"He was just so devastated after the accident, I was so glad I was around."
Sue turned hard green eyes on Lydia's pale face.
"To help ... you know." She smoothed her dress suggestively.
Oh, she knew all right, Lydia thought painfully as the green eyes narrowed into feline slits in which the meaning was unmistakable.
Suddenly a whole host of little incidents that had bothered her all night fell into place. "I'm sure your friend would have been very grateful,"
Lydia said coolly, with biting scorn.
"Shall I carry the tray through?"
"And we're still such good friends." Sue's face was poisonous with a mixture of dislike and virulent malicious ness
"Doug got this job on my recommendation," she added meaningfully.
"Did he?" Lydia had had enough. She took hold of the tray and walked across the room.
"Well, your husband is very good at his job, so I understand, Mrs. Webb, and
I'm sure he got the position because Wolf knew he could do the job, not because you were available to sleep with the boss." She flicked open the door-handle with her hip, almost dropping the tray in the process, and stalked into the lounge with her head held high.
The next few minutes were painful in the extreme. Lydia sat in regal silence, sipping her coffee without looking to left or right, aware of Sue's tight-lipped face as she made desultory conversation with the two men, although it was obvious her heart wasn't in it. Wolfs razor-sharp gaze had flashed over Lydia's face more than once, but she was determined not to give him the chance to enquire what was wrong until they were in the car. And then she'd let him have it. Hot and strong. Her lip curled as she thought of the implications of what Sue had revealed. He'd slept with his wife's best friend for nothing more than sexual gratification, that much was obvious, and then secured her husband a post in his firm. It stank.
Whatever way you looked at it, it stank. Was he still sleeping with her when he felt like it? Well, he'd said he wanted relationships with no ties, and what better way to ensure that than to have an obedient husband to take charge when he felt he'd had enough? Her eyes flashed over Doug and she saw he was looking at her with a faintly bewildered expression in the blue eyes.
It was awful. Poor Doug. A flood of self-righteous anger added to the sense of outrage. Whatever his first wife had been like, she couldn't be worse than Sue.
They left the house shortly afterwards, Sue effusive in her goodbye embrace with Wolf and stiffly rigid with Lydia.
Once in the car Wolf turned to her, his eyes silver in the dim moonlight trickling in through the car window. "OK, let's have it."
The deep voice was dry b
ut not unfriendly.
"Obviously Sue's got under your skin in some way? She has a knack of offending practically every woman she comes into contact with." The conciliatory note was the last straw.
"I can't imagine why." She glared at him angrily, her eyes black with furious rage.
"But apparently that wasn't the case with your wife? I understand the two were great friends."
They had been travelling along The neat, newly made road that led on to the small private estate in which Doug's house was situated, but now Wolf turned into a bus pull-in, parking the car with cool controlled movements and turning to her once the engine had died.
"Sue knew Miranda, yes," he said with studied calm, his eyes stroking over her hot cheeks and glittering eyes. "Great friends is probably a bit strong, but I think they got on OK."
"And Sue was so comforting after the accident." She knew she was going to regret this, but somehow, after all that had gone before, it had to come out.
"Was she?" He eyed her grimly.
"I take it that should mean something?"
"Well, it clearly didn't to you." How could he be so icy cold, so calm?
"Lydia..." He paused and settled himself further into _the seat, studying her through narrowed eyes.
"Would you like to tell me exactly what the hell you're talking about?"