Maddie shrugged. ‘Our family was my whole life’s work. I built that up from nothing. But he didn’t think twice about destroying that, did he?’
There could be no reasoning with her. Underneath the anger and wild demands, it was painfully obvious that Maddie still loved George, that love and hate were two sides of the same coin.
‘Will you ask him, when you see him?’ said Maddie, standing up and pulling her coat back over her bony shoulders. ‘It will have more impact coming from you than from my lawyers. Knowing George he probably just throws their letters in the bin anyway.’
‘I’ll ask him,’ said Tati. ‘But I can’t promise he’ll agree.’
‘Yes, well. Tell him if he doesn’t, he can wave goodbye to his children,’ said Maddie. With an angry flick of her scarf she was gone.
‘That’s outrageous,’ said Jason. ‘She can’t do that. I’ll talk to her.’
‘Noooo!’ said Tati and George in unison.
‘For God’s sake, don’t,’ added George. ‘It’ll only make things worse.’
They were in Jason and George’s new flat on Drayton Gardens, a beautiful first-floor apartment with views over the communal gardens and high, Victorian ceilings. Jason had bought it with his share of the Hamilton Hall money, and although it wasn’t grand, it was warm and charming and perfect for the two of them. It also boasted a spare bedroom, which George had poignantly furnished with bunk beds in hopes that Maddie would eventually thaw about access to their children. Christmas was only three weeks away, and they’d yet to reach any sort of agreement.
‘All right, sit down everyone. George, refill Tati’s glass, would you? She’s a nightmare when she’s sober.’
Jason winked at Tati, setting down three steaming bowls of spaghetti vongole onto the immaculately laid table. He’d always been a good cook but, as with so many things, his culinary skills seemed to have blossomed since being with George. He had blossomed. It made Tati happy to see him so happy. Although, I suppose it’s easier for me, never really having been in love with him in the first place. Not like poor Maddie with George.
They sat down to eat. George refilled Tati’s glass and then his own. He looked relaxed too, and handsome, Tati thought, in a navy blue cashmere sweater and dark maroon corduroy trousers. Still, it was clear that the situation with Maddie was tearing his heart out.
‘I think I’m going to do it,’ he said suddenly. ‘If she’s serious about dropping this nonsense about access. I’ll give her the gallery.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ said Jason, firmly. ‘Why should she have that gallery?’
‘Because she wants it, and I want to see my children before their twenty-first birthdays. Ideally without a bloody social worker present.’
‘It’s blackmail!’
‘Ah, don’t be so dramatic.’ George waved a hand dismissively. ‘She’s had her heart broken. She’s hurt and she’s angry and she wants me to suffer. You can’t blame her.’
‘Can’t you?’ asked Jason.
‘She’ll get over it eventually. When she does, I daresay she’ll give me the gallery back.’
Tati half choked on her spaghetti. ‘I wouldn’t bank on it, George.’
‘Even if she doesn’t, it’s only a business. That’s the problem with you two, both of you.’ He pointed his fork towards Jason, then Tatiana. ‘You take business much too seriously. If at first you don’t succeed, try again, that’s my motto.’
‘Yes, but you did succeed,’ said Jason. ‘That gallery’s worth a fortune.’
‘It’s not worth losing my family over,’ said George. ‘I’ll open a new place. We can do it together.’ Reaching across the table, he took Jason’s hand and squeezed it.
This ought to be weird, thought Tati. But there was a rightness about the two of them together that somehow normalized everything. She thought back to dinners à deux with Jason at Eaton Gate. Those evenings had been far more stilted than this one.
‘Jason’s been doing a spot of family reconciliation of his own, haven’t you, darling?’ said George.
Tati looked suitably curious. ‘Oh?’
Logan was away travelling in Australia with Tommy. Since news of her parents’ divorce broke, and with Jason’s sexuality and new living arrangements bound to hit the headlines at any moment, she’d wisely decided to spend as much of her time as possible very, very far away. As far as Tati knew, everything was peachy between Jason and his mother. Which only left Brett.
‘I saw Dad the other day,’ Jason confirmed. ‘For lunch.’
Tati couldn’t pinpoint the feeling in her stomach that this piece of news gave her, but it wasn’t pleasant. ‘How did it go?’ she asked.
‘OK,’ said Jason. ‘Better than I thought.’
‘Was it his suggestion?’
Jason frowned. ‘What do you think? No. Of course not. The only use Dad has for an olive branch is to hit people over the head with it. I called him. But, you know, he came.’