Page 5 of Our Secrets and Lies

Gabriel lifted his steak knife and cut through the juicy meat. Tom watched as the blood oozed onto the plate. He felt sick. He had to say something about the money.

‘You all right, Tom?’ his father asked. ‘You look a bit peaky. A good steak should sort you out. Eat up.’

Tom puta piece into his mouth and tried to swallow it, but his mouth was dry. He had a large sip of Barolo to wash it down, then took the plunge. ‘Actually, Dad, I need to ask a favour.’

‘Go on.’ Gabriel sat back. He was looking directly at Tom.

‘Well, the thing is, there’s this trip coming up, you know a kind of class-bonding thing, and I need some money for it.’

‘I give you a generous monthly allowance.’

‘Yes, I know. I’m just a bit short as it’s almost the end of the month.’

Gabriel shrugged. ‘So wait six days and pay for it when your February allowance goes through.’

Tom cleared his throat. ‘I have to pay for it tomorrow. It’s the closing date.’

‘Where exactly are you going?’

‘West. Connemara. One of those adventure-type weekends.’

‘With your law class?’

‘Yes.’

‘How much is it?’

Tomfelt a drip of sweat run down his back. How was he going to convince his father that a weekend in Connemara cost four hundred pounds?

‘Four hundred.’

Gabriel put down his wine glass. ‘Four hundred pounds to go to Connemara for two days?’

‘Yeah.’ Tom busied himself cutting his steak and avoiding his father’s razor-like stare. ‘It’s some fancy new place. They have all new state-of-the-art equipment,so it’s a bit pricey.’

Gabriel nodded. ‘I see.’

‘Yeah, so I know it’s a lot to ask, but I’ll pay you back obviously. In fact, you can deduct it from my allowance next month.’

‘That would leave you with fifty pounds to live on for a month.’

‘I can manage on beans and toast. It’ll do me good.’ Tom patted his stomach.

‘You need to eat more, not less. Are all of the class going?’

Tom swalloweda piece of steak. ‘Almost.’

Gabriel raised his eyebrows. ‘I find it difficult to believe that so many students would be willing to pay such an extortionate amount of money to go on a trip.’

Tom shrugged. ‘Yeah, well, it’s supposed to be awesome, so …’

Gabriel placed his elbows on the table and leant forward. He was giving Tom ‘the stare’, as if he was looking into his son’s soul. Tom shiftedin his seat. He thought guilt must be written all over his face.

‘Tom, I was a barrister for over thirty years before becoming a judge and I can tell when someone is lying even before they’ve lied, just by their body language. So why don’t you stop this farcical charade and tell me what the money is really for?’

Tom stopped breathing. Oh, God, what was he going to say? If he made up anotherlie, his father would know.

‘Whatever it is, Tom, I would appreciate it if you did not lie to me. I find it extremely irritating. Be a man. Tell the truth. What is the money for?’

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