Mount! (51 page)

‘Gala, how are you?’

‘Fine.’ Gala was reluctantly flattered he knew who she was.

‘How did you like my beautiful Vengie?’

‘Utterly awesome. How did you know I saw him?’

‘I know everything.’ Cosmo had a deep, very beautiful voice. ‘We haven’t really met. Do you think the party’s going all right?’

‘Like wildfire. Oscar Wilde Fire.’

Cosmo smirked and opened a nearby door, where a couple were copulating so vigorously, they took no notice.

‘That’s rather affecting.’ He shut the door again. ‘Tommy Westerham making love to his own wife. I don’t expect they get much time in the school holidays. I can never understand people sitting married couples next to each other at dinner parties. The sleeping plan this evening has been such a headache.’

‘Why didn’t you put up a board telling people who to get off with?’

‘My father gave wonderful orgies. One mustn’t let the side down.’

There was nothing youthful about Cosmo. Although only twenty-three, he seemed born years ago. Incredibly self-assured, his night-dark eyes never left her face.

‘I’ve only had four people complaining about the noise tonight and they’re simply neighbours livid not to be invited. And some charity asking for £50 a week and my bank details. I bet Rupert gets sackloads of those.’

‘I don’t want to talk about Rupert.’ Then as Cosmo beckoned a waiter to bring them more drink, ‘I must have something to eat. I’m getting hammered.’

‘I’m glad you’re leading up Rupert’s horses. It’s good for Sauvignon to have some competition in the parade ring.’

‘Hardly,’ said Gala acidly.

‘Are you good at chess?’

‘No.’

‘The aim is to take out one’s opponent’s King.’

‘I know.’

‘How is your King?’

‘Why the hell do you call him that? Why can’t you stop bitching him up?’

‘Because he’s so arrogant. And has the kind of sex appeal that transcends gender. I’m convinced that if, for one moment, he’d been nice to my father, asked him for a drink or for his advice, my dad would have rolled over and worshipped him.’

‘Your father married Rupert’s ex-wife, tried to rape Rupert’s teenage daughter, killed Taggie’s beloved dog – hardly ingratiating behaviour.’

‘I know,’ sighed Cosmo, refusing to take it seriously. ‘Come and dance.’ Taking her hand, he led her into the Great Hall, where the cherry-red walls, gold ceiling and floor-length gilt mirrors were lit by a thousand candles.

‘How lovely,’ cried Gala.

‘A room fit for a Queen,’ murmured Cosmo, kissing her hand, then flicking his fingers at the group in the corner, who launched into Irving Berlin’s ‘Cheek to Cheek’. And Cosmo turned out to be a most wonderful dancer, singing along in her ear with his beautiful husky voice.

Ben had been very straight and mainline on the dance floor. Cosmo was able to gaze into her eyes, guide her, touch her firmly, holding her against his taut, surprisingly lithe body, or sway seductively in front of her.

‘Why did you choose Oscar Wilde?’

‘I admire him inordinately. Like him, I can resist anything but temptation. I was tempted to come as Lady Windermere’s fanny.’

‘Nice aftershave,’ said Gala, as he drew her closer.

‘Maestro – my father always wore it. It was created for him.’

‘Do you work out?’

‘Only how to get women like you into bed. You’re very attractive – no wonder the King’s got the hots for you.’

‘Stop it,’ snapped Gala, angrier with herself for feeling comforted by his compliments.

‘What about young Eddie Alderton?’

‘We’re just friends, for God’s sake.’ Cosmo must have spies everywhere. ‘How come you and Mrs Walton … I mean, she’s stunning, but old enough.’

‘To be my mother. I need a mother. My own’s rather eccentric.’

Cosmo led her through a side door into another passageway, and revealed through a two-way mirror Dame Hermione spread-eagled over a cherry-red sofa, her vast reddening bottom being whacked by Young Eddie, who was drinking a pint mug of champagne and reading
Horse & Hound
at the same time.

‘Harder, harder, it really doesn’t hurt.’

Gala burst out laughing. ‘Any moment, Damsire’s going to roll up and say “with quarters like that, your mother would make a better jump horse”.’

Cosmo paused in front of another two-way mirror where Sheikh Baddi could be seen playing with himself as he watched Gav’s wife Bethany and a well-stacked blonde pleasuring one another.

‘Good heavens!’ and then on to another mirror.

‘Oh my God, that is shocking,’ raged Gala. ‘Revolting Brute Barraclough and Janey Lloyd-Foxe. He said he was just disappearing for a second to track down Sheikh Baddi, while Janey disappeared for a sec to network. That was an hour ago, and they’ve left poor Rosaria with that huge gorilla. God, I hate, hate, hate people cheating.’

Cosmo grinned evilly.

‘The good Taggie must be reassured you’re not wife-threatening.’ Then at Gala’s look of outrage, Cosmo ran a hand over her unwashed hair.

‘I’m sorry about your husband,’ he said softly. ‘You must miss him. Will you have dinner with me one evening, away from here?’

‘Of course I can’t,’ exploded Gala.

The moment Janey and Brute left Rosaria and Colin Chalford on their own, Rosaria tried to be polite and hide her terror that Brute, overspending as usual, was determined to sell Geoffrey. Some Chinese buyer and Sheikh Baddi were already interested, and with Geoffrey in the Champion Stakes and qualified for the Breeders’ Cup, he was a very attractive proposition.

If he sold Geoffrey, Brute would pretend to the horse’s owner, old Mrs Ford-Winters at Ashbourne Care Home, that her horse had gone for peanuts and pocket the rest of the millions to pay his own debts, and there would be no income left to save the yard. Rosaria loved Geoffrey so much. He had been the ugliest, most adorable foal and hadn’t a mean bone in his body. She must pull herself together.

Colin Chalford, pouring with sweat in his gorilla onesie, was looking furtively round for Janey. If only he weren’t too ashamed of his plump body to strip off for a dip in the pool.

‘Janey’s such a pro,’ said Rosaria, to comfort him. ‘She can’t miss an opportunity to look for stories. She’s always working.’ Rosaria drained her glass of white wine and longed for another, but she couldn’t afford to lose her licence.

‘How did you and Janey meet?’

‘Online actually. I’m a bit of a workaholic, and don’t meet many women. Mother died recently.’ He went even redder. ‘I’d like to find someone to love, so I decided to try my luck.’

‘Weren’t you terrified?’ asked Rosaria.

‘Petrified. You submit a photograph of yourself. I cheated and only handed in a head shot and I wore a hat, so you couldn’t see how bald I am, and I lied about my age and my weight.’ He hung his head.

Rosaria started to laugh. ‘What did you wear for the first date?’

‘Running shoes – so I could escape. But Janey is so sweet. She didn’t mind about my weight at all, said the more of me the merrier. She was also looking for friendship leading to an everlasting relationship. She’s so caring.’ Averting his eyes, he beckoned to a naked waiter to fill up their glasses.

‘I’ve got to drive, and we’re racing tomorrow … oh well, perhaps just a half.’

‘Can’t believe anyone as beautiful as her could bother with someone like me. But we’ve had three dates,’ went on Colin. ‘It’s her birthday next week; I want to get her something lovely. Have you had any pudding?’ he added, looking down at Rosaria, thinking what a sweet face she had when she smiled. ‘I’m going to get you some.’

When he returned with two big platefuls of chocolate tart, saying, ‘I know I’m supposed to be losing weight,’ Rosaria found herself telling him all about Geoffrey and showing him a photograph on her telephone.

‘I’d like to meet Geoffrey,’ said Colin.

‘You must get Janey to bring you down. I’m talking far too much about me,’ she went on. ‘What d’you do?’

‘I’m a banker actually, bit of a dirty word these days. I started work as a bank clerk. Our manager used to dance around the office whenever we had a slack period. He said, “the most important asset, Colin, as a banker is to learn to dance. If you impress the wives on the dance floor, they’ll praise you to their husbands, and you get their accounts.” It seemed to work.’

The music was now booming like surf. Colin sang along to Cole Porter’s ‘So in Love’. ‘Come and dance,’ he said, holding out furry arms.

And he was right. Despite his huge bulk, he was as nifty a dancer as Cosmo and was soon whisking her round the floor.

Looking down as a thousand candles lit her face, he thought how pretty Rosaria was, and wished he could do something to make her less tired.

Eddie was loathing the party. However hard he whacked Dame Hermione, he couldn’t work off his fury with himself. He hated seeing foie gras handed round in what should have been Quickly’s St Leger Plate. When he’d edged up to Sauvignon, she’d made it quite clear there were other people more important than him to talk to.

‘Fancy a fuck?’ he asked Dora, even though she looked grotesque as Lester Bolton.

‘Sweet of you,’ replied Dora, ‘but Paris is due any minute. It’ll be like the first day of the sales when he arrives.’

In one of the gilt mirrors, Eddie could see Sauvignon nose to nose with Cosmo, and was amazed when, glancing in his direction, she smiled and beckoned him.

‘Are you going to unfrock me, Eddie?’ she murmured.

Bishops are diva-ish and attack diagonally, thought Gala. Castles approach head on like Gav. God, she wanted to go home. Hell! With all that dancing and climbing in through windows, she had lost the taxi number. So she rang Gav, who snatched up the telephone immediately.

‘You OK?’

When she said she’d lost the minicab number, he said he’d ring them for her.

‘When d’you want it?’

‘As soon as possible. You are kind.’

As Eddie followed Sauvignon upstairs, he passed the open door of an office. Inside, Isa, ‘the black cobra’, capable of any evil off and on the course, was watching races overseas, and making lists of people riding work tomorrow. Despite the heat, he was wearing a black polo neck. His lowering black eyebrows and slanting black eyes dominated a pale, expressionless face. Showing several days of stubble, his tousled hair uncombed, inwardly he was missing both Jake – his father – and Tarqui. Looking up, he glanced at Eddie.

‘Pity about the Leger. Quickly ran a great race.’

‘More than I did.’

‘Tarqui taking all your rides?’

‘I guess so.’ Eddie was so flabbergasted Isa was being friendly, he forgot Sauvignon for a second.

‘If it all gets too much, come and ride for us,’ said Isa.

‘Come
on
, Eddie,’ called back Sauvignon.

Waving a tape recorder, to pretend she’d been working, Janey, on her way back to Colin Chalford, was intercepted by Cosmo. ‘I’m going to have the biggest scoop for you in a few weeks, darling,’ he told her.

‘Enjoy your male,’ he murmured to Sauvignon, as she passed him on her way to the bedrooms, then added mockingly to Eddie, ‘Mind you put covering boots on her or she’ll geld you.’

Cosmo went into his office, which used to be his father’s, with paintings of Byron and the Marquis de Sade on the walls. Having snorted a line of coke, he turned on a switch to reveal a wall of monitors showing different couples. There was a tangle of bodies round Sheikh Baddi, and there was Tommy Westerham, still fast asleep beside his own wife.

‘Trainers get tired,’ explained Cosmo, as he was joined by Ash who, having not pulled as Queen Victoria, had changed into just the jacket and trousers of a pale-blue silk suit, with the tattoos of David Beckham peering out between the lapels. Ash was immediately riveted by a third monitor where Eddie was stroking Sauvignon’s face and kissing her with such love, before plunging into her and bringing her to apparent ecstasy with the same powerful thrusts with which he drove winners past the post.

‘Wow, he’s cute,’ sighed Ash.

‘So is she,’ drawled Cosmo. ‘That boob enlargement cost her almost a year’s salary.’

‘She’d have done better with a heart enlargement. Such a bitch.’

‘But positively glowing,’ noted Cosmo. ‘Women are so much more radiant when they’re ovulating.’

‘Ovulating?’ It took a minute to sink in.

‘And much more likely to conceive,’ gloated Cosmo.

Even Ash was shocked. ‘That’s a stitch-up, utterly appalling.’

‘I know – I’ll give you a copy of the tape.’

Gala was in despair. How could she have flirted with Cosmo? She felt horribly disloyal to Rupert and guilty that she was missing him more than Ben. Eddie was her great friend too and she felt depressed he’d finally got off with Sauvignon. Seeing Lester Bolton hurtling joyfully into the arms of a most beautiful youth with white-blond hair made her feel even lower.

Everyone was much too drunk and occupied to notice that she’d slipped away. A pinky-orange moon was sinking into the trees. Oh God, she hoped Gav had got through to the car-hire firm, but she couldn’t see a taxi anywhere. Then a car drew up, a door opened and out of it erupted a squeaking animated rubber cannon ball, projected by a frantically wagging tail. ‘Gropius darling, what are you doing here?’

Then as a man got out of the car: ‘Gav,’ she gasped. ‘Oh Gav.’ Bursting into tears, tripping over Gropius, she fell into his arms. ‘Oh thank you, you are the dearest man in the world. You were right – it was the most hideous party. I’m not making a pass at you, I’m just so grateful to escape.’ She took his face in her hands, gazed into his hollowed eyes, and kissed him on the cheek. ‘Please take me home.’

‘I see Rodders is here.’

‘And Damsire commenting on the confirmation of every shagging couple.’

‘Lots of drugs?’

‘Lots.’ Gala just stopped herself telling him about the cocaine on Bethany’s belly, then anxious to get off the subject, ‘I saw Roberto’s Revenge – he’s awesome and the stud’s like the Ritz – but Harmony’s frightened. I’m sure if it weren’t for Vengie and Repay, she’d walk. But she did imply that something had nobbled Quickly in the Leger. I couldn’t press her but she asked if he had got any bruises on his neck. She also said Rupert had better watch out.’