The Back Road (11 page)

Sean’s voice was low.

‘I wouldn’t have expected an invite, Max. I’m the builder. And Bella wouldn’t have come anyway. You know that.’

There was a moment’s silence while Max contemplated the difficulties of living with somebody like Bella.

‘How are the plans going?’ Max asked, wanting to get round to the real reason for talking to Sean. ‘I’d love to get all of this sorted and under way before the end of the summer holiday. It’s much easier while I’m off school. You know how it is when I’m at work - not much time to do my own thing.’

Sean put his hands in the pockets of his jeans and looked thoughtful for a moment.

‘So we’ve got six weeks to get it all done and dusted, yes? Not that it should take anything like that much time once the money’s in place. As soon as it’s in the bank, we can move towards completion on the first phase of the deal.’

‘I’m off until early September, so I can be wherever you want me to be, whenever you want. I’ll need a bit of warning so I can work out an excuse for going out, though.’ Max gave a low groan. ‘Shit. I’d forgotten. Ellie’s booked a holiday for us. I’ve had nothing to do with it, but she announced it yesterday.’

Sean looked up sharply.

‘Really? Where are you going? How long are you going to be away?’

‘Hey - it’s okay, you know. Nothing to panic about. We can work around it. We’re not going for three weeks, and then there’s a week after we get back.’

‘What brought that on?’ Sean asked.

‘She thinks the kids need to see the sea, and she wanted us to have some time alone. I think we need it too. It’ll be good. She’s even searched out some local babysitting service for holidaymakers, checked and triple checked through some nursing network, so that we can have a couple of romantic meals out. Just what we need. I hate keeping secrets from her.’

‘I suppose. I thought, with the house and everything, she might prefer to stay around all summer. Obviously not.’

Max frowned, but at that moment Leo appeared in the doorway and started to make her way across to them. He needed to change the subject, because Leo never missed a thing.

16

Finally everybody had made it back to the dining room. Ellie couldn’t think what had got into Fiona tonight. She was practically skipping, and was flirting with every man in the room. Tom Douglas seemed to find it all mildly amusing, but considering the fact that Fiona usually played the role of a condescending, upper class socialite, it was all very strange. The only person getting the rough edge of her tongue tonight was Charles. Poor Charles. He had tried throughout the meal to steer the conversation towards the economic outlook for the UK and Europe, but nobody was interested in any more doom and gloom after all the talk about Abbie’s accident.

Ellie didn’t believe she would be winning any prizes for being the perfect hostess tonight. On top of everything else, a text had come from Georgia when she was in the kitchen, sorting out the dessert. ‘THANKS FRIEND. THAT WAS JUST WHAT I NEEDED’. She recognised sarcasm when she saw it, and had wanted to put her head down and cry. Maybe she had been insensitive, telling her about her own problems in view of everything that Georgia was going through, but she had thought her friend would understand. Clearly not. She couldn’t even remember what she’d written in that text.

Tom was turning into the saviour of the night. He had an easy way of talking to people - no doubt as a result of countless interviews with people from all walks of life. He was relaxed, although Ellie sensed that life hadn’t always been easy for him. Divorce never was. She could hear his gruff Lancashire tones as he tried to draw Penny into conversation, but she couldn’t hear what he was saying.

He had been chatting to people about their jobs all evening, normally a fairly safe topic of conversation, and his gaze settled on Leo as Ellie served the last ‘trio of chocolate’ plates to her guests. Ellie knew how much Leo hated talking about herself, but when Tom asked the inevitable question, she was left in a position from which there was no obvious escape.

‘I’m a life coach.’ The flat tone in Leo’s voice didn’t encourage further questioning, but Ellie could have put money on Fiona having something to say on the subject. And she’d have won.

‘Good Lord. I didn’t really think those people existed. What gives anyone the authority to tell somebody else what they should and shouldn’t do with their lives? And I don’t want to be picky, Leo, but what sort of role model are you, given your views on relationships and men?’

Ellie looked at her sister, whose chin was firmly raised. She wanted to leap in and defend her, but Leo would hate that.

‘I would say that I’m the perfect role model, actually. I have what I want in life. I’m happy. I’m living proof that there’s hope for women outside of a relationship.’ Leo said, keeping her voice level.

‘So is that what you preach, then? The glorious single life?’ Fiona asked, followed by a most unbecoming and uncharacteristic snort. Who’d been topping up her glass all night, Ellie wondered.

‘I don’t preach. That’s the whole point. I help my clients to identify what works and what doesn’t work in their lives. And then I try to help them find ways of achieving the goals they’ve set.’

‘Hah. That’s a joke,’ Gary said. ‘Goals? Most of us just have to suffer whatever life throws at us and make the best of it.’ He took a large gulp of his wine.

Fiona ignored him. She hadn’t finished deriding Leo’s chosen profession.

‘Leo, you hate men. You think they’re totally superfluous and out to ruin the lives of all women. You’ve always been absolutely clear that every woman is better off on her own, and you have so many issues yourself that I’m at a loss to understand how you think you can sort out other people’s emotional baggage.’

Ellie was furious, but Leo waved her hand to indicate that she should calm down.

‘I’m not a counsellor, Fiona. I don’t dredge up people’s histories and make them face the horrors of their past. I help them to recognise who they are
now
, and where they want to be in the future.’

‘Come on, Leo. Admit it. I bet your sole aim is to destroy the maximum number of relationships so that women are freed from lives of hell with their bastard men, isn’t it?’

‘Despite what you might think, I don’t try to split up happy couples. But I do try to give those that are unhappy the strength to make changes.’ Leo paused. ‘Of course, there are people that marry for purely materialistic reasons, and while their husbands continue to keep them in the style to which they have become accustomed, life is hunky dory. But I do wonder what happens to these women if things go wrong. We live in turbulent times, Fiona, and the most comfortable of lives are liable to disruption.’

Fiona ignored the jibe. She hadn’t finished.

‘I bet most people come to you because their marriages are in trouble, and they don’t know what to do. Am I right?’

Leo looked as if she didn’t want to get dragged any further into this conversation, and didn’t answer. But that didn’t deter Fiona.

‘We all know how many marriages end in divorce - so let’s not pretend. And a huge percentage must be because of infidelity. So if somebody tells you their marriage is falling apart because their partner has been unfaithful, what would you say? Would you tell them to get out?’

Leo took a deep breath. ‘As I said, I don’t tell my clients what to do. They make the decisions. I just ask the questions.’

Charles was looking at Fiona as if he didn’t recognise her. His frown had deepened, and he looked even more perplexed than usual, but everybody else was smiling rather benignly at her drunken ramblings.

‘Well, Leo,’ Fiona continued, ‘I do wonder if your judgement isn’t somewhat clouded.’ She thumped her glass down on the table as if she had made an important decision. ‘I know, let’s have an honesty session. Given that some enormous percentage of people are unfaithful to their spouses, how many round this table will admit to it? Patrick - we all know about you, so you are exempt. Sean - what about you?’

Ellie wished somebody would butt in and stop this - but half the people seemed to think it was mildly amusing, and somehow she wasn’t able to intervene. She looked down at her food, unable to meet anybody’s gaze.

‘Well, if you listened to the village gossip you’d probably believe that I’d shagged half the women in Cheshire.’

‘And indeed, who would blame them, Sean. But the question is - have you?’ prodded Fiona.

Ellie looked at her friend, appalled that she would ask such a question. But Fiona was leaning forward across the table giving Sean what was undoubtedly supposed to be a sexy smile, but came out as a drunken leer. Ellie glanced at Sean.

‘I never kiss and tell, Fiona,’ he responded, a small smile playing around his lips.

Ellie didn’t want Fiona to get to Max. He was a hopeless liar and if there was something to find out, she didn’t want it to be like this. But she was saved by the person she least expected. For motives that Ellie couldn’t begin to comprehend, Charles spoke up.

‘Actually, Fiona, as you appear to find it all so very amusing, perhaps you would be entertained to know that I may have had a small dalliance.’

Fiona burst out laughing.

‘Oh don’t be so bloody absurd, Charles. Of course you haven’t!’

Seeing Charles’s hurt face, Ellie glanced at Leo and her sister clearly read her well.

‘Enough. Stop stirring,’ Leo said, pointing at Fiona across the table with a chocolate tuile. ‘I tell you what, though. I’ll give you a free life coaching session, Fiona. In fact,’ she looked around the table, ‘I’ll give each of the women here a freebie - you’ll all make great material for my blog - anonymously of course. Let’s see if that changes your view of what a life coach does. I’ll throw in lunch too, if you like. Go home and check me out - see what you think. Google Leonora Harris and you’ll find me. Let’s see if you’ve got the guts, Fiona.’

Ellie watched her sister, noticing her defiant gaze as she stared hard at Fiona. She knew that Leo would be embarrassed to have been put in this position, but there was no way she was going to show it.

‘That’s a very kind offer, Leo.’ Ellie was surprised to hear Penny’s voice cut through the tension. ‘I think I’d like that.’

Just as a furious looking Gary appeared ready to launch an attack on his wife, Fiona started again.

‘Okay, where were we before Leo so rudely interrupted?’

Ellie could sense Leo’s irritation with Fiona even before she opened her mouth.

‘You know, Fiona, a juvenile truth or dare contest at a dinner party isn’t helpful to anybody. With the exception of Pat, whose infidelity was unfortunately made very public, I think everybody else is entitled to keep their secrets within their own relationships. So let’s change the subject, shall we?’

Mimi put down her spoon with a clatter.

‘I’m sorry, but I’m fed up with this talk of Patrick’s so-called infidelity, and how “unfortunate” it was. You make it sound like something to be ashamed of. Why can’t you accept that he fell in love. With
me
.’

For the first time, Ellie felt a twinge of sympathy for Mimi. She was right. They all talked about Patrick as if he had done something stupid, without ever considering how that must make Mimi feel. However badly she had behaved with her barbed remarks, maybe it was simply her way of getting her own back. But Mimi had more to say.

‘You think you’re all so superior, don’t you. But you’re not. I
know
you’re not. And although I wasn’t going to say anything tonight - not even to Patrick - our love has resulted in the one thing that the
amazing
Georgia wouldn’t give him.’ She paused for effect, casting a smug smile around the room. ‘We’re having a baby!’

* * *

Ellie couldn’t wait for the evening to be over. Everybody was rallying round the new parents-to-be, and Max had thrust a glass of champagne into the hand of a totally stunned and white faced Patrick. She could see that Max was trying hard to get into the whole swing of the celebration, but even he looked bemused and was making up for his lack of enthusiasm by being far too hearty and effusive. The whole thing had a flat feel to it, with only a self-satisfied looking Mimi seeming to enjoy it.

Ellie had suggested that they all move to the garden for the champagne - she didn’t think she could keep the smile pasted on her face for a moment longer, and the garden would at least provide some cover. She made sure she was either close to Leo or Max the whole time. She didn’t want to get drawn into conversations with anybody else tonight. It was all too much.

A few of the men disappeared round the front of the house to check out Gary’s Porsche. He’d had it a couple of days and only on loan, but he had already decided that it was the car for him. Charles was waxing lyrical about his Aston Martin, which unfortunately he’d decided to leave at home so nobody had a chance to compare its credentials, but he seemed intent on quizzing Gary on the terms of the trial period with the Porsche. Ellie could hear them all discussing the finer points of the top models, but she had tuned out.

Fiona was slouched on a garden bench, looking decidedly inelegant with her legs splayed out in front of her. Penny was gamely trying to be enthusiastic about Mimi’s baby, and Max and Pat were chatting quietly over by the fishpond. Ellie could see that Max kept clapping Pat encouragingly on the back, but it didn’t appear to be having the desired effect. Leo was pretending to tidy up the kitchen, but Ellie suspected she was just keeping out of the way, so she positioned herself close to the doorway - keen to appear sociable but within earshot of Leo should she be the subject of any unwanted attention.

Finally, Charles started the exodus. The car he had apparently ordered had arrived, and much to Fiona’s disgust he practically scooped her up from the bench and out to where it was waiting. Fortunately, everybody saw that as a cue to leave, and apart from giving Pat a big hug, which somehow felt more like commiseration than acknowledgement of a happy event, Ellie managed to cling onto a rather baffled Max and avoid contact with anybody else. Maybe Leo’s approach to personal space had some merit.

It had been a strange night, but now that it was over, the only thing that Ellie wanted was to go to bed, curl up in a tight ball, and lick her wounds in private.