She’s frantically looking between me and Stuart and, all of a sudden, I just feel desperately sad for her. She is a horrific control freak and I don’t like her or the way she spoke to me, but once again I’ve let my mouth run away with me and, if there is a single innocent party out of the three of us, it’s her.
‘Enjoy your treatment. I’ll see you later,’ I say quietly. Then, with a sigh, I gently close the door.
‘That was intense,’ Robert observes from his position on the single bed. ‘Why were you asking about New Year’s Eve?’
‘Do you mind very much if we don’t talk about it?’ I ask him. ‘I shouldn’t have said anything.’
‘Stuart did something, didn’t he?’
‘It doesn’t matter.’
‘It does. Stuart is one of my best mates, so if he’s been up to no good, I want to know about it.’
‘Then ask him.’
‘I’m asking you.’
‘And I’ve said all I’m going to say. Let it go, Robert, please.’
He looks at me for a long time before speaking. ‘Fine. It’s just that Fliss suspected he was being over-friendly with one of herfriends a while ago. When she asked her friend about it, she told Fliss that nothing was going on, but Fliss wasn’t convinced at all.’
‘OK,’ I say to him. ‘Let’s say there was something going on with this friend of Fliss’s, and that something also happened on New Year’s Eve. What would you do?’
‘I’d talk to him about it, and tell him that kind of thing isn’t acceptable.’
‘He’d just deny it.’
He sighs. ‘You’re probably right. Anyway, I think we can all assume, given how your little chat with Amy went, that we’re not going to be missed at breakfast so we’ve got plenty of time to shower and get ready for the day.’ As if to emphasise his point, he lies back and stretches languidly, unwittingly proving to me that the single bed is way too short for him and bringing me back to the other thing that’s been niggling me.
‘Robert,’ I begin carefully. ‘Where was I when you came in last night?’
He smiles. ‘You were completely sparko on the bed. I tried to wake you, because you were still dressed, but all I got was a couple of grunts, so I gave up and left you to it. Did you sleep well?’
‘Very,’ I admit. ‘I’m sorry though, because I meant to go back in the single bed. I only sat down on this one for a minute, but it was so comfortable I must have dozed off.’
‘It’s fine,’ he assures me. ‘Didn’t you see my note?’
‘I did, and it was very kind of you to offer me the bed, but I wasn’t going to accept.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because you don’t fit in that bed.’
‘I was OK.’
I smile. ‘Of course you were. I’m serious though, as of tonight, you’re going back in the big bed and I’ll have the little one. It was a nice gesture, but your need is greater than mine.’
‘Only if you’re sure.’
‘I am.’
‘To be fair, that bed is so large we could probably both sleep in it and not know the other was there.’
‘Yes, but if you want to stand a chance of getting back together with Fliss, sharing a bed with another woman is not the way to go about it. Trust me, we females are definitely funny about things like that. Have you heard from her, by the way?’
He sighs. ‘I have.’
‘What did she say?’
