Nights at the Majestic by Kit Eyre

Author:Kit Eyre
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kit Eyre

Chapter Fifteen

Eve’s footsteps sounded hollow on the stairs. Lizzie listened until she got to the landing then she heard the unmistakable squeak of her heading to the attic. That loosened the knot in her stomach a bit, even if she didn’t know how she was feeling or what to do next.

Her gaze caught on the abandoned mugs of hot chocolate. Maybe she should take them upstairs as a peace offering, try to restart the conversation. Then again, maybe they needed something stronger than that.

There was a bottle of white wine in the fridge that she’d intended to use with the risotto, but it wasn’t ultra cheap stuff. After a minute of wondering whether it was a daft idea, she poured two large glasses and set them on the table while she made sure the house was secure. The last thing they needed was Paul storming back in.

She balanced the wine glasses with a packet of custard creams in her hands and went up to the landing, telling herself that if Eve had closed the door, she’d leave it. But she hadn’t and Lizzie climbed the thin staircase with deliberately clumping footsteps.

Eve was watching from the sofa when she reached the top, eyebrows knitted together. It didn’t feel comfortable up here, not like it had when they’d been watching films, but the full glare of the main light hadn’t been on then. She missed the intimacy of the lamps, especially that new one Eve had bought at the antiques shop.

Lizzie held out one of the glasses. ‘If you want me to go, that’s fine. I just thought you could do with a drink. And a biscuit.’

There was a little snort from Eve as she took the wine, but at least she wasn’t kicking her out. Lizzie risked sitting beside her on the sofa, feeling the cushion ripple underneath her. She gave it thirty seconds then cracked open the custard creams and offered one over. Eve took it and they chewed quietly, both washing down the crumbs with wine.

‘I’m sorry,’ Lizzie said finally.

‘You don’t need to apologise. I should have told you all this before inviting you to stay. I didn’t know how to.’

‘I turned up on your doorstep without warning,’ Lizzie reminded her.

Eve conceded that with a shrug. ‘But then I made a choice and I made you complicit in a lie.’

‘What’s the lie? You just didn’t tell me straight away, same as I didn’t tell you everything about me because you don’t do that. I mean, I lived with Megan and Rhona for years and they couldn’t tell you anything about what I like or don’t like. You know more about me in a couple of weeks than they ever did.’

Until she’d said it, she didn’t realise how true it was. Eve shifted in her seat, edging away as much as she could and Lizzie thought it was because she didn’t believe her. Then she recognised it could be because she did. Putting the packet of biscuits and her wine on the end table, she turned back around to Eve.

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