Part 40 (1/2)

There was a general murmur of interest from the other guests at the suggestion as she drew out the small box she had been looking for.

Carmella, a tall, elegant woman in her forties, held out her hand languidly and took the box. *I haven't seen these since Stefano died. Do you remember how often we would read them?' She smiled at Kim, raising one of her startlingly black, fly away eyebrows.

Kim nodded, suddenly wistful. *He loved to watch you do it, but he would never let you do a reading for him. Perhaps if you had a '

*No!' Carmella started shuffling the deck. *No, don't think of that. What was to be, was to be.' She flicked her dark hair out of her eyes and leaned forward to take a puff from the cigarette lying in the onyx ashtray near her coffee cup. *Now, let me see what the cards have to say. This is about your sister, Steph?'

Steph nodded.

*Tell me her name.'

*Jess.'

*And do you have anything of hers with you? Perhaps a letter? A piece of jewellery to make the connection.'

Steph thought for a moment. *I have a scarf of hers. I liked it so much she gave it to me.'

*That is good. Get it.'

Steph watched amused as Carmella cut the pack and then laid out the cards on the coffee table. It was years since she had seen anyone read the tarot. Probably not since she had been a student and done it herself. Carmella did it with superb style, she had to give her that. She lay back in her chair and sipped her coffee, watching as Carmella turned up the first card, Jess's scarf lying on her knee, a splash of emerald against the black of the woman's skirt.

*Ah, il fante di denari. The page of coins; pentacles you call them, si? This is Jess. A page can represent a woman, you know that?' She glanced round. Turning back to the table she ran her finger thoughtfully over the card. The eyes of every person in the room were fixed on her hands as she turned up the next and sat staring down at the layout in front of her. She was frowning. *Non capisco,' she murmured to herself. *This is very strange. There are two different people here. We have two women. You see? Il fante di bastoni, the page of wands. But this one represents una ragazza. A much younger woman. Very important in the reading. They are linked in some way.' She turned a third card. *And here with them we have il re di coppe al negativo.' She paused, shaking her head. *Here is violence, scandal, treachery. A bad man in the lives of these two women.' She glanced up, concerned. *And here. Il matto, the fool. He heralds a journey for all these people. I think not literally a maybe a step into the unknown. No, also a journey in reality.' She turned up three more cards in quick succession. *There is so much here.' She spread her hands over the cards. *They are on a quest. Your sister, Steph, has set out on a journey she cannot escape. She travels with another woman, maybe a child, and behind them follows this man. The cards never tell a lie, but this and this a' Her hand strayed over the cards, stroking them, reading them almost like Braille. *This is too strange. There is love here; new love. Strong love, but also danger. And fear. And threats.'

*Oh G.o.d!' Steph whispered under her breath. She and Kim exchanged glances.

*Perhaps,' Kim said suddenly, clearing her throat, *this is not a good idea. Why don't we have another drink and forget it.'

*No.' Carmella raised a commanding hand. *Aspetta! No, this is important. It is telling me something very important about your sister. She needs to be warned that she is in danger.'

*Oh G.o.d!' Steph repeated. She stood up as a murmur of concern ran round the room. Everyone was looking at her. No one seemed to doubt Carmella. No one was looking superior and cynical and scoffing as they would at a dinner party in London. They were all hanging on every word.

*Carmella, stop it!' Kim said. *That's enough. You are frightening her!'

*So, you don't want to know? You don't want to save her?'

*Yes, of course I want to know.' Steph sat down again. She ran her fingers through her hair. *Go on.'

Carmella looked up at her for a moment, then she glanced back at the cards. *There is another man here.' Her finger paused over the king of swords. She frowned. *Your sister's father? He is wounded.'

*Our father is dead,' Steph put in sharply.

Carmella shook her head. *I don't understand. This is definitely someone's father. The other girl, perhaps. Do you know who she is?' She looked up. *And there are soldiers here.' She leaned closer to the cards for a minute. *And here, I see danger again.' Her voice sharpened. *Here it is clear. There are two lives here and this,' she tapped a card, *is your sister and someone wants to kill her!' She sat back and stared at Steph, her eyes wide. *Dio mio, we are told never to forecast a death. Never! This is awful!'

*And it's tosh, Carmella!' Kim looked really angry. *This was supposed to comfort her, not make things worse.' She stood up. *Enough! Let's have some Limoncello, then you should all go home!'

*I'm going to ring the police!' Steph hadn't moved. She was sitting staring at the cards.

*Don't be an idiot! You can't ring the police because of a tarot reading!' Kim bent forward and swept all the cards into a heap. *That's it. Finished. I am going to put them away.'

*I'll ring the Prices. Meg and Ken won't mind going over to Ty Bran and seeing if she is all right.' Steph stood up. *Don't be angry with Carmella. I knew there was something wrong.' She headed for the telephone, in the hallway, leaving the others all staring at each other.

The phone at Cwm-nant rang and rang. There was no reply. Steph slammed down the phone. Picking it up again she tried Ty Bran's number. The line was still dead. Then she tried Jess's mobile. It was still switched off.

*Leave it, Steph.' Kim appeared behind her. She had brought a bottle from the fridge in the kitchen and a tray of liqueur gla.s.ses. Pouring one out she put it down on the hall stand beside the telephone. *Get that down you. I'm so sorry. It was a stupid, stupid idea doing the tarot. I should have remembered how melodramatic Carmella can be.'