William was eavesdropping and didn’t care if he was caught. Tonight he didn’t hover or hide his new slimline figure, but leaned confidently against the balcony viewing the Eurotrash. He would have happily remained so, if Laura hadn’t appeared. She was wearing a long gold satin gown that draped her breasts, while the skirt was cut on the bias and swung around her body as she walked. Her pale skin shimmered and her hair had been drawn back tightly against her head, one long plait hanging down the centre of her back. She wore no jewellery at her ears or throat, but a gold bracelet hung low on her slender wrist. ‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ she announced, ‘I do apologize but we are expected at dinner, so if you will excuse us...’ She stood poised in the doorway. Frederick Capri gaped. ‘Who’s that?’ he squawked.
In the drive below the cars started revving up to take the guests to dinner. A Rolls and a large open SL Mercedes were preparing to leave. The room emptied fast, leaving William and Marta alone.
‘Well, that was all very...’ He tailed off and shrugged as the cars disappeared up the drive.
‘Typical Justin,’ Marta said. ‘He bumps into someone and the next minute he has that wretched group here. Laura hates it. She won’t have any part of it. He’s such a bad boy. Dinner has been ready for over an hour.’
William made his way to the south veranda, where dinner was being served. As he approached, he heard a loud crash.
‘That was a stupid thing to do,’ Justin shouted.
‘No. You are stupid. Why did you let those wretched people in here? They are freeloaders, gossips. I hate the filthy bastards!’
There was another crash and the ominous sound of tinkling glass. ‘That’s seven years’ bad luck, you soft cow.’
‘I don’t care. You have those people in here and you’ll have more than bad luck. They are trash, Justin, and that fat bitch Delaware is the worst of them all. You could see her scrawling her filthy little articles in her head as she talked to you.’
‘Well, you’ll be all right — you hardly showed your face,’ Justin snapped.
‘You know why? If we go through with this, the fewer people see me the better.’
William coughed and stepped into view. Broken glass and china littered the long table, which had been so elegantly laid.
Justin waved at William. ‘She’s throwing a tantrum. Are you hungry? If you can find a space between the broken crockery we’ll get Marta to dish up. I’m starving.’
Suddenly Laura seemed to calm down, and took a seat opposite William. ‘Careful you don’t cut yourself. Justin’ll clear up.’ She picked up a napkin. ‘So, William, did you enjoy these ghastly clingers-on?’ She pronounced the word ‘ghastly’ with a wonderfully accented lilt.
‘No,’ he said. ‘I loathe them. Especially Meryl Delaware.’
‘William, we all loathe them,’ said Justin. ‘They would turn up at a public lavatory if they thought there was a free drink in it.’ He gathered the broken crockery into a napkin. ‘But Meryl is very useful. How do you think we’ve had such a terrific press about the island? You could feed her dog-shit and, with the right price tag, she’d make it smell like roses.’ He walked into the house.
William had almost reverted to his usual self-conscious self. The cocaine had worn off, his nose was running and his head ached. Laura poured him some wine. ‘Justin has told me what those horrible people did to you. I am so sorry. But we’ll get back at them. It’ll be fun... Well, it will be for you. They won’t think so,’ she said, and crumbled a bread roll. ‘If you would like me to help, I am available. But I don’t want to be paid in cash.’
William said nothing, watching her. She was one of the most perfect creatures he had ever met and in the glow of the flickering candles she seemed like an exotic bird. A long finger traced the rim of a glass, and William watched as she dipped her forefinger into the wine, lifted it, and caught the drop on her tongue. ‘According to Justin, you are going to hire me. But I need to hear it from you. If you do want me to help you, then I must make arrangements.’ He leaned forward and she moved her hand across the table to touch his lips. ‘Don’t interrupt.’
‘I’m sorry.’ She was like a different woman: colder, more sophisticated, as if the childlike quality he had found so appealing had been a figment of his imagination. There was no trace of any French accent. She was speaking like a well-educated upper-class débutante.
‘Justin suggested that I should be your woman, but not in the ridiculous way you were engaged to Sylvina. It’s public knowledge in Europe that she prefers women. Ours should be a more loving match. It’s usual, is it not, for British men to like younger girls? Perhaps it is that they fall in love with what they could not acquire before they had amassed a fortune.’
William smiled. It was so true. As a young man he could never have hoped to date a woman as beautiful as Laura. Not even with his fortune had he ever attracted a woman like her.
‘What about this? We met in Paris, and you fell in love with me. You are desperate to propose. Would you find that acceptable?’
Had Justin arranged the candles so they formed that Madonna halo?
‘Falling in love with you would be any man’s reaction. You look so beautiful, Laura, you take my breath away. I doubt if anyone would ever believe that I could be fortunate enough.’
She giggled seductively. ‘But you do have a fortune, William, and I mean to please you. But tell me, what do you think about what I’ve just said? Do you think it’s a good idea? Or do you have another plan?’
‘I’m not sure how much Justin has told you. To be perfectly honest, I don’t know all the details myself,’ he said, pouring more wine. Truth was, he didn’t want to get into the sordid ‘hidden’ cameras, the plan to catch his enemies engaged in compromising sexual activities. And Laura frightened the life out of him.
Laura continued, staring into space, ‘Justin has explained the details.’ It was as if she was reading his mind and he flushed. ‘Justin suggested that I compromise each of your guests. I am to have a sexual relationship with all of them... or use whatever or whoever is necessary.’
William was sweating. It sounded so unlikely that he wanted to say it had been some kind of fantasy.
Laura moved closer to him. She lifted his arms away from the chair and sat on his lap. Taking his right hand, she wrapped it around her waist. Resting against him, her face close to his, she was silent. She lowered her hand and began to rub him lightly. Her body heat warmed him and he felt his loins stirring. He could hardly breathe. She held his face between her hands and kissed his lips, so softly. ‘I don’t want money,’ she said, and now her lips brushed his ear.
She stopped stroking him and eased away to perch on the edge of the table.
‘I will play your game.’ She laughed. ‘I think the men will be easy. The women will be more difficult to seduce, especially if they have never had a lesbian relationship.’
‘Women?’ he said, flushing deep red.
‘Yes, of course. The wives and sons will be there, and I think one of your guests has a daughter, does he not — Lord Cedric?’
‘Yes, but—’
She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him, her gown sliding aside to reveal that she was naked beneath it. ‘I don’t want any money,’ she repeated, and slid away, returning to her seat, with the grace of a dancer. Languidly she picked up a champagne glass and sipped, then ran her tongue round her lips. ‘Payment will be...’ she paused, teasing ‘...a diamond for each conquest.’