up to him when she came down. She was going to push everything else to the back of her mind, and focus on her husband. Maybe she could still save them from catastrophe.
She leaned over to brush her lips gently against his cheek, and made her way towards the stairs, picking up her bag from where she’d left it. As she walked upstairs, she sensed rather than heard her phone vibrating, and fished around amongst the debris of her handbag until she found it. She had two text messages. One from a number she didn’t recognise, and one from a blocked number. When had the pleasure of receiving a message turned into alarm?
Throwing her bag on the bed, she sat down and stared at her phone. A wave of panic swept through her. Opening the one with the unknown number first, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw it was from Leo, confirming that she would be staying at Tom’s for dinner. Feeling a bit more relaxed, she hoped the second message was going to be just as harmless.
It wasn’t.
IT SEEMS SOME THINGS RUN IN FAMILIES, ELLIE. I THOUGHT YOU WERE BAD, BUT YOUR FATHER? THAT MADE ME LAUGH. THE PERFECT FAMILY, HIDING SO MANY SECRETS. DON’T FORGET THAT I’M GOING TO NEED SOMETHING FROM YOU. IT WON’T BE LONG NOW. AND DON’T FORGET WHAT I SAID ELLIE - ONE WORD OF THIS TO ANYBODY, AND THE CAT WILL BE OUT OF THE BAG.
Ellie stared at the phone as if mesmerised by the words. The glow of the screen danced before her eyes. It had to be him. What was he playing at, blocking his number and sending her threatening texts? She knew he was trying to frighten her, but why? Was it because she wouldn’t agree to see him, or to leave Max for him? Was he just trying to break down all of her flimsy defences? Of all the nasty, mean things to do. She would never have expected him to stoop so low as to use tactics like this. And why bring her father into it? The older people in the village were bound to remember Leo’s background - where she came from and the welcome she’d had when she had arrived. He must have heard the gossip. It must be him.
Ellie punched the button to delete the message, and switched her phone off. The backs of her eyes were hot and stinging, but she fought back the tears. She couldn’t cry - Max would know. And she had to appear normal for him.
Determinedly stripping off her clothes, she flung them on a chair and went into the bathroom. At least her body could be clean even though her mind was clogged with the remnants of bad memories and foolish mistakes.
* * *
She knew she had been a long time in the shower, but the bolognese would keep, and at least she looked as if she had made an effort. She was surprised to catch Max slightly unaware, and as she saw him sitting dejectedly at the kitchen table, staring into space and idly tapping his fingers on the table, she wanted nothing more than to go to him and cradle his head against her. The room was quiet. He had no doubt turned off his least favourite music as soon as she went upstairs.
The second he saw her, though, he leapt up eagerly from the chair and moved towards her. Taking gentle hold of her face between his hands, he kissed her lightly on the lips.
‘Feel better, sweetheart?’ he said with an understanding smile. ‘Come on - let’s carry on where we left off.’
He steered Ellie towards the table outside, picked up her glass from where she’d abandoned it and handed it to her.
‘The shower was a good idea. You look more relaxed, and it’s dark now - so even more romantic. You take it easy, and I’ll sort out the pasta.’
With a final stroke of her still-wet hair, Max returned to the kitchen, flicking the iPod back on as he went. This time it was Keane singing “Bedshaped”. He had certainly pulled out all the stops.
Ellie tried to focus on the relaxing notes of the music, and not on everything else that was happening. She forced thoughts of Abbie from her mind too, and turned her head to look back into the house, where she could see Max jumping around waving his hand in the air. He’d probably spilled some of the boiling