Nathan blinked. He’d never heard that tone from her before. ‘What else?’
Ilse paced across the room, dropping into the chair behind her desk. ‘How long have you been hiding in here?’
‘Not that long.’
She nodded. ‘It’s strange out there, isn’t it? Listening to all those people go on about what a great guy Cameron was and how much they’ll miss him.’ She shook her head. ‘I don’t recognise some of them, and a lot of the others I haven’t seen in years. They never come around, they never call. They barely knew him, really.’
‘No. I suppose not.’
Duffy, who had been sniffing around the desk, ran over to Nathan and he bent down to her. He could feel Ilse’s eyes on him. He still felt a touch light-headed and dehydrated. How many beers had he had? Not many, but more than he felt comfortable having when he was alone with Ilse.
‘Sorry.’ He started to stand. ‘I’ll get out of your way.’
‘Yeah. That sounds about right.’
The sharp edge in her tone made him stop for a second time. He stared at her and she stared back.
‘Go on, then. Don’t let me keep you.’ She jerked her head towards the door. ‘You must have been here with me for – what? – two whole minutes already? Well past your normal cue to leave.’
Nathan stood there. ‘Do you want me to stay?’ he said, finally.
He waited. Ilse said nothing for a long time. At last she took a breath.
‘I was talking to Steve. About Cameron and –’ She dropped her eyes. ‘And about Jenna.’
‘Did he say something that upset you?’
Ilse made a bitter noise. ‘No. The opposite, actually. He didn’t say anything. I wanted to know what he thought happened back then, but he wouldn’t tell me anything.’ She looked at Nathan now. ‘You said he took her seriously. So why is he being so secretive now?’
‘Well, you said it.’ Nathan shrugged. ‘It’s your husband’s funeral. Maybe he’s trying to protect you.’
‘Me?’ The flush in her face grew angrier. ‘It’s not about protecting me. It’s about Cameron. It always is. He’s dead and we’re all still dancing around him. Don’t touch his painting. Don’t do Bub’s plan. Don’t talk about –’ She stopped. ‘I’m sorry. I’m finding today very hard.’
‘I know. It’s all been hard.’
She took a deep breath. ‘Listen, ignore me. Of course you can leave if you want.’
‘Ilse, it’s not –’
‘No, I know. I get it. It’s fine.’ She waved a hand. ‘Anyway, you probably should be out there. It’s a good time to let people see you.’
‘Harry said that too.’
‘You should listen to him.’ A pause. ‘Who knows? Your friend might be looking for you.’
‘Melanie?’
‘Is that her name?’
‘Apparently. I don’t remember her very well.’
‘She remembers you.’
‘Well.’ He smiled and shrugged. ‘Can you blame her?’
At last, Ilse smiled back.
Nathan pushed his chair aside. ‘I should probably go back, though,’ he said. ‘Otherwise Harry and Xander will notice I’m missing and read something into it.’
