Six months later
‘Doesn’t she look fabulous?’
‘And after everything she’s been through. Still a bit pale, though, don’t you think?’
‘No wonder. Apparently she stayed in Kensington for Christmas.’
‘London? I thought I saw her in St Barts?’
‘On a yacht? No way, not after the accident. I heard she never wants to set foot on a yacht ever again.’
Sipping from her flute of pink champagne, Karin Cavendish tried to ignore the whispers coming from every corner of Donna and Daniel Delemere’s Eton Square ballroom. A woman of impeccable manners, she was mortified that her presence at the christening had completely upstaged her new goddaughter’s big day. Her leave of absence from the social scene after the death of her husband Sebastian had only heightened Karin’s considerable allure, and in the last six months she had become the subject of gossip and fascinated speculation.
Still, nothing could detract from a party like this, thought Karin. It really was impressive. The one hundred guests who had attended St Peter’s Church an hour earlier for Evie’s baptism were now circulating around one of the most beautiful ballrooms in London. Forget power christening, thought Karin, popping a caviar blini on her tongue: this was more like a royal wedding. Waiters milled around with trays of bubbling Krug and delicate canapés. Filipino housekeepers were discreetly plumping up silk cushions and taking coats to the cloakroom. The net worth of the guests in this room alone must be over £10 billion, she calculated, looking at Ariel Levy, Martin Birtwell, and Evie’s grandfather, Lord Alexander Delemere. She had not seen such a fine gathering of billionaires since her own wedding to Sebastian six years earlier, at the Cavendish family seat of Hopton Castle. She thought for a moment how Sebastian would have loved it. He had been so handsome and well connected, she sighed.
Back-lit by a long, gilt-framed window, Karin’s elegant figure was attracting discreet admiring glances from the men in the room and she tried not to smile. It had been a difficult six months, during which time Karin had thrown herself into her work and seen only the closest of friends, but now she was back on the circuit, it seemed that her new status of widow was not without its advantages. It gave her a whiff of tragedy, a veneer of respect. It removed the suggestion of predatory desires that so often accompanied a glamorous divorcee or single woman. Suddenly she was available, romantic and loaded. Not a bad place to be, thought Karin, taking in the super-rich lifestyle in front of her. Not bad at all.
‘We can’t tell you how honoured we are that you agreed to be Evie’s godmother,’ said Donna Delemere, approaching Karin, clutching her three-month old daughter Evie.
Karin leant forward and gingerly pulled back the voluminous folds of the Brittany lace gown covering the child with an elegantly manicured finger.
‘Oh, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Lovely ceremony. And how is my goddaughter?’
‘A darling,’ smiled Donna with pride. ‘Don’t you think she’s just so pretty? I want to put her in for modelling. I’m thinking Baby Dior; none of those vulgar nappy ads you see on TV. But I don’t think Daniel likes the idea. Says it’s too gosh.’
‘Gauche?’ asked Karin with a small smile.
‘That’s the one,’ she said flushing prettily. ‘Maybe he’s right. Anyway, let’s mingle.’
Karin followed Donna through the crowds, nodding at acquaintances, accepting compliments and flattering looks. While many of the rumours about Karin Cavendish were fanciful or downright scandalous, one thing they all agreed on was that Karin looked fabulous. At thirty-one, in a cherry-red jersey dress which seemed to slide off her slim curves, it would be easy to mistake her for a model. Her long tanned legs, full-lipped pout, and the glossy brown hair which bounced onto her shoulders, all gave her the striking appeal of a sultry yet aloof French actress. And currently there was extra sparkle in Karin’s wolf-green eyes. She had just sold her five-storey home in Holland Park for £12 million to a prominent Iranian businessman, downsized to a de-luxe Georgian townhouse in Kensington, and ploughed the profit into her company, Karenza, the sexiest, chicest swimwear company after Erès. Yes, there were prettier girls, there were richer girls but, looking around the party, where London’s entire beau monde were sipping Krug, she knew that nobody was quite the dynamic package she was.
Donna led her to a corner of the room where society giants Christina Levy and Diana Birtwell were huddled.
‘And is this the gorgeous godmother?’ laughed Christina, a stunning redhead wearing Lanvin, five hundred thousand pounds’ worth of emeralds and a cloud of bespoke scent. ‘Kay’s just the perfect choice for godmother, darling,’ she smirked to Donna. ‘She has a fabulous archive of Chanel, for which Evie will one day be very grateful. Although I hope you’re not seriously looking to her for Evie’s spiritual guidance.’
The wife of Ariel Levy, the biggest British retail tycoon since Philip Green, Christina had only just managed to squeeze the christening in between a post-Christmas stint at Amansala’s Bikini Boot Camp in Tulum and the haute-couture collections in Paris. Sitting next to Christina was Diana Birtwell, a decorous Paltrow blonde and wife of Martin Birtwell, the Internet gambling king. Together they were Karin’s closest female friends. The three woman had shared a house in Chelsea almost a decade earlier, when Christina, a former Californian beauty queen, had come over to London to score a record deal. She had run into Karin and Diana at Hobo’s nightclub, where the two school friends spent night after night drinking cocktails and chasing floppy-haired banking heirs. Hitting it off, the three of them had rented 23b College Mews, a tiny pink terrace in Chelsea, and had painted the international social scene red, white and blue, jetting around the globe at the expense of rich men. The three Mustique-ateers smiled Karin, that’s what they’d called themselves. They had promised lifetime loyalty to each other and swore they’d never be without De Beers diamonds.
Donna passed Evie to her Australian nanny and sat opposite Diana and Christina on a huge leather ottoman.
‘Who is that with Rula?’ asked Karin, discreetly pointing to a tall, slim porcelain-skinned woman with long, buttery-blonde hair. A reigning Miss Adriatic Coast, she was standing with her arm wrapped proprietorially around a stout man in his sixties, with a bald head and a white tuft of hair on the point of his chin. Rula’s four-inch Louboutin heels meant there was almost a foot height difference between the two of them.
‘That’s Conrad Pushkin,’ whispered Christina. ‘The novelist. Apparently they’ve got engaged but haven’t announced it yet. Not until she’s handed over the pageant crown.’
‘A novelist?’ said Diana with surprise. ‘What’s she thinking?’ Rula was one of their more beautiful acquaintances, which was a significant achievement considering their social group consisted of some of London’s most groomed and striking women. Rula was wearing a sable mink poncho and cream leather trousers that made her legs look endless. In the women’s opinion, Rula could have had anyone.
‘He has a Nobel prize, honey,’ said Christina, wide-eyed. ‘I have to hand it to her – it’s pure genius!’
‘What’s genius?’ asked Donna, taking a sip of champagne. She had stopped breast-feeding especially for the party.
‘Deferred gratification, darling,’ said Christina, as if it was obvious. Seeing Donna’s blank look, she patiently explained. ‘Rula’s decided not to go for the really big catch,’ replied Christina thoughtfully. ‘Not immediately, anyway. Conrad’s not good-looking, but he’s not exactly rich either, so all the decent men, and I’m talking top fifty on the Sunday Times Rich List here, they’ll see this gorgeous woman marrying an egghead and think, “Ah! Rula isn’t interested in money! She married him for love, the lucky dog.” So when she’s done with him, mark my words, that honey is going to be in hot demand. The world thinks she’s a beautiful woman not interested