‘Oh, the “bad mother” thing? Yeah, Diane arranged that too. She was just trying to rattle you. To put you under pressure. See if you and Robert would start getting snippy with one another. Nothing to do with me. That was before she secured my services. If she’d asked my opinion, I’d have told her that was a waste of time. Attacking you like that would only rouse Robert’s protective side and bring you closer together. Anyway, when her attempts weren’t working, she decided to go all out and break up your relationship from the inside. That’s when she got in contact with me.’
I have so many thoughts racing through my head, but there’s one other thing I really need to know. ‘So let’s say I believe you, and Diane really did put you up to this. Did you and Robert actually have an affair?’
She purses her lips and gazes up at the ceiling for a moment. ‘Look, Gemma, I wouldn’t usually undo everything my client has paid for. But she won’t be able to trace me and I never liked her anyway. Condescending woman.’
I can’t disagree with Sadie on that point.
‘Your mother-in-law has paid me enough to get out of the business for a while. I’m retiring, moving abroad. Leaving this life behind me – for now at least. So, I’m going to break my golden rule and tell you what happened. I tried pretty much every trick in the book to seduce your husband. He. Did. Not. Bite. Not once. I did it in a subtle way, to get him to make the first move. In every other job I’ve had, it’s worked. The guy always falls for me. And if he doesn’t, then he’ll at least want to have a quick, no-strings fuck. But Robert…’ She shakes her head. ‘That man loves you. Don’t split your family up over something you think you saw. Because it wasn’t real. None of it was real.’
My heart is beating so loudly that I’m sure everyone in the café can hear it. I really want to believe her. But I can’t get my hopes up. Not yet.
‘You can’t expect me to swallow that – not after what I saw at Diane’s house.’
‘What did you see?’ Sadie smiles. ‘You saw Robert on top of me on a bed in Diane’s spare room. If we were having an affair, do you seriously think he would do something as stupid as that, in his mother’s house while his wife and kids and family and friends are there?’
‘I… I don’t know. Maybe you encouraged him? Maybe he liked the excitement. The risk of being discovered.’
‘Does that sound like Robert to you?’
‘Not really. But I assumed he was having some kind of midlife crisis.’
‘Gemma, what you saw was very simple. I asked Robert to help me bring some coats upstairs. Diane said she would arrange for you to come up while we were there. As soon as I saw you push the door open, I pretended to stumble and fall backwards. I grabbed hold of Robert in the process, pulling him back onto the bed with me. As he was getting up, I pulled at the bow on my blouse to make it look as though I was half dressed.’
I listen with a certain amount of scepticism. It must show on my face because she continues trying to convince me.
‘Why would I lie? What could I possibly have to gain? You can believe me or not believe me. But I’m telling you, hand on heart, your husband is not a cheater. And if you let him go because of something you thought you saw, well… more fool you.’
I scratch at my arm and try to rationalise it all. If what Sadie is saying is true, then I’ve accused my husband unfairly, and I’ve kicked him out of our home for no reason. But it also means that my family can be put back together again. I won’t need to lose Robert or the girls. There won’t be any separation or divorce. If this was really all Diane’s doing, if we’ve been in the grasp of her manipulation, then Robert and I can surely move past all this and get back to how we used to be. That is, if I can forgive him for taking the children. Which I’m not sure I can. I hardly dare hope that Sadie is telling the truth.
‘And try not to work so hard,’ Sadie adds. ‘I’d kill for your life. Your husband, your family. You’re so lucky and you don’t even realise it. It’s partly why I’m giving up what I do. I want my own version of what you have.’
I still can’t speak. This woman is not what I thought she was. Not at all. I need to talk to Robert. Tell him what I’ve discovered about his mother. He’ll be gutted when he hears of her betrayal. But will he even believe me?
‘So,’ Sadie says, getting to her feet. ‘I’ve told you what you wanted to know, so I’m leaving, okay?’
‘No,’ I cry. ‘Not yet.’
Sadie raises her eyebrows. Over on the other table, Dave gets to his feet at my outburst, and mouths to ask if I’m okay. I nod.
‘Please. Sit down,’ I ask her.
‘Why? What else do you want? I’ve told you everything.’
I take a deep breath and look Sadie in the eye. ‘I think I might have another job for you.’
Fifty-Six
Everything is immaculate. After ignoring all the housework since Robert took the girls, I’ve now dusted and hoovered and cleaned and scrubbed every surface and corner of our neglected home. My family is due back any minute and I want them to return to a sparkling house with a well-stocked fridge and fresh flowers. I keep looking out of the window, and when that gets too frustrating, I leave the house, walk down the drive and stride out onto the pavement, squinting through the sunlight in the direction I think they’ll be arriving from.
After I left Sadie at the café, I sent Robert a long, heartfelt email telling him that I’d been wrong to accuse him. I told him I’d spoken to Sadie and she had told me the truth about what had happened at the party. I begged him to please come home. I didn’t tell himexactlywhat I’d discovered. I left out the part about Sadie manipulating us both, and the other more horrifying fact that it was his mother who had hired her. I don’t want him speaking to Diane before we can both figure out what to do about her.
Robert called me as soon as he read my email. We cried down the phone and he said he was miserable without me, and so were the girls. Apparently his mother had rented them a gîte in France, but he didn’t think he should leave the country so they ended up in a cottage in Cornwall. He said it had rained every day and it was awful. I almost told him about Sadie. But I managed to stop myself. It’s better if I explain the whole thing face to face, showing him the emails and evidence to prove it’s all true. And I couldn’t risk him giving Diane a chance to talk her way out of it.
That was yesterday. Today Robert and the girls are driving home. He sent me a text to say he’s back in Bournemouth, but he has to drop his mother home first. I’ll bet she’s not happy about that. In fact, I’ll bet she’s furious that he’s coming back to me at all.
I’m in the kitchen distractedly surfing the net when I hear the car doors slam – one, two and three. Little footsteps slapping the concrete. The doorbell ringing repeatedly.
‘Mummy!’
