Summer Madness

by Susan Lewis

  Hearing the thump Consuela and Danny turned back, looking down at Sarah in astonishment.

  ‘Before you say one word, Danielle Spencer,’ Sarah said savagely, ‘I did not do it on purpose.’

  Danny’s eyes flickered to Consuela’s as she struggled to suppress her laughter. ‘I’m sure you didn’t,’ she said, almost losing it as she noticed how Louisa’s shoulders were shaking.

  Consuela looked at Danny uncertainly, then at Louisa, then down at Sarah. Quickly she put a hand to her mouth, but not before Danny had seen the smile. Then, unable to stop herself, Consuela started to laugh. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said to Sarah, offering a hand to help her up. ‘I’m so sorry. I do hope you haven’t hurt yourself.’

  ‘Only my pride,’ Sarah grinned wryly, taking her hand.

  ‘Sarah, there’s not enough room in this dress to laugh,’ Danny protested.

  ‘No one’s forcing you to,’ Sarah answered loftily.

  Consuela was biting her lips. ‘Are you sure you’re all right?’ she said. ‘These floors are so dangerous.’

  ‘I’m fine, thank you,’ Sarah replied, summoning her dignity as she straightened her dress. ‘And please, feel free to laugh, it’ll make me feel better.’

  ‘Come along,’ Consuela said, putting an arm around Sarah’s shoulder, ‘let’s get you a drink.’

  Half an hour later, third cocktail in hand, Sarah managed to work her way across the wide, sweeping terrace that tripped in long, gently curved steps down to the pool, through the other guests, all of whom were as glamorous and probably as disgustingly rich as Consuela, to Louisa. ‘Consuela seems pretty taken with you,’ she said, stirring her drink and moving into the shade of a palm tree. ‘What were you talking about?’

  ‘I was just telling her what we all did in London and what we’ve been thinking about doing down here. In fact, she thinks she knows someone who might be able to help us.’

  ‘Really? Did she say who?’

  ‘I can’t remember his name. She said she’d give him a call for us. He’s in Nice, apparently.’

  Sarah smiled as one of the gorgeous, dinner-suited boys took her near-empty glass and handed her another.

  ‘No thanks,’ Louisa told him. ‘I still haven’t finished this one. How many have you had?’ she whispered to Sarah as the boy moved on.

  ‘Who’s counting?’ Sarah replied airily, lifting her face towards the sky, drinking in the wonderful balmy air and gentle hum of conversation on the terrace. ‘I could live this life,’ she said. ‘I wouldn’t have any problem getting used to it.’

  ‘I wonder what Consuela’s story is,’ Louisa said.

  ‘Why don’t you get your notebook out and go and ask her?’ Sarah suggested.

  ‘Very funny. But aren’t you intrigued? I mean, to begin with, where’s her husband?’

  ‘Ah, now that I can answer,’ Sarah said. ‘The woman over there, Serena I think her name is, the one in the striped dress, she told me. Apparently Mr Santini died about three years ago.’

  ‘Oh. Who was he, did she say?’

  ‘He was Argentinian I think, the same as Consuela.’

  ‘What did he do before he died?’

  ‘She didn’t say.’

  ‘What did he die of?’

  ‘I don’t know; I didn’t ask.’

  ‘Doesn’t she have any other family?’

  ‘Louisa! How the heck am I supposed to know? You’re the writer, you’re the one with all the questions, you go and ask.’

  ‘All right, keep your hair on. Anyway, I think we’d better go and mingle again, don’t you?’

  ‘Mmm. Listen, before you go, have you managed to get out of Danny yet where she was last night?’

  ‘No. Have you?’

  Sarah shook her head.

  ‘Well, you know Danny, she likes to have her little secrets,’ Louisa said, looking over to where Danny was laughing at something one of the women was saying to her.

  ‘When do you think we’re going to eat?’ Sarah muttered. ‘I’m starving.’

  ‘Then you’re in luck.’ Consuela laughed, coming up behind them. ‘I was just about to say shall we go inside?’

  Dinner, or a little light supper, as Consuela referred to it, was served in the main dining room just off the entrance hall. All four of the tall french windows were opened onto the terrace, offering a splendid view of the pool, gardens and setting sun. Anti-mosquito spirals and candles flickered and smoked and vast chandeliers glowed softly overhead. Consuela was at the head of the beige lacquered table with Danny to her right and Olivia Woodrow to her left. Louisa was at the other end opposite Consuela with Serena Udell, the wife of a Belgian banker, one side and Caro Reuben of the Reuben cosmetic group the other. Sarah was in the middle between Serena Udell and a woman whose name she embarrassingly couldn’t remember.

  The atmosphere was easy and relaxed, the women obviously knew each other well and Louisa found it quite fascinating to watch them. She’d never been in the company of such wealthy and celebrated people before, and their air of exclusivity and elitism was as spellbinding as their conversation. She almost laughed as she thought of what raptures Marcia Name-Drop would of be in were she here. Surprisingly, Louisa hadn’t detected even the slightest degree of snobbery amongst the women and their fondness for Consuela seemed quite touchingly real. It was as though, Louisa reflected curiously, they each harboured some kind of sadness for her, some kind of mutual compassion that Consuela neither accepted nor rejected. It was simply something that was there. What was it she was trying to say to herself about Consuela? she wondered. There was something about her that seemed as closed as an oyster and when she laughed it was as though the joy came from her lips, not her heart. When they’d spoken earlier Louisa had caught a sharpness in Consuela’s eyes, an edge that suggested some inner pain or maybe it was anger, or maybe she, Louisa, had too vivid an imagination.

  ‘She is very beautiful, no?’ Caro whispered in her throaty Spanish accent.

  Louisa turned to her in surprise, then smiled as she realized Caro had noticed her watching Consuela. ‘Yes, very beautiful. Have you known her long?’

  ‘Si, many years. I knew her husband too, he was kind, kind man. He love her very much.’

  ‘How did he die?’ Louisa asked.

  ‘He had heart attack. Consuela, she was very sad after, she love him very much. Her life has never been same since. So much terrible things happen to her.’

  ‘What kind of things?’ Louisa couldn’t help asking.

  ‘Sssh,’ Caro said, putting a finger to her lips. ‘We no talk about them. Consuela, she no like it. She like to forget.’

  ‘Does she have any family?’

  ‘No, no family now. They all gone. She is alone. But she make her family here with the young ones. She love the young people. They love her too. They make her happy.’

  Louisa looked back across the table to see Consuela laughing at something one of the boys, Frederico, was whispering in her ear. It wasn’t the first time this evening that Louisa had noticed the easy, informal relationship Consuela seemed to enjoy with her staff – there had been not even the remotest suggestion of anything like the salacious, Messalina-type mistress with her humble and lust-weary slaves scenario she, Danny and Sarah had conjured on their way here. She watched as Consuela turned her attention to Danny and shared Frederico’s joke and as the two of them laughed they unthinkingly joined hands.

  Caro turned to talk to Rosalind who was sitting the other side of her and as Serena was listening intently to her neighbour Louisa picked up her lacy gold goblet and gazed thoughtfully out of the window. She could see a car coming up the drive and absent-mindedly tracked its progress until it came to a stop on the forecourt. The man who got out tossed his keys to Carlos who was waiting, then disappeared around the side of the house. He had been too far away for Louisa to get a good look at him, but his proprietorial air and the expensive car made her idly wonder who he might be.

  She looked across the table to Sa
rah who was cheerfully encouraging one of the boys to refill her glass. Heaven only knew how much Sarah had had by now, but she certainly appeared to be keeping the women either side of her entertained.

  Seeing that Caro was no longer talking to anyone, Louisa was on the point of turning back to her when she saw the man from the Mercedes standing in the hall talking to Frederico. She could see him only in profile, but it seemed clear that he was giving orders, making her wonder again who he might be. He moved slightly, bringing himself further into the light and Louisa felt a strange stillness suddenly wrap itself around her. Despite some kind of scar around his left eye he was quite staggeringly good looking, and the incredible strength that seemed to emanate from the hard muscles beneath his thin cotton shirt and the tightness of his jeans was having an extraordinary effect on her. She swallowed hard as though to push back the peculiar emotions that were rising in her, as light as air, more potent than the wine. He looked up, as though sensing he was being watched. Louisa started to look away, but found to her surprise that she didn’t. She couldn’t remember this ever happening to her before; she was responding to him in a way that was almost dizzying. As he looked back at her his dark eyes were questioning, as though wondering if he knew her, but more than that, as though he too was feeling something indefinable passing between them. He smiled and frowned, causing a sudden heat to sweep through her, leaving her almost breathless in its wake. When his eyes moved on around the table she continued to watch him, wondering how he was still managing to have such a disturbing effect on her. Then with a horrible sinking feeling she saw that he was looking at Danny and that Danny, her wine glass barely concealing her smile, was looking at him with sultry, provocative eyes. He raised an eyebrow with a drollness that made Louisa’s heart trip and Danny ran her tongue over her beautiful lips.

  Suddenly realizing that all her guests had fallen silent Consuela turned to look over her shoulder. ‘Ah, Jake,’ she said. Then turning back again, ‘Ladies, I believe some of you have already met Jake Mallory.’

  No one answered, but Louisa saw the way Rosalind and Caro exchanged glances. Jake looked briefly at Louisa and she almost gasped. He seemed almost angry, but the glance was so fleeting it was difficult to tell.

  As he disappeared, taking the stairs two at a time, Louisa watched as Frederico appeared at Consuela’s side and laid a hand on her shoulder. Smiling, Consuela reached up to cover it with her own. ‘Please, everyone, if you will excuse me,’ she said, getting to her feet. ‘The evening is young and I am sure you would all like to take a stroll in the garden, perhaps relax in the bathhouse. As always, Frederico and the boys will be happy to entertain you.’

  As she left the room both Danny and Sarah looked across to Louisa. Louisa shook her head, obviously as baffled as they were by the sudden chill that seemed to have permeated the room. Then Rosalind was pushing back her chair and standing up. The others followed suit and quite suddenly it was as though the last few minutes hadn’t happened as everyone returned to their light-hearted chatter, following Frederico out into the garden.

  ‘What on earth was all that about?’ Sarah whispered to Louisa as they walked onto the terrace.

  ‘God knows,’ Louisa answered.

  ‘Don’t ask me,’ Danny responded as Sarah turned to her. ‘But I can tell you something …’

  ‘Can I bring you anything, ladies?’ Frederico offered. ‘The others are taking champagne in the bathhouse, but if you prefer perhaps to take a swim in the pool, or maybe a drink on the terrace …’

  ‘I think,’ Danny said, raising her eyebrows challengingly at Sarah and Louisa, ‘we’ll take the champagne.’

  As they strolled across the garden behind Frederico Louisa whispered. ‘What exactly is this bathhouse? I heard someone talking about it earlier.’

  ‘Apparently,’ Sarah answered, ‘so Mathilde, the woman who was sitting next to me, tells me, it’s something of a ritual on these girls’ nights of theirs to go and relax in the bathhouse after dinner.’

  ‘Yes, but what is it?’

  ‘That’s what we’re about to find out,’ Danny said, as Frederico opened the door to the building they had spotted through the trees on their way in.

  ‘Please relax and make yourselves at home, ladies,’ Frederico said, standing aside for them to pass. ‘If you need anything then you have only to ask.’

  Louisa was the first to step inside and instantly stopped. Danny squeezed herself past, then she too stood still on the threshold.

  ‘My word,’ Sarah murmured, coming in behind them.

  A gentle steam was rising from each of the circular and oval sunken baths, drifting lazily through the vivid green fronds of exotic palms and ferns, circling the white, delicately carved screens that partitioned the baths. Beside each bath was a white chaise-longue, and on several of these were the carefully folded clothes of the women who were already in the baths. With the exception of Frederico the boys who had waited table were all here, joined now by three or four others. None of them wore anything more than a leather pouch that hugged his genitals, and they all had a physique that belonged totally to this extraordinary Greco-Roman setting. Though the harps and lutes were purely ornamental, these were the instruments that were providing the soft music that seemed to blend with the subtle fragrances of the steam.

  It was the most beautiful, most inviting film set Danny had ever seen and as though she had rehearsed it many times before she moved forward, leaving first one shoe, then the other, behind her. Dmitri, one of the boys who had waited table, seemed to appear from nowhere and waved an arm towards an unoccupied bath. Danny lifted her hair, turned her back to Dmitri and smiled dreamily as he lowered the zip. Peeling the dress from her body she stepped out of it, lowered her panties and handed them to Dmitri. Obediently he took them, laid them carefully on the chaise-longue, then took Danny’s hand as she stepped into the bath.

  Like a camera following the action, Louisa’s eyes moved with the boy who passed them going to the bath where Olivia was resting her elbows on the side and gently kicking her legs. The boy handed her a glass of champagne, then lay down beside the bath, resting his head on one hand, ready to take the glass from her with the other.

  Hearing laughter, Louisa looked to the next bath and saw Stephan sink beneath the water with Rosalind. When the two of them came up he was holding Rosalind about the waist and Rosalind let her head fall back, her hair and arms fanning out across the water as he kissed her breasts.

  The whole thing was so hypnotic, so unbelievably sensual that when someone took her by the hand Louisa barely registered what was happening. She moved as Danny had moved, as though in a dream. Her inhibitions seemed to disperse in the steam as her dress fell to the floor, her panties brushed lightly over her legs and gentle hands took her, guiding her to the bath. As the warm, perfumed water enveloped her she rolled over and over, her movements as fluid as the gentle currents beneath her. Johann was sitting beside the bath, watching her, resting his weight on one arm. After a moment he got up, then returned with champagne. Louisa sipped it then handed it back. The aroma of bath oils was as intoxicating as the wine.

  She swam some more and Johann increased the pressure of the jets. She pressed herself to them, closing her eyes as they gently pummelled and caressed her, turning languidly and luxuriously in the scented water, feeling the tension flow from her limbs and coherent thought unravel itself from her mind. Eventually she came to rest against the side of the bath where Johann put his hands on her shoulders and began gently to massage. She let her head fall forward, felt herself melting beneath the expert touch of his fingers.

  Lifting Danny in his arms Dmitri carried her from the bath and laid her down at the edge. Danny’s eyes were closed, but her hand was stroking his thigh, the leather pouch was gone. He stood over her, gazing down at her as he reached for more champagne.

  On the chaise-longue the other side of the screen, Olivia was sitting beside Antonio, her hair streaming down her back, his hands stroking her wais
t as his lips moved indolently over her neck and shoulders.

  Rosalind, covered by a bathrobe, was leaving with Stephan through a door at the back of the room. Caro was stretched out on the floor, arms above her head moaning softly as her massage became ever more intimate. Serena was still in the bath, her elbows resting on the edge, her nipples tingling under the purposeful gaze of Michel’s sultry eyes.

  Gradually, one by one, each of the couples got up and left through the door Rosalind had used. Some were in bathrobes, most were still naked. Louisa watched them, hardly aware of what she was seeing as Johann stroked her face, her shoulders and her breasts. She thought she saw Sarah go through the door, but couldn’t be sure because at that moment Johann pulled her head back and kissed her softly on the mouth. ‘Come,’ he said, taking her by the hand.

  Louisa turned in the water and walked up the steps to the edge of the bath. Then she too disappeared through the door at the back of the room …

  ‘You waiting for someone?’

  Not having heard anyone come up behind her Louisa started and turned round. She wasn’t surprised to see Jake Mallory standing at the top of the steps, the black Mercedes was still there on the forecourt and in some curious way it was as though she’d been expecting him.

  As she got up from where she was sitting on a balustrade she was vaguely aware of the way her heart was pounding. The scent of the oils still lingered on her skin, but the memory of Johann’s hands now seemed as elusive as a dream. ‘I’m driving my friends home,’ she answered.

  He was looking at her in that same questioning way he had earlier and Louisa could almost feel herself floating in the intensity of his dark eyes. Standing close to him like this was overwhelming her, he was so tall, so powerful in his body and the mesmerizing aura that surrounded him seemed almost to be drawing her in.

  He looked at his watch and Louisa’s eyes were instantly drawn to the hard muscles and dark, leathery skin of his forearm. ‘You could be in for a long wait,’ he said. His American voice added such a potency to his masculinity that Louisa was almost dizzied by it.