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‘Not about the cataloguing...’ he said softly.
‘I don’t understand,’ she said faintly.
‘Then let me explain.’
His voice seemed to slice her bones away from her flesh and she felt her legs starting to sway.
‘Seven years ago I went to your home.’
Her head jerked up and, despite the pain in his own heart, he felt a sharp sting of satisfaction at the shock in her eyes.
He looked at her steadily. ‘I went to talk to you.’
Prudence’s heart seemed to stop. ‘I don’t believe you,’ she said weakly.
‘That doesn’t stop it being true.’
His voice trapped her, pulled her in. ‘You’re lying,’ she whispered.
But she knew that he wasn’t, and her face felt hot, and she suddenly couldn’t breathe. Looking up, she saw the anger and the pride in his eyes. She took a step backwards.
Watching her back away, Laszlo felt a ripple of rage—even now she was trying to evade what she’d done.
‘Only you were out. Shopping...’ He spat the word out with derisive emphasis. ‘Shopping!’ There was a tense, choking silence and he shook his head. ‘How do you think that made me feel? To find out that while I was sitting in some stinking police station my wife was out shopping.’ He laughed without humour. ‘Sorry. My mistake. You didn’t actually think we were married, did you?’
She clenched her fists. She had resolved never to mention his arrest. But now his sneering contempt unleashed the pent-up fear and pain.
‘What should I have been doing? We were over. Your criminal activities were no concern of mine.’
‘They took me in for questioning. And then they released me without charge,’ he said slowly, his face tight with hostility. ‘Only you didn’t know because you were out shopping.’
She shook her head, trying to stay focused. He didn’t have the upper hand here—didn’t have it full stop! All he’d done was lie and deceive her.
She glowered at him. ‘We were over—’
‘We were not over. We’d had a row. Do you really think I’d just let you throw away our marriage like that?’ he said savagely. The air was quivering between them.
Prudence shook her head. ‘I asked you how much effort you’d give to make our relationship work.’ Her voice broke. ‘Do you know what your answer was? You said that any effort was too much!’
‘I was just angry with you! I’d just walked in the door. I was tired. I wanted a shower.’
Eyes blazing, she stepped towards him. ‘And that meant you could give up on our relationship?’
‘No. But as you keep on reminding me, I had to go to the police station!’ His mouth twisted. ‘I couldn’t leave. You, on the other hand, were free. I came to find you as soon as I got out. You didn’t come to see if I was all right.’ He stopped and shot her a look of pure exasperation. ‘I know that you didn’t think our marriage was real. And, yes, we’d broken up. But didn’t you feel bound to me in any way?’
The bitterness in his voice felt like a slap to her face.
There was a pulsing silence and then he shook his head. ‘I could never work out what had changed. You seemed different that day. Not yourself.’
Prudence stared at him, trying to keep her expression steady. She could feel something like panic building up inside her.
He gave her a long, hard look. ‘But then I met your uncle and it all kind of fell into place.’ Smiling grimly, he nodded. ‘You’re right about his opinions, by the way. I didn’t like what he had to say. In fact, I was quite upset by his point of view. But funnily enough I wasn’t surprised by it.’ He looked across at Prudence, his eyes glittering with sudden savage fury. ‘But then, how could I be? I’d already heard it before—hadn’t I?’
Prudence stared at him, frozen to the spot, struggling to swallow her shock. ‘I don’t understand...’ Her voice shrivelled as she felt the blistering anger of his gaze.
‘Oh, I think you do.’
There was a moment’s dead silence and then, in a voice that chilled her bones, he went on.
