From Italy With Love Read online

  Her mother’s head bobbed up, her face alight with avaricious interest.

  The words faltered on her tongue ‘… will…’ She looked at Cam.

  ‘It’s going to be sold after Laurie gets it to Maranello.’

  Laurie could have kissed Cam for his handsome interjection. Although to be honest, kissing him would come easy … and she didn’t want to even start to go down that road.

  Her mother put her cup down on its saucer with a loud chink. ‘How odd? I thought it would stay in the family. It would have fitted beautifully in Harry’s collection. A shame, but it will go for a huge amount. Harry says most Ferraris have quadrupled in value in the last few years.’

  If Laurie hadn’t been watching Cam’s face at that moment, she probably wouldn’t have noticed the way he froze and the guilty expression as his the spoon clattered into his saucer.

  ‘I wondered if Miles might have arranged to turn the house into a museum with all the cars on display.’

  ‘That is so typical of your uncle. He was such romantic.’ The way she said it, didn’t suggest that was a good thing.

  Interesting how Miles, her own brother, suddenly became ‘your uncle.’

  ‘Look how many times he got married … no fool like an old fool. Spent a fortune on them all. So there’s no money left then? I thought he might leave some to the family at least. He’s got no other blood relatives apart from us, well, and you. I’d have thought he might have left Siena something.

  ‘After all your father didn’t leave her anything. I still can’t believe that. The house should have been shared between you and Siena.’ Her mouth pursed, leaving heavy lines into which her bright lipstick was just starting to leach, the bitter twist to her mouth suggesting she also remembered Laurie refusing to sign on the dotted line. The ensuing lunch of high drama, emotional blackmail and wheedling coercion had left a hangover of guilt and disappointment that still had the power to make Laurie feel depressed even now. For a brief foolish few days, she’d honestly thought that her mother was coming over to see her to check she was OK after the death of her father. Invite her over to France; tell her she always had a home there.

  Laurie closed her eyes. Surely she must have got over her disbelief by now. Please don’t bring this up in front of Cam. But she did.

  ‘Can you believe it? What kind of father does that?’

  He’d leant forward, his eyes bright darting back and forth between her and her mother. ‘Who’s Siena?’ he mouthed. Laurie shook her head slightly.

  Her mother’s lips pressed together in a tight firm line as if to shut out any possible unpleasantness.

  ‘It’s very disappointing about Miles. He did leave a proper will I take it. You have checked. Maybe I should have come back to oversee things.’ She was talking more to herself than Laurie, brushing the knees of her smart black trousers, shaking her head the whole time.

  ‘I may have my solicitor look into things. You know what it’s like, as people get older. They get some funny notions.’

  Laurie swallowed hard. Well her mother had hit the nail on the head there. What would she think if Laurie told her that she was here at the express instruction of her uncle?

  ‘I think Miles knew what he was doing,’ interrupted Cam. ‘He had quite some time to prepare things. I’d say he had it all planned out quite neatly.’

  ‘Oh.’ Laurie’s mother lapsed into silence and Laurie shot him a small grateful smile. Not many people managed in subduing her mother.

  It didn’t last for long though. ‘Well, as soon as you’ve finished your tea, I’ll have Jackson show you upstairs. And I’ll have to leave you as there’s so much to be done for this evening. The Rossiters are coming and we’ve got Count Rothman arriving along with Caroline Linklater, she’s engaged to some Danish Prince … or maybe its Swedish, I can’t quite recall.’ She paused and looked Laurie up and down. ‘I don’t suppose you brought anything with you to wear? You look about the same dress size as Siena. I’ll see if there’s something of hers that will do for you.

  ‘We’ll be serving champagne in the Blue Room from seven and then dinner in the dining room at about nine. If you need anything in the meantime do ask any of the staff. Right, I really must get on, there’s so much to do. Quite a few people arrived yesterday and they’re all out to lunch. They’ll be back soon. I do adore having guests but it’s hard work.’

  She waved her hands in the air as if to demonstrate how busy she was. The immaculate nails in rose pink suggested that the hard work was done by others. ‘Do excuse me. Finish your tea.’

  With that she tip tapped out of the room, calling ‘Jackson, Jackson.’

  Laurie let a huge long sigh.

  Cameron blinked slowly and took in a deep breath, checking over his shoulder before he spoke. ‘Well that was interesting? I take it Harry is … step-dad?’

  ‘I wouldn’t exactly call him that; I’ve only met him a couple of times. Whenever Mum was in London, I’d get the grand summons to lunch. He’s her latest husband, number three. They’ve been married for about five years.’

  ‘And how long have they lived here?’

  ‘For about the same time. Harry’s a Comte or something. It’s his ancestral home. He’s not really called Harry, it’s just a nickname for Harvieu.’

  ‘So you grew up with…’

  Her face dropped. ‘My dad … for the last years of his life. I’ll never know why he and Mum married in the first place.’ This grand house was a million miles away from the tidy terrace house she lived in with Robert.

  Cam watched her and she felt herself colour up. She’d managed to avoid mentioning Siena so far. Going into the whole story would be tedious and she didn’t want his pity or his sympathy. Explaining it galled her particularly as she’d never had the gumption to say anything to her mother.

  Suddenly she felt unutterably weary and wished she were back at home. Before all this had started. Before the funeral, before the will. When things with Robert were nice and simple. When her life had no twists and turns, just a straight road with no diversions. Bless him; she understood what Miles was trying to do. Show her what she was missing. Travel, glamour but she didn’t need any of that. Perhaps this evening she could stay in her room and avoid her mother’s glamorous party.

  It was bound to be full of people she had nothing in common with and nothing to say to. The sort of people that Cam would slot right in with.

  ‘You OK?’ Cam’s eyes were kind and they held her gaze. For a moment she was tempted to say no, I’m not, get me out of here. But that wouldn’t be fair. It was bad enough that he had to witness this and have to put up with twenty four hours of being here, without her unloading on him.

  ‘Yeah, fine. Just mother-daughter stuff.’

  He raised a cynical eyebrow which said that he didn’t believe her for a second.

  ‘I’ll show you to your room.’

  The boot-faced butler appeared in the doorway, reminding him of the last time he’d drunk tea from a cup and saucer. That was with Laurie too, back at Miles’ house before all this began.

  If he’d known what Miles was getting him into he might have turned this gig down. Now he’d arrived at Cinderella’s enchanted castle and all the players were messed up. Laurie’s mother had to be the most self-absorbed creature he’d ever come across. Many spoilt women had crossed his path but she took the biscuit.

  This was all familiar, the money, the pretension, the social climbing and the name dropping – it went with the territory. For every genuine classic car enthusiast, there were ten trophy collectors, who wanted the fast cars along with the younger, tauter wives. Tonight’s do would be like many he’d been to before, he might even know a few people. The circle of rich and richer was relatively small.

  Poor Laurie, it was like watching a kitten stepping up to a lion and expecting it to play nice. He grimaced. No doubt it would fall to him to play the role of protector.

  ‘Did he say room?’ whispered Laurie, poking him in the back as
he followed the upright back of the butler to the foot of the stairs. This staircase was very grand, splitting into two and then curving away along long balconies, bordered by ornate metalwork.

  ‘No idea,’ he muttered. God this trip was getting more and more farcical. Miles was probably laughing his socks off if he was looking down, although, Cam’s mouth tightened, the old sod deserved to be in hell for putting him through this. All he wanted was a nice uncomplicated life and the Ferrari of his dreams. By the time he took possession of the beauty he was going to have bloody earned it.

  A sudden skittering of heels came as a tall, slender blonde young woman rushed down the marble tiled hall and slid to a coltish halt staring in surprise at both him and Laurie.

  ‘You’re here.’ She blushed vividly. In turn Laurie had become rigid, her head frozen into place.

  For a moment the two stared at each other, one all jerky movements and barely contained excitement, the other wary and trapped. The air buzzed with a strange tension. Cam couldn’t figure it out at all.

  ‘S-Siena?’ Laurie managed and then stared at the other girl.

  Siena, whoever she was, had rippling hair a much lighter shade than Laurie’s, which fell to her waist, and a pretty face. She had that ultra-polished, accessorized-to-death sort of appearance that you saw in the ski resorts of Verbier and on the decks of yachts in St Tropez. Not Cam’s type at all but one he was familiar with. Trust-fund rich kids who all looked and sounded the same and every one an understudy for Made in Chelsea.

  ‘Yes,’ the girl whispered.

  ‘Siena!’ A loud voice called from down the hallway. Celeste’s peremptory tones had the girl looking anxiously back the way she’d come.

  ‘Gotta go.’ With a flash of perfect white teeth she darted away.

  ‘Who the hell was that?’ Cam asked irritably.

  ‘My sister.’

  Cam was ready to kill Jackson as he wound slowly up the stairs taking his sweet time. He was bursting to ask Laurie what the hell that was all about. He scanned his memory but no, he was pretty sure, she’d never once mentioned a sister.

  No doubt the petite Barbie doll they’d just met was a half-sister or step sister which would explain their strained greeting.

  Together he and Laurie walked down a plush carpeted corridor with lots of high wide-framed doors to either side, with him shooting questioning glances at her. Laurie refused to look at him and kept her head turned slightly away as if admiring the fresh flowers lining the tables along the endless corridors. With the many paintings and occasional bits of furniture just waiting to catch the unwary out, it would be easy to think you were in a hotel. This house had certainly been built for entertaining.

  At the far end of the hall, Jackson stopped and held open a door for them.

  Laurie went in first and he followed.

  She stopped and sighed. ‘We’re not … do you have another room as well?’

  Jackson looked uncomfortable for a moment, as if he wasn’t used to getting things wrong.

  ‘I’m terribly sorry Madam, but this is the only room available. The house is full. I could ask some of the gentleman if they might be willing to consider sharing.’ He made it sound as if this would be a herculean task with an uncertain outcome.

  She blushed.

  Cam turned to the butler to ask if there was any other solution but Jackson had already turned and was disappearing fast back down the hall.

  ‘Sorry,’ Laurie screwed up her face. ‘This is such a cliché. I can’t believe my mother’s made such a massive assumption about … well you know.’

  Cam raised a cynical eyebrow, charmed momentarily by her gauche innocence. In a house like this, it was truly refreshing.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ he said, ‘we’ll manage.’ He gave her a quick grin. ‘I trust you. You managed not to pounce on me last time.’

  She glared at him, her chin lifted like a boxer ready to take on a fight. ‘It really wasn’t that hard.’

  Her fight wasn’t with him. Tension lined her forehead and he could bet there were lines crossing her palms where her fists had been clenched off and on for the last half hour.

  ‘You OK?’ he asked, wondering whether to give in to the urge to take her in his arms and rub the hunched shoulders.

  The bleakness in her eyes as she said quietly, ‘No,’ almost floored him and he crossed the room and put his arms around her. Like a child she crumpled into them, sighing heavily. The muscles in her back had tied themselves into rigid knots which he automatically began to rub with rhythmic strokes in time with her soft breathing.

  Words seemed useless because what could he possibly say? Laurie had been dealt a crap hand.

  ‘So what’s the story with Siena?’ he asked, feeling those knots tense and the heave of her chest as she took in a deeper breath.

  ‘When my parents split up, they divided the spoils in half. One sister each.’ Laurie’s dull monotone spoke of a depth of hurt. Shit and no wonder.

  ‘Seriously?’ He pulled back to look at her sad face.

  She lifted her shoulders and looked away over his shoulder. He didn’t need to imagine her pain − he could see it in her eyes. He pulled her towards him, cradling her against his chest.

  The gentle knock on the door sounded again. The first had been so quiet he thought he’d imagined it. Laurie looked up at him and he gave her a comforting squeeze before releasing her to go and open the door.

  Siena was back, her stance posed, as if she knew the doorway made a perfect frame but was also unsure. She stayed there for a few seconds as if poised for entrance. Cam thought it said a lot about her uncertainty.

  ‘Hi, can I come in?’ she asked her voice perky and confident.

  Laurie nodded, shadows haunting her eyes.

  Siena walked in to stand in front of Laurie, slightly taller, thanks to the five inch heels on her tiny feet. With her blue eyes outlined with perfect black eyeliner, sooty lashes and glossy lips, she made quite a contrast to her sister.

  Cam felt uncomfortable watching the two sisters sizing each other up, this was one time they probably didn’t need an audience but then Siena was on home turf and Laurie was the outsider. The thought seared him as he realised her vulnerability and made him determined to stay unless she asked him to leave.

  ‘I bet I’ve changed. Do you remember me?’

  ‘A little,’ said Laurie, finding it hard to relate this grown up glossy creature to the tiny blonde girl in red gingham school-dresses in old school photos of them both. To be truthful, all her memories of her sister came from photos and Dad had put most of them away because the image of Siena was too painful. Did Siena remember their Dad?

  ‘Hmm, we don’t look much like each other do we?’

  She walked round her, her eyes looking her up and down.

  What did you do when confronted by a sister you hadn’t seen in ten years? Shake hands? Air kiss? Siena didn’t seem to be fazed.

  ‘Well, you know I’m Laurie.’

  Siena’s head lifted in surprise. ‘I never thought of you as a Laurie. You’ve always been Lauren but you look more of a Laurie than a Lauren. More homely. Lauren sounds quite stately.’

  What did you say to that?

  With a wide smile which revealed American perfect cheerleader teeth, Siena stepped forward and graciously bestowed an air kiss on each of Laurie’s cheeks.

  Siena looked a million dollars or at least had had that much spent on her. Her blonde hair had been expertly highlighted to enhance its golden lights which glinted in the overhead light, her dress drew attention to her perfect cleavage, tiny waist and finished a few inches above the knee to show off amazingly long Bambi legs which were finished in high heeled golden gladiator-style sandals. Everything about her exuded wealth and polish.

  ‘I always wondered what it would be like to have a sister. Nice to meet you at last …’she glanced over Laurie’s shoulder, suddenly spotting Cam.

  ‘Well hi.’ Her voice lifted with sudden enthusiasm that had Laur
ie wanting to roll her eyes. Hello, obvious.

  ‘Hi,’ he stepped forward and formally put out his hand to shake hers. ‘I’m Cameron.’

  The deliberately formal use of his name made Laurie smile, a signal that he wasn’t having any of it.

  ‘Nice to meet you too.’ Her eyes lingered on his.

  She turned back to Laurie, her smile widening and her face softening.

  ‘Sorry, to intrude. I just thought that, like, maybe you weren’t expecting a party and that you might, like, not have the right stuff with you and that I could maybe help you get ready and maybe lend some stuff and … you know … maybe?’ Suddenly she was a different person. Her words hit Laurie like a waterfall of worry, her eyes wide with uncertain anticipation.

  Which just went to show how wrong you could be and what a bitch she was. That chip on her shoulder really did need some work. For all her polish, Siena was probably just as nervous and desperately trying to what … break the ice, make amends? It wasn’t Siena’s fault their mother had chosen her. If anything Laurie had been the elder, perhaps she should have made the effort to track Siena down. As her sister stood in front of her, looking so eager to please, Laurie felt guilty. She should have tried to see her sister. Being totally honest she’d also resented her sister for being the one Celeste chose, even though it was a horrible thing to admit.

  After a while it had been easier for the two fractured families to keep apart, less emotional upheaval that way.

  ‘It’s lovely to meet you and yes that would be nice.’ What the hell would she talk about to Siena? ‘I’ve got a nice red dress and some black shoes, so if you have anything I could borrow or accessorize, that would be lovely.’

  ‘We’re, like, talking formal dinner wear. Black tie rather than white but still…a nice red dress … nah.’ Siena shook her head vigorously. ‘Don’t worry I’ve got oodles of designer stuff. We’ll have you sorted out in a trice and I,’ Laurie almost expected her to puff out her chest, ‘will transform you. You wait.’ A wicked grin lit her face. ‘I’m really, like, into fashion. I’m so going to give you a makeover.’

  Laurie stared at her for a moment, this weird mixture of woman and girl. For all her gloss, she was a very young twenty-two.