‘Well…’ She could sense that he was weakening.
Amy led him upstairs into the empty bedroom, hugging his arm close as she outlined her plans, saying how much better it would look with new wallpaper, a rug on the floor and home-made curtains at the window.
‘It’ll have to be a second-hand bed, I’m not having anything to do with this never-never business,’ Chris warned her.
‘I’ve a bit saved up for a new bed,’ Amy told him. ‘And a bed is all we do need at first, isn’t it? We can get other things later, a bit at a time.’
Her bright eyes twinkled so cheekily at him he fell to laughing and kissing her, as he always did. A moment later he was happily agreeing to her plan, if only because it would be so good to have the freedom to make love to his lovely wife in private without being conscious of his mother listening behind paper-thin walls.
‘He agreed,’ Amy told Thomas in jubilation that evening as once again they were doing the dishes in the back kitchen.
‘You didn’t tell him I had owt to do with it, did you?’
Amy assured the old man that she hadn’t broken her promise. ‘I did say I’d ask you to help us do the place up a bit, since Chris is working so hard learning his new trade. Is that all right?’
‘Aye, course it is, chuck. I’ve already said, I’ll be happy to help. I’ll pop round tomorrow and have a shufty, then we’ll decide what needs doing.’
‘Oh, I’m so thrilled! Should I tell Mavis, do you think, or leave that to Chris?’
Thomas was thoughtful. ‘Nay, you can leave that to me, love. I’ll inform madam, er Mavis, of what you mean to do.’
Chapter Twelve
Carmina eagerly returned to her daily routine of meeting Luc at the bus stop on the corner of Hardman Street. Night after night she would patiently wait for him. Sadly, he was not pleased to see her. Now, whenever he alighted from the bus, instead of wrapping a casual arm around her neck and kissing her, as he’d used to do, he seemed embarrassed that she should even be there. He would walk right past as if he hadn’t even noticed her. Carmina didn’t like being ignored and vigorously protested.
‘What’s wrong?’ she asked, miffed that he should be so distant.
‘Nothing,’ he growled, striding away from her at such a speed she had to half run to keep up with him.
‘I’m not angry. It was just a bit of a tiff we had. I’ve forgotten it already.’
She’d far from forgotten it, but Carmina certainly had no intention of letting Luc know how hurt she’d been by his rejection. Maybe he was playing hard to get, but he’d certainly wanted her, for goodness sake. Any fool could tell that. Which had made her even more determined to have him. Couldn’t she always twist a man around her little finger?
If her mother had told her once, she’d told her a thousand times to be a good girl, to respect herself then others would respect her in turn. Carmina wasn’t interested in respect, only passion. Momma also said that once a boy had had his wicked way with you, he dropped you.
Not that she’d ever listened to her mother’s advice. What did
she
know?
Carlotta still listened to Perry Como and Glen Miller, and spent all her time cooking and washing dishes. She didn’t approve of today’s world, of bad boy Elvis the pelvis, of loud rock ‘n’ roll and the new earning power of the young. She believed that today’s teenagers had too much money and too little discipline. Her mother was old fashioned, still with one foot in the past, constantly reliving the war years, or forever harping on about how things were different in Italy when she was a girl.
Carmina saw herself as the future, free to do as she pleased now that she was seventeen, nearly eighteen. She intended to be Luc’s girl and she would do whatever was necessary to catch him.
She’d almost had him that night at the dance, but then he’d chickened out at the last minute. Carmina felt cheated and annoyed. Why wouldn’t the daft fool admit that he wanted her as much as she wanted him? Hadn’t she longed for that moment, dreamed of it for weeks ever since they’d split up? She’d ached to be in Luc Fabriani’s arms again, and all her careful planning had seemed to be working beautifully until he’d no doubt been hit by a bout of guilt over her stupid sister!
‘You haven’t taken up with our Gina again, have you?’ She hadn’t meant to blurt out this worry, but somehow couldn’t get her head round the complex emotions she was experiencing.
Yet Carmina didn’t really think that could be the case as the silly girl was still moping about looking like a wet weekend. Besides, wasn’t she herself far more loveable and desirable than her sanctimonious sister? ‘She’d never have you back,’ Carmina finished, wanting to drive home her point.
Luc spun about, his face an angry crimson. ‘Why wouldn’t she? Because you’ve poisoned her mind with more of your lies?’
‘They aren’t lies.’ Carmina put back her head and laughed. ‘You can hardly claim to be the faithful boy friend
now
, can you? You were gasping for it, so don’t pretend otherwise. Although I can’t imagine what Momma and Papa’s reaction would be if they learned you were dangling both of us on a string.’
‘I’m not dangling anyone on a string.’
‘Of course you are. You have both Gina and me panting for love of you, you lucky boy. Unfortunately, you aren’t one of Momma and Papa’s favourite people. Apart from the fact your family are business rivals, they’re very protective of our Gina. She’s still sick, as you know.’
‘She looks fine to me.’
‘What would you know about it?’ Carmina almost told him that Gina did feel a bit below par this week, but changed her mind in case it should spark off some sort of stupid sympathy in him. ‘Anyway, Papa may seem soft but actually he’s quite strict. He likes to be in control, just as he would be in the old country.’
It had been almost midnight when Carmina had got home after the dance. Having persuaded her father to let her stay out till eleven o’clock, she knew she’d be in trouble for being late. Her cheeks had been flushed, her eyes glazed with the fury of frustration passion, and her chin a suspicious raw crimson from rubbing against Luc’s roughly shaven skin.
Papa had eyed her keenly over the rim of his newspaper as she’d hurried in. ‘You’re late. Where have you been all this-a time? Your momma she is worried sick.’
‘Just at the dance. I’m sorry, Papa, I forgot the time. It won’t happen again.’
His old eyes had softened as Carmina kissed his brow. ‘See that it doesn’t. And don’t be late for work in the morning.’
‘I won’t, Papa, I promise. ‘
Carmina had escaped to the bathroom to get ready for bed and to splash cold water on her burning face before she faced Gina.
As expected, her sister had still been awake when she’d climbed into the bed next to her. ‘How was it?’ Gina had asked, in a small sad voice. ‘I expect you danced every dance.’
‘I most certainly did,’ Carmina agreed with a happy sigh.
‘Who was there? Did you see Luc?’
‘Only briefly. He was with someone. Don’t know her name.’
‘A girl?’
‘Yes, a girl. You don’t think a boy like Luc Fabriani would go to a dance alone, do you? Stop fretting about him. He isn’t worth it, and you didn’t miss a thing. It was all very boring.’ And turning on her side, she’d snuggled down into her pillows and, despite her failure to seduce him, nursed the memory of Luc’s kisses with secret delight. Her oh-so-innocent sister would have fifty fits if she’d the smallest inkling of how close Carmina had come to stealing him from her.
And now, a week or two later, she was even more determined to succeed. ‘Gina doesn’t know about us, or what nearly happened in your old banger.’ Carmina admitted.
‘I pray to God she never does. That was a bad mistake. It won’t happen again. Anyway, there is no
us
.’
He was again striding away from her, turning the corner into St John’s Place where he lived in a fine Georgian terraced house with his parents, the polished brass knocker and letter box on its porticoed door probably cleaned by some maid this very morning. Carmina would dearly like to be invited in for tea, but doubted they’d reached that stage. Not yet.
‘Oh, I think there is,’ she insisted. ‘Very much so.’
He paused to glare at her. ‘I was a stupid fool to allow you to push things so far.’
‘So it’s all my fault now, is it?’
‘You know it was.’ He almost shouted the words at her, his voice hard with accusation.
Carmina gave a brittle little laugh. ‘You were panting for it. Couldn’t help yourself, because you know how much you like me really.’
‘I do not!’
‘Oh, yes, you do! And you still are gasping for it.’
‘I was stupid to believe what you said about Gina wanting to finish with me. In fact, I intend to speak to her and put her straight about some of these lies of yours.’
He set off across the road as if he meant to carry out his threat there and then but Carmina snatched at his arm and dragged him to a halt. They were both breathing hard, she quite out of breath trying to keep up with him. ‘If you do that, you’ll be sorry.’
‘Why? Who’ll make me sorry?’ There was a hard brightness in his gaze that sent a shiver of longing down her spine. He excited her even more when he was angry. He looked so
dangerous
!
‘
I
will.’ She shook back her dark hair so that it rippled over her shoulders, brown eyes blazing a challenge. ‘Admit it, you really can’t resist me. I’ll tell her how passionately you kissed me, what very nearly happened between us. I won’t spare her a single detail. I might even embellish things a little.’
She watched with pleasure as the colour drained from his handsome face.
‘You wouldn’t do that, not to your own sister?’
‘Watch me.’ Now she softened her stance, trailed a finger tip over his full mouth. ‘There’s a way to keep me quiet though. If you’re so keen for me to keep my mouth shut, then meet me tonight down by the canal bridge at seven, and don’t be late. You and I have some unfinished business.’ Then she left him standing in the middle of the road, a car peeping its horn at him as she sashayed away, hips swinging.
Carmina managed to avoid speaking to Gina as Momma carried supper up to her room on a tray, claiming the poor girl still needed to rest. How she did fuss! But then later, just as she was creeping out the door, her mother caught her.
‘Where you go? Who you go with? Not seeing a boy, I hope?’ Then reverting to her native tongue, Carlotta asked if Carmina too had secrets like her younger sister?
Carmina widened her eyes in an expression of outraged innocence. ‘Now why would I?’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Momma, are you accusing me of being a liar?’
‘I only accuse you of being a silly young girl, as we all were once.’ Carlotta jabbed a finger in her own ample chest. ‘I am your Momma. It is my job to protect you. You must be good girl, understand?’
Carmina rolled her eyes and let out a heavy sigh, having heard all of this a thousand times before. ‘Of course I’m a good girl. Don’t you trust me, Momma?’
Then catching sight of her own reflection in the hall mirror she tweaked a few kiss curls here and there, ran a damp finger over each plucked brow. Her face was bare of make-up but she carried lipstick, green eye shadow, mascara and powder compact in her pocket, ready to put on the minute she got out of the house. Her mother didn’t approve of her looking like a floosie, but what she didn’t see wouldn’t hurt her.
Carlotta was wringing her hands in despair. ‘Why won’t you listen to your momma? Don’t think I don’t know what is going on. I hear you danced with that Fabriani boy, that you follow him about like the little lamb.’
Carmina was stunned. ‘Who’s been telling tales?’
Carlotta merely folded her arms, and her lips. Gossip wasn’t hard to pick up on this market. No doubt Alec Hall had casually mentioned the dance, and Winnie Holmes had filled her in on the other details, which she’d no doubt gleaned from her customers. ‘He is no good. He has the record with the police.’
Carmina snorted her contempt. ‘Nonsense! Okay, so Constable Nuttall gave him a clip round the ear once for doing a bit of shop lifting when he was a kid, so what? That’s not exactly a criminal record, is it?’
‘He bad boy. In any case, he not love you, he love Gina. But he can’t have her either.’ Carlotta had resorted once more to broken English in an effort to make her point.
Carmina sighed and pouted her lips as she mentally tried to tune out. It was true that so far Luc did seem more interested in talking about her dratted sister than any future for them, but she intended to change all of that. His relationship with Gina was now over, for good. She’d make certain of it. Luc Fabriani would very soon be absolutely besotted by her, putty in her hands.
Her mother, however, was too old to understand any of this, Carmina thought. Listening to only a fraction of Carlotta’s dire warnings, she titivated her hair, reached for her coat from the hall stand and tried to nod, or say ‘Yes, Momma,’ whenever it seemed appropriate.
‘Men of that sort they like bad girls as playthings but if you make-a mistake, who would marry you then?’ Carlotta was saying, then lifted her hands to pat her own cheeks in a gesture of helplessness. ‘
Momma Mia
, you would be
ruined
.’