what are you talking about?’
‘Don’t blaspheme. I mean you and Virginia Bosgrove.’
The fear grew and resolved itself into a tight knot, thick and dark and menacing, making him feel physically sick. If his mother knew, who else? He stared at her, wondering whether he could get away with denying it, which was what he would have done had Barbara accused him, but seeing the steely determination in her eye, he knew he could not.
He forced himself to sound reasonable. ‘Virginia is Barbara’s stepmother, and since her husband died, I have been looking after her affairs, you know that.’
‘Affairs is the right word.’
‘You’ve no call to use that tone.’
‘I’ll use any tone I like if it’s going to make you see sense.’
‘Who’s been telling you this? Was it Barbara?’
‘Does Barbara know?’ Her surprise told him it hadn’t been his wife. ‘Oh, George, you fool! You crass, reckless fool.’
‘Who did tell you, then?’
‘Half of Melsham. If Barbara hasn’t heard about it, she soon will, unless you put a stop to it.’
He forced himself to sound calm. ‘You shouldn’t listen to gossip.’
‘When the gossip involves my son and the welfare of my grandchildren, then I listen. I do not comment, but I listen. I’m listening now. And what I’m hearing is a man in a hole he’s dug for himself, and it’s getting deeper with every word he utters.’
‘If that’s what you think, why are we even talking about it?’
‘We’re talking about damage limitation, George. We’re talking about putting a stop to it before it ruins you. Melsham won’t forgive you, you know; it’s an old-fashioned kind of place, it likes its prominent citizens to be pillars of respectability. What do you think your chances are of being re-elected if this affair goes on? You’ll be the shortest serving councillor of all time. The Gazette will have it all over the front page. Is that what you want?’
‘No, of course not. It won’t come to that. Why are you getting so worked up?’
‘I thought I’d brought you up to be decent and honest. You never knew your father, and I hoped—’
‘Oh, Mother, don’t be ridiculous. I can’t help it if I don’t live up to his ideals.’
She gave a short, humourless laugh, but decided not to disillusion him. ‘Never mind his ideals, what about yours? George, whatever possessed you?’
‘I don’t know. It was just one of those things…’
‘Things don’t just happen with you, George, you make them happen, always have. How long has it been going on?’
‘Since John Bosgrove died or at any rate just after.’
‘What’s wrong with the life you had, son?’ she went on, speaking softly. ‘Barbara has been a good wife to you and a good mother to your children.’
If he was surprised at his mother taking Barbara’s side, he did not voice it. ‘I didn’t say she hadn’t. It’s just… Oh, I can’t expect you to understand.’
‘Oh, I understand all right. The grass is greener on the other side of the fence, that’s all it is.’
‘No, it’s not! It’s not a bit like that.’
‘Do you want a divorce?’
‘No, of course not. Anyway I’ve got no grounds.’
‘Barbara has, and now the law has been changed, she can use it. What’s sauce for the gander…’
‘She wouldn’t do it.’
‘Can you be sure? Think about it. Everything we do has a consequence, George, and the consequences of this could be horrendous. A broken marriage and desperately unhappy children. Don’t they mean anything to you anymore?’
‘Of course they do. I love my children. And they love me. They don’t judge me.’
‘They might in years to come. They love their mother too, don’t forget. And what about Barbara? She’s the one who has to carry on looking after the home and family, who has to bear the strange looks and whispers, the gossip that there must have been something wrong with her or you’d never have gone off the rails. You make her feel worthless, George, of no importance. I can tell you it’s not a nice feeling at all. She deserves better.’
Why was she lecturing him, defending Barbara? It was so out of character he was astonished. She’d only been married a couple of years before his father had gone abroad and after his death she remained a widow, keeping his memory, trying to mould her son in his image. Well, he wasn’t his father, he was his own man and he needed relief from the pressures of his life. She didn’t understand that. Neither did his wife, who was only interested in her