Pastures New

by Julia Williams

  Ben looked stunned and opened his mouth to say something, but Caroline forestalled him.

  ‘Oh Dave, don’t be such a gorilla. There’s no need to be jealous of Ben any more, is there, Ben?’ And, so saying, she leaned forward, putting a hand on Ben’s chest and brushing his cheek with the slightest of kisses, leaving Ben looking even more stunned.

  Amy stood there fuming. Had they all forgotten she was there?

  ‘Amy, let’s go back inside,’ said Ben. ‘I think these two have some catching up to do. Dave, you’re welcome to crash at mine. Caroline’s got keys. I’ll see you both later.’

  Amy followed Ben down the path, churning up inside. Why had Dave told her Ben was a love rat? And why did Caroline’s simple kiss make her feel so jealous? Before Caroline’s return Amy had begun to feel she was entrusting her heart to Ben more and more. She was on the threshold of something new, and as she’d said to Ben, she would need to decide either to go through the door that was opening up before her, or stay where she was. Earlier in the week she had been on the verge of telling Ben she was prepared to make a move, but since Caroline’s revelations she didn’t know where she stood with Ben any more.

  Ben arrived home just after midnight. He had gone back to Amy’s with a heavy heart. He had tried to laugh off Dave’s comments about him being a love rat, but he could tell Amy didn’t quite believe him. They had ended up spending a perfunctory evening in front of the telly watching Jonathan Ross, then he had left. And something Amy had said as he left made him feel even more lousy.

  ‘Take care with my heart,’ she whispered as she kissed him softly good night. ‘It’s still very fragile.’

  ‘I know,’ he’d whispered back, kissing her on the top of her head. ‘I know.’

  And it was that fragility that worried him. Caroline had caused him nothing but trouble since she’d got here. And he felt that Amy wasn’t up to being a pawn in one of Caroline’s games. Nor did he want her to be. If he wasn’t careful, Caroline could ruin it all for him before it even started.

  As he turned the key in the lock he was greeted by the sound of Caroline’s sobbing.

  Great. Just what he needed.

  ‘Oh, Be-e-en,’ she wailed. ‘He’s gone. I’ve lost him.’

  ‘Who – Dave?’ said Ben. ‘Why, what happened?’

  ‘Well, we came back here,’ said Caroline. ‘And at first it was fine. We had a bit of a kiss and a cuddle, and I thought maybe I was wrong to go. And then, just as things were getting interesting, he had to ruin it.’

  ‘How?’ Despite himself, Ben was intrigued.

  ‘He only asked me to marry him,’ said Caroline dramatically.

  ‘But isn’t that what you wanted?’ Ben was perplexed. Despite her flirtation with Gerry, Caroline had spent the best part of the previous few weeks moaning about Dave, and now he was here she was pushing him away. Women were a mystery to him, they really were.

  ‘Nooo. Yesss. I don’t know,’ said Caroline. ‘I do want him. But not all that marriage malarkey. It’s way too much commitment. I mean, suppose he’s not The One. Then what do I do?’

  ‘Caroline,’ Ben laughed, ‘you can’t go through life thinking that the next person you meet might be better than the one you’re with. You have to make a choice sometime.’

  ‘Yes, well,’ Caroline looked at him, tears streaming down her face, ‘we all know why I’m not good at commitment.’ And Ben did know. It was the reason they had got together in the first place. Their common experience of early grief, forming a bond that Ben had mistaken for much more.

  ‘Caroline,’ he said gently, ‘lots of people lose a parent when they’re young. You can’t use that as an excuse forever. And it’s not as though you were so unhappy growing up, is it? I mean, you get on okay with your stepdad, don’t you?’

  ‘My dad left me,’ Caroline practically howled. ‘I was six years old, and he walked out one day and he never came back. He didn’t leave a note. We never heard from him again. Why would he do that? How could he do that? And how can I ever trust a man again?’

  Ben sat down next to her. ‘Oh Caroline, because you have to. If you’re to live your life well, you have to learn to trust again.’ He put his arm around her, and gave her a hug. ‘Come on, you’re not usually like this. And this Dave bloke, well, he thinks enough of you to travel halfway round the world for you. I think that’s worth risking your heart, don’t you?’

  Caroline looked at him, and for a moment he was back there with her, in the early days of their relationship. He gently wiped the tears from her eyes. When she was vulnerable like this, she made him care, even though he didn’t want to.

  ‘You know there’s only one man I know worth risking my heart for.’

  A look passed between them. Ben thought of Amy, lost and lonely on the other side of the allotments, waiting and wondering. She, too, thought it was worth risking her heart for him. How had he ended up in such a mess?

  ‘I’m not,’ said Ben. ‘I’m sorry, whether she wants me or not, I’m in love with Amy. But Dave does love you. And I think, whatever you say, you love him too. Go to him. Give him a chance.’

  ‘What chance can he have, when you’re here?’ Caroline persisted.

  ‘Every chance,’ said Ben, more firmly than he felt. ‘You have to give him that chance. I think he deserves it, don’t you?’

  ‘So what’s going on with Caroline and Dave now, do we know?’ Saffron greeted Amy as they made their way down Mrs Wallace’s path. Mrs Wallace was another of their few regulars left, and today they were pruning some of her bushes and tidying up her bedding plants.

  ‘I have no idea,’ said Amy. She looked miserable. ‘I’ve barely seen Ben since Friday. And when I do he’s distant and standoffish. I hate myself for doing it, but I can’t stop thinking about the things Dave and Caroline said.’

  ‘Oh I’m sure he’s wrong,’ said Saffron. ‘He’s just jealous of Ben, I expect. And you know what a flirt Caroline is. She’s probably used Ben to wind Dave up.’

  ‘I hope you’re right,’ said Amy. ‘But he didn’t tell me that he and Caroline had been together before she went away. Maybe he’s been lying to me.’

  ‘Amy, I’m sure he hasn’t,’ said Saffron. ‘Maybe he just didn’t know how to tell you.’ She tried and failed to suppress the thought that perhaps Amy was right. Although she knew Ben was decent and honourable, he and Caroline did have history. And he wouldn’t be the first to get swept away by Caroline’s charms. Saffron shook her head: there was no point even thinking this, and certainly no point telling Amy.

  Mrs Wallace came down the path to greet them.

  ‘I wasn’t expecting you today,’ she said, looking puzzled.

  Amy and Saffron looked at each other in alarm. Not again.

  ‘Sorry,’ said Saffron, wondering if she’d made a mistake, but knowing she hadn’t, ‘I had you down in my diary for today, have I made a mistake?’

  ‘Oh, no,’ said Mrs Wallace, ‘it was right. But that nice lady from your office popped round, and said that you wouldn’t be coming today after all.’

  ‘What nice lady?’ Saffron’s hackles were up.

  ‘The fair-haired one.’ Mrs Wallace peered shortsightedly at Amy. ‘Not your friend here, the other one.’

  ‘Let me guess,’ said Saffron grimly, ‘she was about five foot four, rather well endowed, done up to the nines, with platinum-blonde hair, blue eyes, too much foundation and sharply polished nails?’

  ‘Yes, that’s her,’ said Mrs Wallace. ‘She apologised profusely and said you’d ring me.’

  ‘I bet she did,’ muttered Saffron to Amy. ‘Well at least I’ve got my proof. It has to be Maddy badmouthing us. The description fits her to a T.’

  ‘What are you going to do?’

  ‘Don’t know yet,’ said Saffron, ‘but for now I think we need to reclaim our client, don’t you?’

  Turning back to Mrs Wallace, she said, ‘I’m so sorry, I think there’s been a mistake. My colleague can be a bit enthu
siastic sometimes. She must have got her dates muddled. It’s next week we can’t make. But as we’re here, we might as well do something, mightn’t we?’

  ‘Right,’ said Saffron as they drove away from Mrs Wallace’s house a couple of hours later, ‘how about a spot of Maddy-bashing? We’ve still got time before the school run.’

  ‘You’re not going to do anything stupid, are you?’ Amy suddenly had visions of a girly cat fight in the street, and herself, Saffron and Maddy all behind bars.

  ‘No, of course not,’ said Saffron, ‘but we are going to pay her a little visit, to find out just exactly what she’s up to.’

  ‘Won’t she be at work?’

  Saffron snorted. ‘Work? You have to be joking. Someone like Maddy only exists to take men for a ride. In this case the lucky chap happens to be Gerry, so I don’t feel too sorry for him. He works his rocks off, while she stays at home playing the trophy wife, and being a lady who lunches.’ Saffron frowned. ‘Well at least she used to. I have no idea what she’s doing working behind a bar. Still, I don’t expect she has to work too hard for her living.’

  ‘Nice life if you can have it,’ said Amy. Then she looked at Saffron and grinned, ‘Nah, I think I’d be bored witless.’

  ‘Me too,’ said Saffron laughing. ‘Ah, here we are.’

  She pulled into a road where scores of brand-new executive houses, all looking like they’d come out of a real-estate magazine, were crammed together in the smallest space possible. But they were all detached, which no doubt made them highly desirable.

  ‘Blimey, their gardens must be the size of handkerchiefs,’ said Amy. ‘We wouldn’t get much work around here.’

  ‘Oh, I don’t know,’ said Saffron, ‘they might need help with their flower arranging.’

  She drove up to a house that was exactly like the rest, except that it looked so sparkly and neat it was more like a show house than a real home.

  Saffron got out of the car and marched to the front door, which she banged on vigorously.

  There was a slight pause before the door was opened, and Maddy stood nonchalantly before them.

  ‘He’s not here,’ she said, and started to close the door. ‘As you should know.’

  ‘It’s not Gerry I’m looking for,’ said Saffron, expertly putting her foot in the doorway and preventing Maddy from shutting the door. ‘It’s you.’

  ‘Oh?’

  ‘Come on, Maddy, I think you know why I’m here,’ said Saffron.

  ‘No, not really,’ drawled Maddy, examining her nails with some enthusiasm.

  ‘Well, let me enlighten you. Do the names Mrs Wallace, Mrs Matthews, Mr Price …’ Saffron reeled off a list of their clients ‘… mean anything to you?’

  ‘Can’t say they do,’ said Maddy.

  ‘Well, that’s funny,’ said Saffron, ‘because they all know you.’

  For a moment Maddy’s calm exterior was slightly ruffled.

  ‘They do?’

  ‘Yup,’ said Saffron. ‘Because you’ve been ringing them and either cancelling jobs on us, or you’ve been badmouthing us. And it’s got to stop.’

  ‘You’ve got no proof it was me,’ Maddy said with supreme confidence.

  ‘Oh yes we do,’ said Amy, stepping out from behind Saffron. ‘Mrs Wallace gave us a perfect description of you.’

  ‘Besides,’ said Saffron, clutching a sheaf of paper she had taken out of her bag, ‘we have evidence of your mobile phone having been used to make the calls.’

  The colour drained from Maddy’s face.

  ‘So what if it’s me,’ she blustered. ‘What are you going to do about it?’

  ‘Sue you for loss of earnings,’ said Saffron promptly.

  ‘You wouldn’t,’ said Maddy.

  ‘Just try me,’ said Saffron. ‘I’d built up a nice business over the last couple of years, and in the last few months you’ve done your best to ruin it. You bet your life I’m going to sue. So you’d better get Gerry to get out his chequebook sharpish.’

  ‘He’s not here,’ said Maddy, a look of panic crossing her face.

  ‘So you said,’ said Saffron. ‘Luckily it’s not Gerry we’re interested in.’ She smiled sweetly at Maddy, who was beginning to resemble a fish very much out of water, she was opening and shutting her mouth so often.

  ‘But – you can’t sue me,’ said Maddy. ‘I don’t own anything.’

  ‘You own this,’ said Saffron.

  ‘It’s Gerry’s.’ The look of panic on Maddy’s face nearly made Saffron feel sorry for her. Nearly, but not quite.

  ‘So you’re going to stop making nuisance phone calls and ring up all these people and say that you’ve made a terrible mistake, aren’t you?’

  Maddy looked truculent, as Saffron held out a list of all their clients.

  ‘Why should I, when you’ve been sleeping with my boyfriend?’

  ‘Maddy, I haven’t been near your boyfriend,’ said Saffron. ‘I wouldn’t touch him with a bargepole. So are you going to make these calls?’

  ‘And if I don’t?’

  ‘Well, we’ll just have to send those photos of you that Mrs Wallace took to the Serious Fraud Squad,’ said Amy, ‘and let them take it from there.’

  Maddy gulped.

  ‘All right,’ she said sulkily, taking Saffron’s list, ‘I’ll do it.’

  ‘Good girl,’ said Saffron, ‘you know it makes sense.’

  And she and Amy left, wiping tears from their eyes.

  They were still laughing as they drove home.

  ‘Photos? What photos?’ Saffron said. ‘I nearly died when you said that.’

  ‘I was on a roll,’ admitted Amy. ‘It just sort of came out. But what about your list of numbers called from her mobile? Where did you get that from?’

  ‘It’s my phone bill,’ giggled Saffron. ‘I was going to pay it today and forgot. Did you see the look on her face? It was priceless.’

  ‘It was,’ agreed Amy. ‘Thanks for the laugh, I needed that today.’

  The route back from Maddy’s house wasn’t one they normally took, and they found themselves driving past a local motel. There were several cars parked in the forecourt. And one motorbike.

  ‘Hang on a minute,’ said Amy, with a sudden lurch of anxiety, ‘isn’t that Ben’s bike?’

  Saffron slowed down. ‘Don’t be silly,’ she said, ‘what would Ben be doing out here –?’ She broke off. Caroline and Ben were walking out of the motel, both carrying crash helmets and talking very intimately. They paused as they reached the bike, and Ben gave Caroline a hug. And a kiss.

  Amy went white.

  ‘Maybe there’s a rational explanation,’ began Saffron.

  ‘Like what?’ asked Amy. ‘We both know what we saw.’

  Saffron had to acknowledge the truth of what Amy was saying.

  ‘So what are you going to do about it?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Amy, as the motorbike roared off. ‘But follow that bike and let’s find out.’

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Ben drew up outside his house. Caroline got off the back of his bike, took her helmet off, and shook out her hair.

  ‘Thanks for that,’ she drawled.

  ‘Sorry it wasn’t much help,’ Ben said. ‘Look, I’ve really got to get back now. Will you be okay?’

  ‘I’m a big girl, Ben,’ Caroline said, ‘I’ll be fine. Go on, off you go.’

  She pecked him on the cheek, and he roared off.

  At that moment a car raced up the road, and came to a sudden stop outside Ben’s house. Saffron and a very angry-looking Amy got out.

  ‘Where is he?’ Amy demanded.

  ‘Who?’ Caroline did her best to look puzzled.

  ‘Father Christmas!’ snapped Amy. ‘Ben, of course.’

  ‘He’s just gone back to work,’ said Caroline. ‘Why? Did you want him?’

  ‘Oh.’ Amy was slightly deflated. She’d been all set for a row with Ben and he wasn’t there. ‘When will he be back?’

  ‘I
’m not sure,’ said Caroline, ‘I know he was planning a late surgery.’

  ‘Where’s your Australian boyfriend?’

  ‘I have no idea,’ said Caroline. ‘We had a row.’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ said Amy, not meaning it.

  ‘That’s all right,’ said Caroline with a little tinkly laugh. ‘Ben’s been taking care of me.’

  Amy felt the bile rising in her throat. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Well let’s just say we’ve been renewing our acquaintance.’

  Amy wanted the ground to swallow her up. ‘What about me?’ she whispered. ‘I thought he cared about me.’

  Caroline smiled the sweet gracious smile of the victor. ‘Well I’m sure he didn’t mean to upset you, but Ben made a mistake about me – and it’s taken a while, but now he’s realised it. And so should you. Shall I tell him you called?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Amy, ‘and you can tell him I never want to see him again. You’re welcome to him.’

  Ben came in absolutely shattered. It had been a mad idea to take two hours off at lunchtime to help Caroline look for Dave. For all Ben knew, Dave was back in America already, but somehow he doubted it. He’d come all the way over from California to find her. Ben had a hunch that Dave wasn’t going to give up without a fight, and he certainly hoped so. Though he felt sorry for Caroline, he was also fed up with having her in the house, and fed up that she kept getting in the way of him and Amy. He was conscious that things were a little tense with Amy now. If he weren’t feeling so knackered he’d go round tonight, but he could do with an early night. The previous weekend had been largely spent sitting up till 2 a.m. listening to Caroline’s woes. Although there had been a fair amount about his woes too. Caroline was the only person he had ever told about Sarah, and he had forgotten how good it was to sit and discuss it with someone. Usually he kept his pain so well hidden away, no one would even know it was there. But Caroline had probed that particular vulnerable spot and he had confided in her more than he had ever confided in anyone else. It meant that there was still a connection between them, despite his feelings for Amy. He just hoped he could make Amy understand that.