tea. 'A dog his size needs far more room. Your garden is like a pocket handkerchief.'
'But we do take him for walks in the fields at the back,' Faye said.
'Every day?'
'Well, not for the last week,' Faye amended awkwardly. This wasn't the moment to mention the mayhem Barker had caused by chasing squirrels, all of whom had evaded him easily.
Kelly sighed. 'I did say, when I handed him over, that if I wasn't satisfied with his conditions it might be a case for taking him back.'
Cindy and Adrian set up such an outcry that Kelly winced. 'I know it seems hard,' she said, 'but it really isn't kind to Barker to keep him here.'
'But we love him,' Cindy said desperately. 'And he loves us. You can't take him. Daddy, don't let her take Barker.'
'He can't live in this tiny space,' Kelly repeated.
Garth's eyes, full of a message, met Faye's. She drew a deep breath, knowing how she was being propelled into a decision she'd sworn not to make, yet unable to do anything about it. The children were looking at her frantically as they realized they might actually lose their beloved friend.
'We do have the chance of larger premises, with a huge garden,' Garth said, 'but there are a few problems.'
'There are no problems,' Faye said briskly, realizing that she'd been backed into a corner. 'Elm Ridge is standing empty and we can move in tomorrow. Kelly, why don't you come and see us there next week?'
The children jumped around carolling loudly, while Barker added his voice to the proceedings.
When Kelly had gone, Faye took the tea things into the kitchen. Washing them up would give her thoughts time to calm down. Garth had outmanoeuvred her, but that only increased her determination not to yield any more ground. He came in after a moment.
'I'm glad we got that settled,' he said.
'Garth, don't read too much into this,' Faye warned. 'Nothing has really changed.
'If you're coming home, I'd say a lot had changed.'
'I'm not 'coming home'. I'm changing premises, but only for a while. I still want that divorce, and when I've got it I'm going to marry Kendall.'
'Don't you think living with me will make a divorce rather difficult?'
'Can't you understand? I won't be living with you. We'll be under the same roof but not living as man and wife. We'll have separate rooms and live separate lives.'
His expression hardened. 'And what exactly does 'separate lives' mean?'
'It means I'm still engaged to Kendall, and I'll see him when I like.'
'And suppose your husband has other ideas?'
'It won't make any difference.'
'So my wishes count for nothing?' 'That's right. You've won a small victory by getting us there, but that's all. I'm not your wife, and I'll do as I please.'
'My God! It's like beating my head against marble,' he said angrily. 'You were never like this before.'
'I've changed, Garth.'
'You sure as hell have!'
'But so have you. You're not the loving man I married, any more than I'm the docile girl you married.' Her lips curved in a faint, elusive smile. 'Watching you taught me a lot about standing on my own feet, and I've learned the lessons well. Just regard me as a housekeeper.'
'I already have one, in Nancy.'
'Well, now you've got two. And, like any housekeeper, I'll live my own life, and my employer won't ask questions.'
'Oh, won't he?'
'Not unless he wants to receive some dusty answers.' Mischievously she echoed his own words, 'I'm glad we got that settled.'
'I haven't-'
'It's settled, Garth. Believe me, it's settled.'
They returned to Elm Ridge to a huge welcome from Nancy, overjoyed, 'to have some life in the place again', as she said to Faye over a coffee in the kitchen.
'He's been like a bear with a sore head since you all left. Not that he was ever exactly sweetness and light.'
'He was, once,' Faye mused, then stopped. She'd promised herself not to start looking back, no matter how much the house affected her.
But he had been different: not sweetness and light, but generous and passionately loving to her. So many nights of physical rapture in the perfect union of their bodies. So many days of sadness as their minds and hearts grew further apart.
Adrian and Cindy eagerly took possession of their old rooms, then introduced Barker to the huge garden, which he tore around as madly as a puppy. This resulted in his first meeting with Fred, who came in two afternoons a week to keep the grounds in order. Fred was a grumpy individual who had his own views on dogs who trampled across his freshly weeded flower beds, and he expressed them loudly. But by then Barker was out of earshot.
Faye was touched to see that Garth had had her room redecorated in her favourite autumnal colours. On the dressing table lay a gift box, containing a set of emerald earrings.
'They're a welcome present,' he said from the doorway. He seemed almost nervous. 'I can show my gratitude, can't I?'
'Garth, they're really beautiful, and it was sweet of you to think of it, but-'
'Just try them on.'
'You don't have anything to be grateful for. You know why I'm here. I don't think I can accept these.' She extended her hand, with the box.
'Look,' he said with almost a touch of desperation, 'it's your birthday next week. Call it an early birthday present. The children will notice if I don't give you something.'
'You can give me something small. I can't take these.'
He was pale. 'Just as you wish.'
For a moment her resolution faltered. There was a look on his face that took her by surprise. Years ago he'd gone without lunch for a week to buy her a special gift, which had broken as soon as it was opened. His expression then had been the same as now, the look of a hurt boy. He controlled it so quickly that Faye wasn't sure she'd seen it, but she spoke her next words gently. 'Garth, I did tell you-'
'Yes, you made your position very plain. I just hadn't expected you to be so-so unyielding.'
'Maybe I was too yielding in the past.'
'Well, you're sure making up for it now,' he said, going to the door. 'And don't worry. I'm still sleeping in the room downstairs.'
Barker might be a daft mutt, as Faye often complained, but he had a sense of self-preservation that made him spend the first week wooing Nancy. In a few days she'd progressed from 'Get your muddy paws out of my kitchen,' to 'Poor doggie, don't they ever feed you?'
During that week Faye saw little of Garth. She was left in peace to settle herself into her old home, and after the first day she found she could cope. She was grateful for Garth's reticence. On the odd occasions when he was around, he gave all his attention to the children and maintained a civil distance from herself.
Cindy and Adrian were so happy, especially with the huge garden, that Faye knew a twinge of guilt. Had she been selfish in taking them away from this lovely setting? But then she thought of Kendall's spacious premises and his collection of rescued animals. The children loved his home. They would be just as happy there when the time came.
Two days before her birthday Garth gave her his present early. It was a computer, identical to his own, that would be a boon for her book-keeping work. But Faye's reaction was divided between pleasure at the gleaming monster and a suspicion that Garth was muscling in on her territory.
'It's another takeover bid, isn't it?' she demanded.
'What was that?'
