B00CAXBD9C EBOK (8 page)

‘Want a drink?’ she asked.

‘It’s four o’clock in the afternoon,’ he said coldly.

‘Oh, dear!’ she muttered, like a naughty child caught doing something wrong. She poured herself a stiff Scotch, lit a cigarette, and flopped down on the floor. ‘Well, David, what is there to say?’

‘There’s plenty to say.’ He paced the room angrily and added menacingly, ‘Plenty.’

She giggled. ‘Do stop it with the wronged-husband bit. I
told
you I wasn’t tied to anyone. I warned you that no man tells me what to do.’

He shook his head at her. ‘I don’t understand you. Sometimes you act like a cheap whore.’

She rolled over on her stomach, taking a long drag of her cigarette, and blowing the smoke toward him. Then she said calmly, ‘I’m in a very good mood today, nothing can spoil it, not even you.’

She rolled onto her back and stretched, the taut outline of her breasts appearing through her sweater. He felt the familiar hot desire creep up on him.

‘Conrad Lee is a very important man, and he’s going to do a lot for me.’

‘Sure, he’ll do a lot for you,’ said David bitterly. ‘He’ll do a lot for you in bed.’

‘I’m testing this week for his new film. How about that?’

‘Balls!’

‘You’re just jealous, that’s all. You’ll see, he’s going to make a star out of me.’

‘You’re making a fool of yourself. The
director
of the film said that this is Conrad’s hobby, stringing along little girls like you.’

‘Come on, David dear. The last thing I am is a little girl. I’m nobody’s fool. I know the score.
You
should know that.’

‘How was he in the sack?’

Her eyes met his. They were big and green and bright. ‘He wasn’t anything like you.’ She stood up and wrapped her arms around him. ‘No one’s like you,’ she whispered. ‘No one’s ever been like you.’ The fight was over.

It was slow, and warm, and tender. Afterward they lay on the floor where he had taken her, locked in each other’s arms.

She kissed him softly. ‘You must understand,’ she whispered, ‘it doesn’t mean I don’t love you. When I sleep with him, it’s nothing. He’s a pig, an old pig. But, baby, I want to be in his movie. I want to be in it
so much.
And I’m going to, I promise you that.’

He flicked his hands over her soft breasts. ‘You’re so beautiful, when I’m with you I don’t care what you’ve been doing. So get in his lousy movie if you must. But don’t sleep with him or anyone else again, or I’ll beat the shit out of you!’

She pressed closer to him. ‘I love it when you play tough.’

It’s impossible, he thought, impossible that it can happen again so soon, and be that much better. She’s like a tigress. They should cage her naked in the zoo for all to see, for only seeing is believing. And they should pin a notice to her cage – ‘Do not feed. Only eats men.’

Out of the blue Claudia said, ‘Your wife’s very attractive, isn’t she?’

‘She used to be. I suppose she still is, really.’

‘How old is she?’ asked Claudia, a typical woman’s question.

He wasn’t interested in discussing Linda. ‘Thirty something. I don’t know.’

‘I wonder what
I’ll
look like when I’m thirty.’

He was saved from answering by the phone.

Claudia reluctantly lifted the receiver.

‘Oh, hello,’ she said softly. She glanced quickly over at David. He immediately wondered who it was. ‘I’d like that,’ she was saying. ‘About what time?’ She balanced the receiver under her chin and fumbled for a cigarette from the table. ‘All right, see you tomorrow. Look forward to it.’ She hung up. ‘I’m starving!’ she exclaimed. ‘I feel like going out for a fabulous exciting dinner.’

‘Who was that?’ he asked, trying to keep his voice casual.

‘Who was what?’ she asked, knowing perfectly well what he meant.

‘On the phone.’

She hesitated for just a second too long before saying, ‘It was my agent. He wants me to have dinner with him and his wife tomorrow night.’

‘Friendly of him, just like that he starts asking you to dinner.’

‘Yes, just like that,’ she said patiently. ‘As a matter of fact, I called him earlier and told him I wanted to see him about this Conrad thing. I’m going to take a long bath. Can we go out later? Or have you got to rush home?’

He thought she was lying, but what was the point in arguing? ‘Do you
want
me to be free?’

‘Of course I do, otherwise I wouldn’t have asked you.’

‘I’ll phone home. Where do you want to go? I’ll book a table.’

‘Let’s go somewhere great for a change. We always have to hide out in some old dive. What does it matter if we’re seen? After all, I
am
Miss Beauty Maid, so I’m business, really. Let’s go to Carlo’s.’

Carlo’s was a very expensive, very fashionable Italian restaurant. It was
the
place to go,
the
place to be seen. David knew he was taking a ridiculous risk going there with Claudia. He was sure to see people he knew. However, on the other hand, he
wanted
to be seen with Claudia. He
wanted
people to know that she was his.

‘OK, you go and make yourself pretty, and I’ll book a table for eight o’clock.’

She kissed him lightly. ‘Divine, darling.’

He gave her a playful tap on the bottom. ‘Put some clothes on, or we’ll never get out!’

Giggling, she retired to the bathroom.

He read the evening papers, booked a table at the restaurant. He felt guilty about phoning Linda, but eventually he did, and then snapped at her when she asked what he had to do. He produced some suitable lies, felt badly about the whole thing, inquired after the children in a fit of conscience, and then hung up.

Claudia reappeared after a time, transformed. Her glossy ash-blond hair was piled on top of her head in studied confusion, her makeup was smooth and perfect. She wore a slinky black dress and rows and rows of jet beads. She looked stunning.

David told her so, and she smiled and preened and showed off her dress to him, flitting around the room like some beautiful exotic bird. ‘Isn’t it
exciting
going out somewhere
decent
together!’ she exclaimed. ‘I do wish we could do it more often.’

In the car on the way to the restaurant he had second thoughts. It was a stupid thing to do. Linda was bound to find out, and then what? Especially as she seemed to be so sensitive about their marriage lately. He glanced quickly over at Claudia. She was fiddling with the radio, trying to find music.

‘Why don’t we drive out somewhere nice in the country instead?’

She stared at him, her big eyes frosty. ‘I knew you’d get cold feet.
You
go to the country. Let me out. I’m sick of hiding all over the place.’

‘All right, we’ll go to Carlo’s.’ To hell with it. Linda probably wouldn’t find out. They said wives were always the last to know.

The restaurant was very crowded. The headwaiter said their table would be a few minutes, so they sat at the bar. Claudia greeted several people. David was relieved to see no one he knew.

A girl came up to them, dragging a weedy-looking young man behind her. She was thin and suntanned, and quite pretty. ‘Gorgeous!’ she said to Claudia. ‘You look fabulous! Where
have
you been, haven’t seen you for ages!’ She dragged the young man alongside her. ‘
You
remember Jeremy.’

Jeremy blushed and stuttered, ‘Hello.’

‘We’re engaged! Can you imagine!’ She giggled and gave Jeremy a playful poke in the ribs. He looked acutely embarrassed.

‘Shirley!’ exclaimed Claudia. ‘How marvellous!’ She turned to David. ‘Shirl, darling, this is David Cooper, a very old friend of mine.’

Shirley extended a small suntanned hand, and David shook it briefly.

Claudia continued, ‘And, David, I’d like you to meet Shirley’s fiancé, the Honourable Jeremy Francis.’

Jeremy edged forward. ‘Jolly glad to meet you, old boy.’ He had sandy-coloured skin, liberally dotted with angry red acne.

‘Sit down and have a drink,’ said Claudia. ‘We must celebrate!’

They found extra chairs and sat down. The girls immediately went into a huddle about the dresses they were wearing. The Honourable Jeremy sat uncomfortably on the edge of his chair. He was extremely tall, and his knees bumped David’s under the table.

‘We’re going to have an
enormous
wedding,’ Shirley was now saying. ‘It will be simply marvellous. Jeremy’s parents know absolutely everyone!’ She flashed a large emerald-and-diamond ring at Claudia. ‘Look!’ she said dramatically. ‘Asprey’s!’

Claudia said, ‘It’s divine. I love it. I’m so happy for you both.’

‘And now, what about
you?’
questioned Shirley, shooting a meaningful look at David.

Claudia laughed. ‘You know how
I
feel about marriage. It’s not for me, Shirl baby.
I
like being single. Anyway,
you
met Jeremy first!’

Jeremy blushed and looked suitably flattered.

David stood up. ‘I think our table’s ready.’

‘Did you
book?’
said Shirley wistfully. ‘We forgot, and now we’ve got to wait simply ages for a table, and I’m
starving.
She hesitated for a second or two and then continued, ‘I say, why don’t we all have dinner together? I haven’t seen you in
such
ages, Claudia, and it would be great fun!’

‘We have a table for two,’ said David grimly.

‘We don’t mind being a bit cramped, do we, Jeremy?’

Jeremy nodded blankly.

‘What do you say?’ Shirley turned to Claudia.

Claudia looked hopelessly at David. ‘Fine, we’d love it.’

They followed the waiter to their table, Shirley waving and smiling to several people on the way.

‘I think this is a simply marvellous place,’ she said to Claudia as they reached their table. ‘I’m sure if one sat here for a week one would see absolutely everyone one ever knew pass by, sort of like London airport!’ She giggled loudly.

David sat through the dinner in sullen silence, and Jeremy didn’t have much to say, so it was Shirley who did all the talking, with Claudia occasionally joining in. Shirley was an avid reader of
Queen
magazine, especially the society pages, and her main topics of conversation were who had been seen with whom, and what good parties were going on. Jeremy apparently was asked to most of them, and Shirley went into minute details about the most boring items. For example, Lady Clarissa Colt wearing the same dress to two different parties, and the Honourable Amanda Lawrence having a coming-out party where they ran out of champagne. ‘It was too awful,’ wailed Shirley. ‘One just
never
should run short of champers! Too embarrassing!’

Eventually, when they reached dessert, Jeremy took her off to the small dance floor where they clung limply together.

‘Let’s get out of here,’ said David. ‘I’ve heard just as much as I can take from the stupid, snotty cow.’

‘I’m sorry, baby,’ replied Claudia soothingly. ‘She is a bit much.’

‘A bit much? That’s an understatement if ever I heard one. Who is she, anyway?’

A smile played softly around Claudia’s mouth. ‘When I first came to London, I worked in a club. Miss Fancy Pants worked there too.’

‘What were you doing in a club?’ asked David, surprised.

‘I had to earn some money, and this actor I arrived with never seemed to work, so I took a job in a club.’

‘Doing what?’

‘The dance of the seven veils!’ she laughed.

‘What! You must be joking.’

Her smile faded slightly. ‘I’m not joking. Look, I had no talent for doing anything else. It was either that or being a hostess and getting pawed about by a lot of dirty old men. I would sooner take my clothes off any day. They could look, but they couldn’t touch.’

‘I don’t know anything about you, really, do I?’

Her large eyes turned suddenly remote. ‘You’ve never bothered to listen. Like all men, your prime concern is to get me in the sack as fast as possible.’

There was a short silence, then she gave a quick, brittle laugh. ‘I’m sorry, my past is a big drag anyway. Why
would
you want to hear about it?’

David was about to reply when Shirley and Jeremy returned.

‘Jeremy’s made the most divine suggestion,’ said Shirley. ‘There is a simply dinky little nightclub opened down at Windsor, and he says why don’t we all pop down there.’

David looked at her sourly. ‘At the Castle, naturally.’

For a moment Shirley’s pale blue eyes glinted angrily, then she grimaced and laughed quickly, replying, ‘No, sweetie,
not
at the Castle.’

‘Count us out, then,’ snapped David.

‘I say, old chap, are you sure?’ stammered Jeremy.

Claudia broke hurriedly into the conversation. ‘David’s tired. You two run along, and if we change our minds we’ll join you later.’

‘All right,’ said Shirley, ‘but
do
try and make it.’ She grabbed Jeremy by the arm. ‘Come along, sweetie, we’ll leave these two lovebirds on their own.’

She shot a dark glance at David, waved gaily at Claudia, and towing Jeremy along behind her, they made their exit.

Claudia started to laugh.

‘I don’t happen to think it’s so funny,’ said David grimly. ‘I suppose I’m stuck with the check as well. Many thanks for a delightful evening.’

Her laughter increased. ‘I’m sorry. But honestly, it
is
funny. If you had known Shirley a few years ago – well, I mean, you just wouldn’t believe it. She was anybody’s and everybody’s!’

His tone was cold. ‘And you?’

Abruptly she stopped laughing. She stared at him for a few seconds and then said slowly and deliberately, ‘I think we have just about reached the end of our relationship, if you could ever call it that.’ Before he had a chance to reply, she got up from the table, and threading her way through the restaurant, vanished out of sight. Quickly he called for the check.

‘It’s David Cooper, isn’t it?’ The voice was loud and American.

David looked startled. There stood Jay Grossman. ‘Well, hello,’ he said uneasily.

‘Where’s Linda?’ Jay stared pointedly at the recently occupied place across the table.