Read Twice Upon a Time Online

Authors: Kate Forster

Twice Upon a Time (5 page)

BOOK: Twice Upon a Time
3.32Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

‘Okay?’

‘Fine,’ he said, and he lifted her face up to his. ‘Better than fine. You know, if you had a cock, I’d totally be into you right now.’

‘I know,’ said Cinda. ‘But there’s something between us and it isn’t my penis,’ she rhymed as she walked to the door.

‘You have my permission to go forth and flirt with Captain Sardines,’ Jonas said as he slapped her on the bottom.

‘Aye, aye, sir,’ said Cinda, and she walked up the stairs to the top deck, where Ludo was waiting.

5

The rightful heir to the Sardinian throne wasn’t amused.

Prince Augustus Frederick Claude, or Gus, was the firstborn twin and heir apparent. He looked at the images that his private secretary had laid out in front of him on the mahogany desk.

There was Ludo with a guy and girl – Australians, according to Ludo’s bodyguards. Ludo and the girl were laughing while drinking champagne, and then he was sitting by the pool with her.

The girl looked very sexy in her black bikini, if you liked that sort of curvy bombshell shape. But no doubt she wanted one thing only: to be Ludo’s next girlfriend.

He had seen it so many times: girls who used Ludo for his money, for the high life or to use the publicity to further their careers. In fact, most girls wanted all three.

He peered at the copy of the girl’s passport that he’d ordered to be sent to him.

Lucinda Bloom
, he read.
So who’s the guy?
he wondered, as he took in the photo of the young man. He was certainly well dressed.

Sighing heavily, he looked up at his secretary. ‘Have they disembarked yet?’ he asked.

‘Yes, Your Highness. The cars picked them up last night. They’re already at the summer villa.’

Gus shook his head and stood up. ‘Then I guess I’d better go and meet them.’

‘Your mother is coming back from Paris next week,’ said the secretary.

Gus paused, aware of what the secretary was implying. His mother wouldn’t like Ludo bringing in strays again, especially ones he met in Positano.
Backpacker rats
, he called people like them, ruining everything for the people who lived there year-round and just wanted some peace and quiet.

‘They’ll be gone by the time Mamma returns,’ said Gus firmly.

A few well-timed remarks and a small monetary push usually helped people realise that Ludo wasn’t worth waiting around for, despite the title.

It wasn’t that Gus didn’t want his brother to be happy; quite the opposite. They’d been inseparable as children, and even though they now led very different lives, he still wanted the best for Ludo. He just knew that Ludo needed a certain type of girl, one who’d finally force him to take some responsibility for his life.

Gus left his private apartments and walked out to his black Ferrari. He jumped behind the wheel, checking that the keys were in the ignition and ensuring his bodyguards were in their car behind him before taking off through the gates of the palace. He set out for the drive up to the Riviera del Corallo.

He could have taken the chopper but he loved driving and he wanted to use the time alone in the car to think about how to get rid of the Australians.

Ludo always told Gus he acted like he was sixty-three, not twenty-three. But then, Ludo had no idea about what being the future king really entailed. Gus couldn’t act like any other twenty-three-year-old, even if he’d wanted to.

Gus adjusted his Persol sunglasses and turned up the state-of-the-art stereo until the car’s sound system was blaring.

Music was his private pleasure, perhaps the one normal twenty-three-year-old thing he indulged in. But it wasn’t some-thing he could share with the public. Besides, his mother hated his music, and Perrette told him it wasn’t appropriate.

He was lucky to have Perrette, who seemed to have been born knowing what was acceptable and what wasn’t when it came to his reputation as future king. It was a shame Ludo didn’t have someone like her to keep him in line.

Last year, when those photos had been published of Ludo getting blazed at some party in Verbier, a joint in his hand, for god’s sake, Ludo had been forced to ‘disappear’ from the public eye for a while. Their mother had been furious.

But it wasn’t the odd joint that really concerned Gus. It was the lack of discretion. Ludo had no concern for his reputation, or the family’s reputation. And it was always Gus who had to clean up the mess. He thought of that girl from the soft-porn movie, the one Ludo had said he was in love with and was going to marry. She had changed her mind about Ludo for a mere hundred and twenty thousand Euros, proving yet again that for most people in this world, money was far more important than love.

Gus had yet to be proven wrong about this, no matter what fairytales Ludo believed.

It had always been like this. Ever since they were small, Gus had covered for Ludo whenever he could, even if it meant he got into trouble with their authoritarian mother.

The car made its way onto the highway, and soon Gus picked up speed, making sure his bodyguards were still behind him as he tore up the road.

The sound of his mobile phone interrupted the music and he saw Perrette’s name come up on the screen.

‘Hello, my darling,’ came her clipped voice as soon as he accepted the call. ‘Where are you?’

‘I’m on the way to the Riviera villa.’

‘But darling! Did you forget I’m coming to Cagliari for the weekend? I was leaving tonight.’ He could sense Perrette’s pout all the way from Paris.

‘I know,’ he said gently, ‘but Ludo’s back.’

Perrette was silent. She and Gus had been dating for years, and their families had known each other for about four centuries.

‘How long’s it been this time?’ sighed Perrette.

‘He’s been away three months.’

‘What can I do?’ asked Perrette, all hint of the pout gone from her voice.

‘Keep Mamma in Paris for another week?’

‘Of course,’ she said, immediately understanding.

That is the sort of girl that Ludo needs
, thought Gus after he finished the call and turned the music up again.

Perrette de Jaucourt was the eldest daughter of a wealthy French family. They owned huge parts of the Loire Valley, producing some of the world’s best wines. When she wasn’t with Gus, she worked as a publicist for Hervé Brion, the famous couture designer.

It was inevitable that Gus and Perrette would end up together. It was how it always had been between the two families. Theirs was an easy connection, based on a need to make things right in their lives. They had no desire to make ripples; instead they worked towards creating harmony between the two families. Of course, the union of marriage was how it would all come together.

If there were times that Gus found Perrette grating, if he sometimes found he enjoyed his time away from her about as much as their time together, that was hardly reason to upset things. Every relationship had its challenges.

Gus felt his role in the public eye came with all sorts of responsibilities. For one, he had the power to draw attention to causes that might otherwise have gone unnoticed and unfunded. But Perrette had turned up her perfect snub nose when he suggested they visit Africa to see first-hand the programs the family was supporting. It had been the same when he mentioned visiting the orphanages of India.

So Gus visited these places on his own, even though the presence of the ever-stylish Perrette would have brought in excellent media coverage.

Gus checked the review mirror that the black BMW was still behind him before putting the pedal down and speeding along the last section of road to the summer villa.

When Gus arrived in Riviera del Corallo, he drove around the bay, seeing the yacht anchored a little way out. He sighed, wishing he didn’t have to deal with Ludo and his latest interlopers.

Pulling up to the iron gates decorated with the family crest, he nodded at the security guards as he drove through and up the sweeping driveway to the villa.

Built in the 1800s, the villa was situated high on a rocky cliff, looking across the Balearic Sea, and had one of the best-designed gardens in Sardinia.

As Gus stepped out of the car and moved towards the villa, the grand front door was opened by the house manager, Basil – a long-time employee, whose father and grandfather had been in the same role before him.

‘Good morning, Your Highness,’ said Basil as he took Gus’s car keys from him.

‘How are you, Basil?’ asked Gus warmly. ‘How are Adela and the new baby going?’

‘They are both very well,’ said Basil, beaming. ‘Adela wanted me to thank you for the wine and the beautiful selection of baby clothes. It was a very thoughtful gesture.’

Gus nodded, reminding himself to thank Perrette for organising the gifts. She was very helpful that way. He felt guilty for his disloyal thoughts towards her earlier.

‘Where is Ludo?’ he asked, listening for party noises.

‘Prince Ludovic is out by the pool,’ said Basil with a small bow.

Gus walked through the magnificent building, hardly noticing the glorious paintings and luxury surrounds, and pushed open the French doors to the infinity pool. He could see Ludo sitting at a table in the shade of an umbrella, the young guy from the yacht photos sitting next to him.

‘Yo, my bro!’ called Ludo with a wave.

Gus put on his sunglasses and walked over to the pair. They were drinking what looked like pink lemonade but, knowing Ludo, it would be laced with something stronger.

‘Gus, this is my new friend Jonas Cooper, from Australia.’

Gus looked at Jonas, who was wearing a pink polo shirt and white Ray-Bans. He looked like a member of One Direction.

‘Pleased to meet you, Gus,’ said Jonas, standing up and reaching his hand across to Gus. ‘Your brother is one hell of a host.’

Gus shook his hand and glared at Ludo. ‘I’m sure he is,’ he said darkly.

He’s done it again
, Gus realised. He hadn’t told these travellers who they actually were. This was when it became awkward. Not that Gus expected people to bow and scrape in his presence, but there was no way his mother would accept such disrespect.

‘I didn’t know you were coming,’ said Ludo, sipping his drink.

Gus smiled thinly.

‘Drink?’ asked Jonas, gesturing to a jug of the pink liquid, which had fresh mint and ice cubes floating on its surface.

‘No, thank you,’ said Gus. He looked around for the girl.

Ludo watched him and squinted a little. ‘Lost something, my brother?’

‘No, no,’ said Gus, and he pulled out a chair and sat at the table with them. ‘Where in Australia are you from, Jonas?’ he asked politely as he crossed his legs.

‘Sydney,’ said Jonas. ‘I’m here with my best friend, Cinda. We met Ludo in Positano and he invited us back for a few days, which was über generous of him.’

‘Indeed,’ said Gus lightly. ‘And where is your friend Cinda?’

‘Down in the succulent garden,’ said Ludo, gesturing to the garden at the end of the property, overlooking the water.

Gus stood up. ‘Then I should go and introduce myself,’ he said, and before anyone could say another word, he stalked off in the direction of the garden.

What the hell is she doing in the succulent garden?
he wondered as he stomped down the path. Probably sunbaking nude, he thought, thinking of the soft-porn actress who used to do nude yoga on the lawn at the palace in Cagliari, much to his mother’s horror and Ludo’s amusement.

As he approached the garden, he looked around for evidence of the girl but saw nothing. He walked down towards the bottom of the garden and saw a small backpack on the edge of the cliff.

Jesus Christ.
Had she jumped? Climbing over some spiky aloe vera plants, he felt his chinos rip on a thorn as he stepped carefully to the edge of the uneven cliff.

He peered over and looked down, praying he wasn’t about to glimpse a body on the rocks below.

But instead of a body, he saw the girl, sitting on a rock on a small ledge just a metre down. There was a small easel in front of her, with a half-painted view of the curving coastline. Her hair was piled up into a topknot with what looked like a paintbrush poking through the mess of thick tendrils.

It was an extraordinary sight, mostly because she was on the very edge of the small ledge. One sudden movement and she would surely topple into the water below.

He stood in silence, watching her as she painted. She worked intently, pausing occasionally to look at her canvas, painting a few strokes and then looking back out to sea.

She was wearing a simple white tank top and white shorts. She occasionally raised her black sunglasses to get what he supposed was an untainted view of the light.

Her brown skin was enhanced by the white fabric and, while he couldn’t see her face, he was entranced by the nape of her neck, the curve of her shoulders, the little muscles in her back flickering as she worked.

How had she even got down there? Was she part mountain goat?

He stepped away, meaning to go back to the top of the path. This was a scene too beautiful, too focused, to disturb. But he stumbled and fell backwards into the aloe vera or whatever other hazardous plants the award-winning designer had planted.

BOOK: Twice Upon a Time
3.32Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

The Nutmeg Tree by Margery Sharp
The Wife Tree by Dorothy Speak
The Apprentice by Alexander C. Hoffman
Harmattan by Weston, Gavin
Unfinished Business by Heather Atkinson
Come the Revolution by Frank Chadwick
Holiday Hotel Hookup by Jeff Adams