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It was such an outrageous question, it startled a laugh out of her. ‘No! I’ve not committed a crime, if that’s what you’re worried about, though I have ruined a lot of people’s lives.’ Including my own.
‘Well, that all sounds very dramatic, I’m sure,’ her mother announced, having returned from hanging out the washing.
‘Give the girl a break, Vicky, you can see how upset she is!’
‘And who’s going to give me a break? She just swans in without so much as a by-your-leave and skulks off to bed after ignoring us for months!’ Her mother looked her up and down. ‘What on earth are you wearing, Natasha? Have things got so bad you’ve had to resort to shopping in the charity shop? It doesn’t even fit you.’ She shook her head. ‘Well, you’ll have to change into something nice later. I’m not having you moping around looking like a rag bag when we’ve got a houseful of guests.’
‘A houseful of guests?’ Tasha looked between her parents in confusion. ‘What’s going on?’
‘If you weren’t so wrapped up in your own life, you might remember that it’s your sister’s wedding anniversary.’
‘Oh God, it’s not, is it?’ Tasha pulled her phone out of her pocket to check the date and almost dropped it in horror as she realised her mistake. It wasn’t her phone, it was the one Rhys had given her when she’d started work. She turned it over, and the sight of the Easter-egg sticker she’d used to distinguish between the two phones made her feel sick, She turned it back over to see there were dozens of missed calls and text notifications. Tasha shoved it back in her pocket in a panic and yanked Rhys’s long jumper down to hide it for good measure. ‘Okay, okay.’ She took a deep breath. ‘I’ll pop out and get them a card and gift and then I’ll stay upstairs out of the way so I don’t spoil any of your plans.’
‘You absolutely will not! You can make yourself useful and help us getting everything ready and you will put a smile on your face and help your sister celebrate her special day.’ Her mother looked her up and down again. ‘I’ll have to find you something out of my wardrobe because you’re not coming dressed like that.’
Tasha opened her mouth and then closed it again. What was the point in arguing? She had nowhere else she could go and if she made too much trouble her parents might just ask her to leave. Maybe she should do that anyway? She could find a budget hotel on the outskirts of Ipswich and hole up for a few days while she tried to sort her head out. If she’d been thinking straight, she would’ve done that in the first place. But then her mother would get upset and accuse Tasha of punishing her again and, really, none of this was their fault. ‘I’m sorry. I’ll do whatever you need me to do.’
She escaped about an hour later, having hoovered and dusted the already spotless ground-floor rooms, including the conservatory. She drove the half an hour to the nearest retail shopping area and found a parking spot in the corner of the car park. Pulling out the phone, she ignored all the missed calls and opened the messaging app. Her finger hovered over Rhys’s name before she chickened out and scrolled further down and tapped on Ziggy’s instead.
I’m sorry doesn’t come close to the apology I owe you all. I’ve taken the work phone in error but I’ll arrange for it be returned via secure courier. I’d also like to arrange for collection of my things from the lodge at a date that’s convenient to you. Tasha.
The three dots started bouncing in the corner of the screen almost the moment the message showed as delivered. Morbid curiosity made her wait for the reply.
Come home. Z.
Tasha blinked and read the message again. He couldn’t possibly be serious. There was no way she was setting foot back at Juniper Meadows, not even to collect her few possessions. Other than her phone, it was just clothes, toiletries and a bit of make-up. Nothing that couldn’t be replaced. Closing the messaging app, she clicked instead on the one for the bank account she’d opened when she’d started work on the estate. Every penny they’d paid her was sitting there untouched. Without waiting to consider the deeper consequences, Tasha transferred the entire balance back to the account it had been paid from and requested the account to be closed. There. She couldn’t be expected to fulfil a contract if she hadn’t accepted payment for the work she’d already done. The phone began to vibrate in her hand and another message pinged up, this one from Stevie.
Come home, darling, please.
Oh God. Tears flooded her eyes and she had to blink them back so she could still read the screen. Three more notifications popped up from Zap, Hope and Rowena, all urging her to come home. She held her breath and waited. And waited. Nothing from Rhys. It didn’t matter what the rest of them said, his silence told her everything she needed to know. There was no future for her at Juniper Meadows. Switching off the phone, Tasha tossed it in the glove box. She knew she couldn’t hide forever, but she couldn’t deal with anything else today.
Not with this bloody party to get through.
By six-thirty Tasha was standing just inside the hallway, a silver tray of drinks balanced on her hands, and the fakest smile she’d ever made plastered on her lips together with two coats of peach lipstick her mother had sworn suited Tasha. Personally, she thought it and the green sparkly eye shadow made her look like the Girl’s World styling head she’d loved making up when she was little. Don’t think about it. If she did think about it, she’d have to think about the stretchy green dress her mother had foisted on her and the matching hairband pulling her curls back from her face.
The doorbell rang and Tasha braced herself as it was pushed open moments later by Stu, Danni close on his heels. ‘Surprise!’ she said, doing her best to hold the smile. ‘Happy anniversary!’
‘Tasha! How lovely. I was so happy when Mum told us you’d made the trip especially to celebrate with us.’ Danni gave her an awkward one-handed hug to avoid knocking the tray. ‘We need to talk,’ she whispered in Tasha’s ear as she pretended to kiss her cheek. ‘My phone hasn’t stopped ringing all day.’
‘What are you talking about?’
Before Danni could answer, the lounge door opened and their mother appeared, engulfing them all in a cloud of perfume as she put her arms around Danni in a dainty hug that wouldn’t risk wrinkling clothes or smudging make-up. ‘My darling, don’t you look beautiful!’ Turning, she gestured impatiently towards Tasha. ‘Drinks. Goodness me, I only asked you to do one thing.’
Fighting the urge to brain her mother with the tray, Tasha extended it towards Stu, who lifted a glass off and passed it to Danni. ‘Smile, Tasha,’ he murmured as he took a second glass and gave her a wink.
‘In this dress?’ she said through her now-gritted smile, making him roar with laughter as he followed the others into the lounge.
Tasha escaped door-duty only long enough to refill the tray of champagne twice. By the time Jonny and Lauren arrived she was beyond the point of caring about anything. She avoided Lauren’s attempts to give her a hug and thrust the tray between them. ‘Have a drink.’
‘Oh, I wish I could,’ Lauren cooed, stroking her pregnant belly. ‘You single girls don’t know how good you have it. Drink what you like, eat what you like.’ She flexed a foot to show a pair of immaculate white trainers. ‘I’ve almost forgotten what it’s like to be able to wear heels, my poor ankles swell so much.’
Okay, enough was enough. She’d put up with a lot of crap from her mother if it meant keeping the peace, but the fact this woman had the nerve to look her in the eye, never mind try and have a dig, was beyond Tasha’s last nerve. ‘Come to think of it, you are looking a little puffy. If your ankles give you too much trouble then you’re welcome to pop upstairs and have a lie down on my bed. Just do us both a favour and keep your clothes on this time.’
Lauren gasped and hurried into the lounge.
Instead of following after his wife, Jonny took a glass of champagne and smiled. ‘How are you, Tash?’
She looked him up and down, from the overly gelled neatness of his hair, past his silver-grey House of Fraser suit to the tips of the brown loafers he was wearing without socks. He was just so… bland. How on earth had she ever imagined marrying him? ‘Do me a favour, Jonny, and just piss off, okay?’
