‘I told you to wait for me outside, Anna,’ snaps Dominic.
‘But you were taking such an age,’ she coos down. ‘I came in to find you and then I heard all this shouting. What on earth are you so angry with Beth about? And why are you hiding down there?’
I can see strong exasperation in Dominic’s face, and feel a shiver of apprehension. Anna didn’t know about us but she’s going to have a good idea now. What does that mean for Dominic? Will she tell Andrei, in one of their pillow talks? How will he respond when he finds out?
Oh, shit. We’re in trouble now. I hope that Dominic manages to come up with a convincing story, fast.
‘I’m coming up now, Anna,’ he says, and heads for some stone steps that lead directly up to the garden. ‘I’ll see you later, Beth, all right? We’ll talk then.’ He goes quickly up the steps, joins Anna at the railings and says something to her in a low voice that I can’t quite hear.
I gaze up at them both from below, as though they are on a high stage and I’m simply in the audience, watching and admiring from a distance. They are certainly a beautiful couple, their dark colouring complementing each other, looking like a gorgeous god and goddess of business in their dark suits. I’m jealous of Anna for the first time because she looks as though she is meant to be with Dominic, and I do not. Not in the darkly glamorous way that she has.
Perhaps I’m more suited to someone like Andrei. Ugly. But he’s not ugly, I know that, and neither am I. Except that I’m not a beauty like Anna. I try to put that thought out of my mind, knowing it’s stupid and pointless. Dominic loves me as I am, I know that. He thinks I’m beautiful, and that’s the main thing.
Anna looks down over the railings again. ‘Goodbye, Beth, perhaps I will see you later? I’m coming to the apartment this evening. I would love to see you.’
Not if I see you first, I think. ‘Goodbye, Anna. Goodbye, Dominic.’ I gaze up at him, trying to hide my desperation for an explanation from him while Anna is watching. Goodness only knows how much she heard. I watch them walk off through the main house and disappear from sight.
Sighing and unhappy, I make my way back towards Andrei’s set. How on earth are we going to sort this one out? Has Dominic really betrayed me?
I try to shake off the misery and confusion for now. I have work to do after all.
The job is nearly done by six that evening when the men doing the hanging for me finish up for the day. The groupings and arrangements look wonderful, I have to admit, and my mood lifts when I think how pleased Andrei will be with the results. The pictures transform the apartment. It looks like a home, at last, and everywhere is a feast for the eyes and imagination. We have a few pictures left to put up – and there’s a still a place in Andrei’s bathroom where he wants his own personal Mona Lisa.
Marcia has left and Sri has gone out shopping as I start packing up to go home. I’ve heard nothing from Dominic all day, but I try not to dwell on it. He says I have to trust him, and maybe I should. But I can’t help feeling he still has secrets from me, things I need to know about him. I just wish he felt he could confide in me, and that we could face things together. I’m afraid that Dominic wants to tackle problems on his own and solve them without me, so that he doesn’t worry me with them; he doesn’t realise that we’re stronger together and that I want to help him, and feel needed and important. I wish I could see him and explain this to him but as it is, the argument and the sense of horrible suspicion has stayed with me all day, and completely taken the shine off the mysterious question Dominic asked me about the ring.
He won’t want to get me a ring now, I think miserably, engagement or otherwise. He was so angry with me for pressing him.
For a brief moment, I imagine being married to Dominic. I picture a romantic wedding with the handsomest groom in the world, vowing to love me for the rest of his life. I’m in a gorgeous white dress, my family and friends watching as I make my pledge to this extraordinary man. Then, a wedding night of enticing surprises and special bridal gifts that no one outside the honeymoon suite should ever lie eyes on... lacy lingerie, soft silk ribbons, a glittering white mask and white leather cuffs lined with white fur. And after that, a life together, of love and tenderness and mutual support... It could be so beautiful... what if he really did mean an engagement ring?
I catch myself up in these stupid thoughts. I need to give myself a good talking to. It’s ridiculous to imagine something like that when we’ve been together such a short time.
Yes, replies another part of me, but we both know this is special. Our connection is beyond anything I’ve ever known...
So why the hell is he letting someone whip him? And why won’t he tell me who it is?
It’s driving me mad not knowing. I decide I’ll leave him strictly alone while this deal is completed and then demand he tells me the truth if we’re really going to move forward in this relationship.
I’m just lifting my bag on to my shoulder when I hear the front door open. I go out into the hall expecting to see Sri back with the shopping, but Anna is standing there, her dark hair glistening under the hall spots. She looks as beautiful as she did earlier, and her green eyes glitter with that secret amusement she always seems to carry with her.
‘Hi, Beth,’ she says, smiling. ‘I’m glad you waited.’
‘I was just leaving, actually,’ I reply, caught in the usual trap of not wanting to sound rude but also feeling I must correct a misapprehension. The truth is that I was hoping to get away before Anna got here. Another five minutes and I would have been clean away. I make a mental pout of annoyance. At the same time, I wonder what on earth Dominic told her about what she witnessed today. I need to ask him so we can get our stories straight. ‘I have to get home. Sorry, Anna.’
‘Oh, come on,’ she coaxes, advancing towards me. ‘You can stay just a little longer. Have a glass of wine with me. Show me the pictures. I was admiring the ones here in the hallway – these old architectural prints are gorgeous and they look fantastic grouped over the console table like that.’
I’m flattered despite myself. ‘You like it?’
‘Yes, of course. Now, come along. We’ll go to the kitchen and get some of Andrei’s excellent Gavi, and then you can give me the tour.’
She walks off confidently. I teeter on the brink of telling her again firmly that I must go, and then give in. What’s the harm in one glass of wine and a look at the pictures? I’d like to hear her opinion after all, she seems to have good taste. I put down my bag and follow her. In the kitchen she pours us both large glasses of cold white wine and hands one to me.
‘Now,’ she says, ‘let’s go and admire your work.’
As we go from room to room, I forget my earlier jealousy of Anna, and the fact that she’s been a little cool with me lately. She’s friendly now, listening with interest to my explanations of the paintings and making intelligent comments. She also praises my hanging and the general arrangements. I’m enjoying her company and, as we wander on, sipping our wine, I even forget to wonder if she’s going to ask me about Dominic.
We reach Andrei’s bedroom, where, for the main focus, I’ve hung a large Dutch floral still life with red roses and yellow tulips that looks amazing against the dark green of the walls, and opposite a large oil painting of a fox, stealthy and slinking in a grey landscape. It’s gazing out of the painting, baring its teeth, its tail held out proudly and its prey dead at its feet, as though it has just been interrupted in the act of carrying it off.
‘Very good,’ Anna says in her rich voice, laughing. ‘Yes, yes. A fox. How suitable for the wily and sometimes deadly Mr Dubrovski. He will like this here. Perhaps he will sometimes mistake it for a mirror.’ She turns her green eyes on me. ‘You obviously know him well.’
‘Not as well as you do,’ I counter, also smiling. We’re friends for the moment, after all.
‘Perhaps not,’ she drawls languidly, and moves to the bed where she sits down on the paisley bed cover. It’s a four-poster in turned
oak but with no hangings, just the four bare posts. I have a flashing image of Anna spread-eagled naked on the bed, a wrist or ankle tethered to each of the posts. I brush it quickly away.
‘Come and sit here,’ she says in a low, purring voice, and she pats the bed beside her. ‘I want to ask you something.’
I hesitate, then go slowly towards her. I have a feeling she wants to ask me about Dominic. I wish very hard that I’d managed to talk to him earlier so that we could agree on the version of our story. I’ll just have to be slippery and talk my way out of awkward questions, that’s all.
Her scarlet lips curve up into a smile as I approach. I have the sudden idea that perhaps I should have commissioned a portrait of her for Andrei’s bathroom. Yes. A nude. How wonderful – the king’s mistress kept in his private room where only he can admire her perfect body. I make a mental note to ask Mark if he knows of a good portraitist who might like a commission. I can imagine that any artist would enjoy the opportunity to paint a naked Anna.
‘Come, come, sit here, that’s right,’ she says, as I perch next to her on the end of the bed. ‘Be comfortable, sit further back. Like that. Good. Now.’ She takes a sip of her wine, gazing at me over the rim as she does. ‘This is nice. This is friendly.’
I take a sip of my own wine, realising I’ve drunk quite a lot of it.
Anna goes on, her voice soft and gentle. ‘Now, Beth, you know the nature of my relationship with Andrei, don’t you? It’s very intimate. We’re lovers. The reason why we’re lovers is that we are a perfect physical match. Do you know what I mean by that?’
‘You have the right chemistry.’ Oh good, she’s talking about Andrei, not Dominic. She wants to show off again. Fine. Let her.
She nods. ‘Yes, yes. The right chemistry. We love the taste and smell of each other, but we are also a very good fit. He loves the feel of me and what I can do for him, and he in return provides me with great pleasure. I’m sure you know what I mean, how a man and woman can feel exactly right when they are joined into one, as if they were born to be slotted together, two halves of a whole. That is how it feels to me when Andrei enters me.’ Her eyes glitter at me, as if she’s trying to draw me into her world. ‘Do you know what I mean, Beth? Have you felt that with a man?’
I find I can’t look into her bright green eyes. This conversation is not going where I expected at all, and the personal turn it’s taken makes me feel awkward. I don’t reply.
‘However,’ she goes on, her voice low and honeyed again, ‘from time to time Andrei likes something new, a little variety. I know this and accept it. I keep myself for him, but that is my choice and not for any other reason. He is free to do as he likes.’ She leans towards me very slightly, her head tipped to one side, her eyes wide. ‘Perhaps he has even asked you to consider him as a lover...?’
Oh I see. You want to know if there’s something going on between me and Andrei. That’s what all this soothing talk and the tongue-loosening white wine is all in aid of. Well, you’re not going to get me that easily, Miss Poliakov.
‘No,’ I say quickly. I don’t intend to give anything away to Anna. ‘He hasn’t.’ My tongue feels a little fuzzy in my mouth, as though it’s swollen slightly, and I feel a rush of light-headedness. I must stop drinking; the wine has gone to my head too fast. I ought to eat something.
‘Don’t worry,’ she replies lightly, smiling again. ‘I only ask because he’s mentioned you to me. He’s says he’s interested in you and wants to know more about your nature. I said I would ask you.’
‘My nature?’ I echo.
‘Yes.’ She’s closer to me than ever. I can smell that perfume of hers, so dark and rich. It reminds me of a scent called Poison that a friend of mine used to wear. ‘You look so prim and proper in your trim little suits and with your neat British ways. But I suspect that under the surface you’re really a little volcano, bubbling with passion and desires. I’ve been watching you, Beth, and I can see the signs of it in the way you move, in your sensual mouth and your eyes. I think you relish your sexuality, am I right? Yes, I can see I am. You’re a girl who loves to make love, and you do plenty of things that would surprise the people who think they know you best, don’t you, Beth? You like some kinky things, don’t you? Am I right?’
Her words are whirling round my head, making me dizzy. I can’t answer, my mouth won’t obey me when I try to talk.
‘So, Beth, I have a suggestion for you. Don’t answer at once. Your instinct may be to say no, but when you think about it, you will see what an enticing proposition I am making you. What I’m suggesting is that you join Andrei and me in bed, and show us both what kind of fire rages in your body.’ Her voice drops to a whisper that almost seems to caress my skin. ‘Andrei shows his pleasure and approval in many pleasing ways. You’d enjoy both physical rewards, and practical ones. Believe me, the three of us could find a great deal of satisfaction together. Andrei would love it... and so would I.’
She is moving her face towards mine, as though she’s going to press her scarlet lips on my mouth. I jerk my head away and regain some control. ‘No!’ I say strongly. ‘I don’t want that. It isn’t my scene at all.’
‘Are you sure? You would enjoy it, I promise. And no one would want to whip you, or tie you up in ropes, I promise that too. Although, to spice it up a little, I might like to slip a mask on you so that you can’t see whether it is Andrei or me who is making love to you.’
I gaze at her in horror. Whip me? Tie me up in ropes? How can she possibly know?
She’s leaning in towards me again, and her hand lands lightly on my arm, where she strokes my skin. ‘There won’t be any dungeons or floggings until you can’t bear it any longer. You don’t like that, do you, Beth? You nearly refused him completely after that, didn’t you? It nearly drove you apart. But I think you’ve forgiven him now.’
My stomach drops with horror and my mouth goes dry. With a racing pulse, I say through dry lips, ‘How do you know about that?’
‘About you and Dominic? Because he told me, of course.’
‘Today? After what you saw?’ I’m trying to absorb this information, work out what it means, but I can hardly grasp the implication of what she’s saying. Except that she knows about things I’ve never told anyone. Things that only Dominic knows. I pull my arm away from her caressing hand.
‘Not today,’ she says. ‘No. I’ve known for a long time. You know those marks on Dominic’s back, the ones that made you so upset earlier? Well...’ Anna drops her chin and gazes up at me winsomely from underneath her lashes. ‘I don’t want to cause trouble but I know it’s something you want an answer to, and I don’t think Dominic will give it, so I will. The person who put them there was me. I thrashed him soundly, just before we made love.’
A vile nausea churns in my stomach. ‘No,’ I manage to rasp out. ‘That’s not true.’
‘Ask yourself, Beth. How would I know these things if Dominic hadn’t told me? About your experience in the dungeon and how far beyond your desires he took you? How would I know about the rope marks if I hadn’t put them there? Your heart is telling you the truth – that Dominic and I are lovers.’ She laughs and spreads her hands magnanimously. ‘I don’t mind if he enjoys you. He is a little infatuated, it’s true, but it will wear off in time, it always does. He likes taking innocent girls on these romantic journeys with him, it excites him. And while he softens their hearts, he toughens their bottoms with the whip. I expect he’ll mention a ring to you at some point, he likes to get that in early and enslave them even more.’
I can’t take it another moment. Every word she utters is breaking my heart. I jump to my feet, dropping my glass which falls onto the carpet, spilling what’s left of my wine. ‘It’s a lie!’ I cry out, agonised. ‘I trust him, I love him! He wouldn’t do these things, or treat me like that! I don’t believe you. I’ll ask him and he’ll tell me it’s all lies.’
‘Of course he will,’ she says, getting smoothly to her feet. ‘And no doubt you’ll ma
ke love to him with even more surrender when he convinces you he’s innocent. But he’s not. Think about it, Beth. There’s no other explanation.’ Her smile is suddenly malevolent, her eyes as hard as ice. ‘Really, you should thank me. I’ve saved you from him. You could have been used for months more before he finally got tired and dropped you, like he dropped the others.’
‘I won’t listen!’ I cry. ‘You’re despicable, talking like this! You’re trying to ruin everything and I won’t let you!’ I am in a whirl of rage and panic and all I know is that I must get away from her at all costs. She is poisoning my mind, her voice creeping into my head and into my bloodstream and sending its venom all over my body. I can’t listen to any more. I won’t. I turn for the door and start to stride towards it.
Her voice follows me, cold and clear. ‘Don’t you want to know who fucked you in the caves, Beth? Huh?’
I stop dead, with a gasp. I stare at the door, then close my eyes and let out a deep breath. So this is it. Her trump card. She knows. With one word she can spoil my life. But can I believe anything she says? If only there wasn’t some truth in those terrible words she’s uttered to me – but there is. I turn slowly to face her. She’s gazing at me, a mixture of amusement and hostility on her face. I have the sudden feeling that if I changed utterly at this moment, told her I would give in to her desires and join her and Andrei in bed, if I went over and begged her to kiss me, she become the purring kitten again in a second. She’s almost schizoid, I think, aghast at her. All that beauty on the outside, all that vileness within.
‘Okay, Anna,’ I say, suddenly calm and measured on the outside, despite the tornado raging inside me. ‘But tell me one thing. How would you know what happened in the caves that night? You weren’t there.’
Secrets After Dark Page 24
