Storms Over Blackpeak (12 page)

Chapter
ELEVEN

The day Ash’s mysterious visitor was due to arrive, Lizzie lay in Carr’s arms, the soft light of Saturday morning growing around the edges of the bedroom curtains.

‘Stay,’ Carr’s voice growled in her ear. His lips brushed hers. ‘Stay this week.’

Nestling her cheek closer to Carr’s shoulder, Lizzie stroked the long-muscled forearm resting between her breasts. There was no place she’d rather be.

‘I can’t,’ she remembered, reluctantly. ‘I told Luke to drop in again on his way back up to Christchurch.’ In fact, it was worse than that. It didn’t seem like nearly such a good idea right now, but, ‘Actually, I want to try to get him to stay next weekend. Ella’s only back for a couple of days before
she heads off to Europe, and he’s been working crazy hours while she’s been away. He needs to slow down. And I think …’ Lizzie paused, remembering Luke’s voice on the phone again. ‘I think he’s really lonely.’

She felt Carr’s chest move as he sighed. ‘Doesn’t he have any friends? Family of his own?’

‘His parents are away in Umbria.’ And having met quite a few of Luke’s ‘friends’ in the past, Lizzie thought they were the last people she wanted him hanging out with while Ella was gone. ‘Anyway,’ she went on, ‘I’m Luke’s family, too.’ She’d like it to stay that way.

‘Ask him here.’

‘Here?’ Lizzie twisted to look at Carr. ‘On his own?’

Carr’s mouth twitched. ‘Well, I was hoping you’d come with him.’

‘You want to invite Luke to stay?’

‘No.’ His dark eyes watched her carefully. ‘I want
you
to know you can bring anyone you want here.’

Lizzie felt her own eyes soften a little. ‘Thank you,’ she said. Tiring of craning her neck, she settled her head back into his shoulder.

‘Does that mean you’ll stay?’

‘I …’ Well, she could, couldn’t she? Why not? ‘I didn’t bring enough clothes.’

‘I’ll fly you over on Monday. You can pack a suitcase.’ Carr’s voice was firm. ‘In fact, while you’re at it, pack two.’

Lizzie laughed. ‘You really want me to stay that much?’

‘I really want you’ — arms tightening around her, Carr rolled her onto her back — ‘to stay that much.’

She touched his cheek.

Carr looked down at her. ‘I—’

‘You just don’t want to be left on your own,’ Lizzie teased him, ‘with Ash and his girlfriend when she arrives.’

With a shake of his head, Carr lay back against the pillows. Lizzie thought she heard another sigh.

She propped herself up on one elbow to look at him. ‘
Is
she his girlfriend, do you think?’

‘It’s a pretty long way to come from Argentina,’ Carr shrugged, ‘to see a friend.’

‘Maybe she wants to see New Zealand.’

‘Maybe she does.’

‘Ash didn’t say?’

‘Nope.’

‘And you didn’t ask.’

Carr raised his eyebrows at her.

‘I know, I know.’ Lizzie rolled her eyes. ‘If he wanted to tell you, he would.’ A thought occurred to her. ‘If you want to leave them alone to sort it out,’ she suggested, ‘why don’t you just come over and stay at the vineyard this week?’

‘Yeah.’ Carr frowned. ‘Except that they wouldn’t be alone.’

Oh God, of course not — there was Cally. If Ash’s mystery guest was indeed his girlfriend, that would answer the question of whether anything had been going on between him and Cally. At least, Lizzie hoped it would. Otherwise, things were about to get very awkward. No wonder Carr wanted some support.

‘Okay,’ she decided.

‘Okay?’

‘I’ll call Luke and tell him I’m staying here this week.’

‘All week?’

‘All week,’ she smiled. Carr’s arms closed around her again. Suddenly, everyone else’s problems aside, Lizzie found herself feeling ridiculously happy.

By the time she got up, Ash had already left for the airport to pick up his friend. Cally, Lizzie couldn’t help noticing, when she came down, was more than usually quiet.

‘Are you all right?’ Lizzie asked her gently, when they were alone in the kitchen.

‘Yeah.’ Cally managed a smile. ‘I just didn’t sleep very well last night, that’s all.’

‘Can I help you with something?’ Lizzie glanced around at the bench.

‘It’s okay, I’ve got it.’

Dismissed, Lizzie left Cally sizing up a forequarter roast and retreated back upstairs. In the bedroom, she picked up the landline and tapped in Luke’s number.

‘Lizzie!’ He sounded exhausted. ‘Hi. How are things?’

‘Good. How are things with you?’

‘They’ll be better by the end of this week. Are we still on for dinner Thursday night?’

‘I hope so,’ she said brightly. ‘There’s just one thing — could it be at Glencairn instead of the vineyard? I’m staying with Carr all week.’

There was a long silence.

‘Lizzie,’ Luke said carefully, ‘that’s really kind, but I don’t want to intrude. We’ll catch up another time.’

‘No,’ she insisted. ‘Really, please come. I’m looking forward to seeing you.’

‘Yeah …’ he hedged.

‘So is Carr,’ Lizzie added desperately.

‘Carr is looking forward to seeing me?’ There was more than a hint of laughter in Luke’s voice.

‘Actually, he suggested I ask you to stay next weekend.’

‘He suggested that,’ Luke said. ‘Right.’

‘I swear.’

‘Look, thanks, I appreciate the offer. I do. But I should really get back to Christchurch.’

‘You can go back on Sunday,’ she told him firmly.

‘I’ve got a meeting Friday afternoon.’

‘Cancel it,’ Lizzie ordered. ‘When was the last time you had a day off? Come on, spend the weekend with us. Cally’s here, Ash has got a friend over from Argentina — it’ll be fun. How much business can you do in one afternoon anyway?’

She sensed Luke hesitating.

‘Unless’ — Lizzie tried a reverse tack — ‘you already have plans for the weekend in Christchurch?’

There was another long pause. ‘No,’ Luke said, sounding suddenly lost. ‘I wasn’t planning on doing anything.’

‘Good,’ she said briskly. ‘Then it’s settled. You’ll stay here.’

‘Apparently so.’ The amusement was back in Luke’s voice.

‘We’ll see you when you get here on Thursday. Just text me—’ Lizzie shook her head at herself. ‘
Ring
me when you’re leaving.’

‘Lizzie?’

‘What?’

‘Carr didn’t really tell you to invite me, did he?’

‘Honest to God,’ Lizzie said. ‘He insisted.’

Well, she thought, feeling rather pleased with herself: that was one job done. Putting down the phone, she headed off to check on Cally and the mutton. A woman’s laughter met her on the landing.

Lizzie stopped and stared. Good God.
That
was Ash’s ‘friend’? She’d expected something less … What? Trophylike? That did not look at all like a girl men wanted to be friends with.

‘Lizzie,’ Ash smiled, somewhat uncomfortably, Lizzie thought, although that might be due to the number of bags he was draped with. ‘This is Valentina. Valentina, this is Lizzie, Dad’s—’ Looking at Lizzie, he hesitated, raising his eyebrows.

Lizzie shrugged. ‘Friend?’ she suggested, not without irony.

‘Dad’s friend.’ Ash frowned suddenly.

‘It is a pleasure to meet you, Lizzie.’ The low, breathy voice carried the hint of a lisp and a not-quite-Spanish accent. Briefly, the tips of Valentina’s elegant fingers pressed Lizzie’s.

‘And you.’

‘Oh! You still have that blanket you bought.’ Valentina headed towards Ash’s open bedroom door.

‘Yeah, I do.’ Ash hefted her luggage to the other side of the hall. ‘This is your room over here,’ he said, opening the door next to Cally’s.

Lizzie hid her surprise. Were the separate rooms just for show? Perhaps customs were stricter in Latin America. But from the look she had seen flit across Valentina’s face, Lizzie suspected she might not be the only one who had expected a different sleeping arrangement.

She stared in wonder at Valentina’s mountain of monogrammed leather bags. What was that, some kind of hatbox?

‘What a charming room,’ Valentina said, stepping in and turning around, her poise fully recovered. She turned her lovely eyes up to Ash. ‘It is perfect. Thank you.’

He smiled at her. ‘I’ll bring up the rest of your things.’

In the sitting room that evening, left alone with Valentina, Lizzie surreptitiously studied her face. She really was a remarkably pretty girl — as indeed she ought to be, for all the effort she appeared to be putting into it.

‘So, how did you and Ash meet?’ Lizzie asked, watching Valentina sip her wine.

‘Ash works — he worked, I mean — on my father’s
estancia
.’ Valentina looked surprised. ‘He did not tell you?’

‘I meant,’ Lizzie covered quickly, ‘how did you come to …’ She hesitated. ‘Be friends.’

Running a manicured hand down her thigh, Valentina
recrossed her long legs. She was wearing a caramel satin top with a deep slit neck, matching suede leggings and six-inch heels — an outfit not entirely appropriate for a Saturday night at Glencairn, but one that in no way sold short her considerable assets.

‘Ash helped me with my last horse,’ she said. ‘I ride dressage.’

Lizzie nodded encouragingly.

‘At the Nationals.’ Valentina’s expression suggested Lizzie might be missing the point. ‘I am quite good.’

Lizzie didn’t doubt her.

‘You have seen him ride?’ Valentina’s eyes flashed up at her from beneath their perfectly curled lashes.

She shook her head.

‘You should.’ In the firelight, the girl’s eyes shone. ‘It is beautiful. He is … endowed.’

Lizzie managed, with some difficulty, to finish swallowing her wine. ‘We usually say “gifted”.’

Valentina looked puzzled.

‘So,’ Lizzie smiled, ‘the two of you have horses in common.’

‘We have many things in common,’ Valentina said firmly. ‘Land. This …’ She cast a proprietorial hand around the sitting room, the gold cuff on her wrist gleaming. ‘Our histories … Our families … Our fathers’ fathers, they were
estancieros
. Our blood, it is the same.’ She nodded at Lizzie. ‘I was raised to believe that this is what is important.’

Jesus. Was that how Carr felt? ‘
My
father,’ said Lizzie, evenly, ‘was a haematologist. I was raised to believe that everybody’s blood is pretty much the same.’

‘But one stands a greater chance of happiness, do you not think’ — Valentina looked interested — ‘when one remains with one’s own kind. It is easier to understand one another.’

‘I think,’ Lizzie said, as mildly as she could, ‘that people
come to understand each other in lots of different ways.’

‘Lizzie, could you—’ Cally appeared in the doorway, wiping her hands on a tea towel. Seeing Valentina, her gaze fled to the rug. ‘Could you just come and help me with something for a second?’ she continued, in a small voice.

‘Of course I can.’ Lizzie hurried to her feet. She nodded to Valentina. ‘Excuse me.’

‘Sorry,’ Cally said, in the kitchen.

‘Don’t be. Really.’ Lizzie shuddered briefly. ‘What can I do?’

‘The mutton’s ready.’ Cally prodded at the hunk of meat in the roasting dish. ‘Do you think I should reduce the juices a bit?’

Lizzie peered into the pan. ‘Good idea.’

‘So, lift the meat and the vegetables?’

‘Yes, I would. Let the meat rest and just give the pan a good boil on top of the stove.’ She looked around. ‘What else can I do?’

Cally shook her head. ‘Go back and sit down. It’s all pretty much done.’

‘Good,’ Lizzie said. ‘You can come through and have a glass of wine.’

‘I’d better not,’ Cally hedged. ‘I need to get everything ready to serve.’

Lizzie wavered, torn. Half of her wanted to drag Cally into the sitting room where she would normally be. The other half wouldn’t mind hiding out in the kitchen herself. ‘Okay,’ she said. ‘Just yell out if you need anything.’

Walking back into the sitting room, she found Valentina still sitting alone. Lizzie bit back a sigh. Where the hell had Carr got to? Or bloody Ash, for that matter?

‘Sorry about that,’ she managed, picking up her wineglass and settling back in her chair.

‘My mother has problems with our girl, too,’ Valentina
said conspiratorially. ‘She can never seem to think for herself at all.’

Before Lizzie could even begin to formulate a reply, Ash walked in. Curious, Lizzie scanned him for signs of extra sartorial effort, but he was wearing his usual Saturday night ensemble of bashed-up jeans and a rugby shirt. Turning her head, she caught Valentina looking Ash up and down in much the same way, appearing less pleased with what she saw.

‘Hi.’ Ignoring the empty seat beside Valentina on the sofa, Ash sank into his usual chair beside the fire.

At last, Carr appeared in the doorway, a bottle of wine in his hand. ‘Anyone need another drink?’

Lizzie held up her glass. ‘Yes, please.’

A few minutes later, Cally cleared her throat in the doorway. ‘Dinner’s ready, if you want to go in and sit down.’

‘Can I help you carry anything through?’ Lizzie got to her feet.

Carr hurried up, too. ‘I’ll give you a hand as well.’

In the dining room, Lizzie handed around the warm plates while Cally set the platter of mutton down on the table. Seeing Valentina had taken the place beside Ash where she normally sat, Cally hesitated.