In the Name of Love (22 page)

Beyond the terrace was an immaculately tended garden, full of vivid purple bougainvillaea, bright red hibiscus and palm trees. There was also a tennis court and an infinity pool. Charlie’s mum and dad had a patio and a water butt and an allotment where her dad grew vegetables.

As they attempted to locate Felipe’s mother, they kept being waylaid by guests wanting to say hello. Felipe introduced Charlie to everyone and she smiled politely and said, ‘
Hola, encantada de conocerla
’, a polite greeting that she had been practising. She continued smiling politely when they took that as a signal to continue speaking Spanish and she didn’t have a clue what they were saying. She also managed to down two glasses of champagne very rapidly. Then she switched to water. She didn’t want to be pissed when she met the formidable mother.

Eventually they found Señora Castillo de Rivas holding court on the terrace. She was wearing an exquisite violet silk crêpe cocktail dress that showed off her slender figure. Her long black hair was swept into an elegant French pleat, and diamonds glittered in her ears and round her neck. She looked beautiful and very, very scary, definitely the sort to bite. She caught sight of Felipe and immediately launched into a stream of Spanish, kissing and hugging him and stroking his cheek.

‘Mama, this is Charlie,’ he said when he could finally get a word in.

Vittoria gazed coolly at the beautiful young woman who stood before her, then stepped forward to kiss Charlie. ‘
Encantada de conocerla
.’

‘
Feliz cumpleaños
,’ Charlie managed to say.

Vittoria gave a smile that didn’t reach her eyes and rattled something off in Spanish. She didn’t exactly radiate warmth; ‘glacial’ was the word that sprang to mind instead. She was the Ice Queen. Usually the mothers of her boyfriends adored Charlie. Vittoria was going to be a tough one to please and Charlie very much doubted she would ever succeed.

‘Mama,
please
speak English,’ Felipe interrupted. ‘I told you Charlie has only just started learning the language.’

Vittoria gave a rather patronising smile. ‘Of course, I understand. So, Felipe tells me you work in television? That must be very exciting.’ She enunciated every word in perfect English and sounded as if she thought working in television was about as exciting as taking out the bins. Then she proceeded to fire questions at Charlie. Where did she live? How old was she? What had she studied at university? Where did she meet Felipe? Until he intervened again.

‘Mama, we’re going to say hello to Papa, do you know where he is?’

Vittoria shrugged her slim shoulders. ‘You know how much he hates parties, I expect he’s smoking one of his cigars somewhere and keeping a low profile.’

Lucky thing, Charlie thought.

‘If you find him, do tell him to mingle. It is my birthday after all. It would be nice if he put in an appearance.’ She gave another shrug, ‘And your sister isn’t going to make it. She claims her flight from Bangkok was delayed. She’s been staying at some five-star spa and yoga retreat there. Though I don’t know what she has to retreat from, she doesn’t actually do anything but spend money.’

Charlie wondered if Vittoria had a good word to say about anyone in her family.

Felipe draped one arm round Charlie as they walked away from his mother. ‘See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?’

Charlie gave him a WTF stare. ‘She hated me! I need another drink now.’ She reached for a glass of champagne from a nearby waiter. It was telling that Felipe didn’t contradict her. Fortunately when they found Señor Castillo de Rivas sitting in a far corner of the garden, under a parasol, contentedly puffing on a cigar, he was a pussycat compared to his wife. He barely spoke English but smiled warmly at Charlie and didn’t appear to view her as some slut who had no business being with his son. Maybe the rest of the party wasn’t going to be so bad after all.

But then, as they strolled back to the house, a beautiful woman approached them. Charlie instantly recognised her. It was Paloma, Felipe’s ex girlfriend – even more beautiful in real life than she had been in the photographs Charlie had studied. Paloma was petite with long, glossy jet black hair, striking blue-black eyes, and a slender but curvaceous figure. Charlie, who was a slim size ten, felt enormous next to her. Paloma
addressed
Felipe in Spanish and they kissed each other in greeting. Charlie couldn’t help thinking what a stunning couple they made. Paloma had such poise, she was so elegant and sophisticated. She belonged to Felipe’s world of wealth and privilege. Again, Charlie felt like an outsider.

‘And this is my girlfriend Charlie,’ he said in English.

‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, Charlie,’ Paloma said in equally perfect English, holding out her hand.

‘And you, Paloma,’ Charlie replied, wishing that she could reply in perfect Spanish.

‘It’s a wonderful party for your mother, isn’t it, Felipe?’ Paloma continued. ‘She seems very happy.’

As happy as an Ice Queen ever could be, Charlie thought.

‘I’m sure that there will be something not quite right with it,’ Felipe replied. He looked at Charlie. ‘No matter how much money is lavished on her and how much trouble people have gone to, my mother is always dissatisfied. I think she enjoys feeling like that.’

‘Oh, no, Felipe! You’re wrong. She only wants the best for you and the family!’ Paloma exclaimed.

Pass the sick bag
… someone was trying too hard to please. And from the adoring way Paloma was gazing at Felipe, it was apparent that she still had strong feelings for him.

He shrugged. ‘Unfortunately she pays no attention whatsoever to what people actually want or what makes them happy.’ He put one arm round Charlie as he spoke. ‘But I’m not a little boy any more who can be told what to do. I know exactly what I want.’

Paloma gave a resigned smile. ‘I can see that, Felipe.’ She took a moment as if to compose herself before she continued, ‘So how is your training going?’

Instantly he tightened his hold on Charlie as if to reassure her. ‘Very well, thank you, but let’s not talk about that here. It is supposed to be a party after all.’

Paloma did a double take. ‘You’ve changed then, Felipe!’ She turned to Charlie. ‘I must congratulate you on broadening Felipe’s horizons; he talked about riding non-stop to me. I swear I could recite every single rule of dressage, the times of all his cross-country competitions, the number of wins he’s had, what his horses ate, when they were off form, when they were on form … What was that famous line of Princess Diana’s? “There were three of us in our relationship.” Me, Felipe and his horse Audaz.’

Charlie felt as if the smile was frozen on her face as she registered what an immense strain it must be for Felipe not to be able to talk to her about his sport at all. She hadn’t even known the name of his horse until now.

‘There are plenty of other things to talk about,’ he said quietly.

‘How lucky for you, Charlie,’ Paloma replied. ‘I mean, I love riding, but I don’t want to hear about it,’ she wrinkled her perfect nose, ‘what is that expression? Twenty-four seven.’

It was a relief when they were joined by Eduardo and Ricky. Charlie warmed to the couple straight away, they were both so easygoing and charming, and she didn’t feel as if she was walking on eggshells about to say the
wrong
thing. She could see the family resemblance between Eduardo and Felipe, though Eduardo lacked his brother’s athletic build. When Paloma moved off to talk to other guests, she relaxed still further.

‘It’s a lot to take on board, isn’t it?’ Ricky observed, gesturing at the house and the grounds. He was tall and blond and looked like a Californian surfer boy with his golden-brown tan and cornflower blue eyes.

‘It is,’ Charlie agreed. ‘I have a two-bedroomed flat which is probably the size of the hallway here.’

Ricky smiled and lowered his voice. ‘And I guess you’ve met Vittoria? Terrifying, isn’t she?’

Charlie nodded, pleased to have found an ally.

‘Still, it’s harder for you as she had her heart set on Felipe marrying Paloma. She likes to pretend that I don’t actually exist, that it’s all a bad dream and one day she’ll wake up and discover Eduardo has fallen in love with a nice Spanish girl.’

Eduardo overheard him and burst out laughing. ‘That is never going to happen. You’re stuck with me for life!’

‘Good, I was hoping you would say that,’ Ricky replied.

They seemed so in love, and so settled; Charlie envied them that. She still felt as if she was on a rollercoaster ride with Felipe. It was passionate and thrilling and it consumed her, but she couldn’t help wishing that things were a little more straightforward for them. There was the riding issue, geography, and apparently Felipe’s mum, all conspiring against them. She was still musing about this as she walked through one of the courtyards in search of a bathroom.

‘Are you enjoying the party, Charlie?’ It was the terrifying Vittoria. She stood in front of Charlie, blocking her way.

‘Very much, thank you, I do hope you are,’ she replied politely, hoping that would suffice and that she could make a speedy escape.

‘I must show you some pictures of Felipe. I know how modest he is about his achievements, but it seems to me you can’t really know someone unless you understand what they do.’

Charlie didn’t like the direction in which this conversation was going, but keen to make a good impression, she allowed Vittoria to link arms with her and lead her to a comfortable living room at the back of the house. It was far less formal than the other rooms, with sofas and chairs that looked as if they could be sat on rather than being antique showpieces. Charlie took in the glass-fronted cabinet stuffed with trophies from Felipe’s competition wins and the photographs of him on horseback displayed everywhere. She was already starting to feel a little breathless, and looked longingly at the open door. She could leave now; make an excuse about not feeling well. But she missed her chance as Vittoria reached for one of the silver-framed photos and handed it to her. It showed Felipe sitting on a magnificent thoroughbred which had been groomed to perfection, so that his chestnut coat seemed to glow in the sunshine.

‘This is Audaz, one of the horses Felipe will be riding in the Olympics. Have you seen him yet? A magnificent animal, his father was a great champion. We have high hopes of him.’

Black dots seemed to dance in front of Charlie’s eyes as her breathing grew more shallow.

‘Not yet, but I’m hoping to very soon.’ Her voice seemed to be coming from a long way away.

‘Ah, yes, Felipe mentioned that you have a “thing” about riding. Such a pity, because he needs all our support at the moment. I’ve been very worried about him, he’s been off form lately and distracted. The Olympics is the single most important event of his career. It is something Felipe has been working towards for years. He missed out on the last one because of an injury. Riding is his life and this competition means everything to him. It cannot be fair to ask him not to talk about it, can it?’

‘No, it’s not fair,’ Charlie managed to reply. ‘And I am going to try …’

She was going to say that she was trying to overcome her fear, but Vittoria cut her off.

‘Yes, yes, you’re going to have therapy, Felipe told me, but how long is that going to take? In the meantime, the fact is he has to keep back a significant part of his life from you. How can that be a proper relationship?’

Vittoria’s tone was soft and wheedling as if she were talking to a reluctant child but Charlie was hardly listening to her. In her mind she was back to that fateful day. She saw the car speeding towards them, felt the gut-wrenching impact, once more heard the anguished cries of her beloved Ace. She dropped the photograph, causing the glass to shatter as it hit the marble floor, then fled from the room, oblivious to Vittoria calling her name.

Somehow Charlie stumbled up the sweeping wooden staircase and found a bathroom. With shaking hands she
managed
to lock the door, then she collapsed on the floor, leaning against a wall while the panic attack took hold of her.

Downstairs Felipe was wondering where Charlie had got to. He had checked the gardens and courtyards, the terrace and all the downstairs rooms, but there was no sign of her. He was about to look upstairs when his mother came out of the family living room. ‘Have you seen Charlie?’ he asked.

Vittoria looked faintly guilty, but her words were typically defensive. ‘We were having a perfectly friendly talk when she dropped one of my favourite photographs of you and ran out of the room. She seems most unstable and emotional, really the last person you need around you right now. And did I see a tattoo on her shoulder?’ She shuddered. ‘So terribly common. I simply don’t understand why young women want to disfigure themselves in that way. Paloma wouldn’t dream of having such a thing. And just look at this.’

She handed over a folder containing a series of news articles about Charlie – there were stories about her brother and the pictures from her ill-fated modelling shoot.

‘She is not the girl you think she is. To be associated with such a person can only drag you down. You could do so much better! And I gather her father is a plumber and her mother a shop assistant.’ Vittoria looked expectantly at Felipe, as if imagining he was going to be appalled by such revelations. How little his mother knew him …

‘I know all of this and it doesn’t matter to me in the
slightest.’
He slung the folder on to a delicate antique table, causing the papers to slide out and cascade to the floor.

‘I want to know what exactly you were discussing with Charlie,’ he demanded, fearing that he knew only too well. He should never have exposed her to his mother.

Vittoria gave one of her infuriating shrugs, as if it was all too tedious for her. ‘I just pointed out what a difficult time this was for you in the run-up to the Olympics and how you needed all our support.’

Felipe’s eyes seemed to become darker as he said quietly, ‘You talked to her about riding, even though I expressly asked you not to?’

‘I did. You must realise that you simply cannot be with this woman.’