Chapters (82)
- Cover
- Dedication
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- SEVENTY-FOUR
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‘It’s lovely to hear from you. Your mother said you’d stopped by. Now you’re feeling a bit better, why don’t you and Ian come over for some dinner at the weekend? I’ll do your favourite curry with my speciality rice.’
‘Thanks, Dad, that would be great.’ She felt another stab of guilt.
‘Good. Everything OK with you?’
‘Yes.’
‘Did you want to speak to your mother?’ he asked guilelessly. Emma felt even more guilty.
‘Yes, please, Dad.’
‘I’ll put her on. Love you, pet.’
‘Love you too, Dad.’
She met Ian’s gaze and he nodded encouragingly.
A moment later her mother came on the phone, ‘Hi, love, everything all right?’
‘Yes, thanks. Is Dad still in the room?’
‘No, he’s gone to check on our dinner. Why?’
‘Ian is here with me. He needs to know the name of the clinic – you know, the one we talked about.’
There was silence before Mary said in a whisper, ‘I can’t discuss it now, your father may hear me.’
‘All I need is the name of the clinic and Ian will do the rest.’ She waited. More silence. ‘It’s not going to go away, Mum, not until Ian’s found out. Dad need never know, I promise you.’
‘No good will come of this,’ Mary said.
‘Please, Mum, just tell me.’
‘I will, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. It was called the Moller Clinic.’
‘Thank you.’
But already the line was dead.
‘There! I knew she’d be upset!’ Emma said angrily.
‘Did she tell you the name of the clinic?’ Ian asked.
‘Yes. The Moller Clinic.’
‘Did she say where it was?’
‘No! And I’m not asking her any more about it.’
‘Never mind. There shouldn’t be too many clinics with that name.’
Opening his laptop, Ian began tapping the keys.
Emma watched him for a moment and then stood. ‘I’m going to bed. I’ve got a headache.’
But Ian was too engrossed in what he was doing to reply or even look up.
Emma left the table, regretting she’d agreed to make the call. Her mother was right. No good would come of it – just the opposite, in fact.
TWENTY
Although the evening hadn’t started well, it had dramatically improved after Chris had apologized for being moody. Jan was pleased she hadn’t asked to return home. The restaurant was really nice – the sort of place she’d only have booked for a special occasion. Chris had clearly made an effort to impress her, which Jan appreciated. Gone were his trainers, jeans and zip-up windbreaker jacket; he was now dressed smart-casual in beige chinos, cotton shirt, navy blazer and brown leather shoes. As they’d entered the restaurant he’d complimented her on her appearance – ‘You look lovely.’ And Jan had felt a warm frisson of anticipation for the evening ahead.