Maxine’s scathing off-the-cuff one-liners. ‘Believe me, I’ve been called worse.’
‘And I let you down,’ she continued, clearly racked with guilt. ‘I know how important the Manchester trip was, and I feel terrible about it. Were you able to find a babysitter?’
‘No.’
‘Oh God, I’m sorry.’
‘But it didn’t matter. The kids came up with me. So if you ever want to be bored rigid for thirty minutes by a seven-year-old describing what it’s like to fly in a helicopter,’ he added wryly, ‘just ask Ella.’
‘Really?’ Immeasurably relieved, Janey started to laugh. ‘I didn’t ruin the whole day, then.’
‘Well, the pilot may take a while to recover, but all in all it was a peat success.’ Guy paused, then said casually, ‘And am I allowed to ask how you are? Is everything .. . sorted out?’
‘Everything is completely sorted out.’ Her voice grew guarded, as if in anticipation of more Are you sure you know what you’re doing? remarks. With some awkwardness, she went on,
‘Look, it’s a bit complicated and I can’t really explain over the phone, but I understand now why he did what he did. Now he’s back and we’re giving it another go. Starting afresh. And I know what you’re probably thinking, but it’s my life, he’s my husband, and no, he didn’t run off with another woman ...’
‘Sshh,’ said Guy, as her voice rose. ‘Calm down. You don’t have to justify yourself to me.
I’m not going to criticise your decision, Janey. I’m hardly in a position to, considering the lousy mistakes I’ve made over the past few years. Besides,’ he added, choosing his words with care, ‘it was what you wanted, wasn’t it? And now you’ve got it; a second chance of happiness. For heaven’s sake, it’s what anyone would want.’
‘I know.’ Relief was tinged with caution, as if she still couldn’t quite believe he wasn’t going to put the boot in. ‘And I am happy. Look, I have to go now, Alan’s coming downstairs.
Could you ask Maxine to phone me tomorrow as soon as she gets back from London?’
At that moment Maxine came into the sitting room carrying two cups of tea and a packet of Jaffa cakes.
‘Well actually—’ said Guy, but Janey wasn’t listening.
‘And give my love to Josh and Ella,’ she continued hurriedly. ‘Tell them I’ll see them soon.
I really must go ...bye.’
‘She wants you to phone her tomorrow,’ Guy told Maxine, when he had replaced the receiver. ‘She thinks you’re still in London. She was in a hurry to hang up.’
‘And?’ Maxine demanded, avid for details. ‘What did she say?’
‘Not a lot. Just that she understands why he left, and that they’re making another go of it.’
He shook his head in disbelief. ‘Oh yes, and she’s happy.’
Considering the almost total lack of interest he’d shown in her own love life, thought Maxine, he was displaying an astonishing amount of concern for Janey’s. It really seemed to have got to him. But that, she supposed, was because he knew she was capable of looking after herself. Janey, far less experienced where men were concerned, was a sitting target for unscrupulous males like Alan Sinclair. Why, she had even been hopelessly out of her depth with Bruno, and he was a pussy cat .. .
‘I wonder what his excuse was,’ she mused, offering Guy a Jaffa cake. ‘It must have been spectacular. My God, when you think of the hard time some married men have if they just nip into the pub for a quick drink after work. They get home two hours late and their wives give them merry hell. Yet Alan gets home two years late and Janey’s thrilled to bits.’
It was certainly ironic. Guy, who had also been giving the matter some thought, said, ‘She almost expects to be treated badly. I suppose you get used to it, if all the men you’ve ever known are bastards.’
‘You’ve said it.’ Maxine grinned. ‘And then to top it all, she had to spend a week living here with you. Talk about the final straw.’
‘I haven’t treated her badly.’ He looked offended. ‘I was perfectly nice.’
‘You!’ Maxine choked on a mouthful of Jaffa cake. ‘You’re never nice!’
‘I am when I want to be. It all depends on the company
‘I keep.’
‘You’re never nice to me.’
‘Exactly.’ Guy was staring into his cup. ‘And is it any wonder? This is the most disgusting tea I’ve ever drunk in my life.’
Maxine tried hers. ‘Oh bum,’ she said crossly. ‘The sugar isn’t sugar. It’s salt.’
‘I never thought I’d hear myself say this.’ He shook his head in mock despair. ‘But I’m actually beginning to feel sorry for Bruno Parry-Brent. Does the poor sod have any idea what he’s taking on?’
For Bruno, it was a first. Total honesty, not something which had ever featured particularly heavily on his personal agenda before, was what was called for now.
But if it was harder than he’d imagined, it was also necessary. Maxine had turned his entire world upside down. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. For as long as he could remember, he had been a committed philanderer. Infidelity had come as naturally to him as breathing. But that was in the past. His mad, bad days were behind him. The only person he wanted from now on was Maxine.
It was two o’clock in the morning and Nina was sitting at the kitchen table drinking camomile tea. Her long white fingers, wrapped around the cup, appeared almost luminous in the muted glow of the shaded wall lamps. Her face, bare of make-up, seemed paler still, but her voice remained calm.
‘So it was Janey Sinclair’s sister all the time.’ She nodded thoughtfully. ‘How interesting.
