Free My Husband's Wives by Faith Hogan Page A

never put a milky saucepan into anything this season.’ As she was leaving the hospital, she spotted a familiar shape making its determined way towards her with a small child struggling to keep up.
    â€˜Annalise,’ mwah, mwah – Kate Dalton expertly air-kissed upwards, missing her mark by a calculated four inches either side. ‘What on earth are you doing here?’
    â€˜Oh, just a minor household accident.’ She nodded towards Dylan. Thank God she’d thrown the offending pot in her bag. Kate Dalton. She’d started out plain old Katie Prendergast. She got hitched in Castle Leslie – like Heather Mills, only with horse-racing celebrities instead of rock stars. She’d married a Cheltenham Gold Cup winning jockey, not much taller than herself. ‘One of those silly things. That’s boys for you.’ Annalise ruffled Dylan’s sodden hair. ‘And who’s this?’ She bent down towards the little girl at Kate’s side.
    â€˜This is my daughter, Nicola,’ Kate said, her voice was soft in spite of the tight grip she maintained on her hand, but the child remained statue-still.
    â€˜Hello Nicola, you are just like your mummy, so pretty.’ Annalise thought she caught a quivering smile, but her overwhelming sense was of detachment in the child’s face. ‘If only boys were as well-behaved,’ she said, standing again. Even if she had a natural jelly in her handbag, she had a feeling the child wouldn’t be allowed it. Kate had always been very diet-conscious.
    â€˜Well, of all the days to meet you here.’ Kate took stock of her. Annalise was grateful she’d managed to change into smart shoes and her nice coat; she could have been in jog pants and a hoodie. ‘We’re having a fundraiser tonight.’ Kate nodded back towards the hospital.
    â€˜Here?’ Annalise couldn’t quite manage to take the surprise out of her voice. Nowhere in the world felt less party-like than the emergency ward.
    â€˜No.’ She shook her head, took a deep breath and, as though speaking to a six-year-old, ‘We’re raising funds for the hospital. I’m on the board. We’re trying to get an assessment unit for children.’ She nodded down towards the child beside her. She was lovely, a miniature version of her diminutive mother. She had the same clear skin, dark hair, perfect features, but eyes that continued to stare somewhat unnervingly at Annalise. ‘Nicola has autism,’ Kate said the words gently; it was as much an explanation as an introduction.
    â€˜I’m sorry,’ Annalise said and then had a feeling that she should have said something else.
    â€˜It’s…’ Kate took a deep breath, ‘it is what it is, thank you though; I’m sure you mean well.’ She ran her perfectly manicured hand gently across the child’s glossy hair, then fixed her gaze on Annalise. ‘You have two children, don’t you?’
    â€˜Yes, holy terrors.’ She was delighted to get back to home ground, at least something she could talk about with some degree of confidence.
    â€˜Both healthy?’ It almost felt as though Kate was setting up some kind of trap for her. Of course, that was the good thing about being Annalise; she didn’t have to pretend she even noticed, mostly she actually didn’t.
    â€˜Yes. All healthy and happy.’
    â€˜That’s good. You’ll support us to fundraise, won’t you? Can’t put a price on having a health service you can rely on. You can bring that mysterious Paul Starr with you. It’s as if he’s kidnapped you; no one sees you since you married him.’ She wrote the details of the hotel and time down on a small card for Annalise, and made her promise she’d be there. ‘We need all the help we can get the way things are these days.’
    â€˜I’m not sure.’ Annalise wanted to pull out her chequebook and write