‘We have a couple of apartments in your city, and I think she now lives in one of them.’
‘That’s outrageous,’ cried Karin, feeling a sudden sense of solidarity with Daria. ‘You must tell Mikhail that you know and that you won’t tolerate it.’
Daria laughed softly. ‘And when he calls my bluff, then what do I do?’
‘Well, I will tell you what we would do in England. We would go and see a divorce lawyer.’
‘In Russia we now have London’s boutiques, your restaurants, your bars; but we do not yet have your divorce laws. If I divorce Mikhail I will be lucky to end up with an apartment as big as this teahouse.’
Karin looked at Daria and her sad big blue eyes, eyes that knew she could be back selling fruit as quickly as she had escaped it.
A fire suddenly burned inside Karin as she found herself becoming protective of this woman. ‘Well, you have to fight back,’ she said quickly.
‘How?’ said Daria.
‘Why do you think Mikhail likes this woman so much? Surely she is no more beautiful than you?’
‘Mikhail loves glamour. He loves status. This mistress – she runs around with a very glamorous crowd in London.’
‘Then so shall you.’
She laughed. ‘I live in Moscow.’
‘Do you want to save your marriage?’ asked Karin sharply.
Daria nodded.
‘If Mikhail is as impressed with the London scene as I think he is, then he might sit up and take notice if his wife is a major player. A woman other women want to be, and other men want to sleep with. Men can be simple creatures. A rich man likes the woman that every other man likes; he wants other men to look at him and envy him
not just for the money in his bank but for the woman in his bed.’
Karin put her hand on Daria’s knee. ‘You have to put the excitement, passion and glamour back into your marriage.’
Daria looked at Karin with those little-girl eyes. ‘Can you help me?’
Karin laughed. ‘You will have to help yourself, but I can help you make a start. Next time you are in London, give me a call. I can introduce you to everyone who is worth knowing. Even the committee members of the Hamilton Club,’ she smiled playfully.
‘And then let me help you,’ said Daria, looking at Karin shrewdly. ‘I am still Mikhail’s wife, the mother of his child, and he wants to keep me happy. I think that, in twenty-four hours, Adam may just have his contract to build the skyscraper.’
The two women looked at each other, each recognizing how they could help each other, and smiled.
‘I’ll drink to that,’ said Karin.
‘Thanks for coming, honey,’ said Adam, pulling Karin close. ‘Mikhail loved you.’
It was 2 a.m. and they were back at the Moscow Park Hyatt hotel, lying between crisp white sheets; but Adam was clearly wide awake. It was always the same way when he was trying to land a deal, when an almost feral energy inside him made him jumpy and on edge.
‘I aim to please,’ smiled Karin. ‘So when do you think you’ll hear about whether he’s giving you the contract?’ she asked, running her finger up and down his arm.
Adam shrugged and popped another goosedown pillow under his head. ‘Don’t get too excited just because we managed to charm him at dinner. I’m sure that was just one of many hoops I’ll have to jump through before Mikhail even thinks of giving the job to Midas,’ he said, frowning.
‘Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure,’ said Karin, stroking his hair.
She’d been wrestling all evening with the dilemma of whether to tell Adam about her conversation with Daria. To tell Adam ran the risk of denting his ego. He was a Master of the Universe, he could close any deal, talk anybody into anything; did he really want his girlfriend interfering; single-handedly
influencing
a billion-dollar development? But then again, if Daria had the power she said she had, then there was no way Karin was going to keep quiet about swinging the deal.
‘What do you mean?’ asked Adam, propping himself up on one elbow.
Slowly, cautiously, Karin recalled her conversation with Daria, and waited in silence to hear Adam’s reaction.
‘Fuck me, Dr Ruth,’ he said, smiling. ‘It really has been worth you coming.’
Karin’s heart was pounding. ‘So you’re pleased?’
He flipped up the duvet and rolled on top of her. ‘I’ve got a feeling that you are going to be really, really good for me,’ he whispered into her ear as his lips began a trail of moist kisses down her neck.
The next day, Mikhail rang Adam as they were on the way to Domodedovo Airport. He would be delighted to subcontract the building of the Moscow Supertower to the Midas Corporation. Sitting on the black leather seat of the Mercedes beside Adam, Karin had to turn her head to look out of the window to stop Adam seeing her Cheshire Cat grin. She took his hand and squeezed his fingers, silently predicting that, by this time next year, she would be Mrs Adam Gold.
There was no answer at Eton Square. Molly had tried the front doorbell of Donna and Daniel’s house and peered in through the windows, but there was no sign of life. Luckily, she knew exactly where to go. Daniel’s father Alexander owned a small apartment in Holland Park, where Molly and Alex had occasionally met for sex. It was like a tiny literary bolthole, crammed with books and journals, and Alex had told Molly nostalgically that Daniel had used it to revise for his finals twenty years earlier.
It was the perfect place to lock himself away
, Alex had told her.
‘Well done. You found me,’ said Daniel flatly as he buzzed Molly into the small top-floor space. He was standing by a window that overlooked the park, arms folded across his chest. It was a bright day, but the sun was shining on the opposite side of the street, which gave the room a sombre cast that perfectly matched Daniel’s expression.
Molly sat down on an antique leather sofa without being asked. ‘Donna’s sister has been trying to reach you.’
‘Well, I haven’t wanted to be found,’ said Daniel tartly. He looked up and glared at her.
Molly frowned and avoided his gaze, a little unnerved by
his hostility. Okay, so he was angry and upset, but he didn’t have to take it out on
her
, did he?
Daniel shook a cigarette out of a packet and lit it, giving a small shake of the head.
‘Starting smoking again wasn’t part of the plan, but when you’ve got every bloody hack in London chasing you for a comment …’
‘Well, I think you might need that cigarette,’ said Molly.
‘What do you mean?’
Molly paused before speaking.’It’s Donna. She’s okay now, but she took an overdose.’
Molly saw his jaw slacken and more colour drain out of his face.
‘What?’
he said, his voice small and cracked. He walked over to the sofa and sat down, burying his head in his hands. ‘Jesus,’ he said, muttering to himself. ‘I am so stupid. I’ve been so bloody selfish.’
‘I think you left your mobile at Delemere so nobody could reach you,’ said Molly. ‘But don’t worry, Patsy is with her. Evie is okay. And Donna’s okay too, really she is.’
All of a sudden he looked up; Molly could see his fingers were curled into a tight fist. Daniel was not usually an aggressive man – he was certainly the most placid of the husbands in Molly’s circle of friends – but the atmosphere was now prickling with enmity. He jumped to his feet and took a step toward Molly. ‘Donna is clearly not okay, you stupid fucking bitch,’ he said through clenched teeth.
Molly stood up, holding her hands out in front of her in a placating gesture. ‘Now calm down, Daniel. What I meant was that it could have been so much worse, but the doctors have all said she is going to be fine.’
Daniel stood there, clenching and unclenching his hands, his shoulders shaking with suppressed violence.
‘You’ve not cottoned on that I know, have you?’ he
sneered, shaking his head slowly. ‘That I know what a vicious, conniving little cow you really are.’
‘I honestly don’t know what you are talking about,’ said Molly, her voice shaking, tripping over her heels as she tried to back away from him.
‘Oh, I always knew you were self-seeking,’ spat Daniel, ‘but I really didn’t think you would have the gall to do what you have done and then come here posing as a friend of my wife.’
‘But I am a friend, Daniel,’ said Molly, backing right up to the door. ‘I don’t know what you think has happened, but I haven’t done anything except come to find you, to tell you about Donna and to say she is sorry. She is so sorry.’
‘
Sorry?’
yelled Daniel, lunging across at Molly and gripping her arms, pinning her against the doorframe.
‘Sorry? You’re the one who should be sorry, you sad little whore!’
Daniel’s face was only inches from hers, his eyes blazing with fury. She could feel his arms shaking and his fingers pressing into her flesh. Molly was terrified, unable to utter a single word, barely breathing.
Suddenly, Daniel released her and turned away, walking back to the window. He stared out at the street and shook his head slowly. ‘Donna thinks we were both tipped off about the story on Saturday night, but a friend at the newspaper had told me a couple of days earlier. I had tried to get an injunction to stop it being published, but was unsuccessful,’ he said flatly. ‘So, I hired a private investigator.’ He barked a hollow laugh. ‘When a reporter tells you that your wife was a high-class hooker, you want to find out if it’s true or not.’
The look on his face was one of anger and confusion as he ran his hand through his blond hair. Molly was unable to do anything except stand frozen by the door.
‘It didn’t take a Sherlock Holmes to track down Sharif Kahlid.’ He looked up at Molly with probing, accusatory eyes. ‘At first he wouldn’t talk. But it’s amazing what a suitcase full of cash will do. Apparently you found the same thing out yourself.’
Molly opened her mouth to defend herself, but she knew it was pointless.
‘The investigator, terribly good at his job, I might add, followed you.’ He wagged a finger in the air while walking over to a walnut bureau. He opened it and removed a large brown envelope, flinging it onto the coffee table.
‘I have pictures. Go on, open it. Meeting my father at the Hilton at Heathrow Airport on Friday afternoon. I assume you met to have sex as well as to conspire. I have to admit, I really didn’t think you were my father’s type.’
‘But that’s bloody illegal!’ blustered Molly, regaining a little of her composure. ‘You can’t just have me followed!’
Daniel seemed unnaturally calm now. His voice had regained its cool elegance and was beginning to sound more icy with every word. ‘I could strangle you right now if I didn’t pity you so much,’ he said. ‘Really, I’m serious. What would drive you to destroy my wife’s life? Are you so stupid that you believe my father will somehow want you more? That he will be so grateful for this information, that he will somehow divorce my mother so he can marry
you
?’ He gave a cruel laugh that made Molly shudder. She couldn’t believe that little, mousy Daniel Delemere could be so icy, so devastatingly brutal.
‘Or is it just plain envy, Molly? Are you that twisted, that bitter?’
Molly puffed her chest out. How dare he suggest she was bitter?
‘I care about your father and he cares about his family,’ said Molly defiantly. ‘You could have a brilliant career Daniel,
in politics, in the Lords. But not when you have
a whore
by your side.’
‘A whore?’ he spat. ‘I only know one of those, and she’s standing in front of me.’
Molly flinched at the look in his eyes. She held up her hands again. ‘Daniel, see sense. You don’t need someone like Donna in your life.’
‘And who do I need?’ asked Daniel coolly. ‘Someone like you?’
Molly looked away, cursing herself. She couldn’t understand what had gone wrong. She’d been looking forward to Daniel being single and back on the market once more, but he was being so
irrational
.
He looked at her once again, and his face actually softened.
‘Donna has done things that she undoubtedly regrets, Molly, things that
I
regret,’ he said. ‘But I love her, and you don’t marry someone’s past, Molly. You marry the person.’
He walked to the door and picked up a leather holdall that was sitting packed and ready. ‘Now, if you’ll excuse me, I was about to return home to my wife.’
Molly watched Daniel climb into his Audi and drive away, then picked up her mobile to phone Alex. ‘Are you back in the country?’ she asked urgently.
‘I’ve heard about Donna. Patsy phoned Vivienne,’ he said slowly. ‘We’re coming back to England immediately.’
‘It’s nothing serious, she’s fine,’ said Molly. ‘But I think I need you to talk some sense into Daniel. He knows what we did.’
There was a long pause before Alex spoke again. ‘I didn’t want it to turn out like this. I don’t think we should see each other again.’
Molly felt her heart in her mouth. ‘Alex, wait!’ she said,
pleading. ‘Don’t be ridiculous, Daniel is just angry and confused. He’ll forgive you and he’ll do the right thing and get rid of Donna. We just need to let the dust settle for a while.’
‘Molly, I have to go. We’re leaving for the airport. Goodbye.’
The line went dead and Molly threw her phone back in her bag.