The Desperate Wife’s Survival Plan (36 page)

Julie replaced the empty champagne glass
in front of her friend with yet another full one before heading out.

Once outside, she sent a text to Caroline. Then she put the phone back in her small handbag and sighed as she glanced back at the castle. It was all so dreamy and romantic, all so lovely, even the rat pack music drifting out of an open window was adding to the soft ambience.

Except she was alone. As usual.

Julie shook her
head. She had been alone for a very long time and had been happy that way, right? And anyway she had Boris now, didn’t she? She wasn’t alone any more.

Heading back inside to find Charley, she was quickly cornered by a creep who wouldn’t leave her alone.

‘Baby, where have you been all my life?’ cooed the man, who stank of drink and cigars.

Julie grimaced. ‘Hiding from you,’ she replied, before
skirting round him and walking away.

What was wrong with men? Why weren’t there any decent ones left?

A face suddenly popped into her mind. A friendly face. A face to be trusted. She had searched each room but hadn’t been able to find him. Perhaps he hadn’t come.

The dance floor in the ballroom was full of couples dancing close. She swiftly turned and went back across the entrance hall towards
the dining room.

Then she saw him, talking to someone at the foot of the stairs. Wes was patiently listening to a story about a hamster when he glanced up and saw Julie. He excused himself and walked straight towards her. Julie found that everything around her had slowed down. The whole world had shrunk until it was just her and Wes.

‘Hi,’ he said, finally arriving in front of her.

‘Hello,’
she replied.

‘You look beautiful,’ he told her.

Julie ducked her head as she blushed. Nobody had ever called her beautiful before. He was looking pretty good too. The man certainly knew how to fill a dinner jacket.

She found herself tongue-tied, unusually so when she normally found him so easy to talk to.

‘Dance?’

She glanced up at Wes, figuring that she had misheard. But no, he was gesturing
with his head towards the dance floor.

Be brave, she heard Caroline telling her.

So she nodded in reply and they walked together into the ballroom. They inched past the many couples slowly moving around the floor until there was space for them to join in.

She turned to face Wes, unsure what should happen next. But he took control, moving his left arm around her until it came to rest on the
small of her back. With his right hand, he picked up hers and held it close to his chest. It brought Julie close against him so she had no choice but to sway with him in time to the music.

Julie’s heart was hammering so loud she felt sure Wes would be able to feel it. He was just being kind, that was all. She shouldn’t read any more into this dance.

But, oh, it was so wonderful to be held in
his arms, to feel his breath on her bare shoulder. She briefly closed her eyes in case they betrayed her strong feelings.

The music had changed and now ‘The Way You Look Tonight’ was playing.

‘Appropriate song,’ Wes suddenly said.

Julie looked up at him and found his face very close to hers.

‘It’s all an act,’ she blurted out. ‘The make-up. The dress. It’s not me.’

He smiled down at her.
‘No, it’s not. You do look very pretty tonight but I actually prefer the other you.’

She rolled her eyes. ‘The scruffy one?’

This was typical. She was only ever herself in muddy wellington boots and windswept hair apparently.

But Wes shook his head. ‘The one whose cheeks glow after a long morning walk with Boris across the heath,’ he told her. ‘The one whose blue eyes sparkle in the morning
light.’

Julie looked down, blushing at compliments she was unused to hearing.

But Wes took her chin in his fingers and tilted her face back up to his. ‘I couldn’t stop thinking about you when I was away.’

‘Me?’

He smiled softly. ‘You.’

He held her even tighter and they continued to dance slowly, around and around.

SAMANTHA WAS JUST
heading out of the ladies’ cloakroom when she saw Julie. She ducked behind a pillar for a moment.

She should have realised that her friends would be there. Ex-friends, she reminded herself. She missed them, though, Charley in particular. But she wasn’t going to grovel. So she was on her own again. Trouble was, she needed them, especially at the moment. Richard
was still wavering over his decision to leave his wife and she could have done with some advice as to how to get him to hurry up and move in with her.

She peered around to see if Julie was still there. Thankfully, she was putting on her coat. Or rather, a very tall, good-looking man was helping her on with it. Who was he? She must have got a boyfriend. It was definitely serious, from the looks
of things. He had taken her hand to lead her outside.

Samantha glanced around but couldn’t see Charley or Caroline anywhere. So she walked back into the main dining hall to see if she could spot Richard. She knew he was here somewhere, despite his protestations that he wouldn’t be attending the ball.

Trouble was, she was certain he was lying a lot to her these days. The old words of love and
flattery had been less frequently used in the past month or so. There had been a change in their relationship and she wasn’t sure she liked the way it was going.

Samantha walked around the room, keeping to the back wall. Then she saw him. Richard was always good-looking, but in his tuxedo he was breathtaking.

She stared at him, willing him to turn around and see her. She had spent a fortune
on her sexy, backless black dress and knew he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off her when he saw her. If he saw her.

She watched as he stood with a couple of people, roaring with laughter at someone’s joke. God but she loved him. She loved him so much it hurt. She wanted him body and soul, every hour of every day. Nothing else would satisfy her, nobody else ever would again.

Samantha made
her decision. She would make him see her. She would walk up to him in front of everyone at the ball and show him that she was no longer going to be messed around. That he loved her and was going to spend the rest of his life with her.

But as she began to move through the crowd towards him, she realised Richard had his arm around the petite dark-haired woman standing next to him. Samantha took
a deep intake of breath. It was the wife, of that she was sure. Well, it was time she found out that her husband was leaving her.

They were hidden from view for a moment as a group of people passed in front of her. But when the way was clear once more, Samantha stopped short.

Richard and his wife had turned around and were heading for the door. She had a perfect view of them both as they walked
away together, laughing softly. The realisation of all his lies and deceit suddenly hit Samantha, causing her to fight for breath.

Richard’s wife was heavily pregnant.

CHARLEY WAS UNAWARE
of the romantic developments for Julie and Caroline. In fact, she was quite drunk so she was unaware of most things, except that Julie had disappeared a very long time ago and hadn’t come back.

She was slumped in a chair, staring at the people around her in a daze.

Her mother peered at her closely. ‘Are you all right? Is your dress too tight?’

‘No.’

‘Your ice-cream is a triumph!’ said Aunty Peggy in a loud voice.

‘This whole evening has been marvellous!’ slurred Maureen.

Her father was designated driver and therefore sober, which might have meant he had a different perspective on the evening. He had been keeping count of the number of glasses of champagne drunk by his wife until it had crept into double figures.

‘Shall we go home soon,
love?’ he said, in a hopeful tone.

But his question fell on deaf ears.

‘I’m so proud of you,’ said Maureen, patting her daughter on the arm.

‘Thanks, Mum. You know I’m still going to pay you back the money, don’t you?’

‘Don’t think about it tonight.’

‘I think I’ll see if Julie’s on the dance floor,’ said Charley, slowly standing up. She smiled as she looked around with hazy eyes. ‘I love
you, Mum,’ she said, swaying slightly from side to side. ‘Even your cooking.’

‘I love you too, darling.’ Maureen was looking a little cross-eyed. ‘And what do you mean about my cooking?’

Charley staggered off, managing to negotiate her way through the entrance hall and into the ballroom. It was past midnight and the disco was now into pure pop mode, currently playing ‘It’s Raining Men’. Charley
peered through the flashing lights, trying to make out if she could see Julie, but she was having trouble focussing.

Until a very familiar man materialised in front of her.

‘Hello,’ said Steve.

‘Hi,’ replied Charley in amazement.

He glanced at her cleavage before breaking into one of his killer smiles. ‘You look incredible.’

‘Thank you.’

He looked good too in his dinner jacket.

‘I hear
the ice-cream business is going well,’ he told her.

She nodded. ‘I think so.’

‘Good for you. You deserve it, you know.’

Charley didn’t know what to say so just smiled back at him.

To her surprise, Steve suddenly took her in his arms and pulled her close to him. ‘I’ve missed you.’

‘Have you been drinking?’ she giggled.

He shook his head, giving her a crooked smile. ‘Not that much. And not
as much as you, by the looks of it. Hey, I’ve been thinking. We should make a go of it again.’

Charley’s mouth dropped open. ‘What? Why?’

He shrugged his shoulders. ‘I dunno. Could be fun.’

She couldn’t believe it. The decree absolut divorce papers had arrived only that week.

‘Steve,’ she said, shaking her head.

‘Look, your business is doing well,’ he carried on. ‘We won’t make such a mess
of this one. I promise.’

‘What about Susie?’

‘She’s long gone,’ he told her, reaching out to brush her cheek. ‘Think about it. We could have our lovely life back. Great house. A couple of decent cars. What about that Range Rover you were always lusting after?’

She sighed. ‘That stuff’s not important to me any more, Steve.’

‘So what is?’

And suddenly she knew. She finally admitted to herself
what her heart had been trying to tell her for so long.

She stared at her ex-husband for a long time before kissing him on the cheek.

‘Goodbye, Steve.’

Then Charley walked away.

SHE WALKED BACK
across the entrance hall, deep in thought. Romantic music drifted across from the ballroom, tugging at her heart.

‘Charlotte?’ came her father’s voice from nearby.

She went over to where her family were standing, feeling unsteady on her feet.

‘I’m taking your mother and Peggy home.’ Her father grimaced as he glanced over to the two women who had linked arms
for support. ‘Do you want a lift?’

‘I’ll take her home, if you like,’ said Mike, suddenly materialising next to them.

Charley stared at up at him in shock. She had failed to spot him all evening. She glanced around. Was he alone? It appeared so.

‘Thanks, son.’ Her father sighed before giving Charley a kiss. ‘Take care, love. Good night.’

There was a small skirmish whilst Maureen and Peggy
were persuaded to leave the party. Having watched them finally leave, Charley spun round to face Mike. But she was a little too quick and swayed at the sudden rush of blood to the head.

Mike reached out to steady her.

‘Hello,’ he said, but he wasn’t smiling.

‘Hi,’ she told him, suddenly feeling shy. His hands on her bare arms were making her skin tingle.

‘Are you all right?’

Charley gave
him a bashful smile. ‘I might have had a little bit too much champagne.’

‘Is that why I saw you with Steve?’ His grip on her arms became tighter, harder.

She shook her head, which made the room swim. ‘It’s over,’ she told him. ‘It’s been over for a very long time.’

He stared down at her before saying, ‘Let’s get you home.’

‘I can’t leave yet. I don’t know where Julie is.’

Mike broke into
a grin. ‘I saw her leave with that Aussie vet.’

Charley’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Really? Wow.’ She recalled Caroline telling her to be brave so took a deep breath. ‘Maybe we could have a drink to celebrate my success?’

But he shook his head. ‘I don’t think there’s any left. You’ve drunk the place dry.’

Her head drooped. He had said no. He didn’t want her any more. She had waited too long to trust
him.

Mike took her hand and began to lead her towards the main entrance. ‘Come on.’

She went with him, feeling more miserable than she had done in a long time. They got into one of the waiting taxis. As they were driven away, Charley glanced back at the castle, wondering if tonight had changed anything at all. She glanced across at Mike and, finding him watching her, shuffled in her seat.

‘Did you like the ice-cream?’ she asked, desperate to break the lengthy silence.

‘It was great,’ he told her. ‘You should be proud of yourself.’

‘Let’s hope Lord and Lady Beckenham agree with you.’ Charley began to unpin her hair and let it down.

‘They will. They’re surprisingly nice.’

Charley stared at him. ‘You know them?’

‘I bump into them on occasion when I help out in the gardens.’

An idea was trying to force its way through her champagne-fogged brain. ‘Wait,’ she said, rubbing her forehead. ‘Does that mean . . . ?’

Her voice trailed off. He wouldn’t have . . . couldn’t have, surely?

But glancing back at him, she saw Mike nodding. ‘I was the one who recommended your ice-cream for the dinner tonight.’

The taxi journey flew by in silence after that. All too soon they were
outside the flats. The taxi drove off, leaving them standing in silence in front of the building.

Charley walked up to the front door, tripping up the first step before turning to face Mike. She was surprised to find him standing so near, their faces so close.