Page 71 of The Honeymoon Affair

‘You know me so well.’

I leave him to it and go into the house. The atmosphere is slightly more subdued now, but the waiting staff begin circulating with the champagne again, along with a lovely selection of petits fours, and it doesn’t take long for the hum of conversation to get going.

I spot Sydney Travers and join her.

‘This is fun,’ she says. ‘Thanks for inviting me.’

‘You and Charles have had time for a quick chat?’

‘Yes. It’s nice to meet and talk in person. He’s charming, isn’t he?’

‘He is.’ I smile. People always say that about Charles. Well, women do. I’m not sure that men think of him as anything other than a competitor.

‘He said he was willing to make some structural changes,’ Sydney tells me. ‘Which is a relief. Some authors are so precious, they don’t want a word changed. However, he’s accepted that the issues on page two and in Chapter Twelve need solving, among others.’

‘Yes, I’ve spoken to him at length about Chapter Twelve.’

‘And there’s the fact that one of his red herrings is blatantly misleading to the reader.’

‘Misleading is OK, though,’ I say.

‘But not something that’s gratuitously misleading,’ says Sydney. ‘Anyway, not to worry, we’ll sort it.’

‘Grand,’ I say.

She takes her phone out of her bag and looks at it.

‘My cab is here,’ she says. ‘I’ll get going now.’

‘Well done you on managing to book one for tonight.’

‘The hotel did it for me as soon as I arrived.’ She smiles. ‘Years of experience of not being able to get cabs on New Year’s Eve means I pulled out all the stops. To be honest, I usually spend it at home these days.’

‘I would too if it wasn’t for the party. But at least I don’t have to worry about cabs, because I can stay over.’

‘You and Charles seem to have a very close personal relationship despite not being together any more,’ she says.

‘We have a bond,’ I tell her. ‘And even though it wobbles from time to time, it’s unbreakable.’

‘How lovely.’ She smiles again. ‘I wish I had a bond like that with my ex. But I hate the sight of him and I think the feeling is mutual.’

‘You’re divorced?’ I look at her in surprise.

‘We got married stupidly young,’ she says. ‘Everyone warned me against it. Live with him, they said, but I wouldn’t listen. I thought he was the love of my life. A few months later, I realised he wasn’t.’

‘We all make mistakes.’

‘Anyway, I’d better go,’ she says. ‘It was great to meet you again.’

But before she has a chance to leave, Charles claps his hands and silences the crowd.

‘A quick word,’ he says. ‘To usher in the new year.’

I frown. He doesn’t usually do quick words. He’s very aware that at parties (at least Irish parties), people are quite happy to drink the drink, eat the food and amuse themselves without the need for any other interventions.

‘I know we all make resolutions at New Year,’ he continues. ‘Even if they don’t last. And we promise ourselves we’ll make changes in our lives. That doesn’t always work out either. But I’m making a massive change in mine, and I wanted to share it with you.’

What the hell is he talking about? I glance at Sydney, who’s clearly peppering to get away but feels obliged to listen to whatever it is Charles has to say.