Page 23 of Old Girls Behaving Badly

‘Who cares what they think; in fact, it’s genius really. You said that Leonard thinks you’re an idiot, well, now he thinks you’re a lush too.’

Gina did not return Dorothy’s laughter; instead she buried her face into her hands.

‘Mine wasn’t strong at all,’ Dorothy continued. ‘I had three and I feel fine.’

‘I don’t really remember getting back to the house. Did I see you upstairs?’ said Gina.

‘Yes, but you weren’t making an awful lot of sense and you did stumble outside on the steps.’

‘There’s a huge blank space between the dinner in the maze and me waking up this morning. I think that I must have been topped up and hadn’t realised,’ Gina said. ‘I’m not a big drinker.’

‘Neither am I. It’s very odd,’ Dorothy said, narrowing her eyes.

Gina drank some of her tea and grimaced at the sugar.

‘You may not usually take your tea sweet, but I think this morning should be an exception.’

Gina nodded and drained her sugary drink, then sat staring into the bottom of the cup.

‘I’ve just remembered that Harry was watching me as I went into my bedroom last night,’ she said.

‘Perhaps he was concerned that you were wobbly and decided to make sure you got back to your room safely.’

‘I might have thought the same, except he’d been the one pouring the drinks,’ Gina said.

‘Did you see him when you got the breakfast tray?’ Dorothy asked, lifting the lid on her bacon and eggs and offering it over to Gina, while she started on the yogurt and fruit.

‘No, it was just there in the kitchen with your name next to it. I think I must have just missed him because it was still hot. Perhaps he was coming back to bring it up to you, but I got there first,’ Gina said and then her phone began ringing in her pocket.

‘Douglas again,’ she said, but she didn’t answer it.

‘I was thinking, what you said about your husband last night and what he wrote in his letter. I was rather quick to dismiss him as another flaky man keen to revisit his youth and abandon his responsibilities, but you said he’d needed to find himself and that he wondered what was the point. Do you think he could be having some sort of breakdown?’

Dorothy watched Gina as her expression changed from one of surprise to one of contemplation.

‘I don’t honestly know. I haven’t really had much of a conversation with him since he packed up and went on his retreat. He popped in to get some of his things and left before I’d plucked up the courage to ask questions.’

‘You needed to pluck up the courage to ask why your marriage was over?’ Dorothy asked in surprise and Gina shrugged, looking a little embarrassed.

‘He’s left a message,’ Gina said glancing down at her phone and then she pressed play, seemingly not bothered that Dorothy could hear it too because the sound of a man’s voice suddenly filled the room.

‘Georgina, it’s me. I realised I don’t know where you are. You didn’t actually say; I’m not sure why. You need to phone me to let me know. There might also be some news on the house. So, I’ll speak to you soon then.’

‘Perhaps he’s bored of Little Miss Maidenhead already,’ Gina said quietly, turning the phone over in her hand.

‘Sorry?’ Dorothy said, amused and confused.

‘Oh, it doesn’t matter. I’m just being silly, probably. I should phone him back and let him know where I am. He doesn’t like being in the dark about things.’

‘Did he let you know where he was going when he went off to his spa thingy?’ Dorothy asked, suddenly feeling a little less generous towards the man.

‘Well, no he didn’t but…’

‘We should probably get ready for the day, don’t you think? I’m not horse riding – I can tell you that for nothing. You won’t get this nearly-ninety-year-old carcass up onto a horse,’ Dorothy said, looking pointedly at Gina until she slid her phone back into her pocket.

‘I did wonder,’ Gina said, ‘if we could both get out of it and with Leonard out of the house, I could have a little search?’

‘That, my dear,’ Dorothy said, ‘is music to my ears.’