When Henry and I arrived at the seafood restaurant, the maître d’ kindly took my bags and stored them safely in the cloakroom for us. They contained the raspberry jumper, a deep-purple cardigan, and a beautiful white silky top to go under it, a silk scarf which would go with both, a pair of very upmarket – for me at least – jeans, and a pair of boots I’d never have dreamed of looking at, let alone trying on, from a shop I’d never have dared to go into on my own.
‘Now then, how do you fancy starting off with half a dozen Whitstable oysters?’ Henry asked me before he’d even opened his menu.
‘Mm hmm,’ I gulped. And not in a happy-to-swallow-an-oyster kind of way. Was he really going to make me do this?
‘They also do a fantastic Moules Mariniere, and their chargrilled razor clams are delicious.’ He was starting to sound like Billy Bunter on his way to the just-about-to-open-for-business tuck shop. ‘Or do you fancy sharing the Plateau de fruits de mer – the seafood tower, with a bit of everything?’
I wondered if that would be a better way of getting out of eating the bits that I didn’t like without him noticing.
‘Anyway, have a look and see what you think.’
‘Mm hmm,’ I nodded and opened up the beautifully crafted menu I’d been given and searched for this sampler tower of torture. Oysters Kilpatrick jumped straight off the page at me. As did Oysters Rockefeller. There were also lobster, crab claws, crayfish, scallops, and grilled prawns– yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes again. There were mussels – I could eat those if I really had to and there weren’t too many of them. Ditto the clams, razor or otherwise. But those blasted oysters kept rearing their ugly heads off the page and jeering at me. We’re slippery and slimy and we’re going to slither down your throat and make you gag and throw up in front of your nice new boss. We might even make you throw up all over his shiny shoes. It was almost as if they knew how disgustingly ill Alex had been when he tried them at some fancy brunch buffet, just after we’d gotten engaged. Even after they’d finally stopped coming back up and bringing everything else he’d ever eaten or drunk in his life with them, he’d been in bed for days, sweating and moaning and clutching his stomach. The very thought of emptying one of those shells into my mouth and trying to swallow its contents made me go hot and cold all over.
Henry and the waiter were discussing wine. I heard champagne, Chablis, and Chardonnay mentioned, but my ears pricked up properly when I heard the words Sauvignon Blanc. It would be a treat to try one from the higher end of the market. As soon as the waiter left I said, ‘It all looks absolutely delicious, Henry. I do have to confess that I’m not a big fan of oysters, though.’
‘Had a bad experience with one before?’ Henry sounded sympathetic. ‘If that happens the first time you try them it can put you off ever trying them again. Don’t worry about the oysters, are there plenty of other things on there that you do like? Or would you rather order separate dishes?’
‘No, no the tower would be lovely,’ I gushed, full of relief.
‘And how about something non seafood for a starter? Maybe the griddled fresh asparagus with hollandaise sauce and a poached quail’s egg?’
‘That sounds great,’ I enthused, thankful that after last night’s rich dinner I hadn’t been hungry enough to do more than pick at some fruit at lunch time.
‘I expect all your Sitting Pretty clients will miss you after this week,’ Henry said when the asparagus plates had been cleared. ‘Davina tells me you’re one of the most requested sitters and dog walkers she’s ever had.’
‘Really?’ That was news to me, but it was a nice thing to hear. No wonder she hadn’t wanted me to leave. She was still giving the impression that she didn’t really believe I would go this time, although what she thought I was doing going out for meals and shopping with Henry, I couldn’t imagine.
‘You’ve been very popular with the staff, too.’
‘I will miss Daisy,’ I confessed. ‘She’s a lot of fun and good-hearted and I’m hoping she’ll be the one to come and look after Talisker for you after I’ve left.’ I’d already mentioned this to Henry so I was pretty sure that Daisy would be my replacement. He’d probably already sorted that out. ‘I expect I’ll even miss Katya and Natalia a bit …’
‘Ah yes, Natalia,’ Henry’s right eyebrow raised ever so slightly.
‘I didn’t realise you knew Natalia.’
‘Oh I don’t,’ Henry said quickly. ‘I just hear bits and pieces from Marvin.’ His eyebrow moved again.
‘Oh?’ I was intrigued now, but he was saved from having to say anything else as the three-tiered tower, absolutely crammed with mouth-watering seafood – as long as I ignored the oysters which had arrived separately in their own serving dish as they were hot and everything else was on ice – made its arrival. Blimey! Was that just for us two? We’d be here all night. And when they wanted to close up so the staff could go home, they’d have to phone for one of those winch things to hoist us out of our seats – and after all this food, I would probably be firmly wedged into mine.
‘Bon appetite!’ Henry indicated that I should help myself first. I wasn’t sure where I should start so I just pulled off a crab claw and a couple of prawns.
‘Well?’ I asked, once Henry had helped himself to some of his yucky oysters.
‘Well, what?’
‘Are you going to elaborate or are you going to leave me guessing?’
‘About what? Oh! You mean your friend Natalia,’ he suddenly realised what I was talking about. ‘Oh, there’s no mystery there. It’s just this rather dodgy friend of Marvin’s …’
‘You don’t mean Sti … Steve, do you?’ I stopped myself just in time.
‘How do you know this Steve?’ The easy smile had slipped down a notch.
‘I don’t,’ I said, quickly. ‘He was sitting in the park one day when I happened to take one of Natalia’s dogs for a walk as a favour. It was a very badly behaved dog and he made some comment or other, I can’t remember what. I probably wouldn’t even have remembered it but then, when Marvin took me out on that horrible yacht, we bumped into him on the Isle of Wight.’ I just stopped myself saying that he came and had lunch with us. Henry certainly didn’t seem to like the man.
‘I know it’s not my place to tell you what to do, but I’d advise you to stay away from Steve. He’s a smuggler.’
‘A smuggler?’ I laughed, thinking he must be joking. This was all a bit Jamaica Inn.
‘Yes, really. He gets up to all sorts in that old fishing boat of his. How he hasn’t got caught I don’t know, but it’s only a matter of time, which is why I don’t want my brother getting mixed up with him. I wouldn’t trust that man as a far as I could throw him. Marvin knows I won’t have him in my home. But Natalia seems to be spending a lot of time with him. The two of them seem to be as thick as thieves.’
That was curious. Natalia always had an opinion about anyone she met, and she’d never, to my knowledge, been shy about voicing it. She’d seemed completely uninterested in Stinky Steve when I’d mention him to her in the office. All she’d said was that he was harmless.
I hoped Henry didn’t notice that I spent quite a lot of the rest of the meal wondering just what Natalia had managed to get herself caught up in.