Sign of the Times (24 page)

Chapter Thirty Four

“Holly!
 
Look at you.
 
You’re so brown.
 
You look incredible.”

Her sister hugged her and said, “Thanks. You don’t look too bad yourself.”
 
They jabbered on for a few minutes before Lucy noticed someone behind Holly, waiting to speak to her.

“Guido. Come and meet my sister, Lucy.”

Guido’s eyes were popping out of his head.
 
Lucy tried not to smile.
 
She was after all used to this kind of attention.
 
She went to shake Guido’s hand, but he put his hands on her shoulders and gave her two kisses.
 
The next minute, Sig.a Tagliaferri appeared, highly excited.
 
Addressing Holly, she said, “
Questa
è la tua sorella?
”

Holly nodded and Sig.a Tagliaferri said, “
Ma che bella ragazza che è.
 
Guido, prendeti i suoi bagagli, subito.
”

“She says you are very pretty,” Holly told her.

Lucy said, “The only word I caught was
bella.
 
I gathered that was a good thing.”

Whilst she was talking, Guido picked up her bags and rushed off, before his mother had time to shoo him away.
 
Bending forward and kissing Sig.a Tagliaferri, Lucy said, “
Piacere
.”

The Tuscan woman’s eyes widened. “
Ma, anche Lei parla italiano!
” and she launched into fast-flowing Italian.
 
Alarmed, Lucy swung round to her sister, so that she could explain.
 
Holly grinned and interjected to tell Sig.a Tagliaferri that
piacere
was one of the very few words Lucy knew.
 
Sig.a Tagliaferri eyed Lucy and then announced that she was happy Lucy had made the effort.
 

“You see,” whispered Holly. “They like it when you try to speak their language.”

Sig.a Tagliaferri made as much a fuss of Lucy as of Holly.
 
Likewise, Emilio, when he returned from town, gave her a most enthusiastic welcome.
 
The boys offered to show her around, but Holly said she wanted to give Lucy the tour, as she hadn’t seen her for a while.
 
After dinner, Lucy and Holly sat under the pagoda, catching up.
 

“So, any gossip?” Lucy asked.
 
“What about those two?”

Holly reddened.

“You have not!!” Lucy was aghast.
 

“They’d have liked to, but no, nothing’s happened between us.”

Lucy sensed her sister’s hesitation.
 
“Then what?” she asked, expert at sniffing out a secret.

“I kissed someone,” Holly said.

“You did?” Lucy was taken back. “Who?”

“Dario.”

“Is he another brother?”

“No.
 
It’s a long story,” Holly sighed.

“Take your time,” Lucy said, refilling their glasses.

Lucy was surprised by what her sister told her, but also excited.
  
Although she liked Tom, she didn’t think he was a match for Holly
.
 
She had pursed her lips and bit back a bitchy comment when Holly announced their engagement.

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know.
 
He just disappeared at that wedding.”

“Well, at least you know where he lives.”

“I think I’ll chalk it down to experience and get on with my life.”

“Oh come on. It’s not as if you slept with him.”

“Thank God,” said Holly.

“Really?” said Lucy.
 
She arched one eyebrow and winked suggestively. “Are you sure?”

Holly couldn’t help laughing. Her sister was incorrigible.
 

“So you’re going to do nothing about it?”

“What can I do?
 
I have to think about Tom.
 
I’m getting married, remember?”

“Oh yeah.”

“C’mon.
 
You could be a bit more enthusiastic.
 
I know you don’t think much of Tom, but he’s good for me and reliable and loving.”

“Get a labrador,” Lucy was cutting.

“No.
 
I have to forget about it.
 
It’s for the best.”

“Your loss.
 
Sounds like a goer.”

“Lucy!” Holly was horrified.

“Well,” Lucy was remorseless.

They settled down to talk about other things and Holly said,

“C’mon, spit it out.”

“What do you mean?” Lucy asked innocently.

“Luce, I’m not your sister for nothing.
 
It’s got to be a man or men,” said Holly wickedly.

“Well, there was a rather nice French guy in Lucerne,”

“And?”

“Just sex,” she was dismissive.

“You should have been born a man, Luce.”

“You are joking, aren’t you!
 
Then I wouldn’t have nice boobs and legs to die for.”

“You are completely shameless!”

“That’s me,” Lucy agreed.
 
“There was another, in Saas Fee.”

“And?” Holly kept on.

“Robbie. Twenty-one. Medical student.”

“Twenty-one? You’ll be taking them out of prams next!”

“Thanks a bunch.”

“Well, c’mon, twenty-one.
 
When you lost your virginity, he was still in nappies!”

“Ha bloody ha.
 
Anyway, he doesn’t know that and what he doesn’t know can’t hurt him.”

“How old does he think you are?”

“Thirty one.”

“Thirty one,” Holly spat out her wine. “You’re nearly thirty eight.”

“I know that and you know that, but my age is only given on a need to know basis.”

“At least you put yourself in your thirties for once.”

“Well, there was a bit of a complication.”

“What complication?”

“I might be his tutor next year.”

“Oh, you have got to be kidding.
 
He’s not at Glasgow Uni?”

“Oh yes, he is.
 
Damn, I’d make a really good Dame in a pantomime, wouldn’t I?” said Lucy.

“Your whole bloody life is a pantomime, Luce!
 
What the hell are you going to do? How could you be so stupid?”

“Nothing,” she replied.

“What do you mean?”

“I like him, a lot.
 
He likes me.
 
We’re going to keep seeing each other.”

“Are you nuts?” Holly couldn’t believe her sister.
 
“This could seriously damage your relationship with Carl, but it could also ruin your career.
 
Reputation is everything in Medicine, you know that and it’s not quite the same thing, no matter how much you pretend it is, a doctor screwing a nurse.”

“I don’t see why not,” Lucy said defensively.

“That’s always been your problem.
 
You always want to have it all.”

“Life is there to be lived,” Lucy shot back.

“You’re messing with people’s lives here.”

“I can take care of myself.
 
C’mon.
 
I came here to visit my little sis, not for a lecture.”

Sighing Holly said, “You’re right, let’s not talk about it anymore.”

They changed the subject and were soon laughing and joking, as Holly told her about the wedding she’d been to.
 
Lucy filled Holly in on the toboggan race,
glossing over the
fact it was Robbie she had been with.
 
They spent a happy evening together, knocking back Chianti and nibbling gorgonzola.

The sisters
enjoyed a
relaxing few days pottering around Tuscany.
 
All too soon, Lucy had to drive to Fiumicino to catch her flight.

“You look after yourself,” Holly urged.

“I know what I’m doing, sis.
 
I’ll see you when you get back.”

Chapter Thirty Six

The flight was on time.
 
Lucy arrived into Glasgow Airport at half nine.
 
She was distracted as she walked through Arrivals and banged straight into someone.

“Sorry,” she looked up to apologise, only to find herself looking at Carl.

“I wanted to surprise you,” he lifted her off the ground and kissed her.
 

Drawing breath, Lucy said, “You did that all right.”

“Nice surprise?”

“Very nice surprise,” Lucy said, linking hands with him and dragging him towards belt three to look for her suitcase.

*

“Turn here,” Lucy said abruptly to Carl.

“Here? Why?”

“Just do it!” Lucy said authoritatively.

“Please,” she added when she saw Carl’s wounded look.

“Right here.”

“Lucy, this is a dirt track.”

“I know.”

“There’s nothing down here.”

“I know.”

“So why are we going down here?”

“OK, stop.”

“OK. What now?” Carl was confused.

Lucy started pulling at his trousers.

Finally coming up for air,” she said, “I couldn’t wait till we got home.”

“You horny little devil,” Carl laughed, as he unzipped her skirt, his fingers running up her thighs. “Ooh, stockings, my favourite.”

“Well, that was unexpected,” Carl said, when they finally arrived home.

“Nice surprise?” Lucy asked coquettishly.

“Definitely. Surprise me like that as often as you like.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

“Do.
 
Drink?”

“Rioja.”

“Me too.”

Setting the glasses on the coffee table, he kissed her softly.

“Now for the more leisurely version,” and he started caressing her again.

Things were just getting interesting when Lucy’s mobile rang.
 
Instantly she stiffened
.

“You’re not due back yet,” Carl groaned.
 
“Leave it. Please!” he begged.

Afterwards, Carl went off to refill their glasses.
 
Lucy took advantage of his absence to check her phone.
 
Robbie.
 
Hastily, she read the text.

“How u?
 
Get back OK? Can’t wait 2 c u. Wen u 3? R xx.”
  
Adrenalin pumping, she deleted it.
 
She’d text him tomorrow.
 
She wasn’t going to be careless enough to do it when Carl was here.
 
She felt reckless.
 
She’d just screwed her boyfriend twice and she was already caught up in the excitement of seeing another man.
 

Lucy was desperate to see Robbie, but didn’t want to appear too keen.
 
He’d called her on Wednesday.
 
She replied on Thursday afternoon saying she was free on Monday.
 
They’d agreed to meet in the south side.
 
Robbie’s flat was relatively close by, but more importantly it was far enough from the city centre and the
West
End, so their tryst would go undetected.

They met in a pub on Clarkston Rd.
 
She arrived intentionally ten minutes late. He looked agitated.
 
She wondered if he thought perhaps she had stood him up.
 
When Robbie saw her, his face lit up.
 
He kissed her on the cheek.
 
She knew he was restraining himself, as they were in public.
 
They looked at each other and read so much simply from each other’s expressions.

“We’re leaving,” Lucy said.

Wordlessly Robbie picked up his jacket and followed her.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

“Anywhere we can be alone,” growled Lucy.

“Any ideas?”

“Do you know the Muirend Hotel?”

“No.”

“Well, it’s the closest place I can think of.” She shut out of her mind that it seemed a little sordid.

The receptionist looked at them oddly when they checked in without any luggage.
 
They tore up the stairs, kissing and fumbling.
 
They didn’t notice anything about the room.
 
It was enough that they found the bed and then they were lost in each other again, all thoughts of the outside world gone.

*

Over the next few months, they returned to the Muirend Hotel many times.
 
It began to bother them that they couldn’t stay overnight.
  
Carl was at a critical phase with the restaurant.
 
The run-up to Robert’s wedding and his father’s seventieth, both of which had also kept him very busy, had alleviated the possibility of discovery.
 
Lucy began to grudge the time she spent apart from Robbie and the feeling was mutual.
 
Although she was still cautious of their being seen together, they started to take more and more risks.
 
Sex had become a secondary factor in their relationship, as Lucy and Robbie opened up to each other, sharing their hopes and expectations for the future.

The start of term was almost upon them, when Robbie would in all likelihood become Lucy’s student.
 
He was already her student, Lucy thought, the irony not lost on her.
 
She was distancing herself more and more from Carl.
 
She made excuses not to have sex with him.
 
He seemed glad, tired from the long hours he was working.
 
Did she love Robbie? She thought she did, but he was so much younger than her.
 
He was so laid-back and fun.
 
She hated having to keep things secret.
 
Mind-blowing sex and room service wasn’t enough for them anymore.
 

Robbie stroked Lucy’s back as they lay in bed together.
 
“Luce?”

“Mmm,” she sighed contentedly.

“I want to spend the night with you again.”

Turning to him, she said, “You know I can’t.”

“Not tonight.
 
I’d like us to plan a weekend away. Can you think about it?”

“Of course.”

Lucy was busy with work.
 
She had been lucky after her holiday.
 
She hadn’t had any other lectures to do outwith the UK for some time.
 
Now, however, the circuit was recommencing.
 
Her US tour would take in Duke University in North Carolina, the University of South Dakota, Harvard and University of Texas, Galveston, among others. It was an intensive tour and she knew she would be exhausted when she got back, but more than anything, she didn’t want to be apart from Robbie.
 
She’d decided to tell Carl she had a conference down south the weekend before she left.
 
She and Robbie were booked into Stobo Castle in the Borders.
 
They would eat well, maybe do a little mountain biking at nearby Glentress, but most importantly they would be free to be a couple.
 
No more hiding.

On the Friday morning, Lucy finished slinging her luggage into the boot of her TT and padded back into the flat.
 
“Bye Carl.
 
I should be back around ten on Sunday,” Lucy shouted to Carl who was in the shower
.

“OK, have fun,” Carl said.

“I’ll do my best,” Lucy almost felt guilty.

Lucy had arranged to pick Robbie up at Buchanan St Bus Station.
 
She had been dying to go to Stobo for ages.
 
She was particularly looking forward to spending quality time with Robbie, but also simply enjoying being at the spa.
 
It was expensive and at first Robbie had baulked at the cost, but Lucy had waved it off, saying she didn’t expect him to pay for it.

“Hey you,” he clambered into the car and kissed her.

“Hi,” she smiled at him. “Ready?”

“You bet.”

Lucy had booked a suite.
 
It was heaven.
 
Rich claret coloured, cashmere walls in the bedroom, with two seven feet by five feet Italian, hand-painted, his and hers beds.
 
A dressing room, decked out in American black walnut, nestled just off the bedroom.
 
There were matching flat screen TVs in the bedroom and the absolutely enormous bathroom. At its centre stood a cream, limestone, round bath.
 
They looked at one another. Robbie started unbuttoning his shirt.

“Let’s see the rest first,” Lucy begged.

“Ooh, the floor is lovely and warm,” Robbie cooed.

“Under floor heating,” Lucy said sagely, taking in her surroundings.

“Now, about that bath,” Robbie nuzzled her ear.

“Right, we can’t lie around here all day,” said Lucy. “There’s pampering to be done.”

“OK. What do you want to do first?”

“Well, it’s all booked. We’re free for another half hour and then we have treatments booked, so we can be done simultaneously.”

Robbie raised an eyebrow.

“Dirty mind you have there, boy.”

“Ooh, this is fantastic.
 
Yes, there, just there.
 
Robbie isn’t this the best?”

Robbie groaned softly, “Yes. Yep, that bit’s always in knots,” he said, as the masseuse manipulated his shoulder.
 
Tomorrow they would make use of the leisure facilities, but today they wanted to relax and maybe have a walk before dinner.

“This wine’s gorgeous,” said Lucy.

“I know.
 
It’s difficult to work out what’s the best, the food or the wine.
 
Not all students feast like this you know.”

“I wouldn’t have thought so.
 
How’s your crayfish roulade?”

“Divine, Madam.
  
How is one’s roast tomato and mozzarella salad?”
 
Robbie joked.

“Rubbish. I could have made it better myself,” said Lucy.

“Really?” Robbie was surprised.

“No, of course not. I can’t cook.
 
I just wanted to see the look on your face,” Lucy laughed, putting one hand to his cheek and stroking it, the other surreptitiously pinching a piece of Robbie’s crayfish.

“Bitch!”

“Lucy?”

Lucy turned and wasn’t quick enough to disguise her look of horror.
 
One of her neighbours stood in front of her.
 
Lucy’s hand flew to her side.
 

“Veronica, how lovely to see you,” although clearly it wasn’t.

“Yes, you too.
 
I’m here with my sister.
 
It’s my birthday,” she said.

“Happy birthday,” Lucy tried to keep her voice steady.

Robbie didn’t know what was going on, but the undercurrent wasn’t good.

Lucy chatted politely with the older woman for a few minutes and then Veronica said pointedly, “I’ll see you and Carl when I get back.”

Robbie looked at Lucy for an explanation.
 
“Luce?” but Lucy was lost in thought.

“How could I have been so stupid?” she said under her breath. “Shit!”

“What?” Robbie was lost.
 

“She’s only the nosiest busy-body you could ever meet and she lives three doors down from us
and
loves Carl.
 
Robbie digested this and said “OK, so what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know.
 
She’ll tell Carl she bumped into me at Stobo, when I’m meant to be at a conference in Hampshire.”

Robbie was silent.
 
Secretly he wondered if this wasn’t the best thing that could have happened.

“There’s only one thing we can do.
 
Leave.
 
Now,” said Lucy.

“But we still have one more day.”

“We’ll have to do it another time.
 
C’mon.”

“But we’ve been drinking.”

“I’ve only had two glasses,” and Lucy turned on her heel and left the dining room.

“I can’t believe that old bitch,” Lucy fumed, as she sped along the country lane.
 

“She knew exactly what was going on.”

“What if she doesn’t tell Carl?”

“She will.
 
She’s a vindictive old cow.
 
She’s spread rumours with less substance.”

“What are you going to say to Carl?”

“I don’t know, but I… aargh!” Lucy screamed, as a deer bounded out of the undergrowth.
 
She swerved, but it wasn’t enough.
 
With a sickening thump the deer hit the windscreen, and she lost control of the car.