Shade, who with an evil, knowing smile on his big lips, seldom took his heavylidded eyes off her. She felt like a baby bird being eyed up by a big greedy tomcat while its mother was off searching for worms. Marius was hardly a mother bird but she stayed close to him, knowing Shade wouldn’t try while he was around.
The panel was winding up. Amber was ashamed she’d written so little about the Gold Cup in her notebook. Marius had written nothing.
‘Have you rung Valent?’ she asked him.
‘I lost my mobile at the races. It’s got Valent’s number; it’s got everyone’s number. I can’t even ring Painswick.’ He was ashamed what a relief it was.
‘I’ve probably got it,’ said Amber. ‘I found one in my bag when I got back to the hotel. You must have dropped it when Bully, when Bully, oh Christ—’ Her voice broke. ‘He was such a sweet horse – so sort of humble. My father had a horse he adored like that called The Bull.’
‘Let’s go,’ said Marius. ‘They’re about to start the auction, and I don’t want to bid five thousand for a visit to Dermie O’Driscoll’s yard. I’ve spent quite enough this weekend. Don’t say goodbye to anyone, just go.’
Amber caught a glimpse of Shade’s outraged face, the tomcat deprived of its baby bird, as Marius whisked her out of a side door.
‘Come and pick up your mobile,’ she said idly, ‘and see my amazing suite.’
121
‘Christ,’ said Marius, as he followed Amber into the Parnell Suite.
There were flowers everywhere, champagne on ice, a sitting room with sofas and chairs, a desk, two minibars to mock him when he wasn’t drinking, and a television set which welcomed Miss Amber Lloyd-Foxe to the Shelbourne.
On the wall, beside watercolours of rolling hay bales and distant mountains, was a picture of Parnell: dark, balding, one slanting eye bigger than the other.
‘The only thing it says on his grave is “Parnell born 1846”; isn’t that cool?’ said Amber. ‘That’s fame for you. Nice name for a horse, Parnell, bound to be taken. Here’s your mobile. I must ring and check up on Dad,’ she added, going towards the telephone.
Marius knew he ought to ring Valent, but instead he prowled round the huge room. Amber was a star like Parnell. He was proud and grateful to her for talking up his horses this evening. She had mellowed and was so much less arrogant than she used to be.
‘Dad’s sleeping,’ she said, putting down the telephone. Immediately it rang.
‘Go to bed, Awesome,’ she said, hanging up. ‘He’s having a sauna with Michelle and Tresa,’ she told Marius.
Marius laughed when she told him about the Viagra.
‘Help yourself to the minibar,’ she said, ‘and can you open that bottle of champagne?’
‘You’ve had enough.’
Amber escaped to the loo and found herself cleaning her teeth, then spraying on buckets of Madame to hide the smell of toothpaste, then powdering her nose. Returning, she found herself a glass and flipped through her messages. Two newspapers and a radio station were confirming interviews for tomorrow. She mustn’t be late or get too hammered.
Suddenly she wanted Marius to kiss her, but turning she saw he’d opened his briefcase and was studying Monday’s schooling lists to check which lad would be schooling which horse over fences or hurdles, and flipping through the DVDs of horses he might buy. He was flying straight to Leeds tomorrow, then on to Wetherby where he’d meet Josh and Tommy, Oh My Goodness and Romeo.
‘Don’t you ever let up?’ she said sulkily.
She had kicked off her boots, losing five inches. Wandering towards the window, she opened the curtains a fraction. Below her, bare trees tossed like a silver sea. A horse clopped past, taking someone home in a cart. On the corner of the square, a floodlit statue of a soldier cast an ebony shadow over the pale steps behind. Amber shivered, reminded of poor Rafiq, transfixed with horror by the sight of Bullydozer’s fall on the big screen.
‘Weren’t you pleased everyone was taking Wilkie and Furious so seriously?’
She looked at Marius who looked at her, both their resolves weakening. It seemed such a waste of a splendid bed.
Marry-us, marry-us.
‘Must have a pee.’ Marius took his briefcase with him, which contained a toothbrush. He used it as well as Amber’s toothpaste.
But then, just as she heard the lavatory flush, there was a hammering on the door. ‘Bugger!’ she groaned.
Assuming it was Rafiq, who she’d told to call her if he got too miserable,