Free The Prodigal Wife by Marcia Willett

kitchen.
    â€˜I’d forgotten how fantastic it is,’ said Fliss, turning from one window to another. ‘We came here once before, Hal and I, when you were doing the article. Do you remember?’
    â€˜Of course I remember. We had a barbecue down on the beach.’
    â€˜You said it could only be done at low tide, and you dared Hal to swim.’
    â€˜But he wouldn’t take me up on it. I love swimming just when the tide’s on the turn and creeping up. It’s magic. At high tide the beach is completely covered.’
    â€˜I certainly remember all those steps back up the cliff when we’d eaten too much!’
    The two women laughed together, the first slightly awkward moment of meeting over. Cordelia moved to the Rayburn and pushed the kettle on to the hotplate.
    â€˜And I remember this fellow. He’s nearly as tall as I am.’ Fliss put out her hands to greet McGregor, fondling his ears.
    â€˜He’s the perfect companion. Big, protective, but quiet with it,’ said Cordelia. ‘Isn’t it nice that Henrietta and Jo have met up at last? It seems crazy that it’s taken so long.’
    â€˜The Navy’s rather like that, though, isn’t it?’ Fliss had turned back to look at the view. ‘You run into the same families over and over again and miss others completely.’
    â€˜And, to be honest, I moved out of the network rather early on. When Simon left us I went to London, although Henrietta was still at the Royal Naval School at Haslemere. That’s where she met Susan and they became very close friends. I can’t believe that she and Iain have split up. Poor Henrietta is devastated and I’m hoping that Jo will cheer her up. When I phoned this morning she was expecting him to arrive at any moment.’ She made the tea and glanced at Fliss, noting the lifted chin and the tiny frown between her brows. ‘Am I being indiscreet?’
    Fliss shook her head. ‘Not at all. We guessed as much when he said he had to go to Watchet. Well, Prue and I did. Dear old Hal wouldn’t have thought about it.’
    â€˜Very astute of you.’ Cordelia laughed a little. ‘It’s the tiny things, isn’t it? Henrietta’s voice last night was just a shade breathless. Nicely flustered, if you know what I mean.’
    â€˜Jolyon was glowing, as if he’d drunk just a bit too much.’ Fliss looked directly at Cordelia. ‘Would you be pleased?’
    Cordelia made a face. ‘Would I! I’d be thrilled to bits. Jo is such a sweetie and Henrietta needs to fall madly in love. What about you?’
    Fliss followed her out on to the stone balcony and watched as she sorted out mugs and plates and cut a large caramel slice into smaller pieces.
    â€˜I’d be delighted. Of course, I’m not his mother…My own two are a long way away. Jamie was posted to Cairo last month – he’s with the Foreign Office – and Bess and Matt and their children are in Boston. Matt plays the French horn for the Boston Phil and Bess teaches the piano. I miss them terribly but Jo helps to fill the gap. He’s always been like one of my own children.’
    Cordelia glanced up at her. ‘I tend to forget that he isn’t. He seems so much part of you and Hal.’ A small pause. ‘What is his mother like? I don’t think I’ve ever met her.’
    â€˜Maria.’ This time the pause was much longer. Fliss leaned her elbows on the wall. ‘Very pretty. Very insecure. Very needy.’
    Behind Fliss’s back, Cordelia pulled a different kind of face. ‘Right,’ she said. ‘That’s fairly comprehensive. Sugar?’
    Fliss shook her head, turned about and took the mug. ‘Thanks. Maria’s one of those people that you have ambivalent feelings about. I feel very sorry for her and she irritates me like mad. And I think she’s behaved disgracefully to Jolyon. He utterly adored her