Page 55 of My Husband's Wife
‘It was kids. They won’t be back.’
‘How do you know?’
His jaw remains locked tight and his cheeks pulse every time he clenches his teeth. ‘If it makes you feel better, I’ll set up a little motion camera in the cabin tonight. If anyone dares to enter, I’ll be straight out there.’ His stare moves to Emily and his jaw slackens. ‘What’s that?’ He points to the toy raven.
‘I found it.’
‘Have you been in the shed?’
‘I, err, I went there for a walk and saw that the door was unlocked.’
‘So you just walked in?’ His knuckles are white. He begins to breathe in and out, like his therapist showed him.
‘I didn’t know I wasn’t allowed in there.’
‘I have a camera set up. The animals won’t come if you’re there.’
‘Don’t they come mainly at night?’
‘Please don’t go in there again.’
‘There wasn’t a camera set up.’ She hadn’t disrupted anything and she can’t understand why he is hostile.
He snatches the toy raven from Emily and throws it in the bin.
‘Theo, what was that for?’
Emily begins to cry again.
He doesn’t answer, instead he does what he always does when in one of his moods. He walks out, leaving her frustrated. She knows the raven has hit a nerve but she removes it from the bin regardless, then she hides it at the back of the cupboard.
Theo walks back to the cabin and straight into his office.
She continues to watch him through the kitchen window as he paces back and forth with his phone clasped to his ear and his other arm in the air. He’s talking to someone and he looks so angry, Madison feels the creeping sensation of fear at the back of her neck. She’s beginning to wonder if she knows Theo at all.
Forty-Six
Madison says bye to Orla to end her call to the salon. She’s relieved they can cope without her for the week; in fact, Orla insisted that they were more than fine. Deciding to take the week off in the run up to her wedding on Saturday has made her feel lighter. Not only that, but she also needs time to fathom how she feels about the whole wedding and the move.
Theo has been in his cabin since seven in the morning, and Camille is due any moment, ready to go to the dress shop for their ten thirty appointment. She knows she’s putting Elisse at Beautiful Brides out by bringing their wedding forward, but Elisse hadn’t grumbled when she made the appointment.
A message from Camille pops up. Her sister is waiting for her outside. She rushes out with Emily already strapped into her car seat. She waves at her nephew and niece in the back seat and places Emily’s seat next to them. ‘Right, dress shop.’
‘I can’t believe my sis is getting married this week.’ Camille does a three-point turn by the gate and the car hops down the drive. So far, Camille hasn’t mentioned the move again but Madison suspects she will later.
Once they arrive at the shop, Madison takes a sleeping Emily out of the car in her seat. Camille grabs a bag of Eden and Francesca’s favourite toys and helps them out. She seems calm, not like Madison is when having to take Emily out. ‘These should keep this pair happy while you try your dress on. Which dress did you choose in the end?’
‘The simple off-the-shoulder wiggle dress. No veil, no fuss, just elegant.’
As they enter, a young woman leads them to a plush room almost filled with a semi-circular couch. Camille sets up the safari animal game on the floor before sitting Eden and Francesca in the middle.
‘Can I get you both a drink?’ the woman asks.
They both opt for tea and wait for her to leave. ‘How have things been?’ Camille asks.
Madison doesn’t know how much to say. She is still a bit upset that Camille wasn’t happy for her when they spoke about the move and bringing the wedding forward, but she understands that Camille was only looking out for her. ‘Busy and tiring.’ She wonders whether to mention Eva, seeing Zach at the cabin and all the other things, then she thinks, why bother? She is moving soon and their new life will be different. Theo will finally chill out and maybe it will put even more distance between him and the current source of his anxiety – the mother that had come from nowhere, or the mystery boy in the newspaper clipping. No, she won’t say all that because Camille will use that information to persuade her to stay and, right now, she is weak because she doesn’t want to leave her sister and the kids. She glances at them playing nicely and a lump forms in her throat. A tear slips down her cheeks. She loves those kids.
‘Madison.’ Camille places a hand on her arm and she recoils as she knocks her burn. ‘Why are you upset and what happened to your hand?’
