‘Yes, that sounds great,’ said Tess, not feeling guilty in the slightest that she hadn’t brought one of her own. ‘I hope Hannah is getting on okay? She tells me she’s really enjoying working here.’
There was a large second bedroom that had open countryside views that Gina used as a dedicated office space.
‘Oh, she’s doing brilliantly. I can’t tell you the difference it’s made having her here. She’s so vibrant and full of ideas, and that’s been great for me, to have someone as a sounding board. She’s been such an asset on the social media side too, which is great because it was something I wasn’t interested in doing myself. To be honest with you, she’s made herself pretty indispensable. I’m not sure I ever want her to leave now.’
‘That’s good to hear. I’ve noticed how much her confidence has grown since she’s been working for you. It was just what she needed when she came back from Australia, although I’m not sure Charles would approve of her staying on with you any longer than absolutely necessary. He wasn’t very happy, you know, when he found out she was working with you.’
‘Now why doesn’t that surprise me?’ There was a roll of the eyes from Gina as she kicked off her slippers and tucked up her legs beneath her on the sofa. ‘Has he been bad-mouthing me again?’
‘Well, no more than usual, but I suppose his comment did get me thinking as to why you two have always been so spiky towards each other?’
Tess looked up from where she’d been contemplating the stem of her glass and fixed Gina with a questioning expression.
‘Oh, I don’t know.’ Gina shook her head and ran a hand distractedly through her hair. ‘I think Charles always saw me as a bad influence and I… well, you know that I always thought he was a bit pompous and up himself.’
When Tess didn’t say anything, Gina felt compelled to fill the silence.
‘I suppose it was just a clash of personalities.’
Tess nodded, but remained silent.
‘Tess…? Why are we even talking about this? Has something happened?’
‘I don’t know.’ Tess swallowed down a sigh. ‘I guess that’s what I wanted to ask you about.’
‘Sorry, Tess, it’s been a hectic day. My head’s full of orders and shipping consignments so I’m not really with it yet. I probably need another couple of these,’ she said, holding up her wine glass, ‘before I even begin to relax. What are you getting at exactly?’
It was best to come straight out with it, rather than going around the houses. A direct question warranted a direct answer.
‘You and Charles, have you ever had an affair?’
‘What?’ Gina leaned forward in her seat, her face crumpled in consternation. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ Not exactly an immediate denial then, and Tess sensed a defensive edge in Gina’s response. ‘Has Charles said something?’
‘No, he hasn’t. He’s at home recuperating from pneumonia, but would he have something to say on the matter? If I were to ask him?’
‘No.’ She shook her head vehemently. ‘I just don’t know where this has come from. Talk to me, Tess. I really don’t understand.’
Tess took a deep breath. ‘Keith. At the pub. We were in there the other week and he made some throwaway comment about Charles, how I was better off without him because he had always been a ladies’ man. And then the next time I was in, your name came into the conversation, in the same breath as Charles’s name. Keith quickly tried to backtrack, but once it was out there… well, it would certainly explain why you two had never got on together.’
‘Tess, I promise you, we never had an affair.’ There was a heat slowly creeping up Gina’s neck and into her cheeks. She went across to sit next to Tess on the sofa and took her hands in hers.
‘But there was something, wasn’t there?’ Tess pressed on.
‘No! Well, not really, it was something of nothing, I promise you.’ Gina shook her head and put down her wine glass on the table, turning to Tess. ‘Look, it was stupid. It was just after Dave left me. You know the state I was in. I couldn’t stop crying and I was drinking far too much. I was out of control. One day, we’d been down the tennis club together, a big group of us, and then we ended up in the pub. I was smashed even before we arrived. There was a bit of banter flying about the place and we started playing a game of truth and dare which quickly got out of hand. Someone dared me to kiss Charles, I don’t even know who, but everyone was cheering and goading me on, so I threw my arms around his neck and snogged him.’
‘I see,’ said Tess noncommittally.
‘I don’t know what possessed me. It was a moment of madness on my part. We were in the snug bar, just us, the tennis club crowd, but of course, in the heat of that moment, as I was kissing Charles, a group of locals walked in and witnessed the whole thing.’
‘Wow!’ Tess shook her head slowly. ‘And you’re supposed to be my best friend. You don’t do that to someone you care about!’
‘I know, and I’ve felt guilty about it every day since. If it had happened in the back of the bar, or outside, then we could have swept it under the carpet and pretended it had never happened, but because it was in front of everyone at the pub, it grew into this urban myth that he and I were having an affair. I promise you, we never did.’ Gina shuddered as though the very idea made her feel ill. ‘I’m so sorry, Tess, I really am.’
Tess fell quiet contemplating her friend’s words, trying to work out how it made her feel, realising that she felt nothing but mild annoyance and a degree of amusement too, although she wasn’t going to let on to that to Gina. She knew instinctively by the way Gina described the scene, the absolute mortification on her face, that she was telling the truth.
‘I bet Charles couldn’t believe his luck.’
‘No, he didn’t know what had hit him. He was hugely embarrassed. And very cross too. He did nothing to lead me on.’
