‘I think so.’ It was a little more complicated than that, but Rose left it there, for now at least. Explaining the complexity of rivalry and the tug of emotions between Tania and Lysander would take more than a sentence or two. Or the fact that she found herself caught up in that complexity. Sometimes Lysander rallied to Tania’s defence, forming the Harrington line. But then, at other times he did the complete opposite and threw her to the wolves.
Madeleine lapsed into silence, frowning as she downed a couple of swigs of tea. ‘Why did they call her Titania? In the first place, I mean.’ She set her mug down. ‘Seems rather cruel to land her with such a God-awful name.’
Rose laughed. ‘Yes, I suppose it is. I’ve only ever thought of her as Tania. She told me it’s because her father had his big break in a Shakespeare play which they made into a film–A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Apparently it led to his first role as Commander Robson.’
‘Oh.’
‘Yes, and he decided he owed that film so much that he’d name his children after characters from it.’
‘Oh. Lucky children.’
‘Mmm. It’s where Donkey comes from, too. Before you get too carried away with any other lines of thought. Tania decided to get her own back on Lysander by referring to him as one of the characters that Bottom plays.’
‘Oh. Who’s Bottom?’
‘One of the characters Shakespeare included to bring comedy into the play.’
‘You know a lot about it.’
‘We studied it at school.’
‘I’ll bet Tania loved that.’
‘Not really.’ Rose grinned at the memory. ‘She was convinced the English teacher was getting at her by choosing it.’ She took a sip of tea. With hindsight, she thought Tania had probably been right. Some of the staff went out of their way to fawn over the Harringtons, but others had gone the other way and treated Tania unnecessarily harshly.
‘That must backfire though. I can’t be the only person who thinks “Donkey” might refer to something else about him.’ The frown was back. ‘Sorry. Trying not to pry. Failing.’
Rose smiled, rather thinly. ‘I don’t suppose she thinks of him in that way. And I’m not about to point it out to her.’
‘No. Fair enough.’
They lapsed into a companionable silence. Eventually, Madeleine said, ‘Do you think I should offer him my bed?’
Rose almost let her mug slip from between her fingers. ‘What?’
The tone of her voice must have belied her confusion, or concern. She wasn’t sure which one had the upper hand at the thought of Madeleine and Lysander together.
‘Obviously not like that … Idiot.’ Madeleine grinned. ‘I meant I wondered if I should offer him my room and share with you instead.’
‘But we agreed—’
Lines formed between Madeleine’s eyes. ‘Yes. I know. We did. I’m not suggesting anything changes in that respect. That ball is completely in your court. But this is a big room. And there is a spare bed in it, so no one would be any the wiser.’ She gestured towards the single bed set in the far corner of the room. ‘He said he didn’t get much sleep on the sofa upstairs, that’s all.’ She shook her head. ‘It’s just an idle thought.’
‘But it’s a lot of hassle for you, moving all your stuff.’
‘Like that matters.’ She shifted to face Rose. ‘It doesn’t have to be a big deal, I just thought it made sense.’
When Rose failed to reply, Madeleine lifted the mug from her hand and set it alongside her own, then kissed her again. This time her lips lingered. Rose breathed in Madeleine’s scent, the freshness of the lemon soap she favoured mixing with the softer notes from the face cream she pretended she didn’t use. Unable to resist, she pulled her close, the pair of them sliding into the welcoming softness of the goose-down pillows. She might have wanted an uncomplicated week, but the effect of Madeleine’s soft curves against her own body banished her logical wants, replacing them with a much deeper one. A want that mixed with need and heat and sensations which Rose hadn’t even known existed before she met Madeleine.
Lysander was an unsettling presence, and not just as far as Rose was concerned. But with Madeleine at her side, Rose felt more capable of dealing with any curveballs aimed in her direction than ever before.
Chapter 9
By mid-morning, Clara had to admit it was good to finally be out on the snow. With Madeleine dispatched for her lesson, Tania, Rose and she had managed to cover a lot of the resort’s kinder slopes already.
‘Shall we head up on the bubble again?’ Tania asked, when the three of them paused at the top of one of the undulations leading back into the centre of the Près du Ciel resort. ‘Or take the Becoin chair this time?’
Rose fumbled with her sleeve and checked her watch. ‘I don’t want to be late for Maddy.’
