Errors of Judgment by Caro Fraser

Author:Caro Fraser [Fraser, Caro]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780749014827
Publisher: Allison & Busby
Published: 2013-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

Twenty minutes later Leo’s Aston Martin pulled into Carlyle Square.

‘When did you move out of Belgravia?’ asked Sarah, as they crossed the street to his house.

‘About four years ago. I wanted somewhere with a garden for Oliver.’ Leo unlocked the door and put on the lights. Sarah followed him into the living room. ‘Make yourself comfortable. I’ll fix us both a drink. What would you like?’

‘Whatever you’re having,’ said Sarah. She wandered round the room, checking out the pictures and pieces of sculpture, some of them familiar, others not. Then she slipped off her heels, picked up a cushion, and sat on the floor with her back against the sofa, tucking the cushion behind her.

Leo returned with their drinks. He handed her a tumbler of Scotch, thinking that she looked no older than she had when he first met her, sitting on the carpet with her arms round her knees, blonde hair glinting in the glow of the single lamp. He sat down in an armchair opposite, setting the decanter on the floor next to the chair. He stretched out his legs, unfastening his bow tie and the top button of his dress shirt.

Sarah took a sip of her drink. ‘Nice malt,’ she said. ‘Why do you spoil it by putting ice in it?’

‘Sorry. Didn’t realise you were such a purist.’

‘You knew. You’ve just forgotten.’ She swirled the contents of her glass. ‘So – what’s going on in the wonderful world of 5 Caper Court?’

‘Not a great deal. Things roll on much as they ever did. I’m thinking of making some personal changes, though. I may be applying to become a High Court judge.’

‘That’ll be the day. You’d be bored stiff. I know Daddy found it pretty tedious.’

‘Actually, I don’t know why I say “may be applying”. The fact is, I am.’

She stared at him over the rim of her glass. ‘Seriously? You’d be prepared to go from earning what you do as a silk, to a pitiful hundred thousand grand a year? I find that hard to believe.’

‘Life’s not all about money.’

‘Really? Since when?’

‘I’ve gained a great deal from being in the legal profession. It’s shaped my entire life. Now I feel it’s time to give something back. One can’t just go on taking for ever. And the financial sacrifice is hardly as great as you make it sound. I earn far more than I need. Life can be lived quite comfortably on a judge’s salary, you know. If one is doing something one loves and believes in, it’s not hard to make adjustments, to relinquish a standard of living which most people would find ridiculously extravagant anyway, for a single man.’

‘Leo, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you sound so horribly pious.’ Sarah took a swig of whisky. But his words had touched her on the raw. It was exactly what she wasn’t prepared to do where Toby was concerned – to lower her expectations and accept, for love of him, a life less easy and affluent than she had hoped for.

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