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before and turned back when the going got too tough.
    It was then she
glanced round and spotted him. The sound of her voice calling his
name made his stomach spasm.
    ‘Rhona,’ he put
on a bright smile and walked forward. As always, he imagined what
he must look like as he approached her and made instant small
adjustments to improve the picture. He brushed her cheek lightly
with his lips. ‘It’s great to see you,’ he said.
    The lie was not
lost on her and he immediately regretted his choice of opening
remark. He tried to retrieve the situation. ‘Would you like another
coffee?’
    She nodded
without saying anything.
    Edward headed
for the counter, annoyed to find the confidence of the tan and the
silk tie evaporating. There was only one person in front of him. He
was soon back at the table.
    Rhona waited
for him to speak, her face expressionless. It was the look she wore
when she knew he was going to ask her to do something. The look he
had always striven to change, by fair means or foul. Today would be
no exception.
    When the
constituency secretary phoned him and offered him the candidacy,
Edward felt like punching the air and shouting, ‘Ya beauty’. It was
what his kids might have done. Instead he said yes, walked through
to the sitting room, poured two large whiskies and gave one to
Fiona. She accepted it without a word and held it high in the air.
The triumph was no less hers. It was what she wanted too. Jonathan
and Morag were both upstairs, but they didn’t call them down to
tell them. Teenagers did not, could not, understand the
significance of such an event.
    They sat
together that evening, basking in mutual congratulation, refilling
their whisky glasses and discussing the implications. The seat he
was offered was a promising one. There was no doubt about that.
There were few seats in Scotland that they would be likely to hold
on to, and this was one of them. If all went well, Edward’s future
was assured. He would be less involved with his law work, that was
true. But he had planned ahead. He was already on a number of
Company Boards and his knowledge of European law brought in
consultancy work. Becoming an MP would only serve to enhance the
comfortable life Edward Stewart had created for himself.
    Rhona had
waited long enough.
    ‘Well?’
    ‘It was good of
you to come,’ Edward began.
    ‘Cut the small
talk, Edward. I’m not a future constituent. You and I both know
that you wouldn’t have asked me here unless it was absolutely
necessary. It must be something important.’ Rhona’s voice was rigid
with emotion.
    She watched
Edward’s face tense up momentarily, then readjust into something
more pleasant. Whatever speech he had planned for her was being
seriously rewritten.
    ‘So?’ she
said.
    ‘Okay, okay.
Give me a chance.’
    She waited.
    ‘I asked you to
come here this morning because,’ a pause here, - an attempt at
sincerity, ‘I need your help.’
    Silence, then
her own incredulous voice.
    ‘You need my
help?’
    She was making
him squirm, and she had to admit she was enjoying it. Edward looked
as though he might give up on the whole thing, then he marshalled
himself.
    He reached for
the sugar.
    ‘Rhona, you’re
overreacting. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t keep in touch.
After all, we were once very close.’
    ‘Not any
more.’
    ‘That wasn’t my
fault.’ His voice adopted a petulant tone. ‘If you remember, you
walked out on me.’
    ‘I wonder why?
Oh yes, I remember. It was shortly after I came home to find you
using the flat for a lunchtime fuck. Your legal secretary, wasn’t
it?’
    ‘If I had to
look elsewhere for affection...’ he began reproachfully.
    ‘Don’t you dare
blame that on me.’ Her heart was thumping now. This was ridiculous.
She was arguing about something that happened donkey’s years ago.
She got up.
    ‘No, please
don’t.’ He put his hand on her arm. ‘You’re right of course.’ His
voice was apologetic. ‘It was all my