Amanda Brooke - The Affair - The shocking, gripping story of a schoolgirl and a scandal

Scarlett put down her eyeliner. ‘OK, Mum, is this conversation about me, or could it possibly be about Bryn?’ she asked.

Nina felt her heart being pulled in two opposing directions. She and her children had made a formidable partnership over the years and she didn’t want that part of her life to change. ‘All I ask is for you and Liam to give him a chance. He’s not trying to foist himself on you as your new dad. We both know you’d only resent him if he tried.’ Nina left a pause in the hope that Scarlett might tell her she was worrying for nothing, but her silence told her all she needed to know. ‘Please, Scarlett.’

Scarlett bit her lip. This was another conversation they’d had many times before, right up to the eve of her wedding, in fact. Both Liam and Scarlett had needed some convincing that Bryn wasn’t a con artist preying on a lonely woman who just so happened to have a house and a business. It didn’t help that Bryn had made the mistake of mentioning to Sarah that he had been made bankrupt in a previous life, and so Sarah had sided with the children. Nina had told them to trust her judgement, and although that argument hadn’t been completely won, she clung to the hope that one day Scarlett and Liam would come to love Bryn as much as she did.

‘I’ll try,’ Scarlett promised.

Leaving a pause that was thick with disappointment, Nina asked, ‘What time are you planning on coming home?’

‘Eleven.’

‘Ten.’

‘Ten-thirty?’

‘If you’re expecting me to pick you up, it has to be ten o’clock, Scarlett. Some of us have to get up at five.’

‘I could walk. It’s not far.’

‘Not at that time of night.’

‘I’ll get a taxi.’

‘Bryn will be out then, I could ask him to pick you up?’

The refusal was already forming on Scarlett’s lips, but with her promise to her mum still fresh in both their minds, she managed another shrug. ‘I suppose.’

‘Great, so that’s settled. And like I said earlier, don’t think this is a regular occurrence. As of next week, studying begins in earnest. You’ve worked really hard to get this far, don’t fall at the last hurdle, Scarlett.’

‘Mum, it’s the first day, at least give me a chance to mess up before you go into nag mode,’ Scarlett replied before returning to the task of putting on her makeup.

Rather than leave, Nina crept deeper into the room until she was standing behind her daughter. She waited for Scarlett to stop what she was doing and look at her mum through the reflection in the mirror. Nina kissed the top of her head. ‘Sorry. I should have more faith in you,’ she said.

‘No arguments from me,’ Scarlett said with a smile and the kind of assured tone that Nina was convinced would see her daughter achieve the A-star grades her teachers were predicting.

There was a varied selection of restaurants in and around Sedgefield, and if it were up to Nina, she would have been happy enough with the local pub for Sunday lunch, but Sarah had other ideas. The two friends had known each other from childhood, back when Nina had helped out at her dad’s shop and Sarah had faced a similar plight in the shop next door. Unfortunately for Sarah, her father had been a butcher; she would often sneak off to help Nina with her flower arranging, if only to avoid the smell of blood and guts.

Despite the similarity in their backgrounds, Sarah’s life had taken turns that neither of them could have imagined. Sarah would say she had more of an incentive to turn from the paths their parents had led them towards, but it also helped that she had a driving ambition. She had gradually taken over the management of the butcher’s and introduced new product lines until the business was as well known for its delicatessen as it was for fresh meat. When she had married Miles, he had encouraged her to diversify into property management and goodness knew what else. Nina often wondered what she might have made of herself if she had hated flowers as much as Sarah hated raw meat. Would she have gone on to explore new and exciting opportunities instead of being satisfied with business as usual?

As things stood, Nina lived an average life with average expectations, while Sarah had become accustomed to a certain level of service. Pub grub would not do and a table had been booked at the Stone Bridge, a restaurant that overlooked the Bridgewater Canal and was on track for its first Michelin star.

‘Are we happy with the table?’ Miles asked, pulling out a chair for his wife.

Nina had already taken her seat and felt Bryn’s hand on the back of her chair in a clumsy attempt to follow Miles’ example. ‘It’s a lovely view,’ she said.

‘Hmm,’ Miles said, glancing out of the window only briefly. They were on the upper floor of the restaurant, which had a grand view of the dense Cheshire countryside that had yet to be touched by autumn’s scorching fingers. Sarah’s husband was more interested in checking the distance between their table and those on either side, which were both occupied. Even if he had wanted to move, which he was obviously considering, the restaurant was almost full and their options would be limited. ‘I suppose it will do.’

‘I hope you’re all hungry,’ Sarah said, ‘and I don’t want to hear anyone suggesting we skip starters.’ She was directing the comment towards Scarlett and added, ‘You can always give dessert a miss if you want to watch your figure.’

Scarlett blushed fiercely but said nothing.

‘She doesn’t need to watch her figure. She’s perfect as she is,’ Bryn said.

His tone had been light but there was no mistaking the defensiveness in his remark and it made Nina smile. He was protecting her family, but judging from Sarah’s expression she wasn’t reading it that way.

‘You think so?’ she said, raising an eyebrow.

Nina held her friend’s gaze long enough to let her know she should keep her thoughts to herself. The only reason she had gone along with Sarah’s suggestion that they all have lunch was because she saw it as a way to cement her new husband’s place amongst her friends and family. It was not another opportunity for Sarah to sit in judgement of Bryn, and she had told her as much.

‘Of course it’s perfect,’ Sarah continued, with a small nod of apology to Nina. ‘You’re turning into quite a stunner, Scarlett. Your mum’s going to have to keep her eye on you.’

Scarlett slunk lower in her chair, threatening to disappear and never return.

‘How’s business, Miles?’ Nina asked, to divert attention. After all these years she still wasn’t sure what exactly Miles did, other than he was something big in engineering and the demand for his skills took him all over the world.

‘Busy as always,’ he said, ‘and it doesn’t help that my darling wife has a habit of jumping from one new project to another while expecting me to sort out the paperwork for what is meant to be her company.’

‘But you’re far better at it than I am,’ Sarah said with a playful smile. ‘And there’s so much to do.’

‘Which means I should be back at home sorting things out, but you insisted, and what Sarah wants, Sarah gets.’

‘Well, we’re glad you could make it,’ Nina answered, ‘aren’t we, Bryn?’

‘Most definitely. I know how work can take over your life.’

Miles gave a disinterested nod and it was Sarah who asked, ‘Have you never thought of starting up a business again?’

Bryn seemed to consider the possibility for a moment, only to shake his head. ‘Printing was all I knew, but the industry changed so fast. I wouldn’t know where to begin these days, and I wouldn’t want to try. Taxi-driving suits me fine: not as much stress and more time to spend with Nina and the kids.’