by Jules Wake
Mum ignored him. ‘Take some leftovers with you when you go … And stop fiddling with that phone. Honestly we all managed perfectly well without them when we were your age.’
‘Sorry,’ I said, giving up on my toast. ‘Look at the time. I’d better go.’
Daniel’s parent’s house, just outside Henley, was a beautiful Queen Anne mansion, complete with a pair of octagonal lodges at the gate. To my great envy, Daniel lived in the left hand one overlooking the sandstone coloured gravel drive.
If I’d been Emily I’d have spent every weekend here but she hated it – said it was too quiet and parochial.
‘Daniel’s house is in the middle of nowhere.’
‘No it’s not,’ I protested amused.
‘Yes it is. No street lights. Pitch black. Strange noises all night. It’s awful.’
‘What sort of noises?’ I asked, trying to be being sympathetic.
‘Horrible ones. I was really scared which Daniel thought was hilarious. Sounded as if someone was being murdered. He just laughed. Said it was the badgers in the coppice. Is that code for something? I had no idea what he was on about.’
‘But isn’t the lodge lovely? Didn’t you like it?’
She’d looked at me with complete disdain. ‘If you like that sort of thing. Did you know he pays his dad a huge rent? Mad. He could get somewhere in London for that.’
What Emily didn’t know was that Daniel’s rent helped to maintain the lovely big house up the way and that he liked to be around. Although his dad was fine now, a few years before he’d suffered a massive heart attack.
Looking at the lodge house as I pulled up and sounded the car horn, I thought Emily was mad. Why didn’t she adore this place? The quaintness of the design; the huge key box in the hallway that held the old iron keys to the estate gates and the ancient oak front door.
I gave my hands a quick wipe on my jeans as Daniel appeared at the upstairs window. To my surprise, he signalled that I should park and come in.
I wandered in through the door he’d left open, my heart thumping. Looking around I gave a little sigh of pleasure.
‘Be right with you.’ Daniel’s disembodied voice floated down the stairs as I stood in the hallway looking through at the six-sided lounge.
Here, contemporary style mixed with traditional features. The room was dominated by a beautiful plasterwork fireplace, which contrasted with the warmth of the polished cherry wood flooring. Two overstuffed cream sofas, filled with tapestry cushions faced each other and there was little else apart from a couple of mahogany occasional tables which probably would have had the experts on the Antiques Roadshow wetting their knickers.
‘Sorry, Olivia.’ Daniel’s head appeared over the banisters at the top of the stairs. ‘I got stuck on a work call. Do you mind waiting? I’ve just got to whack off an email. Won’t be long. Have you heard from Kate, yet?’
‘No, but it’s the middle of the night there.’ I shrugged.
He gave me a cautious smile. ‘Don’t worry. She’ll be in good hands. Why don’t you help yourself to a cup of tea?’
‘No, I’m fine,’ I said, feeling relieved that there was no strain between us.
‘Sure?’ he sounded disappointed. ‘I was hoping you’d make me one. You’re so good at it.’
‘Cheeky.’ I stuck my tongue out at him
For a single guy living on his own, Daniel’s kitchen was fabulous, although the big range complete with wok burner was so clean it can’t have ever been used.
What a terrible waste. I’d kill for a kitchen like this. I could imagine it full of people, crowded round the refectory-style pine table, the wok burner fired up with a Thai curry on the go and Daniel dispensing drinks while I …
I shook my head. Don’t go there. Deliberately changing the direction of my thoughts I concentrated on trying to work out the time in Australia. When would I hear from Kate?
I came back to earth as Daniel came clattering down the stairs.
‘Right. All done,’ he said, rubbing his hands together.
I handed him his tea.
‘Thanks. You found everything then?’
‘Yes,’ I said sighing, turning my back on the kitchen and my daydreams. Now that he was here, my palms felt clammy. Was it time for our talk?
I needn’t have worried. Our conversation focused on yesterday’s mad dash to the airport with Daniel giving me a complete run down.
‘Bill was in such a state. He’s pumped up on the rugby pitch, of course, but I’ve never seen him like that off the field. Talk about a bull on the rampage. Poor girl at the check-in desk. I thought he was going to pick her up by the scruff of her neck.’
‘Really? Let’s hope he’s calmed down when he gets there and is a bit gentler with Kate. She’s going to kill me for spilling the beans.’
‘You think?’ Daniel asked. ‘Won’t she be pleased to see him? I had no idea anything had gone on between them.’
‘Neither did I, until that night at The Grayville when you barged in on Kate’s confession,’ I said pointedly.
Daniel looked confused for a second, put down his mug and leaned against the draining board with his arms folded. ‘Come again.’
How nice it was to take the moral high ground and rub it in that he’d completely got the wrong end of the stick that night.
‘Kate was halfway through telling me she was pregnant and hiding in the bathroom when you knocked on the door of the suite.’
Daniel’s face creased into a frown. ‘Ouch. I got that one wrong.’
‘Yes you did,’ I said sternly. ‘Jumping to conclusions. Which seems to have become a bit of a habit.’
I wished he’d stop staring at me.
‘Sorry, I thought—’
‘I know what you thought …’
‘I just—’ He was interrupted by the ring of the phone. ‘Bloody hell.’ He glanced at his watch ignoring it. ‘We need some peace. Let’s nip up to Mum and Dad’s, get your tape and go to the pub for a couple of hours. We’ve got a lot of things to clear up.’
That sounded a great idea. I could do with being on neutral territory in case I didn’t like what he had to say.
Just as he was hustling me out of the door, I recognised the voice on the answering machine, which had just clicked in. It had to be Emily, didn’t it?
‘Hi, it’s me. Think I might have missed a call from you last night. Sorry my phone was erm … off. Call me at home. Catch up with you then.’
So he’d called Emily last night had he? I wondered what for. Was he trying to get her version of things?
The ancient video recorder was in what George and Miriam referred to as the family room, although ten generations of my family would have fitted in there.
Miriam had left the tape on top of the television, clearly marked.
‘Do you mind if we watch it quickly?’ I asked. ‘Make sure it’s on there.’ Now I was here, my stomach was doing cartwheels and I wasn’t so sure about going to the pub.
Wow, Miranda’s dress looked brilliant on TV. The white silk of the fabric was luminous against the deep red of the carpet while the coloured lip prints stood out in multicoloured contrast. The camera hugged Miranda’s tiny figure, zooming in on the ‘Minx Red’ lip print over her bottom.
As the camera swung away down to the later arrivals, it homed in on Emily, looking lush and gorgeous in her Marilyn Monroe halter neck. Bloody hell, she looked stunning. I didn’t dare look at Daniel to see what he thought. Then it panned out over the watching crowd.
‘Look, there’s Kate … oh my God,’ I breathed, realising who she was talking to. I stared at a splash of red around the neck of the man next to her. The hairs on my arm stood rigid to attention as a curl of alarm tightened in my stomach. Leaning forward, I studied the screen, my hand over my mouth,
disbelieving.
‘Where’s the remote?’ I asked in a thin high voice, my eyes fixed on the TV.
‘What?’ asked Daniel.
‘Quick. The remote,’ I said.
Unearthing the remote from a pile of papers on the coffee table, Daniel handed it to me. ‘Are you all right, Olivia?’
‘No.’ My heart thudded in my chest as my fingers found the rewind button.
Pausing the picture, I stopped the tape on one frame. There. Behind Emily, talking to Kate in the crowd, was a familiar face, his gaze snapping back towards Emily intent and fixed on her.
Around his neck was a red scarf, knotted casually at the throat. My hands clenched involuntarily. I knew the softness of that scarf – the suppleness of the cashmere. I felt cold, all the way to my bones. The last time Emily or I had seen that scarf it had been hanging on the newel post in the flat.
My teeth nibbled the edge of my fist, biting hard into the flesh. I felt sick, stomach churningly sick. That damp print on the carpet. Oh God, he had been there while I slept.
‘My God, it was him in the flat,’ I whispered, staring wide-eyed with horror at the screen. ‘He’s been in our home!’
Daniel’s forehead creased. ‘What? Who’s been in the flat?’ he asked harshly.
I hesitated for a moment. How much should I tell him? Emily might have done the dirty on me but I didn’t feel comfortable about telling Daniel about her going on a speed-date behind his back. How would he feel?
Daniel’s expression became stern and stony faced. ‘Olivia, what the hell is going on? You never did explain the brick.’ He gave my shoulders an impatient shake. ‘What kind of trouble are you in?’
His eyes held mine, glinting angrily. ‘That broken window was no accident. No irate wife. So who was it? You know, don’t you?’
‘I told you the married man doesn’t exist,’ I said, deliberately stalling for time not wanting to tell him the full story. Now that I’d seen Peter on the tape, I knew we should have taken his emails more seriously.
‘What’s the story this time, Olivia?’ Daniel’s voice had gone dangerously quiet.
His face was level with mine but I couldn’t look at him.
‘You’re going to have to tell me,’ he said firmly in a soft voice. I met his angry stare and pursed my lips.
Looking at his grim face, I knew this time nothing less than the truth would do. Quickly I told him all about the speed-date, Peter’s emails and the missing scarf.
Worrying at the fingernail on my index finger, I watched him with a sinking heart. I wanted to hide. I felt really small. This time he had every right to be angry.
‘Why the hell didn’t you tell anyone?’ he yelled. I’d never seen him like this before. ‘He’d thrown the brick through your window! You had to go to hospital!’
‘I wasn’t sure it was him,’ I said in a small voice. ‘There was no proof.’
‘Bloody hell. How could you be so fucking irresponsible?’ he hissed, stalking up and down the room, kicking angrily at the rug curling up under the sofa.
I’d never heard him swear quite like that before, certainly not at me and not at 95,000 decibels.
‘For God’s sake you’re an intelligent woman! What if he’d let himself in when you were there?’
I bit my lip nervously, dying to put my hand over my ears. Now was not the time to confess that Peter had once.
‘We have to phone the police. You need to get the locks changed.’ He looked at his watch. ‘Today,’ he barked, as I stood there, the remote control limply hanging from my hand.
That was the final straw, all the time he’d been shouting at me, I’d stayed calm. Now I lost it but not very convincingly. Seeing Peter had really shaken me up
‘Don’t shout at me?’ I yelled back my voice wobbling. ‘It was Emily’s fault.’ My voice broke slightly.
‘Leave Emily out of this for the time being,’ he snapped, ignoring the tremors in my voice.
‘I can’t you … you … big dickhead. She’s Walter Mitty, not me.’
That shut him up for a moment.
He looked at me bitterly. ‘What’s Emily got to do with this? Why should I believe that? I’ve never had any reason not to trust her. Now, all this comes out and … I don’t know what to believe. I’ve always trusted you, too. We’ve been … You’re …’ He faltered, a sad expression crossing his face, before he went on in a stronger voice to ask, ‘Why would Emily lie to me?’
God, she’d done a good job on him.
‘You … you… dickhead,’ I said again in sheer frustration.
‘Stop calling me that,’ he snapped back.
I glared at him mutinously, saying slowly and haughtily. ‘I … don’t … tell … lies! Omissions, perhaps. I couldn’t tell you about the speed-date, not that it was anything to do with you, because Emily came with me. So then I couldn’t tell you about Peter. Emily’s your girlfriend, go shout at her!’ I stopped to take a few breaths.
All the shouting, his and now mine, was exhausting and suddenly all the fight went. ‘Look, Daniel, until I saw that tape I had no evidence,’ I explained more calmly. ‘No proof. I’ve no idea how he got in or how often.’ I stopped uncertainly.
Silence hung in the air, the crackling anger between us dissipating as we both considered the implications of my last sentence. The thought that Peter had been in my room, touching my things made me feel ill. Daniel seeing the look on my face gave a heavy sigh.
‘Olivia.’ He leant against the mantelpiece, looking at me, his eyes blazing with emotion. The intense expression in them lit a tiny flicker of hope that burned low in my belly sending butterflies skittering about.
‘Have you any idea how much danger you could have been in? God, I feel sick at the thought of you being harmed.’
‘Do you?’ I asked in a small voice.
He strode over to me, seizing my shoulders. ‘It was bad enough the night I found you covered in blood in your room? That night I realised …’ his low impassioned words were like a blowtorch finally sparking full flame combustion.
‘Yes,’ I prompted, watching the expression on his face hungrily.
‘How long I’ve I wanted to do this …’ he murmured as he got closer and closer.
I swear my heart stopped. The tick of a clock echoed in the quiet. God his lips were soft. I wanted more. Tingles of excitement blossomed in my stomach as the kiss deepened. Of their own accord my arms went up around his neck as our bodies pressed together.
‘Really?’ I asked breathlessly a few minutes later, my whole body reeling from the pleasure of that one kiss. The thundering in my ears was receding. I felt as if I’d been flattened by a herd of stampeding cows and left in the quiet aftermath in a cloud of dust.
‘Really,’ said Daniel emphatically, nodding his head. His blue eyes meeting mine, a gentle smile filling them.
Shyly, I examined his neck, resisting the temptation to trace my fingers down the strong column to the dark blond hair peeping out of the ‘V’ of his open shirt. I sneaked a look up at him. My heart flipped at the tender expression on his face. I couldn’t help myself, I gave him an ecstatic grin.
‘You needn’t look so pleased about it. I’ve aged ten years in this last month.’
‘Sorry.’ I bit back another smile, averting my gaze back to the smooth, slightly tanned skin of his neck. So kissable, I wanted to brush my lips against it.
‘So you should be, woman. What are you going to do to make it up to me?’
There was a challenge in his eyes, which combined with that humorous tilt of his eyebrows made me feel invincible.
‘I could kiss you to make it better,’ I said tilting my head, suddenly feeling full of confidence as I looked boldly at his lower lip in blatant invitation.
In response he brought his hand to my
face, skimming my cheekbone with his thumb and my heart went straight into freefall, spiralling down. I took a sharp intake of breath as he bent his head down again.
Hard hats were most definitely required. That second kiss was even more thrilling than the first, setting off every firework going. Catherine wheels were fizzing through my stomach and when his tongue tentatively touched mine I thought I might just go into meltdown.
‘And what exactly were you planning to make better?’ he asked, much later when we finally came up for air. I was too dazed to remember.
There was a click and a whirr as the video recorder switched off. Bugger. Our timing was lousy. Reluctantly we pulled apart and stood facing each other.
‘We have to do something about your stalker,’ Daniel said heavily, smoothing a strand of hair off my face.
I reached for his hand. It was impossible to concentrate when he touched my face. It was making me go all gooey inside and we needed to think sensibly.
‘I know,’ I replied regretfully, wanting to stay cocooned in that first kiss glow of happiness but I couldn’t ignore what I’d just seen.
‘And,’ Daniel went on, ‘I need to talk to Emily.’ He looked at me, his eyes boring into mine. ‘I have to tell her it’s over. Today. I know how you feel about two-timing.’
My happy glow dimmed. What would she say? I didn’t want to be around when he told her. Although her resignation made things slightly easier. Another thing I hadn’t told him about yet.
It would have been so much easier to stay put, stick to our original plan, go the pub and bask in that heady intoxication of knowing your feelings are returned but I couldn’t. I sighed. ‘It’s no good, Daniel. I’m going to have to go back.’
‘No … we’re going to have to go back.’
Mum sussed something was up the minute I got home to drop off her Peugeot, but only because she caught Daniel kissing me as I locked her car.
Typical! She had to open the door at that second, her arms clutching the box of bottles and tins for the recycling bucket.
‘You’re back earlier than I expected.’ She looked at us with a smirk.
‘Emergency at work, Mum,’ I lied, waving the videotape at her. ‘Daniel’s taking me back. Need to pack.’ And with that I fled up the stairs abandoning Daniel. He was a big boy. He could cope.