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  ‘Are you free this Friday?’ he asked, eyes sparkling.

  Maud could see he was enjoying himself, the sure smile on his lips told her he already knew her answer. She really should play hard to get, and say she was busy or shaving her legs or something, but her stomach was churning and her knees felt like jelly, as he invaded her personal space and started sniffing her neck.

  ‘You smell heavenly,’ he murmured while she stood stock still in shock. This was not the Tom she had come to know in the staffroom, and the full-on flirting was filling her senses and making her take a step back to clear her head. ‘Um, thank you... and yes, that would be great.’

  Tom seemed pleased with this response and gave her room to breathe, and she gratefully sucked in some air. He pecked her briefly on her lips and then headed for the door. ‘That’s great. I already have your number, from the staff list,’ he winked, and gave her one of those smouldering smiles that made her heart start to pound. ‘I’ll text you the time and you send me the address where you’d like to go.’ It was a statement, not a question, and Maud nodded dumbly as he smiled at her mute state and left her standing there like a fool. She grabbed her hand to her chest to try and ease her pulse rate in case she had a cardiac arrest. She’d thought it would be nice to date a teacher like Tom, as he’d be dependable, and steady. Who knew he could be so sexy and commanding? She fanned herself with her hands and rested back onto the desk for support. Wait till she told Daisy.

  Walking home after she had spent ten minutes splashing cold water on her face in the cloakroom and calming herself down, Maud decided that it was a good thing that Tom was such a confident man otherwise she certainly wouldn’t have approached him, however much she fancied him. She was worried about making a complete idiot of herself, which seemed to happen far too often.

  Her phone trilled and she fished in her bag to grab it before the caller got bored and rang off. Considering Maud was so neat and tidy, the inside of her bag was more like her true self, a complete and utter mess. Grabbing the phone, which luckily lit up when it rang, she plastered it to her ear and was thrilled to hear Dot’s voice, which was as excitable as Maud remembered.

  ‘Maud, I’m having a dinner party in an absurdly creative restaurant this Friday. I desperately want you to come as I think you’d love it there. It’s dark, mysterious and dripping in sculpture and photography.’ Maud smiled at Dot’s persuasive tone and wondered if the place really was full of art, or if Dot had added that to entice her out of her cave. Did everyone think she was some kind of reclusive hermit? Maud cringed and set her bag at her feet, while she tried to picture an exotic place where interesting people met to eat and talk about art. She would really love to find out for herself and thought about accepting Dot’s kind invitation, then she sighed heavily as, for the first time in years, she was double-booked.

  ‘Oh Dot, I would have loved to have joined you,’ Maud meant it, too, she was so flattered that Dot had thought of her. They had spoken twice over the weekend already and Maud was enjoying the fledgling friendship. ‘But Tom has just asked me out on a date on Friday.’

  Maud could hear the excitement in Dot’s voice. ‘Bring him.’

  Maud grinned suddenly. She had two offers on the table and it felt good to be in demand. ‘Bring him?’ Maud stared at the phone quizzically, as if it was an alien object, before pressing it back to her ear.

  Dot laughed. ‘Why not? First dates can be excruciatingly embarrassing. Wouldn’t it be better to have a few friendly faces there?’ she wheedled.

  ‘But I won’t know anyone else, other than you.’

  Dot paused for a moment in thought. ‘Oh yes. You may have a point, but we’re all very friendly.’

  ‘Who will be there?’ Maud’s brow furrowed and she tried to decide if Dot getting her own way was a good idea, as she seemed quite bossy. Maud was terrified of dating Tom on her own and having other people there did seem inviting. She also wanted to see for herself what the restaurant was like, as it sounded divine. And how often did she get invited somewhere that would probably top up her creative juices for months and months to come?

  Dot hesitated. ‘I’m wondering how truthful to be,’ she said frankly, ‘as Nate could either scare you away or encourage you to join us. He’s going to be there, with Elliott, and my parents and a few other friends,’ she said quickly, not pausing for breath.

  Maud stomach started somersaulting again. ‘Um… Nate…’

  ‘Yes. He’s bringing his new squeeze apparently. I’ve met her once and she bored me half to death. Please, Maud. It will be excruciating without you. I need someone normal there.’

  ‘You just said everyone was friendly. You’re not selling them that well.’

  Dot laughed before becoming deadly serious again. ‘It will be good for you to meet everyone from the madhouse before my birthday party. Then you’ll feel much more comfortable, because you’ll know them all.’

  Maud pictured a friendly and warm group of artists, then the picture changed to one of green-eyed monsters, who would trample each other for fame. The way Dot described her family was with a mix of love and anger.

  ‘Please…’ pleaded Dot desperately. ‘I promise you can get drunk really quickly.’

  Maud’s mouth widened into a grin and she pictured Dot’s earnest face at the other end of the phone. She liked Dot and her life had been far duller before she burst into her home and decided they would become friends. Maud had never known anyone quite like her. The hidden part of her cherished finding someone she could be herself with. She had a feeling that Dot felt the same. ‘Tom might not like the idea…’ She knew she didn’t sound convincing.

  ‘Well, put the invite to him and let him decide.’ Dot sounded like she was dancing round her office in glee, ‘I’m hoping this means an almost certain yes, and that you can use your womanly charms to persuade your new man to join us.’

  Chapter Thirteen

  Maud ducked back down and into the bush she was hiding beside. She noticed a small child looking at her strangely, and put her finger to her lips to signal they should be quiet, getting a mutinous look in return. Maud sat back on her haunches and wondered what the hell her life had come to.

  So far, she had left ten paintings around, and the press had taken an avid interest in her story. She had been sure that Daisy had tipped them off, but then remembered her puce face when she’d heard that the art was being left out for strangers to pick up and walk away with.

  Maud still didn’t believe her work was good enough to cause all this fuss, but it had become a bit of an addiction now, she got a buzz when someone liked her work enough to take it home. The papers were saying that her art was daring and unique. Maud had never experienced anyone except Daisy and Nancy appreciating her work before, and now she found she couldn’t stop wanting more.

  All this cloak and dagger espionage was going to give her a heart attack if she wasn’t careful, though. If anyone from the school caught her hiding in bushes and scaring children, she could lose her job and her reputation, plus her mum would kill her for bringing shame on their upstanding family name.

  The little girl who had spotted her earlier was now grabbing at her mum’s arm and pointing to the bush Maud was hiding under. Her stomach grumbled noisily and she started to panic. The mum was talking to another woman and seemed to be telling her daughter off for interrupting her. Maud quickly backed out of the hedge, brushing a stray twig out of her hair and fleetingly thinking of Dot’s bird’s nest hat. She reached into her pocket and thanked the heavens that she had confiscated a big bouncy ball from Robbie during registration in class that day and she turned to show the girl that she had found the ball she had lost, which made the girl stop pulling at her mother and just stare her way. She straightened her back, which was aching from hiding in a small shrub, and nonchalantly strolled away as if she had not a care in the world. Her heart was beating so fast she thought she might pass out, but she made her feet move one in front of the other and in minutes, but what
felt like an age, she was safely seated back behind the steering wheel of her car.

  She sat with her hands grasping the sides of her seat and tried to steady her breathing. This had become so ridiculous. Maybe she needed art AA or something? Surely this wasn’t normal behaviour? She craned her neck to see if her little painting was still on the bench, but she was too far away now and she felt crushing disappointment that she’d gone to so much effort with the artwork for nothing. She had spent many nights with this particular painting, and she craved seeing the person’s face when they saw the little tag attached to it. She needed her art fix. Despondently, she turned the key in the ignition and headed towards home.

  She tried to clear her mind and thought back to the pathetically timid way she had tentatively asked Tom about coming with her to Dot’s pre-party party. He had looked a bit perplexed at first, but as she’d babbled that Dot was a new friend and that Nate would be there, she’d discovered that Tom loved trying new restaurants and meeting people. He’d heard of Nate and thought it would be a complete blast. Maud had very unattractively stood there gawping at him for being so happy. Her life was getting stranger by the minute. She’d assumed he’d hate the idea. Instead, Tom had jumped up and grabbed her hand, then began going on about how much he admired Nate’s work, as he’d read about him in the Sunday supplements the previous weekend. Surprisingly, and a little annoyingly, Tom hadn’t stopped talking about it since.

  Maud was grudgingly happy that he seemed so excited about their date, though, and felt proud that she sort of knew Dot and had met Nate once. She was nervous about going to a family dinner with her new boyfriend but appreciated that it would be even stranger for Tom.

  The phone rang as she pulled into her driveway and she turned off the engine to reach into her bag, seeing Dot’s now-familiar name on the screen. Answering the call, she could barely hear anything, as Dot seemed to be having some sort of fit. She held the phone to her ear in panic. ‘Dot? Are you ok?’

  ‘Huh? Oh yes. It’s an experimental art piece that someone sent me. It has an audio file that seems to set itself off every time I move. It’s doing my head in and I’m ready to chuck it off the top of the building. I’m not sure it’s right for my customers,’ she said sarcastically.

  Maud stifled a giggle. ‘Don’t they like the sound of a whale’s mating call?’

  ‘Not this month,’ said Dot drily. ‘Awful, isn’t it? I had to give it a chance as I’m trying to build my own client base, and it was made by one of my old school friends. She asked me for a favour.’ Dot paused and Maud could picture her cringing as she tried to blank out the gut-wrenching screeches. ‘I thought my art was atrocious, but hers is even worse. I’ve finally found someone with less artistic talent than me!’

  Maud could sense an undercurrent to her words. ‘Have you been painting again?’

  Dot stopped for a second before replying. ‘I’ve been experimenting, I suppose,’ she sighed. ‘I’ve been working a full day for my family and then spending the evenings in my studio until dawn, which is taking its toll on my sanity. It’s why I’ve called you. I’d like to have your honest opinion on my new work.’

  Maud realised how hard it must have been for Dot to ask someone outside of her family to view her work, and felt incredibly flattered that she had chosen her, of all people. ‘I’d love to. When can I see it? And where?’ she asked, trying to conceal the anticipation she felt brimming inside, not wanting to scare Dot off or change her mind.

  Maud heard Dot slump back in her chair. ‘My eyes are red from staring at the detailing on my new work. I need someone else’s point of view. Maybe we can meet up at the weekend after the dinner party?’

  Maud could imagine Dot trying to steady her nerves. It was the first time she’d heard uncertainty in her voice.

  ‘I feel a bit nauseous at the thought of another person seeing my art, even if it is someone who paints for a hobby and is far from being an expert,’ Dot said candidly, not listening or bothering to notice Maud splutter in disbelief at the other end of the line. ‘I feel you’re the right person to show first, for some reason. You’re so calm and rational, unlike my parents, who would find it difficult to mask their confusion and distaste, however hard they tried.’

  Maud wondered if Dot could sense her jiggling up and down on the other end of the line, but wouldn’t realise it was with both fury and excitement over what she was hearing. A reluctant smile crept onto her face, regardless, as she really did want to see Dot’s new work. ‘My place or yours?’ Maud asked through gritted teeth, after she’d had a moment to stop fuming.

  She couldn’t believe that she’d only known Dot for such a short while, as they had spoken on the phone every day since meeting outside her house. She wondered if Dot was this insulting and full-on with all her friends, and a spark of jealousy seared through her, making her frown. Dot was so vivacious and exciting that Maud didn’t want anyone else to have a friendship like the one they had. She hadn’t seen Dot’s place and she wondered whether it represented the real Dot, or the façade she presented to the world, like Maud’s own bungalow. The thought made Maud confused for the first time about how her life must seem to Daisy and Dot. She’d been so sure she was right, before, but picturing Dot’s strong and colourful outfits, and getting the occasional glimpse of the delicate and complicated personality living inside them, made her think that maybe she had been wrong the whole time. She supposed Dot’s place would have huge picture windows, sparkly fabric that was painful to sit on everywhere, and clashing walls. She’d probably have an exotic pet too, like a llama that spat at you as you walked in.

  Dot looked at the phone in exasperation. ‘Maud, have you fallen asleep, or wandered off somewhere? You’ve gone quiet… Maud?’

  ‘Still here.’

  ‘Oh good. I’ve got a studio. It’s above Nate’s painting lair, and so much more refined,’ she joked. ‘I don’t bed restless women there and I don’t work in the dark, unlike some,’ she said pointedly.

  Maud’s gasped in shock. Dot giggled and swung her feet up onto her desk with a clunking sound. ‘I’m only joking. He doesn’t let anyone in there, except me, or our parents if they happen to be behaving that day. That’s why I call it his lair. He’s like a big black bear, guarding his territory. All grumpy and hairy,’ she giggled again, as if picturing Maud’s surprised face.

  ‘I don’t know why I tease you about my brother, Maud. I would never do this with anyone else, but the words just tumble out of my mouth. Obviously you know I’m joking…’ She reeled off the address of her studio before she let her tongue run away with more insults. ‘The thought of being a bit braver and letting someone else see the few precious pieces of art that have poured from my soul and driven me to near madness over the last few weeks is terrifying, but necessary,’ she said with finality.

  Maud felt glum and put the phone back into her bag with the decision to start being a bit more courageous, too, and to make Dot and Daisy proud of her.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Maud bit her lip and fiddled with the button of her shirt before Tom took her hand and squeezed it in support. It felt strange to be out with him and not surrounded by thirty small, questioning children. He was looking gorgeous tonight and had obviously made an effort, with smart dark blue trousers and a pristine white shirt that was open at the collar to reveal a glimpse of firm chest. He looked preppy but hot, with tortoiseshell glasses perched on his nose and floppy blond hair swept to one side of his forehead.

  Tom had been remarkably chirpy about the weird first date idea from the moment it had been arranged. In fact, it had been a bit like he was going on a date with Nate, the amount of times he had begun a conversation about him and said how thrilled he was to be meeting such a famous artist. Maud had tried not to be too grumpy about it, but she would have preferred her first date with a new man to be focussed on her.

  They walked towards the restaurant Dot had directed them to in a text earlier in the day and Maud almost swooned at the
creativeness of the surroundings. As soon as she approached the main entrance, she could feel her heart ramp up a notch, and begin to beat faster in excitement. The door was a majestic carved artwork with ironwork sensuously weaving its way from the ground and reaching to the stars. It was imposing but beautiful and they stopped and stared at the detailing in awe.

  As they stepped closer to peer at the masterly sculpture, the doors whooshed open and a smartly-dressed doorman smiled warmly and beckoned them inside. They had to sidestep quickly out of the way as a very glamorous woman brushed past them and disappeared into the restaurant without a backward glance. Maud and Tom grinned at each other in delight at the drama of it all, as they were led inside to an enormous room that looked like an opulent palace, with grand tables covered in layers of delicate fabrics, set into alcoves. The tables, which stretched as far as the eye could see, were surrounded by softly padded armchairs and benches, covered with rich vibrant materials that seemed to scoop up the people smiling over expressive conversations in secluded corners. The walls were covered with hand-drawn illustrations depicting people entwined in lust, and the tables were overflowing with fresh flowers in crystal bowls, their deep-coloured blooms dipping towards the tablecloths, where candles were lit to create a breathtaking ambience, filling the room with an enticing scent. Sparkling glasses and silverware adorned the tables. The illustrations seemed to be set with gold leaf that shimmered as they passed, making the whole place glow. It was the most sensual room Maud had ever seen, and it wasn’t until Tom gave her a friendly dig in the ribs that she realised she had been standing still and gawping. She was embarrassingly near a full table, and she quickly rearranged her features to appear as if she frequented establishments like this often and did not have a powerful urge to steal a few things and stash them. She could add a small shelf and sit them in her sparkly hidden wardrobe collection at home, she mused delightedly.