Dreaming of Venice Read online

  ‘Penny. Up here.’ She caught sight of Caroline waving to her from up on the mezzanine floor so she climbed the glass and steel staircase and made her way across to the table she had chosen. As she got there she saw a Reserved sign on the table top. Clearly, this meeting had been carefully pre-planned. If she had expected to meet Caroline’s private employer, she was to be disappointed. The only occupant of that corner of the coffee shop was Caroline. Today she was wearing a smart grey dress and an antique coral necklace.

  ‘Penny, hi. Come and sit down. What can I get you?’

  Penny glanced at what Caroline was drinking. It looked very much like a glass of prosecco. She pointed across the table. ‘Thanks. I’ll have what you’re having if that’s okay.’

  An immaculate waitress appeared at her shoulder and Caroline caught the girl’s eye. ‘Another glass of champagne, please.’

  Penny sat down, reflecting that people who dressed like Caroline and staged meetings in places like this would probably turn their noses up at anything less than champagne. She slipped her jacket off and was conscious of Caroline’s eyes giving her a close forensic examination. Maybe she was a lesbian and this was nothing more than an elaborate chat up? She had nothing against lesbians, but it just wasn’t her thing. She was just starting to compose a suitable polite put down when Caroline spoke up.

  ‘It’s quite uncanny.’ She was talking to herself as much as to Penny. ‘Quite amazing.’ Her eyes were still ranging over Penny’s body.

  Penny’s suspicions deepened. She cleared her throat and was about to speak when the waitress reappeared with her champagne. Caroline waited until the girl had left, then launched into an explanation before Penny could voice her reservations.

  ‘I work for a very private family who keep a very low public profile. You’ve almost certainly never heard of them, although they’re some of the wealthiest people in the country. Anyway, the thing is, we’re looking for somebody to take the place of Olivia – that’s my employer – at a number of conferences and meetings over the next few months.’

  ‘Really? What sort of conferences?’ Penny wondered if somewhere along the line the story had got out about her having an MA in Art History.

  ‘The environment. My employers sponsor a number of good causes, mostly involved with research into climate change.’

  Penny shook her head in bewilderment. ‘But that’s not even my subject.’ Caroline looked up and caught her eye.

  ‘Well, why don’t you tell me all about you and your subject. What’ve you been doing since school? Have you always been a waitress at that… place? You’re what, maybe 25 or so?’

  ‘26 last month. I’m an artist. I did a degree in fine art at the Slade and then an MA in Art History and since then I’ve been painting and trying to sell my paintings.’ She looked up at Caroline and smiled. ‘So far without any great success, but I’m still hopeful. I’ve been working as a waitress for the last couple of years as well, to try and help make ends meet.’ She spotted interest in Caroline’s eyes; interest and approval.

  ‘That’s marvellous, Penny. You’ve got a degree, and a postgraduate one at that. One of the things we’ve been concerned about was whether you’d have the necessary academic and intellectual tools for the job. Clearly you do. That’s excellent.’ She picked up her glass and held it out across the table. ‘Cheers.’

  Penny dutifully clinked her glass against Caroline’s and took a mouthful. She hadn’t had champagne since her sister’s wedding and this tasted delicious. She took another mouthful and let it slip slowly down her throat before speaking. ‘But why me, Caroline? Surely you’d be better off with a scientist, an environmental specialist. I’m all right with Michelangelo or Titian, but I don’t know the first thing about global warming.’

  Caroline smiled back at her and Penny suddenly realised she rather liked her. ‘Don’t worry, Penny, I’m sure you’ll be fine.’ She glanced at her watch. ‘Do you have any plans for this evening?’ Penny shook her head. ‘Well, if it suits you, maybe you might like to come along with me to meet my employer, and then I’ll take you out for dinner. Anywhere you like. How does that sound?’

  ‘That sounds great, but tell me more about the job.’ She still couldn’t get her head around why she, of all people, should have been chosen.

  ‘If you don’t mind, I’ll leave that until a bit later. Once you’ve met Olivia it’ll be easier for me to fill you in on the details. What I can tell you is what we’re offering. We anticipate this occupying your time for one or two full days a month, mostly at the weekends, along with a couple of weekday engagements of just a few hours here and there.’ She looked up at Penny. ‘Would you be able to give us that much of your time?’

  ‘Yes, but I don’t see…’

  ‘It’ll all become clear this evening. In the meantime, I can tell you that we’re proposing to pay you five hundred pounds a day or pro rata for the shorter engagements.’

  ‘Ah…’ A response didn’t come readily to Penny. Caroline and her mysterious employer were offering her five hundred pounds each day for two days’ work a month. That was a thousand pounds a month, maybe more, for what sounded like very little commitment. A thousand pounds a month! Suddenly a trip to the hairdresser, a visit to the dentist for the first time in years and maybe even a flight to Australia to see Rick loomed into range. She reached for her glass and drained it.

  ‘Another one? I could certainly manage one.’ Caroline emptied her glass and raised it in the waitress’s direction, along with two fingers. ‘So, do you reckon these terms might be acceptable to you?’

  Penny resisted the temptation to throw her arms around Caroline’s neck and kiss her. An extra grand a month would make an enormous difference to her life. She took a deep breath. ‘More than acceptable, Caroline. That sounds most generous.’

  ‘Excellent. Now, if you don’t mind, tell me more about your background. I’d like to know as much about you as possible before we go to meet Olivia.’

  They left the coffee shop at half past six and Caroline hailed a taxi. It took them to Notting Hill and stopped outside a huge white Georgian town house. Penny had no idea how much a house like this might be worth, but she suspected it would be well into eight figures. Caroline led her up the steps and rang the bell. The door was opened almost immediately by a middle-aged lady, introduced by Caroline as Janice the housekeeper. From behind her, a dark shadow appeared. Penny took an apprehensive step backwards as a big dog emerged from a doorway and came charging towards her. She relaxed as she saw it was a handsome black Labrador whose intentions, from the way his tail was wagging furiously, were clearly anything but aggressive. Then, unexpectedly, the dog suddenly skidded to a halt on the polished wood floor a few feet from her and subjected her to a long stare, his head slightly to one side, as if unsure who she was.

  ‘That’s just Gilbert. Don’t worry about him, he’s very friendly.’ Caroline clicked her tongue and the dog came over to greet her. As she scratched his ears, Caroline gave Penny a smile. ‘He’s probably just confused.’

  ‘Confused?’ Penny didn’t have time to dwell on this comment as the housekeeper ushered them into the lounge. This magnificent room was the size of the Apocalypse Café and Penny’s bedsit put together. There was an intricately sculpted white marble fireplace with a collection of delicate oriental jade figures on the mantelpiece. The floor was polished oak and the furniture modern and elegant.

  From Penny’s point of view, however, the most interesting thing in the room by far was a painting. It was a wooden triptych, hanging on the far wall, that she recognised immediately as late medieval. When doing her MA, she had specialised in medieval art and she would dearly have liked to study this painting more closely. She felt a surge of excitement as she saw that it looked uncannily like the Garden of Earthly Delights she had seen in the Prado in Madrid. Surely, she thought to herself, this couldn’t be a Hieronymus Bosch original. If it was, then it was worth more than the house, and probably the houses on either side o
f it as well. She was dying to go across and examine it more closely when another door opened in the side wall and two people walked into the room. Suddenly Penny forgot all about the painting. She could hardly believe her eyes.

  ‘Penny, this is Mrs Brookes-Webster, and this is Olivia.’ Although she was still trying to process what she was seeing, Penny couldn’t help noticing the apprehension on Caroline’s face as she made the introductions. She took a good look at the mother. The woman, probably in her fifties, was very attractive. She was wearing a very stylish, if deeply revealing, silk gown and her ears, fingers and neck were heavy with gold and diamonds. A powerful wave of very expensive perfume wafted into the room along with her. Her thick, black hair was piled up on her head in a style that could only have been done by a professional, and not a cheap one either. However, the expression on her face was far from welcoming. In fact, the way she was looking at Penny made Caroline’s inspection of her in the coffee shop seem like a fleeting glance. But Penny’s eyes returned almost immediately to the daughter. Caroline was dead right. It really was uncanny. Penny felt as if she was looking in a mirror. She and Olivia could have been twins.

  The dog, by this time, had worked out who his mistress was and he trotted over to Olivia, who stroked his head as he took up position beside her.

  ‘Good evening.’ Penny held out her hand to Olivia and the girl reached out and took it, shaking it limply. She barely raised her eyes from the priceless rug beneath her feet and only just murmured a greeting. As welcomes go, it was weak, to say the least. As it turned out, feeble as it was, this proved to be a lot warmer than the reaction she got from the mother.

  ‘Good God, Caroline, what’s this supposed to be? Pygmalion? I know you have some funny ideas from time to time, but, really? How on earth do you intend to transform a nobody like this into Olivia?’ Her voice was heavy with disdain and Penny had to stifle the urge to reply in kind. Sensing the hostility in the room, Caroline was quick to respond.

  ‘But Mrs Brookes-Webster, surely you can see just how similar the two girls are.’

  Penny, who was still doing her best to swallow the nobody remark, took a good look at the daughter. Olivia’s hair was almost exactly the same shade of chestnut as hers, although it was a good bit shorter and had been cut and styled to perfection. The girl wasn’t wearing an evening dress like her mother, but her expensive-looking deep red silk top was almost certainly out of the same designer stable as her mother’s. Penny studied her for a moment. Caroline was right. It wasn’t just their faces. Even their bodies were almost identical, their legs a similar length, making them pretty much the same height. She couldn’t see the exact colour of her eyes, but they were light, as were hers. Unlike Penny, though, Olivia glittered with gold earrings, and her heels were almost as high as her mother’s.

  ‘Well, what’s your name?’ Not even an attempt at cordiality.

  Penny returned her attention to Mrs Brookes-Webster and did her best to keep her voice level and respectful as she replied. After all, there was a thousand pounds a month and maybe a trip to Oz riding on this.

  ‘Penny Lane… like the Beatles’ song.’

  The other woman gave no reaction. Instead she walked slowly all the way round Penny, staring at her closely as she did so. Finally she turned to Caroline and sniffed. ‘Well, I still don’t see why we need to go to all this palaver, but if this is all we’ve got, then I suppose we’ll have to give it a try. But frankly, Caroline, I can’t see it working.’ She glanced across at her daughter. ‘What do you think, Olivia?’

  ‘I don’t know, but I do think it’s worth a try.’ The girl wouldn’t even meet Penny’s eye. She looked as disinterested as she sounded, concentrating her attention on the dog. Penny could have slapped her and her ostentatious mother. The two of them were discussing her like a piece of meat. For a moment she was once more reminded of Jimmy’s comment about prostitution. She was on the point of telling them what they could do with their job and leaving, when the mother turned on her heel and headed for the door.

  ‘I have to go now, Olivia. I don’t want to be late for the premiere. Are you sure you don’t want to come?’ Olivia shook her head. Mrs Brookes-Webster stopped at the door and turned back to glare at Caroline. ‘I still think this is a mistake, Caroline. An expensive and unnecessary mistake.’ And she left, not giving Penny so much as a goodbye.

  Penny’s returned her attention to Olivia, who was still standing with her eyes downcast, stroking the dog. After a few seconds that felt like minutes, Olivia finally raised her head and looked across at Penny. ‘I agree with Caroline that this is something that’s worth trying. It won’t be easy, but it is worthwhile. Really.’ With that, she turned and left through the same door as her mother. The dog got up, glanced across at Penny for a moment and then padded out behind her.

  After she had gone, Caroline went across to the door and checked that it was firmly closed before speaking. First she invited Penny to sit down. Penny shook her head and the two of them stood there uncomfortably for a few moments, digesting the scene that had just finished.

  ‘Look, Penny, I’m sorry about that. I’m afraid Mrs Brookes-Webster can be a bit prickly at times. She’s going to a big event tonight and she’s probably just a bit hyper.’

  ‘Prickly? I think the words you’re looking for are downright bloody rude.’ Penny caught her eye and only briefly hesitated before adding ‘What a cow!’

  ‘I’m sorry, Penny.’ Caroline dropped her eyes. ‘Anyway, as you must’ve noticed, the resemblance between the two of you is quite remarkable; like two peas in a pod. What we’re hoping to do is to pass you off as Olivia on a number of business occasions as she hasn’t been too well, and she’s not really up to going out and meeting people yet. She’s already missed a huge number of engagements.’

  Penny shook her head. From the clothes and the surroundings, it seemed more likely that Olivia was just more interested in bling, glitz and socialising with her equally rich-bitchy friends. She shook her head a second time.

  ‘We may look physically similar, Caroline, but God help me if I resemble people like this in any other way.’ She turned towards the door through which they had entered the room. ‘I’m sorry, Caroline. You’re nice and I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I’ve still got some scruples, even if I am a nobody. I’m afraid I just couldn’t bear to be associated in any way with those two. Thanks for everything. Thanks for the champagne, but I think I’m just going to go.’

  ‘Penny, please, don’t go.’ Penny looked across and saw that Caroline was on the verge of tears. She paused with her hand on the door handle as Caroline went on. ‘Please think again. There’s an awful lot riding on this. Please wait. Listen.’ Her voice became more urgent. ‘This was all my idea and if it falls through, I’m going to find myself in big trouble.’ She paused. ‘Look, I’ve been authorised to go up to twice the original offer. Would that make a difference?’

  A thousand pounds a day? Penny hesitated, the prostitution parallel still running through her head. What was that film where Robert Redford offers a million pounds in return for being able to sleep with Demi Moore? The lesson of the first part of that story was that money can buy anything, even love. If she said yes, surely she would be prostituting herself. Well, she thought to herself, not exactly prostituting in the sense of her body being violated, but to be treated the way she had just been treated was as close to violation as she wanted to get. Still, the pragmatic part of her brain reminded her that a couple of grand a month would turn her currently pretty shabby life around. And, she realised with a rush, just one month would get her more than enough for a return ticket to Sydney. She stood there, looking hard at Caroline, trying to make up her mind.

  ‘What do you mean, there’s a lot riding on this?’

  Caroline glanced round the room again apprehensively. ‘I can’t go into detail for now, but all I can say is that Olivia and I feel it’s very important for you to take her place. Hopefully it won’t be for long; two, three mon
ths, maybe.’

  Penny looked at her sharply, a sudden thought surfacing in her mind. ‘Wait a minute, Caroline. Could this be dangerous? You’re not looking for somebody to replace her because she’s in danger of, I don’t know, kidnap or something?’ She was thinking fast. Kidnap would be a real possibility for people as rich as this. Once again her eyes flicked across to the painting on the wall. Anybody who could afford to hang something potentially worth tens, if not hundreds, of millions on their lounge wall would be prepared to pay handsomely to get their daughter back.

  Caroline shook her head decisively. ‘Oh my God, no. Not at all, Penny, it’s nothing like that. I promise.’ She looked sincere, but Penny still wasn’t convinced. Caroline lowered her voice. ‘Look, I can’t go into detail at this point, but it’s nothing dangerous. It’s more a question of… call it internal politics.’

  ‘Internal politics? Internal to what?’

  Caroline hesitated. ‘Family politics, does that help?’

  Penny hesitated. She had clearly seen how unenthusiastic Mrs Brookes-Webster had been about the proposal. Maybe there was bad blood between mother and daughter. It didn’t sound good, and getting caught up in the middle of a fight between mother and daughter was definitely bad news.

  Caroline was looking more desperate as she tried again.

  ‘Listen, Penny, honestly it’s not dangerous, and I promise you’re not going to get caught up in some sort of family feud. It’s politics, that’s all I can say.’ Her voice became more persuasive. ‘And besides, in order for you to play the part of Olivia, you’ll need to have a total makeover; your nails, your hair, your teeth.’ Penny reflected ruefully that she hadn’t been to the dentist for three, maybe four years now. ‘And you’ll need a new wardrobe. I’ll come with you and we’ll buy everything from underwear to shoes to evening dresses. It’ll all go on their account. And once you finish this job, you get to keep everything. Please, Penny, say you’ll do it.’

  ‘I don’t know, Caroline. It all sounds very dubious and I just can’t bear the thought of being in the presence of those two again.’