Free In Denial by Nigel Lampard

as we were before.’
    This time Christina did look at him. ‘I wouldn’t call it brilliance but I have to admit I am pleased with the way things have gone. I was talking with Peter Walker today and he thinks we’re ready to expand even further. He thinks maybe the time is right for us to move into Europe.’
    ‘ Did he? Well I think he’s taking too much from you for what he does.’
    ‘ If accolades are to be handed out then he deserves them. We’ve already staked our claim on Kowloon, Hong Kong and Macao, with Japan next. He says we have sufficient capital to think about expanding even further.’
    Joseph waved as he caught Lucinda’s eye. ‘Putting more money in his pocket, you mean.’
    ‘ And ours.’ Christina took her husband’s arm from around her waist. ‘Just what have you got against Peter? He’s been totally professional in every way. He’s told us where and when to invest, where and when to buy, and he’s taken care of the marketing. In fact without Peter Walker, the number of Colombo Dragons would probably still be just the one.’
    ‘ It’s not what he’s done for the business that worries me. I admit he’s been, well, very conscientious but you have to admit that we’ve made him a very rich man.’
    ‘ I would put it another way,’ Christina said. ‘Yes, his bank balance is better than it was but he has kept our heads above water too. Without him we might have had to sell this place.’
    Joseph held up his hands. ‘All right, I accept all of that. It’s just that -’
    ‘ Are you jealous?’
    ‘ No, I’m not jealous. I respect his abilities, his foresight. It’s -’
    Christina took her husband’s hand in hers. ‘The attention he pays me? Is that what it is?’
    Joseph looked away. As usual Christina had been able to read his mind. He might not have noticed how close two of his children had become but he’d seen Peter Walker looking at his wife, and not just looking, he’d seen the longing, the challenge.
    Only two days ago at a cocktail party to celebrate the launch of yet another of Chok Wah Ho’s supermarkets, he’d seen Peter and Christina laughing and joking with each other. He’d seen the way they looked at each other, the way they exchanged little touches. It was all so innocent for those who didn’t watch as closely as he did but he saw what was happening. Peter Walker wanted his wife and he wasn’t too sure that Christina might not in a moment of weakness give in.
    Joseph loved his wife.
    Even when they had come up against hostility about their relationship from not just their families but also his supposed friends and work associates, he had tried to explain it away as simple resentment and in some cases jealousy. Some of the resentment had caused long-standing friendships to die, others to turn into open antagonism.
    But they had weathered the storm.
    To Joseph, Christina was beautiful in every respect. She was the most understanding and intuitive woman he had ever met and she had cared for his every need. When Patrick and then Lucinda were born and he had to share her, she didn’t change. She always put him first. There were times when the children were very young, he would arrive home quite late and find her lying exhausted on top of their bed. Although he would try not to disturb her, invariably she sensed she was not alone and would cook his evening meal and then, while watching him eat, she would listen attentively to what had happened during the day.
    Most of the hostility had been purely racial.
    She was Sinhalese, he was Chinese and in some people’s eyes the two didn’t mix. However, although some friendships waned and then stopped, others fortunately lasted.
    Patrick had inherited a lot of his father’s genes. It was only his nose that suggested he might be of mixed blood. Lucinda, though, was definitely her mother’s daughter. From the day she was born, Christina and Joseph used to stand beside her cot holding hands, and look down at the tiny