“Lord Ashton! You’re here!” It was a young, eager, overly-made-up woman who turned curious eyes to Julia, looked her from head-to-toe, made a judgement and, Julia thought, dismissed her. “Can I get you some drinks?”
“Champagne,” Douglas commanded shortly and then completely ignored her.
He’d dropped Julia’s hand upon entering but now he slid his fingers, starting at the side of her waist, to the small of her back and guided her forward, stopping her by wrapping his arm fully about her waist and pressing his fingers gently and firmly against her side as they arrived at the first wall filled with art.
She barely had a moment to get her breath or process the pleasant warmth of his hand at her waist and his body at her side when she heard a call.
“Douglas!” a man shouted, far louder than needed even in the din of the crowded gallery. Douglas dropped his arm but kept himself positioned close to Julia’s side. The older man was paunchy with a shock of bright white hair and very red cheeks. “You’ve done it again. It’s the next Picasso. I’ve already bought two. How do you find them?” he asked, apropos of nothing.
He too looked over Julia and didn’t bother to hide his curious interest before he again turned his eyes to Douglas.
Douglas didn’t answer as the man babbled on, “Masterpieces, all, the like I’ve never seen before.”
As Julia finally realised what the older man was referring to, she turned her attention to the artwork on the walls.
Each piece was suspended between two sheets of plexiglass with no other adornment. They were drawn on bits of wrinkled scratch paper and each one, she saw, looked like a doodle done in pencil while the artist was taking a telephone call.
Julia couldn’t claim to be an art aficionado but even she could doodle better than this. And without the theme of blood, guts and violence that ran throughout the works she could take in from her vantage point.
“These are hideous!” Charlotte shrieked gaily as she and Oliver joined them, the white-haired man obviously taking the hint of utter silence from Douglas and moving off. “What on earth made you become patron to this person? Dear God.”
Julia was surprised. She didn’t know Douglas was the opening’s patron and she peered more closely at the disturbing doodles. She also looked at the prices discreetly affixed on the walls to the side of each piece and gasped in shock, each piece cost a small fortune.
The girl arrived with their champagne, Douglas handed Julia a glass and his to Charlotte. “Two more,” he told the girl without a thank you and, apparently not expecting one, she immediately melted into the crowd to do his bidding.
“I’ve never seen these,” Douglas belatedly answered Charlotte. “Samantha finds it amusing to use my influence and money to do shocking things that will make people wonder about me.”
“Well, she’s succeeded,” Oliver replied, laughter in his voice. “From the looks of these, you’re a very disturbed individual.”
“Hideous or not, most of them have sold,” Charlotte noted and then she came forward and wrapped her arm around Julia’s waist. “We’re off to the ladies,” she announced and pulled Julia along with her and through the throng of the crowd before Julia could say a word. “We’re not off to the ladies, I’ve got to have a cigarette and Ollie doesn’t know I’ve started up again,” she confided to Julia conspiratorially, still giving Julia no time to respond.
She guided Julia through the gallery, down a hall at the back and outside into an alleyway. Other guests mingled with staff to enjoy their cigarettes in the surprisingly tidy but smoky alley.
Charlotte pulled Julia away from the smoking crowd and down, stopping them within sight but out of hearing distance and surreptitiously lighting a cigarette with a slim, gold lighter.
“Thank you for coming with me,” Charlotte said, even though she hadn’t given Julia much choice. “Now, we can really talk. Tell me, how are you getting on?”
Her words were not gossipy but kind. Nevertheless, Julia was aware this was a family friend and she forced herself to be discreet even though she desperately wanted to talk to someone, anyone.
“I’m settling in…” she started.
“Codswallop,” Charlotte announced, the strange word forcing a giggle out of Julia and making her relax.
“Okay, it’s been tough,” Julia allowed.
“Tough is when you break the heel of your favourite pair of Jimmy Choos. There’s another word for it when your whole life turns on its head.” She took a drag from her cigarette and blew the smoke away from Julia. “Come on, you can tell Auntie Charlie,” she coaxed with an encouraging smile.
Julia smiled back. She needed someone to talk to and Charlotte seemed genuinely concerned so she gave in. “I’m tired, exhausted… the kids are, well… things are not good.”
“Monique,” Charlotte guessed, making the name sound like a curse and correctly judging the state of affairs at Sommersgate. “That woman is a nightmare. She wasn’t a good mother and she certainly isn’t a good grandmother.”
Julia was stunned by her frankness and curious at her words. Tamsin (and certainly not Douglas) had never spoken about her relationship with her mother even though Julia knew it was obviously nothing like what she and Gav had with Patricia. She knew, though, that it was none of her business.
“It’ll get better,” Julia assured her, trying to believe it herself. “I haven’t even been here for a week. I haven’t had the chance to really talk to Douglas.”
“Who ever really talks to Douglas?” Charlotte asked with further brazen honesty as she waved her cigarette around in the air. “I love him but he’s about as approachable as The Guards.” She took another deep drag and then glanced at the crowd, obviously worried that Oliver would discover her habit then her eyes moved back to Julia. “Listen to me, I was Tammy’s friend, I miss her. She was wonderful and an important part of my life. But I cannot imagine what possessed her to do this to you and Douglas. She loved that house, God knows why, it’s the creepiest place on earth. But she connected with it. I figure she talked Gavin into having the kids brought up there and to protect you, they made Douglas guardian too.”
Julia couldn’t hide her surprise at this announcement. She, too, had spent hours trying to figure out what intentions Gavin and Tamsin had when they put her and Douglas in what was seeming, more and more, not only an impossible, not even an inconceivable but maybe a catastrophic situation. Especially if Julia couldn’t control the avid clenching of her stomach any time Douglas was near.