Her husband’s sickening and dogged devotion to Orla had always irritated Sorrel, and now morbid curiosity compelled her to want to know more. Had he tried his luck with the Queen Bee herself and been turned down? ‘Don’t be coy, Simon,’ she said, ‘spit it out.’
He turned around. ‘We could have had sex, but I didn’t go through with it. I couldn’t. I couldn’t do that to you, or the children. Or Alastair.’
‘How very virtuous of you. How did that go down with Orla?’
‘As so much did with her; she laughed it off, just regarded it as a drunken moment best forgotten.’
‘And based on that drunken moment, you feel you can forgive me my sins?’
He hesitated, shoved his hands into his trouser pockets. ‘I thought I could, but now I’m not so sure. Now I’m not sure I can bear to be in the same room as you.’
‘I don’t blame you; I feel much the same way about myself.’
He stared at her.
‘I mean it, Simon. Whatever anger you have towards me is nothing compared to the self-loathing I now have to live with.’
‘Now?’ he repeated. ‘Why now and not before? What’s changed?’
‘Everything’s changed. Just as you kept saying.’
‘You mean now that Alastair has Valentina and you’ve been forced to accept he’ll never love you? Is that it?’
His voice resonated with bitterness, and was no less than she deserved. ‘I’ve been forced to accept that I’ve been a fool. So where does this leave us?’
‘Apart from me wanting to beat the hell out of Alastair?’
‘How reassuringly macho of you.’
He crashed his fist down on the windowsill. ‘What the hell is wrong with you, Sorrel? I’m doing my best to be civil here and you appear to be determined to—’
‘Determined to do what?’ she cut in. ‘To be honest for the first time in our marriage?’
He inhaled deeply, then out. ‘Answer my question then, where do we now stand as a couple?’
‘Given that you feel you can’t bear to be in the same room as me, I’d have thought it was obvious.’
‘Are you saying you want a divorce?’
‘Don’t you?’
He slumped like a ragdoll before her, his hands covering his face.
From the garden Sorrel heard voices; they were raised voices. Moving to the open window, she looked down to see Callum emerge from the pavilion with Jenna and Rachel in tow. He was marching towards Alastair who was in the process of mooringWater Lily.
Danny was first on the scene to pull Callum off Alastair, but it wasn’t easy, the boy was throwing punches like a thing possessed. Frankie and the girls were yelling at Callum to stop, but he was deaf to their cries. It was only when Sorrel and Simon appeared with Valentina close behind that he seemed to come to his senses. But then he turned on his mother.
‘How could you! How could you do it? And with all people, Dad’s best friend?’
White-faced, her eyes wide, Sorrel flinched at her son’s words. ‘Who told you?’ she asked breathlessly.
‘You practically announced it yourself at lunch today, so I’m told. And Alastair’s just confirmed it to me.’
They all turned to stare at Alastair who was now being fussed over by Valentina. ‘You see, my darling,’ she was saying, ‘this is why you have to get away from here, there is too much history here, too much animosity amongst your so-called friends for you. Only now are you seeing the situation as it really is.’
He seemed far from grateful for her attention. ‘I’m okay,’ he told her roughly, batting her hands away with some force. She looked at him, stung.
‘I’m sorry, Simon,’ Alastair then said, wiping the blood that was coming from his mouth. ‘Believe me, if I could go back and erase what I did, I would. It was a terrible mistake. It should never have happened.’
