‘Don’t,’ groaned Robin, although her sense of humiliation was lifting in the face of Ilsa’s hilarity. ‘I’m a moron.’
‘You aren’t a moron: the guy was calling about a case, what were you supposed to think? Come on, Robin, it’s funny!’
‘Yes, well, that’s not everything… Charlotte Campbell turned up at the office this afternoon.’
‘What?’ said Ilsa, no longer laughing.
‘I don’t know what she wanted. Well, I do – to see Strike,’ said Robin. ‘He took her into the inner office, they were in there about five minutes, then they came out and she said – she said I look just like Strike’s new girlfriend, Madeline. I didn’t know he was seeing anyone. He didn’t tell me. She’s a jewellery designer, apparently.’
‘He’s dating?’ said Ilsa, sounding exactly as outraged as Robin had expected, and there was both pain and pleasure in hearing her own shock echoed in Ilsa’s voice. ‘When did that start ? He never told us he was seeing anyone!’
‘Well,’ said Robin with a shrug, ‘he is. He confirmed it after Charlotte left.’
‘All right, before we get into this Madeline person,’ said Ilsa, as though the very name was suspect, ‘let me tell you exactly what Charlotte was doing there.’
Ilsa took a deep breath, then said,
‘Robin, she can smell something between you and Corm, and she wants to screw it up.’
Either Ilsa’s words or the champagne had slightly leavened Robin’s misery, but nevertheless, she said,
‘Charlotte’s never seen the two of us up close until today, and then it was for three minutes tops.’
‘That’s irrelevant,’ said Ilsa flatly. ‘You and Corm have been together at the agency for what – five years now? He made you his business partner, for God’s sake. Nick and I never thought he’d do that. He voluntarily got legally entangled with you, and for Corm, believe me, that’s a big deal. I’ve never known anybody as commitment – we’d better order,’ said Ilsa, catching a waiter’s eye, ‘or they’ll just keep interrupting.’
Food chosen, the waiter moved out of earshot and Ilsa said,
‘What was I…? Yeah – I’ve never known anyone as commitment-phobic as Corm.’
‘He proposed to Charlotte.’
‘Oh, please,’ said Ilsa, rolling her eyes. ‘It was the lowest point in his life, and he’s had his fair share of low points. He’d just had his leg blown off, his army career was over and she decided to play the ministering angel because there was a bit of drama in it. Of course he fell for the act, anyone would have done. Robin, he shares the most important part of his life with you. Five years is the single longest continuous relationship of any kind Corm’s had with any woman. Charlotte will know that and she’ll hate it. Trust me. I know her,’ said Ilsa darkly. She picked up her full glass of champagne, then put it down again without drinking.
‘Charlotte never wanted him to start the agency. She might’ve pretended she did for about five minutes after they got engaged, but as soon as she realised it meant him working all hours and bringing in no money, she did everything she could to screw it up. But now look: he’s a massive success and he says himself he could never have done it without you. Trust me: if Charlotte had known this was how the agency was going to work out, that Corm would be famous and wildly successful, she’d have clung on and never let him go. No,’ said Ilsa, ‘Charlotte will know exactly how important you must be to Corm, and she knew exactly what she was doing, mentioning this new woman in front of you.’
Robin had finished her own champagne. Before she could do it, Ilsa had reached across and pressed the button for her. Robin laughed, then said,
‘There’s something else. Only, don’t make a big deal of it.’
‘Go on,’ said Ilsa, looking riveted.
‘You know Strike took me out for a drink at the Ritz on my birthday?’
‘Yes,’ said Ilsa, leaning in.
‘It’s not that exciting. We didn’t – you know – end up in bed together.’
Ilsa looked, if anything, even more riveted.
‘Well,’ said Robin, ‘we both got a bit pissed. The cocktails we were drinking were lethal and we hadn’t eaten much… Anyway, he kind of had his arm around me, because I nearly fell over, and then there was this moment outside the Ritz while we were waiting for a taxi and I think – I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure he was going to kiss me.’
Ilsa’s gasp was so loud that a passing waiter looked back at her.
‘Don’t,’ groaned Robin. ‘Honestly, Ilsa, don’t. It was… Oh God, I keep remembering the look on his face. He leaned in and I panicked and I think he… I got the impression he…’ Robin shook her head. ‘He probably thought I was disgusted at the idea or something. He looked a bit…’
Robin closed her eyes briefly, remembering Strike’s expression.
‘… mortified. He backed off and then we – we went back to normal. Well, sort of normal. He was a bit more distant than usual afterwards.’
‘Why did you panic?’ asked Ilsa, her expression intense.
The waiter arrived to refill Robin’s glass. She drank nearly half of it before saying:
‘I don’t know – because I’m thirty and I’ve literally been with one man, ever?’ She groaned again, as the memory of her phone call with Ryan Murphy swept back over her. ‘Because I’m such a moron I don’t even realise I’m being asked out?’
But her own inexperience wasn’t the whole reason and Robin knew it.
‘But mainly… I knew Strike would regret it, if we kissed. I knew he would, once he sobered up, and… I couldn’t stand hearing him tell me it was a big mistake. You know what he’s like about his privacy and his space, and we spend most of our lives together as it is. I didn’t want to hear him tell me he hadn’t meant it.’
Ilsa sat back against the banquette, frowning slightly. Again, she reached for her champagne, and again changed her mind.
‘Yeah, you’re right. He would’ve regretted it. That’s Corm, isn’t it?’ said the lawyer. ‘He’d’ve told you it was a drunken mistake and then he’d probably have found ways to drive a good big wedge between the two of you, so he can preserve his messed-up ideas about relationships… I’ll lay you odds he started dating this bloody woman—’
‘You don’t know she’s a bloody woman,’ said Robin reasonably. ‘She could be lovely. His last girlfriend was. Lorelei. There was nothing wrong with her.’
‘Of course there wasn’t, that’s why he ditched her,’ said Ilsa dismissively. ‘How’s he going to maintain his lifelong view that a stable relationship means some kind of prison if he goes out with women who might not fuck up his life? No, I’ll bet you a month’s salary he’s with this new woman because the pair of you nearly kissed and it scared the living daylights out of him.’
Ilsa sat in thought for a few seconds, then a broad grin spread over her face.
‘Why are you smiling?’
‘Sorry, I can’t help it,’ said Ilsa. ‘I’m just thinking how good that will have been for him, to think you were disgusted at the idea of kissing him.’
‘Ilsa!’
‘Oh, Robin, come on, you’ve seen the effect he has on women. They think he’s this big unshaven lump with an attitude and half an hour later they’ve decided he’s the sexiest thing on legs. I’m immune,’ said Ilsa with another shrug. ‘It’s not my thing, that “how do I fix down this man who clearly doesn’t want to be fixed down” bullshit. But a lot of women love it, hence his very high success rate.’