Downsizing (38 page)

“
I’d already figured that one out
on my own, Doctor Ashe, but I’ve yet to get to the bottom of why
she went to so much trouble to trick me into marriage.”

“
Yes, we covered that in one of
our latest sessions. She’s halfway convinced herself that Josh
really is your son, you know.”

“
But he isn’t.”

“
No. She knew she was pregnant
when she tricked you into having sex with her, but her problem was
that she doesn’t know for sure who the father actually
is.”

Charles and Noah exchanged a look.

“
It’s not as bad as it seems, and
you’ll understand why when I explain what I think is wrong with her
mentally.” He paused to sip his mineral water. “She’d been
regularly sleeping with Graham Spiller, and he’s almost certainly
Josh’s father, but she’d also been with someone called Rob Simmonds
the month she fell pregnant.”

“
Without taking precautions?” Noah
was unable to get his head round the extent of her
stupidity.

“
She said she preferred
unprotected sex because it felt better.”

Noah sighed. Knowing how selfish Cassie could
be, it made sense that she wouldn’t even pause to consider the
possible consequences of her actions. “Graham would have married
her in a flash,” he said. “So why did she feel the need to go after
me?”

“
For two reasons. Firstly, she’d
have to accept some of the blame if she admitted to her
relationship with Graham. She was petrified of losing what little
of your respect she thought she’d managed to earn,
Charles.”

“
Whereas she’d have no qualms
about placing all the blame on me,” Noah said bitterly.

“
I’m afraid so, but that wasn’t
her main reason for doing what she did. You were so popular, and
yet you ignored her, Noah. It both infuriated her and fuelled her
sense of worthlessness.” He raised his brows. “I know that sounds
irrational, but you must bear in mind that we’re not dealing with a
rational mind to start with. She saw Graham through fresh eyes,
thought he was turning into a younger version of his father with
the whole path of his life already mapped out, and panicked. She
didn’t think she could live up to those sorts of expectations, and
didn’t want to fail again. She wanted the kudos of being married to
you, Noah, and was convinced the relationship would work once you’d
fallen in love with her.”

Noah ground his teeth, not trusting himself to
speak.

“
What is your diagnosis of her
condition, Peter?” Charles asked.

“
HPD,” he said, to which Charles
nodded, almost as though it was what he’d expected to hear.
“Histrionic personality disorder.”

“
What the hell’s that?” Noah
asked.

Doctor Ashe smiled. “It’s a personality
disorder which involves a pattern of excessive emotional expression
and attention-seeking. It includes an overwhelming need for
approval, inappropriately seductive behavior, and usually begins in
early adulthood.”

Noah and Charles exchanged another loaded
glance. “That certainly sounds like Cassie,” Noah said. “But you
don’t look surprised, Charles. Did you know?”

“
No, not for sure, but I
suspected. When I knew she was coming here I did a bit of amateur
detective work, psychiatry not being my field, and stumbled across
HPD. From what I read the symptoms seemed to fit Cassie to a tee,
but I didn’t want to influence Peter.”

“
Tell me more about this HPD
thing,” Noah said, sighing.

“
Not too much is known about it,
but many of its symptoms closely resemble those connected with
depression, frequently leading to misdiagnosis. Those who suffer
with HPD are often described as self-centered, self-indulgent, and
intensely dependent on others. They project their own unrealistic,
fantasized intentions onto people with whom they’re
involved.”

Noah found himself nodding, easily able to
equate what he was hearing to Cassie’s behavior during their
marriage.

“
They are emotionally shallow and
have difficulty understanding others or themselves in any depth.
Selection of marital or sexual partners is often highly
inappropriate,” he added, with a professional smile. “Does that
sound familiar, Noah?”

“
Ever so slightly.” Noah exhaled a
long breath and shook his head, unable to help thinking that his
situation had only gone from bad to worse. How could he abandon a
wife with such fragile mental health?

“
They’ve also been known to engage
in manipulative suicide threats as a means of getting their own
way. Having said that, people of both sexes with this disorder are
usually able to function at a high level and they can be successful
both socially and at work. However, the disorder may affect their
social or romantic relationships. They have problems coping with
losses or failures and don’t see their own situation realistically.
So they tend to dramatize and exaggerate, blaming others for their
own shortcomings. They demonstrate huge enthusiasm for new
projects—”

“
Such as marriage, home, and
motherhood,” Noah said acerbically.

“
Quite so, but the novelty soon
wears off, and that’s when they expect others to pick up the
slack.”

“
What happens now?” Noah asked,
already dreading Doctor Ashe’s response.

“
Cassie has adapted well, but she
isn’t ready to leave here yet, nor does she want to. She hated
group sessions at first, but look how she behaves in them
now.”

Doctor Ashe stood, pulled back a blind, and
the three of them looked through a two-way mirror at a group
session in progress. Cassie, casually dressed, looked almost as
beautiful as the day she’d married Noah, her features free from the
ravages of alcohol and parental responsibility. There were eight
people in the session. Cassie was head and shoulders the most
attractive woman among them, and clearly enjoyed the effect she had
upon the three men present. She moved to sit on the arm of a chair
and flirted quite openly with its male occupant.

“
When you know what’s wrong with
her, it makes it easier to understand her behavior,” Charles
remarked.

“
Indeed, but she still has a long
way to go, if she’s ever to recover.”

“
Ever?” Noah leapt on the word.
“Is there a possibility that she might not?”

“
Every possibility, I won’t lie to
you in that respect. The fact that she asked me to tell you both
about my diagnosis rather than doing it herself proves that she’s
still reliant upon others to fight her battles for her.” Doctor
Ashe paused, searching for the right words. “If she’s to make a
full recovery, Cassie must first learn to accept that she’s a
person in her own right and doesn’t have to rely on her looks or
sexuality to make a favorable impression.”

“
Will that happen any time soon,
do you suppose?” Charles asked.

Doctor Ashe lifted his shoulders, allowing the
gesture to do much of the talking for him. “Psychiatric medicine
isn’t an exact science, Charles, you know that.”

“
Is she allowed visitors now?”
Noah asked.

“
Yes, but only one for a short
time once a week. Her hold on the outside world is still tenuous,
and too many reminders of the responsibilities that await her will
only set her back.”

“
Okay.” Noah sighed and got to his
feet. “When do I see her?”

“
Not you, Noah,” Doctor Ashe said.
“She doesn’t want to see you. Cassie has asked to see Graham
Spiller.”

* * * *

Maxine was unable to concentrate on her work,
her mind preoccupied with Noah’s visit to The Lexington Clinic. She
was terrified that Cassie’s release might be dependent upon her
being restored to the bosom of her family. That was the last thing
Noah wanted, but how could he realistically refuse? They’d spent
hours agonizing over the problem, no nearer to reaching an answer
than they had been four weeks ago. Giving up on achieving anything
useful, she packed her briefcase and prepared to leave the office
early. It would be better if she were at home when Noah called. If
the news was upsetting, she’d prefer to be alone when he broke it
to her.

She’d just reached for her coat when her
office door was opened with such force that it crashed into the
wall. Startled, she looked up to see Graham standing there, his
face contorted with rage.

“
Graham, what’s happened?” She
threw her coat aside and turned toward him. “Is something wrong?”
He’d been withdrawn and short with everyone in the office recently,
especially her. They’d all put it down to the loss of his father
and tried to make allowances. Graham possessed an easy-going
nature. This was a side of him that Maxine hadn’t seen before, and
it frightened her. “Are you all right?” She instinctively reached
out to steady him as he lurched sideways. “Have you been
drinking?”

“
So what if I have?” He swatted
her hand away with unnecessary force.

She closed the door to block out the trio of
curious faces trained upon them from the outer office. “Here, come
and sit down before you fall down.”

“
Don’t you dare to patronize me,
you home-wrecking bitch!”

Maxine inhaled sharply. “Graham, what are you
talking about?”

“
What are you talking about?” he
mimicked, sneering at her. “As if you didn’t know.”

“
Actually,” she said, striving to
remain calm, “I don’t.”

“
Then I’ll enlighten you. I’m
talking about you coming back here to Colebrook, the epitome of the
successful high-flyer.” His voice dripped sarcasm. “Hasn’t she done
well? How many times have I heard that? Look how much weight she’s
lost. She was such a shy, unattractive thing, but look at her now.
It just goes to show that you never can tell.” He snorted. “Well, I
know better. I know exactly why you really came back.”

“
Of course you do, Graham, it’s no
big secret.
You
invited me to.”

“
Yes, and how convenient was that?
It gave you the ideal excuse to worm you way back in with Noah and
steal him away from Cassie. You’re responsible for her breakdown
and cutting her out of my life.” He slammed his fist against
Maxine’s desk, his features twisted into a mask of hate. “They
won’t let me talk to her at that fancy clinic Charles has put her
in, or even tell me why she’s there.”

“
Graham, I didn’t come back for
the reasons you suggest,” she told him, annoyed by her
defensiveness. “This is my home town, and I have a mother here who
needs looking after. I had no intention of stealing anyone’s
husband.”

“
No, but you did it
anyway.”

“
I really don’t see what any of
this has got to do with you. We might be partners, but that doesn’t
give you the right to pry into my private life.”

He threw his hands in the air. “For a
supposedly intelligent woman, you can be remarkably transparent at
times.”

“
You’d better go home and sleep it
off, Graham, before either of us says something we might later
regret. We’ll talk again when you’re sober.”

“
Oh no, I came in here to have my
say, and that’s precisely what I’m going to do.” He glowered at
her. “I never should have listened to Charles when he said you’d be
good for this partnership. I thought I could trust him, but he’s no
better than you are, putting the interests of his only child behind
those of his fucking son-in-law.”

He blew air through his cheeks, his anger
appearing to deflate. His next words were spoken almost in a
whisper. “No one but me can see Fenwick for the chancer that he
really is. He’s hoodwinked you all.”

“
Don’t talk about Noah like that.”
Maxine’s tone was deceptively mild as she struggled to rein in her
temper. Graham could hurl insults at her all day long, but she
wouldn’t stand back and let him bad-mouth Noah. “You don’t have the
right.”

He shook his head at her. “He’s brain-washed
you as well, hasn’t he.”

To Maxine’s discomfort he then folded forward
on himself, clutching his stomach as he rocked from side to side
and sobbed. Unsure what to do, Maxine waited out the storm, wishing
she could tell him that he could well be Josh’s biological father.
But it wasn’t her secret to share. It was a distinct possibility
that he’d claim visitation rights, if only as an excuse to get
closer to Cassie, and Noah wouldn’t be happy if that
happened.

“
All I’ve ever wanted is Cassie,”
he said, choking on the words. “I’m tired of standing back, saying
nothing as I watch her spirit being destroyed by those around her.
I understand her. I think I’m the only one who ever really has.
She’s not strong like her mother and needs delicate handling. I
thought she’d get over her obsession with bloody Noah, given time,
and realize that she’d be better off with me. But she never did.”
He looked up at Maxine, his face etched with confusion, only his
blood-shot eyes giving away the fact that he’d been drinking so
heavily. “What did she see in him, Maxine? What do you
see?”

“
Graham, this whole business isn’t
as straightforward as you think. There are so many things you don’t
know.”