The Vow (20 page)

Amy sat up and took her mug gratefully.
‘I would be if I could just get a good night’s sleep. I’m getting fed up of this heat.’

Lucy, sure there was more to it than that, quizzed her gently,
‘Amy, have you spoken to Alex yet? You said you were going to give him a call, see if you could sort things out.’

Amy sighed, she had spoken to him that morning and it had not gone well. He had told her he wasn’t ready to talk, that he thought they shouldn’t see each other for a while. She had nearly begged. Nearly, but not quite. To Lucy she said,
‘No, I’ll give it another day or two. Let the dust settle.’

‘
Would it help if I spoke to him?’

‘
No!’ Amy was emphatic. ‘No, that really wouldn’t help.’

‘
Why won’t you tell me what’s going on?’ implored Lucy.

‘
I can’t, I just can’t. Leave it, Lucy, there’s a good girl.’ Desperate to change the subject, she asked, ‘Anyway, how was your day?’

‘
Oh, fine.’ Lucy hadn’t mentioned the clinic appointment, having a fair idea what Amy’s reaction would be. After a moment she asked, ‘Amy, what exactly is IVF treatment?’

Amy looked bemused and it took a moment for the question to percolate.

‘Well, it stands for In Vitro Fertilisation. It’s when they take the sperm and the egg, and combine them in a laboratory dish, that’s the vitro bit, it means glass. Then, after fertilisation, the resulting embryo is transferred to the woman’s uterus.’

‘
Is that what they do for surrogate mothers and cases like, you know, like Michael Jackson and his so-called wives?’

‘
I assume so, but it’s really not my area of expertise, Lucy. Why the interest?’

‘
Because it would appear that is how Marcus is planning the conception of our children‘, Lucy announced calmly.

Amy stared at her friend in disbelief.

~

‘
Do hurry up, Lucy!’

‘
I’m doing my best, Marcus, but it’s not easy going at this speed in high heels you know,’ she told him reproachfully.

He slowed his pace a little.
‘No, of course not, sorry, this isn’t your fault but I do so hate to be late.’

It was Tuesday evening and they were on their way to have dinner with
a business associate of Marcus’s who was over from New York with his wife. A security alert in the area had gridlocked the streets around their hotel, forcing Marcus and Lucy to finish the journey on foot leaving Saule sitting in the stationary traffic.

‘
I don’t think we will be, we’re nearly there now,’ Lucy told him soothingly.

He stopped frowning.
‘Yes, you’re right of course.’

As they walked, Lucy asked,
‘Marcus, have you had the report from the clinic yet?’

‘
Yes, they faxed it over this afternoon. I would have mentioned it but it went out of my mind. This evening’s been such a rush. They say all is well which is good news. I hope it wasn’t all too unpleasant.’

‘
Oh when you’re a woman you get used to being poked about,’ she said lightly.

‘
Yes, I suppose you do.’ He looked at his watch and increased his pace again. ‘Lucy, just to warn you, Chuck has a bit of a stutter, don’t be tempted to fill in words for him, he hates that.’

‘
Okay, no problem, I’ll remember,’ she assured him, struggling to keep up. ‘Marcus, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about. At the clinic they mentioned IVF treatment. Seeing as everything is alright, I don’t quite see why I would need it. Surely we can give babies a chance to come along in the usual way?’

The entrance to the hotel was in view now and Marcus seemed focused on that, without looking at her, he said,
‘No, that’s not an option. I’m celibate, and have been for over twenty years.’

Lucy would have stopped in her tracks if he hadn’t got hold of her arm, propelling her forward.

‘But, Marcus…’ she began.

‘
There are no buts, Lucy. The subject is not up for discussion.’

The smiling hotel doorman ushered them into the foyer where Mr and Mrs Chuck Wainwright II stood waiting for them.

Lydia watched the door from across the meeting room, waiting for Marcus. She had been waiting for Marcus for two years. Longer, if she was honest. She’d fallen under his spell long ago, but he had remained inexplicably loyal to his plain and ageing little wife. Lydia’s subtle advances had gone unheeded, but he paid her enough attention to convince her he was not indifferent to her.

When
Helena died she had been prepared to be patient. Marcus wasn’t the sort of man to do anything with indecent haste. She had persuaded him to take Helena’s place on this fundraising committee, join her on another for an arts foundation, and they now met for lunch on a regular basis. She had been sure these lunches would soon be swapped for dinner dates, and then along came Ms Lucy Weston.

Lydia
simply couldn’t understand what a man of Marcus’s sophistication could possibly see in a girl like her. Lucy had hinted, well, not so much hinted as boasted, about their sex life but that wasn’t much of a basis for an enduring relationship, and Lydia did not believe for one moment Marcus could really want, at his age, to be knee deep in screaming babies. No, extremely irritating as it was to have her plans interfered with she was sure it would not be long before he began to look around for a more rewarding companion, and she would be there ready and waiting.

At forty-five
Lydia knew she was still attractive. She was intelligent, educated and shared many of Marcus’s interests. He was certain to see that she would make a perfect wife, and carry the title Lady Delacroix with considerably more aplomb than a chit of a girl who worked in a scruffy converted warehouse in Camden.

He came through the door talking with another committee member and
Lydia’s stomach lurched as it always did when she saw him. He was such an attractive man. Spotting her, Marcus made his way over, a pleasant smile on his face. At six feet two he towered over her and she liked the way it made her feel small and delicate; her ex-husband had been of slightly less than average height.

In what seemed to observers as the affectionate gesture of an old friend, Marcus laid a hand on her shoulder and
leaned forward to kiss her cheek. The pressure being applied by his hand however was painful, and although still smiling his voice was icy when he whispered in her ear.

‘
Lydia, if you ever attempt to interfere in my life again I shall ensure you deeply regret it.’

~

‘Celibate! For more than twenty years! Good Lord!’

Both Ellen’s face and voice bore witness to her amazement.
‘But, Lucy, I don’t understand, wasn’t he married during that time? And why? Is it some kind of vow? Is it that he can’t, or he won’t? Is it a health thing? Oh God, it’s not HIV is it? No, he’d almost certainly be dead by now. How can you possibly not have sex for twenty years?’

Standing at the hob stirring a sauce she looked expectantly at Lucy who was perched on the edge of the table.

‘I don’t know the answer to any of those questions, Ellen. He won’t discuss it, and he’s not a man who is easy to question at the best of times.’

‘
So how do you know about this, how did it come up?’

Lucy looked uncomfortable and Ellen went on,
‘Come on, Lucy, what’s going on? I think you had better tell me the whole story.’

Lucy knew she had no choice if she wanted Ellen’s advice, which she did, so she poured out the whole story, beginning at the airport and finishing with the clinic appointment and the bombshell Marcus had dropped two nights ago. Continuing to stir the sauce and sip her wine Elle
n listened without interruption. When she had come to the end of her tale, Lucy asked her, ‘I suppose you think I’m mad?’

‘
No, not at all,’ Ellen assured her as she set the food on the table and they sat down to eat. ‘I can see the attraction of the original deal, especially with you being so keen to have children, but he has gone and moved the goal posts now, hasn’t he? If he continues to be celibate that means you have to be too. I can’t imagine he’d look very kindly on you getting your thrills elsewhere. Are you really prepared to sign up for a nun’s life?’

Lucy grimaced.
‘I was rather hoping there might be an alternative.’

‘
Well, let’s look at the possibilities. As we’ve said before, he doesn’t come over as gay, but at this stage we can’t rule it out. Plenty of homosexuals hide behind an understanding wife and she may have insisted on the celibacy to protect herself against any nasty little scandals. It could still be that he is impotent, although I’m not sure how that would work with IVF. As far as I understand, the chap turns up, they give him a porn mag and some sort of container, and he provides the necessary. Surely that wouldn’t work if he were impotent? Perhaps they have another way of getting the sperm, but I really don’t know much about it.’ Looking at Lucy’s expression Ellen laughed and told her, ‘I can see you don’t much like either of these scenarios.’

‘
Can’t you think of something more positive?’ Lucy asked hopefully.

‘
Well, what about if his wife was gay?’ suggested Ellen. ‘You said she was in her mid-forties before she got married, perhaps she was the one who wanted to hide in a marriage. Maybe the deal was he got the money and the company, but had to remain faithful.’

This didn’t sit well with Lucy.
‘But he always speaks so warmly of her’.

‘
Lucy, you can love someone without being in love with them you know.’

‘
Maybe, but that doesn’t explain why he has remained celibate. Helena’s been dead two years.’

‘
Hmm, that’s true.’ Ellen struggled to find a plausible answer but couldn’t come up with one.

‘
So, where do I go from here?’ Lucy was looking glum.

‘
Can’t you force him into talking about it?’

‘
Marcus really isn’t the sort of man you can force into anything.’

‘
In that case you are going to have to try to rule out the gay or impotent possibilities because if it’s either of those then you’ve got nothing to work with. Lucy, you’re very attractive, any normal man would jump at the chance to sleep with you. You’re going to have to see if you can get any reaction from Marcus.’

‘
I don’t like the sound of this,’

‘
Oh come on! You can flirt as well as the next girl, and don’t tell me you’ve never given a guy the come on. You said yourself you’ve felt there was a spark between you, well, it’s time to fan the flames,’ Ellen told her decidedly.

‘
You’d be much better at this than me,’ said Lucy, unconvinced.

‘
Of course I would, but I’m not the one who’s thinking of marrying him. It has to be done, Lucy. Desperate situations call for desperate measures!’

Ellen spent the rest of the evening giving Lucy a lesson in seduction. She couldn’t have had a better teacher.

~

Bliss, absolute bliss! Floating around the pool on an airbed, Lucy was soaking up the warm afternoon sunshine, every now and then rolling off it into the cool water. When Marcus had told her the pool would be ready to use at the weekend she had gone in search of a new bikini and had picked up a couple of very jolly multi-coloured lilos as well. She was quite rightly proud of her figure and with Ellen telling her,
‘If you’ve got it, flaunt it.’ she had chosen the tiniest, and paradoxically the most expensive, bikini she could find.

When asked if she liked the colour Zoë had held up the two miniscule pieces and laughingly said,
‘There’s not enough of it to know what colour it is! It appears to be a couple of bits of string and some seashells. Let’s hope Culver’s photographer isn’t lurking in the undergrowth or you’ll find yourself on Page Three this time!’

Lucy had been very satisfied with the appreciative looks it had drawn from Marcus as he told her,
‘That’s a very fetching bikini you’re nearly wearing, Lucy. It should keep your white bits to a minimum.’

They had swum together before lunch and Lucy had seen that she wasn’t the only one with a body worth looking at. So many men, even the much younger ones, looked better with their clothes on but Marcus was tanned, muscular and toned. He obviously put the gym in the
London house to good use.

After they had eaten Marcus had gone to the golf club to spend a couple of hours on the driving range, and Lucy got back in the pool where she thought over yet again the suggestions Ellen had made and how she could best start putting them to use. It was not her way to come on strong and she’d never had the need to before, but she knew Ellen was right in that she really did need to know exactly where she stood. Still, it was a daunting prospect having to try to seduce a man who had not only been able to resist her charms for two months, but everyone else’s for more than twenty years. The thoughts went around and around in her head until she dozed off. She came to suddenly at the sound of Marcus calling her name as he stood at the door to the kitchen.

‘Lucy, do you happen to have some aspirins? I’ve got the start of a headache and I can’t find any.’

‘
Sorry, that’s my fault, I used them all for my hangover after Dad’s wedding,’ she called back. ‘My bag is on the kitchen table, look in one of the small zipped pockets on the side and you should find some.’

Assuming that by small she meant the smallest, Marcus opened one of the two tiny compartments Lucy never used and pulled out, not aspirins, but a bracelet he immediately recognised. Frowning deeply he stood thinking for a few moments and then put the bracelet in his pocket. Finding the aspirin he took a couple, poured cold drinks and went out to join Lucy.

Climbing out of the water, she asked, ‘Did you find them? Is your head bad?’

‘
Yes, thank you, and no it’s not too bad but I’d like to shake it off before this evening,’ he replied passing her a drink as she sat down at the table under the shade of its parasol. He had already told her that they were invited to dinner that evening, along with some other golf club members, at the house of Charles, his usual golfing partner.

‘
It’s probably just too much sun on your head,’ she told him.

‘
Thank you, Nurse Weston,’ he replied dryly. ‘Talking of too much sun, don’t go getting burned out here.’

‘
Oh I never burn but I’ve had enough for today. I’ll sit in the shade and read for a while, unless there’s something you want me to do?’

‘
No, that’s fine. There are some things I want to sort through in the house to take back to London. I need to look at the insurance cover I have on both houses and I think the pieces of Helena’s jewellery which are still here would be better off in the safe up in town. When I was looking through I found a bracelet with a broken clasp, is that something you would be able to mend for me?’

As he spoke he produced the bracelet from his pocket and watched Lucy’s face carefully. Just as he had expected there was no reaction.

She put out her hand to take the delicate diamond studded chain and said, ‘It’s very pretty, fine workmanship. Oh yes, I can see where it’s broken but that’s easily repaired. I’ll do it on Monday, it won’t take two minutes.’

Marcus smiled at her.
‘Good girl, I knew you wouldn’t let me down.’

To Lucy it se
emed an overreaction to such a small thing but she was happy to see the real warmth in his eyes.

~

Spotting Marcus, the spaniel trotted across the lawn towards him, her tail wagging furiously. She sat at his feet, wriggling from her head to her tail in anticipation of the fuss he always made of her. He leaned down to stroke her silky ears.

‘
Hello, Damson, how are you doing, old girl? Too hot for you, I bet.’

Catching up with his dog, Burt smiled and said,
‘She’s got the right idea, sleeps all day and then demands to be taken out. Not too much wrong with a dog’s life, if you ask me! Everything alright with the swimming pool, Mr Delacroix?’

‘
Yes, it seems fine. Are you coping okay with it all?’

‘
Oh yes, I’ve got the hang of it now,’ Burt assured him. ‘The chaps explained about all the chemicals and the robot thing that hoovers it out. I’ve put the pump on a timer so it’s on overnight. It’s all quite straightforward really.’

‘
Well, do feel free to use it yourself, and Dot. It’s a shame for it not to be used all week.’

Looking pleased, Burt told him,
‘That would be very nice, thank you. Dot was only saying the other day how inviting it looks.’

Damson had rolled on to her back and Marcus kneeled down to rub her tummy. Casually he asked,
‘Have you seen anything of my sister over the last week?’

Burt thought for a moment before answering.
‘Not this last week, no. But I did see her car one evening the week before. I’m pretty sure it was the Monday because I remember thinking she must have left something behind, what with you all having only left the day before.’