‘I’m her husband!’
There was a tense silence, and then she heard Joe’s feet retreating across the tiled floor.
She was suddenly furious. ‘What are you doing here?’
He ignored her question. ‘Finish your water.’
‘Answer my question!’ She glared at him.
He studied her impassively. ‘I will. After you’ve finished the water.’
Swallowing her anger first, she drained the cup and handed it to him. ‘Now answer my question!’
‘Surely you should be answering my questions? After all, you do work here.’
She stared at him in disbelief and then, reaching up, pulled her name badge off her shirt and dropped it in the bin. ‘Not any more!’ She glared at him and then abruptly stood up. ‘Goodbye, Laszlo!’ she said quietly. ‘I hope you enjoy the rest of your visit to the museum and your stay in London.’
He regarded her calmly and then, as she took a step forward, moved in front of her.
She shot him a frustrated glance. ‘Could you move, please?’
He stood silently in front of her and she shook her head and looked away from him. ‘You can stand there all day if you want. I’m used to silent men made of stone.’ Her hands clenched at her sides. ‘But it won’t change anything. I have nothing left to say to you.’
He waited until finally, reluctantly, she turned to face him. ‘Quite a lot to write, though, it would appear,’ he said. ‘About ending our marriage.’
She watched wordlessly as he reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. Her skin was suddenly tight across her face and she felt cornered. And then she met his gaze, for she wasn’t going to let him intimidate her.
‘What about it?’ she said shortly. ‘I told you in Hungary that I wanted a divorce. I still do. There’s no point leaving things as they are.’
‘And how are things?’ His voice was hoarse. ‘You see, I thought you were happy.’
She shook her head in exasperation. ‘I was. I am. But when did my happiness matter to you, Laszlo? You only care about yourself, and you didn’t look too happy when your grandfather asked me to stay on as curator. Or when he called me one of the family.’
She felt a stab of pain at the memory and suddenly could barely see his face through her tears.
‘In fact, you were so happy you walked off.’
His face tightened. Running his hand through his hair, he said slowly, ‘I didn’t want you to—’
‘Didn’t want me to stay. I know—’
‘No.’ He cut her off. ‘I didn’t want my grandfather to rush you. You seemed unsure, and he was so desperate for you to agree. I thought he’d just keep on pushing and—’
‘And you thought I’d say yes?’ Her voice rose and she shook her head. ‘So you decided to talk it over with me and your grandfather.’ She paused, her lip curling contemptuously. ‘Oh, no. You didn’t. You walked out.’
Laszlo looked at her, his expression bleak. Finally he nodded. ‘Yes. I walked away. I didn’t know what else to do. So much had happened between us, but so much still wasn’t resolved. Like us being married. I knew if you agreed to take the job then you’d come back. And not just for a couple of weeks this time.’
Prudence felt like throwing up. ‘Imagine that,’ she said flatly. ‘No wonder you couldn’t wait to get away.’
She took a painful breath as he shook his head.
‘I wasn’t thinking about me. I knew you’d have a problem with that.’
Staring at him incredulously, she gave a humourless laugh. ‘Not as big a problem as you.’ Pausing, she gritted her teeth. ‘I don’t really understand what you’re trying to say, Laszlo. But you know what? I don’t care any more.’
‘I do!’
He practically shouted the words and she took a step back from him.