Being Elizabeth (19 page)

A
nd that is how it began, our great love affair, on a cold,
bleak weekend at Ravenscar in March. Now it is June
and we are in Paris, and as usual enjoying every moment
in this glorious City of Light
.

I am passionately in love with Robin, and he is with me. He
calls it being madly in love, and I know what he means. Because
there is a certain madness about being so completely consumed
by another person and living on a strange but marvellous plane
together, where the rest of the world does not exist
.

We both think it's odd that after knowing each other for so
many years we suddenly fell in love at the age of twenty-five.
Robin says it's like being hit by a truck, and he's right. One day
we were best friends, the next lovers. We are never apart now,
spend every waking moment together, and every sleeping moment
as well, actually. Robin has moved into my flat and we are living
together. He has kept his own place and goes there every other
day to check on things, but he does not spend much time there
now. It is hard for us to be apart, and I know I will feel this
way for the rest of my life because Robin is part of me, part of
my soul. Without him my life would be desolate, and I would
be filled with total misery. He is my life in so many ways. Robin
and Deravenels are my existence
.

Of course, work intrudes on our private time when he has to
travel. At the moment he is going back and forth to Marbella,
to check on the progress of the resort. He is very pleased with
its development, and I was impressed myself when I saw it in
April. There is no question that it is truly a beautiful place,
and I see only success in the future. Philip Alvarez did one
thing right: he bought a magnificent piece of land at the edge
of the sea
.

It was when we got back from Marbella that the gossip started.
The news of our involvement spread through Deravenels like
wildfire, and there were lots of comments, snide remarks, and
jibes. But we've paid no attention. We don't care what people
think … anyway, the world is well lost to us
.

We have been very open about our relationship, and have not
tried to hide it. In fact, quite the contrary. We're out and about
all the time. Robin is a social animal, as am I, and we love the
theatre, in particular, as well as dinner parties and entertaining
friends. We give to charities, and attend charity events because
we believe in giving back. As a consequence, a lot is written
about us in newspaper columns, and photographs of us constantly
appear in magazines. All this adds fuel to the fire
.

As for Amy, Robin never mentions her and neither do I. The
only thing he has ever asked me is why I was crying when I
brought her name up that night at Ravenscar. And I told him
the truth … I said I didn't know. And he accepted my answer
.

In all honesty, it doesn't matter to me whether he gets a divorce
or not. And my darling Robin knows that, just as he knows I
don't want to get married. I've always felt that way. He touched
on one of the reasons why recently, when he said my father had
been a bad example for me. But then there was the admiral …
Tom Selmere wasn't exactly the ideal husband … married to
my father's widow and endeavouring to get me into bed. And
what of my father's fifth attempt at marriage? His lovely young
wife Katherine had taken lovers and was so silly, rash and indiscreet
she got caught and was divorced and sent away. No,
marriage does not tempt me. Quite the opposite. I'm happy as
I am. He loves me, I know he does, and with all his heart, and
honestly, that's enough for me
.

We often come to Paris to have a bit of privacy. I like this
hotel Robin discovered several years ago, the Relais Christine.
It's not too far from the Latin Quarter, and is a tiny auberge
which was once a former abbey dating back to the thirteenth
century. It has a quaint and lovely charm about it; our suite
overlooks a cobbled flower-filled courtyard, and has a private
terrace, another of the things we enjoy about it. This aside, it's
blessed with a unique tranquillity, and Robin and I both feel as
if we are in the middle of the country when we are actually in
the heart of Saint Germain with Notre-Dame just a stone's throw
away
…

At the sound of the key in the door, Elizabeth went in from the terrace, an expectant expression on her face.

Robert smiled as he closed the door behind him, put down the shopping bags he was carrying, and took her in his arms, gave her a big hug.

Holding her away from him he searched her face swiftly. ‘I'm glad to see you looking so much better, darling. You seemed awfully drained earlier.'

‘I was a bit tired, but I'm fine now.' She glanced across at the shopping bags and said, ‘What did you buy? You look as if you've been on a shopping spree.'

‘Sit down and I'll show you.' He brought the four shopping bags over to the seating area near the French windows opening onto the terrace, handed her one. ‘This is for you.'

‘Chanel! How wonderful. Thank you. What is it?'

‘You'll see when you open it.'

‘It's the one handbag I wanted!' she cried after opening the package. ‘Oh, thank you, Robin. I asked Blanche to pick it up, but Chanel in London had none left.'

‘Well, there it is, and it comes with much love.'

Jumping up, she went over and kissed him, then asked, ‘And what are the rest?'

‘A Chanel handbag for Merry, not the same as yours, but one she had set her heart on. A wallet for Ambrose, and a couple of ties for Cecil Williams, the latter from the two of us.'

‘It's so nice of you, Robin, and I know they'll like their gifts.' Settling back in the chair, she changed the subject. ‘How are things at Deravenels?'

‘The same. The Paris office operates very well, and I like Jacques Bettancourt a lot. He's a really good chap, runs a tight ship, but with a great deal of charm, and not a little flair. I wish the other foreign managers were like him. Some of them have been hard to deal with.'

‘Naturally. We've been cutting staff to lower the cost of overheads, and why would they
like
that? But you've done well.'

‘I can't take any bows, Elizabeth, it's all Nicholas. He's been brilliant the way he has retired people with pensions, let others go with really good bonuses, so there are no hard feelings. It's cost us a lot, but we'll be saving a fortune in salaries in the long run. Thanks to Nicholas, it's gone smoothly.'

‘He's always been good at making people swallow a bitter pill, because he manages to have a sweeter one ready. Are we having dinner with him tonight?'

‘We are. He's insisting on taking us to Le Grand Véfour … he insists, says it's your favourite.'

‘It is, actually. I especially like the idea that Napoleon took Josephine there for romantic dinners, and anyway I love the décor.'

He laughed. ‘That's what you usually say about restaurants. You talk about the decorations, not the food. And before you say it, I know you're
not
a foodie.'

She nodded, picked up the quilted red fabric Chanel handbag again and examined it, said almost to herself, ‘I really wanted this …'

Watching her, Robert realized that she looked painfully thin this afternoon. Funny how he had not noticed it before; perhaps it was the black dress she was wearing.
Had
she lost more weight? He was constantly worrying about her eating habits. She had a small appetite, had been something of a picky eater since childhood. Highly strung by nature, she had had several fainting spells lately, and was often irritable these days.

‘What's wrong? Why are you staring at me like that, Robin?'

‘Just admiring you in that chic black linen dress, my sweet.'

She gave him a long slow smile and said, ‘I'm so happy you brought Merry into the company. She's become my good right hand.'

‘I'm glad. And Ambrose is mine, as far as the Marbella Project is concerned. He's taken a lot of the backache out of it for me, and, frankly, I'd have to be there a lot of the time if it weren't for him. He's being a good stand-in.'

She nodded. ‘It's nice to be surrounded by your family, Robin …' She reached out and touched his arm. ‘Thank you for that.'

‘My family, at least what's left of it, love you, Elizabeth, and they'll do anything for you … anything at all. They have a lot of respect for you as well as much affection.' He leaned forward and fixed his gaze on her. ‘Has Cecil said anything to you about me? What I mean is, about you and me being involved?'

‘No, he hasn't. Somewhat surprisingly, in my opinion. But lately I've noticed him looking at me in the most peculiar way at times. I've been trying to pinpoint the exact look in his eyes, and I think I would describe it as …
perplexity
.'

‘I see. The gossip's risen to a bit of a crescendo at the London office, so Nicholas told me this afternoon. He says it'll die down, that we shouldn't pay too much attention, just go about our business, get on with our lives.'

‘I agree, and frankly I'm not surprised. We've become a bit of an item in the press lately. Young, beautiful, successful and in Love with a capital L. That seems to be the latest headline.'

Standing up, Robert went to Elizabeth, helped her to her feet, put his arm around her and led her into the bedroom. ‘I think we should have a rest before dinner, don't you?'

‘A rest?
No
. But I'd like to lie down next to you, my darling, and make passionate love.'

‘Then so we shall.'

Located under the ancient arches of the Palais-Royal, Le Grand Vefour dated back to before the French Revolution. It was first opened in 1784, when it was called the Café des Chartres, and over the last few hundred years it had been the favourite watering hole of many celebrated people … Napoleon and Josephine, writers Victor Hugo and Colette, as well as French politicians, famous painters, great names of the theatre, and movie stars who considered themselves to be in the know.

Elizabeth had first come here with Aunt Grace Rose, who had brought her to Paris as a special birthday treat when she was nineteen. Although she had only dined here on one other occasion, she had never forgotten this beautiful, almost other-worldly restaurant. It had left an indelible impression on her.

To her, the main room appeared to float around the diners because of the old, scarred mirrors which reflected the light and were used on the ceiling and some of the walls. The mirrors were encased in pitted gold frames, and were balanced by neoclassical paintings of nymphs bedecked with flowers and vines. These
paintings were covered with protective glass because of their antiquity, and overall there was a truly magical effect in the dining room. This once again entranced Elizabeth when they arrived.

Nicholas was waiting for them, and he stood up, greeting them both effusively and kissing Elizabeth on the cheek.

‘Sit here, Elizabeth, and you, too, Robert.' Nicholas indicated the red velvet banquette against the wall, added, ‘You'll find it comfortable.'

‘If you don't mind, I'd prefer a chair,' Robert replied, and once Elizabeth was sitting down on the banquette, he lowered himself onto a black-and-gold antique chair, and Nicholas sat next to Elizabeth.

‘I've ordered a bottle of Krug,' Nicholas announced, turning to Elizabeth. ‘It'll be here in a minute, and we shall then toast your upcoming auction. Robert had me mesmerized this afternoon in the office, telling me all about your plans. I was gobsmacked when he said that you could make as much as fifty million pounds. Actually, I can hardly take that in.'