The Designer(50)

‘But of course I am jealous. I was looking forward to being with you alone.’

Copper laughed. ‘It’s a party, Suzy.’

Suzy peered through the crowd to where Henry was talking to Boris. ‘You like these handsome brutes. Don’t you understand they just want to dominate you? Perhaps you like that. A thick pair of lips to kiss you with and a thick pair of boots to kick you with.’

‘Come and talk to him, at least. You’ll see how charming he is.’

‘I don’t wish to be charmed by him.’

Copper gave up. ‘Do you want a drink? There’s a collection of weird and wonderful bottles over there.’

‘No. I have something better. Come.’ Suzy took her hand and pulled her out of the studio and up a flight of stairs to the rooms above. There was an empty, unlit bedroom in the silent apartment. ‘Don’t turn on the lights,’ Suzy said. She locked the door and opened the curtains. A panoramic view of Paris was spread out below Montparnasse. The sky was bright with an icy full moon.

‘It’s magical.’

‘It’s midnight,’ Suzy said. ‘One half of Paris is making love to the other half.’ She produced a gold cigarette case. In it was a single cigarette. ‘Moroccan hashish. The very best.’

Copper put her hands behind her back. ‘Umm . . . I’m not sure I want to. I’ve never tried hashish before. But you go ahead.’

‘It is divine, I assure you. Why do you hesitate?’

‘Well, I’m here with Henry . . .’

‘What does that have to do with it? Does he rule your life?’

‘No, he never tells me what to do.’

‘He will start soon enough. Don’t trust him. These people – they are so arrogant, so high-handed.’

That struck a chord with Copper. ‘He is a little domineering.’

‘I hate them. They think they own one. Has he asked you to be his mistress yet?’

‘He’s asked me to be his wife,’ Copper said. She regretted the words as soon as they were out of her mouth. Suzy was furious.

‘How dare he!’

‘I’m very flattered, to tell you the truth.’

Suzy rounded on her. ‘You’re not thinking of accepting?’

‘Not yet.’

‘“Yet?” What is this “yet”? Are you saying it is a possibility?’

‘Anything is possible,’ Copper said, smiling.

‘You have atrocious taste in men,’ Suzy said shortly.

‘Well, let’s not discuss that tonight.’

‘Then smoke hashish with me.’

‘I’d rather not.’

‘Nonsense.’ Suzy lit the cigarette and sucked the smoke deep into her lungs. She blew the plume out over the prospect of Paris. ‘Come, my beloved. Smoke with me.’

Reluctantly, Copper accepted the cigarette, hoping it would soothe Suzy, and inhaled. At once, she began to gag on the thick, acrid smoke. Suzy clamped a strong hand over Copper’s mouth to stop her from exhaling. She struggled free, coughing.

‘I’m going to be sick.’

‘No, you’re not. Again.’ She offered the cigarette to Copper and made her take several more drags.

‘I can’t take any more,’ Copper choked. ‘That’s enough.’

Suzy smiled at her enigmatically as she took the cigarette back. ‘Is that not divine?’

Copper explored the strange feeling that was growing in her head, as though her brain were expanding in her skull. ‘I feel very strange.’

‘I got it from a German officer who used to come to my club. I’ve kept it for a special occasion.’

‘What if the épuration find out?’ Copper giggled. She was starting to feel disturbingly light-headed. ‘A gift from a Nazi.’

‘I didn’t say it was a gift. It had to be paid for.’

‘How?’ Copper couldn’t help asking.

‘I rendered a service.’

‘Don’t be so mysterious. What kind of service?’

‘I will show you – if you smoke it with me.’

Against her better judgment, Copper accepted the proffered cigarette and tried again. She was getting more expert at keeping the greasy smoke down. Her lungs no longer hurt. They smoked the thing between them, the room filling with the pungent, incense-like fumes. Copper felt all her anxieties and inhibitions floating away. For a while, her senses seemed heightened: every sound from the party below throbbing through her body; the air in the room like a cool caress on her skin. Then, all reality faded away. She danced silently around the room as though she had wings, her arms floating.

‘How do you feel?’ Suzy asked, dark eyes following her as she danced.

‘Like a character in a fairy tale. Or a bird. Or an angel.’

‘Now shall I show you what service I rendered the Nazi officer?’

‘If you please.’

Suzy began to slowly unfasten the cheongsam she wore. Her eyes stayed on Copper’s, and Copper felt her heart begin to pound heavily. One side of the red-and-gold garment fell aside, revealing half of Suzy’s body. She was naked beneath the silk. The moonlight silvered the curve of her breast, the firm contours of her belly and abdomen, casting into shadow her navel and loins. Suzy’s face was half-pearl, half-shadow. ‘Come,’ she said quietly. Copper felt herself drawn forward, as though she no longer had any control over her limbs. ‘I made him kneel before me. In his uniform and his shiny boots. Comme ?a.’ She pressed down on Copper’s shoulders. Copper knelt submissively before Suzy, looking up. The red-and-gold dragons on the cheongsam spat fire at her, seeming to have become sinuously alive, writhing slowly and voluptuously. Suzy opened the cheongsam fully and drew Copper’s face to her loins, until the curls were brushing Copper’s lips. ‘Cet officier allemand – voici ce qu’il voulait, tu comprends?’