‘Did you get yourself a good lawyer?’

‘Clive is a lawyer,’ Jenna said wearily. ‘And I didn’t want Lexi seeing her parents fighting. I wanted it to be as civilised as possible.’

‘Civilised isn’t sending round estate agents with no warning.’

‘I know. But if I’d created a scene it would have been worse for Lexi. Apparently what he did was legal. I was only eighteen when we married—I didn’t check whose name the house was in. I didn’t check a lot of things.’

‘Legal, maybe—decent, definitely not.’ His tone was hard and there was a dangerous glint in his eyes. ‘Does Lexi know he made you sell?’

‘Yes. I told her the truth about that. I’m not sure if that was the right thing to do or not. She was already very angry with Clive for going off with another woman. And furious with me for choosing to relocate to Scotland.’

‘Why did you choose Scotland?’

‘Because it’s a long way from London…’ Jenna hesitated. ‘Clive doesn’t want Lexi around at the moment. He’s living the single life and he sees her as a hindrance. I thought it would damage their relationship for ever if she found out he doesn’t want her there, so I picked somewhere so far away it would be a logistical nightmare for her to spend time with him. I didn’t want her having another reason to hate him.’

Ryan watched her for a long moment. ‘No wonder you’re exhausted. Lexi’s a lucky girl, having a mother who cares as much as you do.’

‘I don’t know. Maybe I care too much. Maybe I’m protecting her too much. Or maybe I’m protecting myself. I don’t want to admit that the man I was married to for fifteen years can behave like that. Anyway, this is a very boring for you.’ Tormented by guilt, and depressed after the conversation with her mother, Jenna took a deep breath. ‘Sorry. I’m lousy company, I know. Take no notice. I’m just tired after the journey. I’m sure you’re really busy.’

‘Why didn’t your mother want you to come here?’

Jenna watched the sunlight spread across the pretty garden. ‘She wanted us to move in with her. She said it would save money.’

‘Save money, but not your sanity. I gather you resisted?’

‘Yes. I thought we’d be better off having a fresh start, away from everyone. Clive has another woman. Actually, it turned out he had several women throughout our marriage…’ Her face was scarlet. ‘I was the last person to know. That’s another reason I wanted to get away. That and the fact that the girl he’s started seeing is twenty-two. It was really difficult for Lexi.’

‘And you, I should imagine.’