Karin smiled at Lysette’s legendary pragmatism. ‘Well, I have been seeing someone …’ she began.
‘Oh good!’ said Lysette, tucking a sheaf of pale blonde hair around her ear. ‘And does he have good provenance?’
‘Well, he’s not a prince, if that’s what you mean,’ said Karin. ‘But he is on the Forbes list. His name is Adam Gold, he’s the CEO of the Midas Corporation.’
‘Do you think you will marry him?’
Karin felt the porcelain teacup rattle in her hand. ‘I … I don’t know,’ said Karin truthfully. ‘He’s reached his forties without ever having taken the plunge, and you do have to ask yourself if he is ever going to.’
‘Now, now, Karin, all men are the marrying kind, it’s just that you have to give some a little more encouragement than others. Are there any other obstacles? Religion? A disapproving mother?’
‘I am sure he is seeing someone else, Lysette.’
She had finally said it. She hadn’t told Diana or Christina, her closest friends. She had told Lysette Parker. She did not know the woman well enough to know whether she was discreet or a gossip, although there was something elegant and knowing about Lysette that made her want to unburden herself.
‘Have you any idea who it is?’
Karin sighed. ‘Possibly. There is a woman who he works with, although he always made it clear, even before we were together, that he would never involve himself with someone in the company.’
‘Then how do you know it’s her?’
‘I don’t,’ said Karin flatly. ‘But there have been a few incidents lately to make me suspect there is someone else.’
She told Lysette about their trip to Capri and finding the matchbook from Il Pellicano. As she unburdened her story, she could feel herself becoming more angry at the injustice, the betrayal. When Karin had finished, Lysette nodded and put down her cup and saucer.
‘Now I’m going to tell you something that you may find shocking, my dear, but take it from someone who knows a thing or two about affairs of the heart. Adam Gold is very serious about you.’
Karin looked perplexed. ‘How do you know?’
‘Your relationship is such that it has created the desire for a mistress.’
‘And that’s a good thing?’ said Karin, amazed.
‘In my day, powerful, successful men did not want women who were successful in their own right. We had to stay at home, be the good wife, host dinner parties, perhaps produce children. That was it.’
‘But everyone knows how important you were in building up the Jolie brand.’
‘I have had the honour of being Sidney’s muse, yes,’ she said with a small smile. ‘I have advised him about the desires of the woman on the street and the commercial triggers they respond to, but I have never been the alpha female. I have always known my position in our marriage. It’s a supporting role,’ she said, taking a sip of tea.
‘Things have changed in business, that’s true. There are women in the boardroom, running companies, they’re even in the cabinet. But the nature of the alpha male has not changed a jot, my dear. He always wants a bigger car, a bigger boat, a bigger house, and he wants to win every game.’
Lysette paused to play with the pearls around her neck. ‘Let me give you a piece of advice,’ she said, dabbing her lips. ‘If you think Adam is having an affair, accept it. If he is having an affair, accept it. Sidney and I love each other dearly and I consider our marriage successful, but don’t you think I know that Sidney has slept with dozens of women over the years? Every time he gets another secretary, I get another diamond necklace. Sidney is getting the excitement he craves, which is bound to fade after thirty years of marriage; I get more beautiful things. And I get to keep all this,’ she said, opening her palm to indicate their magnificent house. ‘In return, Sidney loves me even more for being for so tolerant, so understanding. And, most importantly, he isn’t going to leave me for any of those tarts.’ There was a sudden hardness to her voice that hinted at her roots. Then she smiled knowingly. ‘And, as you say, it doesn’t hurt that I have helped him build up one of the world’s most successful businesses.’
Karin was silent, mulling over Lysette’s words. ‘But I haven’t helped Adam build up his business,’ said Karin.
‘Ah, but you are an asset, Karin. Never underestimate the alpha male, my dear. He might wine and dine you and give you diamonds, but he’ll make his decisions strictly on a cold, hard business basis: he’ll ask himself, “How much is she worth?” And you, Karin, are successful, beautiful and rich. As long as you don’t try to play him at his own game, as long as you let him think he’s in charge, you’ll always be an asset. And men like Adam Gold want to hang onto their assets.’
45
Delemere Manor sat in the heart of the Delemere estate in the rolling countryside of Gloucestershire. Molly felt a frisson of excitement as her chauffeur-driven town car passed through the main iron gates and along the wide driveway lined with plush oaks. It was a picture-perfect scene of timeless aristocratic Britain. Herds of deer grazed on the greeny-yellow fields, parched with a hot early summer sun. There were proud copses dotted along the horizon, a lake bristling with long reeds, and then there was Delemere House itself, majestic in the distance, the top of its high Georgian windows peeking over a dense wood. Even to Molly, it seemed a little frivolous to turn the home of Donna and Daniel Delemere into an away-day foodie destination for ladies who lunch.
Molly wondered whether she would see Alex over the course of the weekend. Their passionate mee
tings at the Basil Street Hotel had become less frequent since her move to The Standlings and, besides, Alex could be so conservative. When Molly had suggested an assignation at the Delemeres’ London townhouse, he had reacted badly, calling the idea ‘disrespectful’, so who knew how he would react to Molly appearing at his family seat.
The wheels of the car crunched on the gravel and came to a halt outside the honey-coloured pile, where Donna was standing on the step looking irritatingly beautiful and chaste in a knee-length Marni print sundress, her daughter Evie slung across one slender hip. Molly forced a smile as Donna waved; the fact that her friend came from one of the poorest areas of the northeast and could end up like this never ceased to irk Molly.
‘I am so glad you could make it,’ smiled Donna, popping her head through Molly’s open car window. ‘I really didn’t think this weekend was going to be your thing, but luckily I’ve been able to squeeze you into a room with my old friend Denise.’