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‘Did they actually dismiss you because of that? That is against the law no matter how long you’ve been there.’
She shook her head so that a silky curl slid from the pins. ‘Oh, no. They weren’t that stupid. I was dismissed for bad timekeeping. I’ve been sick a lot of mornings and had an official warning about three weeks ago. Then when it happened again last week that was that.’
‘But surely you explained why?’ His face darkened in anger.
‘Of course, and that probably put the final nail in the coffin! I think they half suspected anyway. They were very careful about how they put it, but the end result was that I was out. Oh, I’m not stupid, David. I’ve been to the Citizens’ Advice Bureau and the DSS, but neither of them think that I’d have a case if I took the firm to a tribunal, and what’s the point in doing that? It wouldn’t change the fact that I’m out of work. I’ve put my name down with a few office temping agencies and done an odd day or two, but the fact that my references are hardly glowing and I was dismissed doesn’t endear me to them, and that’s even allowing for the fact that they don’t as yet know that I am pregnant.’ She pressed her hand protectively against the still flat plane of her stomach, her face wistful. ‘I’m barely three months pregnant, but what happens in a few months’ time when I’m five or six months and as big as a house? I can’t see any of the agencies sending me out in that state, can you?’
‘I see. You really do seem to have a problem. Have you thought any more about contacting the child’s father? Surely in the circumstances he would be prepared to help you?’
‘Even if he were, which I doubt, I wouldn’t ask him! I don’t want anything from him, not a single penny!’
‘Don’t you think that’s foolish?’
‘It would be far more foolish to go begging to him! It would achieve nothing, only hurt his wife and children, and that is something I won’t have on my conscience. I don’t want him to ever find out about this child; he doesn’t deserve to.’
‘So, in reality, he gets off scot-free while you struggle and worry. You must still care for him, Beth, if you want to protect him, despite what you say.’ He swirled the whisky around the glass, yet she had the feeling that he wasn’t really seeing it. What was he thinking about? What hurt was he remembering that showed so fleetingly on his face? However, before she could make up her mind whether she should ask him or not, he looked up again, once more in control. ‘You mentioned something about losing your home; is that because you can no longer afford to live there?’
‘Not immediately, although it would become a problem soon, the way my savings are draining away now that I’m not earning a proper salary. The girl I share the flat with actually owns it. I just rent a room from her and now that she’s getting married she has given me notice to leave. I have until the end of the month to find somewhere else, although heaven knows where that will be. Flats are impossible to come by without decent employment references, not to mention a hefty deposit.’
‘Then what do you intend to do?’
She shrugged, brushing impatiently at the wisps of hair which tickled her cheek. In the dim light spilling through the window her hair gleamed like burnished gold, a stark contrast to her pale skin. ‘I’ve been trying to work it all out…what to do, where to go, but I keep going round in circles. That’s why I came tonight to see you.’
‘You want me to help you?’ There was a cynically hard note in his voice and she flinched, then felt the colour flood her face as she realised what interpretation he had put on her actions in coming here and telling him the whole sorry tale! She jumped to her feet, glaring down at him, hating him for imagining that.
‘I didn’t come here to ask you for money! I came because you were the only person I could think of who might spare the time to listen to my problems and maybe offer a few words of advice, but obviously I was mistaken!’
‘And obviously I was mistaken too. Sit down, Beth. Stop making a scene.’
‘I don’t want to sit down. I’m leaving before you accuse me of anything else!’
