‘Mum?’

Her face still wet with tears, Juliet swung round to find Tiff with his eyes open once more, huge and as dark as pansies against the pallor of his thin face.

‘It’s OK, darling.’ Lovingly she stroked his cheek. ‘I’m crying because I’m happy. You’ve been a bit poorly, but you’re getting better now.’

‘Why’s he here?’ Tiff’s gaze had settled on Oliver.

Juliet wavered. He had to be told now, that went without saying. But not right at this minute.

‘He ... um, came to see how you are, sweetheart. Everyone’s been asking after you.’

Uninterested, Tiff looked away from Oliver.

‘Where’s Sophie and Jake?’

‘They’re at home. Look, here are some of the cards Sophie made you.’ Eagerly Juliet held them up; making cards had been Sophie’s way of willing Tiff to recover. ‘How about this one, with a picture of Bean on the front and—’

‘Jake was carrying me.’ Tiff’s forehead creased with the effort of remembering. ‘Carrying and carrying me. Will he be here soon with Sophie?’

‘As soon as you’re well enough for visitors.’ Juliet gave his hand an encouraging squeeze.

‘But they’re the ones I want to see.’ Tiff’s dismissive glance over at Oliver was excruciating; Juliet winced on Oliver’s behalf.

‘I know, sweetheart. We’ll have to ask the doctor. Sophie’s missed you too.’

Tiff’s eyelashes drooped with exhaustion. Still clutching Juliet’s hand, he closed his eyes and drifted off again. Oliver approached the bed.

‘Look at him.’ Juliet felt her heart expand with love. ‘He’s going to be all right.’ As a huge yawn overtook her she added, ‘I feel as if I could sleep for a month.’

‘Right. Well, he’s out of danger now. On the mend.’ Oliver glanced at his watch. ‘Why don’t you grab a rest while he’s out for the count? If you don’t need me any more, I could shoot up to London. See what’s been going on while I’ve been away.’

Juliet nodded. Not allowed to have his mobile switched on in the hospital, Oliver had been reduced to hurrying outside every couple of hours to check out the ever-increasing number of messages and deal with the most urgent to the best of his ability over the phone. After six days, he must be desperate to get back to work. It was completely understandable.

It was also, if she was honest, something of a relief.

‘That’s fine.’ Awkwardly, she offered her cheek up for the kiss Oliver seemed determined to plant there. ‘Well, thanks for ... everything.’

‘Ring me if you need to. I’ll be in touch tomorrow anyway.’

Feeling horribly guilty, Juliet said, ‘Any word yet from Estelle?’

Oliver briefly shook his head. ‘No.’

‘Will you try and find her?’

‘It’s not my place to find Estelle, even if I could. I was the one who cheated on her. I let her down,’

Oliver said wearily, ‘and she left me.’

‘For someone else who let her down.’ Juliet felt terrible; she’d always really liked Estelle.

‘I know.’ Checking his watch again, Oliver jangled his car keys. ‘Double betrayal. OK, I’m going to make a move. Will you tell Tiff ?’

‘That you’ve gone up to London?’

Oliver gave her a measured look. ‘That I’m his father.’

‘Oh, right.’ Inwardly shrinking away from the prospect, Juliet nodded. ‘If you want me to.’

‘It’s not a question of that. Everyone knows now. We don’t have any choice.’ After a last look at Tiff, Oliver left.

While Tiff was asleep, Juliet phoned Jake from the call box in the corridor outside the ward. Less than twenty minutes later the doors of the ITU swung open and Jake burst in. Still exhausted but too elated to sleep herself, Juliet hastily rubbed her hands over her face and stumbled to her feet. The next moment she was wrapped in a rib-crushing embrace. Jake smelled deliciously of wood shavings and varnish and was wearing paint-smeared jeans.

Fresh paint, she discovered, gazing down at the streak of lilac on the front of her skirt.

As if it mattered.

Jake was grinning too. ‘Sorry, I just couldn’t wait. I had to come straight away. It’s the best news in the world.’

‘I know.’ Letting him go, her eyes filling with tears of joy all over again, Juliet watched him pull up a chair next to Tiff’s bed and gaze at the boy intently. Within seconds, as if by telepathy, Tiff’s eyes opened.

‘Jake! You’re here!’ Breaking into a broad smile of delight, he raised his thin arms a few inches from the bed. Careful not to dislodge the IV drips running into his arms, Jake gave him a hug. In return, Tiff’s left hand curled round Jake’s neck.

The look on each of their faces said it all; deeply moved, Juliet almost couldn’t bear to watch.

‘I’m here,’ said Jake, ‘and so are you. Now, Sophie’s desperate to see you but when your mum asked the doctors, they said it wasn’t a good idea. Not for another day or so, at least. But all you need to do is carry on getting better, then they’ll move you to the children’s ward. Once you’re there, Sophie will be able to come and see you as often as she wants.’

‘Has she missed me?’ Tiff looked pleased.

‘Absolutely. We’ve all missed you.’ Jake smoothed a lock of Tiff’s hair back from his forehead.

‘Nuala and Maddy are looking after your mum’s shop. When I went over to tell them you were getting better, they both cried.’ Jake shook his head in disgust. ‘What a bunch of girls.’

‘ Mum did too.’ Grinning, Tiff said, ‘Did you cry?’

‘Watch your language. We’re men,’ said Jake. ‘We never cry.’

‘It’s because we have willies,’ Tiff agreed, indicating Juliet with a knowing nod of his head. ‘And they haven’t.’

Jake stayed with Tiff while Juliet showered and changed into clean clothes. She put on the long turquoise dress and lilac cardigan Jake had brought along for her – not perfect, but it could have been a lot worse – and applied lipstick and mascara almost as if the nightmare of the last week had never happened.

‘Now, are you sure this is OK?’ Juliet asked Tiff for the hundredth time, ten minutes later.

‘It’s OK,’ Tiff patiently repeated, ‘I’m tired. I’m going to sleep in a minute. When I’m asleep, you and Jake are going out for something to eat, so if I wake up you won’t be here. But Mel will be here,’ he went on, beaming at his favourite nurse, ‘so it doesn’t matter. She’ll be like my babysitter.’

Cheerily, Mel said, ‘Better still, I’m free!’

Juliet wondered if all the nurses regarded her as a selfish, hopelessly neglectful mother, waltzing off to a restaurant leaving her fragile seven-year-old son all alone in his hospital bed.

‘Oh please,’ Mel tut-tutted good-naturedly, catching her look of anguish, ‘don’t even think it.

We’re sick of the sight of you! Off you go.’

‘ And Mel’s the boss,’ said Jake, whose idea it had been. ‘Do as she says or she’ll zap you with a defibrillator.’

‘Jake will have his phone with him,’ Juliet told Tiff. ‘If you want me, all they have to do is ring us. We can be back here in five minutes.’

‘Night, Mum.’

‘And we’ll be back in two hours, whatever happens.’ "K,’ mumbled Tiff.

Oh God, how could she do this to him? How could she heartlessly abandon him? ‘Look,’ Juliet said in desperation, ‘if you’d rather we stayed—’

‘Mum?’

‘What darling? What is it?’

‘Could you not make so much noise?’ Tiff murmured. ‘I’m trying to go to sleep.’

Chapter 48

‘I can’t believe it. Posh plates,’ Juliet marvelled. ‘Wine glasses made out of real glass, cutlery that isn’t plastic.’

‘And candles,’ said Jake. ‘Major health and safety hazard if ever I saw one. It’s playing with fire, having candles at a table.’

Juliet smiled. He’d brought her to Romano’s, an Italian restaurant around the corner from Pulteney Bridge with a good reputation for food and an atmosphere lively and buzzy enough to allow them to talk without being overheard. She didn’t know if Jake had chosen it for this reason but she was glad to be here.

‘Speaking of playing with fire,’ Jake went on, ‘do you feel like telling me how it all happened?’

Juliet nodded. She owed him that much at least. If she was honest, she’d wanted to tell Jake for years.

‘I met Oliver when I was twenty-five. I was working for a catering company, providing directors’

lunches in the city. I thought he was wonderful,’ Juliet said simply. ‘I also thought he was single. But he swept me off my feet, and by the time I found out he was married, I was already pregnant.’

‘Carry on,’ Jake prompted.

Juliet pulled a face. ‘Well, if this was a film, I’d be the plucky pregnant single woman telling Oliver to take a running jump and soldiering on without him. Except I wasn’t that plucky. I’m not proud of this, but at the time I was scared witless. I had a threatened miscarriage at five months, which meant the catering company couldn’t get rid of me fast enough and made me redundant. After Tiff was born, my landlord refused to renew the lease on my flat. When Oliver came up with his plan, I honestly didn’t feel I had any other choice. I was so grateful I just went along with it.’

‘So he brought you down to Ashcombe,’ said Jake. ‘Bought the delicatessen and set you up, so that he’d have his mistress and his child living just down the road from his wife.’

‘Ex-mistress,’ Juliet said firmly. ‘Our relationship ended the day I found out he was married. We haven’t been sneakily seeing each other, if that’s what you think.’

Jake shrugged and broke open a warm bread roll. ‘I don’t think anything. I’m just waiting for you to tell me.’