Chapter 8
CLUEDO (UK)/CLUE (US) – UNCOVER THE CULPRIT WITH DEDUCTION AND GUILE.
It was more of a garden party than a posh evening do, as it turned out, which suited Soli just fine. It meant she was less likely to melt into a sweaty, nervous puddle as they mingled with the large throng of elegant, sophisticated guests.
To Soli, Xavier seemed completely at ease as they moved from group to group, received with a mix of exaggerated bonhomie and friendly curiosity. He gave a nod here and there, occasionally paused to introduce her, then politely excused them and moved swiftly on.
The comforting weight and heat of Xavier’s arm around her waist kept her grounded as they circulated around the party and after a while she started to relax and chat with the people who asked kind, but slightly bemused questions of her, particularly about how she’d met Xavier.
Once she’d given her answer about meeting him through the business, she quickly moved the focus of the conversation onto the other person, making sure to ask them lots of questions about themselves.
They’d been there for about twenty minutes without catching sight of the host or hostess, who according to one guest were either down in the wine cellar stocking up on booze or settling a tantrum-throwing child, when there was a shout from behind them. ‘Xavier McQueen, where have you been hiding?’
They both turned away from the couple they were chatting with to see a tall, slim woman wearing a flowing cornflower-blue silk cocktail dress striding purposefully towards them.
She pushed her long, sleek black hair away from her face as she got nearer and gave them a huge grin, her dark eyes sparkling with delight.
‘Veronica. Lovely to see you,’ Xavier said, taking a step towards her. Soli could tell from the smile in his voice that he was genuinely pleased to see her. But if that was the case, why had he not seen his friends for so long? He couldn’t have been that busy with work, surely.
‘I’m so pleased you came! I had a bet on with Hugo that you would.
He owes me a fiver, oh, he of little faith!
’ She raised a playful eyebrow at Soli. ‘My darling husband thought the two of you might be a bit too busy “being newlyweds”.’ She turned to give Xavier a playful wink.
‘But I knew you wouldn’t be so mean as to deny us your wonderful presence at such an important do.
Five years we’ve been married, can you believe it? ’
Without waiting for a response from him she turned to look at Soli with wide, discerning eyes. ‘Now, who is this delightful creature? Introduce me to your cute-as-a-button new wife, Xavier.’ She held out a manicured hand, which Soli shook, a little surprised by the strength of the woman’s grip.
‘This is Solitaire – Soli for short,’ Xavier said. The sound of her name on his lips gave Soli a strange little shiver of delight. He had such a wonderful deep, gravelly voice – it always did something to her whenever he spoke.
‘It’s so wonderful to meet you,’ Veronica said, pulling her in for an enveloping hug. ‘What a gorgeous name!’
Soli believed she really meant it too – she didn’t seem at all patronising or false; her smile and touch were too warm for that.
‘Lovely to meet you too. Thanks so much for inviting us,’ Soli said, returning Veronica’s smile.
‘What a beautiful garden you have,’ she said, gesturing towards what must have been half an acre of land, with its vibrant borders of summer flowers in full bloom and its springy grass that her heels kept sinking into, rooting her to the spot.
‘Oh! Thank you! We love being out here in the summer and it’s great for the children when they need to burn off some steam.
Which is all the time!’ She laughed, then glanced at Xavier, her smile faltering as an expression that Soli couldn’t quite read flashed across her face.
But only for a second. Had she felt as if she’d put her foot in it with him for some reason?
‘I probably should mention that we’ve invited Harriet and her partner here today,’ Veronica said, her expression a bit strained now.
‘I expected you would,’ Xavier said in a neutral tone, though Soli could have sworn she felt him stiffen beside her.
‘I just thought I’d warn you so it wouldn’t be a shock if you saw her here.
I understand you haven’t been in touch since…
’ She broke off, glancing quickly at Soli before returning her gaze to him.
‘I just mean I can understand why you kept a low profile after what happened,’ Veronica finished in a sympathetic tone.
Soli stood motionless, listening intently, wondering what the heck she was missing here.
Xavier shrugged. ‘I thought it’d be better to let Harriet feel as if she could still see her friends without me being around all the time,’ he said gruffly. ‘You were her friends first, after all.’
Was she imagining it, or was there a hint of pain in his voice?
The very idea made her shiver with horror, and she experienced the strongest urge to wrap her arms around him, to let him know she was there for him and on his side should he need her.
He froze for a second as she gave in to her instinct and slid her arm around his waist, but quickly relaxed again, pulling her closer in to his side.
Veronica smiled at the two of them, seeming to decide that Xavier must be over it. ‘Well, I’m delighted that you have this gorgeous creature by your side now.’ She gave Soli a warm smile, before moving her gaze back to Xavier.
‘You know, there’s a real spark between the two of you – something I never saw between you and Harriet.
I always thought she was a bit too straight for you.
In retrospect I’m sure getting married wasn’t the right thing for either of you at the time.
It was probably for the best that she called it off. ’
Soli’s heart gave an extra-hard thump in her chest. So, he’d nearly married Harriet, but she’d called it off?
There was an uncomfortable pause before Xavier cleared his throat and said, ‘Yes, perhaps so. It would have been nice to have had more than an hour’s notice that she’d changed her mind though.’
Soli’s breath caught in her throat. So Harriet had dumped him at the altar!
How humiliating for him. She couldn’t imagine anything worse for someone as proud as Xavier.
No wonder he’d been so determined not to get married again – and that his great-aunt had felt she’d had to go to such extremes to make him even consider it.
Not that he’d married her for love.
The thought made her stomach do a sickening sort of lurch.
‘Oh, darling, I know.’ It was Veronica’s turn to sound uncomfortable now.
‘It was a terrible thing to do to you, but I think she just panicked. She’d been feeling wobbly about it for a while, but Hugo and I persuaded her it was just pre-wedding jitters.
I’m so sorry we didn’t talk to you about it beforehand.
Still, it’s done now and you’re happy with your lovely new wife,’ Veronica said brightly, as if sensing the need to move the conversation onto safer ground.
‘By the way, where did you two meet? I forgot to ask.’
‘Through the business,’ Xavier said in a confident tone that even had Soli convinced for a second.
Veronica smiled indulgently. ‘You know, Xavier, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you looking so relaxed. The two of you are obviously good for each other.’
Soli stood stock-still, her heart beating rapidly in her throat, wondering what on earth Xavier would say to that. She hoped with all her heart it would be something nice. It felt incredibly important at that moment that it was.
‘Soli is really good for me,’ he said, to her surprise.
‘The first thing I noticed about her was how vibrant and upbeat she is. I find her positivity really inspiring, to be honest, because, as we know, I’m not always the sunniest of people.
’ The look of genuine approval on his face when he turned to look at her made Soli’s tummy flutter with exhilaration.
Veronica gave a tinkling laugh. ‘Don’t do yourself down. You’re a wonderful person and a great friend – when you deign to accept invitations from us.’ She laughed again, but it was plain from her tone that she was genuinely joking around with him.
At that moment, a small child ran up to them, shouting, ‘Mummy, Mummy!’ and did a spectacular trip-dive just before reaching them, splashing her beaker full of blackcurrant juice all over Veronica’s shoes.
There were a few seconds of noisy disruption as the child began to wail and Veronica half admonished, half comforted her.
Turning to them with a tearful child pressed up against her, she said, ‘I’m so sorry, will you excuse me for a second?
I’d better take her inside and get myself cleaned up.
Don’t run off, now, will you? I want to chat more later.
It’s been so long! I want to hear all about what you’ve been up to in the last few years, including all the details about your wedding. ’
As soon as she was out of earshot Soli turned to look at Xavier, who was standing stiffly by her side, watching Veronica walk away with a frown on his face. ‘So, it wasn’t just your parents that let you down, it was your fiancée too,’ she said quietly.
She waited, looking up at him expectantly, willing him to trust her and tell her the whole story.
His frown deepened, then he gave a curt nod.
So that was all she was getting? Her pulse rate soared as frustration shot through her.
‘Why didn’t you tell me Harriet stood you up at the altar?’ she blurted into the silence, unable to hold on to her patience any longer.
‘Why do you think?’ he shot back gruffly. ‘It’s not something I generally like to shout about.’
She sighed. ‘Okay, I get that it must have been humiliating and not an easy thing to talk about, but I could have done with knowing about it before coming here and having to find out about it from your friends.’