by Kate Ryder
A short while later, Helen and Peter appeared in the archway to say goodbye and promised to be in touch regarding Peter’s partner. I followed them through to the bar and watched as they collected their coats from the alcove. Nick held Sarah’s jacket open and smiled down at her. I tried hard not to stare as she slipped her arms into the sleeves, turned in the circle of his arms and smiled up at him with a look of adoration. With difficulty, I averted my eyes from this display of affection and quickly joined Vera and Dan who were drinking at the bar.
As the Corbin party walked by, complimenting Vera on her cooking before continuing to the door, I willed Nick to cast me a last, brief glance. But Peter engaged him in conversation and although he hesitated at the door as if to turn back, the next minute they exited the pub. The room suddenly felt cold and empty.
‘The event seems a success,’ said Brian, returning from the restaurant. ‘People are on the dance floor.’ Slipping behind the bar, he poured a gin and tonic and pushed it across the counter towards me. ‘Here, get this down your neck, Maddie. You deserve it.’
I took a large swig but it did nothing to quash my despair.
‘These evenings are turning out well,’ Brian continued. ‘Maybe we should think about celebrating St Patrick’s Day.’
Well used to her husband’s enthusiastic approach, in a long-suffering voice Vera said, ‘Let’s recover from this one first, Bri, love.’
‘Yeah, OK, Vera, but we’ve got our own resident Irish lass right here in front of us. I bet she could tell us a St Pat’s Day tale or two!’ He winked at me.
I opened my mouth to respond, but Dan interjected, recounting a visit we’d made for the festivities a few years earlier when I’d first introduced him to the wider O’Brien clan. ‘That was an experience and a half I can tell you, Brian,’ he said. ‘Thought I’d died and gone to heaven. Every which way I looked I was surrounded by stunners!’
‘I’ve met Maddie’s sister and can well believe that,’ Brian said. ‘Bet there wasn’t a Dublin lad safe during Maddie and Mo’s teenage years.’
‘You should see the older sister,’ said Dan, warming to the subject, ‘and as for Mrs O’Brien…’ Making a face that suggested my mother was hot, he blew on his fingers. I grimaced. He’d obviously had one too many. ‘I will always hold Finn O’Brien in the highest esteem for handling that family and yet still maintaining some semblance of sanity.’
As the two men laughed, Vera peered at me over the rim of her glass and raised her eyebrows.
Deciding Dan had said enough, I quickly downed my drink. ‘Come on, Daniel Chambers, I think it’s time to go.’
We said goodnight and I went through to the restaurant and waved goodbye to Janet, Gayle and Danielle who were now dancing on the improvised dance floor in front of the band. I waited while Dan collected an overnight bag from his car and then we walked across the village green towards The Olde Smithy. Moonlight, filtering through the boughs of the mighty oak, cast eerie shadows across the grass in an intricate pattern.
It was past midnight and I was bushed, but Dan had found a second wind and wanted to talk.
‘Dan, I need to sleep. I’ve been on my feet all evening,’ I pleaded. ‘Look, let’s make up a bed for you in the spare room and you can talk while we do that.’
He agreed and followed me upstairs, setting his bag down by the window while I pulled out sheets and pillowcases from the airing cupboard.
‘Why didn’t you phone me to let me know you were coming?’ I asked, as we wrestled the duvet into its cover.
‘I did,’ he said. ‘There was no reply, so I left a message.’
‘For all you knew I might have been out of the country,’ I countered, thinking of Mo and Jeff, ‘whisked away on some romantic trip.’
‘True. But then I figured I’d take the chance.’
I plumped up a pillow. ‘So, where’s Lucy?’
He didn’t answer at once and I glanced over. To my consternation, I thought I saw tears.
‘I don’t know,’ he said eventually, in a small voice.
I sighed, knowing sleep was a long way off. ‘Dan, come downstairs and I’ll fix us a drink. Do you want tea?’
He said he’d prefer whisky, and I decided I probably needed one as well. I ordered him to pour the drinks as I removed a tray of ice cubes from the freezer. Hearing scratching at the back door, I let Storm in. While he was still checking out his bowl in the kitchen, I managed to make it to his favourite chair by the fire. I glanced at my watch. It was going to be a long night…
‘So, tell me what happened,’ I said.
It transpired that Lucy had moved in with Dan the minute she’d arrived in London. He wasn’t aware this was the arrangement until he’d woken one weekend and realised she’d been living with him for over two weeks. When he asked himself if he wanted her to go, he’d found the answer was ‘no’. As he told me this, I considered how unfair it was that some women could make a move on a man and get what they want so easily. I focused on Dan’s tale as he explained how he accepted the invasion on his, up until then, mainly independent, bachelor lifestyle.
‘It was great,’ he said. ‘She fitted right in.’
Storm jumped up onto my lap, circled twice and settled down, purring.
‘We didn’t go out for weeks, we were just happy to stay in.’
‘Both Caro and your friend, Colin, said they hadn’t heard from you for ages,’ I said bluntly, not sparing his feelings.
He looked guilty. ‘As you know, Lucy’s full on. She doesn’t leave much time for anything else.’
As if that’s an excuse!
Pointedly, I said, ‘And we are family and friends.’
He held his hands up in surrender. ‘Peace, Mads, please. You have no idea what it’s like. She bowled me over completely.’ He raked his hands through his hair.
I looked at him with pity. Dan had always been so laid-back and easy company. I could see he was torn apart by whatever had happened. I took a long sip of whisky.
‘Go on.’
He downed his drink in one. ‘Do you remember asking what baggage she came with?’ I nodded. ‘Well, it appears the “ex” is not so much of an ex.’
‘Oh, Dan! I told you to be careful.’
‘I know, Mads. Don’t preach,’ he whined.
‘How did you find out?’
‘Lucy always answers the phone before I get to it.’
Probably fielding my calls…
‘On the few occasions I did answer no one ever spoke, but I could hear breathing.’
‘Did you question her?’
He nodded. ‘She said she’d experienced similar calls, but assumed it was probably a girlfriend of mine who didn’t want to talk to her.’
I was right – devious, manipulative and well-practised.
‘I had no reason to doubt her… then,’ he said.
‘So what made you?’
He sighed deeply. ‘Lucy’s been unable to find work since arriving in London. When I leave for the studio in the morning she’s at the flat, and she’s always there when I get home. Well, one day I finished at lunchtime and thought I’d surprise her. I got home and let myself in but she wasn’t there. I thought she might have an interview and checked the calendar, but the date was empty. Then I wondered if she’d gone shopping, or something, and would be back soon, so I decided to wait for her in bed.’ He looked at me sheepishly. ‘We’re like that…’
‘No need to explain.’ I had no desire to hear their intimate details. ‘Go on,’ I said, tickling Storm under the chin.
‘Well, as soon as I entered the bedroom I knew someone else had been there. The sheets were rumpled and there was a strong smell of aftershave.’
‘Are you sure it wasn’t perfume?’ I asked. ‘And Lucy could have just had a restless sleep-in.’
‘When I left for work she was dressed and making the bed.’
‘Oh!’ I glanced at Dan. He looked wretched. Lucy must be amazing to have this effect on him, I reflected r
uefully. ‘What happened then?’
‘I waited all afternoon and she returned at four-thirty. I know because I was sitting in the lounge timing her, checking to see if she made it back before I was due home.’
‘Did you tackle her about it then?’
‘No. I didn’t say anything. She didn’t notice me at first. She had a secret smile on her face.’
I knew that smile. I’d seen it in my kitchen.
‘She was shocked when she saw me sitting there. Said she’d been touting around the agents and was tired and needed a shower. I let it ride, even when she stripped the bed and made some excuse about us needing clean sheets, though she’d only changed them a few days before.’
‘So, then what happened?’
‘Nothing. She was always there when I got home and our sex life was as fantastic as ever.’
‘What about the phone calls? Did they continue?’
‘They stopped but she was always texting. And then, last Tuesday, Tim asked if Lucy’s brother had got the job. When I asked him what he meant he said he’d bumped into her coming out of the Hilton with a man one afternoon the previous week. She’d introduced him as her brother and said he was in London for a job interview. When I told Tim I didn’t know anything about a brother, he looked awkward and said he must have got it wrong.’
Tim, the stunt co-ordinator at Hawkstone Media, was diplomacy personified. I knew how awful he’d feel if he thought he’d caused trouble.
‘When I arrived at the flat that evening she was there as usual,’ Dan continued, ‘but I noticed yet another change of sheets and that made me see red. Over supper I asked if she was free for lunch the next day. She made the excuse of meeting a producer about a costume drama, and when I asked for more details she was fairly vague and changed the subject. A while later her mobile went off and she started texting.’
‘How could you let her continue living in your flat if you were so suspicious of her?’ I asked incredulously. ‘The pressure must be unbearable.’
Dan looked so sad. ‘If I hadn’t come home that lunchtime I wouldn’t have known anything was amiss. Everything – and I mean everything – was exactly as it always was. She has a voracious appetite!’ He looked embarrassed, but then the next minute said defiantly, ‘I tell you, she’s like a drug.’ He buried his head in his hands.
This superwoman was really pissing me off.
‘How did you find out it was her ex?’ I asked as kindly as I could.
He groaned and sat up. ‘The next day I left as if to go to work, but phoned in sick. I sat in the car just around the corner in Gladstone Street. There’s a good view of the flat from there. I didn’t have to wait long. A man turned up and Lucy opened the door in just a T-shirt.’
I remembered her standing in the doorway to my bedroom wearing only a T-shirt. Those long, slender legs seemed to go on forever. ‘Could have been her brother,’ I suggested.
Dan gave me a withering look – justly deserved. ‘She kissed him and pulled him into the flat.’
Maybe not…
‘So what did you do?’
‘I waited about ten minutes before entering the flat. They were going at it like rabbits… in my bed,’ he said, his voice rising in anger. ‘I stood and watched.’
I could see it now, Dan coolly observing the cavorting couple.
‘They were so preoccupied she didn’t notice me for several minutes.’
I could imagine her shock when she finally did.
‘What happened then?’ I asked.
Dan rubbed his eyes, as if attempting to erase the vision. ‘She tried to cover herself up. Kept saying she was really sorry but could explain.’
‘And the guy? What was he doing?’
‘What blokes normally do in those circumstances. Looking foolish, hopping around the room trying to get into his underpants.’
I laughed and Dan shot me a look. Quickly, I rearranged my features into concern. But I couldn’t help wondering if Lucy’s tousled hair, which always looked as if she’d only just got out of bed, was because, more often than not, she just had!
‘I ordered him to leave my flat,’ Dan continued, ‘which he did, and asked Lucy what was going on. She started to cry. It seems that when I first met her, this bloke, Tony, and she had been having an affair for four years, but he’d suddenly found a conscience and gone back to his wife and kids. She said she couldn’t believe it when I started paying her attention as she thought a bloke like me would never be interested in someone like her.’
Oh spare me the violins!
‘She said she dreamt of making a new life with me and was overwhelmed when I’d appeared to want the same thing with her.’
I was appalled at Dan’s gullibility.
‘She was full on from the start, Mads. I know I should have heeded your words but she’s like a drug. I can’t… couldn’t get enough of her.’
‘Putty,’ I said.
He had the decency to look sheepish.
‘So why did this Tony come back into her life?’ I asked in a matter-of-fact voice.
‘Apparently he was never out of it,’ Dan said bitterly. ‘As soon as Lucy told him she’d met someone else his interest was rekindled.’
Oh very clever. No doubt, she’d laid it on thick about her new man.
‘And once she’d moved to London he told her he couldn’t be without her. He’s a salesman,’ he continued, ‘so made sure he spent a lot of time in London and the Home Counties.’
Dan looked so lost and deflated. I removed Storm from my lap and went over and hugged him.
‘And do you know what the most galling thing is, Mads?’
I shook my head.
‘He’s spent about as much time in my bed as I have over the past four months.’
It wasn’t all fun for Lucy, though. She must have had one hell of a lot of laundry...
‘When did all this happen?’ I asked.
‘Day before yesterday. I told Lucy to go. She pleaded with me to give her a second chance.’
‘You haven’t, have you?’
He shook his head. ‘I almost gave in.’
I had never seen Dan like this; he was always so level-headed and in control. It shook me to the core to see him falling apart.
‘Come on, Dan.’ I caught hold of his hands and persuaded him out of the chair. ‘It’s past three and I’m knackered. Let’s go to bed.’
The look of panic that swept across his face made me want to burst out laughing.
‘In separate beds, Dan. I don’t want to jump your bones tonight.’
Embarrassment replaced the panic. ‘Mads, you know you’re really special to me but what with all this, I… I’m a mess,’ he stuttered.
‘You don’t need to explain, Dan. We’re good friends. Let’s just get some sleep. It will seem so much better in the morning. When do you have to go back to work?’
He said he’d taken a couple of days off so I suggested we slept in and got up when we fancied. I glanced in the driftwood mirror on the way upstairs, steeling myself in case I saw the ‘other’ woman, but the glass was clear. On the landing I turned to Dan and, standing on tiptoes, kissed him lightly on the mouth. His lips responded out of familiarity but the look in his eyes was one of sheer terror. Poor Dan!
I lay in bed considering everything he’d divulged. I was so angry with Lucy. He didn’t deserve to be treated so flippantly. Dan was a decent man. I resolved that should our paths ever cross again Lucy would definitely get a piece of my mind.
Sleep came to me eventually, but it was filled with dreams of shadowy figures coming and going in the night and horses – many horses – below in the courtyard. I awoke and glanced at the clock – 05.53. I sighed and opened the bedside cabinet drawer, checking that the precious jewellery was still in its wooden casket. Once satisfied, I turned over and instantly drifted off to sleep. Immediately, I returned to the dream.
In the corner of the room stood the large, rustic cot and I heard crying emanating from within. I wa
lked over and peered in. It was the little boy who had danced with me in the sitting room. He was hot and flushed with fever. Looking up, he whimpered and stretched out his arms to me. I leant over and picked him up, and he clung to me desperately as I tried to comfort him. I glanced out of the window. The courtyard was full of horses. Aware of another presence, I looked across the room and saw the young girl peering out of the window that overlooked the village green. She was aged about seven and I noticed her long, curly auburn hair was not dissimilar to my own.
‘Come away from the window, Elisabeth,’ I whispered urgently. ‘Come away now.’
She moved an inch or two, but stayed within range of the window.
That daughter of mine is so headstrong. It will get her into trouble one of these days.
Daughter of mine? What was I thinking? And yet I knew it to be true.
‘Elisabeth, come here!’ I hissed in a louder whisper. She ignored me and continued to gaze out of the window.
Leaving the boy crying on the bed, I crossed the room in three strides and roughly grabbed her by the arm. She cried out in pain, the hurt reflecting in her eyes, and I pulled her away from the window, but not before one of the soldiers below looked up and saw us standing there. He had a round and ruddy, not unkindly face and wore his hair short under a metal helmet. He stared at us in surprise and I noticed his leather tunic and metal breastplate. He turned to say something to the soldier standing next to him, but did not. As we withdrew from sight, I saw him glance back up at the bedroom window.
It was dusk and raining hard. From the safety of the room I looked out at the village green. It was full of soldiers and horses; the ground trampled and poached. A huddle of men stood sheltering beneath the boughs of an immature oak tree, and on the far side of the green I saw the Blacksmith’s Arms… only it wasn’t. It was a tavern – a sign swung from its front stone elevations – but whereas the Blacksmith’s roof was tiled, this roof was thatched, and an archway led through the centre of the building to a stable yard beyond.