‘Gina, listen to me. Things aren’t what you think. I want to explain something to you. Please do this for me. Meet me later this afternoon, if only for what we once were to each other.’
She’d wanted to refuse his request. He’d betrayed her, after all, by two-timing her with other girls. Carmina had explained all of that to her. He hadn’t even responded to her note of apology when she’d been confined to her room by an over-protective mother.
But then Gina made the mistake of looking up into his dark eyes and found herself quite incapable of saying no. She’d glanced along the church path, saw that Carmina was arguing with Patsy, as usual, that Momma and Papa were well ahead with her younger siblings in tow.
‘All right, I’ll see you later, but I can’t stay long. Not like before.’ And she’d run from him then, in her hobbledehoy fashion, afraid that if she lingered, she might weaken and throw herself into his arms.
Now here she was, still wanting to do exactly that. They were standing together in the shade of the old copper beech in a quiet corner of Buile Hill Park, their favourite spot on what had once been a regular Sunday afternoon jaunt. They’d take a bus to the end of the road, then stroll around the park, hand in hand, laughing and talking the whole time. It had felt wonderful to escape Castlefield, to go to a place where nobody knew them and they could kiss and cuddle far away from nosy neighbours and prying eyes.
Despite her reservations, Gina had tried to make herself look nice in a new green plaid chemise dress. It had a button-through collar and was belted over the hip above a pleated skirt. She wore her black patent T-strap shoes to go with it.
A pale late April sun was slanting across the grass, radiating around them, lighting his glossy black hair, making his olive skin glow with health and vigour. Luc’s eyes were a dark blue, almost purple, but for some reason today they looked dull and lacklustre, as if he gazed into some far distant place where she couldn’t quite reach him. Yet he had never appeared more handsome, more attractive.
Feeling her knees start to weaken Gina took a step back, not wishing to seem needy. ‘So, what was it you wanted to explain to me?’
Luc shuffled his feet in the dusty soil, looked out across the vista of lawns where young couples strolled with babies in prams. A child was throwing a ball for a yapping dog, a boy flying a kite. Luc had thought the museum might be closed today but there were several young people playing tennis on the courts, and a few old men happily enjoying the delights of the bowling green. He could hear a band playing and wished he could take her somewhere really quiet and private, where he could persuade her with his kisses, which would surely be far more affective than the pitiful excuses crowding his mind.
Luc cleared his throat, took a steadying breath. There was only so much he could say and she looked so cold, so unfriendly, not like his sweet Gina at all. But he had to try, or his dreams ended right here.
‘I believe Carmina has been telling you lies about me.’ He looked into her face, small and pinched and pale, and waited for her reaction. When none came, he continued, ‘I hear she’s been spreading rumours, saying that I’ve been seeing other girls. I need you to know, Gina, that isn’t true.’
Gina gazed at him from beneath her long lashes, saying nothing, not daring to hope.
‘And if she said I went with someone else to the dance, that was a lie too. I hoped and prayed you’d be there. When you stood me up, I was devastated. I missed you, and had a miserable time. Then Carmina said you’d chucked me. I don’t know why you decided it was all over between us, but if it’s anything I’ve done, you just have to say what it is and I’ll do my best to put it right. I’d do anything for you, Gina, anything!’
Gina blinked. ‘I don’t understand. Carmina said I’d finished with you? I never told her to say that. Anyway, I didn’t stand you up. I sent a note.’
He looked at her blankly. ‘Note? I never got any note.’
‘I gave it to Carmina. It said how Momma and Papa insisted I stay in all week, because I was over-tired. Of course, that was all an excuse on their part. They’d found out we’ve been secretly meeting and didn’t approve.’ Gina pulled a face. ‘I wrote to explain all of this and Carmina promised faithfully that she’d give it to you personally.‘
They both looked at each other.
‘She never delivered it,’ Luc said, his voice hard. ‘Surprise, surprise!’
Gina swallowed, and feeling suddenly confused and vulnerable, left him standing by the tree and went to sit on a nearby bench. She clasped her hands tight in her lap to gather her strength. Could this misunderstanding be all Carmina’s doing? She’d believed in her sister, had trusted her implicitly. Clearly she’d been a fool to do so. Had Carmina forgotten to give him the letter out of carelessness, or sheer malice? And why would she do such a thing? Gina picked at the pleats of her dress with troubled fingers, trying to sort out the muddle in her head.
‘You know what this means, don’t you?’ Luc said, coming to sit beside her. ‘This split between us is caused by Carmina, not me.’
Gina looked straight into those dark hooded eyes. She wasn’t quite ready to accept this fact, not quite yet. Nor was she prepared to defend her sister. Not until she’d talked to Carmina and asked her about the letter.
‘So who did you dance with then?’ she asked, returning to her earlier point.
Luc sighed. This was the question he’d dreaded most. It was sheer torture to him that now he did have to lie, if he was to have any hope of winning Gina back. He combed agitated fingers through his hair. ‘I can’t remember. Nobody who mattered. It’s you I want, Gina, you know it is.’
But Gina wasn’t letting him off the hook quite so easily. She edged away, leaving a little distance between them. ‘Did you dance with Carmina?’
There was a small silence, then Luc said, ‘I might have done, briefly, I don’t remember.’
She gave a bitter little laugh. ‘Now that
is
a lie. Nobody can dance with my glamorous sister and not remember.’
‘I needed to ask her about you. We only talked about
you
.’ That part at least was true.
Gina looked unconvinced. ‘Carmina tells me that you and she used to go out together, so what went wrong? Which of you broke it off?’
‘I did, when I met you.’
‘But how do I know you don’t still fancy her?’
‘Because I fancy
you
. How can I convince you, Gina? The minute I saw you at the church’s New Year Social, I had eyes only for you, not for your glamorous sister.’ He was looking at her now as if he couldn’t tear his eyes away. ‘It took weeks for me to convince you that I was serious, if you remember, and I’ll go through it all over again, if necessary. I just hope it won’t be.’
Oh, she wanted to believe him. Badly! Gina longed to accept his word but felt compelled to ask one more question. ‘So it’s not true then that you asked Carmina to go to the dance before you asked me, or that you’ve kissed her?’
This was turning out to be even worse than he’d imagined. Luc felt sick. ‘No, I certainly didn’t ask her to come to the dance with me.’ He made no mention of the dangerous kisses in the car later.
He didn’t even know if it was possible to win Gina back without Carmina ruining everything, but knew he must try. It was at least true that he never had asked Carmina to the dance. He’d cursed himself a million times since for his weakness in letting things go so far, but he’d believed that Gina really had dumped him and he’d felt bereft, so hurt and angry inside. Thank goodness he’d managed to resist her in the end.
Now he was convinced Carmina had lied to him too, and he’d no intention of allowing a stupid mistake to ruin his chances with Gina. For that reason she must never hear of what had gone on in that car, not if he had to walk through fire to keep Carmina from blabbing.
‘Have you seen her since the dance?’ Her eyes were wide and clear as she asked the question, determined not to show her pain.
He recklessly slid one arm along the back of the bench. ‘No, she follows me about sometimes, which I hate. It’s you I want and only you. I hate to say this, since she’s your sister, but Carmina is a compulsive liar, and she can’t seem to get it into her head that I’m not interested. Okay, we had a bit of a fling once, but it was all over between us months ago. Believe me, I don’t give a fig for Carmina, only you. Why would I want to kiss her when I could have you?’
Then he tilted up her chin and if his words didn’t quite convince her, his lips most certainly did.
Gina breathed in the familiar scent of him: lifebuoy toilet soap, the oil he put on his hair and something that was indefinably Luc. It was some moments before the kiss ended and then she leaned against him with a little sigh.
‘Oh, Luc, I thought I’d lost you.’
‘Never, not while I live and breathe, no matter what anyone tries to do to us.’
Chapter Fifteen
Carmina didn’t go directly home to share in the usual Sunday lunch. She couldn’t bear the thought of family chit-chat, of being forced to be polite to Gina, or to Patsy, neither of whom she had the patience for right now. They were so self-righteous, so sure of their own boring judgement on what was right and wrong, wasting no opportunity to point out how she couldn’t have what she most wanted in the world.
They were so wrong! She could have whatever she wished. She’d known that from the moment her own brilliant beauty had blossomed, and men, even Papa, would softly smile and give in to her every whim. Why should Luc Fabriani be any different?
Furious that he should have the temerity to ignore their agreement and speak to Gina, she wanted time alone to think, to calm herself, to readjust her plan. She needed to walk in the fresh air, and, ignoring her mother’s pleas set off towards the canal.
‘That girl is such a trial to me,’ she heard Momma say in despair, but Carmina only quickened her pace.
There were times, like now, when she felt very much an outsider, as if nobody cared one jot for her feelings.
She rushed along Liverpool Road, slipped down through the canal basin passed narrow boats painted in bright reds, blues and greens, then crossing beneath the Bridgewater Viaduct headed for some waste land where it was claimed lay buried an old Roman Fort. She was hoping to find some peace and quiet since little work would be taking place down on the Wharfs today. Once or twice she glanced back over her shoulder, thinking that she heard footsteps following her. She waited a moment thinking it might be Luc, come to say he was sorry for ignoring her.
No one appeared, but then most people were in church or at home with their families, as she should be, Carmina supposed, still burning up with rage. She must have imagined the footsteps as there was only the sound of a passing goods train clanking overhead.
Because this area had once offered a good viewpoint of the River Medlock and was on the direct route to Chester, the Romans had apparently selected this ground as a site for a fort. Not that there was much evidence of it now among the weeds and rubble. Close by, where once the Medlock had flowed, the Bridgewater and Rochdale Canals had been cut through the red sandstone. Carmina flung herself down on a grassy hump with a sigh, and put her head in her hands.
What was she to do? Luc was ignoring her, still chasing after Gina. How could she make him see that she simply wouldn’t take no for an answer?
Perhaps she was worrying unduly and he’d really only been saying goodbye to her, making it clear that Carmina was his girl now, and that it was all over between them. She might have found out if Patsy Bowman hadn’t interfered.
How could Luc possibly love Gina? She was so insipid, so
plain
by comparison to herself. Carmina was quite sure that he was only being nice to her out of pity. He felt sorry for her pathetic sister, that’s all.
If only Gina wasn’t on the scene at all.
The late afternoon sun was glinting on the waters of the canal as it slid slowly beneath the railway arches. The narrow boats bumped gently against the quay and somewhere in the distance Carmina heard a clock strike, and the shunt of a train. Five o’clock already. She must have fallen asleep but now hunger was beginning to overcome her sulks and she thought that if she didn’t go home soon, she might miss tea as well as Sunday lunch.
She dreaded facing Gina, who would no doubt be bursting with happiness having at last spoken to Luc, however brief. Carmina would have given anything to know what had passed between them in that conversation outside the church. Anything.
‘Hello Carmina, had a good sleep?’
Carmina started as Alec Hall flopped down beside her. She’d been so engrossed in her own thoughts, she hadn’t heard him approach. ‘Hell, you scared me half to death, creeping up on me like that. What are you doing here? Have you been watching me?’
Alec smiled. ‘I thought you looked in need of a bit of company. Unless you’re content simply to admire the scenery, of course?’
Carmina pouted provocatively at him. Alec Hall might be a bit long in the tooth but he wasn’t bad looking, and always made her feel good about herself, offering the sort of admiration she most desired. ‘I couldn’t bear to go home and play happy families. Sundays are so
boring
!’