ames Cardigan stared at Larry when he opened the door of the suite, then exclaimed, ‘Good God, you’re as white as a sheet, you look terrible. Are you all right?’ ‘Just about, now,’ Larry replied, ushering James into the sitting room, closing the door. ‘But I wasn’t earlier. Come on in and sit down, and I’ll explain.’

The two men sat opposite each other, and Larry continued, ‘I got frightfully sick on location this afternoon, started to vomit. Immediately after lunch. I obviously ate something that was contaminated. The nurse attached to the production unit is convinced of that anyway. She thinks I have food poisoning. I couldn’t stop vomiting for ages, but when I was a bit more stable and able to leave the set, the assistant director brought me back to the hotel.’

‘What did you eat?’ James asked, still regarding him intently. ‘Shellfish can do it, you know, or eggs, which are frequently tainted. They can give you salmonella.’

Larry shook his head, grimaced and then laughed hollowly. ‘I had both, I’m afraid. I had Parisian eggs—you know what they are, you like them too. Hard-boiled eggs with mayonnaise and anchovies. After that I had a shrimp salad. Bad combination, no?’

‘I concur with that!’ James answered. ‘Have you seen a doctor?’

‘Yes, the doctor for the production company, who’s on call, came over about two hours ago, when I first got back, and confirmed what the nurse had said earlier. He gave me a prescription, which the concierge had filled, mainly because he was worried I might get another attack of diarrhoea. As all the vomiting has stopped, he says the best thing for me is to do nothing. Because everything bad is out of my stomach. He prescribed hot black tea, no milk or lemon. Or water and dry biscuits or dry toast if I get hungry.’

‘How are you feeling now, old chap?’ James peered at him, his eyes narrowing as he said, ‘You look a bit done in, I’m sorry to say.’

‘I am. But listen, funnily enough, I’m beginning to feel better. Empty inside, but better.’

James threw him an odd look, opened his mouth to say something and then stopped abruptly. He sat back in the chair, let out a long sigh, crossed his legs.

‘What is it?’ Larry asked. ‘You’ve got a funny look on your face.’

‘I just hope M doesn’t think you took something earlier, such as prescription pills.’

‘Oh, come on, James, she won’t think that! I was at work, for God’s sake, and she is well aware that I am the most serious and professional of actors. In any case, I promised I’d never take any kind of pill ever again, and I don’t break my promises.’

‘Sorry, Larry, I didn’t mean to suggest you’d fallen off the wagon. Look, I must digress. Just before you called me, I was about to ring you on your mobile. I didn’t know whether you were back from the set or not. I wanted to let you know that M had sprained her ankle earlier, and wasn’t able to finish the charity fashion show. So she—’

‘Is she all right?’ Larry immediately cut in swiftly, leaning forward, fixing those staggering blue eyes on James. ‘Oh, God, she must have been attempting to reach me on my mobile. I’ve had it turned off since just after lunch, all afternoon. I wasn’t able to cope with answering it.’

‘She did try to reach you several times, and in the end she rang me, asked me to get in touch. About fifteen minutes ago. She also wanted me to tell you she was okay, and to explain about the catastrophe at the hotel.’

‘Catastrophe?‘

James realized Larry had not heard anything about the terrible event at the hotel, and he explained, ‘Something horrifying happened in the grand salon at the end of the fashion show. Around six o’clock.’ In his usual precise way, James Cardigan went on to relay to Larry as much as he knew about the incident at the Hôtel Cygne Noir.

A shudder passed through Larry, and he said, ‘What a terrible tragedy. How many people have been hurt?’

‘I don’t know yet. I got my information in bits and pieces—first from Stuart, then Craig, and a short while ago from Geo, who was there when it happened. Sophie, the top model, did get hurt, but she’s alive. Thankfully Geo and Luke are okay. They managed to get out through an emergency exit. They are in the car with M and your security chaps, en route here to the hotel as we speak.’

Larry sat back, closed his eyes for a moment, and then, sitting up straighter, staring at James, he asked in a puzzled voice, ‘How could something like that happen? In Paris, of all places, the home of the catwalk and the centre of the world’s fashion.’

‘I don’t know,’ James replied. ‘But the police seem to suspect a terrorist act, according to Craig, who was talking to some of them outside the hotel.’

Larry simply gaped at him in astonishment.

The two security men helped M into the suite, one on each side of her, their hands under her armpits. She hopped forward, smiling broadly at her husband, and then her smile slipped when she saw Larry in his dressing gown and pyjamas, and realized he was pale as a ghost.

‘Darling, what’s wrong?’ she asked as he came towards her looking anxious.

He took hold of her, kissed her cheek, said, ‘I managed to get food poisoning on location. At lunch time. The assistant director brought me home this afternoon and the doctor attached to the production has been over to see me. I’m fine, sweetheart, it’s nothing serious, but what about your ankle?’

‘I’ll have to get it X-rayed tomorrow morning. I’m certain it’s only a sprain, though. What did you eat that made you so ill?’ She stared at him intently and lifted a brow, her expression quizzical.

‘Eggs first, and then I had a shrimp salad.’

‘You only need to eat one tiny piece of contaminated food to get sick as a dog, at least that’s what Daddy has always told me,’ M remarked, and sat down in the chair. Looking up at Stuart and Craig, who were hovering over her, she said, ‘Thanks so much for looking after me and Geo, and Luke. Let’s order a drink, shall we? We all need one.’ Glancing at Larry, she then said, ‘Oh, sorry, darling, perhaps we shouldn’t be crowding in on you like this. You should be resting.’

‘I’m glad of the company, and I can always go and lie down in the bedroom if I feel suddenly bad again. Right now, well, I’m glad to say I’m not too bad. Luke. Geo. You two were really lucky, from what James has just told me.’

Luke said, ‘Damn right we were lucky, and thankfully we were both near the end of the catwalk and, more importantly, close to an exit door. But the person who is truly lucky is M, Larry. If she hadn’t had the accident backstage, hadn’t done her ankle in, she would have been on the runway. She would have been thrown off when it collapsed, like all the others were.’

‘I can’t bear to think of what might have happened,’ Larry said, a rush of apprehension turning him cold. Swallowing hard, squeezing M’s shoulder, he thanked God she was safe.

Geo, who was standing with her arm tucked through her husband’s, looked from Larry to M, and said quietly, ‘You must have a guardian angel sitting on your shoulder, M.’

M pursed her lips together, stared at Geo, and said, very slowly, her eyes reflective, ‘Once, when I was quite small, I fell into a deep ravine. I rolled, tumbled, rolled and tumbled, until I got to the very bottom. When my panic-stricken mother reached me, I was totally intact. Not a scratch or a bruise on me. No damage at all. All I had was a dirty face. It was a miracle I hadn’t been killed, and she told me that day that I had a guardian angel watching over me. I guess I do, Geo. I hope I do in the future, too.’

Larry said, ‘James, would you be kind enough to call room service? Let’s get a couple of bottles of white wine up here, and a bucket of ice. There’s a drinks trolley over there with the usual on it—Scotch, vodka, and gin—and here’re Cokes, tonic, and soda in the minibar. I won’t have any alcohol, but I’m sure you all need a drink after what you’ve been through.’

James did as Larry asked and, once the order had been given, he walked over to Stuart and Craig. ‘Give me your take on the disaster. Tell me what you found out, Craig. You were in the street, weren’t you? Come on, chaps, let’s go and sit over there.’ As he spoke, he indicated a second seating area against the back wall; the three of them walked over and sat down. They were two of his best operatives and he trusted their judgement.

Geo took the chair next to M, while Larry positioned himself on the sofa next to M’s chair and took hold of her hand. Luke sat down next to Larry, asking him, ‘Do I still have blood on my face?’

‘No, you’re as clean as a whistle,’ Larry responded and, looking affectionately at his wife, he murmured, ‘I shall have to get you a pair of crutches tomorrow to help you get around.’

‘A crutch will do. And thanks, darling.’

After a few moments talking together, James, Stuart and Craig came and joined them, all three of them settling down on the opposite sofa in front of the fireplace.

James said, ‘We all want to know as much as we can, to understand what happened, and I think the two people who know the most are the eyewitnesses. Luke and Geo. After that, M can give us details about the activity backstage. Luke, start telling us, would you please?’

‘I will, if you want. But actually, James, Geo should really start this off because she saw more than I did.’

Before James could utter a word, Geo said, ‘That’s right, I did see everything.’ She sat back in the chair, steadied herself, and began by saying, ‘The funny thing was, right at the beginning of the show I saw something really strange. I thought I saw the runway shift slightly. It appeared to tremble. Then when I looked again, I thought I’d dreamed it, or that I needed glasses. In the end, I decided I’d been imagining things.’ Taking control of herself, suddenly afraid that she might start to weep, Geo took a moment before continuing her story, slowly and effectively giving them the gist of it.

After Geo, Luke spoke for several minutes, mostly explaining what happened when people started to panic, how they pushed past each other and upturned chairs in their haste. It was an emotional moment when he said he actually saw the models falling off the catwalk and into the audience; how some people were injured when this happened; others hurt in the crush of the crowded area. He finished by explaining how he, Geo, and Ann and Rebecca, the two American women, had managed to make such a swift and relatively easy escape. And all because of where they were standing in the grand salon, and their close proximity to the emergency exit.

James now looked at M, and said, ‘You were backstage, so Geo told me. This was because of your accident, apparently, so how did you find out about the collapse of the runway?’

‘It was Philippe Tremont who came rushing backstage. He looked alarmed, told me to pull my things together quickly, and to come with him. I asked him to bring Stuart over, and literally within seconds the two of them had virtually lifted me outside. I then persuaded Stuart to try and get back into the hotel, go through the lobby and into the grand salon. To find Geo, hopefully to extract her and Luke. First, Stuart called for the car, and once I was in it he went to the front entrance of the hotel.’

‘Anything to add, Stuart?’ James asked.

The ex-SAS officer shook his head. ‘That’s about it, James. I’m pretty certain Craig was probably the one who had a bird’s-eye view of the events outside, the police arriving and all that.’

Craig nodded. ‘That’s true. Not much to tell though, James. There were any number of cops milling around. Their cars and vans were blocking the area. So many people were trapped in their cars, and the traffic jams were building, so there was a great deal of shouting, blaring of horns, and foul language being spouted out of windows. I did manage to have a few words with two different cops at one point, and both told me that counterterrorist units had been summoned, brought in. They were naturally very anxious. Some were wondering if there were bombs planted inside the hotel. I tried to get more information from others, but wasn’t able to do so.’

At this moment the doorbell of the suite rang, and James jumped up and went to open it. The waiter wheeled in a trolley, immediately opened a bottle of the white wine and poured a small amount for James to taste. James did so, nodding his approval, and the waiter hurried off, telling James to ring if he needed anything else.

James asked, ‘Who wants what? Geo? M? Luke?’

‘I’ll have white wine, and I suppose Geo will, won’t you?’ M said.

Geo smiled at James. ‘That’s fine, darling.’

Stuart and Craig also elected to have a glass of white wine each, as did Luke. After pouring the wine into glasses, he opened the other bottle. Craig handed the glasses of wine around, and then they all settled back in their seats to continue the conversation.

It was Larry who spoke first. Glancing at James he said, ‘As you’re the expert here, in view of your last position working for the Secret Intelligence Service, why do you think the flics called in the counterterrorist unit or units? I mean, why would the police think terrorists would target Jean-Louis?’

‘If the tragedy at the hotel this afternoon was an act of terrorism, I’m absolutely certain it wasn’t aimed at Jean-Louis Tremont…’ James lifted his glass of water, said cheers, took a sip and continued: ‘This disastrous act was directed at the Hôtel Cygne Noir. It is an American-owned hotel, by the way, and also the new watering hole and preferred destination for American movie stars and celebrities. And the act was also aimed at one of the biggest industries in France, a business that the terrorists most probably wanted to destroy and undermine.’

‘The Fashion Business, with capital F and B,’ M exclaimed, and looked pointedly at James. ‘And an industry that makes billions a year, and one of the two top export businesses in France…Wine and Fashion spell France.’ She paused, and drank a little wine, said, ‘I know haute couture is not as big as it used to be, that the wealthy customers for it are diminishing, but haute couture is still the great symbol. Prêt-à-porter is big, and sells well, and so do the toiles of the couture clothes, which are bought by manufacturers from all over the world. They buy the right to copy the originals. And then there are patterns and fabrics, all from the haute-couture range, which are sold worldwide. It’s endless, and it employs thousands of people. So here’s how it probably breaks down: damage an American hotel, damage a French industry, kill infidels at the same time…i.e., get rid of the Western democracies by slaying their people wholesale. I believe it was a terrorist act,’ M finished, and looked at Craig and Stuart whom she knew agreed.

Luke said, ‘I absolutely concur with M, especially about fashion being such a huge business. So many people dismiss it as a vanity, and as shallow, but they don’t realize all of the different moneymaking aspects of it. Fashion photography, fashion magazines, fashion public relations…it is just endless. And—’

‘Oh, my God, I must call my sister!’ M cried, interrupting Luke, struggling to her feet. ‘She knew I was doing this charity show today. I have to phone her in London before she sees the news on television. Larry, please help me into the bedroom. Excuse me, back in a minute.’

Once they were alone in the bedroom, with the door closed, Larry took M in his arms and held her closer to him. Against her hair, he said, ‘Thank God you weren’t hurt and that you’re safe, my darling. You’re my life, you know. Without you I would have nothing.’

‘I feel the same way, Larry, and perhaps my mother was right all those years ago when she said I had a guardian angel…I had a narrow escape today, I could have been injured badly when the catwalk collapsed, or worse.’

‘I think so, yes.’ Looking down at her, his bright blue eyes riveted on hers, he said in a low and very serious voice, ‘I do have food poisoning, M, I haven’t taken any pills. All the vomiting I had earlier today was due to something I ate. When I promised you I would never take a pill ever again, I meant it.’

‘I know you did, and it never crossed my mind that you might have taken pills. I know you, Laurence Vaughan, and you’re a serious, dedicated actor. You would never do anything to jeopardize your career. I do have one question though. Was anybody else ill after lunch?’

‘As a matter of fact, yes. Two members of the camera crew, and the woman who runs the catering company for the film locations, Chantelle Valbonne. And perhaps her assistant, although I’m not sure about that.’

‘Will you be able to go to work tomorrow?’ she asked.

‘Yes, but thank God I’m not on call.’

‘And neither am I, not with this ankle. I know it’s not broken, but I will go to the doctor.’

‘Please, darling. And I’ll come with you.’

‘That’s great. I’ll treat you to lunch. In the meantime, I must hop over to that chair to call London town.’

‘Come on, sweetheart, I’ll help you.’ Larry put his arm around her and lifted her over to the chair, where she sat down at the desk. She pulled her mobile phone out of her jacket pocket and dialled her sister.

‘Hullo, darling, is that you?’ M asked, knowing it was.

‘Yes. Where are you, M? I just heard the awful news on television about that dreadful disaster at the Hôtel Cygne Noir. I was starting to worry about you, because you’d told me you were modelling there today. You were, weren’t you?’

‘I was, yes, Birdie—’

‘Have many people been hurt?’ her sister cut in.

‘From what I understand, yes, but I don’t have many details. You see, I had an accident earlier, I fell backstage and sprained my ankle. It was a fluky thing, but I was unable to go onto the runway to model. It saved me—the sprain, I mean.’

‘I’ll say! Anyway, I was just going to phone you, so it’s quite a relief to hear from you, little one. How’s Larry?’

‘Great, except that he had a mishap today, too. He has food poisoning, caused by something he ate at lunch on location. But basically we’re both okay, I promise.’

‘When are you coming to London, darling? I can’t wait to see you.’

‘In ten days. We’ll be arriving at the beginning of April. Larry has to shoot there; he has about a week’s work and he’ll be down in the country. Once those scenes are in the can, he’s finished, except for post-production. But all of that will be done in London. We’ll definitely be there for a couple of months.’

‘Whoopie! That’s wonderful news, M. Everybody’s going to be thrilled. By the way, did you call our big sister? To tell her you’re all right.’

‘I didn’t even know she was in Paris, I thought she was away with the children. So no, I didn’t.’ M took a deep breath. ‘Could you phone her for me, Birdie, please? I just don’t want to talk to her yet, or go and see her.’

‘I will, if you stop calling me Birdie. However, I don’t understand you, M. Why are you avoiding her?’

‘Oh, Birdie, I’m not! It’s just that I need a bit longer to be me, and not part of…all of you.’

Her sister burst out laughing, and said after a moment, ‘All right, I’ll call her. Bye-bye.’

‘Why don’t you want to speak to the Beautiful One?’ Larry asked, using one of his nicknames for her sister. There was a note of bafflement in his voice.

M looked across at the bed where he was stretched out resting. ‘Because she can be a bit…peculiar, and also I want to get the Jean-Louis Tremont campaign over with, at least this first part of it, and also I want us to be more…settled down before I launch you into the middle of my family.’

‘We are settled down. At least I am. I certainly feel very much like a married man; and, incidentally, I love that feeling! So hop over here and give your old man a big smacker.’

‘Certainly. I’ll be right over, mister.’

‘Oh, no, better not do that, you’ll fall,’ he exclaimed. ‘I’m coming over to you.’

Later that night, M fell into an exhausted sleep, but at around three o’clock she suddenly woke up. Unexpectedly, she was filled with a strange apprehension and anxiety. She was worried about Sophie, who had taken her place and been hurt, and a sense of guilt settled inside her. Endeavouring to shake this off, she focused on Larry, who slept, but restlessly so, next to her. In a way, she was angry with herself for suspecting him, initially, of taking those deadly prescription pills. But the thought had leapt into her mind, no two ways about that. Now, in hindsight, she knew he would never go back there, never take a prescription pill ever again. He was chastened after his very frightening experience in Canada last year. And, more important than anything, he had made a promise to her; she now realized, and accepted, that he would never break that promise. She trusted him.