It was quite true, after all. She was tired of staying around her apartment; she wanted to go down to the beach, swim in the sea, enjoy the last few days of her holiday here.
Next morning Freddie arrived after breakfast with a large make-up box and a determined glint in her eye.
She spent some time working on Bianca’s face, gently smoothing foundation into her skin, to give an even layer, before she slowly painted out the bruises with a fine brush, finishing by adding a top layer of powder and blusher. When Bianca saw herself in the mirror she blinked. The make-up had been done brilliantly—oh, her lips were still faintly puffy, and there were cracks and cuts under the lipstick that Freddie had applied, but her facial bruises had almost gone; there was just a bluish shadow under the smooth, creamy make-up.
‘That’s amazing!’ she breathed. ‘Freddie, you’re a genius! Even I can barely see a sign of a bruise. If I didn’t know they were there I’m sure I would never notice them.’
Freddie looked modestly satisfied. ‘Danke. Das freut mich!’
‘I’m sorry... I don’t know any German, I’m afraid.’
‘I said thank you...’
‘Oh, I got that bit—but what did the rest mean?’
‘Das freut mich? It means... I’m glad, or that makes me happy.’
‘I must learn some German,’ Bianca thought aloud.
‘Yes, you must—I’ll teach you some.’ Freddie gave her an approving look. ‘German is a very formal language and the grammar is complicated, but I’m sure you will soon pick up enough to be able to talk to people a little.’
When they got down to the beach Karl and the children were swimming in the sea. None of the other people down there gave Bianca a second look; they were all too busy sunbathing or playing beach games. She was able to settle down on her mattress under an umbrella, clamp her headphones on her ears and start reading a book. Freddie lay next to her, also reading.
Totally absorbed in her book, Bianca didn’t hear anyone approaching until a pair of bare, tanned feet came into her line of vision. She looked at them idly, then slowly her gaze moved up the long, dark-haired legs, the lean hips in a smooth-fitting pair of black swimming-trunks, the flat midriff and muscled, golden-skinned chest to the familiar spare-fleshed features.
Her heart beat painfully.
‘Oh... hello...’
Was that her voice? It sounded so shaky; she was furious with herself for betraying what was happening to her.
He gave her a grim look, frowning blackly, and if she had wondered how he had taken her dismissal a few days ago she knew at that instant. Gil had been furious; still was. She didn’t know whether she had hurt his feelings or merely wounded his ego—whatever the case, Gil hadn’t liked being told to take no for an answer, to go away and stay away.
His wife had damaged his ego years ago, leaving him for a much older man, but he had got over that. Maybe it had left him hypersensitive to any other rejections, though?
She should have thought of that. She could have thought of some gentler way of explaining why she wanted to end their brief relationship, couldn’t she?
‘So you’ve finally come out of hiding, have you?’ he muttered. ‘I was beginning to think you would stay in your rooms until you were due to fly home!’
That was what she had intended, of course, but she couldn’t think of anything to say in answer to the accusation. But that didn’t matter because he had hardly finished speaking when he did a visible double-take, starting physically as he took another long stare at her face. His expression abruptly changed, his grey eyes widening.
‘Good heavens... your face... Your skin’s back to normal... How on earth did those bruises heal so quickly?’
‘Freddie worked a miracle,’ she said huskily.
He blinked, looked even more closely, his black brows rising. ‘Freddie did what?’
‘Make-up,’ Freddie informed him, sitting up on her mattress, her arms clasped around her bare knees. ‘It’s all done with make-up, darling.’
Gil shot her a sideways look. ‘That’s incredible—I can barely see any bruising at all; her skin doesn’t show a thing. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. Freddie, my congratulations.’
She gave him a modest smile, teasingly fluttering her lashes. ‘Thank you, Gil, dear. I thought it was time she stopped hiding in her apartment and joined the rest of us in the sun.’
He nodded, his gaze returning to Bianca, who had sat up too. ‘I agree. At least you’re looking better than you did last time I saw you; you were like a refugee from a Hammer horror movie! I hope you’re feeling as good as you look?’
‘Yes, thank you,’ she said, not quite meeting his grey eyes.
‘Sleeping well?’