The peace was broken by the squeak of shoes on the gallery’s terrazzo floor.
‘There you are!’ Cathy’s voice was cold. She grabbed Natalie’s arm. ‘Come on, everyone’s wondering where you went.’
‘Err, bye, see you.’ Natalie let her friend drag her away.
‘What were you doing with him?’ Cathy hissed.
‘Nothing, just looking at the pictures.’
‘Yeah, right.’
They slipped back into her school group, now several rooms ahead.
‘I found her,’ Cathy said rather loudly.
Julie Paine sidled up. ‘Did you really go off with one of those boys?’
‘I didn’t go off with anyone.’
‘She was with that boy with the Nike trainers.’
‘Bet you fancy him,’ Julie said.
‘Of course not! Don’t be so stupid.’ Natalie forced herself to keep her voice down. She didn’t want Mrs Nickson standing nearby to hear anything, let alone the boy’s friends, some of whom were looking over at her with interest. She tried to move away towards where Miss Morrison was pointing to a giant painting covering an entire end wall and holding forth about the genius of Veronese but Julie blocked her, arms akimbo.
‘Yeah, you do.’
‘No, I don’t.’ She longed to smack Julie’s smirking face.
‘Nat never fancies any boys,’ Cathy said, like it was some sort of character flaw. It wasn’t true, Natalie did like some boys, but so what if she did or didn’t?
‘I know why,’ Julie said. ‘I reckon you’ve got a crush on Miss Morrison.’
‘No, I don’t; she’s nice, that’s all. You tell her, Cathy.’
Cathy said nothing, just smirked.
‘Let’s go and talk to that really good-looking blond boy.’ Julie grabbed Cathy’s arm and steered her away.
Miss Morrison tapped Natalie on the shoulder. ‘Next, we’re going to look at Tintoretto’sThe Removal of the Body of Saint Mark; you’ll like that one.’
Natalie tried her best to look interested as Miss Morrison waxed lyrical about the artist’s use of colour but all she could think about was Julie’s stupid false laugh coming from the far side of the room, followed by Cathy’s giggles.
At last, the visit was over. The girls filed back across the Accademia Bridge, leaving the artworks and the pupils from the boys’ school behind.
* * *
‘This is Simona Rinaldi, our first boutique,’ Lucia said.
Natalie snapped back to the present. She had to put the school trip out of her mind but she could still recall the hurt she’d felt back then. Julie and Cathy skipping off arm in arm had seemed like the biggest betrayal. But it was nothing compared to what happened next.
15
Another boutique, another fake smile. Natalie was sure she was doing a poor job of aping Mandy Miller’s unfailingly sunny disposition. Floella had assured her she should just be herself and let her natural personality shine through, which would be perfect if the viewers wanted to see an increasingly grumpy presenter humiliating herself in a variety of just-able-to-close-the-zip outfits whilst Cate preened for the camera in a super-sleek, ice-blue all-in-one.
‘The style of Alessandro Valentino’s designs is quite different from those you tried in Simona Rinaldi’s boutique earlier but here again we see the quality, luxe fabrics and attention to detail for which the Italian fashion industry is known,’ Natalie said, trying not to sound breathy as she held her stomach in.
‘I’ve never found such a flattering jumpsuit before.’ Cate twirled like a gameshow hostess.
