‘I was, in actual fact, teasing you at Alex’s expense,’ she admitted ruefully. ‘He was the one who insisted that you share a bedroom, you see …’
Which meant—what? Mia wondered. That he was attempting to save face in front of his family? Well, if that was the case, he should have kept his mouth shut about the rest of their arrangements, shouldn’t he?
‘Do you have a key for this door or do we stand here until someone arrives who does?’
‘I have a key.’ Carol sighed, and fitted it into the lock, then pushed open the door. ‘Mia—’
But Mia was already stalking towards the stairs and so furious she was barely managing to contain it.
‘He’s going to kill me if I have to confess what I’ve said to you!’ Carol cried pleadingly after her.
‘Good,’ Mia said between gritted teeth. ‘Do me a favour and kill each other—it will solve all my problems for me if you do!’
‘This isn’t a joke!’ the other girl shouted.
Then Mia did explode, turning round at the base of the stairs to glare back down the hallway. ‘You’re right it’s no joke!’ she cried. ‘I am seriously having his baby! And he seriously impregnated me to get it! So don’t you dare make a mockery out of—Oh,’ she groaned as the hall began to swim around dizzily.
The next thing she knew she was huddled on the floor, with Carol leaning over her, her lovely face chalk-white with shock. ‘My God,’ Carol gasped. ‘What happened?’
‘It’s all right,’ Leaning against Carol’s shoulder, Mia closed her eyes and waited for the world to stop spinning. ‘It happens sometimes,’ she breathed. ‘Nothing to worry about. I’ll be fine in a moment or two.’
‘But you fainted!’ Carol gasped. ‘That can’t be normal, can it?’
‘It is for me,’ Mia said, a trifle ruefully. ‘If you could help me get to my feet, I think I would be better lying down in bed now.’
‘Of course.’ Eager to help, but feeling guilty for bringing on the faint, Carol helped Mia to her feet. Together they mounted the stairs.
In the bedroom Mia dropped weakly onto the bed and lay there with her eyes closed while Carol hovered anxiously, uncertain what to do next.
‘Can I get you a drink or something?’ she offered in the end.
‘Mmm.’ Mia nodded carefully. ‘That would be nice. Just a glass of water, please.’
Two minutes later Carol was back with the water and Mia was able to sit up and drink it, without feeling dizzy. ‘Mia …’ Carol began cautiously. ‘Please don’t let Alex know what I said before,’ she begged. ‘He’s always going on about my big mouth. If he finds out I’ve been baiting you with it my life isn’t going to be worth living around here …’
Thinking about it now the anger had subsided, along with the dizziness, Mia supposed the other woman was right. What was the use in causing yet more friction in a situation that was already too full of it?
‘If you don’t tell him that I fainted just now,’ she bargained. ‘He knows it happens,’ she quickly assured Carol at her immediate protest. ‘But he’ll stop me from visiting Suzanna if he hears about it, and at the moment the little girl needs me.’
‘OK,’ Carol agreed, but she sounded reluctant, to say the least. ‘I’ll say nothing about you fainting if you’ll not chuck him out of this room so he knows my mouth’s been working overtime again. Deal?’
‘Deal,’ Mia agreed, then lay back again as the front door slammed and the sound of two male voices drifted up the stairs.
‘I’ll go and head him off,’ Carol said, shifting quickly to the door. ‘If he sees you looking this washed-out he’ll know something’s wrong with you.’
Then she was gone. Mia could hear their voices through the half-open door. ‘Where’s Mia?’ Alex was demanding. ‘Why is your bag lying on the floor with its contents tipped all over the place?’
‘Mia is tired and has gone to bed,’ Mia heard Carol answer. ‘She said to tell you not to disturb her when you came up. And my bag is on the floor like that because I was so desperate for the loo when I got home that I just dropped it and ran. Any more questions?’
It was a challenge, and one issued with her usual flippancy that belied any hint of deceit. The voice changed and became the brother’s, whose tones were warmer as he greeted his wife the way loving husbands did.
After that, all went quiet as the three of them disappeared into the kitchen and Mia dragged herself up, got herself undressed and into her nightdress then fell between the sheets.
She slept very heavily and woke the next morning feeling thick-headed and lethargic. By the imprint on the pillow beside her, Alex had shared her bed last night, though whether he’d stayed there all night or had spent half of it stretched out in the chair she didn’t know or care.
She was still angry with him for discussing their private business with the rest of his family. It made her feel exposed, more the outsider than ever, even though, on the face of it, he had allowed her closer
to his family here in London than he had done while they were living in Greece.