To Cut a Long Story Short (2000) (19 page)

‘Two gnocchi and a bottle of your Barolo,’ said Max, handing back the menu. ‘And a side salad large enough for both of us: asparagus, avocado, lettuce heart - you know
what I like.’

‘Of course, Mr Bennett,’ replied Valerio.

Max turned his attention back to his guest. ‘Doesn’t someone of your age find Jersey a little dull?’ he asked as he leaned across the table and pushed back a strand of blonde
hair that had fallen across her forehead.

Ruth smiled shyly. ‘It has its advantages,’ she replied a little unconvincingly.

‘Like what?’ pressed Max.

‘Tax at 20 per cent.’

‘That sounds like a good reason for Angus being on Jersey - but not you. In any case, I’d still rather be in England and pay 40 per cent.’

‘Now that he’s retired and living on a fixed income, it suits us. If we’d stayed in Edinburgh, we couldn’t have maintained the same standard of living.’

‘So, Brighton’s as good as it gets,’ said Max, with a grin.

The maitre d’ reappeared carrying two plates of gnocchi, which he placed in front of them, while another waiter deposited a large side salad in the centre of the table.

‘I’m not complaining,’ said Ruth, as she sipped her champagne. ‘Angus has always been very considerate. I want for nothing.’

‘Nothing?’ Max repeated, as a hand disappeared under the table and rested on her knee.

Ruth knew that she should have removed it immediately, but she didn’t.

When Max eventually took his hand away and began to concentrate on the gnocchi, Ruth tried to act as if nothing had happened.

‘Anything worth seeing in the West End?’ she asked casually. ‘I’m told
An Inspector Calls
is good.’

‘It certainly is,’ replied Max. ‘I went to the opening night.’

‘Oh, when was that?’ asked Ruth innocently.

‘About five years ago,’ Max replied.

Ruth laughed. ‘So, now that you know just how out of date I am, you can tell me what I should be seeing.’

‘There’s a new Tom Stoppard opening next month.’ He paused. ‘If you were able to escape for a couple of days, we could go and see it together.’

‘It’s not that easy, Max. Angus expects me to stay with him on Jersey. We don’t come to the mainland all that often.’

Max stared down at her empty plate. ‘It looks as if the gnocchi lived up to my claims.’

Ruth nodded her agreement.

‘You should try the
creme brulee,
also made by the patron’s wife.’

‘Certainly not. This trip already means I’m going to be out of the gym for at least three days, so I’ll settle for a coffee,’ said Ruth, as another glass of champagne was
placed by her side. She frowned.

‘Just pretend it’s your birthday,’ Max said, as the hand disappeared back under the table - this time resting a few inches higher up her thigh.

Looking back, that was the moment when she should have got up and walked out.

‘So, how long have you been an estate agent?’ she asked instead, still trying to pretend nothing was happening.

‘Since I left school. I started at the bottom of the firm, making the tea, and last year I became a partner.’

‘Congratulations. Where is your office?’

‘Right in the centre of Mayfair. Why don’t you drop in some time? Perhaps when you’re next in London.’

‘I don’t get to London all that often,’ Ruth said.

When Max spotted a waiter heading towards their table, he removed the hand from her leg. Once the waiter had placed two cappuccinos in front of them, Max smiled up at him and said, ‘And
perhaps I could have the bill.’

‘Are you in a hurry?’ Ruth asked.

‘Yes,’ he replied. ‘I’ve just remembered that I have a bottle of vintage brandy hidden away on board
Sea Urchin
, and this might be the ideal occasion to open
it.’ He leaned across the table and took her hand. ‘You know, I’ve been saving this particular bottle for something or someone special.’

‘I don’t think that would be wise.’

‘Do you always do everything that is wise?’ asked Max, not letting go of her hand.

‘It’s just that I really ought to be getting back to
The Scottish Belle
.’

‘So you can hang around for three hours, waiting for Angus to return?’

‘No. It’s just that …’

‘You’re afraid I might try to seduce you.’

‘Is that what you had in mind?’ asked Ruth, releasing his hand.

‘Yes, but not before we sample the brandy,’ said Max, as he was passed the bill. He flicked over the little white slip, pulled out his wallet and placed four PS10 notes on the
silver tray.

Angus had once told her that anyone who pays cash in a restaurant either doesn’t need a credit card or earns too little to qualify for one.

Max rose from his place, thanked the head waiter a little too ostentatiously, and slipped him a PS5 note when the door was held open for them. They didn’t speak as they crossed the
road on the way back to the quay. Ruth thought she saw someone jumping off
Sea Urchin
, but when she looked again there was no one in sight. When they reached the boat, Ruth had planned to
say goodbye, but she found herself following Max on board and down to the cabin below.

‘I hadn’t expected it to be so small,’ she said, when she reached the bottom step. She turned a complete circle and ended up in Max’s arms. She gently pushed him
away.

‘It’s ideal for a bachelor,’ was his only comment, as he poured two large brandies. He passed over one of the goblets to Ruth, placing his other arm around her waist. He pulled
her gently towards him, allowing their bodies to touch. He leaned forward and kissed her on the lips, before releasing her to take a sip of brandy.

He watched as she raised the glass to her lips, and then once again took her in his arms. This time when they kissed, their lips parted, and she made little effort to stop him undoing the top
button of her blouse.

Every time she tried to resist he would break off, waiting for her to take another sip before returning to his task. It took several more sips before he managed to remove the white blouse and
locate the zip on the tight-fitting mini-skirt, but by then she was no longer even pretending to try to stop him.

‘You’re only the second man I’ve ever made love to,’ she said quietly as she lay on the floor afterwards.

‘You were a virgin when you met Angus?’ said Max in disbelief.

‘He wouldn’t have married me if I hadn’t been,’ she replied quite simply.

‘And there’s been no one else during the past twenty years?’ he said as he poured himself another brandy.

‘No,’ she replied, ‘although I have a feeling that Gerald Prescott, the boys’ housemaster at their old prep school, fancies me. But he’s never got beyond a peck on
the cheek, and staring at me with forlorn eyes.’

‘But do you fancy him?’

‘Yes, I do actually. He’s rather nice,’ Ruth admitted for the first time in her life. ‘But he’s not the sort of man who would make the first move.’

‘More fool him,’ said Max, taking her into his arms again.

Ruth glanced at her watch. ‘Oh my God, is that really the time? Angus could be back at any moment.’

‘Don’t panic, my darling,’ said Max. ‘We still have enough time for another brandy, and perhaps even another orgasm - whichever you fancy most.’

‘Both, but I don’t want to risk him finding us together.’

‘Then we’ll have to save it for another time,’ said Max, putting the cork firmly back in the bottle.

‘Or for the next girl,’ said Ruth, as she began pulling her tights on.

Max picked up a biro from the side table and wrote on the label of the bottle, ‘To be drunk only when I’m with Ruth’.

‘Will I see you again?’ she asked.

‘That will be up to you, my darling,’ replied Max, before kissing her again. When he released her, she turned and climbed up the steps and onto the deck, quickly disappearing out of
sight.

Once she was back on
The Scottish Belle
, she tried to erase the memory of the last two hours, but when Angus reappeared later that evening with the boys, she realised that forgetting Max
wasn’t going to be quite that easy.

When she emerged on the deck the following morning,
Sea Urchin
was nowhere to be seen.

‘Were you looking for anything in particular?’ Angus asked when he joined her.

She turned and smiled at him. ‘No. It’s just that I can’t wait to get back to Jersey,’ she replied.

It must have been about a month later that she picked up the phone and found Max on the other end of the line. She felt the same breathless feeling she had experienced the first
time they had made love.

‘I’m coming over to Jersey tomorrow, to look at a piece of property for a client. Any chance of seeing you?’

‘Why don’t you join us for dinner?’ Ruth heard herself saying.

‘Why don’t you join me at my hotel?’ he replied. ‘And don’t let’s bother with dinner.’

‘No, I think it might be wiser if you came over for dinner. On Jersey, even the letterboxes chatter.’

‘If that’s the only way I’m going to be able to see you, then I’ll settle for dinner.’

‘Eight o’clock?’

‘Eight o’clock will be just fine,’ he said, and put the phone down.

When Ruth heard the phone click she realised that she hadn’t given him their address, and she couldn’t phone him back, because she didn’t know his number.

When she warned Angus that they would have a guest for dinner the next night, he seemed pleased. ‘Couldn’t be better timing,’ he said. ‘There’s something I need Max
to advise me on.’

Ruth spent the following morning shopping in St Helier, selecting only the finest cuts of meat, the freshest vegetables, and a bottle of claret that she knew Angus would have considered highly
extravagant.

She spent the afternoon in the kitchen, explaining to the cook exactly how she wanted the meal prepared, and even longer that evening in the bedroom, choosing and then rejecting what she might
wear that night. She was still naked when the doorbell rang a few minutes after eight.

Ruth opened the bedroom door and listened from the top of the stairs as her husband welcomed Max. How old Angus sounded, she thought, as she listened to the two men chatting. She still
hadn’t discovered what he wanted to speak to Max about, as she didn’t wish to appear too interested.

She returned to the bedroom and settled on a dress that a friend had once described as seductive. ‘Then it will be wasted on this island,’ she remembered replying.

The two men rose from their places when Ruth walked into the drawing room, and Max stepped forward and kissed her on both cheeks in the same way Gerald Prescott always did.

‘I’ve been telling Max about our cottage in the Ardennes,’ said Angus, even before they had sat down again, ‘and our plans to sell it, now that the twins will be going
away to university.’

How typical of Angus, thought Ruth. Get the business out of the way before you even offer your guest a drink. She went over to the sideboard and poured Max a gin and tonic without thinking what
she was doing.

‘I’ve asked Max if he would be kind enough to visit the cottage, value it, and advise when would be the best time to put it on the market.’

‘That sounds sensible enough,’ said Ruth. She avoided looking directly at Max, for fear that Angus might realise how she felt about their guest.

‘I could travel on to France tomorrow,’ said Max, ‘if you’d like me to. I’ve nothing else planned for the weekend,’ he added. ‘I could report back to
you on Monday.’

‘That sounds good to me,’ Angus responded. He paused and sipped the malt whisky his wife had handed him. ‘I was thinking, my dear, it might expedite matters if you went along
as well.’

‘No, I’m sure Max can handle …’

‘Oh no,’ said Angus. ‘It was he who suggested the idea. After all, you could show him round the place, and he wouldn’t have to keep calling back if he had any
queries.’

‘Well, I’m rather busy at the moment, what with …’

‘The bridge society, the health club and … No, I think they’ll all somehow manage to survive without you for a few days,’ said Angus with a smile.

Ruth hated being made to sound so provincial in front of Max. ‘All right,’ she said. ‘If you think it will help, I’ll accompany Max to the Ardennes.’ This time she
did look up at him.

The Chinese would have been impressed by the inscrutability of Max’s expression.