Must Be Love by Cathy Woodman Read Free Book Online Page B

him.
    ‘That’s enough, both of you,’ Alex says, remarkably calmly. ‘Let’s get you something to eat. I told the parents they should have some decent food, not those awful puff-pastry things, but they won’t break with tradition. What do you fancy?’ He glances towards me and I mouth the word ‘You’, and he grins, and says, ‘You mean you’ve reverted, Maz, wanting a piece of meat,’ which makes me giggle quietly to myself.
    ‘Can we have toast, Daddy?’ says Lucie.
    ‘I expect so,’ Alex says. ‘I’ll see what I can find in Humpy’s kitchen.’
    Lucie and I end up sitting on the stairs, waiting for Alex and Seb to fetch provisions from the kitchen. Actually, I sit on the third stair up while Lucie sits astride the banister.
    ‘How old are you?’ Lucie asks me from her superior position.
    ‘Thirty-one.’
    She frowns. ‘That’s really old.’
    ‘Not as old as Alex – I mean, your dad. How old are you?’ I ask back.
    ‘Six.’ She flings herself forwards and hugs the newel post as if she’s petting a horse.
    ‘And when were you six?’
    She gives me a long sigh and a withering look, much like the one her grandmother gave me earlier.
    ‘On my birthday,’ she replies. ‘You know, you aren’t as pretty as my mummy. She never wears black clothes.’ She frowns. ‘She says you’re a gold-digger.’
    ‘Oh?’
    Lucie pauses as if gauging my reaction to what I’m assuming is an insult, before she goes on brightly, ‘What’s a gold-digger?’ Then, rushing on before I can give her an answer, ‘My mummy says it won’t last. That’s what Humpy says too. Over my dead body,’ she adds, mimicking her grandmother’s severe tone.
    ‘Does Lucie ever stop talking?’ I ask Alex when the party has drawn to a close with the gutsy midnight chimes of the grandfather clock in the hall and the singing of ‘Auld Lang Syne’, and the guests are beginning to disperse. ‘I feel as if I’ve been interrogated for hours.’
    ‘She doesn’t give up easily,’ Alex says. ‘Talking of which, did that dog we brought back from Talyford make it? I forgot to ask.’
    ‘She’s still with us.’ It’s been a week now, though. I checked up on Sally before I left, changing the bag on her drip, giving her another dose of painkiller and stroking her soft wavy fur. ‘Hang on in there, Sal,’ I murmured, but she didn’t raise her head or wag her tail. She barely had the strength to open her eyes under those long blonde lashes of hers. ‘I’m not sure she’s going to pull through. I’ve never seen a dog look so depressed.’
    ‘Don’t take it to heart, Maz. You can’t do any more.’ ‘I know. I can’t help it, though. Her owner’s lovely and been through a lot. It doesn’t seem fair somehow.’
    ‘Life isn’t fair, though, is it,’ Alex says, his voice suddenly harsh, and I wonder what he’s thinking of, a patient or his family torn apart by his ex-wife. (Astra left him for a footballer several years her junior, before hooking up with Hugo, her current man.) I can’t ask him because Mr Lacey has mislaid his coat.
    ‘It’s a Barbour,’ he says, which isn’t much help, I think, amused by the sheer number of waxed coats and jackets hanging on the hooks behind the stairs. Rolling his eyes at me in mock despair, Alex starts hunting through them while Fifi sidles up to me, fastening the ties on her outdoor hat.
    ‘I imagine you don’t have to worry about driving home, Maz,’ she says with a smirk, as if she’s anticipating a triumph in uncovering my current domestic arrangements.
    ‘Indeed, I don’t. Alex has ordered me a taxi.’ I lie brazenly. I check my watch. ‘It’ll be here in ten minutes.’
    ‘Oh? Oh, if I’d known, I’d have offered you a lift. My husband’s acting as chauffeur tonight.’
    ‘Never mind,’ I say cheerfully. ‘There’ll be another time. Goodnight, Fifi, and happy New Year.’
    Deciding to make myself useful, I return the tray of empty plates and glasses to