Chapters (78)
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Prologue
- 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
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Remarkable Praise for Nicci French
- Also by Nicci French
- About the Publisher
“We’ve got something in common,” Erika said in a low voice, looking around, as if to see if they were being overheard.
“Have we?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
Jude frowned. Was this a quiz? Was she meant to start guessing?
“Liam,” Erika said.
“Ah.”
Jude found that her immediate reaction was surprise: she would have thought that if Liam had had an affair with someone in the house it would have been Irina, flamboyant and theatrical and full of a wayward energy. When they had met before, Erika had struck her as being the more practical, phlegmatic member of the household. But it had been Erika calling Liam that night, when Jude had been at the cottage in Norfolk with Liam’s phone.
“That’s right.” Erika took another gulp of wine, as if she needed to slake her thirst. “I haven’t been able to talk to anyone about it. Not ever.” She looked Jude full in the face and shook her head. “And no,” she said, as if in answer to a question Jude had posed silently. “I haven’t told Doc.”
Jude couldn’t think of how to respond.
“I know what you’re thinking,” said Erika.
Unlikely, Jude thought.
“How could we keep it secret in a house where everyone knows everything about each other? Danny had a difficult birth. She stayed in hospital for over a week. There were a couple of days when Doc was away. I was on my own and Liam was vulnerable and hurting. It didn’t feel wrong. It didn’t feel like being unfaithful. It was just two people comforting each other.”
Jude almost snorted. She took a sip of her wine to conceal the sense of shock and revulsion.
“I know what you want to ask,” said Erika. “If it didn’t feel wrong, then why was it a big secret? Why not tell Doc? Why not tell Danny?”
“Didn’t you think they’d understand? That you were just comforting each other?”
Erika appeared not to notice the angry sarcasm in Jude’s voice.
“To be honest, it wasn’t that simple. It started out that way but it became like a kind of addiction. When Danny and Alfie came back from the hospital, it stopped, of course, but there was still something between us. We both knew it. So sometimes, just by chance, there’d be the opportunity and we couldn’t resist.”