New Girl {Poldark}

chapter 9

Demelza POV

"Ross? I've found her," Demelza said, sitting on Ross's bedroom floor with her laptop.

"What?" he said, stumbling in through the door.

"Caroline. I've found her. Look."

He leaned over her shoulder and peered at the blonde girl on the screen. She was radiantly beautiful, with smooth creamy skin, red lips and light blue eyes.

"She's a model?" he exclaimed, scanning the pictures on the screen.

"Seems like it."

"Can we email her or something?"

"Let me see," said Demelza, tapping away at the keyboard with nimble fingers. "Okay, we might be able to contact her manager, his email is on his website. Wait, it says here she's in America right now."

"What? Where?"

"17 year old model Caroline Penvenen recently arrived in New York City to work on a shoot with major fashion label Dior," she read. "After her hushed up break up with her boyfriend Pierre, her manager Fergus Pierce is determined to make the upcoming shoot the highlight of her modelling career."

"Wow. How have we not heard of her?"

"Do you keep up with fashion?" Demelza asked scathingly.

"No."

"Neither do I."

"But we have to talk to her," Ross said firmly. "We have to find out why she had contact with your Dad."

"To be honest Ross, it doesn't sound like a good idea."

"Why not?"

She lay down on the floor and sighed. "Dad's gone. I don't want to start digging up his past, it won't change anything. And I doubt she'd reply to an email from us anyway."

"But it can't hurt to try," Ross argued.

"Ross, no."

"Why not? What harm can it do?"

"It can do loads of harm. She might know stuff about him that I don't want to know about."

"But even if she does, it won't change anything. You just said it yourself."

Demelza sat up. "I'm not contacting her, Ross. End of story."

Ross shifted over to her and nuzzled his face into her neck. "Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

She laughed. "Stop, you're tickling me. Why are you so curious anyway?"

"More to the point, why aren't you? Your dad had connections with a top model, and he knew her address. Don't you want to find out why?"

"No, actually, I don't. He probably sold drugs to her or something."

"Just one email?"

"No."

"One email and if she doesn't reply we drop it completely and never talk about her again."

She brought his gaze to hers by lifting a hand under his chin. "And if she does?"

"You talk to her. I'm not saying you have make friends."

She leaned her forehead on his shoulder. "Fine. One email. And if she doesn't reply we drop it forever."

*

A week later Demelza stepped off a coach and into the bright lights of New York. Ross had offered to come with her, but she felt like this was something she needed to do alone. To her astonishment, Caroline had actually replied, but what was even stranger was the fact that she said she had been trying to contact Demelza for a while. She scoffed when she read the email. A top model trying to get in touch with her? Yeah, right.