‘You’re looking very smart,’ Geraldine said.
Sarah was wearing a Jaeger suit, navy with a faint check. Nothing outstanding. Her working wardrobe was far from the height of fashion and consisted almost exclusively of discreet outfits designed, as Nathan always protested, for a woman a good ten years her senior. She quickly learnt that people found her less intimidating that way, as they felt threatened by the image of a thrusting businesswoman dressed to exude power.
The reason for Geraldine’s remark soon became obvious. Even though the weather was not particularly warm, she slipped off her jacket and hung it on the back of her chair.
Geraldine, the only person Sarah knew who habitually shopped in the West End, was sporting a simple, but extremely chic, button through, silk dress with a stand up collar in a subtle, deep mulberry. It was particularly attractive and it was clear that Sarah was expected to return the compliment.
‘Oh, it’s just something I picked up on holiday,’ she responded to her appreciative remarks. ‘Ridiculously cheap actually.’
She was waiting for Sarah to ask where, but Sarah did not need to and, what was more, did not feel like giving her the satisfaction. The reason for all the sudden bonhomie was now obvious. There was no way Geraldine was going to pass up the opportunity to rub Sarah’s nose in the fact that she’d achieved what she knew Sarah had longed to do. Why oh why, Sarah thought, did her mother-in-law always bring out her uncharitable side with such a vengeance? Sarah dropped her gaze to her plate and resolutely held her tongue. She knew she was going to be subjected to a long eulogy on the delights of China, how fascinating a country and how wonderful the sights, however, nothing was going to force Sarah to be the woman’s stooge.
‘Yes, in the silk quarter in Beijing.’ Geraldine paused again waiting for her response. Sarah almost flinched. Not because the location had come as the painful surprise her mother-in-law had anticipated, but because she had to stop herself from wincing at the affected nasal twang with which the woman had pronounced the word, no doubt, in what she thought was a perfect imitation of her Chinese tourist guide. ‘It was truly spectacular!’
‘Umm. So Nathan said.’
It was Geraldine’s turn to try to stifle the look of shocked indignation.
‘He didn’t mention he’d seen you.’ Sarah could see that discovering that her precious son had been in contact, and had failed to tell his own mother, had severely dented the woman’s composure. It struck Sarah that her erstwhile husband was in for a considerable period of quizzing. No doubt he would be made to suffer the whole gamut from tantrums of ‘how could you go behind my back?’ to the guilt-evoking, ‘have you any idea of how foolish I was made to feel?’
A little glow of triumph warmed the chill of this unexpected encounter. If she wasn’t careful, she’d find herself becoming as vindictive as whoever it was that was trying to make her life a misery. Not that it was in Nathan’s nature to be spiteful, assuming it was him. That was more Geraldine’s style.
Geraldine? Surely not! If she wanted to get back at Sarah for breaking her precious son’s heart why had she waited until now? But that argument was true for Nathan as well. For goodness’ sake! It was ridiculous to consider either of them as suspects. What had she been reduced to?
For the next quarter of an hour, Sarah was subjected to the highlights of China. She had to sit through every detail from the magnificent views from Hong Kong’s Victoria Peak on day one right through to the vastness of Tiananmen Square and the glories of the Forbidden City at the end of the three weeks.
‘It was the most wonderful holiday I’ve ever had,’ she simpered.
‘Really?’
‘And every day was so different. One day you’d be cruising along the river through this breath-taking limestone gorge and the next it would be fabulous temples or the gardens at Suzhou, not a bit like ours of course. Naturally, for me, one of the high spots was Xi’an. Words can’t describe the awesome splendour of those serried ranks of Terracotta Warriors guarding the approach to the emperor’s tomb.’ Her voice dropped to a reverential hush. The whole exaggerated performance made Sarah squirm.
‘I’m sure.’
‘And one day they took us to this hospital where they use only traditional Chinese medicine. Absolutely fascinating! And we went to several concerts although the Peking Opera was a real hoot.’
Sarah pushed her empty plate away hoping Geraldine would realise that she needed to be making tracks but her mother-in-law had no intention of releasing Sarah until she had recounted the saga of all her shopping exploits. She wittered on about jade jewellery, embroidered tablecloths and cloisonné plus a whole wardrobe of silk blouses she had brought for friends and family, until Sarah could have screamed.
‘The one disappointment of the whole holiday was the weather on the day we went to see the Great Wall. On all the photographs you see it stretching for miles, but the clouds were so low when we were there you could hardly see one from one turret to the next.’
‘How frustrating.’ Even to her own ears, Sarah’s answers sounded mechanical, but nothing was going to stop the eulogy and she was a captive audience.
As she sat, only half listening to the grating, affected voice droning on, reason returned. The missing documents, corrupted computer files and all that had been happening at college had forced Sarah to concede that Nathan could hardly be considered the prime suspect any longer. An IT expert such as Nathan might just possibly be able to hack into the college PCs and cause havoc but there was no way Geraldine could have done. Neither was she familiar with college routines and procedures.
Looking across at the woman, Sarah was forced to admit that, for all the affectation, Geraldine’s enthusiasm over the China holiday was genuine. It probably was not even valid to imagine that she had struck up their conversation with the intention of being able to gloat. She could simply be so desperate to find someone she could make sit attentively whilst she relived her adventures, all past antipathy was forgotten. Her neighbours and fellow bridge club members must have had their fill long ago.
She could not even justifiably claim that Geraldine had chosen the holiday destination out of some perverted instinct to spite her daughter-in-law. When Alan had been alive, Geraldine had always favoured cruises or lazing on some tropical beach being pampered by flunkies running around to meet her every whim. That was definitely not Nathan’s scene any more than it would have been Sarah’s. If he had felt compelled to spend his holiday with his mother, then he would have insisted on something more stimulating. After all the anticipation built up before the separation, perhaps China was a natural choice for him to suggest.
Still, if the whole thing had been Nathan’s idea, he was about to get his comeuppance when Geraldine let fly with the recriminations about his secret meeting with Sarah. Sarah suppressed a giggle. The wounded indignation at such treachery would linger for weeks. Dare she mention he had been the one to call her, and then compounded his crime by taking her out to dinner? Perhaps not. After all, she was a mature adult, Sarah told herself and not a spiteful child trying to get its own back. Plus, it would be one too many sins in one brief half hour for her poor soul’s burden, she admonished herself with a giggle. Geraldine automatically assumed that Sarah’s smile was in response to her story and took it as encouragement to recount yet another of her exotic adventures.
The only other consolation to this unexpected and unwished-for meeting was that Sarah was not obliged to contribute to the conversation. All that was required of her was the odd word of amazement, fascination or delight at appropriate intervals. She was needed only in the capacity as listener. Eventually, Sarah had to bring the flow to a halt.
‘It all sounds fascinating. I’m so sorry, I really would love to hear more but I’m afraid I must get back to work.’ Sarah put her things together.
‘We must arrange to meet up again. It’s so long since we’ve seen each other.’ Geraldine spoke with such warmth that Sarah could almost believe she meant it. ‘
And I have some fabulous photographs that you simply must see. I know you especially will really be able to appreciate them.’ Her eyes sparkled with enthusiasm.
Sarah said her goodbyes and hurried away.
As she climbed back up the hill to the college, Sarah found herself wondering what might have happened if she had dropped Veronica’s name into the conversation. However, eager she was to hear more about this new woman in Nathan’s life, there was no way she would give his tiresome mother the satisfaction of knowing that she was interested in whomsoever her darling son was seeing.
No sooner had the thought come into her head, than she felt a pang of conscience. After Alan’s death and her move from Surrey, Geraldine had lost all her close circle of friends. Even the bosom pal, Penelope, Tanya’s mother, had been left behind. As Sarah now knew, it was not easy for a woman on her own to create a social circle for herself. Geraldine must be more lonely than Sarah had realised to try to make a friend of her.
Chapter 17
‘It seemed like a good idea on Sunday evening, but after mum told me that Jenny had agreed and Justin couldn’t wait to come, I began to get cold feet.’
Matt gave one of his boyish grins. ‘So what’s the problem?’
‘A trip around the shops for a couple of hours is fine but a whole week entertaining an eleven-year-old is quite another prospect,’ Sarah said ruefully.
‘There’s lots you can do around here. You’ll be surprised how quickly the time will go.’
‘I was hoping you could give me a few ideas.’
He reeled off some suggestions.
‘Great, although that’s not really what’s worrying me,’ she said, stirring her coffee and trying to appear nonchalant. ‘Mum must have told Justin that I’d mentioned taking him to Chessington. When I spoke to him that was all he could talk about.’ Sarah gave Matt what she hoped was her most beguiling look.
‘So?’ It wasn’t quite the response she’d hoped for.
‘I’ll let you into a secret. The thought of having to take him on all those rides terrifies me. I’ve no head for heights and I’ve never been a lover of big dippers and Fairground thrills, but I can’t let him down now.’
‘When exactly had you planned on going?’
‘We haven’t fixed a particular time. Any day would do.’ She knew she was being obvious, however the consequences of her rash promise were beginning to loom large and her apprehension was growing by the hour.
‘As it happens, I have arranged to take a few days leave over half term to spend with Paul. I expect he’d enjoy a day out at Chessington.’
‘Great,’ she cut in before he had time to change his mind. ‘I’ll do the driving and bring the picnic. Just tell me the day.’
‘Why do I feel conned?’ he laughed.
‘Would I do such a thing? You made a generous offer and I accepted.’
Sarah felt much more relaxed on the drive back. She’d been so preoccupied about how she would be able to persuade Matt and his son to join them that she’d paid little attention to the film. What interpretation the rest of the family might put on Auntie Sarah’s new man friend, about whom Justin would inevitably tell them when he returned home, was a problem for the future. For some reason, she would have preferred for them not to know about Matt; at least not until she was more certain of the part he was going to play in her life.
There was none of the intense yearning to be with him that she’d known in those early days with Nathan. If she was honest, it was his friendship that she valued. A convivial partner to socialise with; someone to take her out of the restricted box of work and a solitary home life in which she’d been confined for too long. And there was no denying that being able to tell a policeman about the harassment, even if she had made it sound more like an inconvenient nuisance that a terror campaign, was reassuring. Someone who would be able to do something if ever the need arose.
She still had not got round to telling Matt about the things that had happened at work. There was nothing to prove that they were not mistakes that she herself had made. True it had been over a week since anything had happened but, if the opportunity did present itself when they spent a whole day together, it might be as well to admit the effect the sustained assault was having on her.
Blast! Despite her resolve to thrust all thoughts of him away, here she was letting her tormentor win again, spoiling a pleasant evening.
One evening, a little after seven, Sarah decided to call it a day and stuffed a pile of papers into her brief case. It would not help matters if she tried to work when she was so tired that she made mistakes. Although she often stayed on in her office until eight or nine in the summer, as the nights drew in with the onset of winter, so her enthusiasm waned. The cold and rain she could live with, it was being in the place after dark when most of the others had gone that made it hard for her to concentrate. Despite the multitude of evening classes going on all over the campus, up on the top floor of the main building, which was given over to administration, there was not much activity after five thirty.
Taking the stairs as usual, she came out of the side door and was half way past the first block of unlit mobiles before she realised that she’d been too preoccupied to think where she was going. In the usual idiotic way educational establishments were designed, the car park for staff and visitors lay furthest from the main building. Though the quickest route lay through the proliferation of wooden huts known as the temporary classrooms, that way was badly lit. Once the evenings got darker, it made sense to avoid the unseen potholes and take the path along the side of the theatre and on past the Media Arts building.
Sarah stopped and half turned, but it seemed silly to retrace her steps especially as it’d begun to drizzle. As she glanced back, a movement caught her eye. Had she imagined a figure ducking back out of sight? A flash of light raincoat? Telling herself that it was probably nothing more than a trick of the light, she nonetheless quickened her pace and only when she reached her car did her heart stop racing. Was her persecutor about to step up the terror or was she jumping at shadows? It could well have been someone walking through the complex on some other errand entirely. She stared at her hands tightly gripping the steering wheel. Perhaps taking a few days off at half term wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
Sarah was much later getting to Norwich than she had planned. It had been one of those frustrating days when constant interruptions meant that all the essential last minute tasks that she had planned to do in the day took much longer than usual. She left late and the traffic was heavy, especially around Oxford, and, even with the new bypass to the south of Bedford, the journey was slow going. It was a long slog across country without any motorways and, although the stretches of dual carriageway were gradually increasing, it was rare for her to make the drive in less than four hours. Her parents had always been early risers so liked to get to bed soon after ten o’clock. Sarah did not like to feel that she was keeping them up.
She was more than a little apprehensive about the reception she was going to get. Her parents were not the problem; it was the thought of how she was going to face Jenny that preyed on her mind. On the couple of occasions when she had rung her sister, Jenny had given a curt response to the enquiries about Todd to the effect that he was as well as could be expected, before passing Sarah straight over to Justin. Though Jenny’s manner was distinctly cool, at least she was speaking.
Sarah would have liked to travel down on the Friday evening, collect Justin the next morning and come straight back, thus avoiding any icy silences or, heaven forbid, further outbursts from her sister over the weekend. However, her mother would have been hurt if the return journey had not been put off until after a family lunch on Sunday. With all seven of them there, Sarah had to trust to luck that she would not be left alone with Jenny.
Todd was now back home and, though by no means his old self, was up and about. Jenny had insisted that he stay off school claiming that, with only a few more days until the holiday, he would not ha
ve been doing much work in any case. In the circumstances, it would not have been politic for Sarah to mention that both academically and socially that seemed short-sighted, so she kept her views to herself. From the conversation with Todd on the phone when he thanked her again for his squirrel, she got the impression that he was already feeling bored. Sarah wondered if she was doing the right thing in depriving him of his older brother’s company for so long.
The test results had come through midweek but did not prove very informative. According to her mother, they had done some sort of ‘oscopy’ which none of the family understood. Although it had apparently ruled out several serious conditions, if the doctors were any closer to finding out what was wrong with Todd, they did not enlighten Jenny and Greg. Consultation with yet another specialist and more tests were promised in the near future.
On the Saturday, Sarah persuaded her parents to let her take them out for a meal. In the end, she had to settle for lunch in a Berni Inn – anything more upmarket would have been deemed sheer extravagance and they would not have been comfortable.
When she got them back in the car, she said she fancied a trip out to Wroxham, as she had not been to the Broads since she was a teenager. As they did not have a car – neither of them could drive – they relied mainly on coach trips for their outings. She knew that Greg and Jenny were very good, but now that the two boys were older, there was not room in their old Escort for all six of them to go far. Although, squeezed into the back of Sarah’s Saab Convertible, there was less legroom for her father than in her previous four-door saloon. Fortunately, he wasn’t a big man.
All in the Mind Page 11
