Page 90 of A Good Heart is Hard to Find
‘So who was it?’ he demanded. ‘Jason?’
‘No, Dante Chase. He wants me to help his sister over Easter when she has her first Ghastly Weekend for Ghost-hunters,’ I said weakly, not mentioning the possible byline: ‘and also be subjected to the torment of the damnedfor forty-eight hours.’
‘Come off it,’ he snapped. ‘No man would pay that much money unless he’s got an ulterior motive, and he made it pretty clear at the pub that he was jealous of me.’
Actually I think it was the other way round, for if Max hadn’t become jealous of Dante that night I don’t think he would have dreamed up the idea of bidding for me at the auction at all.
‘In any case I absolutelyforbid it, even if it is only for one day,’ he said flatly.
‘Twodays, actually. Dante offered to double the original bid if I would do an extra day, and since it’s for a good cause I couldn’t very well refuse, could I?’
‘Two?’ bellowed Max. ‘No way is my girlfriend spending two days with another man!’
Max was getting up my nose but it was entirely my own fault: I really should have ended thewhole thing before now in a civilized and final manner instead of all this dithering and indecision. And after being his mistress for more than twenty years I find the word ‘girlfriend’ singularly inappropriate, since I am neither a girl nor feeling particularly friendly.
‘Two days and two nights,’ I pointed out, fanning the flames a little. ‘But you needn’t think this is some kind of IndecentProposal. Dante’s a bit piqued because I turned him down flat when he wanted to hire me to do ghost impersonations for his visitors in case it wasn’t haunted enough for them.’
I didn’t mention that Dante’s recently expressed wish toget to know me better had been instantly changed by the power of my fiction into the desire to punish me.
‘It’s all harmless, Max,’ I said, even though I was byno means convinced about that myself. ‘And the house will be full of his sister’s guestsandEddie, who seems to have become resident gardener/handyman, so it’s not like I’m spending the weekend alone with another man, is it?’
Not that I felt it was really his business any more what I did.
‘You’re not spending the weekend with him, alone or not,’ he ordained, likehewas my lord and master insteadof Dante.
From feeling that if only I had a good excuse I’d try and wriggle out of my bondage, I now contrarily refused to even consider the idea. ‘Now just wait a minute, Max! That’s up to me to decide.’
‘If you had any real feelings for me you would have turned him down flat at the auction!’
‘If you had any real feelings for me you wouldn’t have gone to America for a year with Rosemary andleft me behind!’
‘You hardly seemed pleased to see me when I did come and visit you!’
‘Only because all you seemed to be interested in was sex!’
‘So what do you think Dante Chase is interested in? Or is that why you’ve agreed?’ he said nastily. ‘Or perhaps you always have played the field when I’m away, and all that innocence was a put-on affair?’
‘You know very well I haven’t!’ I said hotly,for apart from my recent brief encounter with Dante there hadn’t been much of a field to play, even had infidelity seriously entered my head.
‘Then if you really love me you’ll tell the vicar you’re turning down his offer, and you’d rather accept my bid.’
‘You know I can’t do that – it’s an open auction!’
‘I’ll make the money up to the vicar,’ he said shortly.
‘That’s not the point. It’s done,I’m going to do it, and that’s that,’ I snapped. ‘And while we are on the subject of loving you, there’s something I’ve got to tell—’
He put the phone down on me.
On the Monday I packed up my manuscript (clear dark copy, printed with a new cartridge) and posted it off with a wonderfully purged feeling: colonic irrigation for the soul.
When I got back home Gerald was sitting on the bench outsidelooking miserably at Jane’s car like it had eaten her.
…the windows slowly darkened and grew opaque as the car shuddered hungrily…
‘It spat the bones out, Gerald, but I put them in the boot,’ I said, fishing out my door keys.
He turned a drawn and wan face towards me and I could see he hadn’t taken in what I’d said, which on reflection is probably a good thing.
