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Lady Olivia leant forward. ‘Is this some kind of joke?’
‘Oh, it’s no joking matter.’ Alex put her glass down as her first course was served: oysters Kilpatrick.
‘But he hasn’t said anything to me about it!’
‘Come off it, Livvy,’ her husband entreated. ‘When does Max ever consult, well—’ he obviously changed tack a little as his wife looked daggers at him ‘—anyone? He’s always been a law unto himself, you know that!’
Olivia subsided a bit and glanced around at the other guests sharing their table, but they were all Chinese, a man and two couples. ‘Still,’ she said, ‘you’d have thought he would have at least asked for my advice over Nicky, but I haven’t even been allowed to meet him yet.’
‘He’s only just met him himself,’ Sir Michael pointed out.
‘Well, if you ask me, the obvious thing to do in the circumstances is to marry Cathy. You have to admit they were extremely close and—’
‘Olivia,’ Sir Michael warned.
Yes, Olivia, Alex echoed in her mind, surely this is very private stuff even if they can’t speak a word of English?
But as she watched Max’s sister she saw that she was in the grip of genuine emotion, as if she was deeply concerned about her brother and his new-found son.
All the same it was not a dinner-dance conversation and Alex turned to her neighbour, bowed, and with quite some skill managed to get the whole table conversing.
And during the course of it, she learnt that the McPhersons had two children and divided their time between Australia and England. They’d also been to China, and through Alex were able to exchange some warm reminiscences of their visit as the quartet played Mozart, Strauss and other light classics in the background.
And it was soon obvious that, unlike their host, who’d claimed to be feeling bloody-minded—not that he was showing it now—the guests were in a relaxed, even letting-their-hair-down mode now the negotiations had been successfully concluded.
So it was a light-hearted, happy throng that dined on oysters and champagne followed by the finest Australian beef washed down with superb Hunter Valley red wines. Crème brulée was served for dessert, its custard satiny and chilled under a caramelized sugar top.
And there were gifts for each guest. Australian opal pendants on fine gold chains for the ladies and gold and opal cufflinks for the men. Even the individual gift boxes they came in were works of art: tooled leather embossed with tiny kangaroos, kookaburras, koalas, emus and frilled-neck lizards.
Alex left hers unopened once she realized what it was all about.
The meal was cleared and more champagne poured—it was time for the speeches and toasts.
If you didn’t know him, Alex thought as she watched Max Goodwin perform his part, you would think there was nothing wrong with him. But she noticed that his sister was watching him intently with a frown in her eyes.
Then all the formalities were over and the string quartet demonstrated their versatility, and couples took to the dance floor to a lively beat.
Alex decided to slip away. She had the beginnings of a headache and a few minutes alone in a nice quiet spot seemed like a good idea.
She had no idea that two men saw her go: Max—and his cousin, Paul O’Hara.
She went out onto the lawn and took the path that led to the swimming-pool garden but stopped at a sound behind her, a footstep. She took a deep breath and turned—it was Paul O’Hara.
He too wore his dinner suit well, his fair hair was smooth and his nice grey eyes were serious and concerned again. ‘Please don’t run away, Alex—may I call you that?’ he requested.
‘Well, yes, but—’ She stopped awkwardly.
‘I apologize if I’ve embarrassed you, but it was a bit like being hit in the solar plexus when I first met you. I didn’t believe in love at first sight but—’ He gestured and looked younger—younger and confused but very genuine.
‘It happened to my father,’ Alex heard herself say, and told him the story of the New Year’s Eve party. ‘But—’ she swallowed ‘—I—I—’
‘Don’t reciprocate? I know. I wasn’t sure at first but when I came over a few nights ago and I saw you with Max, I—’ He hesitated and shrugged.
Alex froze as she cast her mind back to his unannounced arrival that night and thought how it must have looked. She’d certainly been glowing at the time with her memories of Seisia, but would it be true to say it was only that?
She looked down and bit her lip.
Paul O’Hara watched her downcast lids, her carefully darkened lashes, and felt his heart go out to her. ‘The thing is,’ he said, ‘Max—well, put it this way, Nicky is no ordinary kid. He’s the sole heir to a billion-dollar fortune and that could create all sorts of problems.’
