Trevor
did up the clasp and admired his girlfriend's beautiful white throat
before he asked her, still with her eyes closed, to turn and face
him. The silver necklace sat attractively across her clavicle, the
tear-drop pendant nestling in the dip between her small pushed-up
breasts. Perfect. Exactly the effect he had hoped for.
“Open
your eyes,” he commanded her.
She did
so, fluttering her eyelids flirtatiously, to see her pulsing throat
reflected in a hand-held mirror. “Oh babe, it's gorgeous. Your best
yet,” she said breathlessly as she lightly caressed her pearly skin
and the delicate chain.
Trevor
knew Lou was vain and materialistic; she delighted in anything
sparkly and wanted all that his money, inherited or made, could give
her. His latest gift would certainly sweeten the deal. The marriage
deal. His third, her first. Lou had to be bought and wasn't ashamed
of it. If anything she played on it, realising early on that he liked
raining elaborate and expensive gifts on the very people he wanted to
influence. And she wasn't adverse to playing that game or in the end
being possessed, not if she could squeeze anything she liked out of
it.
So here
they were, two and a half years on, with Trevor finally feeling like
he'd managed it. She wouldn't refuse him this time. He could tell by
the dazzling smile she was wearing. This little piece had certainly
trumped the Michelin starred restaurants, classic sports cars and
luxury holidays, and confirmed his status as a Sugar Daddy, a rapidly
greying-haired and bearded one at that.
“Teddy
Bear,” Lou called in her little girl voice from upstairs where she
was now admiring herself in a full-length mirror. Trevor took the
stairs two at a time and found her in their bedroom holding the
pendant out in front of her scrutinising it, “What exactly is it?
It looks a bit like a solid tear-drop, but it's not is it? And I
can't open it.”
“No
dear, it's a big toe for good luck like a rabbit foot. I had it
specially designed and what's inside is for me to know.”
Lou's
face was a picture, one of distaste for her latest gift mixed with
fresh contempt for her much older lover, “A toe! What a novel thing
to do! Did you give one to your ex-wives too? I'm sorry babe, it's
just unusual that's all – it's still beautiful,” she said trying
to mask her ungrateful blunder.
“Yes,
if you must know I did design similar lockets – a lung and a kidney
– for Joanna and Rachel, both of which are stored in the family's
vault. You don't think I'd give you something they'd previously worn?
It's a unique one-off piece just for you,” he said planting a kiss
on her furrowed brow. “Darling, do hurry up, we have a long drive
to the castle.”
Nicely
done, he thought going back downstairs to load the car and start the
engine. A tiny hiccup, but it was coming off as he planned. A
conservative man, his wooing of Lou had been arduous as she failed
to so easily yield to convention. She was a modern gold-digger unlike
the meek girlfriends and wives that preceded her, but he almost had
her. His forever girl.
The
drive to Wales was uneventful. Lou slept most of the way, her
doll-like head lolling on her shoulder, as he revelled in foul looks
from other drivers. It was only natural they should be jealous of his
faster car and younger companion.
They
arrived at the holiday-let castle in Roch just as the light was
dimming. Trevor had made out he'd rented it for a long weekend when
really it was his property. Lou tore through, exploring rooms, while
Trevor ensured the housekeeper had kept to his exacting requirements:
a chilled ice bucket for the champagne and a light candlelit fish
supper. He drew out a key, the same size as you used to find on a tin
of spam, and a magnifying glass from an inner coat pocket. He
couldn't wait to open Lou's big toe locket and share details of his
life's ambition: the assembly of his perfect wife.