The Secrets Women Keep Read Free Page A

a change of
clothes for every occasion. Got to keep up the good fight, and I’m not giving in yet. They take up so much space, that’s the problem.’
    ‘I’ll say,’ said Rose. She felt some relief now that Eve was here. Perhaps she would talk to her about the text. Eve would know what she should do, would reassure her that
she’d got the wrong end of the stick. ‘Lost bags almost always turn up. Don’t let it spoil things. You can always borrow something of mine.’
    Eve snorted. ‘Of yours? Kind offer, dearest sister-in-law, but one of your dresses would just about fit round my thigh.’
    Rose laughed. ‘Nonsense. Come in and I’ll see what I can dig out.’ She took the case and carried it towards the house. ‘Good journey otherwise?’
    ‘Bloody awful.’ Eve was right behind her. ‘I vowed last year that I’d never fly budget airline again, but you know what Terry’s like if he sniffs a bargain. So it
was the usual being herded on to the plane like cattle and then we had to sit on the bloody runway for an hour and a half because of heavy air traffic at Pisa. Then when we arrived we had to bank
for another half an hour, flying so low we were practically scraping the tiles off the roofs. Terrifying. Haven’t they heard of timetables in Italy?’
    ‘Oh, you know what it’s like here,’ Rose said vaguely, as she led the way round the main building to the outhouses. ‘You’re in the old stable this time.
OK?’
    ‘Provided there’s mosquito netting at the windows and the horses have been moved out, anywhere’s perfect.’
    ‘I hadn’t forgotten, so I’ve put in every deterrent I could find in the Co-op, plus some calamine just in case.’ She opened the door of the old stable, now a sparely
furnished but comfortable sitting room, bedroom and bathroom. ‘Why don’t you unpack what you’ve got and then come over to the terrace for a drink?’ Suddenly she had an
overwhelming desire to be on her own as she admitted what must be the truth to herself for the first time. Eve wouldn’t be able to reassure her, because Daniel must be having an affair. That
could be the only explanation.
    ‘A drink sounds like a fine plan. I’ll be two minutes.’ Eve sized up the extremely narrow double bed, the only size that would fit in the space. ‘No twin beds
then?’
    Rose shook her head, pretending not to notice Eve’s small despairing sigh. Her brother and sister-in-law’s sex life was not something she wanted to go into. ‘Anything you want,
just give me a yell.’
    ‘Are you OK?’ Eve put her hand on Rose’s arm.
    ‘Yeah, of course. Why?’ To her horror, Rose felt tears pricking at her eyes.
    ‘I don’t know, you just seem a bit . . . I don’t know . . . off.’ She pulled Rose towards her. ‘Look at me.’
    ‘Don’t be silly.’ Rose turned her head away, blinking. ‘I’ll just go and rescue lunch, and look out some clothes for you.’ She manoeuvred her way around
Terry, who was blocking the doorway. She didn’t look up, just in case he noticed something was wrong. ‘See you in a minute,’ she called, her voice as steady as she could
manage.
    Eve said something in reply, but Rose didn’t hear what. Her head felt as if someone had poured a ton of setting cement into her skull. Her limbs were leaden as she made her way into the
kitchen. Daniel. An affair. The words thumped inside her head. That text, so passionate, so needy, had driven home what until that moment she had always been able to ignore. Other women still
wanted him. And this time he must have responded. She shivered, suddenly as cold as if a sharp wind was blowing around the back of her heart. What on earth was she to do?

 
     
     
     
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    I mpatient for lunch to be over, Rose dipped in and out of the conversation, only responding to the remarks addressed to her then drifting off
again, wondering what would happen to their family gatherings if she and Daniel split up. She picked at