With the conversation flowing as pleasingly as the champagne, Sabrina looked around for Robert and smiled approvingly as she spotted him strolling through the parterre with Archie Roswell, apparently engrossed in whatever Archie was saying. It was a pity he had to make a call to the States at nine thirty, just as everyone was sitting down in the great hall for dinner, but she knew he’d handle this so discreetly that he’d be back before anyone noticed he’d gone. He really was the most perfect husband, she decided with a shaky little sigh, loyal, supportive, attentive and above all tolerant of her silly aberrations.
Since the awful scene with Annabelle on Thursday he hadn’t embarrassed her once by mentioning it again, other than to agree that it should, indeed, be a closed book. He’d then promptly offered to drive Annabelle to London himself for her little procedure, and to Sabrina’s surprise and confusion Annabelle had accepted. As Annabelle’s mother it should be her place to take her, and she was more than willing, but Annabelle’s mind was made up, she wanted
Robert to hold her hand. So they were going as soon as he returned from Washington the week after next. By then Annabelle would have had a little time to settle back into school before taking a day off ‘to consult a specialist about a tiny internal problem’, Sabrina would tell the house mistress.
On second thoughts, she decided now as she laughed and chatted on with the county elite, she might say it was something to do with the brain or back, because she didn’t want anyone even suspecting it might be what it actually was, or equally as bad, an STD.
‘Sabrina, darling, you’re looking absolutely scrumptious,’ Emily Roswell barked in her manly voice as she swept towards Sabrina’s little group. ‘That colour is a delight on you. Personally I look like a corpse in cream, but with that wonderfully exotic dark colouring of yours, you can carry it off like no one else.’
Treating Emily to one of her most charming smiles, Sabrina said, ‘Thank you. It was a gift from Robert while we were in France. Actually, if I’m going to be strictly accurate, we were in Monaco at the time.’
‘Oh poor you, dreadful place in the summer,’ Emily grimaced. ‘Wouldn’t catch me within ten miles of it, unless we were on the yacht, of course. Our daughter, Jacoba, has a little place there actually. She adores it. Commutes every day to the university in Nice. Speaking of daughters, how’s dear Annabelle? I heard what happened. Nasty business, poor thing. How’s she coping? I imagine she’s horribly traumatised. In fact, I was half expecting you and Robert to back out this evening.’
‘Oh, we’d never do that,’ Sabrina assured her. ‘We so look forward to your parties, and Annabelle’s coping very well, I’m happy to say. She’s being very brave about it all, and she absolutely insisted we come tonight.’ By the time she’d finished Emily’s attention had already drifted to the next group of guests, and as she wafted away, all handkerchief chiffon and L’Air du Temps, Camilla said, ‘Sabrina, there’s someone over there I absolutely must say hello to. Why don’t you come along and let me introduce you. Between us,’ she said under her breath as they floated through the
party, ‘I have a bit of a crush, but please don’t give me away.
Cameron
,’ she crowed delightedly, throwing out her arms. ‘How utterly splendid to see you. Emily mentioned you might come.’
Turning to her, Cameron’s eyes crinkled in a smile. ‘Camilla, what are you doing here?’ he said warmly. ‘I thought you were in Beijing.’
‘Not quite yet,’ she replied as they embraced. ‘Is it true you’re looking for a house in the area?’
‘I am, but not having much luck so far, I’m afraid. Is Ronald here?’
‘Oh, he’s around somewhere, I’m sure you’ll run into him sooner or later. Now, do let me introduce a good friend of mine. Sabrina Paige, this is Cameron Mitchell. Cameron’s one of our foremost authorities on modern art. Actually, you might already have met,’ she added, the thought apparently just occurring to her.
‘No, unfortunately we haven’t,’ Sabrina murmured, affecting her best sultry tones as she moved forward to shake his hand, ‘but I’ve heard of you, of course. It’s a pleasure to meet you.’
‘Likewise,’ he responded politely. ‘It would seem our reputations go before us, because I’ve heard of you too.’
Sabrina smiled and almost batted her eyelids. ‘I hope you’re not going to believe all you hear,’ she said playfully.
‘Oh, but I probably should,’ he assured her.
Warming to the flirtation, she said, ‘Actually, I’m very glad to run into you, because I’d love to invite you to a soirée on the twelfth if you’re still going to be around these parts.’ It would be crass to mention anything about June just yet, but June was going to be over the moon when she saw him, he was so attractive.
‘I’m due to go back to London on the fifteenth,’ he told her, ‘so that should work out, but I’ll need to check with my partner to make sure we don’t have anything else on that evening. I believe you’ve already met her …’ and reaching behind him for Alicia’s hand, he kept hold of it as she excused herself to the couple she was talking to and turned around.
Sabrina’s face went ashen.
As Alicia’s paled too, Cameron tightened the grip on her hand.
‘What are
you
doing here?’ Sabrina hissed.
‘We were invited,’ Cameron cut in, before Alicia could respond.
‘Does Emily Roswell have any idea who you are?’ Sabrina threw at Alicia. ‘She can’t, because she’d never let the mother of a rapist…’
‘My son is nothing of the sort,’ Alicia cut in furiously. ‘It’s your daughter who’s a liar and a whore, like her mother.’
Sabrina almost exploded with outrage. ‘How dare you…?’
‘Come on, Alicia,’ Cameron said, trying to ease her away.
‘Aren’t you ashamed of the way you’re using your own daughter to punish me because Craig wouldn’t leave me?’ Alicia challenged. ‘You could have kept it between us …’
‘It was your son who attacked my daughter,’ Sabrina said scathingly. ‘He’s a sick, perverted boy…’
‘He’s a boy whose father has just died, and you are trying to ruin his life. Why can’t you leave him alone?’
‘He deserves everything that’s happening to him. He’s been interfering with my daughter since she was twelve, so if I were you I’d keep an eye on Darcie, or the next thing you know he’ll be molesting his sister.’
Alicia’s hand swung so hard that Sabrina reeled back into the people behind her.
Then suddenly Robert was there, and before Sabrina knew what was happening he’d emptied a glass of red wine down the front of her dress. ‘Oh my God,’ she gulped, ‘what have you… Look at me.’
Seizing her arm in an iron grip, he began steering her through the crowd.
‘Are you OK?’ Cameron murmured, pulling Alicia into a protective embrace.
‘What she said,’ Alicia gasped. ‘How could she…? It was so…’
‘Ssh, I know. Come on, let’s go inside.’
‘I think I’d rather go home.’
‘Whatever you prefer.’
As they turned away the guests who’d been close enough to hear watched them leave, some murmuring to others in voices muted with shock. One woman, whom Alicia had never seen before, stepped forward and put a friendly hand on her arm, but another pointedly turned her back as Alicia caught her eye.
On reaching the front of the house they saw Robert and Sabrina on the forecourt below, getting into their car. After tipping the attendant Robert closed his door and drove away.
‘I’m sorry you had to go through that,’ Cameron said, as they waited for his car to be brought round. ‘I blame myself…’
‘No, I’m the one who should be sorry,’ she interrupted. ‘I guessed she’d be here, but I foolishly hoped we’d manage to stay out of one another’s way.’ As another wave of horror came over her she covered her face with her hands. ‘How could she have said that?’
‘She disgraced herself far more than you,’ he told her, ‘so try to put it out of your mind.’
Inhaling deeply as she looked up, she said, ‘Listen, you don’t have to leave. Let me get a taxi…’
‘I’m coming with you,’ he said firmly, and as the parking attendant brought the car to a halt he walked her round to the passenger side.
Robert’s silence was terrible as he drove them home, far worse than when he shouted, because at least then Sabrina could have a say. This way there was no reaching him. He was angrier than she’d ever known him, and it was unnerving her badly.
Though she’d like to believe that he hadn’t heard what she’d said, she knew he must have, or he wouldn’t have tipped his drink down her dress. It was his way of making sure she left the party, she understood that, but why wasn’t he saying anything?
‘I think you should at least…’
His hand went up, cutting her off.
Annoyed, but too nervous to argue, she turned towards the dusk, watching, but not seeing, the countryside speeding by. Her mouth was swollen and throbbing from where Alicia had punched her, and her dress was ruined. The wine had soaked in now, plastering the silk to her skin. It was like blood, thick and red and completely indelible. If they were stopped, the police would think she’d been shot, or stabbed. She wondered if she wished she had.
Maybe she had gone too far with the remark about Nathan and his sister, but actually, who was to say she wasn’t right? The boy might be a budding pervert, and if he was, it would be as well to get him off the streets now. She imagined saying that to Robert and felt the words wither inside her.
The dread of what everyone might be saying now began digging like spikes into her head. She could be dropped for this, and if she was, Alicia would be to blame. The wretched woman shouldn’t have been there, she wasn’t a part of the county set, and none of it would have happened if she hadn’t somehow smarmed her way in with Cameron Mitchell. The woman was a menace, an intruder, a damned nemesis, who should get the hell out of a place she no longer belonged.
As Robert swung the car into the drive his expression was completely closed, betraying nothing of what he was thinking or feeling inside. Without waiting for Sabrina to get out, he pushed open his own door, slammed it shut, and walked into the house. There was no sign of Annabelle, but the mess in the kitchen showed that she’d made herself some dinner sometime during the evening.
After filling a glass with water, Robert was on his way to the hall when Sabrina said, ‘Aren’t you going to say
anything
?’
He didn’t turn round, only kept on walking, up the stairs, past his and Sabrina’s door and along the landing to the largest of the guest rooms. Once inside he put the glass down next to the bed and tore off his bow tie. No, he wasn’t going to say anything, not because he didn’t want to, but because he was so angry he didn’t trust himself to know when to stop. He needed to calm down first, then focus his
mind on what had to be achieved in Washington over the next two weeks, before returning to sort out Annabelle. After that he was going to have a great deal more to say than Sabrina would ever want to hear.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Keeping her head down and hands over her ears Darcie ran out of the school gates, weaving a path through straggling clutches of students and across the road to where Nat was waiting in the shade of a huge brick wall. Una was right behind her, her pretty freckled face stricken with worry.
‘They’ve been really mean,’ Una gasped, as Darcie buried her face in Nat’s shoulder. ‘You know, calling her names and stuff. It was horrible.’
Having experienced his own share of abuse in the sixth-form block, Nat tightened his arms round Darcie, saying, ‘I’m sorry, squirrel, you shouldn’t be having to put up with this…’
‘It’s not your fault,’ Darcie cried, bringing her head up. ‘They’re just stupid and don’t know any better.’
‘Exactly,’ Una agreed. ‘They’ll be sorry one of these days, when someone picks on them.’
‘Come on,’ Nat said, taking Darcie’s bag and swinging it over his shoulder, ‘let’s go and wait for the bus.’
‘Where’s Mum?’ Darcie objected, almost in a panic. ‘Why isn’t she here to pick us up, like she said she would?’
‘Didn’t you get her text?’ Nat replied. ‘She’s seeing someone at the District Council about the shop. She’ll be home about five.’
Staying close to his side, with Una linking her other arm, Darcie deliberately avoided looking at anyone else as they started down the hill towards the bus stop. The road was really crowded now, with pupils from two nearby schools spilling out of their respective gates, and dozens upon dozens of parents coming to pick up their offspring.
Annabelle was walking along the high street with Georgie
and Catrina, who’d been waiting outside her classroom a few minutes ago, apparently dead keen to find out how she was and what was happening with the rape thing, as Catrina had put it. It seemed they didn’t mind hanging around with her after school, but no mention had been made yet of whether they’d be inviting Annabelle to parties, or back to their houses, or any of the other places they used to go before Annabelle’s age had become an issue.
This first day back hadn’t been easy for Annabelle either, being stared at and talked about, as though she couldn’t see or hear anything. Did they think she was stupid, or something? Just because she’d been raped didn’t mean she was blind now, or deaf, or didn’t have any feelings. Just as well no one had tried coming up to her and saying something, she’d have given them a good slapping if they had. It was none of their business what had happened to her, so they should just keep out of her face.
‘Oh my God,’ Georgie muttered, coming to a sudden stop. ‘Look who it isn’t.’
Annabelle followed the direction of her eyes and froze. Nat was barely twenty paces away, on the other side of the street, next to the bus stop.
‘Hey, Nathan,’ Georgie sang out nastily. ‘Raped anyone lately?’
As Nat turned away, Annabelle saw Darcie starting to cry. Nat tried to comfort her, but Darcie suddenly swung round in a rage,
‘This is all your fault,’ she screamed at Annabelle, ‘telling lies about my brother. You should be ashamed of yourself.’
Grabbing her, Nat turned her back towards the school. ‘Come on, we can’t be near her or I’ll get into trouble,’ he said.