Jilly Cooper - Imogen

Listlessly, she dressed and wandered along the passage to Cable’s room. Chaos met her eyes. Clothes of every colour of the rainbow littered the bed. Suitcases lay all over the floor.

‘What are you doing?’ said Imogen, aghast.

‘What does it look as though I’m doing?’ snapped Cable. ‘Packing, of course. Since you’re here, you may as well help me. Get those dresses out of the wardrobe — take the coat-hangers too. This beastly hotel can afford them — and put them in this case. My foot is hurting so much, I can’t tell you.’

She sat down on the bed.

‘But where are you going?’ said Imogen.

Cable gave one of her sly, malicious smiles.

‘All roads lead to Rome, darling. But I’m going by way of Milan.’

Imogen looked horrified. ‘But that’s where Antoine is.’

‘Right first time,’ said Cable approvingly. ‘You’re getting perceptive in your old age. Rebel’s collecting me in half-an-hour.’

‘But I thought you loathed Antoine.’

‘Did you now? Well, I’m entitled to change my mind. I never said he wasn’t attractive. And he’s mad for me, which is half the battle. He telephoned this morning, absolutely gibbering, my dear, and said ever since he met me on Wednesday he couldn’t get me out of his mind. He knew I wasn’t happy with Matt. If I came to Rome, he’d give me the best time in the world. Don’t forget those bikinis hanging from the window. He’s going to give me a part in his film — as a slave girl.’

‘And what about Matt?’

Cable’s face hardened. ‘Don’t talk to me about Matt,’ she said stonily. ‘I’m through with him for good. If anyone deserves his come-uppance, it’s that guy.’

‘But what’s he done?’ said Imogen.

‘He’s impossible, that’s what. He was in the most vile temper all yesterday, quite unsympathetic about my foot which, incidentally, is absolute agony. Then he swans off for most of the night. God knows what he was up to — that blasted Casino, I suppose. Then he comes in at some ungodly hour this morning, just as I’d taken two more sleeping pills. Put all those bottles in my make-up case, darling. It’s that trunk over there. Where was I?’

‘You’d just taken some pills.’

‘So I had. Well, I was very uptight, so I began to tell him a few home-truths. Very gently, mind you. And do you know what he said?’

Imogen shook her head.

‘He said, “Why don’t you shut up about your bloody foot. It would have been better for everyone if you’d broken your jaw.”’

Imogen buried her face in the bottles to hide a smile.

‘And then without giving me a chance to retaliate, he charges out of the room to watch some forest fire that’s broken out in the mountains.’

There was a knock on the door. Cable jumped nervously.

‘Answer it, will you?’ she said.

A sleek black face appeared round the door. It was Rebel.

‘Oh, hullo,’ said Cable with relief. ‘I won’t be long. Could you take these cases down? I’m afraid you’ll have to make two journeys.’

As soon as Rebel had left the room Imogen pleaded, ‘You can’t leave Matt like this. OK — so he blew his top. But he’ll calm down. He’s worth a million of Antoine. Antoine’s just a lovely playboy.’

‘And I’m a lovely playgirl,’ said Cable, wriggling into a green dress that looked faintly familiar.

‘But Matt really loves you.’ Imogen was almost in tears.

‘He shows it in a most mysterious way,’ said Cable.

‘But he’ll be shattered.’

‘Won’t he just!’ said Cable gleefully. ‘Men hate it so much more when you take off with one of their mates. Well, if he loves me so much, he can come and get me. And this time it’ll be marriage or nothing.’

She got an envelope out of the chest of drawers.

‘I’ve written him this letter telling him everything,’ she said, spraying it with scent. ‘Will you be sure to give it him?’

Rebel appeared at the door. ‘You can carry me down this time, darling,’ said Cable.

Rebel picked her up.

‘Lovely,’ said Cable, feeling his muscles and smiling up at him. ‘I don’t think we’ll bother to go as far as Milan.’

Fear and desolation crept slowly through Imogen’s stomach like a cold wind. She went downstairs and ordered a Coke. Madame came waddling over in carpet slippers.

‘’Ave you seen Monsieur O’Connor?’ she asked, putting the Coke tin and a glass on the table.

Imogen explained about the forest fire.

‘Ah,’ said Madame. ‘Well, I ’ave his plane tickets.’

‘Tickets?’ said Imogen slowly.

It was as though another layer of ice was being placed over her heart.

Madame nodded despondently. ‘Tonight he go. I think ’e meant to take that one back to London for her foot, but she seems to ’ave gone already. Always Monsieur O’Connor stay for two week. But this year, I think he not happy.’

Mindlessly picking up her Coke tin, Imogen left Madame in full spate and went out into the street. She was numb with horror. It was like some terrible dream. To be suddenly faced with life without Matt. A grey drab expanse stretching to infinity. Tears streaming down her face. Oblivious of the people in the street, she walked blindly to the far end of the cove, and stood there for a long time, looking at the sea frothing like ginger beer on the sand.

A car was hooting insistently. Blasted French, why did they always drive on their horns.

‘Imogen,’ yelled a voice.

She looked up as the white Mercedes drew alongside her.

Matt leant across.

‘Jump in,’ he said. ‘There’s something I want to show you.’

In a daze she got in.

He looked at her closely. ‘Poor little love, you look done in.’

His face and hands were grimy, and his eyes bloodshot, but otherwise he seemed in excellent spirits. But not for long, thought Imogen. Cable’s letter was burning a hole in her pocket.

As he swung the car off the coast road and headed for the mountains, she said, ‘Matt, I’ve got something to tell you.’

‘And there’s something,’ he said, taking the Coke tin from her and helping himself to a great swig of it, ‘that I must tell you. In spite of her hundred per cent guaranteed sun protection lotion, Yvonne is peeling like a New York tickertape welcome. It’s coming off her in festoons.’

Imogen couldn’t help giggling.

‘How was the fire?’ she asked.

‘Raging merrily, but they expect a storm tonight, so no one’s very worried about it. I got a good story, though. Port-les-Pins fire brigade spent all morning bravely fighting the fire, but come lunchtime, like all good Frogs, they downed tools and returned to the town. When they got back three hours later, they found their fire engine burnt to a frazzle.’ His shoulders shook.

She’d never seen him so happy — it wrung her heart. Oh damn, damn Cable.

They drove past vineyards and olive groves shimmering like tinfoil, past Braganzi’s fortress and up into the mountains. When they’d gone as far up as the car could go, Matt got out.

‘Come on,’ he said, taking her hand and leading her up a steep path to the top.

Below them stretched a mountainous waste of Old Testament country. The sun moved in and out of the clouds lighting up village and farms. To the right like a judgement on an ungodly people, a great furnace was licking over the hillside. Bits of ash fluttered like snowflakes through the air.

‘It’s beautiful,’ breathed Imogen.

‘I always make a pilgrimage up here every year,’ he said. ‘It’s sort of insurance that I’ll come back again.’

The highest rock was smothered in undergrowth. Matt pulled away the brambles and the wild lavender to reveal a plaque with a list of names on it.