‘Oh, very reassuring, thank you.’ Lizzie smiled. ‘I’ve got to go back in about two weeks.’ She had been told by the receptionist this was when she could expect her results. ‘I’ve made the appointment.’ Guilt which was a constant presence made her say, ‘But I could stay with you for a couple of days, rather than go back to London now. If that’s OK.’
‘Of course it’s OK, darling!’ said her mother. ‘I love having you at home.’
The following morning, her mother insisted that Lizzie did a little shopping with her. This was in spite of insisting that she could have done the shopping without her mother and so save her a trip to town.
‘What is it we need to buy, Mummy?’ asked Lizzie.
‘Er – light bulbs,’ said her mother firmly.
So this was it: Lizzie was to be shown to Mrs Brinklow, the owner of the electrical shop and mother of the perfect Christine, so her mother could tell her about her flower-arranging abilities.
Her mother inspected her before they opened the door of the shop. Her mother was within an inch of spitting on her hanky, Lizzie knew. It was only the fact that her face was clean that stopped her doing it.
‘Morning, Barbara,’ she said as they went in. ‘You haven’t seen my daughter for a while, have you? Isn’t she “with it” with her short hair?’ Her mother paused to give her old friend time to observe Lizzie’s hair, which was now curling at the ends and giving her kiss curls which had never been part of the original style. ‘She’s been so busy, haven’t you, darling?’
Chapter Twenty-two
Oh, how easily the lies had slipped out, Lizzie thought as she sat on the train, watching the familiar landscape go past. She had lied to her mother, to Mrs Brinklow about a ball she hadn’t been to, and, to some extent, the doctor. But if her mother knew the truth, about any of it, she’d die, no matter what David had said about this never happening. She’d certainly never be able to buy light bulbs from Mrs Brinklow again.
Lizzie’s friends were all there at the table when Lizzie let herself into the kitchen. She was so happy to see them.
‘Well, that was very frustrating!’ she said. ‘First of all, my mother had booked an appointment with the family doctor who’s been banging my back and asking me to say “Ah” since I was a baby, instead of the only woman doctor there is in the practice—’
Lizzie noticed everyone was looking a bit stunned but she carried on with her story.
‘He was really po-faced and horrible about it. I still have to wait two weeks for the results of the test, though. You think it would be a bit quicker than that, wouldn’t you? Isn’t anyone making tea?’
Meg got up from the table and went to put the kettle on. Alexandra cleared her throat.
‘You’ve missed Hugo by about ten minutes.’
Lizzie just pulled out a chair in time and sat on it before she fainted. She let her head sink towards her knees but was glad when she heard Clover being chivvied off and felt herself being helped on to the sofa.
‘I’ll make you tea,’ said Meg, concerned. ‘Perhaps I should put sugar in it? For shock? And maybe you should eat something. Toast and Marmite?’
‘He’s not going to come back, is he?’ Lizzie asked, looking up at everyone looking down at her.
‘No. Alexandra was brilliant!’ said Meg.
‘I said you had a job in Scotland,’ said Alexandra, eager to show off her brilliance. ‘Somewhere really remote. With no phone and a postal service once a week. I hope I didn’t get too carried away with the remoteness. I didn’t say how long the job was going to last, in case you run into him somewhere.’
‘That certainly was brilliant, Alexandra,’ said Lizzie, thinking it unlikely she’d run into Hugo. ‘Thank you so much!’
‘Here’s the tea,’ said Meg. ‘I hope I let it stand long enough but I thought you needed it now, not in ten minutes.’
Lizzie sipped the tea. ‘It’s perfect. And yes please to the toast.’
‘On its way,’ said Meg.
‘He was really keen to see you,’ said Meg. ‘Wanted to know if you were all right. He’s quite reserved, isn’t he? But I think he wanted to know if you’d had any ill effects from your dip in the river.’
‘Oh,’ said Lizzie, perversely pleased he’d taken the trouble to visit her, although she’d said he wasn’t to.
‘So?’ demanded Alexandra. She seemed to feel reassured that Lizzie was all right, which meant she could ask the question everyone wanted the answer to. ‘You really won’t know if you’re pregnant or not for two whole weeks?’
Lizzie, who’d been starting to sit up, sank back on to the sofa cushions. ‘No, but I think I must be. I’ve never felt faint like that before.’ She cleared her throat. ‘Apart from saying I’d left the country you didn’t tell Hugo anything?’
‘We didn’t say you were pregnant, if that’s what you mean,’ said Alexandra. ‘Even though we really should have. He’s a good man. He wouldn’t abandon you.
