Bold Counsel (The Trials of Sarah Newby) Read Free Page A

agency, and try to support him by earning money on the street corners of Leeds. Instead of which, here she was, with a successful career at the Bar, a luxury home in a country village by the river, two grown up children, her daughter a student at Cambridge ...
    And a husband who wanted someone better .
    ‘It’s not just an affair, it’s something more. Look, Sarah, we’ve grown apart, that’s all. It’s not so strange, it’s normal these days. Simon and Emily are grown up, they don’t need us like they did. We had what we had, Sarah, and it was good - twenty years is a long time to stay married, more than most people manage. But that doesn’t mean we should cling to the husk of a relationship when that’s all it is. Something whose time has passed.’
    ‘A husk? That’s what you call our marriage now - a husk?’
    ‘It’s just a way of describing it. The shell of a seed that has flowered and grown ...’
    ‘I know what a husk is, Bob.’
    They stared at each other, speechless for a moment. Sarah was oddly aware of the humming of the freezer in the silence. Keeping the ready meals cold.
    ‘And you feel something ... better ... for this Sonya, is that it?’
    ‘Better in the sense of more real, more alive, yes.’
    ‘Not a husk.’
    ‘No. I’m sorry, Sarah.’
    ‘Don’t!’ Her voice was sharp, like a whipcrack. ‘ Don’t apologize to me, Bob! Not now, not ever! Don’t you dare demean us both like that.’ She drew a deep breath. The tears were there, not far behind, but something - shock or rage or both - was blocking them. The one thing she’d always been able to control was her voice. Speaking slowly, she relied on it now.
    ‘You came home tonight to tell me this, did you? Not that you wanted a decent meal but that you wanted to leave me. Is that what you’re saying?’
    He nodded slowly.
    ‘To live with this woman Sonya. You really mean that?’
    He nodded again.
    ‘It know it’s painful, Sarah, but it may be for the best. You know things haven’t really been right between us for a couple of years now. You can’t deny it, surely. You don’t want me, you want someone from the world you live in - some lawyer, policeman, someone like that. If we divorce, you could marry again. It’s not too late. Think of it as a difficult decision that has to be made. In a year from now it may look different.’
    ‘You’re not just leaving then, you want a divorce?’
    ‘It seems the best way. Then we’ll both be free.’
    The hypocrisy of this suddenly overwhelmed her. He was setting her free so he could go to this Sonya of his, with her home cooked meals and understanding! While she could do what? Live alone, look for someone else. For a second she felt an impulse to throw something at him - a plate, a cup, a saucepan - or rush upstairs and shred all his clothes with scissors, throw paint over his Volvo. But the essence of Sarah’s character, the one thing that had brought her success, was ferocious determination and titanium self-control. She might not be physically strong, but there was little that could break her. And much as she hated to admit it, part of her - the cool analytical brain she relied on in court - saw some truth in Bob’s words. She didn’t really love him as she once had - she tolerated him like an old skirt or jacket too comfortable to throw away, but which, when examined critically in the mirror, was no longer fashionable or a even particularly good fit.
    But it was one thing to throw away a jacket, quite another when the jacket rejected you. With a huge effort she controlled her rage and spoke. Her voice was husky with tears that must come - but not yet! Not until he’s gone and can’t see me.
    ‘If that’s how you see it, Bob, then I think you should go. Now , tonight, straight away. Go to this Sonya of yours and tell her I sent you.’
    He looked shocked. Whatever response he’d expected, this wasn’t the one.
    ‘Only promise me one thing, Bob, will you - for all the