The Bracelet

by Fredrica Alleyn

  ‘Let me,’ said Tarquin, finally standing up and helping her fasten the dress. Then he turned her towards him and kissed her softly on the lips. ‘You’re an incredible woman, Kristina. I wish I’d decided to write a book a long time ago. I had no idea publishing parties were like this!’

  Kristina giggled. ‘Nor had I! It must be your influence. Come on, I want to leave now.’

  ‘I’d better stay. I’ve still got people to meet. I’ll call you soon,’ he said calmly.

  Kristina was shocked. ‘We’re not leaving together?’

  ‘Why should we? We didn’t arrive together, and I’m here to discuss my novel. Roberta might feel slighted if I left without talking to her a little more.’

  ‘Yes, of course,’ Kristina murmured, knowing he was right but still desperately disappointed. ‘Fine, well I’ll see you sometime.’

  He nodded. ‘Yes, you will.’

  When she crept out into the corridor it was deserted, and she left the building without meeting anyone she knew, but in the main room Roberta stood by the window and stared out over London, her mouth a thin tight line of anger and frustration.

  Two days later, Sue put Lucretia through to Kristina. ‘I know you’re busy working on Simon’s new contract, but it’s the third time she’s called in the past hour and she sounds pretty annoyed,’ explained Sue.

  ‘Okay,’ agreed Kristina wearily, then she changed her tone. ‘Hi, Lucretia! Lovely to hear from you. How’s the book going? Finished yet?’

  ‘Yes, it is finished,’ said Lucretia, her voice far cooler than Kristina had ever heard it before. ‘It would have been nice to have heard from you though, rather than having to ring myself.’

  ‘Was I meant to call you?’ asked Kristina in surprise, racking her brains to think why that might have been.

  ‘I’d have thought it would have been polite,’ responded Lucretia.

  Kristina began to feel worried. This was not the Lucretia she knew. ‘Whatever’s wrong?’ she asked gently.

  ‘I rang Roberta,’ explained Lucretia frostily. ‘I wanted to check out the ending with her before I posted off the manuscript. As you can imagine, it came as quite a shock to learn that she isn’t my editor any longer, and that you’ve known that for several weeks. I felt a complete idiot, although obviously Roberta realised it wasn’t my fault.’

  Kristina took some slow, deep breaths as she tried to repair the damage done by Roberta. ‘I only heard about it myself two days ago,’ she explained. ‘It was at that party you couldn’t make and …’

  ‘Why didn’t you ring me yesterday then?’ asked Lucretia. ‘Don’t you think it’s something I needed to know?’

  ‘Yes, of course you needed to know, but as we don’t have the name of your new editor yet I was waiting until things were a little more straight and then …’

  ‘It’s a man called Martin Frost,’ snapped Lucretia. ‘Roberta says he’s written to you twice suggesting a meeting, but so far you haven’t replied.’

  ‘Martin Frost!’ exclaimed Kristina, remembering the name on the door of the room she and Tarquin had used. ‘So that’s who he is!’

  ‘Don’t you read your emails any more?’ asked Lucretia. ‘I don’t quite know how to put this, Kristina, but lately …’ Kristina tried to concentrate, but she found that she couldn’t. In her mind she was back at the party again. She could feel the carpet beneath her bare back as Tarquin finally thrust into her, his swollen penis desperate for release after his long slow torment as she’d brought him tantalisingly close to a climax time after time, her hands busy on his purple glans, her lips soft around his hardness.

  ‘Kristina!’

  She jumped as her mind spun crazily, trying to reorientate itself. ‘Sorry, what was that last bit?’ she asked desperately.

  For a long time there was silence at the other end of the line. Then Lucretia spoke again. ‘You haven’t been listening to a word I’ve said, have you?’

  ‘Of course I have!’ protested Kristina.

  ‘Then tell me what I was talking about.’

  ‘Well, you were saying that you’d miss Roberta, and quite rightly pointing out that I’ve been totally remiss in failing to let you know what was going on,’ said Kristina, guessing wildly.

  ‘My goodness, I think you should be the writer, you have a wonderful imagination,’ said Lucretia, and Kristina’s heart sank. ‘I was actually saying that I didn’t wish to work with a male editor, and that I felt you weren’t quite so involved with my work as you used to be,’ continued Lucretia. ‘It seems I was absolutely right on the second count.’

  ‘God, I’m so sorry,’ gabbled Kristina, wishing she could push away the image of Tarquin leaning against the desktop, his testicles drawn up tightly against the base of his erection and his face twisted in an expression of frantic desire.

  ‘So am I,’ said Lucretia, and suddenly she sounded very sad. ‘I’m sorry, Kristina, but perhaps I ought to think about changing to another agency. I know we’ve been together ever since we both began, but Roberta explained that you’re more interested in non-fiction now and with the way publishing is at the moment I can see that makes sense, although I feel I’m still doing well enough. I’ll go away and think about it some more, then drop you a line.’

  ‘Roberta doesn’t know what she’s talking about!’ said Kristina, her voice rising with panic. ‘I’m not doing more non-fiction. I’ve taken on two new fiction writers in the last three months. Honestly Lucretia, this is all a terrible mistake.’

  ‘Yes, by you,’ said Lucretia shortly and the line went dead.

  Stunned, Kristina sat with the receiver in her hand listening to the humming noise on the line in total disbelief. She couldn’t afford to lose Lucretia. Lucretia’s work sold all over the world. They made cheap TV movies out of her books, they serialised them, they put together collections and now there was even talk of a big-budget Hollywood movie in the offing. If she lost Lucretia her agency would be in desperate trouble, and Roberta must have known this only too well.

  There was a light tap at the door and Sue came in. ‘Is your phone off the hook? I can’t put … What’s wrong, Kristina? You look terrible!’

  Slowly and carefully Kristina replaced the receiver. ‘I feel terrible. Lucretia’s thinking of leaving us.’

  Sue’s mouth opened in shock. ‘But she can’t!’

  ‘Of course she can, and I’m not surprised she wants to either. I’ve made such a mess of things, Sue. You wouldn’t believe how stupid I’ve been.’

  ‘Nonsense, you’re never stupid. What was it? An argument over the plot again?’

  Kristina shook her head. ‘I wish that was all it was. I can’t explain, Sue, but believe me she’s got every right to be fed up. What annoys me most, apart from my own stupidity, is that Roberta Mitchell’s the one who put the idea of going into her head. If she walked in here now I think I’d strangle her.’

  ‘But why would Roberta want to damage you? I thought you got on pretty well, and she’d always worked reasonably well with Lucretia.’

  ‘Yes, that’s the point. She’s no longer working on Lucretia’s book, and I forgot to tell Lucretia.’

  ‘But why is Roberta involved in suggesting a change of agent?’

  Kristina closed her eyes for a moment, remembering how Roberta had drooled over Tarquin at the party and remembering too the soft click of the door closing just after she and Tarquin had finished making love at the party.

  ‘Please, Sue, drop it will you?’ she asked wearily. ‘I can’t think straight at the moment and I’ve got a ghastly headache coming on. I’m going for a walk. When I come back I’ll start composing an email to Lucretia, and we’ll get that off by mid-afternoon. If I grovel enough maybe, just maybe, I’ll keep her.’

  ‘Whatever you say,’ agreed Sue.

  After she’d gone Kristina stared sightlessly out of the window. This was what she’d feared most as she was drawn more and more into the world of the society of the bracelet. Real life, her work, an
d her everyday friends, were no longer so interesting. She was losing touch with reality and however hard she tried she didn’t seem able to stop it.

  ‘I must talk to Jackie,’ she said aloud. ‘She’ll understand.’ Then she remembered that Jackie was no longer the close friend and confidante she’d once been and she hesitated, but finally she dialled the number. The worst that could happen was that Jackie would tell her to get lost.

  Jackie didn’t. She listened in total silence to Kristina’s almost hysterical tale and then spoke quietly and reassuringly. ‘Meet me tonight at my place. We’ll talk about it then,’ she promised. ‘I know what you’re going through. It’s the same for me.’

  ‘Thanks, Jackie,’ exclaimed Kristina. ‘I was afraid you might still be annoyed with me.’

  ‘No, I’ve talked to Laurence and he said the same as you. In my more rational moments I do realise that he needs an agent for his book, and I also realise you’re the best there is. See you tonight.’

  As Kristina smiled with relief, Jacqueline too smiled and then began to dial another number on her mobile phone. She was very glad that Kristina had rung her, very glad indeed.

  Chapter Ten

  KRISTINA ARRIVED AT Jackie’s ten minutes early. Wearing a pair of black leggings, a cream lace-trimmed sleeveless tunic and flat cream pumps she felt more than ready for a long girls-only evening, and hoped that the bottle of wine she was carrying would help get the conversation going. Certainly she was in need of something if she was going to relax. Her neck muscles felt as though they were locked together and her spine seemed to have an iron bolt running through it.

  She was a little startled when Jackie opened the door wearing a black, stretch-velvet dress that ended on the knee and had a startling cut-out neckline that was linked with tiny gold chains. At the front of the dress was a deep slit that extended more than halfway up her thigh. High-heeled black stiletto shoes completed the outfit and Kristina wondered if she’d made a mistake and was meant to come another night.

  Jackie smiled cheerfully. ‘You’re early, but it doesn’t matter. As you can see, I’m ready.’

  Kristina looked down at her own outfit. ‘I don’t think I am. Are you having a party? That dress is incredible, but I imagined we were having a girls’ night.’

  ‘So we are,’ Jackie assured her. ‘I just felt like dressing up.’

  ‘You look terrific, but I have the feeling Laurence would appreciate it more!’

  Jacqueline turned away to hide her smile. ‘I’m sure he would too, but these days I find that even when I’m on my own I like to wear these kinds of clothes. They make me feel sensuous.’

  ‘Right now it would take more than a black velvet dress to make me feel sensuous,’ said Kristina fervently. ‘I’ve sent off my email to Lucretia, but I’ve no idea if it will do the trick. If it doesn’t I honestly don’t think I’m going to be able to survive, at least not with my present set-up. I could cut back on staff, even work from home I suppose, but that wouldn’t do much for my image as the best agent in the country!’

  ‘I shouldn’t worry about that,’ murmured Jackie, pouring them each a glass of wine. ‘The last time I spoke to someone in publishing they were full of that new agent, Francesca Morley is it? I think she’s the new Girl Wonder. Never mind, we all have our day.’

  ‘Francesca? But she hasn’t got anyone big on her list! She’s done one or two useful deals and seems to be building up quite a nice little stable of promising writers, but …’

  ‘No more talking shop,’ said Jackie with a smile. ‘We’re here to discuss the impact of the society on our lives, remember?’

  Kristina sighed. ‘Sorry, yes of course I remember! Cheers!’

  ‘Here’s to the society,’ said Jackie, raising her glass.

  ‘Yes, the society,’ murmured Kristina, and immediately she thought of Tarquin, and the way he’d sat asking her questions as she squirmed in the large leather chair in the middle of the darkened room in St John’s Wood.

  ‘You’re still seeing Tarquin are you?’ queried Jackie.

  ‘Yes, more than ever now. How about you and Laurence?’

  ‘Well, as you know we had a bit of a hiccup, but he’s calling me up regularly again so I’m not sure what that was about.’ Kristina remembered Hester but said nothing.

  As Jackie went into the kitchen to fetch them some food Kristina glanced through one of the magazines lying on the coffee-table, and to her astonishment she saw Hester’s face staring out at her. She was accepting an award from a minor member of royalty, and looked very smart and in control, not at all like she’d been with Laurence.

  ‘Who’s that?’ Kristina asked Jackie when she returned.

  ‘That’s Hester Franks, one of Europe’s top fashion designers. She’s won loads of awards this year, and recently ditched her second husband saying all men are wimps. Perhaps she should try the society of the bracelet!’

  ‘Perhaps she should,’ agreed Kristina, trying hard not to smile.

  ‘So, why d’you ask?’ went on Jackie.

  ‘I thought I recognised her face, but I was wrong. Jackie, how do you cope with your business life these days? I know you said you were finding it difficult to work properly. What did you do to force yourself to get interested again?’

  Jackie gave her a strange look. ‘I didn’t do anything.’

  ‘You mean, after a time you adjust, is that it?’ asked Kristina eagerly. ‘I did wonder if that might happen. I suppose once the novelty wears off you learn to keep the two parts of your life quite separate, which is what’s intended, I know!’

  ‘I don’t mean that at all. I’ve given up my job,’ said Jackie defiantly.

  Kristina stared at her friend. ‘Given it up? But what do you do all the time?’

  ‘I see other men than Laurence, so that keeps me pretty occupied. The rest of the time I watch videos, read books, have long sensual baths, it’s amazing how time passes.’

  ‘You watch videos? Are you mad, Jackie? You were one of our top journalists. You’ve got a brain, you can’t just sit indoors and watch rubbish on your television!’

  ‘I didn’t exactly choose to stop working. I’ve been fired. You see, I don’t have your advantage in that I’m not self-employed. Once my work went off I was in trouble, and the bosses began to watch me closely. I failed to keep up to the mark and so I was asked – very politely – to go.’

  ‘But I haven’t heard anything about this. Didn’t you make a fuss? You’re well-known, and you were still working when I last spoke to you. You’d done that exclusive interview with Tarquin. Wasn’t your paper pleased with that?’

  ‘Sure, but then I failed to meet several deadlines, and that’s one thing journalists are not allowed to do. As for a fuss, the truth is I didn’t want any fuss. I knew it was all my fault, and after my “Pursuit of Truth” award last year it was a bit embarrassing.’

  ‘Have you looked for work on other papers or magazines?’

  ‘There’s no point. I’m busy making sure I get Laurence to marry me,’ said Jackie calmly.

  ‘Marry you?’ Kristina nearly laughed aloud, but then she realised that she was secretly harbouring much the same idea about Tarquin and suddenly it didn’t seem so funny any more.

  ‘Why? Don’t you think that’s likely? Has Laurence told you – as his agent naturally – that he isn’t going to marry me?’

  ‘No, of course not. We never talk about the society of the bracelet,’ said Kristina quickly. ‘It’s just that, well this wasn’t why we joined, Jackie. We wanted good, uninvolved sex with virtual strangers. Sex that was safe, satisfying and discreet.’

  ‘Maybe we were fooling ourselves,’ said Jackie softly. ‘Perhaps what we really wanted to do was find the right kind of man and then hope for more commitment from them.’

  Kristina shook her head. ‘No, that wasn’t how it was. I remember the way I felt very well indeed. I wanted something that was totally different from the sex I had with Ben but left me free to pursue my
career. I wanted a man who wasn’t afraid of my success, who was able to take the lead in bed and then step out of my life and let me take the lead in all other respects. I wasn’t looking for a permanent partner, I know I wasn’t.’

  Jackie shrugged. ‘You didn’t think you were, and I didn’t think I was, but I am now. All I think about, all I want, is Laurence. Wouldn’t you like to know that Tarquin was exclusively yours, rather than sharing him with other women from the society, and that girlfriend of his, what’s her name?’

  ‘Estelle. Yes, I would rather not share him, and I hate it when he goes off with Estelle, but that’s part of the price you pay. No one can have everything.’

  ‘Precisely, which is exactly where we came in,’ said Jackie triumphantly. ‘We were always hearing that we had it all, and we knew we didn’t. Now we’ve got what we thought was missing, but we still haven’t got it all, so I don’t think we’ve done ourselves much good, do you?’

  ‘Yes, I do! I’d much rather have Tarquin, even on the terms of the society, than not have met him at all. The sex is fantastic, and he makes every other man I’ve met seem like a total nonentity.’

  ‘Even Laurence?’

  Kristina sighed. ‘Jackie, please! That was nothing, a mistake, a simple case of lust. You can’t compare Laurence with Tarquin!’

  Jackie’s eyes narrowed. ‘Really? I’m not sure Laurence would find that very flattering.’

  ‘Who cares?’ retorted Kristina, ‘I’m telling you, not him.’

  ‘To return to what we were saying a few moments ago,’ said Jackie slowly. ‘Would you honestly rather have Tarquin and all this wonderful sex but lose Lucretia and possibly your entire career?’

  ‘No, of course not.’

  ‘But that’s what’s happened, isn’t it?’

  ‘It’s what could happen,’ said Kristina carefully. ‘That’s the reason I came here tonight, to try and see if you could help me sort things out. Now I know you’re not working at all, I’m beginning to think you’re the last person I should have consulted!’