He bounds up the stairs before I have a chance to say anything, so I carry on with what I’m doing. In a funny way, the delay is welcome, because I’m feeling increasingly uncertain about confronting him and ruining what was supposed to be a special evening. Equally, I know I can’t just pretend nothing has happened and go through with my original plan; I’ve got to ask him, at least.
I’m still dithering when James reappears. The table is laid and the bottle of wine stands unopened on it. The pudding looks perfect, the chips, tomatoes, and mushrooms are in the oven, and all I have to do is cook the steaks.
‘This is a bit posh for a Tuesday night,’ James observes. ‘We might have to leave the wine until we get back though.’
‘I thought we’d have a night off from counselling,’ I tell him, and I can hear my voice trembling slightly. ‘I thought I’d cook you all your favourites instead. We’ve got steak and I’ve made you a treacle sponge to your mother’s recipe.’
‘A night off from counselling? Are you telling me that I don’t have to listen to more of Audrey’s moaning, and that I get to stay in with you and have this feast? What have I done to deserve such a treat?’ He wraps his arms around me and kisses the top of my forehead. I feel sick with nerves, but press on regardless.
‘Well, we’ve been doing pretty well, haven’t we?’ I tell him, as I ease myself out of his grasp. ‘I thought we’d earned a night off, and I wanted to do something special for you. In fact,’ I steel myself, ‘I was going to put on the necklace that I wore on our wedding day, but I couldn’t find it. Do you know where it is?’
He looks shifty. I can see him trying to think what to say, and my suspicions are confirmed.
Eventually, he speaks. ‘I’m sorry, Sophie, but something had to give. I tried to talk to Mum about reducing her allowance, but she just got all emotional and said that I was going against what Dad specifically requested. Then there was the massive bill for the Aga, and you wanting more. I didn’t want to let you down either.’
‘You sold my necklace to pay the Aga bill?’ I’m flabbergasted.
‘Not just the Aga bill. I’m sorry. I know I should have talked to you first, but I didn’t think you’d mind. It’s not as if you ever wear it.’
‘That’s not the bloody point, James!’, I snap. ‘It wasn’t yours to sell. I take it you sold the watch my parents gave you too?’
He nods.
‘And how much did you get for them?’
He brightens considerably, ‘Twenty grand. That’s enough to keep us going for a good while, I reckon. Look, I know it probably had sentimental value to you, but you’ve got to admit that it’s just been sitting in the cash box gathering dust. At least this way it’s doing something useful.’
I can’t believe my ears. This is so much worse than I’d suspected, and I’m furious.
‘You absolute fucking imbecile,’ I spit at him, catching him completely by surprise. ‘To think that I was actually contemplating having sex with you tonight. Dear God, what a fool I was. Not only have you sold my wedding necklace without even having the decency to ask me first, but you’ve also let yourself be taken for the biggest bloody ride in town!’
I can see him trying to process what I’ve said. ‘You were going to…wait, what do you mean, “taken for a ride”? I got twenty thousand pounds. That’s a hill of money!’
‘Listen, idiot,’ I tell him. ‘If you’d have bothered to speak to me first, you know, as your wife and the owner of the bloody necklace, before you skipped off down to the pawn shop or wherever you went, you’d have had an idea of its true value. So, let me get this straight. You got twenty thousand for the necklaceandthe watch?’
He’s looking decidedly wary now. ‘Yes. The guy said that was a fair price, and it seemed like a massive amount of money to me. I practically bit his hand off.’
‘Unbe-fucking-lievable,’ I sigh.
‘What?’
‘The necklace alone was worth over thirty grand, you moron. The two together, even second hand, would sell for around sixty to seventy thousand. And you came away with twenty and thought you’d done well.’
His face falls. ‘Are you serious?’
‘Do I look like I’m joking?’
‘Shit.’
‘Exactly. So let’s just recap, in case you’re still in any doubt as to why I’m massively pissed off with you and I’m probably going to give this steak to the dogs. You took something incredibly precious of mine without asking and sold it for a fraction of its true value, to get yourself out of the hole you’d created by being too much of a coward to stand up to your mother.’
‘She was really upset, Sophie.’
‘Horseshit. Have you never heard of crocodile tears? She knows she just has to turn on the waterworks and you’ll fold. You’re completely spineless where she’s concerned. It’s pathetic.’
‘I really am sorry. I didn’t know…’
‘It’s not good enough, James! Can’t you see? You can’t keep shitting on me, saying sorry, and expecting me to keep sucking it up. If you had any respect for me at all, you wouldn’t be sneaking around doing all this stuff behind my back. I really thought we were making progress, but if we’re going to have a chance of success here, I need to feel safe with you. You doing stuff like this doesn’t make me feel safe, do you understand?’