was hoping for.
Rachel didn’t have the opportunity to find out till after lunch was finished. With Justin retreating to the family room to watch the final round of a golf tournament on TV, Alice was able to draw Rachel into the living room on the pretext of showing her the famous teapot collection. But the conversation soon turned from pottery to personal matters.
‘Has he told you about Mandy yet?’ she asked quietly.
‘He won’t speak about her at all. Or his marriage.’
‘Typical. His father was like that. Would never speak of emotional matters or past hurts. So, do you really love my son, Rachel? Or is this just an affair of convenience?’
‘I love him with all my heart,’ Rachel confessed. ‘But I daren’t tell him that. He told me right at the start he didn’t want my love. Just my companionship.’
‘Oh, is that what prudes are calling sex these days?’ Alice said with a dry laugh. ‘Companionship.’
Rachel just smiled. ‘I don’t dare ask him about Mandy, either. Although I do know who she left him for. It was Carl Toombs. But I don’t know why. I can only guess.’
‘I see. Well, if he won’t tell you what happened then I will,’ Alice pronounced firmly. ‘That cruel bitch. There is no other word for her! She told my son that the reason she was leaving him for another man was because he was no longer physically attractive to her. Just because he’d put on a few pounds. At that time he was a dealer, working crippling hours. And slaving away on his own private projects with every spare minute, just to give her the best of everything. When he combined a sedentary job with take-away food and no energy to exercise then of course Justin put on some weight. But he was far from fat. Still, that’s what she called him the day she dumped him. Fat and flabby. And boring to boot. She also complained about their sex life, but what time did he have for fun and games when he was beating himself to death making himself rich enough for her? Not that Justin could ever have been rich enough for her, not compared to Carl Toombs. She wanted to justify her appalling behaviour and to do that she sacrificed my son’s self-esteem. It was wicked what she did to him that day. Wicked.’
‘Poor Justin,’ Rachel murmured.
‘He was shattered afterwards for a long, long time. His only refuge was in work and exercise. God knows the hell he’s been through as a man, emotionally and mentally. I can’t tell you how happy I am that he’s finally met a decent girl like you, a girl who can truly appreciate the fine man he is. You do really love him, don’t you?’
‘Alice, I’m crazy about him. As for Mandy, she had to be stupid not to appreciate what she had.’
‘That’s the strange thing. I honestly thought she did. She seemed to love Justin when she married him. And she always said she’d have a baby as soon as they were financially secure. Frankly, when she did what she did I was almost as shocked as Justin. She didn’t seem that sort of girl. Of course, she is the sort men always made a play for.’
‘She’s really that beautiful?’ Rachel asked, her heart twisting with jealousy.
‘I have to admit she’s stunning to look at. And she has a captivating manner as well. A real charmer, no doubt about that. I’m not surprised that the likes of Carl Toombs went after her. What did surprise me was that he succeeded in getting her. I honestly thought she loved my son. Obviously, she had us both fooled. Maybe she was always a little gold-digger at heart. Though, to give her some credit, she didn’t take a cent from Justin when she left him. Guilty conscience, probably. Though I dare say she was already getting enough money out of her wealthy lover. Mistresses of men like that don’t want for anything. Still, if she thought he was going to leave his wife and marry her then she’s been sorely mistaken.
‘But Justin will marry you,’ Alice added, and Rachel’s heart jumped.
‘Why do you say that?’
‘Because he’d be crazy not to. And my son is not crazy. You wait and see. I suppose you haven’t told him you love him.’
‘No way. Why? Do you think I should?’
‘Not yet. Men like to think love and marriage are their idea entirely. It’s a male-ego thing. And, speaking of male ego, I think we should rejoin said male ego before it begins to feel neglected.’
Both women were chuckling away when they entered the family room, only to be shushed into silence by said male ego watching male stuff. They looked at each other and pulled appropriate faces, then withdrew to the kitchen to make afternoon tea and exchange the exasperated view that they didn’t know why women bothered falling in love with any man in the first place!
RACHEL insisted Justin drop her off home after the luncheon at his mother’s. Without his coming in.
‘I have washing to do,’ she told him. ‘And a host of other little jobs to organise myself for the coming week. I’m sure you do, too,’ she added firmly when he looked as though he was going to argue.
He sighed, then went.
The following morning Rachel was so glad she’d taken that stand. Glad she was alone and travelling on the train to work. Very glad she’d got a seat and she could read the front-page story in the daily newspaper privately.
TOOMBS FLEES AUSTRALIA, the headlines screamed.
TYCOON IN INVESTMENT SCANDAL.
The details were a bit sketchy, but it seemed Carl Toombs had finally done what many people had forecast for him. He’d gone bust, and taken a lot of creditors and investors with him. The journalist writing the article implied it was only his company that had gone belly-up. On a personal basis, Toombs himself was probably still as rich as Croesus. Being a conscienceless but clever crook, he would have siphoned money off into Swiss bank accounts, or other anonymous offshore establishments, before doing a flit at the weekend, minus his family.
There were photos of his wife and children at the gate of his harbourside mansion, plus the classic comment from the wife saying she knew nothing about her husband’s business dealings, and had no idea where he was. She claimed to be as devastated as his employees and business colleagues, who’d all been left high and dry without their entitlements etc etc etc.
Did that include his PA-cum-mistress? Rachel wondered. Or had she vanished with the disgraced tycoon?
Only time would tell, she supposed. But how would Justin react to this news? Rachel couldn’t even guess. This was one area where she still didn’t have all the answers, despite what Alice had told her the previous day. The subject of Mandy was verboten with Justin.
Rachel arrived at work in a state of nervous anticipation over Justin’s mood. No use hoping he wouldn’t have seen the headlines and read the story. He worked out every morning with people who lived and breathed such news. It would be the main topic of conversation in AWI’s gym this morning. It would be the main topic for discussion in just about every office and household in Sydney that day. But not hers. She didn’t dare bring the matter up.
Or did she? It wouldn’t be normal not to mention it. Oh, she didn’t know what to do for the best!
Justin
