Behind Every Cloud (23 page)

They all looked to see who the owner of this husky American drawl might be
.

Ellie gasped. My God, it was Jade Keating, the famous Irish actor who had made it big in Hollywood. She was even rumoured to be dating Colin Farrell.

“
Dahhlling, how lovely to see you again
!”
cried Jade
,
draping her long arms around Sam
’
s neck as she kissed him full on the mouth.

“
Jade, great to see you,
”
Sam replied, untangling himsel
f from her grasp.

Ellie felt completely insignificant beside her. It didn
’
t help that David, Ronan and Marcus were all gaping at
Jade, their mouths open. She was even more beautiful than her photos. Six-foot-two, with a tiny waist and boobs that were most certainly not the ones nature had
bestowed on her. They were barely concealed in a low-cut wisp of a dress which clung to her contours like clingfilm
.
It barely covered her knickers and her long legs seemed to go on forever. She towered over them all. It was no wonder the men were staring with open mouths
.

“
It
’
s been too long,
”
she replied, snuggling into Sam. He looked embarrassed.

To Ellie
’
s surprise
,
Orla didn
’
t seem a bit put
out and smiled as she shook Jade
’
s hand.

Sam introduced her to the rest of the group.

“
Sam is a very old friend of mine,
”
Jade drawled
,
intimating that they were much more than just friends.

Friends with benefits, more like, ran through Ellie
’
s mind – the new hip expression for good friends who had occasional sex with each other. Ellie could never understand that kind of relationship.

Louise was acting star-struck and Ronan was afraid she might ask for Jade
’
s autograph. He was a bit overawed to have this famous actress here in the flesh – very much in the flesh – chatting nonchalantly with them.

“
Okay, time for supper
!”
Rachel cried, clapping her hands
.

She led them to the marquee where they saw from the table plan outside it that they were all to be seated together on Table 9. Jade stayed latched on to Sam and it was obvious she intended sitting with them.

The group
was surprised and pleased to see that Rachel also was joining them.

“
Don
’
t you need to sit with Carl and all the VIPs?
”
Ellie asked her.

“
No, I
’
m very happy to be sitting with you guys
,”
she replied, giving a little grimace.
“
He
’
s sitting with – I won
’
t call them friends – but business acquaintances of his.
”

Ellie felt sorry for her. Despite her outward gaiety and confidence, Ellie could see that Rachel was very lonely.
From what she had confided to her in the taxi, it would seem that Rachel had become
disillusioned with her
‘
perfe
ct
’
life.

They had to pull another chair up for Jade. She plonked herself between Sam and Orla and Ellie felt sorry for the young girl. If Jade had done that to her
,
she
’
d have been furious. Rachel was quite pleased to have such a famous actress at her party and took great satisfaction from Carl
’
s surprise when he saw Jade sitting at their table. He
’
d hot
-
footed it over and sat chatting to them all before dragging himself back to his political pals.

Take that, Carl! Rachel thought smugly. He
’
d be happy now that she
’
d invited her friends to the party!

There was a marvellous buffet set out along the back of the marquee and they all went to help themselves, loading their plates with all the lovely salads and different types of potatoes and vegetables. Then they passed by the spit
where a chef sliced the pork and piled it on their plates
.
There was also fish and other meats on offer but everyone went for the delicious roast pig. Jade naturally didn
’
t indulge
,
stating that she wasn
’
t hungry.

“
There
’
s no secret to being that skinny,
”
Rachel said in a low voice to Ellie as they made their way back to the table.
“
If I didn
’
t eat, I
’
d be that skinny too.
”
Ellie giggled. The champagne was having its effect on her.

“
She
’
s chain-smoking too,
”
she whispered, noticing that Jade was lighting one cigarette off another.
“
That can
’
t be good for her.
”

“
No, but she probably does it to stay slim
.”

“
Yeuch
!
I don
’
t know how she stands it. I hate cigarettes.
”

Ellie made a face and Rachel laughed. She really was getting very fond of the young woman. Pity her fiancé was such a bore.

Listening to an older TD colleague of his rattling on about the latest bill proposed by the opposition, Carl longed to escape to the wine-club table, not least because the mysterious Zita and the gorgeous Jade were there. From what little he
’
d seen of them, he could see that they were a fun bunch. Ronan and Sam were good guys and Ellie was a cute little thing. Marcus seemed to have a quick wit and was keeping them all entertained. As they laughed uproariously at a story he was telling them, Carl looked over at them enviously and caught Zita
’
s eye. Gosh, but she was damned exciting!

Over at their table, Rachel was hopping up and down like a hen on a hot griddle, checking on the food and making sure her guests were all being catered for. She ate little but Ronan noticed that she was never without a glass in her hand.

The group was enjoying the wonderful spit-roast pig
,
especially relishing the crisp crackling.

“
I think I
’
m going for more,
”
Ellie announced
. “
Anyon
e else coming?
”

As one
,
they all rose, laughing aloud. Jade wrinkled her pretty little nose at this display of gluttony. While they were gone, she poured herself another glass of white wine and lit yet another cigarette. If she had to have calories, she preferred them in liquid form – alcoholic
,
of course.

Rachel was delighted that they were all having such a good time and delighted that she
’
d thought to invite them. With reluctance she left the table
yet again
to circulate among the other guests, most of whom Carl had invited with an ulterior motive. There were bankers and developers
,
not to mention hordes of politicians of course, all networking like mad. If Rachel were
to be honest
,
she had very little in common with any of these people.
She hopped from table to table saying a few words to everyone and making sure they were all enjoying themselves. Due to the endless supply of alcohol there was no problem there. Waiters kept replenishing bottles of wine on tables and many people complimented her on her choice of wines
,
asking her where she
’
d found them
.

“
Thank you,
”
she replied graciously to each one
. “
I
’
ve started a wine course and the wines are imported by my lecturer, Sam. He
’
s here tonight. I
’
ll get his card for you if you like
?”

She was pleased to be bringing business his way. She returned to Sam and took all the cards he had on him to distribute to those who
’
d asked for them. Sam was grateful to her.

“
Hey, you
’
ve hardly eaten anything,
”
Sam remarked when she finally returned to the table
.

“
Oh, I
’
m fine. I
’
m too worried about everything to think of eating. I
’
ll eat later when everyone else is finished.
”

“
Sit down here
,
girl
,
and have your supper
!”
Sam ordered
her.
“
Everyone
’
s having a great time. Just listen to the decibels of people talking.
”

She cocked her head and had to agree that the noise was pretty encouraging. She did as he
’
d ordered and with a grateful smile accepted the glass of wine he poured for her as she tucked into her food
.

“
Mmmm . . . this is good,
”
she mumbled between mouthfuls.
“
Thank you, Sam.
”

“
My pleasure,
”
he grinned back, raising his glass to her
.

Ellie noticed that he hadn
’
t been remotely concerned that Jade had not eaten a bite
.

“
It really is a fabulous evening, Rachel,
”
she told her hostess.
“
You
’
ve done a brilliant job planning all of this.
”
She waved her hand around.

“
Thank you,
”
Rachel smiled with pleasure at the compliments.

“
I guess this is all your doing,
”
Zita interjected.
“
I don
’
t suppose Carl did much to help?
”

“
Well
,
you know, he
’
s frightfully busy with his Dáil w
ork. He leaves all this kind of thing to me,
”
Rachel repli
ed loyally.
“
Besides, I really enjoy doing it.
”

“
Well, you
’
ve done a super job. I hope Carl appreciates it.
”

“
Oh, he does,
”
Rachel gushed but Zita wasn
’
t convinced.

Just then the man in question arrived at their table.
“
I reckon this is the most fun table in the room
–
I feel like I
’
m missing where the party
’
s at,
”
he told them, laughing and swigging back his whiskey.
“
My card, Zita,
”
he said, handing it to her.
“
We met when we both went to the sun-terrace bar for a whiskey,
”
he explained, mainly for his wife
’
s benefit.
“
Zita
’
s going to interview me for a TV programme she
’
s involved with.
”

“
Wonderful
!”
Rachel cried, clapping her hands.

“
Can I get you another whiskey, Zita?
”
he asked.

“
Thank you, that would be lovely,
”
she purred.

“
Hey, what
’
s wrong with my wine
?”
Sam asked.

“
I love wine with my meal but otherwise I
’
m a whiskey drinker,
”
she informed him, unabashed.