The Housewife and the Film Star by Doris O'Connor

Peggy.
    "Of course, I'm familiar with Timothy, but I fail to see what is so amusing." Peggy frowned at him.
    "Never mind, just a private joke between lovers.”
    Peggy drew herself up even more starchly if that was possible, and fixed him with a look of contempt before she turned round to the men behind her.
    "This is my husband Edward, and this is Harry. He's a very good friend of Sylvia's, soon to be much more, isn't that right, Sylvia?"
    "Peggy, don't start, for God's sake." Sylvia groaned.
    Harry watched the byplay with a condescending smile. Sven felt the tension in Sylvia's body all the way down to his toes, and he had to force himself to not growl the next words.
    "We'll see about that, won't we?" he said , and keeping one hand firmly on Sylvia's waist, he extended his hand.
    "Sven Larsson."
    "Oh, we all know who you are. And what you are. As does half the country. Sylvia never had much sense in the men she chose."
    Fucking great . Sylvia might not read the papers, but her sister-in-law clearly did, as did Harry, if the superior look on his face was anything to go by.
    Peggy fixed him with another of her stares, ignoring her husband's low exclamation, but before he could respond, Sylvia surprised them all.
    "Of course, one of those unsuitable men was your brother, Peggy, or have you conveniently forgotten that? I invited Sven, and if you're just going to insult him, then we're going now, and you can stuff your dinner."
    "Now, that really would not be wise, Sylvia. Need I remind you of your situation?"
    "Okay, enough, we are forgetting our hospitality, Peggy," Edward interrupted. “You will make Mr. Larsson think that we English are unwelcoming."
    Sven dropped another kiss on Sylvia's neck this time. He had to suppress a laugh at the outrage that poured off Peggy. Harry’s narrow-eyed perusal left him quietly seething, however. He stared the man down, his temper simmering under his society smile, and Peggy, conceding defeat for now, ushered them all into the dining room.
    Conversation was stilted and polite to the extreme over the course of the roast dinner, which Sylvia hardly touched. They discussed the weather, of course, and then the conversation turned to the latest stock prices.
    Sylvia shared many an eye -roll across the table with Sven, until Peggy's declaration that it was time for dessert. Sylvia mouthed a silent “sorry” at him, and she reluctantly joined her sister-in-law. He chuckled at the instant blush on her face when he blew a kiss at her with a wink. He hoped that would take her mind off the tongue lashing his little firecracker would no doubt have to endure in the kitchen. All he had to do was stop himself from wiping off that superior grin from the men's face across from him.
    Tension hung in the air like a heavy cloak , now that the women had left. The last of the day's rays bathed Peggy's dining room in an eerie glow, and illuminated the men sat around the table.
    Oh, they were all English politeness to a fault, but he wasn't an actor for nothing.  Edward seemed harmless enough, if completely under his wife's thumb, but Harry made his skin crawl. Sylvia's , too, if her forced smiles all through dinner had been anything to go by.
    Sven leant back in his chair, and he feigned a nonchalance he was far from actually feeling. Now that Sylvia was safely out of earshot, Harry's smile had lost all sense of pretense. The conversation turned to his latest film or lack thereof as the case may be.
    "I hate to disabuse you of your concerns for me gentlemen, but my career is quite safe."
    "Really, you do surprise me. That's not what I heard or read in the papers for that matter. Tell me, Larsson, does Sylvia know of your penchant for violence towards women?"
    The clatter of cutlery on the polished oak floor was deafening in the sudden stillness. Sven just about caught the glimpse of triumph in the other man's eyes, before Sylvia's white face and tortured eyes confirmed his worst suspicions.
    "Sorry, I-I get