the crook of her elbow. It seemed so easy, so natural to follow the path along her arm to her shoulder and linger there before moving to her throat. She moaned softly as he pressed his lips to her mouth.
She had discarded her wedding ring. Was she about to discard her wedding vows with the same pent-up passion? Passion of a different kind, driven by pleasure, not fury, and powerful enough for her to hungrily return his kiss. She held his hand when he offered it to her and walked with him towards the stairs.
A king-sized bed with a dark-grey headboard took up the centre of his bedroom. The walls were also grey and the black duvet cover matched the sheets. Wardrobes with mirrored doors covered one wall. It was a masculine room where the only flashes of colour came from a large minimalist painting above his bed. Dazed by the suddenness of her decision, she lay down with him. Amnesia, she could achieve it in his arms, even if only for some brief, overwhelming moments.
Julie’s voice reached them from the bedroom next door. Her daughter’s ventriloquism was improving yet Sophy knew she would never grow used to the high, artificial voice Julie projected.
‘He’s a vampire, Julie. Stop pretending you know best.’
‘No, he’s not, Cordelia,’ Julie spoke normally. ‘He just got burned in a big fire, that’s all.’
‘You stupid girl. No wonder Issy laughs at you all the time. Ask her. She’ll tell you he’s a vampire and his dog’s a real werewolf with fangs.’
‘No, he’s not. You’re stupid, stupid!’
‘I need to go to Julie.’ She eased from his bed and opened the door. Julie could be heard more clearly now. The bedside lamp was on when Sophy entered the room. Julie was sitting cross-legged on the bed facing Cordelia. She hunched her shoulders when she saw Sophy.
‘I’m just telling Cordelia we’re living in a new house,’ she said. Her face was flushed, her eyes glistening.
‘Do you think you could do something for me, Julie?’ She was aware that Victor had followed her and was standing behind her, his hands lightly resting on her hips. She moved away from him and sat on Julie’s bed. ‘Will you let Cordelia sleep on the floor tonight and I’ll sleep beside you instead.’
He stood for a moment longer watching them then nodded. ‘I’ll see you all at breakfast,’ he said. ‘Sleep well, Sophia.’
He had left for work when she awoke the following morning. She had fallen asleep with her clothes on. Easing from the bed so as not to awaken Julie, she left the room and entered the bathroom. Her lips should be bruised from his kisses, her cheeks suffused with the desire that had raged through her last night before they were interrupted by Julie. The face that reflected back at her was drained of emotion. She was missing an earring. Maddie had given the earrings to her shortly before her death. They had belonged to her own mother who had died when Maddie was a teenager. They were irreplaceable and Sophy treasured them.
Victor’s bedroom door was open.
She found the earring on his dressing table. He must have noticed it on the floor and left it there for her. She opened a box on his dressing table. Made from jade, it looked like a present he would receive from a woman. Perhaps his ex-partner had bought it for him. Had she also purchased the elegant tie pins and cufflinks, the watches, the ornately engraved signet ring? She replaced the lid and, gripped by a sudden curiosity, she slid across the wardrobe doors. His suits hung on identical clothes hangers, all facing the same way. His shoes, also, and rows of shirts in different shades. He had used one section of the wardrobe for what must be his ‘country’ clothes, tweed jackets, casual trousers and check shirts, leather boots and a dark-green, wax jacket. They had the relaxed look of clothes that were well worn yet would never go out of fashion. The country squire, she imagined him striding across Hyland Estate, his gun half-cocked. She had not seen this side of his personality until now yet he fitted the mould perfectly. Town or country, he had the ability to blend into either.
She caught the faint whiff of stale cigarettes. Was he a secret smoker, she wondered? What did she really know about him? She heard footsteps, voices. The girls were awake. What would they think if they saw her in Victor’s bedroom?