Summer at Tiffany's (49 page)

Cassie opened her eyes and met Luke's gaze with sombre certainty. ‘Please, Luke. Please believe me when I say I never want to see you again.' She knew the words were like knives. She regretted their savagery, but there was nothing else to be done when he wouldn't give up. He just wouldn't let her go.

She watched as his eyes roamed her for the last time, his idea of love – possession – hardening in front of her into something cold and brittle before he turned and marched away. Cassie watched him go, catching sight of a familiar figure standing on the balcony, hair blowing in the breeze, her child on her hip.

Cassie raised her hand, like a boat signalling to the lighthouse, but Suzy simply turned and disappeared back into the bedroom, leaving her to crash upon the rocks. Alone.

Her mother was sitting on the bed unpacking when Cassie knocked and put her head round the door. ‘Hi.'

Edie straightened up. ‘Oh, darling. How are you? Did you get any sleep?' She wrapped her arms around her daughter as Cassie sank onto the mattress beside her and bent to put her head on her shoulder.

‘A bit,' she mumbled, trying not to cry again. Being with her mother lowered all her adult defences and they sat in silence for a while, Edie rubbing her back in large, soothing circles, just as she had done when Cassie was a little girl.

‘You had gone out when I came down earlier,' Edie said, as Cassie finally pulled away.

‘Yeah, I needed a bit of fresh air.'

‘Where did you go? To the beach?'

Cassie shook her head. She hadn't been able to bear the thought of going somewhere that celebrated the sea, a joyful place where people played and relaxed on the sand, and swam in the still shallows. ‘To the church.'

‘Oh. Have they taken down the flowers yet?'

‘Not yet,' Cassie said flatly, picking at the bedspread as she idly looked around the room, comforted somewhat by the sight of her mother's possessions on the surfaces – her old Mason Pearson hairbrush, her silver Asprey travel clock, identical to the one Cassie's father had given her too.

‘Such a shame. They were so pretty,' Edie said. ‘Still, it provided a good distraction for Hats yesterday if nothing else. We were doing the flowers for most of the afternoon. We found some lovely blossoms in the hedgerows, which Hats somehow fashioned into pew-end pieces.'

‘How could she think about a wedding when her son's missing?' Cassie asked with disbelief.

‘Oh, I don't think she thought for one minute that the wedding would actually go ahead today. Even Gem isn't that headstrong. No, it just gave her something to do with her hands. Far better than moping around the house, just waiting. Hats isn't very good at being a spectator.'

‘No.' Cassie remembered Henry's frustrated helplessness when Archie had been in the hospital. ‘I saw the roses in the hall last night.'

‘Yes, they were for the bouquet.' Edie sighed. ‘Poor Hats – she'd give up her objections to the wedding in a moment, now, if she could just get her boy back.' She paused, bringing her fist to her mouth for a moment, as though stopping a sneeze. ‘Oh well, we can get them into some water anyway. They'll brighten the place up a little.'

Cassie didn't say anything. Even roses as beautiful as the Maiden's Blush couldn't distract from the horror being played out in all their lives.

‘How is Gem?' Edie asked.

Cassie shrugged, getting up and wandering over to the dressing table. An orange suede jewellery travel bag was unrolled on the glass surface and her fingers tripped lightly over the strings of pearls, gold knot earrings and delicate chain necklaces that she remembered her mother wearing all her life. ‘I've barely seen her. Not great, I don't think.'

‘No, she wasn't taking it too well when I saw her in the kitchen earlier, although I do believe it's the right decision, even though Laird seems like a lovely chap. He was very decent when we sat them down on Thursday and explained about the letter of wishes. I felt almost bad about it, as it really does cast so many aspersions on him, poor fellow.'

Cassie turned round, resting her bottom on the dressing table. ‘Sorry, you've lost me. What's the “letter of wishes”?'

‘Hasn't Suzy told you? It's why I came over in the first place, darling. Hats took advice from her solicitor about the trust and apparently it came with a separate letter of wishes, which acts like a directive, if you like, stipulating how and when the estate should be given over – or
not.
And a young, rushed marriage like this, which is opposed by the trustees, is sufficient grounds to delay the transfer of the trust.'

‘But . . .' Cassie was still confused. ‘I don't get why you . . .'

‘You were very young when all this was arranged but your father was one of the trustees, darling. He and Pip had become very good friends over the years and, well, when Daddy died the trusteeship passed over to me. Naturally I didn't really think there'd ever be anything I had to do, but of course when Hats told me about the letter, well . . . I had to back her up on it.' She gave a small shrug. ‘We told Gem and Laird almost as soon as I arrived on Thursday.'

‘Told them what exactly?'

‘That the inheritance was being pushed back till she was thirty. The poor girl's got a
lot
of issues. Hattie firmly believes, and I do agree with her, that coming into that kind of money could very well be detrimental to her well-being. It's going to be some time before she's really standing on her own two feet.' Her mouth pursed thoughtfully. ‘They took it very well, I thought. Maybe he really wasn't interested in her money after all.' She sighed. ‘Anyway, then Archie came back with the dreadful news about Henry and all thoughts of weddings fled.'

‘Yes, right.' Cassie looked down, reaching for the dressing-table stool and sitting on it carefully. She felt giddy again and realized she hadn't eaten anything since yesterday afternoon. ‘I remember these.' She picked up a pair of silver cufflinks and rolled them in her palm. ‘Dad always wore these.'

‘They were his favourites,' Edie said, watching her from the bed. ‘I bought them for him when I was pregnant with you. I think he'd have worn them with his pyjamas if he could.' She chuckled softly, enlivened and saddened at the same time by the memory.

They were quiet for a little while.

‘While I've got you all to myself for a bit, tell me why you and Suzy aren't speaking.' Edie held up her hand quickly. ‘And don't bother trying to deny it. It was as obvious as a punch in the face, last night.'

Cassie put the cufflinks back in the travel bag, feeling her hands begin to tremble. ‘I've been an idiot.' Her voice was quiet, her eyes glued to the faded green carpet.

Edie waited for her to explain.

‘You remember Luke?'

Edie frowned. ‘You mean the American you went out with before Henry?'

Cassie nodded, biting her lip, waiting for the penny to drop. Her mother had been here with their group for two days now. Sure enough, her frown gradually deepened again. ‘You don't mean the one—'

Cassie nodded. ‘Going out with Gem's bridesmaid.'

‘That's
him
?' Edie asked in astonishment, before her expression changed. ‘Oh, Cass, no.'

Cassie bit her lip, her hand inadvertently tugging against the bangle again. ‘Henry and I were having problems. Well, just one, actually, but it's a big one. He wanted to get married and I . . . just didn't.'

‘Oh, darling.' Edie's hands fluttered and folded above her heart.

‘He basically issued me with an ultimatum before he left: we get married or we split up.' Cassie looked at her pleadingly. ‘I wasn't trying to make things worse, but Luke just—'

Edie sighed. ‘Luke just turned up, saying all the things you wanted to hear, I imagine.'

Cassie nodded miserably. ‘But it was true, some of it. Our relationship
hadn't
run its course. I was off on a year-long adventure back then, running my life to a timetable that took no notice of the fact that we were happy together. I left him behind simply because we ran out of time, and I told myself that he was just a rebound. But then when he came back and everything felt the same between us, I started thinking, What if he wasn't?'

Edie shook her head patiently. ‘That's just the fear talking, darling. No one who's ever seen you and Henry together could doubt that what you and he share is the real thing.' She shrugged. ‘I'm not saying what you and Luke shared wasn't wonderful too, and no doubt just what you needed to start moving on from Gil, but, darling, he's not Mr Right. He was – and will only ever be – Mr Right Now.'

‘And Gil's getting married today as well,' Cassie said quickly, a sob punctuating the end of the sentence before she could stop it. Her eyes shone suddenly with tears. ‘Mum. I think I panicked.' Her hand covered her mouth, as though the very words were dirty.

‘I think you did too,' her mother agreed, her eyes soft. ‘Does Henry know about any of this?'

Cassie's mouth turned down. ‘No.'

Edie nodded. ‘Well, do you know what I've always believed is the best thing about your past?'

Cassie shook her head.

‘It shows you what
not
to bring into your future.' She smiled, leaning forwards and resting her elbows on her lap. ‘You can learn from this, Cassie. It doesn't have to have been for nothing.'

Cassie sniffed. ‘You think so?'

‘Of course! After what you went through? I think it's only to be expected that you'd get a case of cold feet.'

‘Nooks thinks I should steer well clear of marrying again.'

Edie rolled her eyes. ‘Well, with the greatest respect, she would say that.'

Cassie frowned. ‘What do you mean?'

‘Henri – her father – was a
terrible
rogue. Just terrible! He cheated on poor Camille more times than any of us could count. I mean, I know the French believe in turning a blind eye to that sort of thing, but everyone's got their limits. He humiliated her, flaunting his girlfriends in her face.' Edie tutted. ‘No, it was beyond any of us why she stayed with him, and now look – Anouk's got commitment issues of her own.
Quelle surprise!
'

Cassie was quiet. She had never known any of this before. Hers and Suzy's, Kelly and Anouk's parents had all been friends – it was how the girls had met in the first place – but she had been a child, oblivious to the undercurrents and sexual politics at play in their parents' social set. To her mind, Anouk's father had simply been the sharpest-suited man in the group, who made them laugh by blowing the smoke from his Gitanes out through his nose like a dragon and always carried a pack of cards in his pocket.

‘I suppose—' Cassie began.

A sudden scream downstairs made them both gasp, their faces turned towards the door, ears pricked as the sound of raised voices in the kitchen were muffled by the thick carpets.

‘Oh God, what the hell's happened now?' Cassie whispered, running to the door and looking out into the hallway.

‘Cassie!'

She froze as she heard Suzy holler her name, stood motionless on the landing as the sound of heavy footsteps drew closer, quickly, on the stairs, almost dropped on the spot as a rangy, long-legged figure in a navy-and-red sailing jacket cleared the top step.

Henry stopped, like he'd run into a glass wall, at the sight of her. His face was bearded and sunburnt, but that only served to make his eyes brighter, his teeth whiter . . . He looked more alive than she had ever seen him; he seemed to glow, almost, like an angel.

She gasped. Was that what this was? Was this a trick of her mind? Was this what happened when sleeplessness and fear combined?

He seemed to read her panic. ‘Cass.' The word was as real as a touch.

‘You're here,' she quailed, scarcely able to believe what her eyes were showing her, one hand to her mouth, the other held out to touch him, still half expecting it to pass through him like a mirage. But he took her hand and placed it to his chest; she could feel his heart pounding – almost as quickly as hers – beneath her palm.

‘If not duffer . . . won't drown,' he said, stepping in closer and cocooning her face with his rough hands, kissing her tenderly, feeling how she shook as the adrenalin took charge, disbelief morphing into relief.

‘You're not a duffer!' she laughed, tears splashing from her eyes.

‘Didn't I tell you?' he laughed back, looping his arms around her and twirling her on the spot, both of them laughing, faces nuzzled into the other's neck as they revelled in their touch and smell all over again.

He lowered her feet to the ground, his eyes boring into hers. ‘But, Cass, you were right about the rest of it. I will never not listen to you again, oh, She Who Must Be Obeyed.'

A sound behind her made him look up – stiffen up, straighten up. ‘What's
he
doing here?' His voice was suddenly cold and hostile, all levity gone.

Cassie turned to see Luke standing outside her bedroom, his hand still on the handle as he closed the door behind him.

She saw how Luke froze too, as he took in the sight of Henry – action man, adventurer, hero returned – his arms around her. Cassie noticed he was wearing his linen flak jacket – the one with the big pockets that he always wore on jobs – his jeans, his charcoal suede Prada trainers. For someone who had spent the past two weeks in a wetsuit or T-shirt and shorts, he looked suddenly overdressed. And very urban.

‘H-his girlfriend, Amber, is Gem's bridesmaid,' she said quickly, fear thinning her voice as she kept her eyes upon Luke in a silent plea. Would he spill their secret? Was it going to be a case of if he couldn't have her, no one could? Would he try to ruin their relationship out of spite? Because if their history was anything to go by, she wouldn't put it past him. ‘Well . . . was going to be,' she mumbled into the vacuum when neither man spoke.