Polls Apart (9 page)

“It’s okay, Anna. You were right when you said it was only a matter of time before the press got on to it. We’ve been lucky to keep it secret for this long.”

“How are Dan and the kids? Is everything all right?”

“All right? They’re all bloody delighted. We’ve never been so popular. I’m now some kind of local hero, while the kids have had more play-date requests in the last week than they have since the beginning of the year.”

Anna laughed with relief. “So I haven’t ruined your life?”

“No, but I have you to blame for the fact I’ve now been asked to sit on countless boards for women’s refuges, not to mention the events I’ve been asked to speak at. I’m already booked for the Women’s Institute next month. Dan’s finding the whole thing hilarious. He just loves the fact that I suddenly have to be nice to everyone.”

“Have the photographers gone?”

“They packed up yesterday. They must have got sick of looking at my crumpled face and bird’s-nest hair every morning.”

“I’m sorry, Libby. For everything I’ve put you through. And not just these last couple of weeks, but all the times I’ve been too busy to talk. I realise now what I’ve missed and I just felt so devastated when I thought we might never speak again. I really need you Libs.”

“Don’t be silly Noo-Noo,” she replied softly, Anna’s heart swelling with the warmth of hearing her sister call her the pet name she used in childhood. “I couldn’t turn my back on you. Why don’t you come over and have dinner with us?”

“I’d love to. I’m meeting Joy at four but I could be with you by six.”

“Great. I’ll see you then.”

Anna stared back down at the handset as she tried to figure out whether it would be a good idea to call Richard back or not. She was still badly hurting from their split, but she was also incredibly curious as to what he would have to say. In the end, her decision was made for her when her mobile rang again.

“Hello Richard,” she answered tersely.

“Anna,” his voice broke. “I’m so, so sorry. I allowed myself to be talked into something I knew wasn’t right. I’ve hurt you and I’ve humiliated you and I’m so damn sorry. I told the campaign team today that our marriage could no longer be based on politics, but what is best for the two of us. I need you back, Anna. Can you please forgive me and come back to me?”

Anna sat in silence for a few moments, absorbing what her husband had just said.

“Anna?” His voice was full of insecurity.

“I’m still here, Richard. You dumped me on national television without even the slightest warning and then, when you’ve taken a kicking in the polls for it, you call me out of the blue and ask me to come back. Do you think I’m completely stupid or something?” Anna’s voice was picking up in both pace and volume. “Do you think I’m such a sad excuse for a human being that I would allow you to shit all over me in front of the whole world and then just hold the door open for you to do it all over again – as and when the political need takes it?”

“Anna, please…”

“You can forget your apologies. In fact, you can forget you were ever bloody married to me. You hurt me more than I can ever, ever tell you. I loved you. I loved you and you cast me out like a leper. Now
you
live with the consequences and you deserve every bit of bad press that you get. I hate that the Alliance Party have a chance of winning now, but I’m not prepared to live a lie just to get you votes. Goodbye.”

Anna cut off the call and hurled the phone into her bag before letting out a frustrated cry. Her heart was racing and her head pounding with the force of blood pumping around her body. Nothing stung more than the pain of betrayal. Yet she had been betrayed by nearly every person she had ever loved. Everyone, but Libby.

“You still want me to take you to Crouch End?” her driver asked cautiously.

“Yes please, John. I’m fine. Just putting Richard straight on a couple of things.”

“Rascals coffee house it is then,” he smiled.

As she reached the top step of the stairway, Anna could see Joy already sitting on their favourite sofa in the coffee house where they had been holding their meetings for years. It had a downstairs section with only a couple of tables which were invariably empty so it was perfect for them to hold a private conversation – and for Anna to go unnoticed. Only, whereas before their coffee sessions would have involved a considerable amount of bitching, gossip and laughter, today’s meeting would be a lot more formal. As she made her way down the stairs, Anna noticed the tension on Joy’s face, her mouth set in a grimace as she sipped her coffee, seemingly lost in thought.

“Hello Joy,” Anna said as she reached the last step. Joy got to her feet and stepped forwards to kiss her on each cheek, though Anna noticed the broad smile with which she usually greeted her was missing.

“You look good, Anna,” she said distantly. “You’d never know you’d been through a life crisis.”

“I don’t feel I’m quite through that crisis yet,” Anna replied, trying to keep things upbeat even though she felt decidedly shaken by her phone call with Richard. “It’s more Libby I’ve been worried about lately,” she continued. “This whole thing has had a huge impact on her.”

“It must have been tough.”

“Yes. It’s been bloody awful, but in a strange sort of way I think we both feel a big burden has been lifted from our shoulders. After all, I have nothing left to hide – and I can’t tell you how good that feels.”

“I’m glad you’re finding some peace in all this. I wish I could say the same for myself,” Joy sighed.

Anna sensed an uncomfortable shift in the conversation. “What’s on your mind?”

“I’ve had to ask a lot of questions of myself these last couple of weeks. Being married to Henry and working for you has not been without its complications.”

“I can imagine,” Anna smiled.

“Since Henry took on the communications job for the Democrats, he’s become almost obsessed by your influence over Richard. He would ask me on a daily basis who you were meeting with, what you were saying, what jobs you were considering. It became impossible to separate work from our marriage and, I’m afraid, I feel like I’ve been too influenced by Henry in the last couple of years.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean I knew he was going to tell Richard to cut you off and I didn’t warn you.”

Anna sat back in her chair, taking a few moments to let what Joy had just told her sink in. “I’m shocked on both counts here, Joy. First that you seem to be implying Henry instructed Richard to leave me rather than it being Richard’s decision, and secondly that you had the chance to help me out in a bad situation and you didn’t. Isn’t that what I employ you for?”

Joy stared at her feet, the two women staying silent as the waitress arrived with the peppermint tea Anna had ordered upstairs. She looked between them as she set the cup and teapot down, trying to work out what was going on before deciding to make a hasty retreat.

“Actually, I’m not sure quite what it is you employ me for now, Anna. You haven’t listened to a word of advice I’ve given you in months. Regardless of what I’d say, you’d just do your own thing anyway. I guess that’s what fame and power do to a person.”

Anna studied Joy’s face for signs of irony, but there were none. She was absolutely serious.

“Where is this all coming from?” Anna asked, still stunned by the sudden outburst. “We used to get along so well. I had no idea you felt like this.”

“And when is the last time you stopped to consider how anyone else actually felt? There’s only one star on the Anna Lloyd show. No one else gets a look in.” Joy’s eyes were blazing, betraying what looked like years of pent-up anger.

“Well, you’re showing your true colours now, aren’t you.” Anna said, reaching for her handbag, which she then clutched defensively to her stomach. “To think I trusted you, Joy, when all along you just resented me.”

“I don’t resent you. I pity you,” Joy replied defiantly, her flushed cheeks the only indicator of her discomfort.

“I don’t understand this, Joy. But, I think it goes without saying that we can’t work together any more after what you’ve just told me.”

“Well, I’ll just have to deal with that.” Joy turned and looked away from Anna who was by now fighting back tears. She quickly got to her feet and made her way up the stairs, all the time trying to work out what had caused Joy to feel so bitter. She had thought they got along so well and, although Anna knew she could be a bit self-centred sometimes, she always thought they had a balanced friendship in which they could both confide their secrets. But then, perhaps Joy was angry that Anna hadn’t shared her biggest secret of all – which she’d had to read in a Sunday newspaper like everyone else. Whatever it was, Anna knew there was no going back. She just hoped things between them wouldn’t turn nastier.

Libby was lowering the heat on the bolognese sauce when the doorbell rang. She laid her wooden mixing spoon down and was about to head to the front door when she heard Dan in the hallway, ushering Anna in.

“So we’ve got you to blame for our newfound local fame, have we?” he joked.

“Libby told me you were loving the celebrity, Dan, so don’t try and tell me otherwise,” Anna replied, laughing.

The kitchen door opened and Libby turned to greet her sister. She marvelled at how effortlessly glamorous Anna looked in her figure-hugging wool dress and knee-length black boots. It had always seemed to Libby that Anna managed to look good in anything while, in contrast, she was a lost cause on the fashion front and had long since given up trying.

“You look sickeningly good as ever,” she said to Anna, planting a kiss on her cheek.

“I applied extra war paint this morning before going for lunch at Number
10
. Turns out I needed it.”

“Why?” smiled Libby. “Was Kelvin harassing you?”

“Not really. Kelvin was just Kelvin.. It was Joy who ruined my day.”

“Is that your
PR
woman?” Dan chipped in from the kitchen table behind them, where he’d now seated himself.

“It was my
PR
woman, yes.” Anna sat down beside Dan who proceeded to pour her a large glass of red wine.

“What’s happened?” Libby asked.

“She told me today that she knew Richard was going to announce a separation but didn’t warn me. She then went on to pretty much call me a selfish cow who only cared about myself.”

“What?” Libby shrieked in outrage.

“I never liked her,” Dan added.

“You’ve never even met her,” said Libby.

“Yeah, but I didn’t like the sound of her,” Dan explained. “And I’ve seen her on
TV
and she’s got a really dodgy American-English accent going on. I just thought she was a bit up herself.”

“Well,” Anna continued, fuelled by her first few gulps of wine. “I think she’s been feeding me Henry’s lines as well. She as good as admitted it. When she was telling me to watch what I said to that
Echo
reporter, it wasn’t because she was worried about my reputation – she was too busy worrying about Richard’s.”

“What a stupid cow,” Libby raged before turning back to her cooking to strain the spaghetti.

“The problem is, I’m now left without a
PR
when I need one most. I haven’t a clue where to start looking because Richard always helped me with that before.”

“What did she do exactly then? What do you need?” Libby asked whilst slopping the spaghetti onto the six plates laid out on the kitchen surface.

“I need to find someone who can answer press enquiries for me, and help arrange
TV
and press interviews. That kind of thing.”

“Well, I can do that,” Libby said.

“She needs a professional, Libs,” Dan chuckled. “You can’t just suddenly call yourself a
PR
agent just because you’ve seen off a few photographers on the school run.”

“It was just a suggestion.” Libby shrugged her shoulders and continued plating up, before Anna cut in.

“I think that’s a wonderful idea. Why pay a stranger who I don’t even know I can trust when I can work with my own sister. You can consider yourself hired, Libby.”

“You hear that, Dan.” Libby spun around to look at her husband. “You’re now married to a
PR
for a famous actress, so eat that,” she winked.

“Oh God,” Dan droned to Anna. “You’ve only just given her the job and already she’s turned into a media monster. I’d better have another drink.”

F
riday, 10
th April,
2009
, UK Newswire – Opposition leader Richard Williams has hinted his marriage to the actress Anna Lloyd is not over, despite her apparent anger at the way he handled their recent separation.

Following a visit yesterday to Pentonville Prison in London, Williams told reporters that he was “still very much a married man”.

The
SDP
leader’s marriage was rocked following claims in a Sunday newspaper that Lloyd had previously worked as an escort girl. Shortly after, Williams publicly announced their separation in a move rumoured to have been advised by party spin doctors who were keen for Lloyd to be taken out of the political picture as quickly as possible.

Sources close to Williams revealed he has had “second thoughts” about the separation in recent days but denied this was down to a sudden fall in support for the Democrats in the polls.

Lloyd’s recent disclosure that she and her sister, Libby Howarth, killed their stepfather as teenagers following years of abuse, has led to a huge outpouring of public sympathy for the actress.

Williams is later today due to give a
TV
interview to the AllNews
24
channel in which it is expected he will discuss his marriage amid speculation that he may be attempting to bring his wife back into the party fold.

Richard straightened his tie and allowed the make-up girl to apply a light dusting of face powder while he waited for Esther Yarleth to arrive for the interview. From the corner of his eye he could see Henry nervously shuffling from foot to foot. The interview had been organised as an opportunity for Richard “to reconnect with the public” but, as the
SDP
leader had informed his campaign team earlier that morning, he actually intended to use the chance to send an appeal to Anna – an idea that had been warmly welcomed by Bob and Ray whilst Sandra and Henry’s response had been slightly more muted. “This is your call,” was all his head of communications had said.

But Richard’s mind was firmly made up. He needed Anna back and he knew it. Not just to improve his chances of winning the election, but because without her he felt weak, inept and unable to lead a nation. Today, he would do what he should have done right from the start. He would tell the truth – and he would be honest about the situation he and Anna had found themselves in. And Henry, who was paying penance for his sins, would just have to go along with it.

Richard heard Esther before he saw her. She was chattering loudly to an assistant in the corridor, complaining about the way her hair had been styled. “She’s not done it how I asked her. It’s all curled up at the ends. I look like a bloody bridesmaid.”

Richard smiled in Henry’s direction and, for the first time that day, he managed to return one, raising his eyebrows in response to the commotion in the hallway.

“I think the curls look great,” Richard said cheekily as Esther entered the studio, catching her completely by surprise, as she was seemingly unaware of the long distances her voice could travel.

“Thank you, Richard,” she answered stiffly, before extending her right hand. “Glad to see you’re still finding your sense of humour at this difficult time.”

Richard smiled again, but remembered why Henry frequently warned him against getting up Esther’s nose: “Just be straight and act like you fancy her. She’ll warm to that,” he’d been advised.

“I only meant that you look stunning, as always,” Richard replied in an attempt at reconciliation.

“Thank you.” She eyed him suspiciously before gesturing to him to sit back down. “We’d better crack on because we’ve only got thirty seconds before we’re live.”

“Of course,” Richard said, feeling the anxiety beginning to crank up another couple of levels.

He sat silently as Esther was counted in and watched her breeze through her introduction in which she showed her mastery of the art of connecting with the audience. “We’ve all been shocked by the twists and turns in Richard Williams’ political and private life over the last couple of weeks. Now, for the first time since his separation from Anna Lloyd, he is telling his side of the story.”

She turned now to look at Richard, an intensely patronising smile fixed to her face. Although attractive, he thought she was the kind of woman you could only ever fantasize about rather than actually fancy. In person, she was just way too controlled and way too false.

“It’s been quite a shocking couple of weeks, hasn’t it?” Esther began. “Had there been problems in your marriage prior to the allegations that your wife had worked as a professional escort?”

Nice start, Richard thought to himself. Nothing quite like getting to the point. He shifted in his seat slightly. “I don’t really want to go down the line of talking in depth about my marriage, because I think that’s personal, but what I will say is that I didn’t feel there were any significant problems in our relationship.”

“That does rather beg the question then why you announced a separation from Anna almost as soon as a newspaper printed claims about her?”

“All I announced was the fact that Anna would be stepping out of the public eye for a while, allowing me to focus on the very important task of winning the election. The events that transpired after that spun out of our control.”

“In what way?” Esther demanded.

Richard cleared his throat. “I mean the way it was construed by the media. That Anna and I then never really had the opportunity to talk to each other about what was happening. She left home almost as soon as I’d made the announcement.”

“Have you spoken since?”

“Briefly.”

“And what was said?”

“Well, again, I’m not going to go into detail about private conversations. I admitted to Anna that I had made mistakes.” Richard shuffled in his seat and prayed the interview wasn’t going to get any more difficult. He could feel the vein in his right temple throbbing away and hoped it wasn’t noticeable. Henry was scratching his head and ambling around in the corner, making it even more difficult to concentrate.

“Were you aware of your wife’s suffering at the hands of her stepfather and of her conviction for his manslaughter?”

“Yes, of course I was.”

“She has said since your separation that you were previously very sympathetic about the difficulties she had faced in her youth. Difficulties that must have contributed to her life choices in her early twenties.”

“That’s right, yes. I feel very strongly that people who have been failed by society as badly as Anna and her sister were, deserve all the help the state can offer. It’s part of the reason I went into politics – to try and fight for a more just society.”

“So how ‘just’ do you think it was to abandon your own wife in her hour of greatest need?”

Richard had seen it coming, but it still didn’t soften the blow. He and Henry had even prepared for this question in the car on the way to the studios. But no matter how he phrased the answer, there was no way to dress up betraying the woman you love. So, he decided not to stick to the planned answer, but to say what he really felt.

“When I announced my separation from Anna, I did what I thought was right for the Social Democratic Party. Both Anna and I shared a vision of an
SDP
government. Neither of us wanted to see anything get in the way of that and so, stupidly I guess now, I thought I was doing what was best all round. I genuinely thought I was protecting Anna by keeping her out of the spotlight.”

“But, according to your wife, you didn’t agree this with her before you made the announcement.” Esther, by this point, was perched on the edge of her seat, clearly enjoying what Richard was sure would be one of her career highlights.

“The announcement was rushed. I have many regrets about the way it all happened. The last couple of weeks have been as bewildering as they’ve been painful and I will have to live with my mistakes for the rest of my life. But I am determined to help this nation find its feet again. This country needs an
SDP
government – we cannot afford another eight years of Alliance rule or those truly in need will be left to suffer without end. And it was this unquenchable desire that led me to act as hastily as I did and for that I’m truly sorry.”

“Have you apologised to your wife?”

“Yes. Unreservedly.”

“Has she accepted that apology?”

“No. And she has every right to be angry.”

“Do you want your wife back, Mr Williams?”

“I dearly want Anna to be by my side when we defeat an Alliance government and win back the chance for the British people to turn this country around again, but that is a decision for her. I miss her terribly.”

Richard cast his eyes to the floor and fought to control the unexpected emotion that was welling up inside of him. He wanted Esther to jump in and move the interview on but, instead, she seemed to be savouring every moment, knowing it would likely make headlines around the world. But whilst the media got on with picking over his every facial expression and turn of phrase, Richard prayed his interview would have the desired impact on his target audience: Anna.

Libby switched the
TV
off using the remote control and turned to look at her sister. Anna had watched the entire interview, sitting on the edge of the bed in her hotel room, in absolute silence. It was sheer chance they had caught it because Libby had come over to help Anna move her stuff back to their house, and had switched the
TV
news on to watch the one o’clock headlines and there it was.
Lunchtime Live
with Esther Yarleth and an exclusive interview to end all exclusives.

“You all right, Anna?” Libby asked, resting her arm on her sister’s shoulder.

“I think so,” Anna said wearily. “I don’t quite know what to make of that.”

Libby had been expecting this – the moment Anna would finally waver, beaten down by the pressure of the last few weeks.

“What’s upset you?”

“I believe him, Libs. I believe he genuinely wants me back.” Anna was starting to cry now, first in small gasps, which soon turned in to heavy sobs.

“And what do you want, Anna?”

“I think I want him back too,” she gasped. “I hate being alone with no home to go back to.”

“Oh, Noo-Noo,” Libby threw her arms around her sister. “You’re coming to stay with us – you know that my home is your home.”

“I know that, and I’m so incredibly glad to have you and Dan and the kids, but I want to be back in my own bed, with my own belongings around me. I just want my old life back.”

Libby clenched her sister’s face between her hands so she could fix her fully in the eyes. “It’s a big decision you’re making, Anna. And it might not work. You will still feel a lot of anger towards Richard even if you go back and make up.”

“You’re right, I know. I still love Richard though and I really want him to win this next election. Meeting Kelvin again this week just reminded me what a slime bucket he is and I genuinely believe Richard can make a difference. Will you support me if I go back?”

“Anna, I will support you in anything you decide to do. And if it doesn’t work out, our door is open for you to come back and stay again.”

“Thank you, Libby,” Anna reached out to embrace her sister again. “I’d be so lost without you.”

Richard stared intently out of the car window as Henry, sitting to his left, continued his rant about the interview with Esther Yarleth.

“I mean you
never, never
admit to a mistake in politics,” he raged. “You can say you have regrets but to just blatantly come out and say you ballsed it up is taking such a risk with the voters. I don’t know what I’m to do with you, Dickie, I really don’t.”

Richard smiled at the familiarity of Henry toying with him again, as he had before the business with Anna had threatened to blow their working relationship apart. “Well, we can’t do much worse than we have been doing, Henry, so I wouldn’t worry about it too much,” he replied.

Henry swung around in his seat to look at Richard. “We’ve got to get back to business now. Whatever Anna decides to do, we can’t go losing our focus. We have everything to fight for…”

To Richard’s great relief he was spared the rest of the lecture when Henry’s mobile started ringing, as it did every few minutes. While Henry snapped instructions down the phone, Richard sank into his chair and reached for his Blackberry. He cast his eyes over the usual array of briefing notes and updates, then sat up quickly again when he spotted a text from Anna at the top of his inbox. “Can we talk?” was all she had written.

“Yes!” Richard hastily replied. “Can you come over tonight? I should be home by nine.”

“I’m heading back to the house now. Will wait for you,” came the answer within minutes.

Richard took a deep breath and allowed himself to genuinely smile for the first time in days. He turned to look at Henry who appeared distinctly less happy.

“What’s wrong, Henry? It looks like you’ve had bad news.”

“Joy has asked me to meet her at the flat in an hour. Would you mind if I duck out of tonight’s meeting?”

“No. I’m sure we’ll manage,” Richard replied, aware that he was enjoying Henry’s sudden gloominess a little too much. He observed it so rarely. “Is there a problem?”

“Well, she’s never asked me to meet her at home urgently before so I can only assume there’s one bloody great big problem.”

“Good luck then, mate.”

Henry eyed Richard with suspicion and wondered why his mood had picked up so notably. But his mind soon wandered back to Joy’s phonecall. Her tone sounded terminal – and Henry could well imagine what was coming.

Joy was waiting for Henry in the living room of the three-bedroom apartment in Chelsea they had chosen together four years ago. It had suited their lifestyles perfectly and he thought they’d been happy in it. Until this moment, when he found her sitting silently with her coat on, staring into space.

“What’s all this about?” he asked cautiously, taking a seat opposite her.

“I’m leaving you,” she said, still staring at the same spot on the wall.