Leah went to the house on Wednesday to collect her vases. She had asked a staff member to leave them by the side door. Most of the flowers could stay; the glass belonged to the shop and she needed it for another job.
The side door was propped open. Through it she saw her empty containers standing on a trolley, clean enough to take away. She put her car keys in her pocket and went in.
Finn was at the other end of the hall. He held Mara's overnight bag.
He looked up when Leah entered but didn't come towards her.
“She's in there,” he said, nodding towards the game room.
“I'm here for my glass.”
“I know.”
The woman who had helped Theo came out of the office with a clipboard.
“Leah. Thank you. We're cancelling the engagement celebration. Theo called this morning. Mara knows. You won't need to hold that date for us.”
Leah nodded. She had put the booking in her diary months ago, with a little green heart because Mara had wanted green and white flowers. Now it would be an empty Saturday like any other cancelled job.
“I'll sort it at the shop,” she said.
The woman handed her a note with the date on it and went back into the office.
Mara came out of the game room.
“You brought it,” she said to Finn.
He lifted the bag.
“Good. Put it by the front door. I have the other one ready.”
“I'm giving it back.”
Mara stopped beside the trolley. For a moment the three of them stood around Leah's vases as if they had arrived to arrange something together.
“What do you mean?” Mara asked.
“I'm not going with you.”
She looked at Leah, then back at him.
“Come in here.”
Finn stayed where he was.
Mara took his free hand. “Please. We can have five minutes without somebody watching.”
Leah stepped back towards the side door. She was halfway out when Finn said, “If it's what you said on the phone, no.”
Mara let his hand go.
“I asked you to stop making it sound ugly.”
“It was ugly.”
“We wanted to leave together. We still can. Nobody has to give us permission.”
“You said I had to take it back.”
“I said you had to stop telling people I planned something terrible. A stupid argument, Finn. Not this. You know that.”
Leah stood just outside, beside her car. The door was still open. She didn't want to turn herself into their witness again. She also couldn't carry the last vase through the space where they were standing.
Finn set the bag down. Its loose strap fell against the trolley wheel.
“I told you last night, I know we didn't plan the fall. I'll say that. I'm not saying Adam wanted you.”
“I didn't ask you to.”
“You did. You said we could keep the rest of it quiet and let them think he'd been after you.”
Mara glanced towards the office. She lowered her voice.
“We have been happy. Haven't we?”
Finn rubbed his forehead.
“Yes.”
“Then remember that. Come with me. We can get somewhere and think without every person we know staring at us.”
He picked the bag up again. For a moment Leah thought he was going to carry it to the car. Instead he held it out to Mara.
“I can't go if that's what you want me to do.”
She didn't take it.
“I thought you loved me.”
“I do.”
“Then why are you doing this?”
He kept the bag between them. His arm began to tremble with its weight.
“Because I said his name. I said it first. I'm not going to make another thing up about him.”
Mara took the handle at last.
“You're a child,” she said.
Finn's face tightened.
“I've been stupid,” he said. “I'm still not coming.”
Mara pulled the bag close, turned and went back into the game room.
Finn stood where she'd left him. Leah looked at her car keys. She had gripped them so tightly that the metal had made a small mark in her palm.
Behind her, a car came into the driveway. Adam got out, saw her and stopped with his hand on the door.
“Hello,” he said.
“Hello.”
He didn't come over. The woman from the office had seen him through the open side door and called him in. Leah returned to the trolley. Finn moved aside to let her pass.
“Can I help with these?” he asked.
“No.”
He nodded and went towards the hall.
Leah picked up the last two vases. As she did, she heard the staff member talking to Adam near the office.
“Theo's cancelled the celebration. The other evenings Mara was hosting are coming off the calendar for now too. So those shifts are gone.”
“All right,” he said.
“I can't offer you anything else here yet.”
“I understand.”
“Do you? People don't want to walk past the stairs thinking about what happened. You're part of that now. And I still don't know what to believe. You let us stand round Theo while you tried to get yourself out of it.”
Leah stopped with the vases in her hands. Adam saw her, then looked back at the woman.
“I lied about where I was. You shouldn't have been left with that.”
The woman folded the clipboard against her chest.
“And you're saying Mara did it.”
“I saw her push him. I called for help. I've said that to the people asking about the fall.”
“None of this is finished just because you've all had a talk,” she said.
“I know.”
Finn came back from the hall. His hands were empty.
“I told you he did it,” he said to her.
She looked at him. “You were shouting it.”
“I thought he had. I got to the stairs and saw him by Theo. I didn't see anybody push anybody.”
Finn stood beside Adam without looking at him.
“The other thing, about Adam and Mara. I told Theo that. I knew it wasn't true. I wanted the argument.”
The woman turned to Finn. “After what you told us last night, Theo's asked whether you'll cover the extra staff time on Saturday. Two of us stayed to close the house after he'd gone. He wants that paid.”
“I'll send it tonight,” Finn said.
She nodded and went to get the amount from the office.
Leah took the vases outside and put them in the car. She returned the trolley to its place by the door. The woman was back in the office, and the men stood several feet apart in the hall.
Adam had something folded over his arm. Her striped top.
“I washed it,” he said. “I was going to leave it at the shop.”
“Thank you.”
He handed it to her. The fabric smelt of his soap. She put it under her arm so she wouldn't keep holding it against her face.
“Are you working tonight?” she asked.
“Not tonight. I've got a relief shift Friday. I've been calling round. Most places have their weekends covered already.”
Finn shifted beside them. “I can—”
Adam shook his head.
“Don't.”
Finn stopped. Leah went out to the car.
Mara came down the front steps with both her bags while Leah was fastening her seat belt. A car waited at the gate. Mara looked across the drive, met Leah's eyes and lifted one hand.
Leah didn't wave back. She watched Mara get in.
Finn came outside after the car had gone. He stood at the foot of the steps, staring at the open gate. Adam went past him to his own car without speaking.
Leah started her engine. She waited for Adam to pull out, then followed him as far as the main road. There he turned left and she went right, back to the shop.