Page 48 of A Sky Painted Gold

Caitlin looks at us both for a moment and pauses dramatically, her hands stretched out in front of her. “A masquerade!” she exclaims finally, clapping her hands together like a child at the theatre.

“A masquerade?” I repeat.

“Yes!” She sits down on the sofa beside me and takes one of my hands. Her eyes really are very bright and I can smell the alcohol that she has just drunk on her breath, sweet and sharp at the same time. “It’s perfect,” she continues. “We’ll have a costume party, and everyone will wear masks. You won’t be the centre of attention because you’ll be incognito.” She sits back with a look of great satisfaction her face. “Plus, people always behave absolutely terribly when they wear masks.” Her voice is gleeful. “It’s so much fun.” She looks about expectantly as if waiting for a round of applause.

“It does sound quite exciting,” I say cautiously, turning the idea over in my mind.

“Oh, now Lou thinks it sounds exciting … now that she knows people are going to behave badly,” Caitlin teases. “Is there anyone in particular that you would like to be badly behaved with?”

As if on cue, the door opens and Charlie appears. Caitlin dissolves into giggles as he stands in the doorway looking bemused.

“What did I miss?” he asks.

Despite my protests to the contrary, Caitlin remains convinced that I have a thumping great crush on Charlie. Sometimes I wish she was right. Although his good looks alone are almost enough to turn my knees to water, my initial impression of Charlie proved to be correct. He is sweet, good-natured and gorgeous, but he is also absolutely dull. Trust me, there’s nothing that will kill a burgeoning infatuation dead quicker than having to spend thirty minutes listening to the endless list of attributes necessary in the perfect trout bait.

“You didn’t miss anything,” I say to Charlie now. “Caitlin is just happy because she’s planning a party.”

Charlie comes into the room and sits in one of the chairs, his legs crossed. “When is Caitlin ever not planning a party?” he asks, reaching into his pocket for his cigarette case.

“This is a special party,” Caitlin says gleefully, nudging me with her elbow. “This is for Lou’s birthday!”

“Is that so?” Charlie’s voice is mild as he lights his cigarette and lifts it to his lips. “Well, many happy returns,” he says.

“It’s not until next week,” I reply.

“What’s not until next week?” Laurie has arrived. Both men get to their feet, and so do I, so that I can accept a warm kiss on each cheek. Laurie always greets me as though we haven’t seen each other for months.

“What’s not until next week?” Laurie repeats once we are all sitting down again and she has made sure that Robert is fixing drinks.

“Lou’s birthday,” Charlie says.

“And we’re having a party!” Caitlin exclaims.

“It’s not a big thing,” I mutter, but Laurie ignores me.

“What kind of a party?” she asks, as Robert places a whisky and soda in her hand. She wraps her fingers around his wrist and gives it a little squeeze in thanks.

“I was thinking a costume party,” Caitlin says, then she lowers her voice so that it is almost a whisper. “With masks.”

Laurie nods, taking a sip of her drink. “That could work,” she says, and a slow, Cheshire-cat grin spreads across her face. “All bets are off when people wear masks. They go crazy.”

“Just what I said,” Caitlin agrees with some satisfaction.

“But can you pull it together in under a week?” Laurie frowns. “There’s so much to do.”

“Oh, I don’t want you to go to too much trouble…” I start, but Robert leans over the back of the sofa, interrupting.

“I wouldn’t bother,” he says to me. “Those two are in planning mode now. You’re not going to get any sense out of either of them.” He hands me a glass, a soda water bubbling furiously over ice cubes. The glass is heavy, beautifully engraved. Suddenly, I have the overwhelming urge to wrap my fingers around his hand, as Laurie did. I can almost feel his warm skin tingling beneath my touch. Instead I bury my flushed face in my glass.

“Thank you,” I murmur, my heart thumping irregularly. What is wrong with me?

“Of course I can pull it together,” Caitlin is saying. “It will be perfect. Every single detail will be absolutely perfect.”

“Caitlin,” her brother says again, and his voice is a gentle warning. “Don’t take on too much –”

“Psssh.” Caitlin dismisses him with a wave of her hand. “It will be a true Cardew event, just like Mother and Father used to have here. Perfect.” Her eyes are glittering, enormous in her thin face.

I see a frown flicker across Robert’s brow. It’s the first time I’ve heard Caitlin talk about her mother at all, but the moment passes quickly and then Caitlin and Laurie are talking about colour schemes.