Читать книгу Luc's Revenge - CATHERINE GEORGE, Catherine George - Страница 6

THE call came late on a Friday evening, when everyone else had left for the weekend. On the way out herself when the phone rang, Portia was tempted to leave the call to the answering service. But with an impatient sigh she turned back at last and picked up the receiver.

‘Whitefriars Estates. Good evening.’

‘Good evening. I am flying in from Paris tomorrow to see one of your properties. Your name, please?’

The voice was male, French and imperious.

‘Miss Grant,’ said Portia crisply. ‘If you’ll just give me the details.’

‘First please understand that the appointment must be tomorrow evening. At five. I arranged this with your Mr Parrish.’

Portia stiffened. ‘That’s very short notice, Monsieur—’

‘Brissac. But it is not short notice. Mr Parrish informed me last week that one of the partners at your agency was always on hand at weekends for viewings. He said it was merely a matter of confirmation. You are a partner?’ he added, with a pejorative note of doubt.

‘Yes, Monsieur Brissac, I am.’ Portia’s eyes narrowed ominously. Ben Parrish, one of the senior partners, had just left for a skiing weekend in Gstaad without a word about this peremptory Frenchman. ‘Perhaps you would tell me which property you have in mind and I’ll do my best to make the arrangements.’

‘I wish to inspect Turret House,’ he informed her, and Portia stood rooted to the spot.

The property was not in London, as expected, but a three-hour drive away on the coast. But, more ominous than that, it was a house she’d hoped never to set foot in again as long as she lived. During the lengthy time it had been on their books Ben Parrish had always taken prospective buyers over Turret House. Not that there had ever been many. And none at all lately. The property was sticking. But personal feelings couldn’t be allowed to lose a sale.

‘Are you still there, mademoiselle?’

‘Yes, Monsieur Brissac. This is very short notice, but I’ll arrange my diary to fit the visit in.’

‘You will come yourself, of course.’

Portia’s eyes glittered coldly. ‘Of course. My assistant will accompany me.’ She saw no reason to tell him that Biddy was at home, nursing a cold.

‘As you wish. I shall not, you understand, expect you to drive back to London afterwards,’ he informed her. ‘The Ravenswood Hotel is nearby. There is a double room reserved for you in the name of Whitefriars Estates. Please make use of it.’

‘That won’t be necessary,’ she said at once.

‘Au contraire. I shall require a return visit to Turret House very early the following morning.’

‘I’m afraid that’s not possible.’

‘But this was the arrangement made with Mr Parrish, mademoiselle. It was made clear that someone would be available to escort me round the property.’

Ben Parrish might be one of her senior partners, but she would have a bone to pick with him when he came back from the piste. ‘As I said, I’ll cancel my private arrangements and meet you at Turret House, Monsieur Brissac,’ Portia assured him. ‘But a hotel room is unnecessary. I’m used to driving long distances.’

‘In this case it would be unwise. You must be available very early on Sunday. I return to Paris later in the morning.’

Heaping vengeance on the absent Ben’s head, Portia had no option but to agree. ‘As you wish, Monsieur Brissac.’

‘Thank you, mademoiselle. Your name again, please?’

‘Grant.’

‘A demain, Miss Grant.’

Until tomorrow. Which threatened to be very different from her original plans for Saturday. Her eyes stormy, Portia put the phone down, checked that Whitefriars Estates was secure for the night, and went home.

Home was a flat in a building in Chiswick, with a fantastic view of the Thames and an equally fantastic mortgage. The apartment was a recent acquisition, with big rooms only sparsely furnished as yet. But the view was panoramic and the building secure, and Portia loved it. All her life she’d lived with other people in one way or another. But the moment she’d moved into the empty flat Portia had experienced such an exhilarating sense of liberation she never begrudged a minute of the years of hard work, both past and future, which made her pricey retreat possible.

Despite her protests to the peremptory Monsieur Brissac, Portia had no private appointments to cancel. Her plan had been to rent some videos, send out for her favourite food, and do absolutely nothing the entire weekend. And do it alone. Something her male colleagues at the firm viewed as eccentric in the extreme.

‘A woman like you,’ Ben Parrish had informed her once, ‘should be lighting up some lucky bloke’s life.’

An opinion Portia viewed as typically male. She liked her life the way it was, and the social side of it was busy enough, normally. But, as Ben Parrish had known very well, it was her turn to keep the weekend free, in case some well-heeled client should suddenly demand a viewing of one of the expensive properties handled by Whitefriars Estates. Her only cause for complaint was the fact that Turret House was the property in question this weekend.

‘You’re unnatural,’ her friend Marianne had complained once. She was on the editorial staff of a glossy magazine, rushed from one hectic love affair to another, and came flying to Portia for consolation between bouts. ‘All you care about is that job, and this place. You might as well buy a cat and settle into total spinsterhood.’

Portia had been unmoved. ‘I don’t like cats. And the term “spinster”, Ms Taylor, is no longer politically correct.’

‘Nor does it apply to you, darling, yet. But it might if you don’t watch out!’

Portia drove home, had a bath, put some supper together, then opened her briefcase and with reluctance settled down to study the brochure of Turret House. The recent owners had renovated it throughout, but she was surprised the Frenchman was interested in it. Turret House was in immaculate condition now, according to Ben Parrish, but it was big, expensive, in a remote location, and not even pleasing to the eye unless one had a taste for the Gothic. Built as a dower house for the owner of Ravenswood, the architecture was typical of the latter part of Victoria’s reign. These days Ravenswood was an expensive country house hotel, and Turret House a separate property far too big to attract the average family. Portia eyed the brochure with foreboding. Tomorrow would be a deeply personal ordeal, but otherwise a complete waste of time. The man would take one look at the house, give a Gallic shudder of distaste, and race back to Paris on the next plane. She brightened. In which case she could shake off the dust of Turret House for ever, drive back to London and take up her weekend where she’d left off.

The February afternoon was bright with cold sunshine as Portia drove west next day along the crowded motorway. She made good time, eventually turned off into the West Country, and arrived well on schedule at the crossroads between Ravenswood and Turret House. Her reluctance deepened as she took the familiar right-hand fork to head for the house she’d hoped never to set eyes on again. But as she slowed to turn into the drive Portia sternly controlled her misgivings. She took professional note of the refurbished splendour of the gates and the well-tended air of the tiered garden as she negotiated the hairpin bends of the steep drive. At last, no matter how slowly she drove, she reached the gravelled terrace and came face to face with Turret House again.

Portia switched off the ignition, but remained in the car for a while. With time to spare before her client arrived, she put her feelings aside and tried to view the house with a purchaser’s eye as the last rays of sunset light glittered on arched windows and flamed on red brick walls. It was a typical, rambling villa of its era, with a turreted square tower stuck on the end like an afterthought—the taste of the self-made industrialist who’d bought elegant, Palladian Ravenswood for his aristocratic bride. And promptly built Turret House three miles away for his mother-in-law.

Unable to put off the moment any longer, Portia got out of the car, shivering more with apprehension than cold. She belted her long winter white coat tightly, pulled her velvet Cossack hat low over her eyes, collected her briefcase and crossed the terrace to the arched front door. She breathed in deeply, then unlocked the door, switched on the lights, and stood still in surprise on the threshold. She had noted the renovations in the brochure, but it was still strange to find the old red Turkey carpet gone and the austere beauty of the black and white tiles left bare. And the heavy dark wood of the staircase had been stripped and sealed, the artistry of the carving revealed now by the light from the stained-glass window on the landing. Portia let out the breath she’d been holding. The hall was so much smaller than her memory of it. But, most important of all, it was empty. No ghosts at all.

Almost light-headed with relief, Portia went through the rest of the rooms, switching on lights, noting the quality of the pale carpets and the padded silk curtains. No furniture, which was a drawback. It was much easier to sell an inhabited, furnished house. Which was probably why the place was sticking. And upstairs everything was so unfamiliar it could have been a different house. Smaller rooms had been converted into bathrooms to connect with the larger bedrooms, and the pastel paint everywhere was a far cry from the dark gloom of the past. Portia glanced at her watch, frowning, then went back downstairs. The client was an hour late. And Turret House was not a place she cared to linger in after dark.

Nor, Portia found, could she bring herself to look over the tower rooms alone first. A cold shiver ran through her at the mere thought. She turned on her heel and went back to the bright, welcoming kitchen instead, hoping Monsieur Brissac was bringing the woman in his life. Kitchens were a very important selling point. These days very few clients wanted a formal dining room as the only place to eat. Fortunately the vendors had joined the old larder to the kitchen to form one vast room, with space for an eating area. In contrast to the old-fashioned, comfortless place of the past, the result was a glossy magazine vision of a country kitchen, complete with fashionable dark blue Aga stove.

Portia stood very still, staring at it. There had been an Aga stove in the past, coal-fired and ancient, its beige enamel discoloured with age and constant use. It had been a devil to load and rake out…

A voice outside in the hall plucked Portia back into the present. She went through the leather-backed door to find a tall man craning his neck to look up the staircase, impatience radiating from him like nuclear fallout.

Portia coughed. ‘Monsieur Brissac?’

He swung round sharply, the impatience falling from him like a cloak as she moved forward under the bare central light of the hall. He bowed slightly, his eyes narrowing as he saw her face. ‘Pardon. The door was open so I came in. My plane was delayed. If I kept you waiting I am sorry.’

Even at first glance Portia doubted that penitence was part of this man’s make-up. ‘How do you do?’ she said politely.

He was silent for a moment, taking in every detail of her appearance. ‘You are Miss Grant from Whitefriars Estates?’

‘Yes. Unfortunately my assistant’s ill and couldn’t come,’ she admitted reluctantly, and returned his scrutiny with interest. He wore a formal dark overcoat, worn open over a city suit, and he was younger than she’d expected, with thick, longish black hair and smooth olive skin, a straight noise. But his mouth curved in strikingly sensuous contrast to the firm, dark-shadowed jaw. And something about him revived the feeling of unease she’d experienced at the first sound of his voice on the phone.

‘I had expected someone older, mademoiselle,’ he said at last.

So had Portia. But you’re stuck with me, she thought silently, then stiffened as a sudden gleam in his eyes told her he’d read her mind. Reminding herself that her mission was to sell the house, not alienate the client, she exerted herself to please as she took him on a tour of the ground-floor rooms, extolling virtues of space and the wonderful views by daylight over the bay.

‘A pity you arrived so late,’ she said pleasantly. ‘The view is a major attraction of Turret House.’

‘So I was told.’ He raised a quizzical eyebrow. ‘Is it good enough to compensate for the architecture? You must admit that the exterior lacks charm.’

‘True. But the house was built to last.’ Portia led the way upstairs, pointing out the various selling points as her elegant client explored the bedrooms. On the way downstairs again she stressed the advantages of the immaculate interior decoration, the new central heating system, the recent rewiring, the curtains and carpets included in the price. In the kitchen, she pointed out its practical and aesthetic virtues, but at last there was only the tower left to explore. Portia preceded her client into the hall, her pulse racing and her hands clammy as she pressed a button in the wall beneath the stairwell. A door slid aside in the panelling to reveal a lift. ‘This is set in the turret itself,’ she said colourlessly. ‘It takes you to the bedroom floor, of course, then on to the top room in the tower, Monsieur Brissac.’

He smiled. ‘Ah! You saved the pièce de résistance for last, Miss Grant. Is it in good working order?’

‘Yes,’ she said, devoutly hoping she was right. ‘To demonstrate this we can inspect the three floors of the tower on foot, then call the lift up to the top floor to bring us down again.’

Wishing now she’d forced herself to inspect the tower alone first, Portia preceded her client into the ground-floor room, a light, airy apartment, with windows on the three outer walls. And empty, just like the hall. She relaxed slightly. ‘I believe this was used as the morning room by the lady of the house when it was first built. This door opens into the lift, and the one beside it conceals a spiral stair to the next floor.’ Straight-backed, Portia led the way up the winding stair to a room similar to the one below, then, at last, her heart beating like a war drum, she ran quickly up the last flight to the top of the tower. She switched on the light, waved her client ahead of her into the room, then stood just inside the door, her back against the wall, feeling giddy with relief.

‘The view here is quite marvellous in the daytime,’ she said breathlessly.

The Frenchman eyed her with concern. ‘You are very pale. Are you unwell, mademoiselle?’

‘No. I’m fine.’ She managed a smile. ‘Out of condition. I need more exercise.’

He looked unconvinced. ‘But not at this moment, I think. Is this the button for the ascenseur? Let us test its efficiency.’

In the claustrophobic, strangely threatening confines of the small elevator Portia felt hemmed in by her companion’s physical proximity, very conscious of dark, narrowed eyes fixed on her face as they glided silently to the ground floor.

‘Most impressive,’ he remarked as they went out into the hall.

‘Installed in the early part of the century, when the house was fitted with electricity,’ said Portia unevenly, the blood beginning to flow normally in her veins once they were out of the tower. ‘Have you seen everything you want, Monsieur Brissac?’

‘For the moment, yes. Tomorrow, in daylight, I shall make a more detailed inspection. I believe there is a path down to a private cove?’

Portia nodded. ‘But there’s been no maintenance work done on it for a long time. I’m not sure how safe it is.’

‘If the weather permits we shall explore and find out.’ He frowned slightly. ‘You have not shown other prospective purchasers round Turret House?’

‘Oh, yes. Quite a number,’ she contradicted him quickly. ‘The property’s attracted a lot of interest.’

‘I meant you, personally, Miss Grant.’

‘Myself, no, I haven’t,’ she admitted. ‘My colleague, Mr Parrish, owns a weekend cottage in the area, so he usually does the viewing.’ She smiled politely. ‘Have you any more questions?’

‘Of course, many more. But I shall ask them tomorrow.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘Soon it will be time for our dinner. Let us drive to the hotel.’

Our dinner?

Again he read her mind with ease. He smiled. ‘I am entertaining some clients to dinner at the Ravenswood. Will you join us?’

Portia shook her head. ‘You’re very kind, but I won’t, thanks. It’s an early start tomorrow, so I’ll have supper in my room, then get some sleep.’

‘A boring programme,’ he observed as Portia switched off the last of the lights.

‘But very attractive to me after a busy working week,’ she assured him pleasantly.

‘Then I trust you will enjoy it. Alors, you will go first so I can make sure you arrive at Ravenswood safely.’

With no intention of telling him she knew the area like the back of her hand, Portia said goodbye, got in her car, and drove swiftly down the winding drive, then accelerated into the narrow road, intent on getting to the hotel before him. But by the time she’d parked under the trees in the courtyard and taken her overnight bag from her boot her client was at her elbow, to take the bag and escort her into the foyer.

‘This is Miss Grant of Whitefriars Estates,’ he informed the pretty receptionist. The girl greeted him warmly, consulted a computer screen and handed Portia a key.

‘Twenty-four?’ he said, frowning. ‘Is that the best you can do, Frances? What other rooms are free tonight?’

‘None, I’m afraid, Monsieur Brissac.’ She eyed him uncertainly. ‘Some of the guests haven’t arrived yet. Shall I juggle a bit?’

He shook his head. ‘No, I shall take twenty-four. Give Miss Grant my room. She appreciates a view.’

The obliging Frances dimpled. ‘All the rooms have views, Monsieur Brissac.’

‘But some are more beautiful than others,’ he countered, smiling. Frances flushed and handed over a new key to her guest, something in her eyes which rather puzzled Portia. It was only later, in the large, inviting room with a tester bed and a view over floodlit parkland, that she realised the receptionist had felt envious. And, much against her will, she could understand why. Monsieur Brissac was a formidably attractive man, with a charm she was by no means wholly immune to herself. But the charm was oddly familiar. Yet she was quite certain she’d never met him before. Her client wasn’t the type of man women forgot.

Portia unpacked her overnight bag deep in thought. The dimpled Frances obviously knew this Brissac man very well. Was he the hotel manager? That didn’t fit, somehow, if he was inspecting a nearby property. Maybe he was just a customer, regular and valued enough to ask a favour. In which case, what, exactly, was the favour? Maybe his room was next door, and this was the reason for the envy. Portia made a swift inspection, but there was no connecting door to another room. She frowned, annoyed with herself. Going back to Turret House again had addled her brain. Monsieur Brissac’s impatience had quickly changed to something different—and familiar—the moment he’d taken a good look at her, it was true. But otherwise he’d been faultlessly circumspect. He’d tuned in sharply enough to her uneasiness in Turret House, though. Which was unsurprising. Her reluctance had been hard to hide as they entered the tower, and her relief equally obvious when they left it. Tomorrow she would be more in control, now the initial ordeal was over.

Portia had packed very little. With no intention of eating in the dining room, a suitable dress had been unnecessary. A couple of novels and some room service completed her plan for an evening spent in remarkably pleasant surroundings. The room was quite wonderful, with luxuriously comfortable chairs and sofa, and gleaming bronze lamps. On a low table magazines flanked a silver tray laden with glasses, a decanter of sherry, dishes of nuts and tiny savoury biscuits. And a refrigerator masquerading as an antique chest held soft drinks and various spirits and wines, even champagne.

Portia took a quick look at the menus on the dressing table, then rang for tea to tide her over until the lobster salad she’d chosen for dinner later on. Once the tea tray arrived Portia tipped the polite young waiter and locked the door behind him. She pulled off her hat, unpinned her hair and ran her fingers through crackling bronze curls which sprang free as though glad to escape. Then she removed her tailored brown suit and silk shirt and hung them up, pulled off her long suede boots and removed her stockings, then wrapped herself in the white towelling dressing gown provided by the hotel. With a sigh of pleasure she sank down on the sofa with a cup of tea, nibbled on one of the accompanying petits fours, and gazed out over parkland lit so cleverly it looked bathed with moonlight.

When she was young it had always been her ambition to stay in the Ravenswood, which featured in smart magazines, offering weekend breaks of unbridled luxury. The room was exquisitely furnished, and the bathroom was vast, with a tub big enough to swim in and everything else a guest could need, right down to a separate telephone. A bit different from her usual company-funded overnight stops when inspections or viewings took her too far to return to base overnight.

So now, surprisingly, she could resume her plans for the weekend right here. She could read, watch a television programme, even request a video from the list provided.

Portia got up to draw the curtains, then picked up her book and prepared to enjoy the evening just as she’d planned to at home. Only tonight, after a long, leisurely bath, she would read herself to sleep in the picturesque tester bed, and someone would bring her breakfast on a tray in the morning. Wonderful. When a knock heralded the arrival of her dinner, punctual to the minute, Portia tightened the sash on the dressing gown and went on bare feet to open the door to the waiter. And confronted the elegant figure of Monsieur Brissac instead.

They stared at each other for a moment in mutual surprise, then his eyes moved from her bare feet to the tumbled hair. She thrust it back quickly, heat rising in her face as her pulse astonished her by racing at the sight of him. The Frenchman was obviously fresh from a shower, the dark shadow along his jaw less evident, and he was wearing a different, equally elegant suit. ‘Is your room to your taste, Miss Grant?’ he enquired, moving closer.

Portia backed away instinctively. ‘Yes, indeed. Very comfortable. But I’m expecting my dinner to arrive any moment, so if you’ll excuse me—’

‘My guests tell me they are suffering from jet lag and wish to retire early,’ he interrupted smoothly. ‘Since you will not dine with us, perhaps you would join me in the bar later this evening, Miss Grant. I wish to discuss certain aspects of the sale of Turret House before we return to it in the morning.’

Refusing to let the intent dark eyes fluster her, Portia thought swiftly. Her partners were about to suggest a price reduction to the owners. If she could make the sale at the present price it would be a feather in her cap. As junior partner, and a female, she was secretly driven by the need to compete on equal terms with the men at Whitefriars.

‘After dinner, in the bar?’ he prompted, obviously amused by her hesitation.

Portia nodded briskly. ‘Of course, if you feel further discussion will be useful before seeing the house again. Perhaps you’ll ring me when you’re free.’ No way was she hanging about in the bar until he was ready to join her.

‘Of course, Miss Grant.’ He smiled. ‘Enjoy your dinner.’

Portia returned the smile and closed the door, then stood against it for a moment, giving herself a stringent little lecture as she waited for her pulse-rate to return to normal. Charm personified he might be, but Monsieur Brissac was just a client. And she was here solely to sell him a house.

When her lobster salad arrived Portia eyed it in surprise. Not only was it a work of art on a plate, but it was accompanied by a half-bottle of Premier Cru burgundy, a small mound of gleaming black caviare as appetiser, and an iced parfait of some kind to round off the feast.

‘No mistake, Miss Grant,’ said the receptionist when Portia rang to enquire. ‘Compliments of Monsieur Brissac.’

Portia thanked the girl, shrugged, then began to spread caviare on crisp squares of toast, wondering why she was being entertained so lavishly. It was she who wanted Monsieur Brissac’s business, not the other way round. What was his motive? On the phone he’d been demanding almost to the point of rudeness, but in person, once he’d actually met her, deliberate charm had quickly replaced his initial impatience. Yet something about him made her uneasy. Unable to pinpoint the reason for it, Portia despatched the last of the caviare, then helped herself to some mayonnaise from a small porcelain pot and began on the lobster she could rarely afford. Tonight it had been a reward to herself for her disturbing day. She had assumed she would pay for it herself, but Monsieur Brissac had taken pains to show he was footing the bill. Yet if Ben Parrish had been in charge of the viewing he would have expected to pay for both his own dinner and the client’s to oil the wheels of the transaction.

But she was an attractive woman, so the situation was different. Portia had no illusions about her looks. An accident of nature had given her a face, hair and a shape most of her women friends envied. Because she’d been wearing a hat, and a long coat which covered her from throat to ankle, Mr Brissac would have had to guess about shape and hair. But his impatience had evaporated the moment he’d taken a good look at her face at Turret House. And a few minutes ago his eyes had gleamed with something else entirely at the sight of her in a robe, with her hair all over the place.

Portia frowned thoughtfully. Monsieur Brissac, she was sure, was too sophisticated and subtle a man to try to mix business with pleasure. Tonight he had taken her by surprise. But from now on she would be in control, totally poised and professional. And in the meantime nothing was going to spoil her pleasure in her dinner.