Fire and Ice (14 page)

“Michelle! Bellissima! So
wonderful to see you again!”

Teresa Pichard waved energetically
from the end of the quay, and Kate hurried over to her to be met with three
kisses on the cheek.

“Ah, I was waiting at the first
class carriages. You should have come first class, my dear, Sebastien can
afford it.” She laughed musically. “Did you have a good journey? How is
Verbier? So many things I want to hear about! But first, let me buy you a
coffee.”

Kate smiled as she let herself be
whisked down the ramp into a passageway under the station and through an
underground mall to come out in a wide pedestrian street. Gracious buildings on
either side ran down toward the lake, which shone cold and silver in the
distance. Across the lake rose the snowy domes of the French Alps.

Teresa led the way briskly along
the cobbles, pointing out the occasional building and keeping up a non-stop
stream of chatter that Kate only just managed to follow as she dodged her way
through pedestrians and street artists, all the while trying to take in the
stately city.

“I would like to take you to the
old part of the city, to show you the heart of the original Geneva,” Teresa
said, guiding Kate by her elbow toward a bakery and tea-room. “But after the
train, it is always good to take a moment to appreciate the fact that you’ve
arrived somewhere else. Otherwise what is the point of travel?”

On that note, she pulled open the
door of the cute little coffee shop and both women stepped inside.

Kate looked around her at the
sparkling glass case which housed a delicious-looking assortment of petit-fours
and tarts, and at the fresh loaves piled on the shelves behind. Large windows
let in the light of the street, while quieter tables near the back of the shop
were lit with soft yellow lamps. The overall effect was bright and simple,
small enough to be cosy.

It was the sort of ambiance that
Kate had tried to achieve in the London tea-shop. Her tastes and Mickey’s had
diverged, and the result had been a quirky but charming mix of old-style tea
room and slightly new age living space, with sofas, rugs and a shelf with books
and games. She had always had plans to make changes to the decor but there had
never been the money or the time.

Teresa’s voice brought her back to
her surroundings. “I’m sorry, I was just remembering a tea shop in London,”
Kate apologised.

“It is always a little culture
shock to come down from a long stay in the mountain,” Teresa said. “Even though
Verbier has grown quite big and chic. Do you know, there was just a donkey
track joining it to the valley when Hans-Peter was little?  Now indulge
yourself, my dear. We have a hard afternoon of shopping ahead.”

Kate chose a creamy-looking
raspberry verrine and a herbal tea. “My nerves are already on edge, I would be
unbearable on coffee,” she explained. “I could barely sit still on the train.”

Teresa’s eyes twinkled
understandingly, reminding Kate of the way Sebastien’s eyes crinkled at the
corners when he smiled. Her stomach turned an unexpected somersault at the
thought of the coming evening.

Teresa ordered an expresso and a
little lemon tart. “Now I don’t know how much Sebastien told you,” she began,
looking to Kate to answer as they seated themselves at a table by the window.

“Not much,” Kate replied honestly.
“About tonight, you mean?”

Teresa shook her head in mock
exasperation. “Men!” she exclaimed. “I specifically asked him to warn you in
advance. I never had daughters, you see, and I always regretted not having any
to dress up. So you will have to indulge me today, my dear. It is always such a
pleasure to shop for a pretty young thing.”

Kate felt uncomfortable. It was
the one thing that had been bothering her since Sebastien’s call. “Actually, I
have a friend in Verbier who has loaned me an outfit for tonight. It really
isn’t necessary to buy something for one evening.”

The older woman stuck out her
bottom lip crossly. “I don’t want to hear any objections. I’ve been looking
forward to this for days. Please do this just to humour an old lady. I know it
is superficial, but it is fun, and in the societal circles of the opera,
superficial also has its role. Don’t forget that I was in the fashion world
myself a long time ago.”

Uneasiness turned to a slight
panic in Kate. She didn’t want to disappoint or offend Teresa, but neither
could she afford to buy formal wear. “I thought maybe we could just play
tourist in Geneva for the afternoon,” she began.

 As if reading her thoughts,
Teresa continued hastily, “It is my gift to you, dear. To thank you for helping
with the Pichard hosting and for making Sebastien smile again. He was not
always as serious as you met him this winter.”

Teresa was silent for a moment and
then continued more softly. “It is my gift to me as well, Michelle. I used to
enjoy shopping when I was young and pretty myself.”

“You still are beautiful!” Kate
protested.

“You are kind, my dear, but I am
not blind. At a certain age, we become invisible.”

“Certainly not inaudible,” Kate
riposted flippantly before her hand flew to her mouth.

“I’m so sorry, I always say
whatever goes through my mind – “ Kate began to apologise profusely  but Teresa
laughed  out loud before waving her hand dismissively. “Ah, it is so refreshing
to be with somebody who doesn’t treat me as an antique to be handled with
gloves on. And don’t worry, I am not feeling sorry for myself. In another ten
years I’ll look back at this time now and think I was still so young. The
secret is to enjoy every age while you can. I’m just grateful to still have my
own teeth.”

Kate allowed herself to smile and
took a bite of her treat. It was like a mousse, light and flavourful and
delicious. She smiled appreciatively at Teresa, who was taking a sip of her
coffee.

“I just don’t want you to make the
mistake so many young women do,” her hostess continued. “They compare
themselves to others and feel dissatisfied with their looks when they are young
and beautiful, and only realise twenty years later how lovely they were. So,
will you let me buy you an outfit or two, as a favour to me?”

“One, then,” Kate conceded
reluctantly, uncomfortable with accepting the offer but unsure of how to back
out of it graciously. Besides which, it was true, her clothing for tonight
might not be suitable.

“Fantastic, that’s settled then!”
Teresa said enthusiastically, settling back to enjoy her patisserie. “We will
see what we find today for you. You will make the Pichard family proud when you
step out with Sebastien tonight.”

Kate took a sip of her herbal tea,
feeling jittery at the thought of the coming evening. A small knot formed in
her stomach every time she remembered the lie between them and again tried to
quiet her conscience with the resolution to tell Sebastien soon.

“It was kind of Simon to invite
us,” she said, to remind herself that this was not just a date with Sebastien.

 Teresa smiled. “Simon is a lovely
young man. He and my boys used to get into so much trouble back in secondary
school, the little rascals.” She bit into her patisserie and wiped her mouth
carefully with her napkin. “Now, I don’t want you to judge these boys for being
superficial. Of course you will have heard the rumours, and they are not blind
to pretty faces, but Sebastien really was serious about Genevieve.”

An odd ache constricted Kate’s
chest at the mention of Sebastien’s ex-wife. At the same time, she wanted to
know more without appearing nosy. “Were they just too young?” she ventured.

Teresa made a vague hand gesture which
seemed to imply inevitability. “It’s a strange world, the world of models. I
was one myself when I was younger, you know. A watch model, in fact. We didn’t
have to be so impossibly thin back then. We were allowed to keep our feminine
curves. That’s how I met Hans-Peter.”

She smiled fondly at the memory,
and then popped the last of her tart into her mouth. “Which is why you must
allow me to relive the pleasure of my youth in shopping for you. Fashions may
change, but the right fashion houses remain. And I happen to know where they
are, so finish your tea and follow me. We have a busy afternoon ahead of us.”

Chapter Sixteen

Kate stood in front of the
full-length mirror in one of the guest bedrooms of Sebastien’s sprawling
penthouse apartment. The flat took up the entire top floor of a gracious
eighteenth century building with floor-to-ceiling windows on four sides.

 Kate’s room overlooked the old
town and the snow-covered Jura Mountains behind, but long white curtains had
been drawn to hide the view when Teresa had transformed the room into a model’s
dressing room.

Paper bags, boxes and wrapping
tissue from chic boutiques all over town now lined the wall by the dresser. As
well as a gown and long coat for tonight, Teresa had insisted on buying Kate
shoes, a pantsuit for lunch tomorrow, a casual outfit for Verbier and a
whimsical little cocktail dress that had caught her expert eye as being the
right fit for Kate.

A standing lamp had been dragged
over to the dressing table to add more light to the mirror where Teresa had
performed her art. Make-up brushes and cases still littered the table top.

The clothing on loan from Mimi’s
lay untouched in her overnight bag. Despite her initial discomfort with Teresa’s
offer, she was also secretly relieved not to have to spend the evening tugging
at her friend’s evening gown which was designed for somebody taller and more
willowy than Kate.

Instead, the sheer black dress
that Teresa had chosen hung with simple elegance, sensuously suggesting at the
curves beneath. Her normally impossible-to-manage hair was pulled stylishly up
on her head, the curls tamed into silky rings that cascaded down her back. And
Teresa herself had done Kate’s make-up, accentuating her high cheekbones and
full lips, before whisking herself away.

“I don’t mean to rush off and
abandon you, but I want to be off before Sebastien comes home,” she explained
with a wink. “I wouldn’t want him to think I’d been meddlesome.”

“You’ve been a life-saver,” Kate
assured her with genuine gratitude. “And I’m not abandoned, with Simon, Carol
and Nick here as well. I’ve met them all before.”

“Ah, I’d forgotten,” Teresa
acknowledged.  “I had hoped to invite you to the family home, but for some
reason my son wished you to stay in his flat tonight. Perhaps it was to play
cards with the English.” She raised her eyebrows and nodded with mock gravity
before a twinkle sparkled in her merry eyes. She gave Kate a goodbye kiss on
the cheek and swept away with a final “You look absolutely perfect, my dear.
Have fun.”

Kate felt absolutely perfect
tonight. She twirled in front of the mirror, loving the feel of her new dress
and singing “I Feel Pretty” from West Side Story. Not even the nagging voice of
her conscience could spoil her anticipation of tonight, her excitement at seeing
Sebastien again. At having him see her like this.

She had given up trying to fight
her feelings for Sebastien, convinced that this was what she wanted more than
anything. And somehow, she told herself, if he really fell for her the way she
was falling for him, then the little detail about her identity wouldn’t bother
him at all. She just had to wait until after tonight and then she would know
where she stood with him and whether she needed to take that risk or not. She
hoped so.

Although she knew that the British
guests were having a cocktail and enjoying the view from Sebastien’s spacious
lounge, she couldn’t tear herself away from the mirror. She felt transformed.  

“Like Cinderella after the fairy
godmother is done with her,” she had told Mimi incredulously over the phone. “I
can’t believe this is me! In fact, it doesn’t look like me at all. I guess
that’s why I feel so glamorous.”

“Then try to act the part and not
say anything too outrageous,” her friend advised her fondly.

“No worries, I can’t afford to put
my foot in my mouth with these Italian shoes on. I barely dare walk in them.”  

“Make sure you take a photo!” Mimi
advised her. “Before he rips that lovely dress off with his teeth.”

“Mimi!” Kate tried to sound
shocked. At the same time, thanks to Teresa’s efforts, she felt fairly
confident that it could well be Sebastien’s strong hands that undressed her
tonight and freed her wild mane of curls.

Just imagining that made her pulse
race and she decided that she might need that pre-dinner drink with the English
crowd after all. But not before spending five minutes trying to use her cell
phone to take a picture of herself in the mirror. She was certain that she
would never look like this again.

Simon was in full swing when Kate
finally left her room. He was regaling Nick and Carol with a tale from his
schooldays with Sebastien, gesticulating with his plastered arm to animate his
story. His boisterous spirits seemed undiminished by his recent misfortune
which would no doubt be embellished to become another amusing anecdote to tell
his friends back in London.

He broke off in mid-sentence as
Kate made her timid entrance, feeling strangely shy in her new attire. Simon
pushed back his chair and rose to his feet with a courtly bow in her direction.
“You look ravishing, Michelle,” he said approvingly, making her face flush with
pleasure. “I will definitely be the ugly duckling among the swans tonight.”

His stocky frame was draped in an
elegantly-tailored evening jacket and expensive-looking trousers which he wore
with the comfortable grace of somebody accustomed to wearing such clothes. Kate
did not have that luxury and fought to keep from tugging at her dress where it
brushed lightly against her hips.

“I’m glad to see you’ve recovered
so well, Simon,” she said with a smile before turning to Nick and Carol. “And
such a nice surprise to see you two again. I didn’t know you were also part of
the party.”