‘Everything’s fine.’ She had a husky, sexily reassuring tone that made Irene want to gag. ‘They’re having a lovely time and they’re mostly being terribly good and sweet, and today we’re going to take them –’

‘Thanks,’ said Irene, cutting her short. ‘I just wanted to check. Bye then.’

‘You should have let me speak to her,’ said Adrian.

‘Let you? Hang on, you were giving Aggie a bath and she just wanted to know that everything was fine so I –’

‘I should have spoken to her. Not you.’

‘Adrian, she sounded fine. What good would it do to talk to her?’

‘I feel …’

‘What? What do you feel?’

‘I feel I shouldn’t have taken the girls so far away from her. I know what she must be going through.’

‘It’s a bit late for that. We’re here. Aren’t you happy here?’

‘Oh Frankie, you know I am. It takes me by surprise, how happy I am – you, and the girls as well. It’s just that every so often – oh shit, never mind.’

‘Every so often you miss her, is that what this is really about?’

‘Not miss. It’s just that I was with her for so long, I guess she’s a bit like a phantom limb or something. There even when she’s not there. Sorry – this isn’t the kind of crap you need to be hearing.’

‘It’s bound to be hard for a bit.’

‘I hurt her so much. I keep thinking of her face the way it was at the airport, when she thought we couldn’t see her. So – bereft.’

‘I know. But you mustn’t torment yourself. It does no one any good and it gets better, with time.’

‘Does it?’

‘I think so.’

Adrian put his hand on her stomach and looked at her ruefully.

‘I hope you know what you’ve taken on, Frankie.’

‘I always knew. From the very first moment. Eyes wide open.’

‘What did I do to deserve you?’

‘You loved me, that’s what.’

Irene lay in her bed with the windows open and watched the shadowy figure of Luke, sitting hunched and motionless at the end of the garden, while Mary lay asleep on the floor beside her.

‘I did love him very much,’ she whispered to herself. ‘After all, I did love him.’

The wrong man had kissed her this evening. She’d just have to stay around till the right one kissed her too.

Twenty-six