leave.’
‘Jolly good!’ James beamed, his boyish face alight with such enthusiasm that she felt guilty all over again. If she hadn’t been feeling so ashamed of herself she would never have allowed him to slide his arm in a proprietorial manner around her waist. ‘What’ll you have then, a quick gin? Or a slow one? Sloe gin ... geddit? Bleugh-huuu . . . eek... bleugghh-huuu ... eek eek ...’
Janey could have died on the spot when she saw Guy Cassidy ahead of her at the bar. All evening she’d been consoling herself with the thought that at least she hadn’t bumped into anyone she recognized. It might be shallow and spineless of her, but it was a comfort nevertheless. Or it had been, up until now.
‘Hello, Janey.’ Breaking off his conversation with a balding middle-aged man, he turned and smiled at her. Perspiration prickled once more beneath her arms and down her spine as for a fraction of a second his gaze flickered to James, still caught up in the throes of his own unfunny joke.
Feeling sicker than ever, because he was also bound to relay every detail to Maxine, Janey made an effort to return his smile. ‘Guy, what a surprise!’
‘I know,’ he replied with mock solemnity. ‘I don’t make a habit of visiting the theatre but I’d heard such great things about this production ...’
‘What he means,’ explained his balding companion, ‘is that he was dragged here against his will because we’ve been friends for years and I happen to be the play’s director. I told him he had to suffer first if he wanted dinner afterwards.’
Guy grinned. ‘I felt like a girl out on a blind date.’
Janey felt herself go scarlet. James, who had been listening to the exchange with interest, guffawed. ‘Like a girl out on a blind date? Oh I say, that’s jolly funny, bleughhuuu ... eek eek eek ...’
‘Why don’t you like me?’ said Serena suddenly.
Guy was upstairs saving goodnight to Josh and Ella. Maxine, who was busy stuffing clothes into the washing machine, hadn’t even realized she was no longer alone in the kitchen. She looked up, surprised.
‘Who says I don’t like you?’
‘I’m not stupid,’ said Serena calmly. Pulling out a chair, she sat down and examined her perfect fingernails. Maxine, who thought that anyone capable of spending one and a half hours buffing and manicuring their nails had to be stupid, didn’t reply.
‘Is it envy?’
‘I don’t dislike you,’ Maxine protested, because the situation was bordering on the embarrassing. She half smiled. ‘And no, I’m not envious. I’ve always liked being five feet six and blond.’
‘I’m used to being envied for my looks.’ As if to prove it, Serena ran a hand through her sleek dark hair then fixed her unswerving gaze on Maxine, who was still kneeling on the floor with a box of Persil in one hand and an armful of Ella’s socks in the other. ‘But that isn’t what I meant.’ Slowly she added, ‘I’m talking about Guy.’
‘Guy!’
‘He’s an attractive man,’ Serena smiled slightly. ‘Please, Maxine. Don’t tell me you hadn’t noticed.’
‘And you think I’m jealous because you’re living with him,’ cried Maxine, outraged. This was too much. Of course Guy was attractive, but the fact that she had been secretly lusting after him for weeks didn’t even enter into it. If Serena hadn’t been so distant and stand-offish from day one, things might have been different. If, Maxine thought crossly, she’d made even the slightest attempt to fit in, it might have helped – regardless of her own small crush on Guy. But Serena, it appeared, had eyes only for Guy and no interest at all in either his children or herself.
Maxine knew only too well that she wasn’t the most likely nanny in the world but she’d grown extremely fond of Josh and Ella, who were friendly, cheerful and endlessly entertaining.
Serena’s persistent and total disregard for them, she now felt, was downright weird.
‘Yes, I think you’re jealous.’ Serena picked up and investigated a half-full cup of tepid coffee.
If she asked me to make a fresh pot, thought Maxine, she’ll get it over her head.
‘Well you couldn’t be more wrong!’ she snapped back. ‘OK, he might not look like Quasimodo, but as far as I’m concerned Guy Cassidy is irritable, moody and not a great deal of fun to work with. I came here because I wanted to stay inTrezale and I needed a job.’ Shovelling the last of the laundry into the washing machine – which ran a lot more smoothly now that her spare set of car keys had been removed from the outer drum – she added crossly, ‘And if I was really interested in chasing after your boyfriend, you’d know about it.’
Serena merely raised an immaculate eyebrow. ‘No need to lose your temper,’ she observed, her tone mild. ‘Maxine, I don’t want us to be enemies. What I’m trying to say is that if you are interested in Guy, I can understand that. Personally, I’d be amazed if you weren’t.’
‘Well I’m not,’ lied Maxine. Serena sounded like a benevolent schoolmistress; the urge to act like a five-year-old and stick out her tongue was almost overwhelming.
‘All right.’ Serena, looking more tolerant then ever, said soothingly, ‘We’ll leave it at that then, shall we? ‘I truly didn’t mean to upset you, Maxine; all I was going to say was that if you were hoping some kind of relationship might develop, well ... I’m afraid it isn’t really on the cards.’
This was getting crazier by the minute. Maxine, shaking with suppressed rage, spoke through clenched teeth. What?’
‘I discussed the matter with Guy,’ explained Serena, unperturbed. ‘He told me that you absolutely weren’t his type.’
Chapter 22
The cliff path leading down to the cove was stony and narrow but worth the effort. The beaches at the heart of Trezale would, at eight o’clock in the evening, still be overrun by holidaymakers, whereas Shell Cove, on the outskirts of the town, was virtually empty. Few people could he bothered to stray the mile or so from the shops and bars; fewer still could face the prospect, at high tide, of clambering back up the steeply sloping track to the road at the top of the cliff.
Which was really just as well, thought Janey, since it enabled Maxine to rant and rave as loudly as she liked without fear of alarming the tourists.