“A surprise? What is it?” I ask uncomfortably.
“Come to my flat on Friday night and see for yourself.” I can hear her grinning.
Two more days. She used the plural. They have a surprise for me. Who will be there? My heart starts to beat faster. Cassius? Right now I have a pretext not to call him, I’ll see him on Friday anyway. I start counting the hours.
Chapter 29
Will is lounging on the white leather sofa in Rupert’s living room, twirling the Chablis in his glass. He sniffs the wine appreciatively, admiring its golden colour. “We’ve screwed up big time, haven’t we?” he observes to Rupert who is pacing the room like a caged tiger.
“Yes, I’m afraid so,” he grumbles. “Livia keeps fobbing Natalie off with excuses that she has exams, but Natalie tells me that she often doesn’t leave her flat for days.” Will takes a sip of the wine and smacks his lips.
“To put it bluntly, she’s disowned us.” Rupert stops pacing and hangs his head.
“Can you really blame her? The weekend at Cassius’ was a nightmare for her: first Augustus pelts her with questions, then Ruth discovers her flower phobia…”
Will huffs angrily, “Discover is probably not the right word. She was really mean and devious.” Augustus has told them about Cassius’ suspicion, and Will knows Ruth well enough to guess the whole story.
Now Rupert stops pacing and gazes at Will. “Don’t be too hard on Ruth. She simply wants to avoid a rival for Cassius’ affection within the family.” Will sits up, his face serious.
“I’m not being hard on her, I’m only trying to get to the truth. You find excuses for everything she does because you’re in love with her.” Rupert runs both hands through his hair.
“Now we’re starting to argue too. Maybe Augustus is right and Livia is disrupting the family.” Will shakes his head and grimaces.
“If a mere candidate can cause such a stir in our family, there’s something wrong with it anyway. We are Arash, after all! We should behave in a wise and balanced manner. We’re old enough, aren’t we!” Rupert collapses into a chair.
“You’re right. We’re crap as Arash. Now we even scare our candidates off!” He pours himself a large glass of wine. “Have you seen Cassius since that weekend?”
“No, he’s very reclusive these days,” Will says. “But Augustus told me he’s been to see Randolph. Cassius must have been shaken by his outburst.” Rupert rolls his eyes.
“Not only him. Up till now I hadn’t fully realised what it means to have a Dark Arash in the family.” Will smirks at him.
“Don’t forget that your adored Ruth is a Dark Arash as well.” They fall silent, the only sound in the room being the refilling of the glasses.
“What are we going to do now?” Rupert finally asks in a low voice. “Start looking for a new candidate if Livia refuses to see us again?” Will looks at him in surprise, his blue eyes sparkling.
“And consign Livia to her fate? I don’t think we can do that. Actually, we are her fate.”
“We really fucked up, didn't we?” Rupert murmurs dejectedly and Will agrees.
At that instant Natalie bursts into the room, grinning from ear to ear. She twirls her wide Marni skirt, laughing at the boys’ gloomy faces. “Good news! Livia’s going to visit us on Friday!” Will jumps up and embraces the girl, dancing across the room with her.
“How did you pull that off?” he grins delightedly. Natalie would have loved to tell them a story about her incomparable powers of persuasion but decides to stay with the truth.
“She called me,” she shrugs.
“Just like that?” Rupert frowns as Natalie confirms it.
“Just like that. She only told me that her exams are over and asked if we could meet up.”
“That’s amazing!” Will exclaims, thinking this sudden change of mind rather strange.
“She seems to have come to a decision. Augustus is right after all, at least in one aspect, she knows what she wants,” Rupert muses.
“Well, about time she did too,” Natalie sighs, taking a sip of wine from Will’s glass. “Mm, this wine’s nice, we should serve it on Friday.”
“What plans do you have for Friday?” Will asks her suspiciously. Natalie sinks down into a chair.
“What about celebrating her birthday? I know it’s a bit late, but it would be fun.” She bats her lashes at him, confirming his suspicions that she’s planning something special.
“It’s not a good idea to have her meet Ruth and Cassius the first time she agrees to see us again, do you think?” Rupert objects but Natalie shrugs it off.
“Why not? It’s her decision to see us again, she must know that this includes all of us. She’s not stupid, Rupert, don’t underestimate her. That damn weekend she learned a lot about us, she certainly knows there’s something odd about us. It’s time to get on with things.” Will nods his head slowly.
“Maybe you’re right. What do we have to lose after all?”
“Our new family member,” Rupert points out sceptically.
“Nonsense!” Natalie shouts imperiously. “This time we’ll do it my way. I’ll ward off the others and then I’m going to tell you about Livia’s birthday present.”
Chapter 30
It’s Friday at last. I resist wearing my new Hervé Leger bondage dress – well, it isn’t really Hervé Leger anyway but looks a bit like one – and put on my good Seven jeans and a nice cardigan. I don’t want Natalie to think I expect something special. All the same, I spend a long time grooming myself, my hair falls in soft waves around my face which is carefully made up. I’m beyond excited to see Cassius again.
When I park my car I look up and notice that there’s only one light on in her flat, presumably in the kitchen. Disappointment creeps up, maybe there’s only her after all. The sight of her confirms my suspicions, she’s wearing black jeans as well and only semi-high heels, which is really casual for her. How should I behave now? As if we’d seen each other only yesterday? But she hurls herself into my arms and embraces me, not allowing any awkwardness. “Good to see you again,” she grins, releasing me. She drags me by the hand across Rupert’s studio and up the stairs to her door. “Go on in!” she commands loudly, pushing me inside. It’s completely dark in here, she must have closed all the curtains. What’s this all about? Suddenly a match strikes and lots of tapered candles light up the room.
“Happy birthday!” the voices of Rupert, Will and Augustus are shouting. I gasp as they launch into a very off-key rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’. Natalie is grinning happily.
“But it’s not my birthday!” I object in astonishment. I don’t want to be a spoilsport but I have to get this right.
“We know that!” Natalie rolls her eyes at me. “But we didn’t celebrate in February, besides, we needed an excuse for a party.” We – I quickly scan the room for the one face that’s missing and my mood darkens. He’s not here. But then neither is Ruth, so I have to think positively. And I don’t want to ruin the moment for the others. “I know, surprise parties are so yesterday, but I still love them!” Natalie squeals.
“Me too, thanks,” I reply, contemplating that it’s my very first one. Now Will gives me a big hug, then Augustus congratulates me more formally, shaking my hand. At once I remember all the things he said about me and my apprehension returns. Then Rupert bends down and kisses me squarely on the mouth. Not too long ago this would have meant everything to me but now my knees don’t go weak nor does my heart accelerate. Instead I wish he was somebody else. Will pops the first cork and hands me a glass of pink champagne.