Noah’s eyebrows rose almost imperceptibly at the news, but he recovered himself quickly. ‘You’re not talking about Heather McCormack by any chance? Her stuff is wicked.’
‘You’ve seen her work?’ Gareth interjected. He sounded suspicious.
‘Yeah, um, I actually saw some of it at Toad last year,’ Noah replied breezily.
Gareth narrowed his eyes. ‘Right.’
‘And your husband – Martin – what’s the hold-up?’ Ruby couldn’t help herself.
‘He’s been out at the golf club all day. I’m sure he’s on his way back now.’ Opal’s voice was quiet, and for a split second Ruby almost felt sorry for her. ‘Anyway! Let’s eat. He can catch up later.’
The first course was French onion soup, which was served by a girl who looked about thirteen and wore thick square glasses that instantly slipped to the tip of her nose.
‘Thanks, Hetty!’ was the only acknowledgement given by Opal once the girl had shuffled out of the room. ‘Bon appétit.’
Begrudgingly, Ruby had to admit to herself that the food was delicious. Even the chicken Kyiv, which she would have dismissed as the height of abominable white people food, was both tender and well seasoned.
Just as Hetty cleared those plates away, Opal turned at the sound of the front door opening. A moment later, a tall,handsome man with startlingly pale eyes walked into the room. Martin, Ruby gathered.
‘Oh, hello, darling, sorry we’ve eaten already. I was expecting you back a little sooner.’ Opal filled her glass and didn’t look up at her husband until she’d finished speaking. She flashed him a bright smile that didn’t reach her eyes. He replied in kind.
‘No problem, I’ll heat mine up in the microwave.’ His tone was not cold, but it wasn’t warm either. In fact it was entirely functional. They spoke to each other as you might to a stranger in the street when asking for the time. Polite, but distracted and a little hurried.
‘I’m terribly sorry, how rude of me. I’m Martin. It’s nice to meet you all.’ Martin’s eyes travelled around the table. When they landed on Ruby, they paused, only for a moment, but enough for her to notice.
‘I’m Noah.’ And so began the round of introductions. Gareth said nothing until Martin addressed him directly.
‘Will you be staying as well, Gareth?’
‘Only a couple of nights, to help Opal get into the swing of things.’ The two men stared at each other, and Ruby could practically smell the ill will.
Martin didn’t come back to the table after they heard the ding of the microwave, and when Hetty brought out dessert, she cleared away his place. Dinner-time conversation was a little strained, but Noah and Adam made valiant efforts to ensure the stretches of silence didn’t settle for too long.
‘Would anyone like a glass of port?’ Opal asked brightly, though there was tiredness in her voice.
‘I think everyone is probably quite keen to head off to bed. I know I am.’ Ruby was relieved to hear Gareth’s response. Theday was beginning to catch up with everyone, it seemed. He stood suddenly, planted a peck on Opal’s cheek, and squeezed Adam’s shoulder as he left the room.
‘I think I’ll head off as well, Opal. You won’t mind if I head out the back for a rollie?’ Johan was on his feet. He glanced down at Ruby. ‘Care to join?’
‘Of course, I can imagine you must all be quite exhausted. I’ll wait up for Heather.’ Opal checked her watch and frowned. ‘I hope the taxi driver isn’t lost.’
‘Thank you for a lovely dinner, miss …’ Noah stumbled. ‘I mean … Opal.’
Opal gave him a shy smile, and Ruby resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
Now Adam stood. ‘Yes, thank you very much.’ Ruby joined the whole group in filing out the dining room.
‘The side door is open … for the smokers,’ Opal called down as she began to climb the stairs. Adam and Noah followed. ‘I’ll show you to your room, Noah. It’s next door to mine,’ was all Ruby caught before the three of them disappeared out of view.
Ruby turned to Johan. It was just the two of them now. ‘I’ll bet you a fiver those two shag before the week is out.’
Johan smirked. ‘Deal. I’m not sure that Noah has it in him …’ He paused, contemplating. ‘You know, I have this super strong sense that I’ve seen that guy before …’
Ruby shrugged and Johan continued: ‘And anyway, what about the husband?’
‘Oh please, did you see the two of them at dinner? They haven’t fucked in a looong time. She could barely stand to look at him.’
Now Johan laughed. ‘Ruby with the barbed tongue!’ They wandered out into the garden. ‘You think you can suss out the state of a marriage from that one exchange? You gotta remember, it’s different for these kinds of people. With a house like this they don’t have to like each other; they don’t even have to see each other. It’s all about keeping the money in the right hands.’
