“You mean Ruth and her blows below the belt?”
“Yes,” the older man agrees. “I can’t understand why she has it in for the poor girl.” Will clears his throat.
“I think it has to do with Cassius.” Augustus strokes his beard thoughtfully.
“There has to be another reason as well. Ruth hasn’t been able to get at Cassius for the last sixty years or so. And what’s that got to do with Livia anyway?” Will rolls his eyes.
“You haven’t noticed? Cassius hasn’t been himself anymore since he met Livia. He’s always been difficult but now nobody can fathom him anymore. Natalie suspects that he’s after Livia because she doesn’t want him. The allure of the unattainable, you know. But he frightens her. On the other hand, I have the impression that he really likes her and just can’t handle the feeling. When I asked him about it he snapped at me, telling me to mind my own business. That’s a sure sign.” Augustus raises his eyebrows in astonishment.
“Really? When one of us falls in love with a candidate, there are always complications, as we well know.” He lowers his head sadly.
“Above all if Ruth doesn’t quit her pointless Cassius chase,” Rupert remarks sourly. Augustus sighs heavily.
“And there I was thinking I would have problems with Livia, yet she’s roiled both our Dark Arash. That could be rather dangerous, you know!” Will sips his drink, frowning.
“But it’s not her fault, no reason to blame her.” Augustus gets up and starts to pace in front of the fireplace.
“Is she worth the risk of having a dispute within the family?” Rupert and Will stare at the older man.
“Are you suggesting that we shouldn’t tell her our secret and just erase her memory? Vanish from her life again?” Will can’t believe that Augustus would even think such a thing.
“Natalie would never forgive us!” Rupert exclaims.
“Neither would I,” comes a sharp voice from the doorway. The three men spin round. Cassius is leaning against the doorframe, his green eyes glittering dangerously, bristling with barely contained anger. In moments like this Augustus severely doubts Randolph’s decision to include Dark Arash in his family.
“Cassius, don’t misunderstand me, I do want her in the family, but her presence mustn’t cause us to fall out.”
“You think she’s bad for us?” A scornful smile curls his mouth. Will clears his throat.
“We assume that Ruth maybe has issues with her.”
“Don’t bother to explain,” Cassius interrupts his friend. “I heard what you said. It’s also about me.” Will pushes his fringe back awkwardly. “But as you observed, Livia is not interested in me, so you can rest assured.” Augustus takes a step towards him, then stops abruptly when he feels the heat emanating from Cassius, the fire. The situation is evidently already much more out of control than he’d suspected.
“I just want to prevent a repetition of what happened to me with Rebecca,” he says, trying to placate Cassius who sneers at him.
“Very considerate of you, always having the best in mind for others, extremely noble of you. But how do you think Livia will feel when Natalie and Rupert just disappear from her life? That doesn’t bother you, does it? Oh, I forgot, you’ll be sure to erase her memory. And you claim to be a Bright Arash! Ridiculous!” Having vented his rage Cassius turns around and storms off.
“You know, in a way he’s right,” Will finally whispers into the stunned silence. “I couldn’t do it either, just vanish from her life.” Rupert agrees.
“Nor could I. And I couldn’t erase her memory.” Augustus closes his eyes in despair, sensing that it’s already too late for precautions. Regardless of whether they made her an Arash or not Livia has already cast the family into disarray and nothing can ever change that.
Chapter 24
I only awaken when somebody knocks on the door. “Get up, sleepyheads, breakfast is ready!” Will calls. In the first instant I don’t know where I am, I feel exhausted and completely groggy. Then I see Natalie stretching sleepily beside me in the huge four-poster and realisation begins to dawn. She yawns widely and jumps out of bed.
“What a perfect day for riding!” she exclaims, pointing at the sun shining through the curtains. I hear Rufus barking and my bad dreams fade away. It’s a new day, full of promise and light. Natalie pushes open the window and starts singing some silly song. Her good mood is infectious and I start to look forward to a day with the horses. I’m really glad that my parents coaxed me into taking riding lessons when I was twelve years old, so I’m not totally lost today. I was never a natural like Sophie but I can tell head from tail at least. I’m equally determined that Ruth shall not ruin my day again. Natalie and I take turns in the bathroom and once we’re dressed in jeans and jumpers we head down for breakfast. Everyone is already there and the mood is exuberant and noisy, the tensions of yesterday evening evaporated.
“Tuck in, girls, we won’t have any lunch today,” Cassius prompts us. “This afternoon we’ll have the first barbecue of the season.”
“What a good idea!” Augustus booms. “I’ll man the barbecue.” Rupert rolls his eyes and grimaces at Natalie.
“We almost suspected that you weren’t going to join us this morning,” Will grins at us. “If I hadn’t woken you…”
“Probably had a good chat all night long and were tired in the morning.” That’s Ruth, who else. For a second I’m afraid that Natalie will tell her about my bad dreams but I needn’t have worried.
“Of course we did, it’s really like a girly sleepover, isn’t it?” She winks at me and I grin in relief. My anxiety that Natalie has turned against me is so unfounded and I feel a rush of affection towards the petite girl. When we finish and everyone leaves the table I take a piece of ham from the breakfast buffet and turn to Cassius who is talking to Will.
“May I take this up to Nuala? She always misses out on the treats.” Cassius turns to me and I’m taken aback by the gauntness of his handsome face. He looks like he hasn’t slept in days, dark shadows under his green eyes. And he looks at me as if I were a total stranger and my question absurd.
“Of course, the door isn't locked. Just go in,” he answers after a few seconds, then follows Will quickly out of the room. What’s eating him? Have I said something wrong? I really have no idea. Going up to his room I shrug and open the door slowly. The first thing I notice is that the bed is not made. The sheets are tangled as if, well, there had been some activity here last night. Either he has tossed and turned, which would explain his appearance this morning. Or he hadn’t been alone which would explain it too. Suddenly my heart jumps into my throat when I picture him here together with – oh no! – it has to be Ruth! It certainly isn’t Natalie and there’s no other girl in the house, is there? And her familiarity with this house and her close relationship to Mrs Roberts – maybe she is his lover after all and Natalie hasn’t told me for some reason or other? Or is it just a recent development? I try to recall how Ruth looked this morning, but she always looks gorgeous anyway. My heart is beating very fast now and I take a deep breath to calm myself. I inhale his scent again, his lemony Cassius scent which brings back a myriad of feelings. The kiss, his touch, but also his aloofness this morning. Oh hell! I run my hand through my hair, trying to gather my thoughts. What’s happening to me? Why should I care if he spent the night with someone?
I jump when I feel something against my leg. “Oh, it’s you, Nuala!” Somehow I’ve completely forgotten why I came in here. She devours the ham greedily and licks my hand. Hearing voices from outside reminds me that I have to get ready. I should leave this room anyway, it’s having such a weird effect on me. On my way to the door I notice that the picture of the orchid is gone from the star-shaped mirror and a dense, dark grey fog has taken its place.