The Woodworker's Wife

Zoe had checked on Siobhan and changed out of her dress into her comfy clothes by the time I got back. She had poured me a glass of my favourite single malt and a glass of wine for herself. I hung my jacket overt the back of a chair and tossed my tie on the table. As the evening was still warm we took our drinks out to the patio. She sat next to me on the bench and curled up against me.

I sat there for a few moments trying to decide the best way to broach the question of Marcus. But Zoe was the first to break the silence.

"Geraldine thinks Marcus is trying to seduce me. I told her she's being silly, he was just being pleasant."

"She's not the only one who thinks that!"

"Don't tell me you are jealous of him too."

"I wasn't talking about me," I said. I may have been thinking it but I wasn't going to admit it to her.

"I told you Linda mentioned he's got a bit of a reputation as a womaniser around her office. Apparently he's already had a couple of office affairs this year. One of the women is now in the middle of a nasty divorce."

"Why would she tell you that?"

"She saw him this evening and mentioned it in passing." I made a mental note to call her in the morning and warn her that I'd mentioned the affaires to Zoe.

"Dave I'm happily, no very happily married. There are only two people I love and they are both here with me now." She stroked my arm that was wrapped around her.

She raised her head and her lips sought mine, working their way up my neck trailing little kisses until they found my waiting mouth.

I surrendered to her passion as she swung a leg over my lap and sat facing me. She held my head in both hands and stared deeply into my eyes and whispered, "There has only been and there will only be one man in my life and that's you."

I replied the only way I could. I picked her up and she wrapped her arms and legs around me. I carried her upstairs to our bed and made love to her until the wee hours of the morning.

~ ~ ~ ~ <> ~ ~ ~ ~

The rest of the weekend passed without any incidents. Zoe spoke to both Linda and Geraldine. I wasn't privy to those conversations but afterwards Geraldine and I talked.

Zoe had to go to Brighton Monday afternoon for a meeting with her gallery owner. She'd decided to take Siobhan with her to get new shoes.

I was in my workshop starting on my next commission. A bookcase flanked by a pair of display cabinets. It was for the chairman of an important private bank in Switzerland. It was going to be a lot of work and it was going to take me at least four weeks to finish. I was selecting the wood I wanted to use and making notes so I could order any stock I was short of.

The bell in the workroom rang. I'd long ago fitted a sensor at the entrance of our drive that rang a series of bells in the studio block and the house. It wasn't really a security measure, but more a heads up that someone was visiting. It had saved Zoe and me from several embarrassing situations in the past. Geraldine pulled up and got out of her car.

"Geraldine how is 'My learned friend'," I asked with a smile.

She grinned at me, "I think you should throw yourself on the mercy of the court."

I gave her a kiss on her cheek and we headed into the office. I poured us both a cup coffee and we sat down.

"This is an unexpected pleasure," I told her. "What did I do to deserve this visit?"

She gave me a darkly piercing stare that looked deep inside my soul. It made me understand why she was so feared in court. She may be the country's youngest female QC, but that hadn't stopped her gaining a fearsome reputation.

"What going on with Zoe and this Marcus chap?" She asked.

"I'm not sure," I replied. I held my hand up to forestall the next question on her lips. "Nothing from Zoe's side I'm sure. But I think it's pretty obvious Marcus's got more on his mind than just a painting."

I gave her chapter and verse on all that I'd been told about our Marcus without giving up my source.

"So to sum it all up," she said, "He's a womaniser, a player and he's decided that Zoe is his next game." I nodded.

"Well, that explains what I saw on Saturday night. The first time he mentioned he'd been looking for you was when you sat down. Before that it had all been him laying it on Zoe thickly and she lapped it up. Why in god's name haven't you put your foot down and told her to drop him as a client?"

"Come on, you know it's not that simple. Firstly, we've never interfered in each other's careers, and if I start now she'll just go all defensive. At least this way I stand a good chance I can control the situation. I'm pretty sure that if I try to block it, he will just create other opportunities to meet her that will be away from me and outside of my control."

She sighed, "I suppose you are right, but it's risky. He's intelligent and a right charmer that's true. Look how he made it seem like he was only talking to her while he waited to speak to you. And he's very smooth with his compliments, she was lapping them up."

"I noticed," I replied. "He apparently only saw her work for the first time a few weeks ago. Yet he must have researched her, because he knew a lot about her on Saturday. She's always been vulnerable to compliments because she doesn't completely believe in her own abilities."

I gestured at a couple of her paintings that hung in the gallery half of the office. "Christ knows why, I mean look at these. She's extremely good!"

"So it's a bit of a 'Catch 22' for you."

"True, but don't forget I have a secret weapon called Siobhan. From everything I gathered about him, he's not interested in a long-term relationship. It's all about the hunt and that first kill. I just need to make it not worth his time and effort."

"You're not going to do anything stupid are you?"

I shook my head, "He doesn't scare me. He can't hurt me physical or financially, but if he hurts her or my daughter there's a chance I might need your professional services."

Geraldine hesitated for a moment, "Give me a tenner."

I handed her a ten-pound note from the cash box.

"Good, you are now my client; I'll get the Clerk of my chambers to write up a contract. Let's be prepared just in case. When is his first sitting?"

"On Thursday."

"Ok, you need to keep me up to date, and I need to go. I've got to prepare for a court case tomorrow."

We stood up and I escorted her back to her car.

As she got into the car she gave me a kiss and a hug. She said "Don't forget that I love the three of you and you need to give my goddaughter a kiss from me."

I smiled as I watched her drive away. Then I grew serious as I walked back to my workshop. I continued selecting the lengths of wood I needed for my next project. As I did so I pondered the situation. I knew our relationship was really strong, but I had no idea just what Marcus was capable of. I was going to have to have another discrete talk with Linda. I needed her first-hand knowledge to prepare to counter his seduction technique.

Zoe was aware that I was tense and preoccupied over the next couple of days. My talk with Linda did little to ease my fears. We met in the pub again on Tuesday, I'd been to my suppliers and I'd called in on my way back. I knew just how much she loved Paul and their children. Yet I was scared at how easily Marcus had managed to get under her skin.

"He just seems to know exactly what to say and when to say it," she said in exasperation. "He ticked all my boxes and before I knew it I was in bed with him. He made me question my love for Paul and for that I will never forgive him."

She was close to tears and she had to take several deep breaths before she could continue. "He's good at making you feel that all he's got is your best interests at heart. Dave, we'd had a couple of pleasant conversations, but nothing spectacular before that evening in London. He was a perfect gentleman when we wined and dined those Americans. He just made me feel so important, he kept deferring to me when they asked us a question. It seemed so natural to agree when he suggested a night cap to 'evaluate the meeting'."

She squeezed my hand. "You won't want to hear this Dave, but for those few hours he made my world rock. I couldn't have stopped myself any more than I could stop the tide coming in."

"Shit," was all I could say in response.

"There is a silver lining though, but it doesn't really help you at the moment."

1 was willing to grasp at any straw. "What is it?" I asked.

"Once you see the real Marcus, he loses his charm and never gets it back. All three of us say the same thing about him."

"So I just need him to show her the real Marcus before anything happens, any ideas?"

Sadly she shook her head.

~ ~ ~ ~ <> ~ ~ ~ ~

The sun dawned on Thursday and I prepared to meet my nemesis. Of course, it was totally un-climactic. He arrived on time. He sat for Zoe, and I watched and listened. Apart from some totally appropriate comments nothing much was said. He thanked her as he left and waved to me through the open door of the office.

I felt a complete fraud, and I guess that was his plan. Zoe said nothing but she'd known I'd not been working at all for the whole of the two hours he sat for her. I'd never done that before, I'd always been around but I hadn't ever completely stopped working before.

At breakfast on the day of his next appointment I got the 'I want to know that you're around if I need you, but you know you don't have to stop working' speech.

I compromised by working quietly with the doors between the studio and the workshop open. I could hear snatches of their conversation and while most was seemingly innocuous he was quick to complement her.

After he left I saw her scribbling in her appointments diary. I recalled she'd hoped that it would only take four sittings to complete the painting. She'd pencilled in a further six sessions and it looked like he was to be here every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the next three weeks. This wasn't good.

"Why do you need the extra sessions?" I asked.

"It's a much bigger piece and a lot more complex than I originally anticipated, and he needs it finished for the first of next month."

Damn, that was convenient. Suddenly, he had a deadline, which ensured additional time with Zoe.

"You don't usually like working to a deadline." I said.

"I didn't know there was one at first. But apparently he has to travel most of next month and it's important it's finished before he travels."

"And you are happy with that?"

"Not totally, but he was so sweet when he asked I couldn't say no."

She must have seen my face when she said that and realised I wasn't happy because she came and hugged me. "Darling, you know nothing's going to happen. I love you too much to think about another man." Then she laughed, "And you've got a better body than his."

She pushed me back and I fell onto the sofa. She clambered on top of me and started to unbutton my shirt. She ran her fingers across my chest and then kissed and sucked at my nipples.

"This body is all I ever want," she murmured. She held her arms up and I pulled her top off and unclasped her bra. She shrugged it off and lay back down on me. Her hard nipples pressed against my chest and our lips tangled.

It seemed like a magic trick but seconds later we both naked and giving the poor springs of our venerable old sofa a hearty bashing.

One phone call to Linda the next day gave me another headache. She checked with Marcus's assistant and he had no long trips planned for the following month. So his deadline was just a ruse for more time with Zoe. And thinking about it I suspected that the scope of the painting had changed for the same reason.

I sat in the garden that afternoon; it was my day to collect our daughter from the kindergarten so I'd packed up early and picked her up. Siobhan was currently redecorating the kitchen with the help of her mother. Discretion being one of my wiser traits I'd taken myself off to the patio to nurse a beer.

I had 'a cunning plan' as Baldrick would say to Blackadder. The next day I would casually dropped a hint that as I may have been mistaken about Marcus, I might as well see if he was serious about the piece of furniture he'd mentioned. Then I intended to contact his assistant and make an appointment to see him while he was supposedly travelling. And just like that I would have proved he was a liar.

Two beers in the garden later, my plan was in tatters. Of course, Zoe would know why I'd tried to make an appointment. For Christ's sake all I had to do was ask him face to face on his next visit. I mentally got Blackadder to hit me.

There was another issue that was niggling at me. I was beginning to wonder if I was becoming paranoid and obsessed over Marcus. I'd seen no changes in the Zoe I knew. She was still just as loving as she'd ever been. There were no secret phone calls or any other evidence she was taking an unhealthy interest in Marcus. And I think she was getting worried about me.

She brought me out of my musing with a kiss to the back of my neck. She looked at the beer bottles lined up in front of me and said, "Are we ok love? You seem really worried."

I should have been honest, but I wasn't. I took the coward's way out and hugging her I told her that everything was fine.

~ ~ ~ ~ <> ~ ~ ~ ~

The following Monday was the first of Marcus's additional sessions and again I worked quietly with the connecting doors open. Snatches of conversation and the odd laugh drifted through the doors. I was packing up when he left as it was my turn to collect our daughter. I followed him down the drive, he turned left and I turned the other way. When I collected Siobhan I was reminded by her teacher that I had agreed to help build a climbing frame with several other fathers on Wednesday afternoon.

Damn, damn, that was Marcus's next appointment and there was no way I could back out of my commitment.

I gave Zoe the news when we got back. "Sorry love, I'd completely forgotten I'd agreed to help at the kindergarten," I said. "I can't get out of it as it was my bloody idea in the first place. You are going to need to reschedule Marcus."

"I can't see that being a problem," she replied, "he's been very charming and understanding so far." She tried calling him and she was transferred to his assistant. I heard her tell her that she was cancelling the Wednesday appointment and he needed to reschedule, then she rang off.

"All done," she said. "Actually, it's better for me, I can use the time to put the finishing touches to Geraldine's portrait."

Late Wednesday morning found me loading my tools in the back of our old Land Rover and I headed into the village. Four of us had volunteered and we spent the next few hours replacing the old dilapidated climbing frame with a brand new wooden one that met the new council regulations. We were finished by three-thirty and I collected Siobhan from her teacher. I admired the painting she showed me and we headed home.

As we pasted our neighbour's farm, I was disturbed to see in the distance, what looked like Marcus's Porsche turning out of our drive. He drove off into the distance and I churned over the implications. I checked my phone and it was switched on and there were no missed calls or texts. Had he only just arrived and she'd sent him away or had he turned up for his cancelled appointment. In which case what had they been doing for the past two and a half hours?

I pulled up in the courtyard and Zoe appeared from the studio door. I unbuckled Siobhan from her car seat and she ran over to her mother clasping the painting she'd done in class.

"Mummy, look at my tree," she cried out holding the painting out to her. Zoe picked her up and considered the painting.

"It's very nice pumpkin," she said. "I love the blue bark and the yellow leaves."

She turned to me and asked, "Can you lock up, and we will go and start supper."

Not a word about her visitor, did I imagine the car? No, I'm sure it was his 911. Sure I told her and she took Siobhan into the house. I checked his canvas and the paint was wet in patches, Geraldine's didn't look like she'd touched it. I sat down on the sofa and shut my eyes. It was obvious that Marcus had been there, Zoe only ever painted the main subject of a portrait from a model. I guess he'd made his move. The unanswered question was had I lost her?

I entered the kitchen and Zoe was putting a casserole into the oven. Siobhan was standing on her step stool at the kitchen table.

"I helped mummy cut the carrots," my daughter proudly told me.

"That's clever of you." Then watching Zoe I asked. "Was that Marcus's car I saw coming out of our drive earlier?"

She stiffened and then said softly, "Yes, it was, apparently his assistant didn't pass on my message and he arrived about two o'clock. I was working on Geraldine's portrait, and I told him he needed to go as you weren't around. He was rather upset so in the end I spent half an hour or so working on his face." That was rather odd as some of the wet paint I'd seen had been around the lower torso. It also meant she was lying to me.

I felt my resentment growing but I managed to keep my temper. I acknowledged her comments, and then I headed back out to the workshop. I worked until I was called for supper. Our conversation was stilted and somewhat low-key over supper as Siobhan ate with us. I cleared up afterwards and washed the dishes as Zoe read Siobhan her bedtime story.

I was sitting on the terrace nursing a beer when she came and sat beside me. I could see she was looking upset but I couldn't help myself.

"Damn it Zoe, I thought we agreed you wouldn't be on your own with any male model, especially him. You should have just sent him away." I kept my voice low as I didn't want to wake Siobhan. But I was upset and she knew it from my tone. "And why didn't you tell me he'd been here earlier. I shouldn't have had to ask you."

"But nothing happened Dave. I know I called and cancelled, he just turned up and he wasn't keen to go when I asked him. He was upset that it was going to be a wasted trip given his travel plans. In the end, it was simpler to do a bit on the portrait and keep him happy."

"I still don't understand why you didn't give me a call. You know how I feel about him." Again, he was going on about his upcoming travel yet if Linda was to be believed he had no travel plans. Had he really not got the message? Or was that another lie.

Zoe looked distressed, "I don't understand why you are so upset, and he's just a client. Nothing happened, he was very pleasant, a perfect gentleman. I think you'd like him if you got to know him."

Linda's words from the last time we spoke came rushing back to me.

'He's good at making you feel that all he's got is your best interests at heart. Dave, we'd had a couple of pleasant conversations, but nothing spectacular before that evening in London. He was a perfect gentleman when we wined and dined those Americans. He just made me feel so important, he kept deferring to me when they asked us a question. It seemed so natural to agree when he suggested a nightcap to 'evaluate the meeting'.

I held out my hand and she took it timidly. I whispered, "Zoe if you love us, please don't do anything you will regret."

"I have no intention doing anything I would regret," she said. "You need to trust me, I'd never put you or Siobhan in any harm."

We left it there and sat in silence until it was late enough that neither of us felt guilty going to bed. Zoe curled up with her back to me but I don't think she fell asleep for a long time, I know I didn't.

We were quiet at breakfast and Siobhan could sense that something wasn't right; for a five year old she was very perceptive. I dropped her off at the kindergarten that morning as Zoe had a client sitting at nine. I puttered around the workshop cutting a pair of cupboard doors from a single piece of timber so I ended up with a mirror of the grain pattern.