Worst Idea Ever by Jane Fallon

Author:Jane Fallon [Fallon, Jane]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781405943376
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2021-04-28T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER 25

It’s only been a couple of days since Lydia met up with Nick but she feels as if she needs to make contact. Remind him that she’s here if he needs her. She sends him a text. How are you doing? Georgia called her, incandescent with rage, after she discovered he had been home while she was out to collect more stuff. Lydia couldn’t deny it, she was pleased that he’d listened to her, taken her advice. Maybe now he would confide in her more, use her as a shoulder to cry on. That would be enough for the time being. Until he’s ready.

Patricia has also been in evidence, asking thinly disguised questions about what she knows. Hedging around the subject in a way that Georgia obviously thinks is subtle. Lydia is tempted to elaborate more in her replies, but she has to stay within the bounds of what Georgia might believe she would tell a stranger. Lydia has always made a virtue of her dismissal of gossip. It’s one of her best qualities and one she’s worked hard to cultivate. Not to mention the fact that she doesn’t want to tell Georgia anything she could fact check. So no real specifics. She’s pretty confident she’ll never be able to check there is no Emma at Diamond Leisure. Of course there is an Emma. There are probably twenty-five. But there is no Emma who is friends with Lydia. There is no Emma at Diamond Leisure that Lydia has ever met. She picked the name for its popularity among women their age. There were six in her year at school alone.

It’s almost funny watching Patricia flounder. She can’t imagine how frustrating it is for Georgia not to be able to ask the question she really wants answered outright. Who is it that Nick is seeing? Lydia knows that Georgia has narrowed it down to two suspects – Lou and Siobhan – and that suits Lydia perfectly. She has no intention of steering her in the direction of one or the other.

She works on the illustrations for her book – it’s for children but it’s dark, an underworld world. ‘It’s Game of Thrones for eight-year-olds,’ she imagines herself saying to prospective publishers, giving a little laugh. ‘But with gnomes. Game of Gnomes.’ Obviously there’s no gore, no murders, but it’s a cute description. They’ll remember it. Especially if she plays it like she’s just come up with it. An off-the-cuff remark. She hasn’t yet heard back from a few of the publishers she sent it to, so she still has hope. But deep down she’s scared. It’s all very well telling herself she could be as successful as Georgia if she tried; it’s another thing altogether to actually try and have that dream shattered.

She loses herself in her task. It’s like therapy. The only time that her brain quietens. She’s scratching away at the roots of a tree, her magnifying glass propped up in front of her, when her mobile buzzes.

Not too bad, Nick says.

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