Eliza gazed up the stairs.
‘It must be distressing to discover that someone you love has withheld things from you.’ She glanced back at Isaac. ‘It must feel like a betrayal of trust, and trust once lost is hard to regain.’
‘Our guest will, in time, learn to trust again, I’m sure,’ Isaac replied.
‘Perhaps,’ Eliza said, but she hadn’t just been referring to Jules and she was acutely aware that he hadn’t answered her question.
EIGHT
Jules was pacing up and down in the kitchen when Carrie arrived.
‘You’re not dressed.’
‘I really don’t think this is a good idea. You go. I’ll pay you back for my place.’
Carrie led her to the table and sat her down.
‘I’m not going without you.’
Jules put her head in her hands.
‘I know it’s stupid, but I just can’t do it.’
‘There are only five in the class,’ Carrie said. ‘Three other people and us. It’s a beginner’s class and none of us have any experience at all, except for you.’
‘Not for a long time. Anyway, how do you know this?’
‘Because I knew you felt anxious about it, so I rang Lance and asked him.’
Jules groaned.
‘Oh my God! Did you tell him that?’
‘No, of course not. He probably thought that it was me who was worried. He sounded as if he was used to people getting cold feet at the last minute. He said most people feel a bit intimidatedbecause we all want to be good at something instantly. We don’t want to fail.’
‘I want to be good at relationships, but I fail all the time.’
‘That’s actually not true. Usually, you’re the one to end them. This time your pride is hurt as well as everything else.’
‘That’s a bit harsh.’
‘Sometimes,’ Carrie said, ‘you have to be cruel to be kind.’
She took Jules firmly by the elbow.
‘Come on, let’s get you dressed and go and play with some clay.’
Jules’ legs were shaking as she walked under the archway to the pottery. They were late and were going to have to walk into a room full of other people who would turn and stare. Even worse, Lance was standing and waiting for them outside the tearoom.
‘Carrie,’ he said, throwing her a smile which lit up his whole face, and then leaned forwards to embrace her warmly. ‘And Jules.’ He glanced more warily at her, she thought. As if she might bite. ‘Lovely to have you here.’
Give him his due, Jules thought, he sounded as if he really meant it in spite of her frozen expression and rooted-to-the-spot pose.
‘Sorry we’re a bit late,’ Carrie said, turning and linking her arm through Jules’s as if sensing her desire to run away.
‘You’re fine,’ Lance replied, holding the tearoom door open for them. ‘A bit less time for victuals, that’s all. Come and meet the others.’
Jules’s heartbeat ramped up several notches as her jaw clenched and an iron band felt as if it was compressing her sternum.
