Page 180 of The Hallmarked Man
‘Hi, Robin,’ said Ilsa, answering after a few rings. ‘How’re you?’
Robin was certain she heard a trace of caution.
‘Been better,’ said Robin truthfully. ‘How’re you? How’s Benjy?’ she asked of her godson.
‘Walking,’ said Ilsa, ‘which means he’s tugging on leads of table lamps and headbutting the coffee table twice a day, so that’s nice and restful. What’s going on?’
‘Not much,’ said Robin, with faux lightness. ‘Kind of a fraught time, one way or another. Busy at work and the Land Rover’s packed up.’ She swallowed. ‘You know about Bijou Watkins?’
There was a very slight pause. Robin could picture Ilsa’s wary expression.
‘What about her?’
‘About her and Strike,’ said Robin.
‘Has… he’s told you?’ said Ilsa, and Robin’s pulse quickened even further.
‘Yes,’ she said.
‘Oh, thank God,’ said Ilsa, sounding immensely relieved. ‘He asked me not to tell you, said he was going to do it, but Iliterallysaid to Nick half an hour ago, “I bet he doesn’t.” Has he spoken to her yet?’
‘I think he’s doing it now,’ said Robin, whose ears were ringing.
‘Meeting her face to face?’
‘Yes, I think so.’
‘Oh God,’ said Ilsa, and she turned her mouth from the phone to tell her husband, ‘Robin says he’s meeting Bijou tonight.’ Ilsa came back to the receiver. ‘I tried to warn him, you know I did! If itishis… he says it can’t be, but I told you about her little condom trick, didn’t I?’
‘The thing where she took them out of the bin?’ said Robin, the shrill whine in her ears becoming louder. ‘Yes, you told me.’
‘Between you and me, the gossip around chambers is that itisCorm’s, that she realised she was pregnant after he’d ditched her, so tried to pass it off as Honbold’s, but that’s probably what peoplewantto have happened. Neither of them are popular – Bijou and Honbold, I mean. Did Corm tell you about the super-injunction?’
‘Oh, yes,’ said Robin.
‘I’m amazed Honbold got it through. If your public persona’s all about personal ethics and family values, and you’ve cheated onyour wife and want to wriggle out of your obligations to a daughter you’ve fathered out of wedlock, that’s pretty solid public interest. But Honbold’s got friends in high places, and he didn’t get to be as rich as he has without knowing how to argue a case. He must’ve persuaded them there’s no story, but that won’t hold for long, the papers will bestrainingat the leash. I suppose it’s going to come down to a DNA test and then the papers will be able to let rip, one way or another…God, I hope she’s not Corm’s.’
‘So it’s a daughter, is it?’ said Robin’s voice, from some far-off place that didn’t seem to be connected to either her numb mouth or her paralysed brain.
‘Yes. I’d say she can’t be his, because Bijou was trying to trap Honbold forages, but – I hate saying this – she really did fancy Corm. It wasn’t a random thing. I think she quite liked the idea of being Mrs Cormoran Strike, but then he ditched her, obviously, so it was back to Honbold.’
‘Right,’ said Robin’s disembodied voice.
‘I’d feel sorry for her, it’s no joke, being thrown over right after you’ve given birth, but she’s so obnoxious I can’t help feeling she’s got what was coming to her. But I feel for Corm… I know he’s a dickhead, but he used protection, and condoms are, what—?’
‘Ninety-eight per cent effective,’ said Robin like an automaton, ‘if used correctly.’
‘Unless someone fishes them out of a bin.God, it’s such a bloody mess.’
‘Well, nobody made him do it,’ said Robin, whose throat was rapidly constricting. ‘Nobody forces him to sleep with women and dump them, just because they’re willing, and he wants a bit of no-strings fun.’
‘I know, but for it to blow up in his face like this…’
‘Ilsa,’ said Robin, who didn’t think she was going to be able to sustain the pretence that she was untroubled much longer, ‘I’m going to have to go, sorry.’
‘Oh,’ said Ilsa, sounding disconcerted. ‘Why – did you just call for a chat, or—?’
Shit.
