were not a demonstrative family. But he seemed to appreciate it and did not draw away.
‘At first, Val was great. Very practical, you know? The doctor said there was nothing wrong with her, it was just one of those things, no reason why we couldn’t have other children. And she said that was good to know and she was glad she hadn’t told anyone. She went back to work at once.’ He looked at Bella wretchedly. ‘That was the only time I did anything. I did say, “Stay at home, take a few days to recover.” But Val was so sure she could handle it. And so I didn’t argue.’
‘It would take a strong man to argue with Val,’ said Bella, who was fond of her sister-in-law but careful around her.
‘I should have been strong,’ said Neill, even more wretched.
‘So what are you going to do? Counselling?’
He shook his head. ‘I suggested that. Val won’t hear of it. She says it’s our business, nobody else’s. She says it’s just because she’s overworked at the moment and we’ll come through this.’
It didn’t sound like it to Bella. ‘But?’ she prompted.
‘Sundays are hell,’ Neill burst out. ‘I can cope most of the week. I have lesson plans and marking and Val leaves early and more often than not it’s nearly midnight when she gets home. So we’re not together that much. But Sundays are a battlefield.’ He gave a short unamused laugh. ‘That’s what I was talking to Finn about, to be honest.’
‘You were asking for advice about marriage from Finn?’
‘Good God, no. I was after advice on weekend adventure activities. Something where I’d have to do lots of training. Something to keep me out of the house all Sunday, basically.’
Bella was silenced.
‘Oh, well, I suppose we’ll sort it out somehow. People do, don’t they?’
Their parents hadn’t, thought Bella. She did not say so but she could see from Neill’s expression that he was thinking the same thing.
They had a subdued meal, and when the time came to part Bella felt so tender of him that she saw him to the mainline station. At the barrier she hugged him hard, as if he were going off on some long and terrible voyage and stood watching him stomp off down the platform until he boarded the train.
Bella felt very cold, going back to Lottie’s flat. Cold and lonely. The Underground was harshly lit and everyone else in the carriage seemed to be part of a couple, holding hands or cuddled up together against the world. The flat was dark and empty. She remembered: Lottie was working again tonight. Just like Richard, she thought. He was at a gala concert in Leeds, followed by some sort of reception. He would not be answering his phone.
But suddenly Bella desperately needed to speak to him. So she didn’t text but left a voice mail.
‘Saw my brother. Things aren’t good. When you get a moment, I’d like to, well, hear a friendly voice, really.’ She tried to pull herself together. ‘Hope the music was good.’
It wasn’t worth lighting the freshly laid log fire. So she put on the small electric fire to boost the central heating and huddled over it in the dark, too sad to read or even to go to bed.
She did not know how long she sat there in the half-dark before the phone rang. She checked the number and felt better at once.
‘Hello, Richard.’
‘Hello, lovely. Tell me everything.’
She did. Well, some of it. Some of it was Neill’s private business, of course, and Val’s.
‘But when I looked at him, I could see all those years of awfulness when Finn and my mother were married. I could see it all starting up again with Neill and Val. And I knew he did too. He looked so forlorn, Richard. I wanted to make it better. And I couldn’t.’
There was a short pause. Then, ‘Where are you?’ he asked.
‘In the flat,’ said Bella, surprised.
‘Where’s Lottie?’
‘Doing a product launch in Birmingham.’
‘So she won’t be back tonight?’
Bella looked at her watch. ‘Shouldn’t think so. Not now.’
‘Blast!’ He sounded worried.
She hastened to reassure him. ‘Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to talk to Lottie. If she were here, I’d be curled up in my room. I don’t want to talk to anyone. Except you.’
There was an odd silence. For a moment she thought she’d lost the signal.
‘Richard? Are you still there?’
He said decisively, ‘Right. Don’t go to bed. I’ll be there as soon as I can.’