Page 39 of Wild Tonic
“Right.” Clem nodded. A headache in preparation for the arrival of her distraught daughter, sounded about right for Marika. “I’ll go and dump my stuff, then come down for a drink.”
She went upstairs, heading towards her room. Despite the fact she didn’t come to the country house all that often, Marika had always kept her room there the same. It was decorated in a cool cream, with accents of lilac and eggshell blue, with a similarly coloured quilt. It was total chintz and reminded Clem of her twelve-year-old self. Sometimes, when Dean and Lauren were around, she still felt like that.
Clem quickly unpacked her bags and then headed downstairs. She was the last person to arrive for lunch and could sense Marika’s wave of disapproval before she had even sat down.
The housekeeper had prepared a simple lunch of chicken and salad. Clem raised a small smile as Barney slid the tomatoes that his mother had piled on to his plate over to his father.
“You look dreadful, Clementine, whatever is the matter?” Marika reached for her water glass and took a tiny sip.
“What about you, Mother? Are you feeling better?” Clem tried to deflect the attention from her. “Dean said you had a migraine coming on.”
“Oh, I’m fine, thank you. But it’s you I’m more concerned about. I thought you were staying in Westbourne Deane for longer?”
The chicken Clem had just forked into her mouth turned to tasteless mush. She had done a great job of forgetting about Nate for the past few hours. Trust her mother to bring it all flooding back. It wasn’t going to be easy telling Marika that she was right.
“I, um, was going to. There was this thing with Nate and I thought it best I come home.” She didn’t miss the look that her mother and brother exchanged.
“What happened?” asked Lauren. She reached for some more salad, without making eye contact.
Clem guessed that her sister-in-law had no idea that her husband and mother-in-law were so totally against her new relationship, and she was, genuinely, interested in what the issue was. She and Lauren hadn’t exactly been close, so this made a pleasant change. Knowing that she wasn’t going to be able to keep it from them much longer, she took a deep breath and started telling the story.
When she’d finished, she grasped her glass, wishing there was something stronger than sparkling water in it.
“Well, she sounds like a complete witch,” said Lauren.
Neither Marika nor Dean said a word straight away. Clem found herself filling the silence by agreeing with Lauren and bemoaning Nate’s actions.
“This sounds like it couldn’t have happened at a better time.” Marika’s statement astounded Clem. She couldn’t believe her ears. She washappythat Nate had cheated on her?
“What the hell do you mean?”
Her mother turned to face her. “Your actions of late haven’t exactly been what I would have expected of you.”
“Jesus, Mother, I’m over the age of consent you know.” Clem was suddenly transported back to the age of fifteen, when she been hauled back from boarding school over her apparent reprobate behaviour that involved smoking and stealing a bottle of wine from the Principal’s office. The theft wasn’t her doing, despite her protestations and Anastasia ultimately owning up to it.
“I think it’s about time we talked about the future,” Marika went on. “I not sure you’re pulling your weight in the business. These past few weeks seem to have shown you’re more interested in partying and hanging out with rock stars.” She spat out the last couple of words, emphasising her distaste as she wrinkled her nose.
Dean shifted uncomfortably in his seat opposite Clem, doing everything he could to avoid making eye contact.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Clem stared directly at her brother. “I’ve just done the photoshoot for the lingerie range. Sales of that are through the roof and most of the other products are on the verge of selling out.”
“Mmm, yes, I know all of that.” Marika paused. “How much of that is down to real graft versus your little dalliance with that music person?”
Ah, suddenly everything made sense. It wasn’t to do with her at all, it was to do with Nate. Clem bit back the words she wanted to say and gulped down some wine before saying anything, stalling for time. Her tone was measured when she finally did speak. “I don’t know, Mother. I didn’t realise that fucking a rock star guaranteed retail sales.”
“Clem!” Lauren covered her son’s ears. “Not when Barney’s in the room.”
“Then I suggest he goes and plays somewhere else, because I’ve got a lot more where that came from.” She placed her glass carefully on the table, resisting the urge to smash it.
Lauren threw her a filthy look and took Barney away, leaving the three Camerons around the table.
“What exactly are you saying?” Clem wasn’t sure she understood. Not pulling her weight? She’d done a lot for the business recently, withPretty Rich Thingstaking an interest and she wasn’t wrong when she said things were selling out. The t-shirt Finola had worn to her launch party was on its third stock run.
“You and Nate breaking up now is probably good timing.” Dean appeared to choose his words carefully.
“He’s not really right for you, is he? I mean, he’s not like Liam,” added Marika.
“Thank God,” muttered Clem. Marika had always been oblivious to Liam’s flaws. Had her mother been several years younger, she would probably have made a play for him herself.
