He raised his eyebrows.
“It was certainly a surprise, Caroline, but no; of course I wouldn’t dream of saying anything that could hurt your career.”
I was shocked he was being so magnanimous; I’d expected that he’d take the chance to belittle me. He’d been an expert at it while we were married.
“Thank you, David. That’s very good of you.”
“I would suggest, however,” he said, calmly, “that you advise him to act with more circumspection.”
“Yes. I’ve already mentioned it,” I said, a little bitterly.
He gave a thin smile.
“He seems just as hotheaded as ever.”
Yes, you could say that.
“You were taking a great risk, continuing your relationship,” he couldn’t help adding. “But despite what you may think of me, Caroline, I have never wished you ill.”
I met his eyes, but saw only sincere concern.
“Thank you for that,” I said, with more warmth than I thought I’d ever feel for him. “I will try to minimize any more… risk.”
He cocked his head to one side, and looked at me quizzically.
“I meant it was a risk to continue seeing each other when he was…well, younger.”
I stared at him, finally realizing what he was alluding to.
“David, that’s not it. I haven’t seen Sebastian for ten years. We met again by accident, eleven days ago in Geneva.”
He looked dumbstruck. “But I thought… The way he behaved just now… Well, I see I was mistaken.”
At which point an announcement was made in English, French and Pashto to call us in to dinner.
“I do wish you well, Caroline,” he said, briskly. “And I meant what I said: you look lovely tonight.”
He smiled briefly, and then offered his arm to escort me in to dinner.
I accepted, baffled by his pleasantness and consideration.
He helped me into my seat, then with a half-smile, disappeared towards his place at another table.
Chapter 13
I sat at one of the long banqueting tables in a state of mild shock. I had never known David to be so considerate, especially when it was anything concerning me. During our 11 years of marriage, he’d been a domineering bully and… No, ‘domineering bully’ said it all. Since the divorce, I’d had nothing to do with him; I certainly hadn’t known he’d be in Afghanistan. Maybe he was working at the hospital at Bagram Air Base north of Kabul.
My attention was diverted when I noticed that the woman in green had swooped into the room and was eyeing the place cards. I had a strong suspicion that if I kept watching her, I’d see her swapping them around. Well, that was Sebastian’s lookout; I doubted he’d have too many problems with her – I was pretty certain he’d had plenty of practice dealing with slutty women. I tried to brush the thought away – I had other, more important issues to concentrate on tonight.
“Excuse me, ma’am, I think you might be in the wrong seat.”
I looked up to see a man in the Dress Blues of a US Marine Corps captain gazing down at me. He was perhaps a few years younger than me with a strong face, and clear, gray eyes.
“Captain Grant?”
“That’s right, ma’am,” he said, looking puzzled. “And you are?”
“Lee Venzi. I’ll be embedded with you for the next month. It’s good to meet you.”
He looked bemused. “You’re Lee Venzi?”
“Let me guess,” I said, with a polite smile, “you were expecting a man. I get that a lot.”
He gaped, looked thoroughly pissed off, then settled for a cool disinterest.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”
We shook hands as he eyed me cautiously.
Don’t worry: I won’t bite – you’re not my type.