‘I’ll remember that,’ he promised, sliding a hand into her hair, ‘and with any luck the worst of it’s already over now her treatment’s complete. Anyway, I ought to get the heavy stuff upstairs before I go, and I haven’t even said hello to your father yet.’
‘Aunt Daffs thinks he might have had another of those mini-strokes,’ she told him.
Turning back, he said, ‘When?’
‘Yesterday, but he seems fine now. He’s obviously glad to have us all around him again.’
‘Are you going to tell him what you found out in Italy?’
She shrugged. ‘What’s the point? He won’t understand it, and even if he did, how’s it going to help him now?’
Pulling her back into his arms, he said, ‘I haven’t forgotten how hard all that must have been for you.’
‘I’m sure I’ll survive.’
‘Of course you will, but knowing what your mother went through . . .’
‘The good thing is she ended up meeting Dad, and we can’t ever doubt how happy she was with him.’
‘As happy as you are with me?’
Her eyes narrowed teasingly, but before she could answer there was a loud thump on the door behind them.
‘Mum! Are you in there?’ Tierney called out. ‘Alfie’s dad’s on the line wanting to say thanks for everything, and you told me to remind you to ring Skye’s mum.’
‘Coming,’ Lainey called back. Tom’s eyes were still on hers, and as he smiled she could feel herself starting to melt. ‘I love you, Tom Hollingsworth,’ she whispered, and after kissing him lingeringly, she went off to deal with the phone.
‘So where is he now?’ Stacy was asking the following day, having come over for coffee.
‘Still over there with Kirsten,’ Lainey replied, popping a chicken into the Aga. ‘You’re staying for lunch, I hope?’
‘I’d love to. How many will we be? I’ll set the table.’
Counting on her fingers, Lainey said, ‘Actually, only five, unless someone turns up out of the blue. You, me, Tierney, Maudie and Dad. Zav’s over at Alfie’s, and Aunt Daffs and Uncle Jack set off early this morning. Poor Aunt Daffs, she was really shaken up when I told her what I’d found out in Italy. She was certain Dad never knew, or if he did he never told her. I guess it’s not a secret you really want to share with anyone, is it? I almost wish I didn’t know it myself.’
‘But you had to have answers,’ Stacy reminded her gently. ‘It’s been driving you nuts for years.’
‘Maybe it’s a lesson in being careful of what you wish for,’ Lainey commented wryly. ‘Anyway, there’s no unknowing it now, so I’ll just have to live with the fact that my real father was a rapist, my grandmother was a she-devil, and my mother could never look at me without remembering how she’d come to have me. In other words, my Italian roots have sadness and shame all over them, and what little family I still have there might very well not want to be reminded of how badly they treated their daughter. However, on the up side, I’m probably the luckiest person alive to have been adopted by Peter, because I defy anyone to have a more wonderful father.’
Stacy smiled fondly as she looked over to where Peter was sitting quietly in his chair, gazing at a newspaper he could no longer read. ‘So when are you expecting
your
children’s father back?’ she asked, going to fish out the cutlery.
‘I’m still waiting to hear,’ Lainey replied, checking the oven’s temperature. ‘He texted last night to let me know he’d arrived, and to say that apparently Julia isn’t coming back until Tuesday or Wednesday now.’
Stacy’s eyebrows rose expressively.
‘I know what you’re thinking, and I’ve no idea if Kirsten knew that before she asked him to go, or she found out later. I’m trying to give her the benefit of the doubt.’
Stacy’s expression mirrored Lainey’s irony. ‘So when are you meeting her?’
‘I don’t know yet,’ Lainey replied, and scooping up the phone, she said, ‘Hi, Max, how’s it going over there? Yes, we’re all OK this end. Missing you like crazy, of course.’ She laughed at his response, and after giving him directions to the supermarket nearest to the villa, she rang off. ‘OK, enough about me,’ she declared, as Stacy seemed about to return to the subject of Kirsten and Tom. ‘I want to hear how things are going with the launch. Have you set a date for it yet?’
‘Actually, we’ve hit a few problems,’ Stacy confessed, ‘all to do with finance, of course, but the guys are on it so we’re definitely not giving up yet.’
Lainey regarded her sympathetically.
‘It was to be expected,’ Stacy insisted. ‘These things never go without a hitch, you know that. It’ll be fine, I’m sure. It’s just in this current climate everyone’s playing safe.’
Lainey looked at her father as the paper slid from his hands. ‘He has so many contacts,’ she said, going to prop his head against a cushion. ‘I’m sure he’d know who to call if only he could remember. I wonder if Marty could go through his address book with me . . .’
‘You’ve got enough to be dealing with,’ Stacy told her, ‘but don’t worry, if things get really bad I might come back to you on that. And there goes the phone again.’
‘Tom,’ Lainey said, reading the caller ID. ‘Hi darling, how’re things?’
‘. . . if you can . . . then I’ll give you . . .’
‘Sorry, you’re breaking up.’
‘. . . hear me now?’
‘Only just.’
‘. . . to say that if . . . Kirsten feels . . .’
‘It’s no good, Tom. Can you go somewhere with a better reception, or maybe try sending a text?’ Before she’d even finished the line had gone dead.
Putting the phone down, she said, ‘There’s surely got to be a landline over there, so why doesn’t he use that?’
‘Some people have cut them off since mobiles,’ Stacy reminded her. ‘Except that doesn’t make much sense in Kirsten’s case, if she can’t get a reception. Unless she has a different server, of course.’
With raised eyebrows Lainey picked up the phone again. ‘Hi Nadia, this is a nice surprise. How are you?’
‘Yes, I’m fine,’ Nadia replied hoarsely. ‘Sorry, I’ve got a bit of a cold, nothing serious. I wasn’t sure if you were back yet . . .’
‘We arrived yesterday, but Tom’s not here I’m afraid, if that’s who you’re looking for. You can always try him on his mobile, though I’m not sure you’ll get through on that either.’
‘It’s OK, it’s not urgent. Just have him call when he gets home.’
‘Of course. You do sound rough, I hope you’re taking something?’
‘It’ll pass, I’m sure. These things always do. Actually, before I let you go, I should probably tell you that Guy and I have decided to go our separate ways.’
Shaken, Lainey said, ‘Oh no, I’m really sorry to hear that. Are you OK? Do want to come over?’
‘I’m fine. Well, I’m probably not, if the truth were told, but I know it’s the right decision. On a different subject, did Max come back with you, by any chance?’
Wondering at the question, Lainey replied, ‘No, he stayed on with his girlfriend, but I’m not sure how long they’re going to last trying to fend for themselves.’
With a weak laugh, Nadia said, ‘Is he . . .? Do you know . . .? Sorry, I’m a bit scattered at the moment. I should ring off, but if you could get Tom to call that would be lovely.’
After putting the phone down Lainey turned to Stacy, her expression drawn into a frown. ‘She didn’t sound good,’ she said, glancing round at the sound of Tierney and Maudie coming down the stairs. ‘Apparently she and Guy have broken up.’
‘Oh no, that’s really tough,’ Stacy commented, ‘especially when she’s already been through it once. Not that I ever thought he was right for her, but it’s not what I think that counts. Did he meet someone else?’
‘Who?’ Tierney asked, sailing into the kitchen and helping herself to an apple.
‘Guy Whittaker,’ Lainey answered. ‘Apparently he and Nadia are no longer together.’
Tierney’s face paled. ‘Oh my God,’ she mumbled.
Putting an arm around her, Lainey said, ‘I know break-ups are painful, but they’re a part of life, and Dad and I . . .’
‘I know. It’s not that.’
‘Then what is it?’
‘Nothing. I’m cool. Come on, Mauds, let’s go.’
As they reached the door, Lainey said, ‘Lunch in an hour. Don’t be late.’
‘We won’t,’ Tierney replied without turning back.
Watching them crossing the garden to the footpath, Lainey said, ‘I hate the fact that she hides things from me, but I guess I have to get used to it.’
‘I’m afraid you do, now she’s the age she is.’
Sighing, Lainey reached for her mobile as it bleeped with a text. ‘I always thought we’d be able to talk about anything, no matter what age she was,’ she remarked, ‘but I guess that was a bit delusional.’ After reading Tom’s message she passed Stacy the phone for her to read it too.
Kirsten is asking if you’d be willing to come here tomorrow?
Stacy’s eyes went to Lainey’s.
‘You don’t know how much I wish I could say no,’ Lainey told her, ‘just so we’re not doing everything her way, but that would be petty, wouldn’t it?’
‘You’ve got a busy life,’ Stacy pointed out.
‘True, but I guess I’d rather get it over with, so for the moment I’m prepared to let her call the shots. It might all be different after I’ve met her. We’ll see.’
IN SPITE OF TOM’S
careful directions, Lainey wasn’t surprised when Kirsten’s rural retreat turned out to be almost impossible to find. For some reason it seemed likely that Kirsten would be at the back end of beyond, though quite why she’d chosen to live so remotely, and for so long, Lainey guessed only Kirsten knew.
During the drive through Herefordshire she’d struggled with so many conflicting emotions that she knew her perspective was in danger of slipping. Everything was seeming disturbingly surreal, as though this charade – and that was what it felt like, a charade – was happening apart from her, because she surely couldn’t really be about to visit her husband in the home of another woman. A woman with whom he had a child, and God only knew what kind of relationship now.
One step at a time, Lainey
, she cautioned herself.
Remember, you’re supposed to be keeping an open mind, and you trust Tom, you really do.
By the time she finally turned off the leafy lane she’d already driven up and down twice on to a bumpy track leading to a sprawl of ramshackle outbuildings with a slightly shabby, but quaintly thatched cottage at their heart, it was already past midday. She was half an hour late. She looked more closely at the cottage. Not exactly the kind of dwelling she’d imagined for the glamorous Kirsten Bonner, but then what did she know of her today?
Spotting Tom’s car next to an old Range Rover she felt herself being drawn into a knot of apprehension, which only tightened when he came out of the cottage to meet her. He, and his car, gave the appearance of being very much at home here.
‘I was starting to get worried,’ he told her as he opened her door. ‘Did you get lost?’
‘A little,’ she admitted, picking up her bag and wondering if Kirsten was watching from behind a curtain.
‘Thanks for coming,’ he said, wrapping her in his arms. ‘Is Peter OK? Who’s with him?’
‘Marigold,’ she replied, referring to one of the agency nurses she called on in times of need.
‘That’s good. He always seems to relate well to her. So, are you hungry? There’s some soup for lunch. I could say I’d made it myself, but I know you wouldn’t believe it.’
Hating the way he was playing host, making her feel as though she was no more than a casual visitor, rather than his
wife,
come to meet his
ex-mistress and please God it really was still ex,
she said, ‘I’m fine, thanks. You seem very comfortable here.’
At that his eyes narrowed, but he apparently decided not to voice whatever he’d drawn breath for, and simply watched her survey the cluttered yard with its scavenging ducks and chickens, towering hay bales, and rusting bits of old farm machinery. Behind a row of rundown stables a couple of horses stood in a field, while the countryside beyond stretched out to the horizon in a lazy patchwork of shimmering greens. It was certainly peaceful around here, she was thinking, and secluded, though she guessed the new estate she’d passed just now was probably only a short walk away.
‘You should go in,’ he told her.
She turned to him in surprise. ‘What about you?’
‘Kirsten thought it would be best if you two talked alone, at least at first, so I’m going to exercise Julia’s horses.’
Lainey’s heart jarred. She’d forgotten he could ride, since the last time she’d seen him on horseback was during a holiday in the Camargue, before Zav was born. Apparently these days it was a pastime, perhaps even a passion, he shared with his elder daughter. She couldn’t help wondering how Tierney would feel about it, but quickly pushed the thought away. That was something she’d have to deal with later.
‘Is there anyone else inside?’ she asked.
He shook his head.
Lainey glanced at the cottage. ‘Actually, I’m not sure I want to speak to her alone.’
‘It’ll be fine,’ he assured her. ‘You’re always great with people, and she’s looking forward to meeting you.’
If that were true, she could only wish she felt the same. ‘Aren’t you at least going to show me in, and make the introductions?’ she said rather desperately.
‘You don’t need me to do that. All you have to do is go along the hall into the kitchen. She’s waiting for you there.’
‘So she’s not in bed?’
‘No, but she hasn’t regained full strength yet, so please try to bear that in mind.’
Not liking how protective he was sounding, she turned back to the car.
‘What are you doing?’ he protested. ‘Lainey, for God’s sake, you can’t come all this way only to . . .’
‘My phone,’ she explained, retrieving it from the charger.
Sounding less tense, he said, ‘I’m afraid you won’t get a reception.’
‘I’d still like to have it with me. How long will you be gone?’
‘Half an hour, I guess. Look, I know this isn’t easy for you, it isn’t for her either, but I promise, you’ll like her. There’s nothing not to like, and by the time you leave you’ll be saying the same.’
It was on the tip of her tongue to ask if he’d be leaving with her, but she decided to save it until she knew whether Julia was coming back tomorrow or Wednesday.