Page 44 of His Last Gamble

At this remembrance of childhood solidarity, Charmaine only managed not to burst into tears by offering to help her sister unpack, and grimly thrusting every thought from her head. It left her feeling curiously numb, but numb, after a day like this, was just what she needed.

* * *

It was the biggest gala night the Palace had ever seen. And it had seen some grand nights in its time. The best caterers on the island had been hired to provide food, and the legendary cellar belonging to the previous casino owner had been liberally poached to provide the finest in vintages. A New Orleans jazz band provided evocative memories of the Roaring Twenties.

Some tables had been granted a special licence for higher gambling stakes, so that a large crowd had gathered around a Thai businessman and an American computer pioneer who were regularly making bets of half a million dollars.

There was a heady, anything-can-happen atmosphere, coupled with an elegant recklessness that reminded Charmaine of a 1930s lavish Hollywood production. She half expected Greta Garbo to waltz through the gambling rooms trailing smoke from an ivory cigarette holder, a bevy of men in her wake.

Anyone who was anyone was here. And a lot of people had flown in from all over the globe for the once-in-a-blue-moon gambling opportunity. More than one person could be overheard wondering how Payne had managed to get the gaming commission to let him slip the leash for the night.

‘Isn’t he scared someone will break the bank?’ was one of the first things Charmaine and Lucy overheard as they walked through the front door and passed through the marble foyer.

‘Not him,’ someone else said. ‘The man’s got nerves of steel.’

Charmaine stole a quick glance at her sister, wondering what she was thinking. But Lucy looked merely excited and intrigued, and not at all worried that her former lover seemed to be taking one of his legendary enormous gambles.

‘This is just like Payne,’ Lucy said matter-of-factly as they made their way through the crowds to watch a game of roulette. ‘Max always said he was half mad.’

So Lucy knew Max. Well, that was hardly surprising. Charmaine had learned over the last few days that Max Galway was one of Payne’s oldest friends on the island. Naturally, he and Lucy would have met.

‘Look, there’s Jo-Jo and the gang,’ Lucy added, nodding across the acreage of room to where the models were clustered around a crap shoot. From the screaming encouragement and the wild groans that were echoing from over there, the dice players must be playing for heart-stopping odds.

It was almost midnight, but they were hardly late. This had all the makings of an all-night session which would, in time, turn into the stuff of legend or fable.

‘Someone’s just won two million in the baccarat room,’ some woman screamed in excitement to her companion, but such was the scale of the night that this was barely news. Later, Charmaine heard someone else say that a Korean gentlemen had lost ten million.

It was so crowded that it took nearly an hour for Charmaine to even spot Payne. He was dressed in black, not a tuxedo, but a plain jacket with silver buttons and elegant slacks. With his fair hair and steely grey eyes he stood out amongst the gaudily garbed crowd.

She herself was wearing a smoky lavender gown, one of her own creations, in gauzy chiffon. With it, she wore a single pear-drop amethyst necklace on chain so fine it was almost invisible and a pair of silver-grey heels. She had her hair up in what she called a ‘Lucy special’. It was one of the intricate hair designs that Lucy had learned while doing a period drama for the BBC, and she had woven real and freshly flown-over violets that looked wonderful in Charmaine’s silvery hair. Even Lucy had been speechless when the two girls had finished making themselves up.

Her sister was in a figure-hugging short scarlet cocktail dress, with brightly painted nails and bold lipstick. Of the two, Charmaine was convinced that everyone looked at Lucy first, then at herself as a poor second.

But when she felt eyes resting on her, and turned to find Payne just yards away, staring at her over the cowed heads of several poker players, she knew he was looking at her. Avidly.

And not at her sister.

Instantly, she tensed. This was the moment she was dreading. The first time Lucy and Payne met again.

At least, as far as Charmaine knew. Lucy would’ve told her if she’d already seen him, wouldn’t she? Or would she? What if they’d already spent the night together?

She felt jealousy, as cruel as the grave, eat at her soul and forced herself to swallow it back.

She watched, helpless with longing and taut with fear, as he wove his way towards them.

When he was almost there, Lucy turned around and the smile on her face wobbled and fell. She looked suddenly as tense as Charmaine felt.

‘Hello, Payne,’ Lucy said the moment he was in earshot, almost as if anxious to get in the first word. She looked nervous and unsure of herself, things that Charmaine would previously have thought impossible of her sister.

‘Hello, Lucy,’ Payne said neutrally.

Charmaine, who’d been straining to hear even the slightest intonation of his voice, would have sworn he sounded reserved. Like someone meeting an acquaintance he didn’t know very well. Moreover, an acquaintance he wasn’t sure he wanted to cultivate.

It stunned her. What was going on? Surely he wasn’t cold-shouldering her? After all that she’d learned about him, she would never have put him down as a boor.

‘Thanks for letting me come,’ Lucy further stunned her by saying politely. ‘I know I’m probably the last person you wanted to see here, but Charmaine wouldn’t come without me.’

Well, that was true enough. When she’d told Lucy that she and all theJonniee gang had standing invitations to this bash-of-the-century, Lucy had demurred, pointing out that she had no invitation herself and doubtless wouldn’t be let through the door. So Charmaine had asked Jo-Jo if he could wangle another invite, unwilling to talk to Payne herself. And sure enough, within the hour, an extra invitation had appeared at the front desk.

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