Least Said (75 page)

I
rushed
to
the
door,
threw
it
open
and
only
just
stopped
myself
from
skidding
into
the
arms
of
the
man
standing
there
on
the
doorstep
,
a
man
who
certainly
wasn’t
Jon.

‘Now
that’s
what
I
call
a
warm
welcome,’
he
grinned,
‘even
if
it
is
a
little
unexpected.’

‘You,’
I
said,
staring
up
into
the
smirking
face
of
Gareth
Montgomery,
aka
the
Adonis
and
bane
of
my
life.
‘What
do
you
want?’

‘Well
now,
we
don’t
want
to
be
discussing
our
affairs
on
the
doorstep,
do
we?’
Before
I
knew
what
he
was
about
he’d
stepped
inside
and
pushed
the
door
to
behind
him.

I
wasn’t
sure
how
that
had
happened,
but
I
certainly
didn’t
want
the
likes
of
him
inside
my
house.
What
if
Jon
were
to
return?
And
it
wasn’t
only
that
–
I
didn’t
feel
comfortable
in
his
company,
and
there
was
something
about
his
demeanour
that
I
wasn’t
happy
with
either.

‘Have
you
been
drinking?’
I
stared
at
him.

He
laughed
and
it
wasn’t
a
pleasant
sound.
‘Well
spotted.’

‘But
it’s
not
even
lunchtime,’
I
pointed
out,
and
then
felt
foolish
because
it
was,
after
all,
none
of
my
business.

‘Well
spotted
again,’
he
stood
there,
swaying,
and
added,
‘you
might
want
to
ask
yourself
why
I’ve
been
drinking.’

‘Actually,
I
might
not,’
I
scowled
at
him,
‘because
it’s
absolutely
none
of
my
business.’

‘Ah,’
he
wagged
a
finger
at
me,
‘but
you
made
it
your
business,
didn’t
you,
Mrs
Hammond?
You
couldn’t
just
enjoy
the
quick
shag
that
was
on
offer,
all
that
time
ago,
and
leave
it
at
that,
could
you?
No,
you
had
to
pop
up
like
a
bloody
Jack-in-the
box
umpteen
years
later,
accusing
me
of
fathering
a
kid,
threatening
to
tell
my
wife
and
throwing
ultimatums
about
all
over
the
place.’

I
stared
at
him.
‘I
wasn’t,’
I
protested,
‘I
didn’t.’

‘Well,’
he
carried
on
as
if
I
hadn’t
spoken,
‘I’ve
done
what
you
wanted
and
will
be
leaving
the
school
at
the
end
of
the
term.’

‘Oh,’
I
must
admit
I
was
surprised,
but
I
did
my
best
to
hide
it
and
I
shrugged,
‘It’s
for
the
best.’

‘For
you
maybe,
but
now
I’m
out
of
a
job
and
what
the
hell
am
I
supposed
to
tell
my
wife?’

He
was
beginning
to
get
on
my
nerves,
so
I
said
flippantly,
‘I’m
sure
you’ll
think
of
something.
You’ve
probably
had
lots
of
practice
at
covering
up
your
numerous
indiscretions.’

Ignoring
the
jibe,
he
glared
at
me.
‘And
you
get
off
scot
free?
That
hardly
seems
fair,
does
it?’

I’d
hardly
got
off
scot
free
when
my
marriage
was
in
tatters,
but
I
wasn’t
about
to
tell
him
that.
‘Why
don’t
you
just
tell
me
what
you
want
and
then
go?’
I
demanded,
because
I
could
tell
he
was
definitely
after
something.

His
green
eyes
gleamed
speculatively,
and
the
way
he
looked
me
up
and
down
made
my
flesh
creep.
‘Well,
now,
let’s
see,
a
little
leaving
present
wouldn’t
go
amiss,
would
it?’

He
took
a
step
towards
me
and
I
took
a
bigger
step
back.
‘I
really
think
you
should
leave.
My
husband
will
be
home
for
his
lunch
shortly,’
I
hated
the
fact
that
my
voice
trembled
over
the
lie,’
and
you
wouldn’t
want
him
to
find
you
here,
now
would
you?’

‘Your
husband
,’
he
rasped,
‘is
on
the
train
to
London
as
we
speak.
I
was
actually
on
my
way
here
to
see
you
when
I
saw
him
leave
the
house.
I
followed
him
to
the
station
and
watched
him
purchase
his
ticket
and
get
on
the
train.
I
hadn’t
even
left
the
station
when
you
arrived
on
a
train,
presumably
returning
from
London,
on
the
opposite
platform.
Realising
it
was
obviously
my
lucky
day,
I
followed
you
here.
We
have
lots
of
time
for
a
replay
of
an
event
you’ve
quite
obviously
never
forgotten.’

He
took
another
step
towards
me
and
I
took
another
step
back
and
came
up
hard
against
the
wall.
A
huge
hand
was
placed
against
the
wall
either
side
of
my
head
and
he
leaned
forward
to
kiss
me.
The
smell
of
whiskey
on
his
breath
was
over-powering
and
I
almost
gagged.
I
turned
quickly
away
and
he
laughed
long
and
loud.