Our Kind of Cruelty(79)

‘Yes.’ V jutted out her chin, her jaw set tight.

‘And whose idea was it to do that?’

‘Mine. I was curious about having sex with a woman but I didn’t want to do it without Mike being there.’

‘Why were you curious, Mrs Metcalf? Was it something you’d never done before?’

‘Yes.’

Xander looked down at the papers in his hands. ‘That’s strange because I have statements from an Angela Burrows who says you and she had a sexual relationship for three months in the first year of university.’

I looked between Xander and V.

I saw V’s shoulders rise, but then they dropped again. ‘Yes,’ she said.

‘Yes what?’

‘Yes I had a sexual relationship with Angela.’

‘Did Mr Hayes know about it?’

‘No.’

I can’t remember Angela Burrows but next time I am allowed on to a computer I shall look her up.

‘So, when you asked him to watch you having sex with a woman because you were curious, you were lying?’

‘Not exactly. I was curious. I was curious about it in that situation.’

‘But you chose to lie to get your own way.’

‘It was hardly a lie.’

Xander tipped his head to one side. ‘We will have to disagree about that, Mrs Metcalf. Either way, however, it seems fair to say that you and Mr Hayes were involved in an intricate, highly sexual game which went on for many years and which few other people knew about?’

‘That’s unfair. You’re twisting things and making them sound different from how they were.’

I wanted to tell her to stop looking so angry.

‘Could you tell us about the Kitten Club, Mrs Metcalf,’ Xander said.

I felt my body pull upwards at those words and I saw V do the same. She held her hand to her face and appeared to wobble slightly.

‘Mrs Metcalf, are you all right?’ Justice Smithson asked, leaning over his bench.

‘I feel a bit faint,’ V said.

‘Can someone get Mrs Metcalf some water. And a chair,’ the judge said and I was aware of movement. I leaned forward, screaming at V in my head, and she must have heard because she looked up, her eyes pools of misery. We have another signal, one we learnt when we wanted to let the other know that we hadn’t told someone anything. Because we had so many secrets, so many pacts and stories which existed between us, it was sometimes dangerous to be in conversation with other people. As soon as I knew she was looking I opened my eyes wide and turned my head to the right so she could be sure that I hadn’t discussed this with Xander and she could tell the truth.

‘Are you able to continue?’ Justice Smithson asked when V had been seated on a chair with water at her side.

‘Yes,’ V said, ‘I’m sorry.’

Xander stepped forward again. ‘You were about to tell us about the Kitten Club.’

‘It’s a private members’ club.’

‘A private members’ club which specialises in fulfilling sexual fantasies,’ Xander said. ‘I believe in layman’s terms they organise orgies. Is that correct?’

‘It is.’

‘And you and Mr Hayes were members?’

‘We only went once.’

‘You paid five hundred pounds and you only went once?’

‘We realised it wasn’t for us when we got there. We didn’t even take part the one time we went.’

‘What made you think you’d enjoy it at all?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘It was just the sort of thing you and Mr Hayes were into then?’

‘Well, it turned out not to be.’

‘But it wasn’t out of the question that you would do something like this?’

‘I don’t see how this is relevant in any way.’ V turned to look at the judge, but he kept his eyes on the papers in front of him.

Xander ignored her as well. ‘One more thing about this Kitten Club,’ he said, sounding as if the words tasted bad on his tongue. ‘I believe when you register you have to provide names. They call them code names. And they advise you not to use your real names. Perhaps you could tell the court the names you and Mr Hayes used.’

V looked straight at Xander. ‘Truth and Lies.’

Xander looked at the jury. ‘Truth and Lies,’ he repeated and I thought I heard an intake of breath somewhere.

‘It was just a play on my name. It didn’t mean anything.’

But Xander acted as though he hadn’t heard her again. ‘You lied to Mr Hayes about the ending of your relationship, didn’t you, choosing to lay all the blame at his door rather than taking any responsibility yourself. You blamed him for his one-night stand, when in fact you were having an affair with Angus Metcalf.’

‘I’ve already said I regret that.’

Xander turned from the witness box and walked towards the jury. ‘Would you say you have a face you present to the world and a face you wear in private, Mrs Metcalf?’

‘Objection, your honour,’ Petra said.

‘Sustained,’ Justice Smithson replied, which surprised me.

‘All right then,’ Xander said. ‘Will you please explain to us why on earth you didn’t tell your husband that Mr Hayes came to meet you from work after you received those emails on honeymoon which you said upset you so much? You went for a drink with him and you failed to mention that to your husband.’