'Mr Clayton said you were a little hesitant at first, but I was sure you'd be glad you agreed when you knew how much this mattered to us,' Lysandra continued. She led the way into a room that was luxuriously furnished with pale grey leather armchairs, offering her tea, coffee. Nothing could have been more gracious or deferential than her manner, yet Faye detected a faint hint of contempt. This smooth, beautiful young woman had sized her up and found her wanting.

Garth appeared and greeted Faye with a polite smile and a kiss on the cheek. She responded in the same way. They were like two actors performing their roles perfectly on cue.

'Lysandra will show you the models and explain everything,' he said. 'The press will start to arrive in about an hour.'

'Everything is quite ready,' Lysandra told him. 'Press packs, free samples-'

Faye attempted a mild joke. 'You give free samples of houses?'

Lysandra's laughter managed to combine weary courtesy, exaggerated patience and restrained derision in equal measure. 'Naturally not. But there are many smaller items, which the construction press appreciate. It's part of my job to know them all personally and to select free gifts to suit the individual.'

'I'm sure you've covered every detail admirably,' Garth told her. 'You never let me down.'

Unlike his wife, Faye thought.

'I try not to,' Lysandra told him with a smile that excluded Faye. 'I'll fetch you when they're all assembled.'

'Come into my office as soon as it's over,' Garth said. 'We have a lot to discuss.'

Faye was about to say that she preferred to leave at once when she realized he was talking to his beautiful assistant. When he did address her it was to say, 'Lysandra will look after you. Leave everything in her splendid hands.'

He disappeared.

'It's this way,' Lysandra said, pointing across the corridor. Faye followed her and found herself in a huge corner room with windows on two sides. Six other people, power-dressed women and men in business suits, were already there, crowding around something in the centre. Lysandra introduced them as members of the Publicity Department, and showed Faye what they were looking at. On a large display plinth stood six models of houses, each one about two feet wide by eighteen inches high.

'These are our very newest designs, and top secret at the moment,' Lysandra explained. She flashed Faye a beaming smile, revealing small, perfectly white teeth. 'Not secret from you, of course.' Everyone laughed at this witticism. Faye smiled.

'There are two for those with more modest incomes, two for the executive class, and these two are de luxe,' she continued smoothly. 'And you'll be delighted to know that we've finally managed to find the right name for them.'

'How thrilling!' Faye said.

'Yes, isn't it? It's going to be called the Diamond Range. We all had to put our thinking caps on but, with it being your tenth anniversary, of course the name had been staring us in the face all the time.'

Any minute now she's going to pat me on the head, Faye thought. Aloud, she said, 'I'm afraid I don't see the connection with my wedding anniversary.'

'Your tenth wedding anniversary,' Lysandra corrected gently. 'The time when husbands give their wives diamond jewellery. That's why we've called this the Diamond Range.' She said the last words slowly, as if to an idiot.

'But there's some mistake,' Faye said. 'The tenth anniversary gift is tin or aluminium. Diamonds are for the sixtieth.'

Lysandra's perfect smile barely wavered. 'I think not,' she said sweetly. 'I have the list here.'

Faye studied it with bewilderment, unable to recognize anything. Instead of the traditional paper, cotton, leather of the first three years, she read clocks, china, and crystal.

'Fourth-appliances?' she said. 'The fourth was always fruit and flowers. And the fifth was wood, but here it says silverware.'

'I see what's happened,' Lysandra said with a forgiving smile. 'You're thinking of the old list, but we work from the one that came in about fifteen years ago. The tenth anniversary is diamond jewellery. Naturally Mr Clayton will be giving you diamonds. In fact, we've already selected some pieces for your approval.'

'We?' Faye asked.

'Mr Clayton relies on me for everything,' Lysandra said coolly. 'I was able to suggest some diamond pieces that might be suitable, since you were-er-unavailable for consultation. Perhaps you'd care to inspect them now.'

Too dazed to protest, Faye looked on as Lysandra produced several black velvet trays on which sparkled earrings, necklaces, rings and bracelets. They were beautiful, but she felt no pleasure. They seemed like the very essence of everything that had gone wrong between herself and Garth.

'They're lovely, aren't they?' Lysandra cooed. 'So much better than tin, so I'm sure you'll feel you've gained by the exchange.'

'But I don't,' Faye said defiantly. 'I just think it's sad to throw away the old traditions.'

'Old traditions are so sweet,' Lysandra said, 'but not very functional.'

'And your list is very functional, isn't it?'

'Oh, it's been an immense help to people like us in the construction industry.'

People like us. She was talking about herself and Garth.

'But it's so false,' Faye said helplessly.

'False?'

'Artificial. This isn't the real anniversary list. It's just a way of selling more washing machines.'

'The modern customer demands appliances already installed in a new house-'

'Fine, then do that. But don't pretend it has anything to do with wedding anniversaries. I'm sorry, this just isn't what I agreed to help with.'

For the first time Lysandra was nonplussed. 'Well, if you'll-excuse me.' She hurried away, and returned a moment later with Garth.

'It had better be something important for you to have dragged me away from that meeting,' he said and, although he was speaking to Lysandra, Faye felt the words were directed at herself.

'We've got a problem,' she said, speaking pleasantly. 'I'm afraid I misunderstood why you wanted me. My fault, I dare say.'

'Well, I'm sure we can sort it out,' he said, also speaking with determined pleasantness.

'To me the tenth wedding anniversary means a gift of tin or aluminium, not diamonds. I didn't even know there was another list.'

'Well, surely you don't mind having diamonds?' he asked, frowning, and she knew he didn't really understand.

She shouldn't have started this, she thought. Why not just keep quiet and play her part? But some core of her, which had kept quiet too often in the past, insisted on standing firm.

'I do mind. If we're going to tie your new range in with our tenth wedding anniversary, then I think we should do it properly.'

'You're surely not suggesting that I give you tin?'

'It's what you're supposed to give,' she said stubbornly.

'Only from a sentimental point of view, surely?' Lysandra said. 'But this is a business decision. Mr Clayton and I have explored the matter from every angle and this decision offered optimum results.'

'Tin is the right thing,' Faye persisted. She met her husband's eyes, silently pleading with him, Don't take her side against me. Say at least that you understand my point of view.

But she knew Garth didn't understand a thing when she saw the anger flare in his eyes. He took her arm and drew her away from Lysandra, speaking in a soft, furious undervoice. 'If we'd still been living in a two-room flat it would be the right thing. But we've moved beyond that, in case you hadn't noticed. I'm a successful man, marketing a range of luxury houses for successful people. I can't celebrate that range with a tin plate. It would make me a laughing stock.'

'I'm sorry you feel that my standards make you a laughing stock, Garth, but that's the way I feel. I think you should do this without me.'

'You're a vital part of this promotion-'

'So why didn't you explain it to me properly?'

'I explained everything I thought needed explaining. I didn't know you were going to go off on this sentimental flight of fancy.'

'Thank you very much.'

He gritted his teeth. 'We'll talk about this tonight.'

'Tonight will be too late. I'd like to talk about it now.'

'Faye, don't do this to me, please. I've got a million things on my mind-'

'If I'm such a vital part of this, perhaps one of those things should be me.'

'All right, all right! I handled it clumsily. I'm sorry. Now can we just get on with this?'

'Without me.'

He was pale. 'You're not serious.'

'Garth, it never was a very good idea to out me in the press show. You and Miss Bates will handle everything perfectly together.'

Without another word she turned and walked out. Her head was up and she seemed calm, but inwardly she was seething with anger. As she reached the lift she heard a pattering of footsteps and turned to see Lysandra. When the lift doors opened Lysandra followed her in.

'What an unfortunate misunderstanding,' she said, smiling brightly. 'But I can assure you, Mrs Clayton, Garth didn't mean to upset you in any way.'

'I beg your pardon!' Faye said in frosty outrage.

'He doesn't always understand things the way we women do. Men aren't sentimental, are they? I promise you, Garth would be devastated to think-'

'How dare you?' Faye interrupted her fiercely. 'How dare you presume to explain my husband to me?'

'I assure you, I'm only-'

'You know nothing about him. Nothing!'

The lift had stopped. Faye stormed out and immediately pressed the button to make the doors close again. Her last view was of Lysandra gaping with astonishment.

Her fury sustained her all the way home but once there it began to seep away, to be replaced with weariness. The expensive silk clothes felt like an actor's costume for a role that was all wrong for her and she hurried to change them for dark green trousers and a pale yellow shirt. It was a lovely day and, with a linen jacket about her shoulders and flat shoes on her feet, she was ready for a stroll in the grounds.

'Come on,' she said to Barker. 'You're missing the children, aren't you?'

He padded amiably after her as she wandered into the trees. Faye threw the ball and was cheered to see him bound after it, obviously not in pain. But neither did he move with the vitality of a young dog and it brought home to her again how old he was. It was another reason for being angry with Garth.

'We're the same, you and me,' she said, sitting by the stream and fishing in her coat pocket for a biscuit. 'He's making use of us both to get what he wants. Underneath all his clever talk, that's the bottom line.' She stroked his ears. 'How's that for a mixed metaphor? What am I talking about? You wouldn't know a mixed metaphor if it jumped on you, not unless it was offering titbits.'

As if by a signal Barker began to sniff her coat. 'All right, here's a biscuit. Leave my fingers behind! What an idiot I was to make an issue of it! What else did I expect? We made a business deal and that's the only reason I'm here. Who cares what list he chose? It's all over between us, anyway.'

She settled herself more comfortably on the grass and stroked the furry head that was resting on her leg.

'You know who I was really mad at, don't you?' she mused. 'That woman. She acted as though she owned him. And she actually dared to explain him to me. To me't To his wife. I know him better than anyone. Oh, what does it matter? I'm not really his wife any more.'

She gave a sudden chuckle. 'But you should have heard me getting on my high horse with Lysandra. I've never done that before. Didn't know I could. That showed her. If you ask me, she sees herself as the next

Mrs Clayton.' Barker woofed agreement and eyed her coat significantly.

'OK, one more! But don't you dare suggest I'm jealous! She's welcome to him. It was just her being so rude that bothered me. Hey, I said one!'

They lingered together, enjoying the beautiful afternoon, until the sun began to set.

'Time to go in,' she said reluctantly. 'I'll bet he'll be home early tonight, and he'll have plenty to say to me.'

She was right. Garth arrived half an hour later and came looking for her. 'Can we talk?' he asked in an edgy voice.

'Yes. I'm sorry. It shouldn't have happened.'

'Whatever got into you to leave me with egg on my face like that? Everyone was expecting my wife to be there. I had to say you'd been taken ill. Are you going to do that on the big night?'

'No, of course not. The whole thing took me by surprise. I'd never heard of this other list. Why didn't you warn me?'