The Perfect Retreat (25 page)

Kitty stood outside his door knocking. She had managed to hitch a ride in with one of the crew and was in town in ten minutes. Ivo’s door was unlocked, she found when she tried the handle. She heard the shower going and smiled to herself. Taking a deep breath, she pulled off her short denim skirt and white tank top. Kicking them across the room, she pulled down her underwear, undid her bra and stood with her hand on the bathroom door handle.

Now
, she told herself, and she walked into the bathroom and pulled back the shower curtain. There was Ivo, naked with his hand on his large cock.

‘Oh!’ They both said startled, and Kitty was frozen with embarrassment. She tried to cover up her nakedness.

‘I was just thinking about you,’ said Ivo, with a small smile on his face, ‘but I must say the reality is far better than what I had going on in my mind.’

Kitty started to laugh and Ivo pulled her into the shower and kissed her on the mouth. She felt herself swimming in desire.

‘Just so you know, I have never done anything like this before,’ she said.

‘Really? I have, plenty of times. Let me teach you,’ he said, rubbing the soap over her breasts. As he washed her body, Kitty felt herself getting weaker and weaker.

‘I don’t think we can do it in the shower. I’m such a klutz I might fall over,’ she said in his ear.

Ivo slipped the soap between her legs and felt her wetness. ‘No, no, I’ll hold you up,’ he said, and he bent his knees a little and guided his cock inside her. She gasped and looked at him. Lifting her up he pushed against the wall and with one hand directed the warm water onto her. She began to move with his rhythm and soon they were fucking so loudly she was sure the whole B&B would be able to hear them.

They fucked until the hot water ran out, and then Ivo carried her to the bed and they started all over again. Now Kitty knew what it was to have great sex. The time with Johnny had been awkward and painful, and then the New Zealander had left her high and dry in every way, but with Ivo, she wanted him so much she wondered if he could live inside her forever.

They spent the afternoon in bed, and soon it was evening. Kitty was still in raptures in Ivo’s bed. Three orgasms,
positions
she had never even entertained before, and some moves she had only seen Samantha do in episodes of
Sex and the City
.

‘You are incredible,’ she said.

‘You’re not too shabby either,’ he said, nuzzling into her breasts.

‘Can I visit you in London?’ she asked quickly. ‘Or is this just a one-time thing?’

Ivo raised his head and looked at her.

‘I would like that very much,’ he said seriously, and it was true: he would like to see her. She was the first person he thought of when he awoke and the last person he thought of at night.

Kitty hid a shy smile in his shoulder. ‘I have to go. I’m sure Merritt will be sick of the children by now,’ she said, getting out of bed. She checked her phone. Dead.

Ivo lay in bed. ‘How about I come back with you?’ he said.

Kitty looked down at his beautiful form and felt wet again. How could it be possible? How can the body make that much liquid? she thought crossly to herself.

‘I think you better had,’ she said sexily, and he laughed as they pulled on their clothes.

Walking across the square to the bus, he wrapped his arms about her. ‘I like you very much, Pussycat,’ he said into her hair.

‘I like you too, Ivo the Terrible,’ she said back to him.

He laughed and pulled away. ‘Did Willow tell you about that?’ he asked.

‘Yes. Your reputation precedes you.’

‘That’s a big word,’ said Ivo mockingly. What did she know about all the other girls? Even a few men were in love with him.

‘I remember you, you know,’ she said.

He looked at her oddly. ‘When?’

‘From the party at Willow’s. I said I didn’t but I did,’ she said, and she looked down at her feet, her nails painted silver and pink by Poppy.

Ivo pulled her to him again, and they held each other all the way back on the bus to Middlemist.

Kerr walked into Middlemist with Eliza in tow. ‘Just in case you need to release a statement,’ she said on the way over after Kerr received the message about Lucian.

‘So, you’ve lost the little idiot have you?’ asked Kerr as he saw Willow sitting on the sofa, pale and drawn.

‘Take it back,’ said Merritt, stepping out from the double doors that led into the library.

‘What? Fuck off mate,’ said Kerr, and Merritt took one step and put his hands around his throat.

‘Take it back or I will hurt you. You’re the fucking idiot,’ he said in a low voice.

Kerr started to shake in his biker boots. ‘I’m sorry Willow,’ he said.

Merritt released his grip and Eliza stepped out from behind Kerr.

‘I see you are still rough trade, Merritt,’ she said.

‘I see you are still a pretentious whore, Eliza,’ he said.

Willow stood up. ‘Enough!’ she yelled. ‘We need to find Lucian.’

‘Then call the fucking police,’ said Merritt.

‘No, no police,’ said Eliza, Kerr and Willow in unison.

Merritt shook his head and walked out to try Kitty’s phone again. Still nothing.

He heard the front door open and rushed to greet her hoping she had Lucian, but instead he found Johnny and Tatiana on his doorstep.

‘What the fuck do you want?’ he asked Johnny.

‘We come to say our goodbyes,’ said Tatiana in her thick accent, cutoff denim shorts and thigh-high Robert Clergerie boots.

Now that was rough trade, thought Merritt, looking at the skull and crossbones scarf tied around her head like a female Jack Sparrow.

‘Well fuck off then. No goodbyes needed,’ said Merritt, pushing the door and walking back into the drawing room, not realising Johnny had blocked the door open with his foot. Johnny and Tatiana invited themselves in and followed him into the room where Eliza and Kerr looked up with surprise.

‘What are you doing here?’ asked Eliza guiltily.

‘We come to say goodbye,’ said Tatiana.

‘OK, bye then! See you in London,’ said Eliza, distracted by her phone.

‘No darling, here’s the thing,’ said Johnny charmingly. ‘Hello there,’ he said to Willow who looked at him as though he was insane.

Eliza looked up at him. There was something in his voice that told her she ought to pay attention.

‘What, Johnny? We have a crisis here,’ she said. ‘The autistic child has gone missing.’

Willow stood up. ‘Don’t fucking call him that, OK?’ she cried, wanting Merritt to take her in his arms but knowing she had burnt her bridges with him too.

‘Hey, I say it as I see it,’ said Eliza. ‘Kerr said he was an idiot or something. Imbecile?’ She tried to find the word.

‘He’s just a little slow,’ said Willow loyally, her heart breaking.

‘That’s a bit harsh isn’t it, old fella?’ asked Johnny to Kerr.

Kerr looked at him as though he didn’t matter, which to Kerr at this point he didn’t really.

‘What?’ asked Kerr.

‘Well you don’t call your own child a fool, do you?’ asked Johnny. However reprobate he was in life, he had certain values when it came to animals, children and most art. He had wanted to have children with Eliza but so far she was holding out, claiming she could be like a Scientologist wife or the Time Traveller’s Wife or something and give birth when she was fifty.

Lucy walked into the room and into the middle of the drama. Everyone was watching Kerr yell at Eliza’s husband, and the moment Eliza set eyes on her, she started to scream too. ‘You fucking whore, you ruined my business! You stole Willow from me!’ she accused, and she tried to jump over the coffee table towards her former employee. Lucy stepped sideways and Eliza went sprawling across the
floorboards
.

Lucy walked straight to Willow and took her in her arms, ignoring Eliza.

‘What’s happened?’ she asked.

‘Lucian’s missing with the dog. Poppy says he’s gone to America.’

‘OK, well he can’t have gone far. What did the police say?’ she asked Merritt, who hunched his shoulders and snorted at her.

‘We didn’t ring them,’ said Willow. ‘Too many questions and all the media hanging around.’

Lucy shook her head. ‘No, they need to know. How long has he been gone for?’

‘Two hours,’ said Willow, feeling sick again.

‘Two hours? Jesus. I’ll call them. You get me a recent photo of him, OK?’

Willow nodded and, desperate to have a task, she ran to the bedroom to get the digital camera.

Johnny seemed unflustered by the chaos around him, while Tatiana looked bored. ‘Come on Johnny, let’s go,’ she said in her little girl voice.

‘Yes, well, we are heading back to London,’ Johnny announced to the room, but only Eliza listened.

‘Together?’ she asked.

‘Yes, Johnny will make me star. I’m an artist,’ she said proudly.

Eliza snorted. ‘Well, good luck with that,’ she said, laughing.

‘I don’t need luck, she has talent,’ said Johnny easily.

Tatiana preened in front of Kerr. He was useless as far as she was concerned. Useless and a boring fuck.

‘So, you’re leaving me for that?’ asked Eliza.

‘Yes. I think we’ve run our course, don’t you?’ said Johnny simply.

Eliza stood shocked. ‘You are leaving me for some fucking Eurotart with no class?’ she bellowed.

‘Now, now Eliza, don’t be such a snob,’ said Johnny, pulling Tatiana back as she lunged at Eliza. ‘Don’t forget that you are just a grocer’s daughter after all,’ he said, referencing the shopping centres that her father owned in Manchester.

Merritt tried not to laugh at the shock on Eliza’s face. She tried to cover up her background but when she was angry, as she was right now, her Manchester accent came out. She screamed at Johnny. ‘You fucking prick. You’ll never get any decent PR without me!’

Johnny shrugged. ‘Get over yourself Eliza. It was me that brought in the PR and the contacts. Without me you’re nothing,’ he said.

Willow rushed back into the room with a photo she had printed off from the camera.

‘Where’s Lucy?’ she asked, but no one answered her. She ran into the hallway and bumped into Ivo and Kitty in each other’s arms, kissing. ‘Where the fuck have you been?’ she screamed at Kitty.

‘What?’ asked Kitty, looking around.

The others came out of the drawing room into the foyer at the sound of Willow’s voice. ‘I have called and called you. Where the fuck were you?’

‘I was with Ivo,’ stuttered Kitty.

‘While you were fucking him, my child and
your charge
has gone missing!’

‘Which one?’ asked Kitty, panicking.

‘The stupid one,’ said Kerr under his breath. Johnny heard it and frowned at him.

‘Lucian, with the dog! I wrote you a note to tell you to look after them! Jenny said she gave it to you, why didn’t you read it?’

Kitty reached into her pocket and pulled out the note. She could make out a few of the words.

Willow was hysterical. ‘Why, Kitty? I entrusted you with my children and you left them here alone? Jinty was soaked and screaming, she was crying and crying!’ Willow was gulping for breath. ‘And Poppy alone in the dark, the TV as the only light? You know she hates the dark Kitty, you know that!’

Kitty was crying now, sobbing as Willow’s face loomed close to hers. ‘I know, I know,’ she spluttered.

‘No you don’t know. You don’t fucking know! You have no idea. You left them here alone. Fuck you Kitty, fuck you. Why didn’t you read the fucking note? Why?’ She was leaning over Kitty, who was a head shorter than her, now. Kitty fell to the ground.

Willow leaned over her, screaming. ‘Why didn’t you read the fucking note, tell me?’ Poppy watched from the top of the stairs, while Jinty cried in her room at the sound of her mother’s voice.

Merritt stepped in and pulled Willow away. ‘Stop it,’ he said. ‘Stop it.’

‘Why, Kitty?’ screamed Willow again, and Ivo stepped forward.

‘She didn’t read the fucking note because she can’t fucking read, you bitch!’ he yelled at Willow and the room went silent.

‘Ahhh, of course, she can’t read,’ said Johnny out loud. ‘When we shagged I sent you that letter asking for you to come and visit, but you never did. Even after I took your virginity and everything,’ he said with realisation dawning on his face.

Ivo stepped up as though to hit Johnny, but Merritt got in first and punched him squarely in the nose.

‘She is my sister after all,’ he said to Ivo.

Ivo nodded with respect as Lucy came into the foyer, her mobile pressed up to her ear. ‘They found him; at the police station; were about to send out a report when I rang, been there about an hour. A farmer brought him in. Found him under a tree asleep.’

Willow started to cry again. She instinctively ran to Merritt’s arms, but he pushed her away.

‘No one speaks to my sister like that, ever. Pack your things, get your children and get the fuck out of my life,’ he said to her in a quiet voice. And striding past the group, their mouths agape, Merritt walked away from what he had once believed was his future.

Willow fled with Lucy to pick up Lucian from the police station and Kerr stood helplessly looking at the sobbing girl on the ground. Johnny sat next to her, rubbing his jaw where Merritt had hit him.

Tatiana watched with a vested interest. ‘You OK, darlink?’ she asked Johnny, concerned whether he would still be able to make her a star of the art world.

‘Fine; I probably deserved that.’ He laughed and got to his feet. ‘You care to have a go now that I’m running away with your lover?’ he asked Kerr.

‘No, I’m fine thanks,’ said Kerr, rubbing his own face in the same place Merritt had hit Johnny and thankful it hadn’t been him on the end of those enormous hands.

Tatiana tottered over to Kerr. ‘Darlink, we’re over, you know. I just wanted to come and meet the director but instead I meet Johnny, so it all works out, da?’ she said, in that cloying voice that annoyed Kerr more than he could explain.