‘So, Lucinda, to what do we owe the honour?’ Daniel asked.
‘Well, actually, I’ve got some things I want to go over about tomorrow night.’
‘Anna and I were just about to eat.’
‘It’s a bit late, isn’t it? We ate hours ago.’
‘We’ve been busy,’ Daniel said meaningfully, and Anna noticed that Lucinda had the grace to blush.
Daniel sighed, picked up his bowl of pasta and put it in the microwave.
‘Ten minutes,’ he said. Lucinda smiled as he led her into the living room.
‘Sorry for interrupting your tea,’ Ben said.
‘Not your fault, love,’ she said, smiling at him.
‘I’ve already had mine, so I don’t mind if you carry on eating.’
She pushed her bowl to one side. ‘No, I think I’ll wait for your dad. Now tell me about your week.’
They chatted happily for much longer than ten minutes. Occasionally Anna’s eyes strayed towards the living room, wondering how much longer Daniel and Lucinda would be and feeling more resentful by the minute. Why did Lucinda feel she had the right to commandeer Daniel’s time, when they had so little time together? And why on earth was Daniel letting her?
‘We had to make a model for school today,’ Ben said. ‘Mine’s in the car. Do you want to see it?’
‘I’d love to,’ she said brightly.
Ben strode into the living room, interrupting Daniel and Lucinda. ‘I want to show Anna my model,’ he said. ‘Can I have the car keys?’
‘Of course,’ Lucinda replied, reaching for her handbag.
Anna stood in the doorway, gratified at least that the pair of them were sitting at either end of the sofa. With Lucinda concentrating on finding her keys, Daniel shrugged apologetically, which caused a further burst of irritation. Why didn’t he just tell her to get off home?
Anna complimented Ben’s model. It really was very good, but she wasn’t entirely convinced it was the work of a nine-year-old. She’d bet Ben’s school was one where the mums were in competition with each other, even over a simple piece of homework.
Ben was putting the model back in the car when, thankfully, Lucinda came out of the house. Daniel remained at the doorway as she walked over to the car.
‘Come on, Ben, we’d better get off home now, leave your dad and Anna to their evening.’
‘What’s left of it,’ Anna muttered.
‘Well, I hope you enjoy the ball tomorrow night.’
‘I’m very much looking forward to it.’
‘It should be a good night. Exclusive.’
‘And hopefully it will raise a lot of money for your charity.’ Anna ignored the way Lucinda had looked her up and down when she’d said the word “exclusive”. So much for the fake show of wanting to be friends. The gloves were definitely off.
‘Oh, there’s no doubt about that. I hope you’ve brought your best frock with you.’
‘I have.’ Anna returned the fake smile. ‘A little black Stella McCartney number.’
‘Sounds perfect.’ Lucinda got into her car.
Anna watched as she moved away, the tyres spitting up gravel on the drive. Her stomach was wound into tight coils of anger. She hated the way Lucinda acted so superior around her. But most of all she hated the way she reacted to it. Just as Lucinda wanted, it made her feel as though she didn’t belong here. With Daniel.
‘Well, thank God she’s gone,’ Daniel said when Anna reached him.
