by Lucy Gordon
‘What do you think of this house?’ she asked, going to look out of the window to where the garden was at its best.
‘I love it.’
‘Where are you sleeping?’
Dangerous ground. ‘Well, I-’
‘I expect you’re in my room. It’s a hoot, isn’t it? That was my Victorian period, except for the bathroom, which was my Egyptian period. If I’d stayed on here I’d have changed them both. Is your daughter around now?’
‘She’s upstairs,’ Elinor said, disconcerted by the abrupt change of subject. ‘Oh, no, I think that’s her.’
There was a noise in the hall, and the next moment Hetta wandered in, a toy in each hand, and with a cheerful smile that brightened as she saw a visitor.
‘Come here, darling,’ Elinor called.
Hetta came to her side and stood regarding the visitor with a wide-eyed stare that would have disconcerted someone less at ease than Myra.
‘I’m Myra,’ she said. ‘I used to live here, and I’ve just been making friends with your mummy.’
‘How do you do?’ Hetta said politely.
‘Do you like it here?’
Hetta nodded.
‘Must be a bit lonely, though,’ Myra suggested. ‘No kids of your own age. No animals. Do you like dogs?’
Hetta nodded again with unmistakable eagerness.
‘Then you’d get on well with my son, Simon. He’s your age and he’s got a puppy. Care to meet him?’
‘And the puppy?’ Hetta asked at once.
‘And the puppy.’ Myra flicked open a cell phone and spoke into it. ‘OK, Joe.’
Elinor’s suspicions were rising by the minute. ‘Now, wait a moment-’
‘You don’t mind my son meeting your daughter, do you?’ Myra asked with a touch of wide-eyed reproach.
‘It’s not that-’
‘I really think they’ll like each other, and it would mean a lot to him. Ah, there you are, darling!’
A boy of Hetta’s age, accompanied by a uniformed chauffeur, had appeared in the door. Elinor drew a slow breath. This was a younger version of Andrew, not in his looks, which were more like Myra’s, but in the stillness with which he held himself, the way he looked around the room, taking everything in, but saying nothing.
‘This is Simon,’ Myra said.
Elinor went forward to him. ‘Hallo, I’m-I’m Ellie.’ What had made her say that?
‘How do you do?’ he said politely. He started to offer his hand and remembered that he was holding the puppy. Hetta was there in a flash to relieve him of it.
Elinor introduced them. They were cautious about each other, but the puppy was an immediate bond and after a moment they drifted into a corner together. Elinor could see that Hetta was delighted, and so could Myra. She was watching them with a satisfied expression.
‘This is just perfect,’ she said. ‘All right, Joe, go and get yourself something to eat in the village. I’ll call you when I need you.’
The chauffeur nodded and departed.
‘Do you mean,’ Elinor asked, outraged, ‘that you’ve kept your son sitting out there in the car while you came in here to-to-?’
‘Survey the land,’ Myra said. ‘Of course. It wouldn’t have been very nice to bring him in before I knew what he might find, would it? I brought him with me just in case the things I’d heard about you were true. Be prepared, that’s my motto.’
‘And just what have you heard about me?’
‘That you had a kid of your own, same age as Simon, and that you were a good mother. Looks true to me. Otherwise I’d just have taken him away again.’
‘Myra, what have you got in mind?’
‘Well, my life is getting a bit complicated. Cyrus wants to get married in the next couple of weeks because of some motor show or other, and I need to get out there fast.’
‘So take Simon with you.’
‘On my honeymoon? Get real. Besides, it’s time Andrew really made an effort with his son. It’s always been too easy for him to duck out. This time he isn’t going to.’
‘And you’re just going to dump him?’ Elinor demanded, speaking quietly, lest Simon heard.
Instead of answering direct Myra said, ‘Nurse Stewart’s been talking. I gather it was a bit like a French farce that night, you skulking in Andrew’s office or under a blanket in the back seat of his car. That bit didn’t come from Stewart, but from someone in the parking lot. And one of the district nurses knows this house is Andrew’s. I have friends at the hospital and they’ve kept me informed. It all became very intriguing and I got curious. It’s so unlike him.’
‘You mean I’ve made a scandal for him? Oh, no!’
‘I suppose it is potentially scandalous,’ Myra mused. ‘Of course, you’re not Andrew’s patient but your daughter is, and all this dodging around in car parks is something his enemies could make something of. Andrew’s got a lot of enemies. Brilliant people always do, and especially now that Uncle Elmer’s heading for retirement. His illness took a lot out of him, so he’ll probably go quite soon now. The contenders are lining up to take his place, and malicious tongues are all ready to wag.’
Elinor listened to this with mounting horror. She’d never meant to harm Andrew, but that was what she seemed to have done. But Myra, watching her, gave a cheeky smile.
‘Don’t worry, I’m not malicious, and I won’t make trouble. My word on it, and you really can trust my word. I may be superficial and tinselly-guess who called me that?-but when I make a promise I keep it.’
For some reason Elinor believed her.
‘But why are you being like this?’ she asked. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘You mean why aren’t I jealous that he moved another lady in here?’
‘You’ve nothing to be jea-’
‘Skip it. You’d have expected a fit, jealous or otherwise. Sorry. Can’t oblige. Oh, there was a time when I thought the sun shone out of Andrew, but that was before I discovered what a bore he was.’
‘A bore? Andrew?’ The exclamation was jerked out of Elinor.
‘There, I knew you were high-minded!’ Myra exclaimed as though she’d scored a victory. ‘Good luck to you. Actually this rather suits me.’
Elinor pulled herself together. This woman’s determination to arrange life to suit herself had a hypnotic quality.
‘I’m sorry, but you’re under a misapprehension,’ she said firmly. ‘Hetta and I are leaving tomorrow.’
‘Damn! Have you and Andrew quarrelled?’
‘No,’ Elinor said stiffly.
‘Has he thrown you out?’
‘No.’
‘Then why are you leaving?’
‘Because Hetta is greatly improved and it’s time to move on.’
‘Why?’
‘I’m sorry, I can’t discuss that with you.’
‘Where are you going?’
‘I don’t see why I should dis-’
‘Oh, nonsense, of course you can. This is important. Have you got somewhere better than this?’
‘No, we’re going to a small hotel where I have a friend living. She owned the boarding house that burned down but it’ll soon be rebuilt so-’
‘You’re dumping Andrew for a boarding house? C’mon! Stay here. It’s much nicer.’
‘That’s not the point,’ Elinor said, feeling desperate. It was like trying to argue with a juggernaut. ‘Even if I weren’t going you couldn’t just leave Simon here without telling Andrew first.’
‘Then let’s tell him. You call him up while I make us something to eat.’
Elinor watched helplessly as Myra whisked herself into the kitchen and set about preparing. There was no doubt she was the expert cook for whom the place had been created. She started with milk shakes for the children, who downed them eagerly.
‘Go in the garden, kids, and I’ll have something more filling for you in a minute,’ she called. To Elinor she said, ‘Go on, get calling.’
There was nothing to do but obey, although sh
e flinched at the thought of calling a man who’d made it so clear that she embarrassed him. She used the hall phone, and in a few moments she heard Andrew’s voice, terse, commanding. ‘Yes?’
‘It’s me,’ she said. ‘I’m sorry to disturb you at work but something’s happened.’
‘Hetta?’
‘No, Myra, your ex-wife. She’s here, and she’s got Simon with her. And I think she means him to stay when she goes.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘She’s going to America to get married, and she’s not taking him.’
‘Put her on,’ he snapped.
Elinor returned to the kitchen. ‘Andrew wants to talk to you.’
‘Sorry, I’m too busy.’
‘You can’t be. It’s what you came here for.’
‘No way. I didn’t come here for a phone conversation with Andrew. I can do that anywhere. Where’s the raspberry sauce? You’ve moved it.’
‘Top shelf. Please come and talk to him.’
‘Nope. It was handier on the middle shelf.’
‘Not for me. Hetta doesn’t like it.’
‘Simon adores it with ice cream and milk shake. I’ll have some sent to you, but don’t let him make a pig of himself. Better get back to Andrew.’
Elinor gave up and returned to the hall. ‘She won’t come,’ she told Andrew.
She could hear him grinding his teeth. ‘Tell her-’
She returned to Myra and spoke in a carefully expressionless voice. ‘He says stop playing damn fool games and pick up the phone.’
Myra gave a rich crow of laughter. ‘Don’t worry, I won’t embarrass you by responding in kind.’
To Elinor’s relief Myra went out into the hall. But she merely hung up the phone and returned to the kitchen. ‘No point in arguing,’ she explained airily. ‘He just doesn’t listen.’
The telephone immediately rang and Elinor raced to snatch it up. ‘It’s not my fault,’ she said, harassed.
‘I know that. All right, please tell her I’ll be over this evening. Are you all right? Is she making herself unpleasant?’
‘No,’ Elinor said wryly. ‘I think she’s a little crazy, but not unpleasant.’
She found Myra in the garden with the children, who were playing with the puppy. She had a moment to watch them unobserved, and hear Hetta’s giggles of glee.
Then Myra hailed her. ‘You stay here while I finish doing the eats,’ she said. ‘I’ll yell when I’m ready.’ She headed back to the house.
‘Mummy, look at the puppy,’ Hetta called. ‘His name’s Fudge.’
‘That’s because he’s that pale brown colour,’ Simon put in.
Fudge promptly squatted on the ground and produced an enormous puddle.
‘He’s nervous at being in a new place,’ Simon hurried to say. ‘And he’s out in the garden. He is house-trained.’ Honesty made him add, ‘Well, sort of.’
She felt sad for the child, feeling the need to placate her. This was more his house than hers. What sort of a life had he had, between a distant father and the selfish, manipulative mother?
Hetta and Simon were already at ease with each other. He seemed to be a quiet, gentle child, and she couldn’t help realising that he would be the ideal playmate for Hetta. She, for her part, had already given him the ultimate token of friendship, hauling up her T-shirt and displaying her wound with enormous pride. Simon had been suitably impressed.
At last Myra called, ‘Come and get it!’ and they all trooped to the house where she’d laid the table out on the patio.
The meal was a roaring success. Myra was skilled and imaginative, and she knew how to appeal to children. It was hard to dislike her. She was a tough cookie, who seemed to have little in the way of finer feelings. But she was good-natured, and had an outgoing quality that made her company pleasant for a while. Elinor guessed she liked everyone around her to be happy, and would even put herself out to achieve it-as long as she was sure of getting her own way in the end.
She also had a gift for telling a funny story. Despite her unease about Andrew’s imminent arrival, Elinor found herself smiling at the tale of Fudge and a donkey. The children hooted with laughter.
They were like that when Andrew came in.
He’d meant to ring the front doorbell, but finding the side gate to the garden open he’d walked around the house until he’d heard laughing voices. Nobody heard him arrive, and he had a moment to stand, taking in the cheerful scene in which he had no part.
It was Elinor who saw him first, glancing up just before he controlled his expression. She rose and the movement alerted the attention of the others. Hetta beamed. Myra regarded him with a cynical smile. Simon looked pleased but uncertain what to expect. Andrew gave a brief nod in his direction, and an even briefer smile. Unease radiated from him.
‘Good evening, Myra,’ he said.
‘You’re just in time for some coffee, Andrew. Let’s go in, it’s getting a little chilly.’
When they had all moved into the living room Myra said, ‘Kids, why don’t you go and watch television upstairs?’
‘I’ll go too,’ Elinor said hastily.
‘Better if you stay,’ Myra observed. ‘Andrew and I can only take so much of each other’s company undiluted.’
Elinor looked at Andrew. ‘Please stay,’ he requested.
When the children had gone upstairs, clutching Fudge, the three of them surveyed each other uneasily. Elinor felt almost overwhelmed by the bittersweet shock of Andrew’s presence after she had accepted that she would never see him again. But she tried to keep a clear head, sensing she was going to need all her wits about her in the next few minutes.
‘Myra, if you’ve come to make trouble-’ Andrew began.
‘But I haven’t. When did I ever make trouble?’
‘I won’t answer that.’
‘When you two have finished quarrelling, it’s the kids’ bedtime, and I need to know where Simon’s sleeping,’ Elinor said firmly.
‘But here, of course,’ Myra said sweetly. ‘In his father’s house.’
‘With no warning?’ Andrew snapped. ‘You must be out of your mind.’
‘Well, it’s very simple. I’m off to Detroit to marry Cyrus, and really I can’t take a little boy on my honeymoon, even if he wanted to come, which he very sensibly doesn’t. He’s thrilled at the thought of staying with you. You’ve let him down so often, but not this time.’
‘Do you think I have time to care for a child?’
‘Not you. Your girlfriend.’
‘Ellie-Mrs Landers-is not my girlfriend, as you so vulgarly put it.’
‘Nothing vulgar in having a girlfriend. It’s about time you thought of something other than a scalpel.’
‘If anybody’s interested, I am leaving tomorrow morning,’ Elinor said desperately.
‘No, you’re not,’ Myra said airily. ‘We settled all that.’
‘Did we?’ Elinor asked blankly.
‘Be nice to her, Andrew. She’s going to get you out of a hole.’ She turned to Elinor. ‘You don’t mind getting him out of a hole, do you, Ellie? I can call you Ellie, can’t I?’
‘No,’ Andrew said harshly.
Myra became businesslike. ‘Look, it’s very simple. Simon is going to stay with you for a while. He’s here now, he’s got all his stuff, and he’s looking forward to it. But if you refuse, then I’ll take him away with me now, and he’ll come with me to Detroit, and he’ll stay there. For good. I swear you’ll never see him again.’
He stared at her in a fury. ‘You’re bluffing.’
‘I’m doing you a favour, forcing you to engage with your son before it’s too late. So what happens? Do I take him away from you for good?’
‘You know I won’t let you do that.’
‘Fine. He stays here.’
‘You’ve already heard Mrs Landers say that she’s leaving,’ Andrew said in a tight voice.
‘Then you’ll have to persuade her to stay, won’t you? I’m making s
ome more coffee. Anybody want some?’ She floated into the kitchen, as much at ease as though this were a social occasion.
Andrew could hardly look at Elinor.
‘What do you want me to do?’ she asked.
‘I can’t let her take him away for good, but if you leave she’ll do that,’ he said harshly.
She hesitated, torn. ‘I don’t think she really means that bit.’
‘When she makes a threat she carries it out. Help me, Ellie, for God’s sake!’
‘But what use can I be?’
‘Stay here. Let him live with you and Hetta.’
‘But it’s you he wants.’
‘I’ll visit as often as I can.’
‘That’s not enough.’
He met her eyes. ‘Then I’ll move back in.’
‘Let us understand each other,’ she said in a voice that was steadier than she felt. ‘You wish me to be your housekeeper and child-minder.’
‘Whatever you want to call it,’ he said impatiently. ‘Does it matter?’
‘Yes, it matters. It will be impossible unless we define our precise relationship.’
‘Very well. Housekeeper and child-minder.’
‘And you will give me a proper contract of employment, defining my precise duties, and my salary?’
‘Very well.’
‘All right,’ she said very quietly. ‘I’ll do it.’
It would be hard. He saw her as a convenience. But at least now she need not leave him for a while. Her heart would break in the end. But not just yet.
Myra returned with coffee, which neither of the others wanted.
‘Got it all sorted?’ she sang out. ‘Jolly good. By the way, Andrew, Simon thinks you invited him. Don’t let him guess otherwise.’
‘Don’t worry, he won’t,’ Elinor said. ‘I’ll see to that.’ She was beginning to reappraise Myra.
Myra beamed at her. ‘I knew you wouldn’t let me down.’ She flicked open her cell phone. ‘Joe? You can come for me in fifteen minutes.’ She hung up. ‘I’ll go and say goodbye to Simon.’
She tripped away, apparently oblivious to the tension between the other two.
‘Thank you,’ he said. ‘I can’t think straight. She just sprung this on me-’
‘Well, maybe she needed to,’ Elinor observed lightly.
‘You’re on her side?’