‘Ella, do as you’re told, or…’
But I ended the call and turned off my phone for good measure, while Maria was paying off the cabbie. Luckily, she didn’t seem to notice my agitation but helped me out of the taxi and air-kissed me in a cloud of fragrance more powerful than the drab, smoky November air.
‘Darling, how exciting. You look wonderful.’ She put her lips to my ear, whispering conspiratorially. ‘J can’t wait to meet you. He’s like a cat on hot bricks. Come and say hello to him.’
I zipped my phone inside my bag, took Maria’s arm and let her lead me into my uncertain destiny.
The only person in the large living room was an unfamiliar man, strangely dressed in the upper half of a tuxedo and a pair of boxers. He was pouring some drinks from a cabinet in the corner.
‘This is Martin,’ said Maria. ‘He’s been forbidden to wear trousers tonight, haven’t you, Martin?’
‘Yes, ma’am,’ he said, then he nodded to me. ‘Pleased to meet you.’
‘I’m Ellie,’ I said, trying very hard to keep my gaze fixed on his upper half.
‘Yes, mistress has told us about you. May I serve you?’
‘Er…’
‘He means, would you like a drink,’ translated Maria.
‘Oh, yes, thanks. White wine, please.’
‘I’ll bring it out for you,’ he said, as Maria led me onwards, to a large conservatory overlooking a small, trim garden. The fence, I was interested to note, was high enough to keep any prying neighbourly eyes firmly out, not that the fence was my principal point of focus. That distinction belonged to the tall, dinner-suited man who rose from his seat as we entered and looked me up and down with an expression both tense and hungry.
I had never been at close quarters with Judd Keane before, and it was only now that a true sense of his size hit home. He was very tall, even an inch or so bigger than six-foot-two Tom, and much broader in the chest and shoulders than my snake-hipped lover. I certainly wasn’t going to be able to wrestle the truth out of him, that was for sure. It wasn’t easy to tell his age – he had to be over fifty, but could easily pass for ten years younger. A few lines around the corners of the eyes and a bit
of silver in the sandy brown hair were the only telltale signs. The photographs in the Clarion didn’t really do him justice. He was handsome, in a broad, bluff, almost noble way. He looked the absolute opposite of the sneaky snake in the grass I knew him to be. Perhaps that was part of how he got away with it. He looked like a good man, so people assumed he was.
He held out a ridiculously huge hand and I put my pathetic little paw into it. He clasped it tight, not quite shaking it, just holding it at arm’s length while his eyes drank me in and his smile, tight at first, widened into something more genuine.
‘You must be the famous Ellie,’ he said in the deep tones I recalled from the Valmont. ‘I’m J.’
‘Hello, J,’ I said, wondering how to fake being at ease.
‘I’ve heard all about you,’ he said, still holding on to my hand. ‘Maria didn’t exaggerate.’
‘That’s…good,’ I said faintly.
Martin arrived with a tray of drinks and J released me – reluctantly, it seemed – so I could take a seat opposite him.
‘That’s a lovely bow tie you’re wearing, Martin,’ said Maria, taking her own seat at my right. ‘But why don’t you take it off and loosen your collar? I want to check that you’ve obeyed my instructions.’
She smiled benevolently as Martin obeyed her instructions. He unbuttoned his collar to reveal…another collar. A studded leather dog collar.
‘Good boy,’ approved Maria. ‘Kneel and let me attach your leash.’
Martin knelt at her feet while she clipped on a dog lead. She yanked at it playfully once it was attached, but he managed to maintain his position.
‘Perfect,’ she said. ‘Why don’t you fetch the food from the kitchen? Then you can kneel at my feet while we eat.’
Only now did I notice that there were only three place settings. I wondered if Martin would get to participate in the meal at all, and felt rather sorry for him. I hoped J wouldn’t expect this human dog act from me.
‘You and Martin…?’ I said, once he’d trotted off.
‘As I told you – a long-term client. We’ve become friends. But never mind us. I want your first impressions, darlings. J?’
‘Very good,’ he said, his eyes still fixed on me, as they had been since I entered the room. ‘Very nice. And you’re new to all this?’