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“
Well, that’s to be
expected.”

“
I’m sorry for what I tried to do,
Noah.” She stared out of the window as she spoke. “It was probably
very selfish, but everything was so horrible and it was my
fault.”

“
I’m glad you didn’t succeed,” he
said, meaning it.

“
Daddy’s been telling me all about
the Lexington Clinic, and then Doctor Ashe, who runs it, came and
talked to me.”

Noah elevated his brows. Charles had obviously
worked the phones, using his influence to get things done in a
hurry.

“
I’d like to go there for a while,
Noah. I’m so tired, and perhaps I do have problems that I need help
to understand.”

“
I think that’s a good
idea.”

“
Will you be all right without me?
How will you manage?”

“
Oh, don’t worry, I’ll get by.
I’ll probably employ a nanny and work fewer hours so I can spend
time with the kids.” He tried to appear upbeat, even if he still
couldn’t bring himself to actually touch her. “We’ll be fine. Just
get yourself well again.”

Noah didn’t mention what would happen when she
came out of the clinic, but the issue hung heavily in the air
between them.

“
Doctor Ashe says I won’t be able
to have any visitors for at least a month.”

“
Will you be all right with that?”
Noah tried to keep the doubt out of his voice.

“
Yes, and I won’t be on my own,
they’ll be lots of other people there. Besides, I rather like the
idea of peace and quiet and no decisions to make for a
while.”

“
I’ll get the boys to send you
drawings and cards.”

Her wan smile made her appear as fragile as
she obviously felt. Her hands were trembling, and tears were
running freely down her face. “I’d like that,” she said.

* * * *

In the two weeks since Cassie’s removal to the
clinic, Maxine had been inundated with work. She’d shouldered most
of Graham’s burden as well as her own, leaving her partner free to
make the arrangements for his father’s funeral and come to terms
with his grief.

On the surface her life was the same as ever.
Only she and Noah knew how comprehensively it had actually changed.
She laughed at nothing, drove her secretary insane by humming her
way through her dictation, bought new clothes when she didn’t need
them, and almost frightened two new clients away by remarking upon
the lovely weather when it was actually pouring with rain. She
laughed herself silly when they left, wondering why they were so
perplexed by her behavior. Hadn’t they seen a woman madly in love
before?

Madeleine’s attitude came as a complete
surprise. They had expected her to entrench herself in Cassie’s
corner and put every possible obstacle in Noah’s path when it came
to the children and to his relationship with Maxine, which it was
impossible to conceal from her. But she proved them completely
wrong and was a tower of strength.

Within a day of Cassie’s departure she’d lined
up three prospective nannies for Noah to interview. He employed
Sally Fraser, a good-natured Scottish girl in her mid-thirties. She
was desperate to be near her motor mechanic fiancée in Winchester,
so she could start work immediately.

Noah had rearranged his days, delegating as
never before, and stopped leaving for work at seven in the morning.
Instead he had breakfast with the children and dropped his sons at
school before heading to his first appointment of the day. He made
sure he was home early each evening, taking with him the mountains
of paperwork he’d normally have stayed late to tackle in order to
avoid spending too much time with Cassie.

But as soon as the boys and Amy were asleep,
he was in his car, heading for Maxine’s flat. She was happier than
she’d ever been in her entire life and knew it showed. Everyone
kept telling her how good she was looking. Since losing weight
she’d grown accustomed to receiving compliments about her
appearance, but she knew there was something different about her
now. Examining her reflection in the mirror, she could see for
herself that she literally glowed. Her eyes sparkled, and even the
texture of her skin had subtly altered. Greg commented upon it
during one of his stopovers on his way to Southampton early one
Friday evening.

“
So,” he said, lounging back in
his chair, “You’ve made out with him at last.”

Maxine pretended not to understand him.
“Whatever makes you say such a thing?”

“
Darling, don’t bullshit a
bullshitter.” He chuckled at her affronted expression. “You look as
though you’ve been lit up from inside. Come on, ’fess up and tell
me all the gory details.” He waggled his brows at her. “And you’re
not to leave anything out. I’m not the squeamish type.”

And so, of course, she did. He listened
without interruption, grinning in spite of the revelations about
Cassie’s deception and subsequent suicide attempt.

“
I’m pleased for you, Max, really
I am. It’s about time you had some fun.”

“
It’s a little more than fun,
Greg.”

“
I know that. What’s going to
happen then?”

She shrugged. “We don’t know yet. It’s a day
at a time job at the moment, but I’m not complaining, I’m just
happy to take as much of him as I can get. In the end, it’ll depend
on Cassie and how she gets on in the clinic. Noah’s determined they
won’t get back together and that he’ll get custody of the children,
but these things are seldom that straightforward.”

“
Have you gone public with your
relationship?”

“
Not exactly, that wouldn’t be
sensible, but I suspect people know, or have guessed. We only see
each other in the evenings during the week, after the boys are
asleep.” She surreptitiously checked her watch. “But Noah and I do
something with the children at weekends when Sally’s off. The boys
accept me, and have hardly said anything to Noah about their mother
not being about. Sally gives them more attention than Cassie ever
did, and they seem to have adjusted well.”

“
It must have been rough for Noah
to discover that his heroic sacrifice was based on a whopping great
lie.”

“
Yes, it was but he’s got over the
initial shock now, and as far as he’s concerned Josh is just as
much his son as Billy is.”

“
Doesn’t he want to know who his
father really is?”

“
He doesn’t talk about it much,
but we both hope something will come out of Cassie’s sessions with
Doctor Ashe.”

“
Look into my eyes!” Greg turned
two glasses sideways and placed the bottoms over his own eyes.
“Tell me about your earliest memories, my dear.”

“
Idiot!” She smacked his arm.
“It’s not like that. Now, come on, your turn. What’s the latest
with you and Paul?”

“
It’s good. More than good. In
fact, I think I might be ready to commit again.”

“
It’s about time! How long have
you two been together, now?”

“
Yeah well, we’ve both been hurt
before and we’re being cautious.”

“
The distance between you
geographically can’t help.”

“
At first it was an advantage, I
suppose. Gave us both an excuse not to get too involved but
now…well, I’m not so sure.”

“
His business is established in
Southampton, and you’re too busy climbing the corporate ladder in
the city to consider relocating. Hmm, I can see your
problem.”

“
Perhaps the city’s starting to
lose its charm.”

Maxine raised a brow. “I thought you loved the
cut and thrust of office politics. Besides, you’re a natural at it.
I wouldn’t have survived five minutes without your
help.”

“
I used to enjoy it, but there’s
only so much a delicate boy like me can take.” He flashed a cocky
grin. “I’m starting to think like you, wondering if the quieter
life wouldn’t suit me better.”

“
What, being a country solicitor?”
She laughed. “Your brains would turn to mulch, and you’d be bored
stiff inside a month.”

“
You’re not.”

“
No, well that’s different.” She
was unable to suppress a silly grin. “I’ve got other incentives,
and if I’m really honest, the work’s so diverse that I don’t get
time to be bored.”

“
I hear you.”

“
But you’d miss your
telephone-number salary.”

“
I’m not intending to jump ship
quite yet, but if Paul and I do have a future together I’ll have to
give it some serious thought.”

“
Sounds as though you already
have.”

“
Perhaps.” He grinned and changed
the subject. “How’s Graham?”

“
He’s not been himself recently.
Still pretty shaken by his father’s death, I suppose.”

“
Cassie’s abrupt disappearance
can’t have helped.”

Noah’s arrival brought the conversation to an
end, but it lingered in Maxine’s mind after Greg had left. Noah and
Maxine fell into bed but after they’d made love, Maxine broached
the subject of Graham.

“
It’s funny, I’ve been too
preoccupied to give it much thought up until now, but Graham’s been
slightly strange since his return to the office.”

“
He was very close to his
father.”

“
I know that, but he’s been off
with me. I did everything I could to help in his absence and took
on most of his work, but he’s barely acknowledged the
fact.”

“
Give him time, sweetheart.”
Noah’s voice was muffled as he nuzzled her neck.

“
He doesn’t seem to have much
interest in his work at the moment,” she said, valiantly trying to
ignore the progress of Noah’s tongue. “He seems to have other
things on this mind.”

Noah chuckled. “He’s not the only
one.”

“
And yesterday he missed a Rotary
Club lunch.”

Noah’s eyebrows shot up. “That
is
unusual. He’s made from the same mold as his father and is a
stickler for his clubs and associations.”

“
Yes, he said he had a business
lunch, but Gloria saw him sitting on a bench in the park, in the
rain, just staring at the trees.”

“
He probably feels a bit lost at
the moment. Give him time.”

“
And he’s put his father’s house
on the market.”

“
What!” She’d finally got his
complete attention.

“
He says it’s a mausoleum. It’s
got ten bedrooms, did you know that?”

“
No, I’ve never been inside
it.”

“
He hasn’t told me why he’s
marketing it, but I suppose the memories are too painful and he
wants to make a clean break of it.”

“
Very likely, and it’s a good time
to sell.”

Noah leaned up on one elbow and pulled her
toward him, offering her a killer smile, which was all it took for
him to regain her full attention.

Chapter
Twenty-Five

Four weeks after Cassie went to the clinic,
Noah and Charles had an appointment with Doctor Ashe. They were
ushered into his office as soon as they arrived, and the man
himself stood to greet them. Noah was anxious about the outcome of
this meeting for all sorts of reasons, and was grateful when
Charles cut through Ashe’s attempts at small talk.

“
So, tell us about my daughter,
Peter,” he said. “How is she?”

“
A lot better, I’m pleased to say.
It took her a few days to settle, but that’s nothing unusual. She
decided at first that she’d made a mistake and really ought to get
home to her family, but we managed to persuade her that she was
better off where she was.”

“
I assume you kept her sedated
during that period?” Charles remarked.

“
Yes, just to take the edge off
her anxiety until the alcohol withdrawal symptoms subsided.
Everyone who comes here has different needs, but the one thing they
all have in common is their initial inability to face reality. How
long it takes them to adjust varies from patient to patient. With
Cassie I didn’t expect it to take too long, partly because her
addiction to alcohol wasn’t beyond recall, but also because she was
sufficiently concerned about her state of mind to come here
voluntarily.” He tugged at his beard, managing to look alert and
tired simultaneously.

“
I see.” Noah tamped down his
impatience.

“
Once I was happy that she’d
started to make the adjustment to our routine, I began daily
sessions with her. She didn’t seem to know how to answer even the
simplest of questions at first, because she didn’t understand what
it was that I wanted to hear. It took her a while to appreciate
that there were no right and wrong answers and that whatever she
said, however honest she chose to be, it was impossible to shock
me.”

He paused, his eyes lingering upon Noah. “From
what I’ve subsequently learned, I’d say that Cassie has spent her
life trying to be someone she’d not. There’s no easy way to put
this, Charles, but her greatest ambition as a child was to gain
your attention.” Charles nodded but remained silent. “And her lack
of self-confidence has gone on from there, culminating in her
determination to get you to marry her, Noah, simply because you
didn’t show any interest in her.”