Page 159 of An Unholy Affair
Should he wait? Jack looked at the Manor. He needed to start being honest with those closest to him as well as himself, and that might as well start now. Taking out his phone, he dialled.
32
Jack met Henry and Finn outside the office Henry shared with Estelle.
‘Thank you,’ he said. ‘I really appreciate this and it won’t take long.’
Henry unlocked the door. ‘Take as long as you like. You’re doing us a favour.’
He followed Henry into the room. ‘A favour? Don’t you want to get back?’
‘Fuck no,’ Finn grumbled, scratching his beard. ‘That James bloke fucked off half an hour ago and Summer and Libby are now dancing and screaming in the “I don’t need a man room”.’
‘The what?’
Henry passed his hand over his face. ‘Another one of your bright ideas,’ he said. ‘It’s absolute genius just as long as I don’t have to go anywhere near it. The women love it, and men like us can safely run away without being missed.’
The penny was starting to drop. ‘Thepartyroom?’
‘If that’s what you want to call it,’ Finn replied. ‘So far it’s been wall-to-wall Destiny’s Child, Aretha Franklin, Beyonce´, Donna Summer and Kelly Clarkson. We just left them with their hands in the air yelling “I will survive” louder than fucking football supporters.’
The first smile of the last few hours tugged at the corners of Jack’s mouth. Both his friends looked absolutely frazzled.
There was a knock at the door and Henry opened it to let Connor in, dressed in his nurse’s uniform.
‘Everything alright?’ Connor asked, his forehead furrowed.
Jack embraced him. ‘Thanks for coming. I won’t be long, then you can go to bed.’
‘No hurry. I might stay on for a bit and have a dance. They’ve got some crackers playing in the drawing room.’
Finn and Henry looked at each other.
Connor broke into a dance. ‘Cause if you like it, then you shoulda put a ring on it,’ he sang.
Henry sunk his head and groaned.
‘…If you like it, then you shoulda put a ring on it.’
Finn grabbed Estelle’s Moody Cow stress ball and threw it at him.
Connor caught it and laughed. ‘I should have known it wasn’t your cup of tea.’ Henry passed him a chair and he sat down. ‘So, what’s this all about? Is Estelle joining us?’
‘Not yet,’ Jack said. ‘She’s…’Not with Eveline anymore. She’s with the police. He rubbed his face. ‘She’s going to ring me when she’s done.’
Henry frowned. ‘What’s going on? Is Eveline okay?’
Jack shook his head, his jaw tightening to hold the emotion back.
‘Mate?’ Finn asked, leaning forward. ‘Please tell me this isn’t anything to do with me changing the locks earlier?’
Images of Simon flashed before him. He shook his head. ‘Eveline’s on her way to hospital now with an out-of-control fever. I think she’s got sepsis.’
‘Fuck!’ Finn growled.
‘From the cut on her arm?’ Henry asked.
‘Yes, we think so. Stelle and I took the bandage off and it was inflamed, with red lines coming from it.’
