came in shouting, 'Look at my new trousers. I've got four pockets.'
'Hey, that's more than I've got.' Bruno put down his briefcase and picked him up to have a closer look.
'And I've got a new shirt and some new shoes. Look.'
Bruno dutifully admired everything and carried Ben into the kitchen where Norrie was cooking dinner, but Ben immediately demanded to be set down so that he could go back and watch the television. 'It smells good,' Bruno remarked, but Norrie didn't turn round. 'What is it?'
'Beef in a pastry case.'
'Sounds delicious.' He reached into his hip pocket for his wallet. 'I went to the bank today.'
Norrie turned swiftly at that. 'They've agreed to lend you the money?'
His mouth grew grim. 'I merely drew out some cash. You'll need some more housekeeping money.'
'No.' Norrie turned back to the ceramic hob to continue stirring the gravy. 'I have plenty left from the money you gave me on Monday.'
'But you bought clothes for Ben today.'
'Yes, I bought them. With my own money, not out of that you provided. I only use that for your share of the food.'
Bruno gripped her arm and pulled her round to face him so that the spoon fell out of her hand and spilt gravy on the marbled work surface. 'Just how much of that money I gave you have you used?'
'It's in the top drawer over there,' she answered defensively.
Jerking open the drawer, he put in his hand and quickly counted through the small pile of notes. 'You've hardly touched this money.'
'Yes, I have. I told you: I used it to buy your share of the food.'
Anger darkened his eyes. 'And you've paid for the rest out of your own money, I suppose.'
Fatal Deception Page 13
