Page 39 of The Island in Bramble Bay
‘It’s not appropriate for you to be here,’ said Charlie while Jared looked like he wanted to be anywhere else.
Jessica took a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and said, ‘I was invited,’ before making her way down to join the crowds of people on the decks with Drew in her wake, leaving Charlie in no doubt that he’d have to physically remove her if he wanted her to go.
35
MAGGIE SAW JESSICA making her way towards the jetty. She couldn’t begin to imagine why Charlie had invited her. Then as she got closer, Maggie felt a coldness sweep over her.
Jessica was wearing the same jumpsuit as her.
‘Would you excuse me for a minute?’ she said to Rosemary and headed towards the house.
She could see Jessica talking in a group on the far left of her and kept far enough to the other side to avoid bumping into her. She felt like a child whose friend had worn the same dress to her birthday party. Maggie felt ridiculous for letting it bother her but the fact was that Jessica intimidated her. She had a past with Charlie, she had supermodel looks and the brazen confidence to go with them. Plus, whatever her reason for being there, it was probably to do with Charlie.
Managing to sneak into the house without running into any of the very few people she knew, Maggie ran upstairs and sat on the edge of the bed to gather herself and weigh up her options. What she wanted more than anything was to link her arm through Charlie’s, go up to Jessica and throw off the horror of the matching outfits with a laugh and a shrug while leaving her in doubt at all that she was of no consequence to either of them.
But that wasn’t her. She was wildly out of her comfort zone, among strangers in a place which seemed to exist on an entirely different plane to her own life and where Charlie seemed so at home that he suddenly seemed to have drifted away from her.
The simplest option was to get changed. The only people who’d notice would be Ed, Rosemary, Charlie and inevitably, Jessica. She had the dress which she’d bought from Claudia earlier. Claudia, who apparently was some kind of duplicitous spy for Jessica, because what other explanation was there? She tried not to be angry with Charlie for using Jessica’s personal shopper but it hurt that he’d put her in this position, albeit unwittingly.
She felt better once she’d changed. It was a gorgeous dress which she paired with a pair of white canvas trainers as it clashed with the new mustard wedges she’d been wearing. She left her hair down as it had been and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked okay. The dress was great but she could see in her reflection that she looked weary, beaten and that made her angry. It wasn’t right that she should be made to feel like this. Why couldn’t Charlie have asked Jessica to leave? Why did it have to be her that came off worse from this encounter?
So maybe she wasn’t going to confront Jessica but she was going to at least pretend that she wasn’t there and try to have a good time. What did it matter to Charlie whether he networked with these people anymore? She would find a drink, find Charlie and enjoy what was left of the party with him.
Before Maggie managed to get a drink into her hand, she found herself face to face with Jessica.
She adopted what she hoped was a commanding expression and said, ‘I love your jumpsuit.’ It felt like the bravest thing she’d ever said to anyone.
Jessica gave a tinkling laugh, ‘What a coincidence. You didn’t have to change, you looked fabulous before.’
‘Thank you,’ said Maggie, going to move past but finding Jessica deliberately blocking the way.
‘So, I hear Charlie’s decided to accept Ed’s job offer.’
Maggie so nearly said, ‘what job offer?’ but managed to stop herself from walking into the trap that Jessica was goading her into.
‘That’s Charlie’s business.’
‘And yours?’
‘Yes, but not yours, so please excuse me.’
Yet again, Jessica physically stopped Maggie from walking past her.
‘I hear he’s staying on alone. Maybe he will need a little company.’ She gave a self-satisfied smile and swept through the front door leaving Maggie stunned.
Charlie was sitting on a beanbag chatting to a couple of younger men. He grinned at Maggie as he saw her approach and held out his arm, beckoning her to join him.
‘Hey, Maggie, I was looking for you. This is Logan and Cal.’
She smiled with all the enthusiasm she could muster, which wasn’t much and said, ‘Can I talk to you for a minute?’ She stood with her arms folded, waiting for him to see, to realise something was wrong.
‘Back in a sec, guys.’ He handed his beer to one of them and heaved himself out of the beanbag. ‘You okay honey? Are you wearing something different to before?’ He looked confused and pretty drunk.
She took his hand and led him towards the house. ‘We need to talk.’
They went into the den which was off to one side of the main part of the house and so out of the party area.
Charlie leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes. ‘Man, I have had too much beer. And champagne, I guess.’
