Second Chance - Jane Green [136]
‘You obviously know him well, socializing in London,’ Will persists.
‘Oh you know,’ Marcus shifts around in his chair. ‘We know some of the same people, go to the same parties, that kind of thing.’
‘Who do we know?’ Holly asks, no longer willing to play his pretentious game.
‘Sally and Greg in my office. I don’t think you know them. They’re great friends, they stay at Le Manoir all the time.’
Holly catches Will’s eye and he winks at her. She smiles and looks down.
‘So… Marcus.’ Saffron drags her chair over to Marcus and gives him her most killer smile. ‘I’m playing a lawyer in a new film. Tell me some of your best tricks for winning clients.’
Marcus loves it. A famous beautiful actress is sitting next to him, hanging on to his every word, treating him as if he were the most important man in the world, as if everything he says were the word of God, and he forgets that he is a man who is at risk of losing his life. Right now he is not Marcus Carter, potential divorced father. He is Marcus Carter, world-renowned lawyer, omnipotent and omniscient. Master of his universe.
‘Oh this must be so boring for the rest of you,’ Saffron says, looking up after a few minutes. ‘Marcus, I’m dying to hear more. Let’s you and I sit in the kitchen.’ And a mesmerized Marcus follows her out to the kitchen.
‘Shit,’ Olivia says. ‘She grabbed a bottle of wine. Did you see that?’
‘There’s nothing we can do,’ Paul says. ‘I’m telling you. If she chooses to drink, we can’t stop her.’
‘I can’t believe we brought alcohol into the house with an alcoholic who’s fallen off the wagon,’ Holly says. ‘I just can’t believe how stupid we’ve been in believing her when she said she wouldn’t drink again.’
‘Me especially,’ Olivia agrees. ‘I was the one who managed to talk her out of it the other night, and I thought… I suppose I just hoped that every day it might get easier. I definitely never expected her to get shit-faced so quickly.’
‘She is pretty shit-faced,’ Paul says. ‘Earlier on I thought she was going to pass out, but now she seems to have got her second wind. Actually, what’s so scary is how normal she seems. She’s been drinking like a fish all evening, and now she seems sober.’
‘She’s not,’ Olivia says. ‘Trust me.’
‘Do you think I should maybe go and grab the wine or something?’ Anna says. ‘I know you keep saying we can’t do anything but it just feels wrong to leave it in there.’
Holly sighs. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll get it. I’m going to try to get rid of Marcus too. I mean, Jesus! What’s he doing here? Why is he still here, for God’s sake? Why did she invite him to stay?’ She pushes her chair back and, shaking her head, she walks into the kitchen.
It is a sight she can’t quite believe. Saffron is sitting on the lap of her husband with her arms wrapped around his neck, kissing him passionately. Marcus’s hands are running up and down her back, and were it not for Holly’s sharp intake of breath, they would have continued.
‘Oh God,’ Marcus groans, standing up and dislodging Saffron, who lands in a heap on the floor.
‘What the hell?’ Holly says to no one in particular, then looks at Marcus. ‘Get out,’ she says coldly.
‘It’s not what… you don’t understand… it wasn’t…’ But he can’t quite find the words.
‘Out!’ Holly fumes, no longer scared of him, her arm extended, pointing to the door. ‘Just go. Now.’
The others come in, unaware of what happened, aware only that Holly’s voice has carried, that she is furious, and that Marcus has gone. They gather Saffron up and take her upstairs – she is in no fit state for anything other than bed – and Will sits downstairs with Holly, a fuming, shocked, disgusted Holly.
‘How could he?’ she keeps saying, more upset by the betrayal than the actual fact of what happened. She didn’t feel jealous but bemused and betrayed. ‘How could he, so soon? What the hell? And how could she? What was Saffron thinking?’
‘Holly.’ Will puts his hand gently on hers after a while. ‘Saffron was drunk, she probably didn’t even know what she was doing, and as for how he could… Think of where you