‘So,’ Nettie began. ‘I suppose this is going to be home from now on.’
‘You look as if you’ve made yourself pretty much at home already,’ remarked Lucy, who was still wearing her Earth clothes.
‘I thought I might as well start getting into the role,’ laughed Nettie.
‘That is so sensible,’ said Dan, to Lucy’s intense annoyance.
‘Look I don’t want to break you two up…’ said Nettie, even more to Lucy’s intense annoyance. ‘but I’ve got something to tell you… Something I think you ought to know…’
Nettie didn’t quite know where to begin. ‘It’s about the rectory… your hotel…’ she said.
‘It’s sad to think we’ll never be able to run it after all, Nettie,’ Dan sighed into his wine.
‘You were never going to be able to run it,’ replied Nettie.
‘What d’you mean?’ Lucy was immediately on the defensive. What was Nettie implying? That they were incompetent or something?
‘I don’t know whether I should tell you this now… maybe it’s pointless… But on the other hand maybe it’ll make you feel better…’
‘What?’ demanded Lucy. She had stood up and folded her arms, in her best courtroom ‘How do you dare propose that?’ posture.
‘Well…’ said Nettie, ‘Nigel was a shit – we all know that…’
‘He was my best friend!’ exclaimed Dan.
‘Yes… sure…’ replied Nettie. ‘But he was a shit.’
‘You certainly let him treat you like shit!’ retorted Lucy.
‘That’s my problem,’ replied Nettie. ‘I’m crazy. But that doesn’t mean I’m stupid. And although Nigel never discussed any of his business with me, I can tell you he didn’t sell Top Ten Travel for anything like the amount he told you he had. That’s why you could never get the documentation off him. He actually sold it for peanuts. You’d never have been able to pay off the rectory – let alone set up the hotel.’
There was a brief silence, that seemed to get up, stretch its legs and then wander off into the night.
‘Huh!’ snorted Lucy eventually. ‘That doesn’t surprise me one little bit!’
‘Well! It sure surprises me!’ exclaimed Dan. ‘How d’you know this, Nettie?’ He felt incredibly indignant – probably indignant at Nigel, but for the moment, he was content to be indignant with the messenger.
‘Oh…’ said Nettie, ‘he was so sloppy – he used to leave documents just lying around. He didn’t give a shit. I guess he never bothered to talk to me enough to find out that I was bright enough to see what he was up to. I kept trying to tell you – but we never met except with Nigel in tow. It was awful; I could see you heading for disaster.’
‘That bastard!’ cried Lucy, striding around beneath the oleanders. ‘If we ever get back to Earth I’m going to tear his balls off!’
‘Well, that’s one threat he doesn’t have to worry about,’ sighed Dan, his depression deepening by the second. Suddenly he felt Nettie’s hand on his ann. He turned and looked directly into her eyes and felt his stomach give way. A wave of wonderful helplessness swept over him, as he felt her eyes falling into his. And yet she was saying something else. Dan couldn’t make out what it was that Nettie was saying, he was so overcome with her proximity and the way her breasts showed under the translucent muslin of her Yassaccan shift. The next moment, before he regained his senses, she had rushed off in some excitement.
Dan turned to Lucy: ‘What did she just say?’ he managed to ask.
‘She just said: “Wait a minute! I’ve got it! I’ve got the answer! I knew I would!’ replied Lucy.
‘Oh!’ said Dan.
There was a silence. Then he added: ‘I’m sorry about the hotel. I know how much it meant to you.’
Lucy looked at him in some surprise. ‘I was more worried for you. I know you’d staked everything on it.’ Dan frowned and took a little swig of his wine. ‘That’s why I went along with it,’ continued Lucy. ‘I never really liked the rectory that much. I just couldn’t bear for you to be disappointed.’
Dan took another little swig of his wine. Then he did something that was so uncharacteristic that it made Lucy jump out of her skin: he threw his glass against one of the oleanders and it shattered into tiny pieces.