Chapter 25

Lydia apologized for having ‘forgotten’ that Charles was going to be at the beach this weekend.

He made no reference to the conclusions he’d already drawn concerning her presence and simply said, “Now that you’re here, there’s no reason for you not to stay. Philip and I are in my usual bedroom. The rest of upstairs is up for grabs.” They accepted as gracefully as possible, under the circumstances.

Lydia asked about our plans for dinner. Charles replied that we’d purchased steaks the day before, were planning to grill them this evening, and he and I could run to the market for a couple more

She would have none of that and said, “Nonsense. Harry and I can run down to the store and take care of that. I need to pick up a couple of things anyhow.” We had, by this time, cleared the table and carried the remains of lunch back into the kitchen. A few minutes later, they were in her car and on their way to the store.