Page 49 of The Wedding Dress Repair Shop
‘So, you and Thom have already made it up, then? When you were freezing him out last night, I wasn’t exactly sure how deep the permafrost went and how long it might take to thaw. It felt not so much as if there was an elephant in the room as a Siberian mammoth.’
‘We had a talk earlier today and I’mpartiallythawed,’ I admitted. ‘I still can’t completely understand why he didn’t trust me enough six years ago to tell me where he was going, because he must have known I wouldn’t have shared the information with anyone else, if he didn’t want me to. It was cruel.’
‘It was just after his stepbrother’s death, so he probably wasn’t thinking rationally at the time,’ Honey suggested.
‘I suppose not. And we had just quarrelled over my goingout with Marco, who he always seemed to blame more for Leo’s drug addiction than any of his other London friends. It turns out he had another reason to dislike and mistrust Marco too: he suspected Marco and Mirrie had had an affair soon after she married Leo.’
‘Why didn’t he tell you at the time?’
‘He said he wasn’t certain. Mirrie had told him they weren’t and he’d wanted to believe her. I told him, from what I’d overheard Mirrie saying to Wilfric at the theatre, he was right all along.’
‘So, one more thing you have to forgive Thom for!’ she said with another grin. Then asked, ‘Has Marco tried to contact you since the fracas at the theatre? I mean, other than those late-night calls you mentioned.’
‘I left my phone off at night after that, but they stopped after a bit – he was probably too busy in the run-up to opening night to work on his next play – but he did send me one text message on the day before I moved here.’
‘What did it say?’
I shrugged. ‘No idea. I just saw who it was from and deleted it without a second thought. I was really exhausted at the time and, anyway, I expect he just wanted to rant at me again.’
‘He might have come to his senses and wanted to apologize?’
‘I doubt it, but he must want to say something because when I turned my phone back on this morning I’d missed another call from him, and this time he’d left a message too.’
‘Which you also deleted?’
‘Got it in one. I just don’t feel interested any more and I wish he’d leave me alone. I’d even forgotten his play opened the day I moved here until Will emailed me after the opening night to tell me how it went.’
‘You know, I’d forgotten all about that, too!’ she said.
‘It seems to have been a success, and Will made a big hit in his role as Oberon, so I’m glad for his sake.’
‘Yes, he was very kind to you at the theatre that time. Did he say anything else interesting?’
I told her what he’d said about Mirrie not realizing that his part in the play was the most important one, even if she did have the star billing.
‘That’s priceless!’ she said, laughing. ‘And it’s good that you seem to be totally over Marco.’
‘Yes, he’s yesterday’s bad news. I’m just sorry I wasted so much time bolstering up his ego and coaxing him to write something people might actually want to watch.’
‘It wasn’t entirely wasted, as far as Will goes.’
‘There is that. But Marco can sink or swim with the next play without me.’
A faint, unearthly cry rent the air from the direction of the cottage and Honey started.
‘Is that horrendous noise by any chance your cat?’ she enquired. ‘If not, I think we need to get the cottage exorcized again.’
I sighed. ‘It is. Golightly must have woken up and realized he was on his own again. He never used to be this vocal, so I think it must be being in a totally strange place.’
‘I expect he’ll get used to it. Are you going to let him out into the courtyard?’
‘You know, I was wondering about that. He’s always been an indoor cat, but he might get bored shut in the cottage all the time.’
‘If he’s an old cat, he might be happy to have the run of the courtyard and not venture any further,’ she suggested. ‘You could try it and see. Have a cat flap put in the front door.’
‘Wouldn’t you mind?’
‘No, not at all. Only Pelican House is a Grade II listed building, so we can do what we like to the cottage.’
