Page 56 of Gold Digger
“Sorry, sorry,” he said, forcing a smile. “Always putting my foot in it. Mum’s the word, eh?”
“Blake, we talked about this,” Claire said, glancing at me in discomfort. That was when I felt it. My gaze snapped to Blake, who was now glaring at his wife. The atmosphere had changed. It was crackling with animosity. Shit, something was very, verywrong here. Claire caught his look and her face paled before she looked down at her feet, her shoulders slumping. Then, just as soon as he’d flipped it, his expression went back tosmiling, damn good chap.
“Of course, we did, darling,” he said; the fake warmth in his tone actually caused a shiver up my spine. Claire winced, and on instinct my eyes shot to her hand which was held in his. Her fingers were all bunched together and white from the pressure he was squeezing them with. When I looked up again, her face was pale and pinched with pain.
“Let go of her!” I burst out, and everyone started in shock. Claire’s wide eyes flew to mine. Blake didn’t let go of her hand, but he did loosen his grip. I let out a breath I hadn’t realised I’d been holding.
Ollie cleared his throat. “Lottie?” he said hesitantly. “You okay?” He clearly thought I was losing it. Claire was avoiding eye contact now; her colour returned as she blushed.
“I-I-I don’t…” I broke off as I stared up at Ollie’s confused expression. “He was holding her hand too tight,” I whispered. It sounded a bit mad now, I realised, wishing I could claw the words back. Ollie’s gaze snapped to his sister, and he frowned.
“Claire? Everything alright?” he asked, looking between his sister and her husband.
“I’m fine,” Claire said, with a nervous laugh. “I think maybe Lottie’s just a bit overwhelmed with everything. Wearea lot to take.” She was grinning at me now, but it was a fixed grin that looked painful to maintain. I tilted my head to the side, silently telling her that I knew what I saw, that I knew what was going on and I was ready to say something. She stared at me for a moment, that fixed grin still on her face, but then she gave a very brief, almost imperceptible shake of her head.Not here, it said.Not now. I glanced between her and Blake, and my lips pressed in a thin line before I spoke again.
“Yeah, sorry about that,” I said lightly. “Must be the heat getting to me.”
Ollie was still frowning in confusion as he looked between the three of us. He was completely oblivious. But I knew a predator when I saw one. I knew a dangerous atmosphere when I felt it. And I could sense fear acutely.
Blake was dangerous. And Claire was afraid.
Chapter 27
Position of power
Lottie
“Do you play, Charlotte?”
I smiled at the woman in front of me, clutching my glass of champagne in a death grip. Since the little run-in earlier with Claire and her scary husband, she’d been avoiding me, which felt a little like feeding me to the wolves, to be honest. I mean, all I did was object when her husband was about to break her fingers. I’d even caught sight of her cradling her hand when her family weren’t looking earlier. It wasn’t as if I imagined it.
“Er… no,” I replied, forcing myself to smile. “The closest I’ve got to a horse was a donkey ride when I was nine,” It had been one of my better memories of Mum. She’d been sober for a year, and we’d gone to Wales for a holiday. I remember being totally ecstatic to be out of London. I loved the sea, even if I wasn’t brave or competent enough to go in it, and I thought the tiny caravan we were staying in was the lap of luxury. Unfortunately, there was a pub around the corner, so it all went to shit fairly rapidly. The stench of alcohol coming off Mum on the train journey the next day was horrendous and acutely embarrassing. I glanced at the glass of champagne in my hand and sighed.
“I’m sure Ollie will teach you to ride, darling,” Margot put in. My eyes went wide, and I had to press my lips together hard to stop a startled laugh from escaping.
“Yes, of course, I will,” Ollie said smoothly as he rejoined the group, having been commandeered by various cousins for the last hour. His eyes were twinkling as he made that comment, and I couldn’t help it – I snorted out a laugh and had to cover it with a cough.
“Oh, you really should,” Cecelia, his horsey cousin, continued, completely oblivious. “It’s such tremendous fun. Don’t you think Ollie?”
“Yeah, Cece,” he said through a smile, his hand settling on the small of my back and his fingers flexing in the material of my t-shirt. “It certainlyistremendous.” My lips were trembling, but I forced the giggles back. In fact, I was so involved in my battle against laughter that I didn’t pay attention to Vicky. I really,reallyshould have done.
“Okay, I can get this one,” Vicky said. When I looked at her, I could feel the gears in her brain turning. “Cece is talking about riding horses,” Vicky started. Fraggle Rock, I was too late. “But Ollie means the sexual type of riding. That’s a double meaning. That’s why you’re trying not to laugh.”
There was a shocked silence. Ollie’s shoulders were shaking, and he had his hand over his mouth.
“What?” Vicky asked, bewildered, then turned to me. “You taught me about double meanings the other day. And I know that your face looks like that when you don’t want to laugh. I asked you about it last week when you were trying not to laugh at that man in the meeting and I thought you needed the toilet for a number two.”
Cecelia gave a nervous titter and then backed away with a vague but still horsey excuse – something to do withgoing on a hack.
“Nice one, Vics.” Ollie said.
“Whatareyou teaching her, Lottie?” Margot was looking at me with suspicion again. Grumpy barnacles, I was tired of this bloody party. I was wearing the wrong clothes – everyone else looked like they could be going to a wedding. I was the only one in cutoff shorts, a Taylor Swift t-shirt and flip-flops. I was absolutely parched but only had the now warm champagne, which I wouldn’t touch because I didn’t blooming well drink. I didn’t know where Hayley was and I was starting to get worried. Everyone asked me where I went to school and looked puzzled when I told them Southwark Comprehensive. I mean, Cecelia was nice, but really? Did Ilooklike I played polo? Then there was my name. I was not called Charlotte, but for some reason, that’s what Margot was introducing me as. I wanted to be at least called by my own fudging name. I levelled Margot with a don’t fudge with me look.
“She just likes working things out. Vicky hates all the hidden meanings that go on around her. I didn’t tell her to go around pointing it out. I just explained the concept.”
“Are you implying I don’t know my stepdaughter?” I’d clearly hit a nerve with Margot who had been going out of her way to try and win back my trust over the last two weeks.
“That’s enough, Mum,” Ollie snapped, but I was done.
