Zoe had done her best to be useful, but in the end, it was Victor who had saved the day.
‘Where did you say your Alex had gone?’ he asked as they went back to Hilltop to offload the old gas cylinder.
‘Nottingham.’
‘I see. A right old drive…will he be back tonight?’
‘I hope so,’ Zoe said as Victor pulled on the brake outside her home.
He gave her a strange look. What did he make of all this? Did he think she and Alex were having issues? Was that how it seemed?
No, she decided. She was being paranoid because she felt so vulnerable and uncertain right now. Of course it didn’t look that way, and there was no reason it would because that wasn’t the truth. Right? They’d been less than patient with one another over the past couple of weeks, but that didn’t mean they were in trouble. But then she recalled the conversation with Billie earlier that evening and Billie had asked the question straight out – were Zoe and Alex OK? Were they? Zoe didn’t honestly know, and his radio silence, coupled with the fact he was in Nottingham, wasn’t helping. Part of her almost felt that if he’d been rushed into a hospital somewhere, it might be better than if he was with Virginia, doing…
‘Where do you want this?’ Victor hauled the empty cylinder from the back of his Land Rover.
‘I’m not sure…I suppose you could leave it in the doorway of the barn, and Alex can deal with it when he gets back. Thanks again,’ she added as he began to carry it off, and she followed. ‘I don’t know what I would have done without you.’
‘I’m sure you’d have worked it out,’ Victor huffed. ‘I’ll say, though, they’re heavier than they look, and with you in your current condition…’
‘Condition?’
The tiny bit of cheeks that could be seen beneath Victor’s bushy beard flushed. He cleared his throat. ‘What I meant to say is…well…you haven’t been too well, and Corrine thought you might be…on account of the funny turn…and you live with Alex now, and it’s only natural…There…’ He put down the cylinder and dusted off his hands. ‘I’ll leave you to it. Phone if you need anything else mauling – don’t go trying to lift things yourself.’
Zoe watched as he hurried back to his car, her heart sinking. He and Corrine had come to the conclusion she was pregnant. Could things get any worse? She only hoped they hadn’t told anyone else their theory.
24
Billie was washing the dishes when Alex finally returned. The hills beyond their home were shadowed against an indigo sky, and the moon was rising huge and full on the horizon.
‘Seriously!’ Billie turned to him, elbow deep in suds. Zoe had been keeping Louisa entertained with a rattle, but she put it down at his entrance. ‘Where the hell have you been? Me and Zoe have been phoning and texting you!’
‘I’m sorry, I did see them, and I was going to get to them, but my phone battery went, and the charger in the car wouldn’t work so?—’
‘What kind of bullshit is that?’ Billie cried.
Alex saw it as soon as Zoe did – despite her bravado, Billie had been terrified. It was only natural – she was more used to loss than any woman of her age ought to be.
‘Bill, I’m sorry. Let me…’
Billie grabbed a teacloth, tears in her eyes, and when she’d dried her hands, she took Louisa from Zoe and marched out.
‘Shit…’ Alex glanced at Zoe.
‘That’s one way of putting it,’ Zoe said tersely. ‘What were you thinking? We were worried sick!’
‘I know. I didn’t realise…I’m sorry.’
‘Sorry? Billie is going to need something more than sorry! I don’t understand you. You say we’re the most important people in your life, and then you go and do a thing like this. You of all people ought to understand how stuff like this affects her!’
‘I had to see someone.’
‘So I gathered. And the only way you could do that was a six-hour round trip to Nottingham, was it? Who was in Nottingham, I wonder? Who did you need to see so badly that you drove there instead of phoning them like anyone else would?’
‘If you’d give me a minute,’ he said, ‘I’ll explain!’
‘OK…’Zoe folded her arms tight, as if to hold in the complaints she’d wanted to make about their treatment as they burst from her. ‘Explain.’
‘V managed to get me a meeting with one of her contacts at another firm, but he’s flying to Dubai in the morning, so if I was going to see him, I had to go today.’
