A Perfect Proposal (12 page)

‘No! It’s not you I don’t trust! At least …’ He smiled slightly and for a moment Sophie saw the grandson that Matilda loved so much and she forgave him, just a little. ‘I don’t trust either of you.’

Sophie inspected him, in his business suit, pale pink shirt and pink and grey striped tie and felt just a tiny bit sorry for him. He was obviously quite good at getting rid of his own unwanted girlfriends, but those of his grandmother he obviously found harder. She decided to put him out of his misery. ‘But why not? I certainly have no intention of doing anything to harm her,’ she began. ‘In fact—’

She was just about to say that she had no intention of accepting her invitation to stay, should one be forthcoming, when Matilda reappeared.

‘Did you order more tea, Luke?’ she asked. ‘The service
here can be a bit slow.’ She looked around for a waiter.

‘The service is a bit Austrian,’ said Luke, raising his hand in a commanding way
.

‘Why aren’t you eating a cake?’ asked Matilda, when she saw that Luke had attracted someone’s attention. ‘I left you ages ago. You should have made up your minds by now.’

‘Luke and I were just chatting,’ said Sophie, not wishing to worry her with the truth.

‘Oh good!’ Matilda almost clapped her hands in delight. ‘I’m so glad you’re getting on!’

Sophie caught Luke regarding his grandmother. Something in his expression hinted to Sophie that he was not convinced by her acceptance of Sophie’s description about what had been going on, and that he thought her happiness was a little exaggerated.

Matilda was still inspecting the pastries. ‘If you can’t decide I’ll narrow the choices for you. I’ll have that one.’

Now Matilda was back, Sophie felt a bit more comfortable, but she still wasn’t really in the mood for cake. Even a cream-and-black-cherry-filled dream like the gateau before her was less tempting with Luke’s disapproving gaze on her. Why had he insisted on butting in on the tea party? She and Matilda could have had such a jolly time without him. And all that desire to protect his grandmother was excessive. She wasn’t helpless and he should be a better judge of character and realise that she wasn’t the sort of girl to inveigle wealthy old women out of their fortunes. Although, she admitted privately, he hadn’t had a chance to really get to know her.

When they all had fresh cups of tea of the right strength and suitable enormous cakes on their plates, Luke said to Sophie, ‘So, how’s the job-hunting going?’

This seemed to be a loaded question. Was he about to accuse her of doing something illegal? Or was he suspecting
her of being someone who didn’t actually want to work and would rather get her money more easily?

‘I think I’ve abandoned trying to get a job.’

‘Oh?’ Matilda leant forward. ‘So why did you think of getting one before?’

‘Because when I came, I thought I had one. As a nanny. But when I got to the airport and rang to find out where my family was, they told me they were going to California instead.’

‘How awful for you!’ Matilda put her hand on Sophie’s. ‘So now you’re just going to stay for a holiday? Why don’t you seem happier about that?’

Sophie wondered if it was wise to explain to two people she didn’t really know about her mission, but then decided she had nothing to lose. ‘I have something I want to do in New York and it might take a bit of time. I can’t afford to stay just as a tourist, at least for more than about a fortnight.’ She might make her money last that long if she was really careful.

‘And what is it you want to do?’ asked Matilda.

‘I want to track down an ancient relative. I need to find something out from them.’

‘Where do they live?’ asked Luke.

‘In New York.’

‘But whereabouts?’

‘I have the address here,’ she said, rummaging in her bag. After a second or two she produced it.

‘Why don’t you sort it out for her, Luke?’ Matilda said. ‘You could track down this relative for her very easily.’

‘No, it’s OK!’ Sophie really didn’t want to be beholden to Luke. Although she held the paper near to her he leant over and tweaked it from her fingers.

‘This address isn’t in New York.’

‘Yes it is! I copied it very carefully.’

‘It’s upstate New York, not the city.’

‘Oh.’ This was a bit of a downer and not just because visiting this relative – Cousin Rowena – would be more than just a matter of jumping in a cab and giving the address. It was giving Luke and his grandmother the impression that she didn’t know New York was a huge state. She just hadn’t looked at the address properly. She’d been so set on getting to the right side of the Atlantic, and since she’d arrived she’d been concerned with how she could stay. ‘Well, I’ll just have to get on a Greyhound bus or something,’ she said brightly, trying not to think of old films in which people had done this and ended up not having a nice time, even if they were still alive. She often related her life to films, it came of having watched so many of them when she was little with her big sister.

‘Are you sure they haven’t passed on, dear?’ asked Matilda. ‘Not everyone is blessed with the good health I enjoy.’

‘Well, no, I’m not.’ Suddenly gloomy, Sophie gathered up some cream and cherry juice with the edge of her pastry fork.

‘In which case,’ said Matilda glibly, ‘let Luke find out for you. No point in going all that way for nothing. And I don’t like to think of a young girl like you alone on a Greyhound bus. I suppose I could send you with my driver …’

Sophie’s gloom lifted as she saw the flash of horror cross Luke’s face. She was very tempted to accept this half-made offer, just to see what’d he do.

‘But if Luke sorts that out for you, you can come and spend Thanksgiving with me. I mean at home, in Connecticut, not here.’

‘Oh but you’re being far too kind,’ Sophie protested.

‘Have you plans for Thanksgiving?’ Matilda almost demanded.

‘Um …’ Sophie felt caught out. She and Milly had been
discussing – arguing even – about this major American festival. Milly had insisted that her new boyfriend’s family would be happy to include her in their plans but as the plan was that the family was flying in from Buffalo to stay in their son’s tiny New York apartment, Sophie had refused. Thanksgiving was American, the day had no significance for her so sitting at home on her own would be fine. They hadn’t resolved the argument before Milly had had to dash off for work.

‘I don’t think Sophie would really want to leave New York to stay in the country,’ said Luke. ‘She’ll want to watch the parades, visit the sites, eat cupcakes from that little place in the Village, and all that sort of girly thing.’

‘Not at Thanksgiving,’ said Matilda firmly.

Until that moment Sophie had felt exactly like that. However much she liked Matilda she didn’t know her all that well and she wanted to enjoy the city and continue playing at being Carrie Bradshaw, even if only for a short time. But hearing Matilda say Thanksgiving like that made her suddenly yearn to make biscuits (cookies even) in the shape of turkeys and not clatter about New York in stilt heels.

‘Sophie?’ Matilda’s bright eyes were enquiring and a little imperious. ‘What plans do you have?’

She hesitated just a moment too long.

‘You see?’ said Matilda triumphantly. ‘She’s alone in the city with no family, she must come to us.’

‘I do have Milly,’ Sophie protested.

‘Who will have had her plans made ages since. Does Milly have a boyfriend?’

‘Yes. He’s a chef. His family are coming—’

‘I’m sure they are good people who would make you feel welcome but you would be in the way, physically, I mean.’

Sophie mumbled something, half in protest, half in agreement.

‘I would so love for you to join us for Thanksgiving,’ said Matilda, putting her ring-encrusted hand on Sophie’s. ‘I’m planning a very big party, all the family, and I could do with a hand.’

‘Granny!’ Luke protested. ‘You have about sixteen staff! You really don’t need Sophie as well!’

‘I want her. Need and want have very little to do with each other.’

Only a very rich woman could say things like that and mean them, thought Sophie, looking from one to the other as grandmother and grandson argued about her.

‘You give parties all the time,’ said Luke. ‘Why would you want to involve Sophie?’

‘It’s going to be a large party, and I thought she might like to be part of a traditional American Thanksgiving,’ said Matilda. ‘Anyway, please don’t interrogate me any more. You’re putting me off my Klimt torte. And don’t look so surprised I know what it’s called. Luke dear, don’t you have to be somewhere?’

Luke drained his cup and surveyed the two women in front of him. ‘Well, I can tell I’m not wanted. Sophie, if you give me that address, I’ll do some research for you and get back to you. May I have your cellphone number?’

Sophie gave it to him, feeling it was very unlikely that he’d use it.

She was recovering from too much sugar and cream back at Milly’s apartment when he got in touch.

‘You can’t have found out about my antique relation already, can you?’ she asked him when he announced who he was.

‘Of course not. I haven’t even started looking.’

‘Oh. So why are you ringing?’ said Sophie after a pause while she waited for him to tell her what he wanted.

‘I wanted to invite you out for a drink this evening.’

Sophie nearly dropped her phone in surprise. ‘Why?’

She heard a chuckle at the other end of the line. This surprised her, as did her instinctive reaction to it. ‘Because I want to get to know you better?’

‘Do you?’ she asked suspiciously.

‘You’re a very questioning young woman. My grandmother has invited you to stay with her for Thanksgiving. I’d like to get to know you a little before that happens. It would be more comfortable for you too, if you knew me as well as my grandmother. It will be quite a big party.’

‘Yes, I suppose you’re right.’ She wasn’t entirely convinced.

‘So? Are you free? Or do you have plans?’

The coward in Sophie, which was well suppressed, wanted to say: Yes, I have plans. But she was more curious than shy. ‘Well, nothing that can’t be changed.’

‘Could you meet me at the Thursday House? It’s a bar, not too far away from you.’

Sophie had heard of the Thursday House. It was, as her mother would have put it, ‘
le dernier cri du chic
’ – in other words, drop-dead elegant. If Milly ever found out she’d been invited and not gone she’d be out on her ear. ‘OK,’ she said tentatively. ‘What sort of time?’

She rang Milly at work the moment Luke had called off. ‘Guess what? Preppy Luke has invited me for a drink at the Thursday House!’

‘Ohmygod! That’s amazing. He must fancy you!’

‘No, really, I don’t think so. I’m not getting that impression at all.’

‘Well, if he doesn’t fancy you why does he want to take you out, do you think? Are you sure he’s not going downmarket, as a change from the model types he usually goes for?’

Sophie laughed. ‘No! He says it’s to get to know me better if I go to stay with his grandmother for Thanksgiving. Though I do think there’s something else going on.’

‘Well, we’ll find out soon enough. Listen, borrow my dress again. And the shoes. Take a cab. And make notes, secretly of course; I want every detail!’

It would have been better if she’d had more clothes with her, thought Sophie, trying to disguise the outfit she wore for the private view with Milly’s junk jewellery. Fortunately, she had a good selection of necklaces and Sophie selected three, one of which had a pair of matching earrings that Sophie also borrowed. One of the pieces had a fall of stones that drew discreet attention to her cleavage and, while only a hint of it was on show, it was a good look. Spraying on Milly’s perfume added a final squirt of confidence. Putting her shoulders back and having a smile ready to produce at any moment finished off her preparations. Mixing with New York’s high society was very hard work.

As Sophie wasn’t sure how long it took to get anywhere in New York, getting a cab made her early. Had she not been wearing Milly’s heels, she’d have walked up and down a bit so as not to arrive before her date, but she could only walk for very short distances before burning pain in the balls of her feet made her need to stop.