‘Yes, of course.’ Then, turning to the other guests, ‘Please excuse me.’
‘Come outside and have a cigarette.’ Louis produced a soft packet of Marlboro Reds from his pocket. Rafe wondered why he was being so polite – normally he smoked at the table – but he was not complaining.
Exasperated, Sage slipped out of the dining room. She would wait for Rafe upstairs.
After an hour or so, Rafe finally made his escape. He found Sage lying on the bed, softly lit by a lone bedside lamp and still fully dressed, having fallen asleep waiting for him. He slipped her shoes off and rubbed her cold, stockinged feet in his large, warm hands. She stirred and sat up, rubbing her eyes and smudging her mascara.
‘Pyjamas?’ said Rafe, holding them up. She nodded sleepily.
He gently pulled her skirt down over her narrow hips. Sage wriggled out of her pants and stockings and stepped into the brushed cotton bottoms. She unbuttoned her shirt and removed her bra; Rafe handed her the pyjama top and she shrugged it on, stifling a yawn. She sat back down on the bed, still half-asleep, vaguely watching Rafe who was fumbling about in her bag. He held up a packet of face wipes triumphantly and carefully removed the smears of black from beneath her eyes. Then, with a kiss, he bade her get into bed.
‘We can talk in the morning. We’re leaving in a couple of hours – get some sleep.’
Sage succumbed gladly, sinking with relief into the soft pillows and pulling the thick blankets up to her chin. She was asleep again within seconds. Rafe got ready for bed quickly but lay awake for a long while, deep in thought.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Come away, O Human child!To the waters and the wild.
W. B. Yeats, ‘The Stolen Child’
The alarm went off at half past three the next morning, and they were all in the car twenty minutes later. Hal, still in his pyjamas and wrapped up in a warm blanket, had instantly gone back to sleep but Sage was now wide awake as she sipped her coffee. Rafe turned out of the drive and looked at the time.
‘Not bad, team. We’ll be back in Newmarket by six. Perfect.’
‘What’s on the agenda for you today? Do you have any runners this week?’ Sage asked, her thoughts inevitably turning to racing.
‘Before we get into that, my love – I need to talk to you.’
Sage looked across at him, worried.
‘About what?’
‘Your ex-husband,’ Rafe said grimly.
‘Oh, God … what has he done now?’
‘Louis managed to wheedle it out of Mary.’
‘Why on earth has Mary got so involved, for goodness’ sake!’
Rafe shrugged helplessly. ‘That I don’t know. But Louis said Santiago told her he is planning to go to the press any day now. He’s timed it to perfection. The Grand National weights were published yesterday and although she’s been allocated topweight – unsurprisingly – River Nymph is sure to go off favourite in a couple of months.’
That was Casper’s ride. Sage sank into her seat and closed her eyes, trying to calm her nerves.
‘If a big story comes out about Casper taking drugs, it’ll obviously be all over theRacing Postand so on, but would get picked up by all the national media outlets too, no question. From there, it’s only going to gain momentum over the coming weeks – you know what social media’s like. The effect on his career could be catastrophic.’
‘But Casper landed Aintree for that owner last season. Surely they’ll be loyal to him?’
‘I have no idea how loyal they will prove to be, even if he did win them the race. There’s a good chance that he’d be jocked off by most of his owners. That’s a lot of rides potentially lost, including River Nymph, who’s also got a Gold Cup entry before Aintree. Casper will obviously be hoping to retain his champion jockey title again this season – but if Santiago has his way, he can wave goodbye to that, too. It’s a bloody disaster.’
It was a few moments before Sage spoke. The despair rising in the pit of her stomach made her feel like screaming in frustration. All she wanted was to protect the people she loved and get that man out of their lives for ever.
‘I know how to stop Santiago.’ She would have done anything to protect her twin from knowing about these vile threats, but she now realized she had to tell him. ‘I just need to organize a few things when I get back to North Place, but I’m going to have to fly back to Panama to talk to Lucilla.’ Sage chewed on her nail in agitation. She really did not want to return to Finca Azucar, but doing so would give her the best chance of resolving the perilous state of affairs.
‘What?’ Rafe said in alarm. ‘Youcan’tgo back there. Why would you want to put yourself through such an ordeal? I reallydon’t think you should go alone. I’m sure we can think of a better plan. Have you spoken to Casper about any of this yet?’
Rafe was glaring at the road, his foot pressing down on the accelerator in anger. She put a comforting hand on his left arm.
