Diane ran to her car and got in. The two people who had been staring at the cottage earlier were nowhere to be seen.

She looked around the car for something to dry herself off with. Rain was bucketing down and it had only taken the short distance from Tamsin’s front door to Diane’s car for her to get soaked. She found a small towel on the back seat and wiped her face with it.

She started the engine, doing her best not to glance back at the cottage. She didn’t want to see Tamsin looking out of the window at her leaving. Or maybe she was afraid Tamsin wouldn’t be staring after her at all. She drove off, not really thinking where she was going.

Tamsin’s face crept to the forefront of her mind, and how it had gone from delight to incomprehension, to sorrow and finally anger, all in the space of a few minutes. All caused by Diane. A thick knot lodged itself in her gut.

She pulled the car to the side of the road. She shouldn’t be driving around aimlessly in this dreadful weather.

The rational thing to do would be to just go back to Tamsin’s. Or maybe Isabelle’s. Her friend would be sure to give her a pep talk. But Diane was feeling anything but rational and the one thought that kept pushing all others aside was that she needed to stop Debbie from telling everyone about her and Tamsin.

Of course, the very idea of having to confront Debbie was almost paralysing. But maybe she could talk to Lawrence. If she drove over now, and if one of the figures she’d seen lurking outside Tamsin’s was indeed Debbie, she might beat her ex’s new wife home. This was her chance to explain to Lawrence that Debbie had it all wrong and there was nothing going on between her and Tamsin. At least after her confrontation with Tamsin, it wouldn’t be a lie. She pointed the car in the direction of Lawrence and Debbie’s house.

They lived in a country house on the outskirts of Tynebury. Diane parked outside the gate. She peered towards the house, where she could see that lights were on.

Diane had driven past it many times, especially right after Lawrence their divorce, but she’d never been inside. She had a picture in her mind of a garish, over-the-top interior, with gilt and chrome fittings everywhere, more suited to a villa in Beverly Hills than a house in the English countryside. She’d know soon enough if reality matched her imagination.

I can’t believe I’m doing this. Diane tried to realign her thoughts. Since the divorce she’d never had to consult Lawrence or rely on him for anything. Did she really think he was the right person to come to now? And was she really hoping he would forbid his wife to say something? More importantly: why did she care so much what other people might think?

Diane’s hands were still gripping the steering wheel and she rested her head on them, trying to quieten the thoughts and questions swirling around in her mind. You can still stop this ridiculousness and go back to Tamsin. But again, the need to keep the whole thing quiet overrode every reasonable objection Diane could come up with.

She lifted her head and her hand moved to open the car door. It was as if her body had decided to take over now that her mind had been reduced to chaos. She stepped out of the car and walked up to the front door. The bell gave out an elaborate chime when she pressed it. A few seconds later the door opened and Lawrence stood in front of her.

“Diane,” he said. “What are you doing here?” He looked genuinely surprised. Maybe Debbie hadn’t told him anything yet.

“I need to talk to you. Can I come in?”

Lawrence moved aside to let her in.

Diane took in the entrance hall. The furniture was quite classic—a carved wooden cabinet, an elegant coat rack—but the decorative elements were very modern and very much what Diane had pictured to be Debbie’s taste.

She handed her coat to Lawrence. “Is, er, Debbie home?”

“She’s out with a friend tonight,” Lawrence said. “I’ve only just arrived home myself.” He led her into the living room and offered her a seat on the sofa. “Can I… get you a drink?” He looked unsure how to handle this impromptu visit.

Diane shook her head. “I won’t be staying long. Have you spoken to Debbie at all today?”

Lawrence gave her a puzzled look. “Not since this morning. Why? What’s going on? Did you get in a fight with her?” He gave a small chuckle, but she could see by the look on his face that he did not consider the suggestion completely impossible.

“Nothing like that,” Diane said. “It’s just…” Now she was here, she wasn’t sure how to broach the subject she had come to discuss. How could she explain the situation without making herself look ridiculous for lurking in the shower stall and eavesdropping on Debbie’s conversation? She decided she should just stick to a simplified version of the facts. Lawrence was a man after all, he would not be interested in the finer details.

“Today I overheard Debbie and a friend of hers—I don’t know who—talking about me. They were saying things that could damage my reputation. Things that are just not true.” She paused to take a breath.

Lawrence was still standing near the drinks cabinet, looking at her expectantly. When she didn’t say anything for a few seconds, he sat in an armchair on the other side of the coffee table. “What things?” He spoke in a tone that was curious and gentle at the same time. He could probably see on Diane’s face how much distress she was in.

“They said there was a rumour going around that I’ve been seeing someone. Having an affair if you will.” She fell silent again. She cast her glance to her hands, which she was wringing together in her lap.

“Who are you rumoured to be having said affair with?”

The knot in her stomach moved up, as if it was trying to cut off her power of speech. But she had to say it, that was the whole point of her presence here. She had to address the rumour so it could go away. “With Tamsin, the new pro at the club.”

“I see,” Lawrence said calmly. He did not sound nearly as surprised as Diane had expected.

Diane looked up to meet his gaze. “It’s not true.” She tried to keep her voice steady, but she could hear a tremor in it. Her eyes were starting to well up so she looked back down at her hands again, willing the impending tears to retreat.

She heard Lawrence get up and take a few steps. Next, the sound of ice being dropped in a glass and some liquid being poured. She looked up as he came to sit next to her on the sofa and handed her a tumbler with what smelled like scotch in it.

“I think you may need this.” He gave her a gentle smile. “Diane, clearly this is about more than a silly rumour. I’ve never known you to care much about what people say about you behind your back. Especially if what they’re saying is false. Which leads me to believe that this so called rumour might not be false at all.”

This was the trigger for Diane’s tears to burst loose. She gave a couple of hiccupy sobs. Her nose was starting to run. Oh, how she hated the whole process of crying. Even when Lawrence had sat her down to announce he was leaving her for Debbie, she had managed to not cry, at least not until he’d left. But now she didn’t seem capable of controlling her tears.

Lawrence took a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her.

“Thank you,” she said in a voice so timid, she hardly recognised herself.

Lawrence waited patiently for her to gather herself. When the tears had subsided somewhat she found that the knot of dread she had been carrying since leaving Tamsin’s had uncoiled itself a little. As if her tears needed to come out before she could properly talk.

“The rumour is false,” Diane started. “Now. But it was true only an hour ago.” She sighed. “I’ve just come from Tamsin’s. I broke it off after hearing what was being said about me.”

“Are you in love with her? Does she make you happy?” Where Diane had been expecting mockery or disgust in Lawrence’s eyes, she saw only kindness. The way he was looking at her now reminded her of how he used to look at her in the beginning of their marriage, when they were still friends above everything else.

“Maybe… I don’t know. I think I might be,” Diane replied. “And yes, she does make me happy. But it just can’t be. If we lived in London, perhaps, but this is Tynebury, where everybody knows me, where my neighbours are my clients. Not to mention the fact that I’m about to be a grandmother.”

“Diane,” Lawrence said in a firm voice, “listen to me.” He deposited his glass on the coffee table and did the same with Diane’s. He took Diane’s hands in his. “I want to tell you something. It might be a bit painful to hear at first, but please bear with me.” He took a deep breath.

“The first time I met Debbie, I was in a gloomy place. You and I had been living separate lives, despite being married. I felt like there was not much joy in my life. We both worked hard, got home exhausted at the end of the day, and didn’t really talk to each other anymore. Part of me felt dead inside.”

Diane started to interject, but Lawrence held up his hand.

“Let me finish. Please?” He smiled at her. “Then I met this young, vibrant woman. I know you dislike her, and I understand your reasons for doing so. But, just for a minute, try to put yourself in my shoes. She was exciting, she wanted to have adventures.” His face lit up as he was speaking. “And I felt alive again. I had this energy inside me I thought I’d lost forever.”

Diane couldn’t help but smile at this. She had experienced exactly the same thing after her first kiss—and first night—with Tamsin.

“You know what I’m talking about, don’t you?” Lawrence said. “I can see it on your face. Tamsin did the same for you, didn’t she?”

Diane just nodded.

“I still loved and respected you, so much, but I knew that I would not be doing what was best for either one of us if we stayed married.” A hint of sorrow crept into his gaze now. “I know I hurt you deeply when I said I was leaving, but I would have ended up hurting you, and myself, even more if I had stayed and continued to feel miserable. Of that I’m sure.”

“You’re probably right,” Diane said, “even though it didn’t feel like that at the time.”

“My point is that sometimes you have to take that leap, make that choice to go for your own happiness, never mind what people say. I know there was a lot of gossip about me when we split up. It was all pretty stereotypical of a mid-life crisis, wasn’t it? It wasn’t pleasant to hear those things being said about me, to have some of my friends turn their backs on me. But understand this: all of that passes with time. And after it has passed, you’re left with a relationship that makes your life richer and more fulfilled. The bad is just temporary, but the good comes out stronger.”

Diane couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Since their divorce, she and Lawrence had done their best to be courteous to each other, to maintain a certain dignity in the midst of all the turmoil. But they had never had an open conversation like this. Lawrence had never really opened up to her in this way.

“So you think I should go and be a lesbian?” Diane gave him a wry smile. “I should cause a scandal in the village, and the club, and not care about it? If I haven’t ruined everything with Tamsin already, that is.”

Lawrence laughed. “Well, I wouldn’t put it like that. And I can’t tell you what to do, that I’ve known since I first met you. But what I can do is encourage you to think about everything, and decide what’s more important to you. I want the grandmother of my grandchild to be happy, to be an example of what life can be if you’re true to yourself.” He squeezed her hands before letting them go to pick up his glass again.

Diane’s tears had dried now, but she was sure her eyes were a mess. She absolutely didn’t want Debbie to see her in this state.

“I think I should go,” she said, and stood. “Thank you for the talk. And please—”

“Don’t worry,” Lawrence interrupted her, “I’ll talk to Debbie and ask her to keep this to herself. I can’t tell her what to do, any more than I could you, but—” He paused. “She might not be your favourite person, and the feeling is quite mutual I think, but I know she will agree that this is your news to share. I also happen to know she would want you to be happy. Especially if that happiness is brought on by someone else other than me.” He chuckled. “Sometimes I think she’s afraid I’m going to leave her to go back to you.” He shook his head.

Diane guffawed. “You’re joking, surely.” She stepped close to Lawrence and pulled him into a hug. “You can reassure her that there’s no chance of that ever happening. I too have come to appreciate the benefits of a younger partner and could not picture myself with an old fart like you again.”

“Ouch,” Lawrence said, laughing.

Diane stepped out of their embrace and gave him a kiss on the cheek before walking out of the house.