The Secrets They Keep by Claire Worsley

Author:Claire Worsley [Worsley, Claire]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Claire Worsley
Published: 2023-04-27T00:00:00+00:00

17

Chapter Seventeen

Angela

A slight drizzle dampened the air as the ladies clicked and chatted their way down St Mary’s Street. Angela glanced behind her at the castle illuminated in the darkness giving it an eery still presence. Ahead of them, neon lights reflected shifting colour across the wet pavement, like tendrils creeping underfoot. Crowds of people stood in small raucous groups waiting to get into bars and clubs. The sound of music came in waves from every direction, like jumbled thoughts. With her arm looped into Lisa’s, she felt each muscle in her body tighten against the bombardment to her senses.

They turned left halfway down St Mary’s Street into a quieter side street. Roni walked a few steps ahead with a small card in her hand. A few metres away, two well-dressed bouncers stood outside a large glass doorway cordoned off with red ropes. An air of excited anticipation filled the air as the women approached the new stylish bar. Roni waved the VIP tickets towards the bouncer. He nodded. Unlatched a rope and let them through to the sound of disgruntled customers stood in the queue. They glided up the decadent glass panelled staircase towards the double doors above.

Sophie pushed the doors open with excited enthusiasm. A warmth gust of air hit their bodies in a quick sharp move, drawing them in like metal towards a magnet. The atmosphere was like nothing Angela could remember experiencing before.

Music danced above their heads as they pushed their way through the hot traffic of people towards the bar. Angela trailed behind and peered over heads, looking for a toilet sign.

The pungent smell of expensive perfume and aftershave hit the back of her throat. Opium, Dunhill, Anais Anais, and Poison. She recognised them all. For a moment, a light-headedness consumed her. She touched her neck as she swallowed.

The place was a kaleidoscope of moving colour and sound. Sheets of moving laser lights sliced through people’s bodies, then shuddered with the beat of the music. On her far left the dancefloor, made up of illuminated white tiles, eagerly awaited company. For a moment, seeing it took her back to a memory she’d rather forget.

Yet, a subtle excitement trickled through her veins. She noted the sensation with caution as she approached the long rectangular bar towards the back of the club.

A few people waited like standing shadows for their doses of liquid to help forget something or other. She watched as they held their drinks above their head, scared to spill a drop.

Roni slithered sideways, like a pro, and reached the bar with little objection from the crowd. A barman approached her seconds later; she smiled and leaned towards him. It was impossible to hear what she had ordered. He raised his eyebrows towards her, then nodded and disappeared the other side of the bar. He reappeared a few minutes later, holding a bottle of Cristal. Angela gasped. These women squandered money.

The barman lined four flute glasses on the bar with such concentration it made Angela retrain a chuckle of bemusement.

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