‘A necklace. A thin gold chain with a little hummingbird just here,’ she said, touching her throat. ‘I remembered Jennifer Wyatt wearing an identical necklace at the party. I tried to tell myself that perhaps you and she had been fooling around in there, but in my heart of hearts I knew something had happened.’
‘It doesn’t mean he . . . it doesn’t mean he raped her.’ He struggled to say the word.
‘No, it doesn’t,’ she said sadly. ‘But I heard Jennifer just then, and she wasn’t lying. Besides, your father had form . . .’
‘Form?’
It was another minute before she spoke.
‘Saul had an assistant. Julia. Beautiful thing. Very similar in looks and poise to Jennifer. She made allegations . . .’
‘What sort of allegations?’
‘That your father assaulted her. Sexually.’
‘People didn’t believe her, did they?’
Elizabeth didn’t speak.
‘Say something,’ pressed Jim. ‘Was she trying to blackmail him? I’m guessing this was after his success with College . . .’
‘Saul had the allegations buried,’ said Elizabeth, shifting uncomfortably. ‘Bryn was the biggest client the agency had. College was on its twelfth printing. It was one of the biggest global hits of the decade. No one wanted that bandwagon to stop rolling, and besides, there was no concrete evidence. Not that there ever is . . .’
‘I don’t believe it,’ he whispered.
‘We’ll never know the truth. About Saul’s assistant, about Jennifer. But yes, your father had his demons; all this self-confidence and yet he never quite believed he was good enough.’
Elizabeth took a moment, as if she were collecting her thoughts.
‘We were never really happy together,’ she said finally. ‘Certainly after the business with Saul’s assistant I could never sleep next to him at night without wondering if the allegations were true. But I stayed with him. I took the easy option, even if that meant being dishonest; dishonest with myself, dishonest with the world about what I knew about Bryn Johnson.’
‘The truth hurts,’ replied Jim quietly.
‘Yes, it does. But at least it’s the truth. Lies always catch up with you in the end.’
She stepped forward and took her son’s hand.
‘Go and find Jennifer. Trust her. Trust your feelings for one another.’
‘I can’t. Not after everything I’ve done, everything I’ve said,’ said Jim, feeling wretched. All he had ever wanted was to be with Jennifer. Protect her. Even the acquisition of RedReef had been to help her, and yet when it really counted, he had turned his back on her.
‘Jennifer was right. If you don’t go after her now, he’s won.’
Jim squeezed his mother’s fingers, then wrapped his arms around her in a hug that had never been more full of affection and support.
‘Go,’ she whispered, and he released her and ran up the lawn towards the house.
As he pushed through the crowd, he vaguely registered the scene. In one corner he could see Simon Desai still deep in conversation with Sarah; in another, Celine Wood was sitting on her fiancé’s knee. A couple kissed by the pool, a waiter topped up the fountain of champagne to shrieks of delight, a seventy-something socialite was laughing with Nina Scott, the travel PR. For one night at least, happiness was everywhere, except in his heart.
He ran through the house towards the front of Casa D’Or. Already a line of black Town Cars was queuing down the drive to whisk away the earliest-departing guests. He ran along, banging the window of each one, calling her name, until one pulled away and he saw her. The back of her dress, her dark hair fluttering in the evening breeze. Her hand was stretched out for a white Savannah taxi.
‘Stop. Don’t go!’ he shouted. He could feel his heart thudding in his chest.
The driver of the cab held up his hand, but Jennifer shook her head, and with a disgruntled expression he went to park and wait for another fare.
They stood there for a moment, just looking at each other.
‘I was wrong back there,’ he said finally. ‘I didn’t want to believe you. I couldn’t let myself.’