Behind Every Cloud (30 page)

“
I can meet you . . . let me check my diary . . . next Friday,
”
she suggested.

He agreed immediately.

Carl had no idea what other engagements he may have had but he knew he wouldn
’
t get another chance with Zita. He was exhilarated as he came off the line. She had somehow got under his skin. She was on his mind day and night. He couldn
’
t understand it but all he knew was that he had to see her. On checking his diary he saw that he had arranged a meeting with a very important supporter for the following Friday night. Nothing for it – he rang and rearranged it for another night.

Since the party he
’
d been busy arranging meetings with all those who
’
d offered their support. He was off now to have dinner with the director and editor of a national newspaper who certainly needed to be kept on-side. He had an extra spring in his step thanks to his conversation with Zita. What a woman!

Ellie had asked David to meet her on Friday night as she really felt they would have to have a serious talk and clear the air about some misunderstandings they appeared to have – like how many children they wanted, for example. She hadn
’
t seen David since the brunch in Kitty O
’
Shea
’
s when he
’
d shocked her by saying they
’
d have one, or possibly two children – eventually. It was the
‘
eventually
’
that really threw her. She wanted to start a family right away but David obviously had other ideas. This was a very important decision for them and it needed to be thrashed out before they got married. Unfortunately, David couldn
’
t meet her as he was getting together with the guys from the office to watch the football.

“
Do you not see enough of each other all day, every day?
”
she asked, secretly hurt that he wouldn
’
t make the effort when she
’
d stressed that it was important.

“
It
’
s all go in the office so it
’
s nice to relax together outside of it,
”
was his explanation.

Ellie said nothing. She didn
’
t want to appear possessive but she felt that he could have cancelled just this once.

She had decided she was not going to the disco with Keisha and Chloe any more. She was fed up playing gooseberry. She did, however, go to meet up with them in Gibneys for a drink as the three of them had done for years. The girls could see that she was in a foul mood and listened as she complained about David and his attitude.

“
This is meant to be the happiest time of your life,
”
Chloe said,
“
but you
’
ve honestly been in bad form since you g
ot engaged.
”

“
I suppose,
”
Ellie agreed. She looked crestfallen.
“
It
’
s all the fault of this new job David
’
s got. He
’
s changed so much. It
’
s given him airs and graces.
”

“
Well, at least he
’
s agreed to Clontarf Castle,
”
Keisha said, hoping to cheer her up.
“
Did you confirm it with them?
”

“
Yes, it
’
s definitely happening.
”

“
Well, you
’
d better get a move on then,
”
Chloe observed, rollin
g her eyes to heaven.

“
Yeah. I want the three of us to meet on Tuesday night
to look at some ideas for your dresses. What do you think?
”

“
What about Sandrine?
”
asked Keisha.

Neither she nor Chloe liked Ellie
’
s bossy sister too much.

“
Yeah. She
’
s free. My house, eight o
’
clock. Okay?
”

“
Sure. Oh, I love all this wedding planning,
”
Chloe said, rubbing her hands together.

“
Yeah,
”
Ellie replied but she didn
’
t sound too enthusiastic.

It was close to ten when Carl
finally got home to find Rachel sitting in her usual chair in the den, the customary glass of wine in her hand. There was a half
-
empty bottle on the coffee table. Somehow it irritated him.

“
Don
’
t you think you should go easy on that stuff?
”
he remarked.

“
Well, that
’
s a nice greeting, I must say,
”
she said truculently.

He knew by her voice that she
’
d had much more than one glass. Wine always made her aggressive. He preferred her drinking gin and tonic.

“
I just worry that you
’
re drinking a lot these days,
”
he replied wearily as he sat down.

“
Do you blame me? I hardly see you these days. When was the last time we had dinner together?
”

“
We
’
re going out with Anita and Bill tomorrow night.
”

“
That
’
s not what I meant. I mean sitting down to dinner here – just the two of us.
”

He sighed. He could hear the slight slurring of her voice. He wondered was that her first bottle of wine. Possibly not
.
He made a mental note to check later.

“
You know how busy we are now before the Dáil recess
,”
he said.
“
That
’
s political life, my dear. We
’
ll have the month of August together in France
.”

He went up to change into something comfortable and look in on the children who, as usual, looked like perfect angels when asleep. He kissed them both and pulled the covers back up on Jacob before going to the kitchen for ice for his whiskey nightcap.
The empty bottle of wine sitting on the counter top seemed to be mocking him. As he
’
d suspected, Rachel was on her second bottle.
This was worrying. She really was drinking far too much. He would have to keep an eye on her
.

When he got back to the den she was fast asleep, the glass of wine tilting in her hand. He took it from her with a sigh and put a pillow behind her head. Going into his office he caught up with his emails before settling down to watch TV.

It was almost midnight when Rachel appeared
.

“
I
’
m off to bed,
”
she mumbled, poking her head around the door of the TV room.

“
I
’
ll be with you soon,
”
he told her
,
reluctant to join her in case she was feeling amorous, which she often was when drunk. That was the last thing he wanted tonight. He wondered what Zita was doing now and if she was making love to someone right at this very moment. He felt an irrational jealousy at the thought. This was crazy. Slowly, he went up to bed where he fell into a deep exhausted sleep
.

27

Meanwhile Louise was in Paris
,
in seventh heaven. It was her first time there and she was
loving every minute of it.

Alan had texted her on Thursday
:
My driver will pick you up tomorrow morning at nine. Bring your passport
.

She could hardly contain
her excitement and spent all that evening preparing for what she guessed would be the most exciting weekend of her life.

Then
,
that morning, Alan
’
s driver had collected her in a beautiful Jaguar and driven her to the airport where he handed her a ticket.

“
Mr Brown will be waiting to meet you at Charles de Gaulle airport,
”
he
’
d told her, his face inscrutable.

Oh my God, Paris! She
’
d almost fainted with delight. Trust Alan, she smiled to herself.
As she said goodbye to the driver she
’
d wondered briefly what he thought of her and whether he
’
d done this kind of thing before. It didn
’
t matter. She was giddy with excitement as she read the ticket and saw that Alan had booked her in business class. She
’
d always envied the people who could afford to travel like that. Now she was one of them.

She was like a kid in a sweet shop as she sipped champagne and ate the delicious lunch served to her
.
Beats Ryanair, she thought with a snort as the good-looking steward refilled her glass. She
’
d only ever flown Ryanair with Ronan.

All too soon they
’
d landed and
,
coming through the gate
,
she
’
d seen Alan
,
smiling and waving at her. She could hardly breathe her heart was racing so fast. He took her in his arms and this time she almost did faint.

After the longest kiss
,
he said huskily,
“
Let
’
s get the hell out of here.
”

He led her outside and into a limousine which was waiting for them. It whisked them to the Ritz where Alan h
ad booked a suite. Louise was completely overawed. She
’
d never seen such opulence in all her life. The doormen seemed
to know Alan and addressed him as Monsieur Brown.

“
Do you stay here often?
”
she whispered as he led her inside.

“
Goodness no,
”
he laughed,
“
I usually stay in a much more modest place but I do have a lot of meetings here. However, for you, chérie, only the best is good enough.
”

After they
’
d checked in they were shown to their suite and Louise was dumbstruck by the beautiful furnishings and opulence of the whole place. Alan laughed at her excitement.

“
Paris is the city of love so where better to start our love affair,
”
he said gently as he took her in his arms.

Within seconds he had undressed her and carried her to the huge four-poster bed. Louise thought she was living a dream or acting in a fabulous film. Alan turned out to be the gentlest of lovers and took her to heights she
’
d never imagined existed. They made love all afternoon in between sipping the chilled Cristal champagne he
’
d ordered and talking –
“
catching up on our lives
”,
as he called it. She was so blissfully happy that it was a huge effort to drag herself out of bed to prepare for dinner.

They
’
d had a shower together, he lathering the gorgeousl
y scented shower gel all over her body
–
which of course led to another bout of lovemaking.

“
Oh God, you
’
re so beautiful,
”
he
’
d exclaimed when they were finished.
“
I
want to stay with you forever and never let you out of my sight.
”

Louise felt pretty much the same way.

As they were being driven along the Champs Elysées on their way to dinner at Maxim
’
s, Louise
’
s eyes were out on stalks, taking in all the famous landmarks she
’
d only ever seen in photos.

“
Don
’
t worry, my darling, tomorrow I
’
ll show you Pari
s, if I can drag myself out of bed with you, that is.
”