Free The Silver Chain by Primula Bond Page A

somewhere else. Who’s the lucky guy?’
    I fiddle with a loose thread on my dress. ‘Don’t be nice to me. I just acted like a tease.’
    ‘And I acted like a schmuck. But I still say you owe some responsibility for this situation.’ His smile spreads wider. Those amazing straight American teeth. He’s obviously relieved that we can talk. And talking like civilised people might just make his hardness subside. ‘Cousin Polly’s never mentioned you’d be here. She’s a great stylist, isn’t she? You know some of the studios are looking at her fashion work? She’s made you look like something Dracula would happily snack on. I’m not sure you realise.’
    ‘Well, I’m flattered, Elvis. Really.’ Emboldened by distance I point playfully at his crotch. ‘And flattered that I still have that effect on people. But I’m not the girl for you. Find one who’ll want to make use of all that.’
    He lifts the pillow off it. The toga is flat, no life under there now. ‘Begone, wench. See if I care.’
    I lean over him and kiss him on the mouth. There’s a shy stirring in me as our lips meet. A shy tugging in the places where he touched me. But it’s not him.
    Look at me, Gustav.
    I put my hands on the boy’s shoulders. Make nice with him. Love the one you’re with. His tongue flips out hopefully. I hesitate, and pull away. Relief that I’m not frigid, that I can react to a cute guy? Or relief that I’ve said no?
    ‘So long, toga boy.’
    He lifts the wine bottle in weary farewell. I still haven’t seen his eyes, and now I never will. The clouds of the night sky drift across the twin mirrors of his glasses.
    Polly is waiting for me just inside. She’s been watching me.
    ‘You turned Toga Tomas down? Unbelievable. He’s got the hots for you. What’s up, hon?’
    I shrug. ‘I’m bushed, that’s all.’
    ‘We’ve got lots of other cute guys around if Tomas doesn’t do it for you.’
    She winds one arm round my neck and holds me for a long moment. The crowd has dissipated. Pierre is nowhere to be seen. The music has stopped. Empty bottles and glasses and trays have been virtually kicked into a pile in the corner. One or two overhead lights have been switched on in place of the old lamps. Scraps of lace and feather and ribbon are shed on the parquet floor, shining dully like fish scales. Masks have been ripped off and draped jokingly on the mannequins in the shop.
    In short, the spell has been broken.
    ‘We’re all going up into the piazza for a meal. You coming, hon?’
    I shake my head. ‘Can we catch up tomorrow?’
    ‘We’re leaving first thing. Might not even get any sleep. Might get on the plane dressed like this! Oh, please come with us, Rena? You look a sensation like that. Even more dishevelled than you were before, if that’s possible, like Tess of the D’Urbervilles. Like someone’s just ravished you, although I know damn well they haven’t, you saucy minx!’
    ‘I told you, Polly, and tonight’s just proved it. I’m genuinely off men.’
    ‘OK, forget men. Forget sex. I just want to show you off to my friends! Who knows, someone might offer you a photographic commission. Tomas is big in the film industry.’
    I hold her tight. Kiss her cheek. I smell Eternity, by Calvin Klein. Just like mine. ‘Baby steps, Pol. I’m not a player like you. Not yet, anyway. I want to see if I can make it here in London, first. Come back and check me out in a year’s time. Who knows? I might be ready to fly by then!’
    ‘I’ll be back sooner than that. OK. Piss off into the night like a little bat, then! Take Pierre’s car. It’s the incredibly expensive and luxurious red Bentley parked outside. His driver will make sure you get back to the flat safely. And keep the dress. My gift to you. You look magical this evening.’
    ‘That’s down to you, Pol. Tomas just mentioned what a great stylist you are.’
    ‘Tonight London, tomorrow the world!’ She gives me a little shake, then another huge