The Doll’s House by Evelyn Anthony Page A

better. Just once you’d put me and our marriage first. You never have.’
    He tilted the drink, making the ice cubes clink.
    â€˜That’s not true,’ Rosa tried to say. ‘You’ve made it so difficult for me – I feel I’m being torn in two! You want me to give up my job. Would you give up the Bank if I asked you?’
    â€˜We’d hardly live on your salary,’ he brushed it aside. ‘So don’t talk balls.’
    He finished his drink, put the glass down and said, ‘I’ve met someone else. I want a divorce.’
    She stared at him. He wouldn’t look at her. She pushed the hair back from her forehead.
    â€˜You’re not just saying this to hurt me?’
    â€˜You must think I’m a complete shit. I wouldn’t do a thing like that. It’s true. I’ve been seeing someone for a while now. I may as well tell you, she’s pregnant.’
    â€˜Oh my God. That’s charming!’ She got up and stared down at him. ‘That’s really charming.’
    â€˜I think so,’ he answered. ‘I think it’s wonderful, if you want to know. And she doesn’t expect me to marry her, it’s not like that. She’ll have the baby and we’ll live together if you want to make things awkward. She doesn’t care and I don’t either. We’ll get married in the end anyway.’
    â€˜You must really hate me to do it like this,’ Rosa said. ‘I suppose that’s what jealousy does to people.’
    He reddened angrily. ‘I’m not jealous – I just wanted a wife, not a fucking Foreign Office mandarin. But I don’t expect you to believe that. And I don’t give a damn whether you do or not.’
    â€˜Who is this woman?’ Rosa couldn’t help herself.
    One of their friends, a colleague at the Bank? How could she have been so blind, such a fool, turning herself inside out while he was cheating on her, making her career the excuse …?
    â€˜No-one you know,’ he answered. ‘She’s a financial journalist. She came to the office for an interview for The FT and I asked her out to lunch. It just happened, that’s all. She’s quite a high-powered lady in the City. But she’s ready to give up her job.’
    â€˜Good for her. I think I’m going to be sick.’
    Tears spilled down her cheeks. He didn’t move.
    He said, ‘You blew it, Rosa. We had everything going for us, but you blew it. So don’t blame it on her. If we’d been happy I wouldn’t have looked at her. Or any other woman. I’ve packed a bag. I’ll move out tonight. I think it’s best to cut short the aggro, don’t you?’
    â€˜Yes, for Christ’s sake, just go.’ She turned her back to him and said, ‘I’m going to Brussels as Second Secretary. I’ve been trying to get up the nerve to tell you for the last six weeks. It doesn’t matter now. You can have your divorce. The quicker the better. I’ll ring my solicitor in the morning.’
    â€˜Thanks,’ she heard him say. ‘It wouldn’t do your career much good to have a messy fight. I thought you’d see it that way.’
    The door closed. She didn’t move. She heard his footsteps in their bedroom above. She heard him come down the stairs, and then the slam of the front door. His car starting up outside. The noise of the engine dying away so quickly.
    The room was very quiet. The whole house was quiet. They had no pets, not even a cat. An independent career couple without ties. Then suddenly it wasn’t quiet any more. She could hear every creak in the woodwork, a murmur in the water pipes. She realized she was shivering with cold. The central heating came on in the evening; she and James insisted on a warm house. But she was freezing. She went into the kitchen. It was gleaming white, a showpiece full of labour-saving gadgets. They hadn’t had a dinner party