Betrayal (56 page)

We went into the kitchen and David reached a hand into the serving hatch and pulled out a bottle of cognac. He poured two measures and we knocked them back.

‘You’d better go and clean yourself up,’ I told him as he refilled our glasses.

He ran exploratory fingers over his face, and raised a critical eyebrow. ‘You too. You’re going to have a real shiner, I’m afraid.’

I drained the last of my drink. ‘I’ll wash on the way out.’

We faced each other.

‘Don’t think too badly of her,’ David said with a bitter ring to his voice. ‘She worked very hard on Howard, you know, to get him to bring the Cumberland board round. In fact, I’m pretty sure she swung it for you.’

‘Swung it? But how?’

‘Oh, I think she knew things about Howard that he didn’t want the world to know.’

Ginny’s words came to me again:
She’s not Howard’s sister for nothing
, and the sick feeling crept back into my stomach.

We heard the car at the same time.

I touched his arm and hurried towards the downstairs cloakroom to splash water over my face. Glancing back, I saw David pouring himself another drink. Looking up, he raised his glass in an ironic salute and his battle-scarred face took on its habitual mask of sardonic indifference.

I emerged from the cloakroom as the children burst noisily into the house. They gave me a happy unsurprised wave before roaring on towards the kitchen.

‘Hugh! How lovely!’ Mary advanced rapidly on me. ‘Good God!’ she laughed. ‘What
have
you done to yourself!’

‘I walked into something,’ I said.

And mustering a smile, fixing an expression of pleasure on my face, I bent down to kiss her.

Living up to their reputation for maximum disruption, the builders had left a pile of gravel just inside the gates. Forced to abandon the car, I loaded the box of pictures under my arm and strode up the drive. Fumbling with the door handle, I sent the half-painted door against its stop with a bang.

‘Is that you?’ Ginny called, appearing round the kitchen door.

I dropped the box on a chair and faced her.

‘Oh!’ she cried, clamping a hand to her mouth. ‘Good God! Whatever happened to you?’ She came and raised gentle fingertips to my face.

‘I’ve been stupid.’

‘
Have
you?’ She had a wonderful way of making it sound the most unlikely thing in the world.

‘I can’t believe how stupid I’ve been.’

Looking alarmed, she took a fearful breath. ‘Not the car? You haven’t had an accident?’

‘No. Nothing like that.’

Her worst fears allayed, she pressed a hand to her chest, she took a series of sharp breaths. ‘What then?’

‘I walked into something.’

‘Into
something?
’

‘A large man in a pub?’

But her anxiety wasn’t going to be bought off by thin jokes. ‘Oh yes?’ she said sternly.

‘Okay,’ I laughed, preparing to parade my stupidity. ‘It
was
the car – but not while it was going anywhere. I opened the door to put something inside and I turned round too quickly – I just wasn’t looking – and the door swung back in my face and the corner got me right here.’ Pointing at the swelling, I put on a gormless expression: the complete idiot.

She frowned, not entirely satisfied with this, I could see the questions hovering, then with an obvious effort she put her doubts behind her, and a smile bubbled to her lips. ‘A large man in a pub is going to get you far more sympathy.’

‘In that case, the large man has it.’

She raised herself on tiptoe and kissed my bruised cheek.

‘Was that the sympathy?’ I asked.

She slipped an arm round me. ‘You might get a raw steak for the eye if you’re lucky.’

I would have said I loved her then, but just at that moment my heart was too full.