Chapter Twenty-Four

‘Mind if I join you?’

Nathalie opened her eyes. She was lying on her usual sun bed by the pool.

‘Tanya, please do,’ she said, welcoming the chance for a chat. ‘I never seem to see you these days.’ She was looking so much more sophisticated, Nathalie thought, so well put-together.

‘I’ve been really busy. Loads of clients and meetings in Nicosia and what have you.’

‘So things are going well, then? On the sales side?’

‘Oh, yes,’ Tanya said enthusiastically. ‘It’s really popular, this complex.’

‘Good, I’m happy for you. Lovely bracelet, it’s new, isn’t it?’ She reached out to touch the heavy gold chain around Tanya’s wrist.

‘This? Yes, it was a present from a client, because basically he said I’d gone out of my way to be helpful.’

‘How very generous of him. It wasn’t the man I saw on that yacht, by any chance, was it?’

‘Yes, that’s the one.’

Nathalie allowed this to sink in.

‘There’s nothing dodgy going on or anything,’ Tanya insisted. ‘He just likes me, and he gives me gifts, that’s all. He helped me out when my car needed fixing. He’s Arabic, they’re generous like that.’

‘You don’t have to explain yourself.’

‘There’s nothing wrong with it, is there? Getting presents?’

‘Only if he’s expecting something in return.’

‘What, like sex?’

‘That’s the obvious thing.’

Tanya fell silent for a minute. She was still struggling with her conscience, and with what had happened at the parties. She had the chance to meet wealthy men through her job, Tanya realised; it wouldn’t do to be recognised as a performance artist, or whatever Dolores called it.

‘If I did sleep with him, and I’m not saying I have or anything, but would that be so wrong?’

‘He’s married, I take it?’

Tanya nodded. ‘His children are grown up.’

Nathalie shrugged. She had no intention of becoming Tanya’s moral guardian. ‘Men give women gifts all the time. Especially to mistresses.’

‘Mistress! That’s the word.’ Tanya was relieved to hear it. That was what she was to Mr Makhtabi. It sounded mysterious, romantic even, rather than something to be ashamed of. Then another thought occurred to Tanya.

‘If the presents are cash, does that make a difference?’

‘There’s a fine line between being given a gift and being paid in cash.’

‘The cash really helps me out, though. I don’t see that I’ve been doing anything wrong. I mean it’s not as if I’m out on the streets getting touched up by some old drunk or anything. This is civilised. On his boat. Nice hotels.’

‘Tanya, why are you telling me this? You’re a grown woman, you can make your own choices. I’m not here to judge you. Just be careful, that’s all.’

‘Careful about what?’ Anna’s voice boomed out from behind them.

‘Some tricky Russian buyers,’ Tanya said with a speed that impressed Nathalie. ‘I think they’re trying it on.’

‘Oh.’ Anna lost interest. ‘I’ve been making bloody travel arrangements all day. Richard’s party. One couple just cancelled on me. That weekend clashes with the start of the new term, and they can’t possibly leave little Reggie and Ivy with the new nanny. I’ve had to bloody well cancel their hotel room and car hire now, and I had a hell of a job trying to book it in the first place. Tanya, please tell me number two is still booked in my name?’

‘Of course it is. Deposit’s paid and everything’s sorted.’

‘Thank Christ. This is the first and last time I do anything like this, believe me.’ Anna flopped down onto her sun bed.

‘Your husband will appreciate it,’ Nathalie told her.

‘He’d bloody better.’

In the distance they heard a car pulling up, and seconds later Douglas appeared from the car park.

‘Ah, my three favourite goddesses, partaking of the sun,’ he said, striding towards them. ‘God, it’s tough living here. Bloody awful views.’

Anna stared at her toe-nails, trying not to think of her recent fantasies.

‘How’s your car?’ Nathalie asked him without looking up.

‘All fixed,’ he told her. ‘Had a slight bump the other evening,’ he airily informed the others.

‘Any news on the other car?’

‘I’m pleased to say they’ve gone very quiet,’ he told her. ‘But as a precaution, I’ve decided to avoid the coast these days. And all partying, come to think of it. I’ll live like a hermit in my own home, reading and studying in quiet contemplation. You won’t even know I’m here.’

Nathalie smiled wryly while Tanya opened the latest copy of Heat.

‘How’s the book going, Anna?’ he asked. ‘Surprised you’re not inside, chained to your computer.’

‘Oh, it’s practically writing itself,’ Anna lied, avoiding his eyes. ‘Flying off the page.’

‘Delighted to hear it. And the big birthday bash?’

‘All going to plan; not a word to You-Know-Who. The ninth of September. I hope you can make it, Tanya?’

‘The ninth? That’s the day of the Odyssey party,’ Tanya remembered. ‘I can’t miss that.’

‘The ninth of September?’ Douglas repeated. ‘You do realise that’s when Paphos celebrates the festival of Aphrodite, don’t you? And you know what her festival’s called?’

Anna looked at him blankly.

‘Oh come now, you can do better than that. It’s Aphrodisiac, of course!’

‘Oh, Douglas, really!’

‘So that should be the theme of your party then, the aphrodisiac!’ he cried out in delight. ‘You’ll have to have oysters, of course. You do know why oysters are considered aphrodisiacs, don’t you?’ he asked, enjoying having an audience. ‘It’s because they resemble the vagina, as does the orchid, so you’d better get a few in. And figs. Now Anna, why d’you think they’re considered aphrodisiacs, eh? Come on, use your imagination. It’s because they look like balls!‘

Anna squirmed in her seat. Ginnie, wearing a yellow sarong, appeared from her doorway, and scurried to join them.

‘Am I missing anything?’ She peeled off the sarong to reveal a matching bikini and stepped into the pool.

‘In Peru cat meat is considered an aphrodisiac, you know,’ Douglas announced for her benefit. ‘They celebrate a cat-eating festival every October.’

‘That’s disgusting!’ Ginnie exclaimed, starting her lengths. ‘You do say the most awful things!’ She shivered as she remembered Douglas’s cock in her mouth. Of all the memories in her life that alcohol had erased, that sadly was not one of them.

‘Has Tanya told you our latest?’ she continued, deciding it safer to change the subject. She told them about the neutering campaign. ‘For some reason they want to tie the launch in with Aphrodite’s festival,’ she added. ‘I suppose it fits in with the villas, but I can’t see what it’s got to do with cats.’

‘I’d have thought it was obvious, really,’ Douglas started. ‘Aphrodite was born of the severed genitals of Uranus. And your campaign is all about severing the genitals of every stray tom on the island. I’d have thought it a perfect match, really.’

‘Oh, Douglas!’

Douglas just smiled and headed towards number seven, where he had to content himself with a hand-job, imagining each of his goddesses out there, but Nathalie in particular, sucking him with an expertise that made all others seem amateurish. Nathalie, coupled with Svetlana’s athleticism, had become his recent fantasy of choice, performing a routine in his living room, her pussy that beacon of light, the icon at which he must worship.