The Endgame Read Free Page B

and the white wine was crisp and cold.
    ‘This is delicious,’ Lisa told Isabel.
    ‘Thank you, but I can’t take all the credit,’ she said, with a smile at Grayson. ‘We did it all together.’
    ‘Oh.’ It must be nice, she thought with a pang, to have a boyfriend who cooked with you. She remembered when she used to cook with her grandmother, how they had chatted and laughed as they worked. It made the simple domestic tasks fun when you had someone to share them with. She missed having that kind of companionship.
    ‘Isabel is solely responsible for making everything look so beautiful, though,’ Grayson said. ‘She has an artist’s touch.’
    ‘What sort of art do you do?’ Lisa asked her.
    ‘Mostly sculpture. But I’ve been doing a little painting recently too.’
    Lisa had noticed a couple of very striking pieces when they entered the room. ‘Are these yours?’ she asked Isabel, nodding at them.
    ‘Yes,’ Isabel smiled. ‘Grayson is my biggest fan.’
    ‘And what do you do, Lisa?’ Grayson asked her, looking at her again with that intense focus.
    ‘Oh, I’m –‘ It was on the tip of her tongue to say that she was an artist too, but she pulled herself up. Mark didn’t like her to talk about her art and he would mock her if she ever referred to herself as an artist now. The idea that she might still think of herself that way was laughable to him. ‘I don’t work at the moment,’ she said instead.
    ‘Oh?’ Isabel seemed surprised. Lisa was used to that reaction – it was unusual for a woman of her age with no children not to work.
    ‘Lisa has a full-time job looking after me and the house,’ Mark said, smiling at her indulgently. ‘She doesn’t need to work. I keep her in the luxury to which she’s accustomed.’
    Lisa blushed, feeling foolish. He made her sound like a kept woman, just a decorative adjunct to his life with no purpose of her own. But then, she reflected, it was true – that was what she had let herself become.
    ‘What did you do before?’ Grayson asked.
    ‘I worked in Mark’s gallery for a while – just admin stuff,’ she shrugged.
    ‘Ah, so that’s where you two met?’ Isabel asked, glancing between her and Mark.
    ‘No, we met when I was at college.’
    ‘What were you studying?’ Grayson asked.
    ‘Art.’ She glanced at Mark and she could see he was mad that this had come up. It was subtle and she knew she was the only one who would notice the flintiness in his eyes, the slight tightening of his jaw.
    ‘Oh?’
    Isabel and Grayson both perked up at this, looking at her expectantly.
    ‘I was in my second year, but I – I dropped out shortly after meeting Mark.’ She realised how pathetic that sounded. ‘I didn’t finish my degree.’
    ‘That’s a shame,’ Isabel said.
    ‘She didn’t have the talent,’ Mark said bluntly. ‘It would have been pointless to continue.’
    Something like annoyance flickered in Isabel’s face.
    ‘It’s true,’ Lisa said. She got the feeling Isabel was about to challenge Mark and she wanted to avoid any confrontation. She would only pay for it later. ‘I realised I’d never make it as an artist. I was wasting my time.’
    ‘There’s merit in knowing your limitations,’ Mark said, smiling at her.
    Keen to change the subject, Lisa turned to Grayson. ‘This is a beautiful house,’ she said. ‘Did you design it yourself?’
    ‘Thank you. Yes, I did.’
    ‘You have some interesting art,’ Mark said, glancing around at the walls.
    Grayson nodded. ‘It’s my biggest indulgence.’
    Lisa was relieved as the conversation moved away from her to a more general discussion about art, a subject which they all had in common to some degree. Grayson was very knowledgeable about the contemporary London art scene. He was an enthusiastic collector and admired many of the same artists she did. She longed to join in more with the conversation, but she knew it would anger Mark if she drew too much attention to herself and