She was gobsmacked when they arrived at the gates of a house that would not have been out of place in Beverly Hills.
“
Wow!
”
she exclaimed as David pressed the bell on the gate.
“
Yes, sir?
”
a stiff voice came over the intercom.
“
It
’
s David Murphy,
”
David replied, a slight shake in his voice.
“
Good evening, Mr Murphy. Please drive right on in.
”
The gates opened slowly as a myriad of security cameras watched their every move. They drove slowly up the long drive which was lit with lanterns all the way up to the house. There, a uniformed man came out and offered to take the car and park it. David handed over the keys of his precious BMW without as much as a murmur – something he
’
d never done for her, Ellie couldn
’
t help thinking.
Entering through the large marble columns into a sumptuous foyer, Ellie
’
s eyes were out on sticks. Imagine that such houses existed in Dublin and less than ten miles from the city centre
!
She knew of course that Bono and some other stars had mansions in this area
,
but she
’
d never imagined that she
’
d ever be actually standing in one of them. A butler took her jacket as an attractive grey-haired man came forward to greet them.
“
David, so glad you could make it,
”
he said, pumping David
’
s hand.
“
Thank you for inviting us, Mr
–”
David started, a slight quiver in his voice but the man cut him short.
“
Please, call me Frank. We
’
re all on first
-
name terms
in this company
.”
He winked at them.
“
And this is . . .?
”
He looked towards Ellie with a glint in his eye
.
“
Sorry, Mr
–
er
–
Frank, this is my
–
eh
–
fiancée, Ellie.
”
Ellie blushed prettily. David still hadn
’
t got used to calling her his fiancée.
Well, it was only natural, wasn
’
t it? T
hey
’
d been engaged such a short time. She, on the other hand had said the words
, ‘
my fiancé, David,
’
a dozen times a day – if only to herself – as she flashed her hand with its large diamond ring in front of her. She still marvelled at the fact that she was actually engaged to be married.
Ellie smiled at the older man, her dimples enhancing her attractive, pretty features.
“
Pleased to meet you, Frank,
”
she said breathlessly, offering her hand.
He took it and put it to his lips.
“
Well, David, you certainly know how to pick them,
”
he said, his eyes never leaving Ellie
’
s.
I don
’
t believe it
!
This old geezer is flirting with me.
She couldn
’
t help herself and pealed with laughter. Frank laughed too
and winked at her lasciviously. David joined in although he didn
’
t have any idea what he was laughing at. He guessed he
’
d missed something, somewhere.
“
Frank, darling,
”
a plummy posh voice rang out and Ellie turned to see a woman teetering towards them on five-inch heels. Ellie reckoned that she was in her mid-fifties although she could have passed for forty-five. Ellie
’
s eagle eye, honed from five years of working in a beauty salon, appraised the woman
’
s face and in a jiffy pinpointed the botox, cheek fillers
and without doubt a face-lift too. The boobs certainly defied gravity and were unnaturally high and firm for a woman her age
–
and what about those lips? She
’
d obviously asked for the Angelina Special!
Ellie baulked at the thought of anyone filling their face an
d body with toxic chemicals. She was of the
‘
less-is-more
’
school of thought which was losing out to the
‘
more-is-still-not-enough
’
practices of today
’
s plastic surgeons. For the life of her she could never understand why women continued to do this to themselves. There was enough help out there now, such as was offered in the beauty salon, without the need for all these invasive practices. She swore that she would never do anything like that to her face. Never!
“
Darling, I
’
ve been searching for you,
”
the woman said haughtily to Frank, irritation in her voice and eyes. Even though she was obviously angry, not a facial muscle moved.
“
Judith, darling, do come and meet the newest addition
to Buckley Steadman. This is David Murphy and his gorgeous fiancée, Ellie.
”
“
Nice to meet you,
”
Judith remarked coldly. She looked Ellie over from head to toe in a patronising manner. David was rewarded with a smile which never quite reached her eyes.
Thank God I bought this new Karen Millen dress, Ellie thought. She could just imagine the older woman
’
s sneer if she
’
d turned up in something from Penneys! Judith was wearing a beautiful emerald
-
green dress which screamed
‘
money
’
and
‘
designer
’,
although Ellie had no idea which designer it might be. Emeralds flashed from her neck and ears – genuine, no doubt.
“
Can we get you something to drink?
”
Frank asked, beckoning a passing waiter.
“
A white wine would be lovely,
”
Ellie murmured.
“
What kind?
”
Judith asked archly.
“
Chardonnay would be fine,
”
Ellie said
,
smiling, in the hope of melting this ice queen.
“
Sorry, we don
’
t do
chardonnay,
”
Judith snapped.
“
We can offer you Pinot Gris
,
Gewürztraminer or Riesling
.”
“
Oh, any will be fine,
”
Ellie replied, not knowing what any of them tasted like. Although her mother was French
,
she was a teetotaller, and her father was a beer m
an so there never was wine at home. She sometimes drank white wine at parties and it was mostly chardonn
ay, though to be honest it could have been anything.
“
A whiskey for me, please,
”
David said, seeing that that was what Frank was drinking.
“
A man after my own heart,
”
Frank said, clapping him on the back.
Judith gave the order to a passing waiter and moved off to speak to some other guests.
“
Don
’
t mind her,
”
Frank winked at Ellie.
“
Chardonn
ay seems to be out of fashion at the moment and my wife is nothing if not fashionable.
”
Ellie thought she detected a harsh note in his voice.
The waiter returned with their drinks and Frank took
her elbow.
“
Come, you lovely young people, let me introd
uce you to some of our other guests.
”
Ellie was trying not to gape but she couldn
’
t help it. He led them into a magnificent room where about twenty people were gathered. The women were all beautifully groome
d and expensively dressed. They were also all a good bit older than Ellie. Even older than her parents, she thought, looking around.
She felt completely out of place and intimidated as Frank introduced them to everyone. She held onto David
’
s hand for dear life as she plastered a smile on her face. The women were appraising her silently while their husbands were ogling her appreciatively. The men all had a prosperous air about them. Some of them were handsome and fit while others had definite paunches and less hair on their heads
.
There was only one other youngish couple there and their welcome was obviously genuine. The girl, Anna, who Ellie guessed was in her early thirties,
was smiling and friendly. Her husband, Mike, was a little older and
greeted them warmly as Frank introduced them and then moved off to welcome some new guests.
Anna took Ellie
’
s arm.
“
Come look at the fabulous view,
”
she said, steering Ellie out the open French doors onto a terrace, away from the crowd.
It was indeed a fabulous view. It was a beautiful bright evening and she could see right across Dublin Bay to Sutton, where she worked.
“
Wow!
”
she exclaimed as she took it all in.
“
I know it
’
s your first time here and I remember how terrified I was on my first visit
.”
Anna lowered her voice, looking around to make sure no one could overhear.
“
It can be overwhelming.
”
“
Yeah,
”
Ellie whispered back,
“
they are pretty intimidating, especially the women.
”
“
They
’
re always like this with newcomers, especially with younger, prettier women. They can be very bitchy but don
’
t let them get to you.
”
“
Some of them are pretty scary
,”
Ellie grinned.
“
The way they looked me up and down! Phew
!”
“
I know what you mean,
”
Anna laughed.
“
I felt like that when I first came here but I soon realised that they
’
re sad really. They spend their time trying to reverse the agi
ng process – they
’
re terrified that they
’
ll lose their husban
ds to younger women
.
I just grin and bear it every time I come here. I have to, for the sake of Mike
’
s career.
”
Ellie was horrified.
“
I hope this won
’
t be a regular thing – these dinner parties,
”
she said
,
turning to look anxiousl
y at the other girl.
“
I
’
m afraid it probably will. Judith likes to show off at least four times a year. The only respite is summer when all the women decamp to Marbella. That
’
s when the men have their little flings.
”
Anna grinned wickedly.
Ellie thought she was hearing things but
,
before she could reply, Mike and David came out on the terrace to join them.
“
Get a load of this view,
”
Mike said to David.
“
Isn
’
t it something?
”
“
Fabulous,
”
David agreed, beaming from ear to ear.
“
This is a beautiful place, isn
’
t it, Ellie?
”
He put his arm around her shoulders.
“
And Frank and Judith are both terrific,
”
he added enthusiastically.
She looked at him to see if he was joking and
,
when she
saw that he wasn
’
t, her heart dropped. My God, he
’
s serious, she thought with dread. She caught the sympathe
tic look Anna gave her as they were called in
to dinner.