Page 200 of Guilty Pleasures

‘It just seems like it will never be over,’ she said sadly. ‘I think everyone forgets that Julia is my aunt. What I’m doing is tearing my family apart.’

‘Em, she tried to run you off the road!’ said Rob. ‘It’s not what you’re doing that’s tearing your family apart; it’s what she’s done. Never forget that.’

She picked up a leaf and started picking at it.

‘Who burnt down the Stables, Rob?’

‘Bloody Julia,’ said Rob flatly.

‘You know I almost believed her when she said she didn’t do it.’

‘Emma! Listen to yourself. She wanted you dead.’

‘Maybe we’ll never know,’ she said, with a shot of fear.

‘I’m going back into the office on Monday,’ she said, almost to herself. ‘I’ve taken enough time off already.’

‘Emma, you have to chill out.’

She shook her head defiantly.

‘I have to. There’s so much to do, so much damage to repair.’

Rob looked at her and sighed.

‘So are you going to buy Roger’s shareholding?’

Emma shrugged.

‘After what’s happened I don’t know if the banks will be on-side enough. Although it might not be a bad idea to get someone like Victor Chen on board in some minority shareholding capacity. I think we need all the credibility we can get.’

‘I could always lend you the money.’

‘Rob. We’re talking millions of pounds.’

‘You know I have it.’

‘Maybe,’ she said, with a grateful look, squeezing his hand. But this was another problem Emma was struggling to come to terms with, one that made her feel as if she was on the edge of a cliff looking down. Rob had to leave for New York permanently in a matter of weeks. She had found someone she loved and cared for and now he was going to leave her. Inevitably Emma had analysed the situation to death and she knew that the chances of their relationship surviving were slim. So no, she could not take money off him and be bound to him when she could see that there was an inevitable finality about their affair.

‘I’m going to miss you so much,’ she said looking up at him, her eyes moist.

‘Come,’ he said bluntly. ‘Come and live in New York – what’s the worst that can happen? Let Ruan run things over in England, you expand the US business. I have a great house in the Village. It’s not quite the Oxfordshire countryside but I think you’ll like it.’

She looked at him, her heart desperately wanting to say yes but knowing it was an impractical and reckless suggestion; she had people relying on her.

‘Rob, come on,’ she sighed. ‘We’ve barely got the business started over here. I need to be here.’

Rob nodded.

‘Will you at least think about it? Maybe you could come to New York to mull things over.’

‘When it’s all over,’ she whispered. ‘When it’s all over.’

69

Astrid Brinton had a reputation for throwing fabulous parties, a reputation which crossed international borders and time zones. Whether it was a clambake at their Hamptons beach house, a cocktail party in their Cap Ferrat mansion or a post-Grammies shindig at their LA home, Astrid had a talent for entertaining that bordered on art. It was convenient that Blake had an enormous back catalogue of work that still sold in their thousands, and the recent reunion tour of his band Human Nature had sold out in stadiums around the world, raking in millions. For the Brintons’ latest dinner party, held at their Henley-on-Thames Gothic mansion, no expense was spared, although the twenty-four exclusively selected guests sitting around their oval ebony dining table would all have turned up even if Astrid had announced that she was serving Pringles. After the delicious scandal involving Blake, Clover Connor and the bonnet of a Ferrari, sheer curiosity meant every one of the assembled guests had dropped whatever they were doing to attend. Even so, the meal was exquisite: Iranian caviar, Wagyu beef air-freighted straight from Japan and poached pears accompanied by tiny clouds of mascarpone sorbet. Each course was served with a perfectly matched wine costing at least a thousand pounds a bottle. After the finest Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee was brought in, Astrid jumped to her feet and tapped a Christofle teaspoon against a wine glass for attention.

‘I know you’ve all been wondering why we’ve invited you here tonight,’ said Astrid, radiant in ivory Chanel couture. ‘Well, Blake and I wanted to share some very special news with our closest friends.’ She paused dramatically.