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heard
Colette's voice from Nick's apartment. She didn't know if
Colette had spent the night there, or what Mrs Caspian thought
of it if she had but Gina didn't think she could face spending
an entire evening in their company, having to watch them
together, see for herself what everyone was talking about.
Nick was watching her fixedly; the insistent probe of the
hard grey eyes making her nervous. 'Well?' he snapped
impatiently. 'Will you or won't you?'
'Don't snarl at me!'
'I wasn't snarling!' he snarled, his face moody 'I just wish I
understood what went on inside your head. You baffle me. You
always seem to like my mother, and I know she's become very
fond of you so why do you always seem reluctant to spend any
time with her? You wouldn't spend Christmas with her, you're
obviously not jumping at the invitation to go to the theatre '
'I'm not reluctant to see her!' she protested, horrified by the
accusation. She would hate it if he said something along those
lines to his mother; Gina wouldn't hurt Mrs Caspian's feelings
for worlds! 'I think your mother is a darling, and I find it easy to
talk to her.'
'Then why are you hesitating?'
She met his eyes defiantly. 'Are you going to be there?'
His mouth set in a straight line; he stared down at her,
scowling. Through his teeth he bit out words as if he hated their
taste. 'I see. It's me you don't want to spend time with, is it? It
must be tough for you here, every day, having to share an office
with me! Maybe you'd better resign and get a job somewhere
else!'
Very flushed, she retorted furiously, 'If anyone should leave,
it's you, not me!'
He laughed without amusement. 'Oh, you'd love that,
wouldn't you? Now tell me I'm suffering from paranoia!'
'I don't deny I want to see you walking out of the Sentinel for
good!'
'Well, too bad. I am not going anywhere.' He gave her a
tight, angry smile. 'Now, do I tell my mother yes or no?'
She was angry enough herself by then to snap, 'Yes!'
deciding that she wasn't going to be intimidated by the risk of
finding Colette one of the party. Let them flirt; why should she
care?
Nick's mouth twisted coldly. 'Sure you'll be able to stand my
company for an evening?'
'I'll grit my teeth!'
His eyes hardened. 'You are the most --' He
broke off, taking a long, deep breath. Then he said levelly, 'We'll
be going straight from work to have a little light pre-theatre
dinner at the Savoy; it's only just across the Strand from the
theatre.' Turning on his heel as he said the last word, he walked
off without waiting for her to respond and Gina stared after him,
feeling chill and depressed. Why did they always end up
quarrelling like cat and dog?
But of course she knew why there was no point in
pretending she didn't, except that she preferred not to face the
facts. She and Nick were constantly in emotional confrontation,
torn between love and hate, see-sawing back and forth from
minute to minute; how could they ever achieve any sort of
truce? There was no middle way for them. They either fought,
or made love, and Gina refused to let him sweet-talk her into
bed again. Her self- respect wouldn't stand it.
Sophie arrived five minutes later, breathless and flushed
with windswept hair. 'Sorry, there was some sort of accident on
the Underground, my train was stuck in a tunnel for twenty
minutes and then we had to get out a station too soon, and I
couldn't get on a bus, I had to walk the rest of the way.'
'London gets worse every day,' Gina sympathised. 'It's being
strangled! Too much traffic, too many people. If somebody
doesn't do something soon, this city won't be worth living in!'
'I sometimes envy my Uncle Theo he lives somewhere
else, at least in his head,' Sophie said, hanging up her coat and
giving her reflection a groaning stare before getting out a brush
and hurriedly doing something to her hair.
'Where does he think he lives?' asked Gina, intrigued.
'Budapest. Even on a mild day here in winter he goes out
wearing a fur hat, fur gloves, a thick overcoat and boots. In
Budapest winter is much colder than it usually is here, so he's
always surprised if it isn't snowing when he goes out.'
Gina laughed. 'I love your family you're so lucky, having
them. I haven't got as much as an aunt, let alone an uncle like
yours.'
'Well, I love them, too, but they can drive me crazy,' said
Sophie. 'You must get married again, and make sure you pick
someone with a big family!'
'I'll bear the advice in mind,' said Gina with wry amusement.
'This coffee is still hot; have a cup before you start work.'
She had lunch with Roz Amery at Pierre's; they had a
standing arrangement to meet for lunch whenever Roz was in
London, which these days was not too often. Over a winter meal
of vegetable broth followed by lightly curried prawns and
banana, they talked about a whole range of subjects politics, a
French film Roz had seen in Paris a few days earlier, last night's
breakdown in the printing works and Nick's reaction to it.
'He's convinced it was deliberate sabotage!' said Gina,
sipping some mineral water flavoured with lime.
'And was it?' Roz cynically asked, eyeing her across the
table with raised brows.
'Heaven knows. I certainly don't! And don't look at me like
that, Roz. Nick may believe I'm conspiring with all his enemies
behind his back, but you surely don't think that?'
Roz made a face. 'Maybe not all his enemies!'
Gina met her eyes and groaned. 'Oh, Roz, I'm In such a
muddle. I can't make up my mind how I feel about him, I can't
make up my mind what to do...'
With wry sympathy Roz said, 'I did warn you!'
'Don't keep saying that!'
'Sorry! I can't help it. I can't believe you would be so stupid
as to let yourself care too much for someone like Nick Caspian.
He's been chased by dozens of other women, you know, some
pretty gorgeous ones, too; and rich, from very classy
backgrounds. Sometimes he let them think they'd caught him.'
Roz gave her a wry smile. 'For a while. Then when he was tired
of them he played Houdini and vanished into thin air. Several
times it was rumoured he was going to get married; once, I be-
lieve, he actually got engaged, years ago, but nothing came of
that, either. Men like Nick Caspian have so much to offer that
they get very picky. They want nothing less than perfection,
and, of course, that isn't so easy to find, and as the years go by
their chances of finding it grow less and less. I don't suppose he
will ever get married now, or else he'll suddenly marry some
young girl, when he's desperate enough, just to have children.'
Gina shivered, close to tears. 'Don't.'
Roz gave a Gallic shrug. 'OK, don't face facts.'
'That's what I'm doing. When I remember the way the
Sentinel used to be and look at today's paper, I feel sick. And yet
there's no denying it sells more copies than the Tyrrells ever did.
People seem to prefer his style of journalism.' Gina rubbed her
forehead, sighing. 'Oh, I don't know what to think...'
The waiter came and removed their plates, and offered them
the dessert card, but they said they would just take coffee. He
brought it immediately, in a small silver pot, and poured them
each a cup, which they drank black and without sugar.
When they were alone again, Roz sipped, smiled. 'Their
coffee really is good, you know, although I can't get Daniel to
admit it.'
She was changing the subject and Gina seized on it
gratefully. 'Have you fixed your wedding date yet?'
'Easter,' said Roz. 'It is going to be a huge affair. Daniel has
simply hundreds of relatives scattered across France and Quebec [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]