Sinful Nights(70)

It's very sophisticated and luxurious,' Claire hurried to say, hating  the thought of him thinking she was criticising his ex-wife, but  … '

But it's also sterile and clinical,' he supplied for her in a clipped  voice, surprising her with his perception. Unlike your cottage, it  isn't a home, is it?'

She bit her lip, unable to look at him.

It's the woman who makes a place a home, not the furnishings  … '

He pushed his plate away suddenly, and Claire wondered if he was  thinking of his ex-wife. Despite his claim that he no longer loved her,  did he perhaps miss her more than he allowed anyone to know?

It was just gone eight o'clock when Jay drove away from Whitegates. The  two girls were in the back of the car, Claire sitting in the front next  to him.

She thought as they drove down the village street that there seemed to  be a good deal more activity than was usual, but it was only when they  turned the corner that Claire saw why, and then all she could do was to  sit motionless in shock and stare out of the car window.

One of the huge elms had lost a heavy main branch during the storm. It  had crashed across the road and smashed down on the house opposite-her  house, Claire acknowledged in shocked comprehension. She couldn't speak;  she couldn't do anything but lift appalled eyes to Jay's grim face. Why  was he looking like that? An expression of shocked disbelief in his  eyes that was surely far too intense, bearing in mind the very casual  nature of their acquaintanceship. And then it hit her-Heather could have  been in there with Lucy and herself; Heather could have been asleep in  that front bedroom where she could now see a gaping hole in the wall.

I  … ' Hardly aware of what she was doing, Claire struggled to open the  car door. A crowd of people were standing outside the house staring up  at it.

You stay here.' Jay's hand on her arm held her rigid in her seat, his  voice unusually harsh. I'll deal with it. You look after the girls.'

She wanted to protest that it wasn't his problem, that somehow she would  cope alone as she had coped with so many other things, but she wasn't  given the opportunity to say anything. He was out of the car and  shouldering his way through the massed crowd before she could open her  mouth.

He was only gone for ten minutes. Claire could see him in conversation  with another man. Both of them glanced up at the house from time to time  as they spoke.

Slowly the reality of what had happened was seeping into her. That was  her home with the gaping holes in the roof and front wall where the  heavy branch had crashed through. Her house  …  her home  …  She started to  shake with shock; silly, really unimportant things, such as the fact  that she had only just done the ironing and everything would now need  washing again, preventing her from taking in the full enormity of what  had happened.    

 



 

It took Lucy's anxious, Mummy  …  where are we going to live?' to alert  her to it and then she could think of no answer to give her daughter.  Her thoughts ran round a round in frantic circles as she tried to  grapple with the shock of what had happened. Perhaps Mrs Vickers would  put them up. Thank God they hadn't been inside when the branch had  fallen  …

Jay came back and slid into the car beside her.

Claire struggled with her seat belt.

I must go and ask Mrs Vickers if we can stay the night with her. I  …  I must go inside and find our clothes, I  … '

For God's sake, you're not going anywhere. The house is unsafe!' Jay  told her grimly, his voice so angry that she actually focused her eyes  on him, unaware of how vulnerable and young she looked in her jeans and  sweater, her hair curling wildly round her small face.

I've just been talking to someone from the council. He says the house is unsafe. You can't go back inside.'

But our clothes. My  … '

Damn your clothes!'

She hadn't heard him swear before, and the violence in this voice  shocked her. In the darkness of the car her eyes widened, her body  shaking suddenly with the drenching onset of reality.

You're coming back with me,' Jay told her flatly. There's plenty of room at Whitegates.'

Mrs Vickers  … '

For God's sake, Claire!' he exploded tensely. Why are you always so  damned independent? You hate me doing the slightest thing for you. You  didn't even want me to run you home tonight, did you? Did you?'

How could she explain to him that she hated being reliant on anyone?  Suddenly it all seemed too much; she could feel the tremors of reaction  building up inside her. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't let herself,  not in front of Jay and the girls.

You've done me enough favours,' he reminded her grimly. Surely I'm  allowed to do you one small one in return? You and Lucy will stay at  Whitegates tonight, and every night until your own home has been  repaired.'

That could take weeks,' protested Claire, her eyes darkening bleakly as she looked back at her small house.

The council are going to put some men in to make sure it's safe; when  they have we can come back down and collect your things. You realise  that the council won't pay for the repairs, don't you even though the  tree is on council-owned land?'

She hadn't thought that far ahead yet, and she looked at him blankly. Her mind seemed to be working very slowly.

But surely my own insurance  … '

For some reason Jay's mouth compressed grimly.

Maybe,' he agreed at last, but most insurance companies class something like this as an "Act of God".'

When he saw that she was looking uncomprehendingly at him, he explained tersely,

It isn't one of the risks they cover-they won't pay out under the  policy. You'll have to find the money for the repairs yourself.'

Claire had too much pride to let him see what she was feeling. She  turned her face away, so that he wouldn't see her shock. If the  insurance company wouldn't pay out, what on earth was she going to do?  How could she possibly afford to pay for the restoration work herself? A  terrible, icy sense of fear engulfed her. A vision of the cramped  council flat she and Lucy had lived in before they moved to the cottage  rose up in front of her and wouldn't go away. She couldn't go back to  that, not now that she had had a taste of the pleasure that life could  be in attractive surroundings. Fate couldn't be so cruel, surely?

Jay had set the car in motion, but she was barely aware of it. If only  tomorrow wasn't a Saturday. It would be Monday before she could get in  touch with the insurance company, before she would know where she stood.  Surely Jay was wrong? The house must be covered for this kind of  accidental damage.

Round and round her thoughts went in a feverish dance that took her no  further forward and did nothing to alleviate the horrendous sense of  oppression hanging over her.





CHAPTER FOUR


I EXPECT YOU'LL WANT TO go down to the village and look at the cottage. I'll run you down there if you like.'

All four of them were having breakfast in the grey and white kitchen, which now looked lamentably untidy.

Claire had barely slept at all last night and breakfast was the very  last thing she had wanted, but nothing seemed to impair Lucy's appetite,  and she owed it to Jay to at least make some attempt to repay his  hospitality. And anyway, it helped to keep busy.    

 



 

There's no need. I don't mind walking.'

No, I'm sure you don't,' Jay's voice was dry, but you're going to want  to collect some clothes for yourself and Lucy, and you can hardly carry  them back with you.'

She wanted to protest that there was no need for him to involve himself  in her affairs in this way, but the words stuck in her throat. She still  couldn't totally comprehend what had happened. Last night in the bustle  of making up beds for herself and Lucy, and getting both girls settled  for the night, there hadn't been time to dwell on what had happened.  Later, alone in bed, in the austere off-white bedroom Jay had suggested  she use, there had been too much time, too many worries crowding into  her mind for her to be able to sort things out into any sort of order.

As she sipped her coffee she stared out of the kitchen window. The sky  was a perfect pale blue, the sun palely gold; last night's gale had died  out and it was hard to look at the beautiful perfection of the crisp  autumn day outside and remember what last night had been. Part of her  stubbornly wanted to pretend that it hadn't happened at all.

Mummy, can we go and play outside?'

Nothing seemed to daunt Lucy. This morning her daughter was her normal  cheerful self, but Lucy didn't realise, as she did, exactly what effect  that falling branch was likely to have on her life. Every time she  thought about the future she could feel the panicky, helpless feeling  swirl through her. She put down her coffee, knowing that her hand was  trembling.

Yes, yes, but put your wellingtons on, and no going outside the garden.'

Her response was automatic, her eyes barely even focusing on the two small jean-clad figures as they opened the back door.

As soon as they had gone she stood up. The intimacy of the kitchen with  only Jay and herself in it made her feel uncomfortable. I  … '