The Yacht Party (Lara Stone)

‘Fifteen thousand!’ she shouted.

She felt Olivia’s head swivelling towards her, but Lara kept her eyes focused on the auctioneer, who pointed at her with his gavel. ‘Fifteen thousand!’ he repeated with glee. ‘From the young lady at the back. Now who’s going to…’

‘Sixteen!’ came a cry from a table near the middle. A red-faced man with wire-rimmed glasses who had turned to grin at Lara. Perhaps he thought that bidding against her would win her heart. Au contraire, she thought. All eyes were now on Lara, including – as she had hoped – those of Victoria Sachs. It was one way to get someone’s attention.

‘The bid is at sixteen thousand,’ said the auctioneer. ‘And let’s all remember that this is for the ImpactAid charity and all the good work they are doing out in Haiti.’

Lara felt a hand on her knee. ‘Lara, what are you doing?’ murmured Olivia. ‘It’s not actually that nice a place. You’d be better off staying at The Dunmore.’

‘Twenty thousand pounds!’ shouted Lara, figuring she might as well throw herself all in. It was reckless and irresponsible – she supposed theoretically she could afford it, but even so, Lara felt a little like the one time she had done a parachute jump. Goaded into it by Alex when he was stationed in South Africa, standing in the doorway of that rickety prop plane, she had felt the same mixture of adrenaline and idiocy.

‘Looks like we have someone who loves the Bahamas,’ said the auctioneer. ‘Is there

anyone else who fancies a week in the lap of luxury in Harbour Island?’

There was a horrible hush as everyone watched the auctioneer scanning the audience.

‘Anyone?’ he asked, ‘No?’

Oh God, thought Lara, her euphoria rapidly turning to panic.

The auctioneer raised his gavel with a flourish. ‘Going once… going twice.’

The sound of the gavel smashing against the lectern vibrated around the room.

As the crowd burst into applause, Olivia leant in. ‘What the hell was all that about?’ she whispered.

‘Just trying to fit in, Auntie,’ she said, finishing off the rest of her wine.

The main event over, people were beginning to get up and move towards the hotel lobby. Lara followed the flow, accepting the odd arm-squeeze and ‘well done’ from the society ladies. It was strange: the money being thrown about here was ludicrous, but there was a jolly village fete atmosphere, as if Lara had just won the fruit basket in the raffle.

‘Here she is!’ said a jolly woman grabbing Lara by the arm.

‘Let me introduce you to Penny. She owns the villa.’

Penny was a less slender and stylish version of Olivia. She had a regal bearing, pale blonde hair in a cloud around her head. Her blue blazer had shiny gold buttons with a horse’s head stamped onto them.

‘Oh it’s you, Olivia’s niece. Lara, isn’t it?’

‘That’s right.’

‘You’re going to have a wonderful time. Weather can be a bit hit or miss in September, hurricane season. But of course, you miss the crowds.’

Lara frowned. Had she just paid £20,000 for going out of season? She made a point to check the small print on the auction.

‘Have you seen Victoria?’

‘She’s just had to visit the little girls’ room, dear,’ said Penny pointing down the corridor. ‘Although she’s not the one collecting payment. I think you’ll have to speak to Lucinda Dyson for that….’

Lara followed the corridor that led away from the ballroom. Lara guessed this wasn’t the bathroom that the guests weren’t meant to use. It was quiet here, the sound of pots and pans in the distance suggesting they were close to the kitchens.

She pushed down the gold door handle and went inside. Victoria Sachs was standing by the sinks, leaning into a mirror, applying a vivid red lipstick. She looked up as Lara walked in.

‘Ah, our mystery bidder,’ said Victoria, bringing the full beam of her smile to bear on Lara. She could immediately see that Victoria Sachs had that charisma that truly successful people were blessed with, a sort of golden glow that invited you in. You felt happy just being in their presence.

‘Are you a big fan of Harbour Island…?’

‘Lara,’ she said, wondering vaguely if she was supposed to curtsey. ‘Never been, actually, but it is somewhere I’ve always dreamed of.’