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‘Right,’ she said, dragging the twisted telephone cord behind her as she went to make herself comfortable on the bottom stair ‘Are you still there, Mandy?’

‘Yes’ The ansas gruff and terse ‘Why don’t you employ someone to help you with those kids?’ Mandy asked irritably ‘They’re an absolute pain in the neck sometimes!’

‘I’ll tell Daniel you said that,’ Rachel threatened, not taking offence So Mandy was not the maternal type; she could accept that Rachel was very maternal, and was not ashamed to admit it ‘And we do employ help,’ she defended that criticiss, that’s all Live-in help feels as though you’ve got peruests I can’t relax around them’

‘Become any more relaxed,’ Mandy oodness’ sake, Rachel! Will you stop e Beauty and wake up?’

‘Wake up to what?’ She frowned, totally bewildered as to why Mandy felt this sudden need to attack her

A harsh sigh rattled down the line to her eardruht?’

The frown deepened ‘Working late,’ she answered

‘He’s been doing a lot of that recently, hasn’t he?’

‘Well, yes—but he’s been very busy with that takeover thing with Harveys You know about it, don’t you?’ she pro it the last time you came to dinner…’

‘The Harvey thing was over hed

Months? Had it really beenback Michael had been about—three o! My God, where had the days, weeks—one to?

‘Hey!’ she exclaiain soon I hadn’t realised it was so long since I’d seen you! I’ll talk to Daniel and see which night would be—’

‘Rachel!’ The sheer exasperation in Mandy’s voice cut her short ‘For goodness sake—I didn’t call you to wheedle a dinner invitation out of you! Though your dinners are worth attending when you bother to put one on,’ she added, with yether tone ‘Not that I kno you find the time, ith a house and three crazy kids to take care of, not to mention a selfish swine like…’

She was off on her usual soap-box, Rachel acknowledged, switching off Mandy hated the way Rachel liked to run her hoht Daniel contributed little or nothing She did not understand how busy he was, how hard it had been for hi family at the same ti hours he had to work, that she understood that he was doing it for them, herself and the children, for their future security

‘…and I just can’t let it go on any longer without telling you, Rachel You are my friend, after all, not hi on under your very nose…’

‘Hey, back up a little, will you?’ Rachel had switched her attention back to what Mandy was saying only to find she had completely lost the thread of the conversation ‘I think I ht under my nose that you think I should know about?’

‘See?’ Mandy cried i off when so important Wake up, for God’s sake, Rachel Wake up!’

‘Wake up to what?’ Like Mandy, she was beginning to get impatient herself

‘To that bastard you’reyou for a fool! He isn’t working late He’s out with another woman!’

The words cracked like a whip, bringing Rachel jerking to her feet ‘What, tonight?’ she heard herself say stupidly

‘No, not tonight in particular,’ Mandy answered heavily, obviously thinking the question as stupid as Rachel thought it ‘Sohts,’ she adjusted ‘I don’t kno often! I just know that he is having an affair, and all of London seems to know about it except for you!’

Silence Rachel was having difficulty functioning on any conscious level Her breath was lying frozen inside her lungs, as pins and needles—like a deadening drug adathered in her throat andway down to her feet

‘I’ her shock, Mandy’s voice softened and beca this, noto say how hty fall But she ed to restrain herself Mandy disliked Daniel Daniel disliked Mandy Neither of them had ever made a secret of the fact that they put up with each other only for Rachel’s sake ‘And don’t think I’ sure ofsilence ‘They’ve been seen around town In restaurants—you know—being too intimate with each other for a business relationship But worse than that, I’ve seen the as Lydia Marsden,’ she explained ‘I’ve seen the…’

Rachel had stopped listening Her s—pointers thatjust too probable to be diss she should have picked up on weeks ago, but she had been too busy, too wrapped up in her own hectic routine to notice, too trusting of the man whose love for herself and the children she had never questioned