The Lie of Love Page 11

  She was also aware of Amanda’s suspicions, and that her fundraising still had to be fitted in. Amanda was easy to placate, although Darcy suspected she didn’t believe the increasingly implausible excuses for her being unavailable on so many week mornings, but the charity work couldn’t be allowed to suffer. Darcy devoted as much energy as she had always done to that on the days her services had been required, and come the evenings, she would fall asleep in front of the TV, having uttered hardly more than the tersest words to Ged about housekeeping or some small domestic job that needed doing. The kids were always fetched on time from school and the house was always clean when they arrived back. As far as Darcy was concerned, things were holding together… just.

  It had rained all night and into the morning, the roads slick with a grey drizzle that seemed to smother the car in a damp, airless cocoon. Darcy had phoned Harry, fretting about him driving over in his battered old Polo, but he had laughed and told her not to turn into his mum. And so she sat on the bed at the latest hotel – the Mermaid’s Song – picking at the candlewick bedspread with impatient fingers as she watched the clock tick onwards towards his arrival. Sure enough, half an hour later the familiar knock came, a rush of relief and the tingle of desire, and they were back in each other’s arms.

  ‘I think you must be getting quite attached to me,’ he murmured as he unbuttoned her top, kissing down the flesh as he exposed it.

  ‘What makes you say that?’ she whispered in return as pulses of pleasure flashed down her spine.

  ‘Worried about whether I’d be safe driving…’

  ‘I worry about everyone. It’s what I do so don’t get any big ideas that you’re special,’ Darcy smiled as he worked his way down to her breasts and she plunged her hands into his thick hair. But somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered whether there was more truth in his words than she cared to admit.

  Later, as they lay tangled together, Harry stroked her hair back from her damp forehead and kissed her lightly. ‘I don’t want this to end.’

  ‘Surely you don’t want to go again?’ Darcy laughed.

  ‘No… this… all of it. I don’t want to stop even though I know we’ll have to one day.’

  ‘Don’t think about that now.’

  ‘Ok.’ He was silent for a moment, holding her close, stroking a gentle thumb over her shoulder. ‘My mum knows –’

  ‘What!’ Darcy shot upright and Harry burst out laughing.

  ‘You didn’t let me finish. My mum knows that I’m seeing someone and she’s been trying to get me to admit it. She doesn’t know it’s you.’

  ‘You haven’t told her anything?’

  ‘Of course not. It’s quite funny keeping her guessing anyway.’

  ‘Well, I hope she never guesses,’ Darcy muttered. ‘It’d be bad news for everyone if she did.’

  ‘Probably,’ Harry agreed. He pulled Darcy back down into his arms with a grin. ‘You know… I think I could go again. Just a quick one for the road?’

  Darcy couldn’t help but smile. She leaned in to kiss him, relishing the taste of him, the yielding of his mouth on hers. But then she pulled away with a frown and cocked her head to listen.

  ‘Is that my phone?’

  Leaping from the bed she crossed the room to where her handbag sat on a scuffed old dressing table. Pulling her phone from the pocket, she gasped as she saw the five missed calls from Ged and a voicemail flashing. Cursing herself for her carelessness, she realised that in the throes of passion she had obviously missed the shrill ringing of her mobile. She dialled and clamped the phone to her ear, her frown deepening as she listened to Ged’s frantic message.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Harry asked.

  ‘It’s Jake… he’s had an accident at school and been rushed into hospital!’

  Hair soaked, Darcy raced onto the ward to find Jake sleeping, his arm in plaster, and Ged sitting beside him.

  ‘You’ll have to pick up Sophie from school,’ he growled, hardly looking at her.

  He knows, she thought, with terror and guilt pricking at her heart. ‘What happened?’

  ‘The teacher says he was trying to scale the guttering. Showing off. He fell and landed on his arm.’ Ged turned to her, his expression stony. ‘He wanted you before they took him to set his arm. He almost screamed down A&E for you. I couldn’t explain to him that we couldn’t find you. He kept saying that you were always at home. And I admit, I was a bit puzzled when the school called me out of work and that nobody knew where you were.’

  ‘You called Amanda?’

  ‘I called just about everyone in our phone book.’

  ‘I’m sorry.’ Darcy went over and smoothed a hand across Jake’s brow, her eyes filling with tears. ‘I’m so sorry.’

  ‘So where were you?’

  ‘I was in Weymouth,’ Darcy said, quickly deciding that a half-truth would be easier to perpetuate than a full blown lie.

  ‘Weymouth! What the hell for?’

  ‘I was following up a fundraising lead.’

  ‘Yet Amanda didn’t know about this?’

  ‘It came up last minute and I didn’t have chance to tell her.’

  Ged was silent for a moment, staring into space and working his jaw. ‘I hope it was worth it,’ he said finally. ‘I told you this charity stuff couldn’t jeopardise our family life and yet, here we are. You have more than one child, you know. Jake already feels like second best, with all the time you spend on Sophie.’

  ‘That’s not true!’ Darcy cried. She checked herself as heads around the ward flicked in her direction. ‘I give Jake as much love as Sophie,’ she said, lowering her voice. ‘I can’t help that she needs more physical help. Jake understands that.’

  ‘He says he does, but think about it for a minute. Do you really think at his age he can fully understand all of this?’

  Darcy collapsed into a spare chair, unable to choke back the sobs that strangled her throat. ‘I didn’t mean for this to happen…. I didn’t want to hurt anyone…’

  ‘Well you have.’

  ‘Ged? Please, don’t….’ she sobbed, looking into his eyes for any spark of forgiveness, any sign that he had once loved her. There was nothing but cold contempt.

  ‘I’m going to get a coffee now you’ve finally arrived,’ he said.

  Once Darcy had made the decision to phone Harry and end it, she realised with a jolt what she had suspected for some time now: she was falling for him. But there were more important people in her life, and Jake’s accident had shocked her into a stark realisation that she couldn’t always have just what she wanted. Harry had been surprisingly understanding as she stuttered through her excuses, sobs breaking her sentences into staccato chunks of garbled words. He had wished her well and told her he had enjoyed her company and that he realised it would have to end eventually. The bizarre sense of courtesy and acceptance in his voice had wounded Darcy more than if he had shouted at her, called her names, told her he hated her. Because she couldn’t work out if he was hurt but magnanimous, or whether he really hadn’t cared at all. In the end, it wouldn’t matter, she supposed, and rightly. Her energies had to be devoted to her family; she had continued to forget that and to believe that she could juggle everything, but she had to accept that it just wasn’t possible.

  Jake was soon back to his normal self – cocky, cheeky, out to wind Darcy up at every available opportunity – but she wasn’t fooled for a minute. Although he wore his plaster cast with pride and boasted to his friends about his ordeal, she knew that the incident had shaken him up more than he would ever admit to anyone, not even himself, and the idea of that cut her even deeper. She wasn’t sure she would ever forgive herself for not being there when her vulnerable boy had needed her most. She vowed that she would be from now on, not only for both her children, but also for Ged, who showed that he still hadn’t forgiven her by skulking around the house and keeping conversation to the absolute necessary.

  Jake was on the sofa watching TV when Amanda arrived a few da
ys later. Darcy had decided that he still wasn’t quite ready to go back to school; he had complained of pain in his arm and she hadn’t wanted to risk sending him off too early, despite that the doctors had said it was perfectly alright as long as he was careful not to knock it. Amanda crept over to the sofa and ruffled his hair from behind.

  ‘Oi!’ he cried, until he twisted around and saw her. He gave her a huge grin.

  ‘I got you a present,’ Amanda said, handing him a bag. Jake reached in and pulled out a sleek looking box.

  ‘A Transformer! Cool!’

  ‘What do you say to Amanda?’ Darcy prompted, trying to look stern but unable to keep the smile from her face.

  ‘Thank you!’ he cried, ripping into the box lid to get at the toy inside.

  ‘Thanks,’ Darcy said, giving Amanda a brief hug. ‘You have time for a slice of lemon drizzle and a drink?’

  ‘Always.’ Amanda followed Darcy into the kitchen and sat at the table while Darcy reached up to a high cupboard for plates.

  ‘Did you manage ok without me at the bag pack?’ she asked.

  ‘Of course,’ Amanda replied. ‘The Brownies did a spectacular job and there were more than enough of them. All I had to do was stand around and look important.’

  ‘I’m sure that came naturally.’ Darcy put two plates out and pulled back the foil on a tray of thickly iced cake, a sweetly sharp tang filling the air as she did so. ‘Sorry I couldn’t be there, I feel awful –’

  ‘Don’t be silly,’ Amanda interrupted. ‘Of course you couldn’t be there and everyone was simply lovely about it. It was a good day too – I banked the money this morning.’ She rummaged in her bag and pulled out a slip of paper. ‘That’s our balance so far.’

  Darcy smiled as she gazed at it. ‘Wow. I never imagined in our wildest dreams we’d even get a tenth of the way there but this….’

  ‘I know. It seems to be snowballing, doesn’t it?’ She grinned. ‘Pretty soon we won’t even have to be at anything; we could just leave a bucket outside your house and watch everyone toss money in.’

  Darcy laughed and sat across from her. ‘I wouldn’t go that far.’

  ‘I’ll almost be sorry when it’s all over.’

  Darcy smiled. ‘I won’t be. But you have been a rock and I couldn’t have done it without you.’

  ‘I can’t take all the credit. Julia has done a lot of work too.’

  ‘Yes…’ Darcy shot up from her chair again, the mention of Harry’s mum sending her into a new spasm of agitation. She had thought herself doing well in her attempt to forget him, yet at every turn there was something new to remind her. Not that Julia could help it, of course, and not that Julia deserved to be thought of that way either. If there was ever a victim in this mess, Julia Simmons was pretty high on the list of candidates. Darcy had pictured her, trying to figure out who Harry’s secret girlfriend was, visions of future weddings and grandchildren dancing through her proud head, when the reality was something seedy and unforgivable.

  She pulled out two mugs from the cupboard with shaking hands.

  ‘Julia is driving herself mad trying to find out what Harry is up to.’ Amanda cut into the cake and placed a slice on each plate.

  ‘Up to?’ Darcy said, fighting to keep her voice level.

  ‘Disappearing all day, coming home smelling of perfume with a huge grin on his face. She’s certain there’s a girl involved.’

  ‘Sounds like it,’ Darcy said, forcing a laugh from her constricted throat. ‘It could be Rachel from the Sugar Cube.’

  ‘They did seem very keen on each other but Rachel says he’s stopped coming in for coffee so it can’t be her… and he’s been swapping his lifeguard shifts at the last minute. All very mysterious if you ask me…’ Amanda popped a corner of cake in her mouth and gave a satisfied grunt. ‘Gorgeous, as usual, Darcy.’

  Darcy painted a smile onto her numb face as she brought the teapot to the table. ‘Thanks. I’ve had plenty of time for baking the last couple of days and it keeps Jake happy to ply him with cake.’

  ‘And how is our sweet little Sophie bearing up in this time of crisis?’

  ‘Good,’ Darcy said, grateful for the chance to steer the conversation back into safer waters. ‘In fact, I think she’s quite enjoying the fact that Jake being injured sort of levels them, physically, if you know what I mean. And it’s brought home to Jake exactly what Sophie goes through every day of her life. In many ways, I think it’s been a good thing – made them understand each other better.’

  ‘That’s good,’ Amanda replied. ‘Really,’ she added, ‘you must stop baking if you know I’m coming. This marvellous cake is playing havoc with my attempts to lose weight for Sardinia.’

  ‘I forgot that was coming up. How will I manage without you for a whole two weeks?’

  ‘I’m sure it will be just fine. I’ll leave the glory of my aura behind for you to bask in.’

  Darcy laughed, the first genuine laugh in many days.

  ‘Now, enough of that nonsense,’ Amanda cut in with a smile. ‘I need to talk to you about the fashion show. You will be coming, won’t you?’

  ‘Hopefully, in another week things will be settled around here again so I think it should be alright,’ Darcy replied carefully.

  ‘Only Julia wants to know if you’ll be making an appearance on stage to give a thank you speech at the end.’

  ‘A speech?’ Darcy spluttered. ‘I don’t know…’

  ‘Of course you must. The whole thing is about Sophie, after all. ‘If you don’t want to, how about Ged? He’d have small children running and screaming from his churlish expression but it’s better than no thank you speech at all.’

  ‘I can’t see him agreeing to that,’ Darcy said, aware that Ged wasn’t likely to agree to anything she asked him right now. ‘I suppose I’ll have to do it.’

  ‘Good. Julia will be pleased. So, what about an outfit?’

  ‘An outfit? What… for me?’

  ‘Of course for you, ninny. It’s a fashion show – you can’t just turn up in your jeans.’

  ‘Can’t I?’

  Amanda sighed. ‘I don’t suppose you own a single evening gown, do you?’

  ‘There isn’t much call for evening gowns in my everyday life.’

  ‘I have plenty. If you don’t want to buy one you can rummage through my wardrobe, see if there’s anything small enough to fit.’

  ‘Well… spending money on one does sort of defeat the object as we’re supposed to be raising money not spending it.’

  ‘One has to speculate to accumulate, darling, but point taken.’

  Darcy dug a fork into her cake. ‘Do I have to wear an evening gown?’ she asked like a child who had just been told to wash behind their ears again.

  ‘Absolutely. Trust your aunty Amanda; she knows best.’

  Ged’s exact response had been: I’m not sitting all night with a bunch of crusty students and mad old ladies with more money than sense. Which Darcy had taken to mean he wouldn’t go to go to the fashion show if his life depended on it. At first she had been disappointed, and a little angry, but then she realised that it saved having to find a babysitter as it was not an event suitable for children.

  As she walked into the vast room, side-by-side with Amanda, feeling more conspicuous than she had ever done in her life dressed in a black, floor length, diamante trimmed gown with a neckline so low she was afraid the stretch marks on her stomach would show, Julia glided across from a small knot of young people looking even more conspicuous in her gold number than Darcy felt in hers.

  ‘The place looks fantastic, doesn’t it?’ Julia smiled as she kissed them both on the cheek. ‘The students have done an incredible job.’

  Darcy ran her gaze over the space. A few contacts had led to a few more contacts and rather than the student union bar, their original venue, they now stood in one of the swisher nightclubs of the area, which had been loaned to them in return for the club keeping the bar revenues. A makeshift catwalk had bee
n stretched along the length of the dancefloor with chairs either side, and a podium for the compere placed alongside it on a small platform. Balloons festooned the lighting rigs on the high ceiling and a silver curtain shielded the area where the models were to change outfits with alarming regularity and speed. This was a world that was alien to Darcy in every sense and she wanted nothing more than to be snuggled up in her jeans and fluffy slippers on her sofa with a book. Tonight, however, she knew she had to be the sparkling hostess, even if it was all pretend.

  ‘It’s wonderful,’ she said.

  ‘You should see some of the creations,’ Julia continued. ‘The models look stunning in them. I’ve seen Harry eye up quite a few of the prettier girls…’

  Darcy’s stomach clenched. Harry was here? She had considered the possibility but in light of their last conversation she had thought he might have the sense to stay away. She wondered vaguely how much of the colour had drained from her face. What could she possibly say to him if they met? How could they pretend that they were nothing to each other after all that had happened?

  ‘He’s seeing someone, though, I’m certain of it. He won’t tell me, of course. Boys are like that, secretive… you’ll see one day,’ Julia added cheerfully.

  ‘Is there anything you need us to do?’ Amanda cut in.

  ‘I have the cash box to set up somewhere safe,’ Darcy added, forcibly removing all thoughts of Harry and reminding herself, as well as the others, why she was here. ‘For if we sell any of the garments tonight and for last minute ticket sales.’

  ‘Oh, we have the ticket situation sorted,’ Julia said. ‘The girl who normally takes the admission money for the club said she would cover the door tonight so there’s no need for you to stand out in the entrance all evening missing the show. As for the clothes sales, I can get Harry to take care of that. He’s not doing anything else other than getting under everyone’s feet so he might as well make himself useful.’