Sarah let out a sigh of relief.
‘How much do you know about her home life?’
‘Not much. I went round to her house once, but she didn’t want me there. She seemed proud of her sons, but her husband struck me as pompous.’
‘Yeah, well, that’s a very generous description of Michael. He’s the one who put her in hospital.’ Felix's face scrunched like he’d caught the whiff of a foul smell.
‘What do you mean?’ asked Sarah. She’d assumed Fran had been in some sort of accident.
‘He beat her up so badly the paramedics thought she was dead when they first got there. Thank God the next-door neighbour was home when it happened. They heard shouting through the wall and called the police and ambulance. If they’d been out, we’d be having a very different conversation today.’ His jaw clenched, his fists balled.
‘My God. I didn’t know. How long has it been going on?’
‘Years, I think. I don’t think it was physical violence at first. Things escalated when he lost his job a couple of months ago.’
‘But when I met him, he was just back from the golf course. I assumed he was some sort of businessman.’
‘No, he worked in a factory, but liked to put on airs and graces. He gave a good impression of being an upstanding member of the community.’
‘And how is she now?’
‘On the road to recovery, but she’ll be in hospital for a few weeks yet.’
‘Why did he do it?’
‘He found out she’d confided in Hattie about the abuse.’
Sarah felt sick. So that’s what their secret meetings had been about. ‘I’ve been such a terrible friend to her,’ she said. ‘If anyone, it should have been me who saw the signs first.’
‘You weren’t to know. It’s not your fault.’
‘Can I see her?’
‘I’m sure she’d like that. You can get a lift with me, if you like? I borrowed Hattie’s car to come up here.’
‘No, thanks, I’ll get on the train.’
‘Sarah…’
‘I appreciate you coming all the way up here to tell me, but it changes nothing between us.’
‘You’ve got me wrong. I need to explain.’
‘Felix, I’ve had enough of your lies. I want to see Fran, but nothing else has changed.’
Felix played with the glass in front of him. ‘Look, Sarah. I need to come clean. We’ve been trying to call you all week to let you know about Fran, but that’s not the only reason I came. I need to ask you a massive favour.’
‘What?’ asked Sarah, looking at Felix through narrowed eyes.
‘Kate’s wedding is next week.’
Sarah shook her head. In all the drama she’d forgotten. ‘What’s that got to do with me?’
‘Fran is going to be in hospital for ages, so that leaves us with no one to do the catering.’
‘Hire in a catering company.’
‘We’d rather you did it.’
