always used to—’
‘Since you mention Francis—’
She flipped back to the present with a jump. ‘Yes?’
‘I haven’t asked before. But how close exactly were you? I mean, ten months on a tropical island …’
‘You mean, the moon, the stars, the virgin beach, the turquoise sea?’
‘Yes, I suppose I do.’ He didn’t look very happy about it.
Bella leaned across the table and put her hand over his. ‘They didn’t stand a chance. In London, I was starry-eyed about Francis, I admit it. He was the big cheese and he was very flattering to me and, well, he talked a good story.’
A look of amusement dawned. ‘Our Gallant Leader Syndrome?’
‘Exactly. Francis is big on Inspiration. As long as he’s doing the inspiring, of course.’
Richard choked.
‘His feet of clay showed the first day. The very first day. He was supposed to have organised chemical toilets to be brought in by sea. He forgot.’
‘Ah. Not a good move.’
‘After that, well, I can’t say the scales fell from my eyes. I mean, he still had the charisma. But, well, he didn’t quite seem so irresistible somehow. It just all wound down rather sadly.’
‘I’m not surprised. Nothing like propinquity and poor sanitation for showing a man in his true colours. So you didn’t … er …’
She shook her head. ‘We didn’t sleep together, no.’
‘I’m glad,’ he said simply.
‘So am I.’ She leaned back and watched him for a while. Then said ‘And what about your ex? Almost the first day I got back, I was reading that someone had dumped you.’
One of the nice things about Richard was that he didn’t shy away from the suggestion he’d been dumped. He nodded. ‘You mean Debs.’
Bella didn’t remember the woman’s name but she recited what she could remember of the article.
‘Yes, that would be Debs.’ He thought about it. ‘That’s not an easy one. At first, Debs was great. She never got uptight. Didn’t mind being on display.’
Bella winced. One in the eye for me, she thought.
Richard did not notice. ‘She even laughed at the photographers when they ran down the street after us. Used to joke with them. She was so relaxed. As you know, I’m not very. I was crazy about her.’
Bella sat very still. He was crazy about her. Well, of course, there was going to have been someone. Of course, there was. He was twenty-nine, not a kid. But she felt angry and resentful and hurt and she wanted to kick Debs so hard she disappeared off the planet. It took her a while but she worked it out in the end: she was jealous. It was stupid, but there it was.
Richard was oblivious, still wrestling with the problem of Debs who had dumped him
‘You know me, Bella. I’ve always been a bit dull. Never late for receptions. Read my briefing, remember it.’
Bella’s eyes narrowed. ‘Is this the genetic good behaviour myth again? The one you peddled before jumping my bones in the middle of a major reception?’
He had the grace to flush faintly, though he looked pleased at the same time. ‘That was rather out of character for me.’
‘Hmph.’
‘Even you have to admit that I don’t have a lot of pizazz. Debs had pizzazz.’
‘You dated her for her pizzazz?’ Bella was incredulous.
‘What can I tell you? I’m a man. I’m shallow!’
‘You’re also winding me up,’ said Bella, not deceived. ‘What really went wrong? If you want to tell me, of course,’ she added conscientiously.
Richard stopped grinning. ‘Have you heard of the idea of the starter marriage? Well, that’s what I would have been for Debs. She probably didn’t know it, of course. But I watched what her friends did and she was on the same track. Big engagement party. Big, big wedding. Lots of gadding about and flirting with the cameras. And then the wife does her thing and the husband does his, and after a couple of years in the limelight they’re both ready to move on to someone else. I was so determined I didn’t want a dynastic marriage like my parents that it took me a while to see that there are other sorts of marriage that won’t do for me either. Debs’s sort, for instance.’
‘So she didn’t dump you?’
‘Yes and no. She did. But she wasn’t the woman for me and I knew it before she did. So I just went on not asking her to marry me until she got tired and gave me the push.’
‘I see.’
Bella said nothing more.
But later, when they were walking back to Lottie’s flat