He's My Husband! - Lindsay Armstrong [36]
‘And,’ he said, ‘what happened the other night, and last night—talking of fantasies and moons et cetera—is an indication that that side of marriage would be no problem.’
She flinched inwardly and looked back at him, a clear, blue, but thoroughly unreadable look.
‘Nicola,’ he said, but she got up abruptly and walked over to the window with her arms wrapped around her, as if to ward off the chill that was invading her.
‘Nicola,’ he said again, from right behind her, although she hadn’t heard him cross the carpet, ‘tell me what you’re thinking. Something has changed and I need to know.’
It was nearly a full minute before she turned. ‘All right. Tara—in a way she did change things. I suppose she highlighted the fact that I haven’t made anything of my life so far—’
‘Tara is over thirty, Nicola. And having a law degree, or being a concert pianist for that matter, is only one area of a life. I’ve told you before, you’re intelligent and artistic, and there’s no need to feel inadequate.’
She raised her eyebrows. ‘It wasn’t only that. I...well, I have to confess I suddenly looked around and pictured her in charge of the house, of the children. I could see her lording it over Ellen and—I discovered I didn’t like the thought of it one bit.’
‘So that means,’ he said quietly, ‘you enjoy being mistress of my house, Nicola?’
‘I...I must,’ she said shakily. ‘Not that it’s so surprising,’ she added with an attempt at humour. ‘Most girls would give their eye-teeth to be in my position. You’re a very marriageable man in most respects, Brett.’
He didn’t reply immediately, although a spark of amusement lit his eyes—only to die almost at once.
‘And then there is the fact,’ she went on, while she still had the courage, ‘that to be part of a family means such a lot to me. More than most, I guess. But I still—I mean, it can’t go on for ever, so...’ She shrugged.
‘There’s no reason it can’t go on for the time being, as it has been going on, but—’ He stopped and swore as the phone rang.
He strode across the room and picked it up. ‘Margaret, I thought I told you—’ He stopped and his expression of irritation altered to something different. Nicola took an unsteady breath.
‘What is it?’ she said fearfully as he put down the phone after a few curt enquiries.
‘Chris. He fell off the jungle gym in the park and broke his leg. Ellen called an ambulance and they’ve just arrived at the Calvary Hospital.’
‘Oh, no!’ Nicola went white. ‘Why did I leave them!’
Brett grimaced and put his arms around her as she swayed where she stood. ‘It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. He was probably showing off. And, according to Ellen, Sasha is the more distraught of the two.’
Nicola smiled palely, but the thought of Sasha brought something else to mind. ‘Marietta! Shouldn’t we let her know?’
‘It so happens that Marietta is on her way home.’ Brett smoothed her hair with one hand. ‘She rang me this morning from Singapore. She’ll be up here on Saturday.’
‘Oh, I thought—I didn’t realise she was planning to come home! What will we do? She might have to come and stay with us. It’ll be easier than coping with Chris on her own.’
‘I don’t think that would work,’ he said after a moment, with that shade of grimness in his voice that was often associated with any mention of his ex-wife.
‘But I don’t mind—and she is their mother,’ Nicola said.
For some reason this caused him to gaze down at her with something like a tinge of irony in his eyes, causing Nicola to chew her lip and consider that she might have been tactless. ‘It’s also a bit of a crisis,’ she added lamely.
He smiled faintly and shrugged at the same time, as if the irony of it was apparent to him alone, then said, ‘The thing is, the reason she’s coming home is because she has a new man in her life.’
Nicola blinked. ‘Who?’ she asked dazedly.
‘An oboe player. I really don’t think