Conveniently His Omnibus

‘But I love him.’ She hadn’t realised she had said the painful words out loud until she realised that Lillian was looking directly at her, the almond eyes narrowed and almost feral in their hatred.

‘Maybe,’ Lillian said flatly, ‘but Jon does not love you. He loves me. Oh, yes, it is true,’ she continued before Sophy could interrupt. ‘Why else would he invite me to come to England? Why else would he meet my plane...book us both into the same hotel?’ She smiled again, the cold cruelty in her smile making Sophy feel as though those scarlet nails had just been raked across her heart, inflicting wounds that would never heal.

‘Oh, it is quite true,’ Lillian said softly. ‘You may check if you wish. We were booked into separate rooms of course. Here, I have the number of the hotel.’ She opened her bag and gave Sophy a brochure.

‘Well...are you going to ring them?’

What was the point? Sophy knew she couldn’t be lying. Everything was so clear now. No wonder Jon had been so off-hand with her...so strained before he went to London. But he had come back. He had made love to her...

‘Unfortunately we had a quarrel while we were there.’ She shrugged again. ‘Jon wanted me to come back here with him but I told him he must tell you about us first. We argued and he left. This morning though he telephoned me and we made up...’

Suddenly the reason Jon had made love to her was sickeningly clear to Sophy. He had quarrelled with Lillian and had made love to her out of nothing more than sheer physical frustration. She felt sick to her soul when she thought of how she had responded to him, how she had felt in his arms...but it had not been her he was loving, it had been this woman sitting so triumphantly opposite her, watching her now with hard, cold eyes.

‘Why have you come here?’ Sophy asked tonelessly.

‘Surely that is obvious? To see Jon and to tell you that you no longer have any place in his life. You must understand that Jon and I love one another, that I am the one he wants at his side.’

‘But I am the one he married,’ Sophy persisted, not really knowing why she was fighting or what for; she had already lost it all.

‘A piece of paper that means nothing...Jon will divorce you.’

What could she say? Part of her could not believe that any of this was really happening. The Jon that Lillian was talking about was not the Jon she knew...but then what did she really know about the man she had married? She had thought him sexless, remote, totally engrossed in his work and she had discovered for herself that none of those things were true.

‘Of course you will be provided for financially.’

Sophy glanced up at that, her mouth hardening, but before she could speak her tormentor continued coolly. ‘You will stay here in this house with the children. Jon will come back to Nassau with me.’

She would stay with the children? She blinked and stared at Lillian. ‘The children are Jon’s responsibility,’ she said coldly. ‘They are the son and daughter of his dead brother.’

For the first time since Lillian’s arrival she felt she was the one with the advantage. Lillian blinked and frowned, her superb composure deserting her briefly, her mouth twisting petulantly.

‘Jon does not want them,’ she said positively at last. ‘All he wants is me.’

Now it was Sophy’s turn to frown. That did not sound like the Jon she knew...or at least thought she knew but then she remembered that before they had married Jon had mentioned putting the children in a home. He seemed to love them so much, though. Just as he seemed to want you so much, a bitter little voice mocked her, and look how real that was.

Through the sitting-room window she saw a taxi come down the drive and stop. Motionlessly she watched Jon get out, and pause to pay the driver. He looked tired, she noticed, immediately checking the pain and anguish that welled up inside her.

From her chair Lillian could not see the window. Smiling tightly at her Sophy got up.

‘Please excuse me a second,’ she muttered moving to open the door. She really could not endure anymore, and certainly not the sight of Jon being reunited with the woman he loved.

She reached the front door at the same time as Jon, opening it for him. He started to smile at her, the smile freezing suddenly, as he demanded, ‘What’s wrong?’