The Babysitter(33)

‘Have I?’ Mel looked down at herself. That was a silver lining in the gloom, she thought, and then she felt her heart sink all over again. Why was she thinking this way? Feeling this way?

‘I take it she’s the new babysitter?’ Lisa enquired, as they walked to the kitchen for coffee and a catch-up. ‘Live in, I gather?’

Information conveyed by Mark, Mel guessed. ‘That’s right. She’d bought Monk’s Cottage just up the lane – moved in with us after it caught fire. It was totally burned out. You must have noticed as you passed.’

She checked the wall clock – aware it might take some time to make herself gorgeous – and then headed for the kettle, as Lisa parked herself on a stool at the kitchen island.

‘I did,’ Lisa said. ‘She was literally on your doorstep then?’

‘Yes.’ Mel spooned coffee into the mugs – or, rather, missed, cursing silently. ‘We hadn’t had much to do with each other really, but with her house going up in flames…’

‘You got talking?’

‘Obviously.’ Coffee successfully made, Mel picked up the mugs and carried them over, without spilling any, thankfully. ‘It was awful. All her worldly goods gone up in smoke. I offered her a roof for the night and, as we’d been considering a babysitter… Well, you could say she fell into our laps. I hate to say it, but the timing couldn’t have been better, to be honest. She’s an absolute godsend.’

‘So Mark says.’ Lisa sounded sceptical. ‘And she’s qualified, presumably?’

‘Of course. She has her childcare qualifications. I wouldn’t have entertained the idea of employing her otherwise.’ Reminded that she hadn’t got around to asking Jade about her references, she dismissed a flicker of guilt. The girl had more than proved herself in Mel’s eyes.

‘Right.’ Lisa nodded. ‘But don’t you mind having another woman around?’

Mel eyed her with amusement. ‘You mean having a pretty young woman around?’

‘Just saying.’ Lisa shrugged.

‘Not all men do what Paul did, Lisa,’ Mel said, kindly, aware that Lisa’s last boyfriend had dumped her for a younger model.

Lisa gave her a look as she dipped into the biscuit barrel. Her ‘Yes, and pigs fly’ look.

Mel wasn’t sure she liked the inference. Cautioning herself not to overreact, she pulled in a breath and reminded herself she’d been doing that a lot recently, reading things into things that weren’t there. She’d even imagined that Jade had had the cat she’d supposedly loved put down. It had taken her ages to ask her. Jade had been horrified. She’d asked a friend to take it in, it turned out. Mel had felt awful.

‘So,’ she said, mustering up a smile, ‘what else have you and Mark been discussing, apart from the attributes of the babysitter?’

Lisa’s eyes flicked to hers. ‘Nothing much. This and that,’ she said vaguely.

‘Such as?’ Mel asked, watching her carefully over the rim of her mug.

Lisa put down her coffee and looked up to eye Mel levelly. ‘He’s worried about you, Mel,’ she said, searching her eyes, a curious look in her own.

‘Oh.’ Definite unease was now gnawing at Mel’s stomach. ‘I see,’ she said, taking stock. ‘So, you’ve been discussing me then, clearly.’

Lisa looked away awkwardly. ‘Well, yes, naturally you come up sometimes. But Mark was only confiding in me out of concern, Mel. He—’

‘Our intimate relationship?’ Mel felt her mouth go dry, her cheeks heat up. ‘Does that come under discussion during these cosy conversations you have?’

‘No!’ Lisa refuted. ‘Mark wouldn’t do that. You know he wouldn’t. He’s just been concerned about you—’

‘You text each other a lot, don’t you?’ Mel cut in angrily. It seemed to her that Lisa knew an awful lot about what Mark would or wouldn’t do. And, clearly, she didn’t. She’d never imagined her husband would discuss their personal details with all and sundry.

Lisa splayed her hands, looking incredulous. ‘Only on work matters. For God’s sake, Mel, you don’t honestly think that I—’

‘Or, rather, you text him.’

‘Oh, come on, Mel.’ Lisa eyed the ceiling. ‘You know very well I only ever text him about work.’

But she didn’t know, did she? She trusted Mark, implicitly. Or she had. There had been something between Lisa and him once, at least Mel had suspected there had. He’d gone out with her, Mel had been sure of it. Her mind raced back to the first time she’d met Mark, when she’d been giving her statement about her ex. ‘Thanks for last night,’ Lisa had said. She’d threaded an arm around his waist as she passed him in the corridor and given him a squeeze. Thanks for last night! Mel had heard her, loud and clear. She’d assumed they’d had a thing. She’d been wrong, or so she’d been led to believe. She’d asked Mark about it, trying to sound casual. Lisa had needed a shoulder, he’d said. Still married to her abusive husband, she’d been having some problems. Yes, and what else had he offered her, Mel thought, fuming now at the obvious lie. Regular little white knight, wasn’t he?

She narrowed her eyes. ‘Did he ask you to come here?’