she?â
âHeavily preggers. But enjoying it, I think.â
âOne thing about Teresa, she really does enjoy everything.â
âDonât you?â
âNot everything. Not by any means everything.â
âIncluding, no doubt, your impending break up with Errol Colton.â
âVery much including that,â said Stephanie.
Chapter Four
I
Stephanie said: âCould I speak to Sir Peter Brune, please?â
âWho may I ask is calling?â She recognised the voice of John Peron, Peter Bruneâs secretary and general assistant.
âStephanie Locke.â
âMrs Locke?â
âMiss Locke. I spent a weekend â¦â
âOf course. My apologies. I am not sure whether Sir Peter is on another line, but will you hold?â
She waited, examining the fingers of her right hand which showed a stain from nicotine. Why did one over-smoke when one was in a dilemma?
âStephanie?â The unmistakable, cultured, amused-sounding voice with its slight Welsh accent.
âSir Peter. I ââ
âMy dear, how nice to hear from you!â He sounded as if he meant it. âItâs time you came to see us again. Were you ringing me to remind me?â
She laughed. âHardly ⦠I just wanted ââ
âHow is Errol? I believe youâve been off somewhere with him.â
âYes. Heâs well.â
âI bear some of the responsibility for it all, since you first met him at my house.â
âI absolve you.â
âWhere was it â India â you went?â
âYes. It was very good. Sir Peter â¦â She hesitated.
âAs the shop-gals say, can I help you?â
âIâm not sure. Now it comes to the point, Iâm not quite sure why Iâm bothering you. It is true, isnât it, that you run a clinic â or finance a clinic â for the treatment of drug addicts?â
âNot exactly. But I know what you mean. Youâre probably talking about the Worsley Clinic outside Reading. Iâm on the board of that.â
âAnd that treats ⦠?â
âWell, it was not started exclusively for the treatment of drug addiction but that is its main purpose nowadays. Advanced cases. Often people are sent to us when ordinary hospitals have had a go and failed. Lord Worsley started it years ago, when addiction was a minor blackspot, but itâs grown with the problem. Privately financed. We try to charge people according to their means. Thereâs always a minimum of twenty-five per cent getting the treatment free. Was this what you wanted to know?â
âPartly. Thank you.â
âClearly you donât have a problem yourself. Some friend?â
âNo. Not that exactly either.â She struggled to find the words that would explain sufficiently but not explain too much. She pictured him sitting there, fingering a cuff link. A big man but spare, sallow-skinned, deeply lined cheeks, a sardonic charming mouth, grey hair, probably in his late fifties, not quite the obvious millionaire, not quite the obvious scholar. Long years of wealth had given him a sense of importance he was quick to deny. âI have a sort of a problem, but itâs one of conscience or something. I want to make up my mind. God, that sounds prosy â¦â
âTake your time. Iâm in no hurry.â
âLook,â she said. âIâve lived a fairly mayfly sort of life, enjoying things, not caring much. Drugs were for other people to worry about. Well, somehow it wonât do any longer. One should, I think, have a point of view, at least. Whether itâs something one mildly dislikes, like a drunk in the street, or â or something much more.â
âItâs no easy problem. There isnât any pure black or pure white about it. Just endlessly different shades of grey.â
âI expect thatâs right. But Iâm so totally ignorant and I think itâs