Chapter Thirty-Two #2
‘What does Dad want?’ she asked Nathan as they scooted around the edge of the dance floor.
‘Not sure. He called me to say he was in the Tintagel Suite with étienne and Gareth. Something’s wrong. I could hear raised voices in the background.’
‘I wonder what they’re arguing about?’
‘No idea, but I think it may be connected to the reason Raphael is so upset.’
Passing the bar, she stopped to let Jodie know where she was going. ‘Luke’s out on the dance floor with Em,’ she told her. ‘We’ve patched things up. Tell him I won’t be long, will you?’
‘Hooray for common sense.’ Jodie threw her arms around her and gave her a hug before Nathan prised them apart. ‘Sorry, we gotta go,’ he said.
Easing her way through the last of the people in the banqueting suite, Cat left the noise and music behind, making her way down the corridor and through reception. Reaching the Tintagel Suite, they stopped as they heard the sound of loud voices beyond the closed door.
Nathan threw his fist against the door with a loud thud.
‘Better let them know we’re here,’ he said, giving the door another thump when there was no response.
‘The last thing either of us want to do is walk in unannounced.’ After a third heavy knock he gave a shrug and shouldered the door open.
The last time they were here, Cat remembered, was for the meal to celebrate étienne’s visit last summer.
Now, as she took in all three standing around the table, there were no smiles.
Instead, they were in the middle of an intense argument, one which had quickly worked its way up to a shouting match.
All three turned as the door closed. Conversation halted, aggressive stances quietened.
It felt as if the bell had sounded at the end of a round in a boxing match.
It was Ruan who stepped forward first. ‘Cat.’ His smile was gentle and she knew he felt protective as he drew her into this hostile meeting.
Gareth immediately turned on her. ‘Why did you do it? Why didn’t you keep your nose out of things?’
‘I’m not sure what you mean.’
‘You and Raphael, poking about in étienne’s room.’
‘Enough.’ étienne raised a hand but Gareth ignored him.
‘You mean the painting?’
‘You know damn well what I mean.’
‘For your information, I wasn’t poking about, as you put it.
I couldn’t find étienne’s dog, Bianca. It turned out she was sound asleep under his bed.
I don’t normally go in there, I respect his privacy, but on this occasion the door was slightly ajar and she wasn’t anywhere else.
I was about to bring her out when Raphael arrived.
He told me all the portraits there were of étienne’s ancestors.
As soon as I saw Stefano’s portrait I could see the resemblance to Luke.
I haven’t said a word, though. It wasn’t my place to. ’
‘You didn’t have to. Raphael did it for you,’ Gareth said bitterly. ‘Well, you’ve blown the whole thing wide open now. I hope you’re both satisfied. I hate to think what this will do to my poor nephew; he’s been through so much already.’
‘What?’ Cat’s eyebrows shot up. ‘How dare you take that holier than thou attitude after the way you abandoned him when he was arrested.’
‘I don’t know what you mean.’ Gareth shrugged off her accusation, his eyes travelling the room, looking for support and finding only curious gazes.
‘You left him in Truro jail to fend for himself,’ Cat continued. ‘He had a lousy brief and if it hadn’t been for Aunt Em organising her godson to represent him I hate to think what would have happened.’
‘What?’ étienne rounded on Gareth. ‘But I thought you paid for Richardson-Clarke?’
‘I … well …’
‘You didn’t, did you?’
‘Well … no.’
‘So where is the money I sent you to pay for Luke’s legal fees?’
‘Money?’ Cat stared at étienne. ‘You sent money?’
‘I did,’ étienne said as he fixed Gareth with a hard stare. ‘What have you done with it?’
‘I wanted to help him, I really did,’ Gareth whined, ‘but Evie—’
‘Dispense with the excuses,’ Ruan said, cutting into the conversation. ‘Where’s the money?’
Cat could see the panic in Gareth’s face as he scrambled to put together a response. ‘It’s …’ he said, his words expelled in a tired hiss. ‘I still have it.’
‘What?’ étienne lunged at Gareth, grabbing him by his jacket lapels.
‘I didn’t know what else to do with it,’ Gareth said, trying hard to pull away from the Italian’s firm grasp. ‘I—’
Whatever he was about to say was lost as étienne’s punch, swift and unexpected, knocked him backside first onto the carpet.
Gareth rolled over, shook his head and sat up, his hand going to his mouth and coming away bloody.
Cat glanced across at Nathan. Blue eyes met brown in mutual surprise.
This was so out of character; étienne was the calmest person she knew, he never lost his temper.
Ruan stepped forward and grabbed étienne’s arm. ‘Enough,’ he said as his friend stepped back and rubbed his knuckles. ‘He’s not worth it.’
‘No, you’re right, he isn’t,’ came the unexpected reply from the doorway. ‘But at least I know what he is, which is more than I can say for the rest of you.’
Everyone turned. Cat had no idea how long Luke had been standing there listening to the conversation.
Long enough, she gathered from the expression on his face, to have worked out what was going on.
This was awful and she knew étienne would be furious with Gareth for putting him in this position.
Noticing movement behind Luke, she realised Em was there, too.
‘Raphael told us there was trouble and we came to find you, Cat,’ Em said as she eased past Luke into the room. ‘I’m so sorry.’
‘How long have you been there?’ Ruan asked.
‘Long enough.’ Luke glared at them all.
‘You’d both better come in.’ Ruan stepped back as they entered, closing the door behind them. Facing Luke calmly, he said, ‘This is not the way it should have happened.’
‘Damned right it isn’t,’ Luke growled. ‘How could you …’ His gaze landed on each of them in turn, including Cat.
‘All of you knew. You kept it from me. And as for you, Cat …’ He shook his head and looked away, unable, it seemed, to bear the sight of her.
Moments ago they had been planning a new beginning together.
Now it appeared it was over. She watched helplessly as he turned to leave.
It was Em, small and fearless, who stepped in front of him, barring the door.
‘You need to stay,’ she told him. ‘Painful though it may be, this has to be sorted out once and for all.’ Her voice was quiet but there was no mistaking her firm tone.
Cat saw Luke hesitate, rub his face and nod silently before moving back into the room.
She watched as he joined Em, his face still tight and angry.
‘You,’ Em pointed at Gareth who was currently leaning against one of the chairs for support, ‘you’ve done enough damage. Get out.’
The room fell silent as he growled out an angry response before leaving, slamming the door behind him.
‘Now then.’ Em turned to them all. ‘I think it would be a good idea if we Trevelyans left. étienne and Luke need some privacy. Come along.’ She waved her hand towards the door.
No one argued, not even Ruan. They simply turned and followed her out of the room.
This was a new side to Em, one that nobody had ever seen before; a bit of a scary side too, Cat thought, as she followed her father and Nathan out into the corridor.
A small hand suddenly captured hers as Em came alongside her.
‘It will be fine,’ she said gently, all signs of her former assertiveness gone as she gave Cat’s fingers a comforting squeeze.
‘étienne is a good man. I’m sure he’ll win Luke round. ’
‘I hope so,’ Cat replied with a confidence she didn’t feel. She knew étienne would tell Luke the whole truth. How he would react would be another matter.
As Ruan led them back to the banqueting suite, one question niggled constantly at her. Unable to stay quiet any longer she pulled her father to a gentle halt, leaving Nathan to continue back to the party with Em.
‘Did you know about étienne and Luke?’ she asked, keen to know whether he had been aware of their arrangement.
‘No. Like everyone else, I thought Scott was his father. Apparently étienne was also unaware until after Selina’s death. Do you remember the time he visited with Isabella? You were about twelve years old?’
Cat nodded.
‘Well, that was when he first met Luke. étienne immediately told Gareth and set up monthly payments to support him. But it was a private arrangement between the two of them. I had no idea until everything blew up this evening.’
Cat nodded. ‘Thank you,’ she said, wrapping her arms around him and giving him a hug.
‘Would you have thought less of me if I had?’ he asked as they broke apart.
‘I don’t know, Dad.’ She shook her head then after some thought said, ‘I guess not. After all, it wasn’t your secret to tell, was it?’
‘Truthfully, I’m glad I didn’t know. I would have found it a heavy burden, especially once you started seeing Luke. By the way, are you two back together again?’
‘We were, but after this I’m not sure he’ll want to see me again. He seems to think I was part of the conspiracy.’
‘Don’t worry.’ Ruan patted her shoulder. ‘I’m sure étienne will put him right. Now come on, let’s get back to the party.’