Page 36 of His Last Gamble

‘Hello there, coo-eee,’ she called loudly, in an unmistakable Australian accent. ‘Do you want a drink, chuck?’ she asked, deftly relieving a waiter of a glass of champagne as she did so.

Charmaine could hardly turn her back and walk away, could she? But she felt her feet dragging as they carried her over to where Payne watched her approach with hooded eyes.

‘Madge, Timmo, this is Charmaine Reece, the designer for Jonniee,’ he introduced her not as a model but under her real auspices, and she shot him a quick, angry look.

‘How do you do,’ Charmaine said politely, shaking hands with the couple. Timmo had the look of a farmer, not too tall but wiry, and burnt the colour of a hazelnut. She could well imagine him owning vast areas of the Australian outback. Both of them had that warm and open-hearted attitude so particular of the Australians.

‘Here, try this,’ Madge said, handing over the glass. ‘Bubbly always picks me right up. I reckon getting your picture taken like that takes more out of you than people might think.’

Charmaine smiled and gratefully took the glass. She was feeling thirsty, and drained.

‘Hello, here’s Max,’ Timmo said, and they all turned to watch a tall, dark-haired man come across the crowded room to meet them.

‘Hello, everyone,’ the newcomer said amiably, and instantly Charmaine recognised his voice. This was the man who’d been talking to Payne in the garden that day. The one Payne had been angry with.

Charmaine’s eyes sharpened on him in curiosity. He was a good-looking man, a few years older than Payne, and probably in some lucrative business such as antiques or wine growing. He had that look about him.

‘Max, you look done in, sweetheart,’ Madge said tactlessly, but the other man merely shrugged.

‘Combination of jetlag and depression,’ he said surprisingly, but with a self-mocking smile.

‘Oh, trouble?’ Madge said, instantly and unashamedly curious, and Payne grimaced openly.

‘Trust you,’ Timmo said to his wife, but everyone else smiled, and it was obvious to Charmaine that these were all old and trusted friends, and that nobody took Madge’s larger-than-life personality to heart.

‘Actually yes,’ Max said ruefully. ‘And since it’ll be all over the island before long, I suppose you might as well be the first to know, Madge. Maria and I are splitting up.’

‘Oh, darlin’, that’s a blow,’ Madge said, instantly sympathetic.

‘It’s been coming for some time,’ Max said philosophically, but not without regret, and Charmaine tried to sidle away. This was obviously not the kind of conversation meant for strangers.

‘Payne, I was wondering if you knew a good divorce lawyer,’ she heard Max say, as she mumbled something vague about needing to get into her next outfit.

‘And before you lay into me, it’s not for me, but for Maria,’ Max added, while Madge gave her a small wave goodbye, before turning back to far more interesting goings-on. ‘I want her to have the best. I don’t want any hard feelings.’

Charmaine wondered if that’s how all divorces were nowadays. It sounded wonderfully civilised, but she still felt sad as she walked back to the small office that was the dressing room and got into her next outfit. Even though she didn’t know the couple involved, the failure of a marriage had to be something that left the world a little worse off than before.

Jinx was leaning across a desk, examining her make-up in the mirror, and Charmaine felt her spirits droop even lower. But luckily, just then Fizz came in, having finished her second stint, and immediately began regaling Jinx with the tale of her latest lover — a French count, who was married and refusing to leave his wife and three children.

This is definitely not the kind of life for me, Charmaine thought, trying not to feel shocked as she slipped the fabulous bronze gown over her head and slipped into a slinky black beaded cocktail dress, her final outfit of the shoot. She was just not cut out for the hardness of it all. Perhaps a small country cottage and Wordsworth were all she was fit for.

When she went back into the main salon, Max’s prediction that his news would soon be all over town was proving true, because already she could overhear people talking about it.

‘I heard he was seeing some other woman,’ a formidable-looking society dowager, dripping diamonds and malice, whispered loudly to another, slightly younger and more blasé woman.

‘An actress, I heard,’ she murmured vaguely. ‘They usually are, aren’t they? Or models.’

And suddenly Charmaine realised they’d both broken off their conversation to look at her! Blushing scarlet, she hurried away, her head down, and feeling — foolishly — ashamed.

Yes, there was no doubt about it, she couldn’t wait to get away from this place. It had brought her nothing but misery and heartache.

But as she took her place next to Coral and waited for her turn with Phil, she found her eyes seeking out one man. And she knew that in spite of everything, and even given the whole wide world to choose from, there was no other place she’d rather be than right here, right now.

Because this was where Payne was.

* * *

It was nearly midnight by the time the photoshoot finally ended, and she was the first one away, slipping out into the gardens with relief. She guessed the ‘wrap’ party would go on until well into the early hours, but she was exhausted.

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