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He found Iris in the kitchen, stirring something in a pan.
“Good day?” he asked, going to wash his hands at the sink.
“Not really.”
He flicked the excess water from his hands and reached for the towel.
“Why, what happened?”
“Esme was ill so I went to London on my own.” Her voice was short, clipped.
“You should have asked Laure to go with you.”
“I did. But she wanted to stay here and contact divorce lawyers.”
Gabriel looked at her, relieved to have found a reason for her low mood. “It might not come to that.”
“I don’t really care one way or another.”
Gabriel frowned. “You don’t mean that, do you?”
“Yes, I do. Laure and Pierre have taken up too much of our time and energy.”
It wasn’t like Iris to be in such a bad mood. He looked for something to cheer her up. “I called Maggie Ingram’s grief counselor; she’s going to contact Maggie and arrange a date for us to meet.”
She turned from the cooker and shook her head, as if she was disappointed in him. “I can’t believe it took you so long to do the right thing.” She took the wooden spoon from the pan and threw it into the sink. “Right, I’m going for a bath. I’ll see you later.”
Gabriel stared after her. Something had happened, and he guessed it was to do with Laure. He scowled; she was definitely overstaying her welcome. He felt suddenly angry that she was taking advantage of their friendship by putting them in a position where they were going to have to ask her to leave. But there was no way he was going to tolerate Laure upsetting Iris. If Iris didn’t do something about it, well, he damn well would.
31
Iris was in the bedroom, getting ready to go to Esme’s, when she glanced out of the window and saw Laure and Joseph walking up the garden path, Gabriel some yards in front of them. As she watched, Laure slowed her pace and with a quick look at Gabriel, she grabbed Joseph and kissed him full on the mouth, while Gabriel marched on oblivious.
She turned away, hating the embarrassment that flooded her body whenever she caught sight of Joseph. How could she have been so stupid as to think he’d been watching for her at the window? It was Laure he’d been watching, she understood that now. Their bedrooms were next to each other; the morning she’d gone into Laure’s bedroom to ask if she wanted to go to London, and had found her practically naked, she guessed Laure had been parading in front of her window, putting on a show for him.
A week had gone by since she’d heard Laure and Joseph together and whenever she saw them from the window, it was so obvious from Laure’s behavior that they were in a relationship that Iris couldn’t believe Gabriel hadn’t noticed. She heard him come into the house. Maybe it was time to bring him up to speed.
She went downstairs and found him with his head in the fridge.
“Hungry?” she asked.
He jumped at the sound of her voice. “I just need something to keep me going until lunch,” he said, turning toward her with a guilty smile.
She squeezed in front of him, and took out a foil package. “A slice of pork pie, will that do?”
“Perfect,” he said, unwrapping it with the same excitement as a kid unwrapping a birthday present.
She waited until he’d had a couple of bites.
“I think Laure and Joseph are in a relationship.”
Gabriel stopped mid-chew, then swallowed quickly. “Did you say what I thought you said?” Iris nodded. “But—how can she have got over Pierre so quickly?”
“I don’t know. Maybe she’s not thinking straight, maybe she’s trying to make herself feel better by having an affair with Joseph.”
Gabriel scratched his head. “Are you sure? About them being in a relationship? I spend most of the day with them and I’ve never noticed anything.”
“I’ve seen them,” she said. “From the window. When they think nobody is looking.”
