The Second Wife aka Wives Behaving Badly

‘Surely he meant us?’ Poppy’s surprised interjection sounded very loud in the astonished silence.

Jilly leant over and muttered in Sam’s ear. ‘That can’t be right,’ Sam said.

Theo shook his dark head. ‘No mistake.’

Rose was deathly pale. ‘Did you know about this?’ I demanded.

‘No. Yes. He asked me in a roundabout fashion. I said it wasn’t possible, but he insisted.’

‘Over my dead body.’

‘Don’t, Minty.’

‘Nathan wouldn’t do that.’ I said.

But Nathan would do that. He had done that.

Theo took off his glasses. ‘The fine details can wait for another day. If each of you would care to contact me, I will explain probate. Et cetera.’

‘Mum…’ Poppy rushed over to Rose. ‘Let’s not talk about anything now. Later, when we’ve all calmed down. When you feel better. Go and get your bag, and we’ll take you home.’ She pushed her mother towards the cloakroom and addressed me more or less politely. ‘Thank you for…’ she seemed near breaking point ‘… giving him a good funeral.’

Sam and Jilly were talking to Theo and comparing diaries. The waiters were moving round the room clearing up plates and teacups. An end had been reached, and an end was in sight. ‘I wanted to do the best I could for your father.’

This provoked a strange reaction. Poppy narrowed her short-sighted eyes. ‘I want you to know that your extravagance got to my father. It worried him sick.’

Her cruelty acted like a lash. ‘Oh? And how would you know?’

‘You stupid, stupid woman…’ Poppy’s self-control collapsed and she began to shake. ‘He told me.’

But of course. I pictured him talking to his daughter, she listening with her chin resting on her hands. Minty wants a new bathroom… carpet… but we can’t afford it.

Seasoned poker hands play aggressively when they reckon they hold options, and I wasn’t going to let Poppy get away with it. ‘Actually, he worried about you too.’

‘Did he?’

‘You know he did. I told him nothing, but I know he thought you were in some kind of trouble.’ I laid a hand on Poppy’s arm. ‘Going off tilt? Isn’t that the term for poker players when luck has packed its bag?’

Rose emerged from the cloakroom, and Poppy looked me in the eye. ‘Thank God we don’t have to see each other again,’ she said.

‘Thank God’ hovered on my own lips. If uttered, there would be a sundering, a clean one, and it would suit both of us. But as the words formed, I remembered my boys. The casual manner in which Poppy was ready to abandon them was as wounding as anything I had ever felt. They loved their big half-sister. Naughty, naughty Poppy. She offered them laughter, fun, exoticism.

Poppy was their family. The family might be a nest of vipers, but the vipers were their vipers, unlike the vipers elsewhere.

I swallowed, and felt exhaustion clamp down hard. ‘Nathan would have wanted us to be polite, at least. And it would distress your mother.’

‘My mother…’ Rose was walking towards us. ‘My mother is the best. The best.’

Theo packed his briefcase. I gestured to the half-empty plates of sandwiches, dirty glasses and empty bottles. We’re the only ones left.’

Theo surveyed the empty room. ‘Who’s taking you back to London?’

My list hadn’t specified that. I’d forgotten to think about it. ‘I don’t know.’

He glanced at his watch. ‘I’ll give you a lift.’

‘Thank you.’

15

Instinct told me to dress smartly to go in to Paradox. It was an effort but I chose black trousers, a green cashmere sweater and Stephanie Kelian boots. I pulled my hair into a ponytail.

When I went in, Syriol jumped up. ‘We didn’t expect you. Should you be here, Minty?’

Her raised voice brought Deb into Reception. ‘Minty? How…’ Deb had cut her hair in a different way and looked radiant. ‘How are you? We didn’t think…’

Chris Sharp, in black, opened his office door and stuck out his head. ‘Deb, when you have a moment.’

At her name, Deb gave a self-conscious little jerk of her head, which made her hair swing seductively. ‘I’m just talking to Minty, Chris. Won’t be a moment.’

‘Oh, Minty.’ Chris came up to me and held out his hand. ‘I want to say how sorry I am. We’re all deeply, deeply sorry.’

Deb was not to be outdone. ‘We are all so upset,’ she said, in a low voice. ‘And those poor little boys.’

Chris raised an eyebrow. ‘Isn’t it a little soon to be in?’

I explained I wanted to talk to Barry and check up on my projects.

‘You needn’t worry about them,’ Deb said quickly. ‘We’ve got them under control.’

Barry was sombre but helpful. ‘It was good of you, Minty, to come in. We appreciate it.’

I opened my diary and spread it in front of him. The pages were mostly clean and white. ‘I plan to take the boys away for a short break, and then I need to sort out Nathan’s affairs with the lawyer. If it’s all right with you, I’ll come back in three weeks.’

‘Three weeks?’ Barry twirled his mobile thoughtfully. ‘Are you sure that’s long enough for you to get back on your feet?’

‘Best to hit the ground running.’ Both of us were resorting to cliches, but I had noticed that at pivotal moments, such as the giving and receiving of bad news, or making sure that my career survived in the face of a stealthy takeover by predatory colleagues, they did the job.

Barry looked extra thoughtful. ‘Let’s tease this out, Minty. I assume you still want the full-time position, but I wondered, given your new circumstances, if you shouldn’t be thinking part-time.’

This time my answer was certified cliche-free. ‘I can think all I like about part-time, Barry, but it won’t do any good. It has to be full-time.’

‘If that’s the case…’

‘About my projects.’

Barry leant over and placed a hand on my arm. ‘You’re not to worry about them. Chris will take over. He knows your thinking. You must concentrate on getting yourself through.’ His voice was rough with sympathy, and his genuine concern almost masked the fact that it made no difference to him whether I was in the office or not.

‘I’m afraid there’s gossip,’ said Paige. ‘There always is. But’ – she straightened up from the laundry basket – ‘you have to admit it’s not entirely unjustified. Why was Nathan at Rose’s flat? Gossip- wise, Minty, it’s the equivalent of throwing a juicy Christian to the lions.’

To reward myself for battling with a morning of paperwork and Theo, I had dispatched the twins to the park with Eve and come over to Paige for lunch. We sat in her neat, clean-smelling kitchen with something delicious cooking in the pink Aga. The baby was sleeping upstairs. ‘I think Nathan went to Rose out of a kind of loyalty.’

‘Really?’ Paige’s eyes widened in disbelief.

I pressed my forefingers into the pressure points on my forehead. ‘Nothing more than that.’

Paige looked sceptical. ‘If you say so.’ She folded the sleeves of a shirt across its breast, like a figure in a church brass. ‘Linda should be doing this, but I’ve given her a day off. She doesn’t know yet, but it’s a bribe because I want her to help me out at the weekend. They work most effectively I find, when they are post facto. It’s too late then.’ She picked up a striped yellow and black Babygro and inspected a tiny sleeve. ‘This makes Charlie look like a wasp. How is it at Lakey Street?’

‘Deathly quiet.’