by Neale, Kitty
‘Because all the boys in my class are stupid,’ said Penny, as if it was obvious.
‘I won’t argue with that,’ said Ruth. ‘Look, she’s going to make a speech. Turn up the volume.’ She noticed that the little girl seemed interested. Good, maybe she’d make something of her life. It wasn’t often that Ruth considered the child’s future, and she knew if she was honest that most people would be delighted to have a daughter like hers. It wasn’t that she disliked her; she just struggled to feel anything for her, and occasionally this caused her a pang of regret. Her own childhood had been totally devoid of affection, her parents too preoccupied with avoiding the bailiffs, with one moonlight flit following another. It wasn’t the best way to learn how to love.
‘Where there is discord, may we bring harmony …’ said the figure on the screen.
Penny looked blank.
‘Oh Ruth, you’re back,’ said Lorna, coming into the room with a couple of bowls of bananas and cream. ‘Sorry, I didn’t make you anything.’
‘Doesn’t matter,’ said Ruth dismissively. As if she wanted any of that nursery food. ‘I’m going out with Adam later for dinner at the Belmont. We’re going to try their new bistro and I think this is a day to celebrate. Not sure he’ll agree though.’ She laughed, as Adam sometimes had very old-fashioned notions about what women were meant to do.
‘I don’t think Robert will be very happy either,’ Lorna predicted. ‘He says Mrs Thatcher’s policies will be bad for the country.’
‘Well, he would,’ said Ruth shortly. She was rather fed up with Robert. He had proved himself to be a more than competent negotiator but he was a stickler for keeping to the letter of the law and always played it safe, which she found very irritating. ‘I think she’ll be good for business and she’ll make it easier for women to succeed in whatever they do. So that’s good enough for me.’ She turned to her friend. ‘What do you think?’
‘Oh, I don’t know much about politics,’ protested Lorna, setting the bowls on the table. ‘Penny, come and have some of this.’
Really, thought Ruth, the woman was too much sometimes. How could she not take an interest in what went on around her? Was that the sort of thing Penny should hear?
Her daughter had other ideas. ‘I’m going to do that one day,’ she announced, pointing to the television. ‘But my coat will be better.’ She scooped up a big spoonful of fruit. ‘I’m going to be in charge.’
‘Yes, you don’t want to end up dressing like that,’ muttered Ruth, pushing back her chair. ‘I’ve got to get ready. Don’t stay up too late, even if you’ve got to learn how to be in charge.’
Adam was waiting in the bar area of the smart new bistro. He was surrounded by young professionals like himself, celebrating the end of the working week, drinking wine and talking loudly. Hmm, he thought, they obviously weren’t estate agents, having to work the next day. At least there was nobody he knew here to interrupt him. A few weeks ago he had almost left a hotel bar to avoid a troublesome acquaintance and he didn’t want a repeat of that to spoil the moment.
For the hundredth time he rehearsed what he was going to say when Ruth arrived. He’d watched and waited, observing how her trade had increased over the first year, listening for clues and deducing that her cashflow must be very healthy indeed. He wasn’t to know that even though the money was coming into Ruth’s agency, it was leaving again almost as fast and her profits were marginal.
He was sure he was making the right move, and told himself there was no reason to be nervous. He had nothing to lose by this, and a lot to gain. It made total sense, whichever way he looked at it. He’d have to present it in the right way – he didn’t want to give her an excuse for one of her terrible rages, he’d seen enough of those. He wanted her complete agreement to everything he suggested, and she might even be grateful. He smiled to himself, imagining what form that gratitude might take.
There she was now, striding along the street, causing all the men to turn to look at her. That was one of the things he got great pleasure from – Adam could just see all those men wondering who she was going to meet, and he basked in their envy when they realised it was him. He sensed the women were watching too. They usually did when he was on his own, wondering if they had a chance to make their move. Adam was very aware of his looks and saw no point in false modesty.
Now he looked up as Ruth came into the bar, grinning in what he knew was his most appealing way. He leant forward to kiss her, nothing too obvious, but enough to demonstrate to anyone watching that she was his. ‘You look stunning, darling,’ he said. ‘More gorgeous than ever.’
Good, that was the right way to kick things off. She gave him her dazzling smile. ‘Well, I like to make an effort,’ she said, smoothing down a dress he hadn’t seen before, in striking royal blue. ‘No point in meeting the best-looking man in town and letting him down. Do you like this? I bought it in honour of the occasion.’
‘The occasion?’ God, had she guessed what he planned to say?
‘Yes, of course.’ She paused. ‘What happened today. In Downing Street.’
Oh for God’s sake, thought Adam. That bloody uppity woman. ‘I’m afraid I missed the news,’ he said smoothly. ‘Too busy making sure I looked good enough for you. I didn’t see the grand arrival. I take it you did?’
‘Too bloody right,’ said Ruth with great enthusiasm. ‘I wouldn’t have missed that for anything. The sky’s the limit now. We women can do anything!’ She took the glass of cold wine he offered her and chinked it against his. ‘Including running the most dynamic property agency in Kent! And why stop there? In the south-east! In the country!’
She was on fire tonight, Adam thought. So much the better. That would serve his purpose in more ways than one. But he had to keep a cool head – never easy when she was like this, and so close to him.
‘Let’s go to our table,’ he suggested, gently steering her away from the admiring groups of office workers. ‘I’m glad you feel that way. In fact I wanted to talk to you about how to improve the agency, but was going to wait until later.’
‘Oh Adam, don’t be so conventional,’ laughed Ruth, slipping into her seat. ‘If you can’t say something in front of me when you get an idea, then who can you say it to? You know there’s nothing between us.’ She smiled seductively.
‘Absolutely,’ he agreed. Nothing that she knew about anyway, and he intended to keep it that way. ‘No, I’ve been thinking. We work so well together. Our two agencies have run in parallel very successfully and they complement each other. We complement each other. You know we’re totally right together, in every possible way.’ He smiled back at her, and shooed away the waiter who had been hovering. ‘Don’t you think it’s time to move up to the next stage? On its own, each agency is too small to make that leap. But if we combined them …’
‘We could really expand!’ exclaimed Ruth. Her eyes narrowed. ‘If we did that then we could go well beyond Margate. The market’s limited here and so much of the stock is in bad condition it’ll never command a premium. I want to get into the upmarket areas. Canterbury, Tunbridge Wells …’
‘What about as far as London?’ he asked. ‘Let’s see what plans for development your Mrs Thatcher has.’
‘No need to be sarky,’ Ruth said reprovingly, but her face was alight. ‘She’ll be exactly what we need, you wait and see. We have to be in the right shape to take advantage of whatever opportunities she opens up. And I know how you appreciate the right shape, darling.’
Couldn’t have put it better myself, thought Adam in delight. She was going for it. No, she was more than going for it, she was taking his idea and making it much, much bigger. How could he resist?
‘Darling,’ he breathed. ‘That’s wonderful. It’s really exciting.’ He felt in his jacket pocket. ‘Look, I know we shouldn’t confuse business with pleasure …’
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ she laughed. ‘That’s what we do all the time, Adam. That’s what we’re about. That’s when we have the mos
t fun. That’s what makes us, us.’
‘In that case,’ he said, suddenly very serious, ‘shall we do it properly?’ He swallowed, as if to emphasise the importance of his next words. ‘Ruth – darling – would you do me the honour of being my wife?’
He brought out a small navy box and gave it to her to open. Inside was a ring – one he had got cheap from a house clearance, but she needn’t know that, and it was after all the real thing. He felt he’d better not try anything less, as she was sure to know the difference between real and fake stones.
‘My God, Adam,’ she said, taking out the ring and holding it up to the light. ‘This is lovely. What can I say, except … yes, yes, yes!’
Lorna had almost dozed off in front of the television when the phone rang. She shook herself awake, puzzled by who could be calling at this time of night. Now the late-evening news was on – more Mrs Thatcher, still promising to bring harmony.
Hurriedly she reached for the receiver before the noise could disturb Penny. ‘Hello, who’s there?’
‘Lorna, that you?’ said a male voice, and she realised with a sinking feeling it was Ted. That must mean something serious was going on.
‘Whatever’s the matter?’ she said quickly.
‘It’s your mum,’ he replied. ‘She’s been took very bad and is on her way to hospital right now. They said I’d better ring you to get here as soon as you can.’
‘It’s that bad?’ she asked, with the faint hope he’d got it wrong.
‘It is,’ he said bluntly. ‘Better get up here right away.’
‘I’ll try,’ she said, thinking frantically. Of course Ruth wasn’t back yet, and Lorna had no idea when she would be, if at all. What could she do about the child? ‘I’ll have to try and get a babysitter or something. I can’t really bring Penny with me, unless someone can look after her that end.’
‘Don’t know about that,’ said Ted. No, thought Lorna, don’t suppose you would. You never did like children – I should know.
‘I could ask Maureen …’ she began, but then wished she hadn’t.
‘Don’t you go bringing that tart in my house,’ Ted exclaimed. ‘She don’t belong round here no more and I won’t have her through my door. Surprised you could even think of letting her near a kid. She’s bad through and through and you don’t want nothing to do with her if you’ve got any sense.’
So much for that idea, then. Lorna didn’t have time to feel hurt on her cousin’s behalf, though Maureen had come down to visit plenty of times over the last year and she and Penny got on like a house on fire. Anyway, she’d most likely be at work at this time of the evening, so it would be no good anyway.
‘I’ll think of something,’ Lorna promised, with no idea what that might be. ‘Which hospital?’
Ted gave her directions and rang off abruptly. Lorna stood holding the receiver in shock. While she’d known her mother hadn’t been at all well she hadn’t seemed to be getting any worse. Now it looked as if things were going downhill fast.
There was only one person to turn to.
‘Robert, you’ve got to help me,’ she burst out as soon as he’d picked up. Quickly she explained what had happened and the dilemma she was in. ‘Can you think of anything?’
‘You can’t rely on Ruth coming home,’ he said firmly. ‘Put that out of your mind. I’ll drive over at once. I can take you up to Battersea and Penny can sleep on the back seat – it’s Friday, she hasn’t got school tomorrow, and she’ll think it’s an adventure. Then I can leave you at the hospital and return right away.’
‘Oh Robert, would you?’ Lorna nearly collapsed with gratitude. ‘I’ll go and wake Penny and explain. It’ll give me something to do too,’ she added, knowing that she couldn’t break down in front of the little girl. ‘We’ll see you in a minute.’
Hastily she ran to her room and threw a change of clothes and a toothbrush into a bag, and then went to wake Penny. There really was no time to be sad, sorry, or anything.
Another hotel room, thought Ruth, gazing up at an elaborate spotlight. This was definitely the best yet, beautifully designed to be up-to-date and yet classy and timeless. One day she’d have a room like this. And now she was a step closer to her dream.
Her scheme had worked. Adam had finally found her so irresistible he’d offered to merge their businesses and make her his wife. Realistically she knew she was the more adventurous one when it came to making deals, spotting chances and taking advantage of whatever came along, but it would be wonderful to have his backing. And of course his premises. He would lend her the respectability she so needed and she would drive the agency where he would not dare take it on his own. Just in time, too. Her savings had dwindled almost to nothing, but now she would have unlimited access to the lifestyle she so craved. Sighing, she kicked back the Egyptian cotton sheet.
‘Adam,’ she breathed, ‘why don’t you put down that nightcap? You can have that later. I think we need to celebrate properly …’
‘Mum, it’s me,’ said Lorna, reaching forward to take the frail hand. ‘Can you hear me? Do you know who I am?’
Her mother’s eyes flickered and she seemed to be struggling to speak. ‘Lorna,’ she whispered.
‘That’s right, Mum, I’m here. You’re going to be all right. There’s no need to worry.’
On the other side of the room, the doctor shook his head gently. They all knew the end was near.
‘Lorna,’ her mother said again, pulling on her hand a little. She leant in more closely. ‘Make sure you never tell anyone else. You know what I mean. It’s for the best.’
‘Oh, Mum.’ Lorna wasn’t sure what to say. She’d never introduced Robert to her mother and Ted, and had spoken of him only as a friend who gave her a regular lift because he was passing that way. Which had been true to begin with.
‘Promise me,’ hissed her mother.
‘Don’t worry, Mum,’ Lorna replied. ‘Look, I know this’ll seem strange, but I’d like you to know I’ve met someone. He’s the most wonderful man and I’m the luckiest woman in the world. And, Mum, he knows.’
Her mother’s eyes opened a fraction and Lorna could see it was a look of horror.
‘Honestly, Mum, it’s fine. He doesn’t mind. He loves me anyway. It’s all fine.’
‘Really?’ whispered her mother.
‘Really,’ she said. ‘It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Maybe you’ll meet him soon.’
‘Don’t think so,’ said her mother, struggling to swallow. ‘No time for that now.’ She stopped to take a painful breath. ‘But I’m glad. I only ever wanted the best for you, you know.’
‘I know, Mum.’ Lorna squeezed her hand again, but this time there was no response. She looked up at the doctor, who approached the bed.
‘You’ll have to leave her now,’ he said gently. ‘All this talking is exhausting her. She can’t take much more. You might like to say your farewells.’
Lorna looked at the wasted figure in the bed, who’d done so much to hurt her. And yet she had loved her too. A swirl of emotions hit her, but she couldn’t say anything now. It was time to put all that aside. Softly, she stroked her mother’s hand for the last time.
‘Bye, Mum,’ she said.
Pulling into a lucky parking space outside the office, Robert glanced up at the windows of the flat above. Lorna had left the upstairs light on, but there were no others lit, and it didn’t look as if Ruth had returned. He wasn’t surprised. He knew she and Adam were living it up on every possible occasion and had gone somewhere special this evening. They weren’t to know Lorna would be called away. But his heart went out to the little girl on the back seat, who was plainly such an inconvenience to her mother. By the orange light of the streetlamp, he could see she was beginning to stir.
‘Where am I?’ she mumbled groggily.
‘It’s okay,’ he soothed. ‘We’ve just got back. Come on, I’ll take you upstairs.’ He’d had a key to the flat for a while – it made sense as it was above the age
ncy, even if he hadn’t been so close to Lorna. But he hated using it, never wanting to intrude on his temperamental boss. Now though, he had no choice. Shutting the car doors as quietly as he could, he let them both inside and followed Penny up the stairs.
Once inside he made sure she cleaned her teeth and then tucked her up. She was asleep in moments. Well, he couldn’t leave her here alone. He settled himself in Lorna’s small living room, and looked around for something to read. Yesterday’s newspaper headlines screamed up at him, all about Mrs Thatcher’s victory. Somehow he didn’t fancy reading that.
Absently he ran his eyes around the room. Lorna had added many tasteful touches to make it comfortable and feel like home: cushions, pictures, a vase of flowers. Her style was nothing like Ruth’s. He’d seen how his boss liked to decorate a place – many times when she’d been preparing to show a property to customers she’d flung a scheme together. It was always stunning, even on a tight budget, but never made him feel he’d want to live there. Whereas here, he felt he could stay for ever. The vital difference was, this had been done with warmth.
Robert forced himself to face some awkward questions. Did he really mind that Lorna could never have children? Most men he knew talked about having a son one day, to further their line, or simply to play football with. Did he, deep down, feel like that? Would he come to resent her?
But he knew the answer at once. She was all he wanted. If they couldn’t have children then he would be satisfied without. It was Lorna he worried about, who would forever feel that something was missing from her life without a baby. He couldn’t bear to see her unhappy, but there was nothing he or anyone could do about it. That was the hand fate had dealt her. All he could do was to try to make up for it in every other way.
Slowly the sun rose and dawn broke over the rooftops of Margate. Robert watched through the partly drawn curtains and came to a decision. As soon as she was back, he’d speak to her properly. He was tired of pussy-footing around, watching her try to please Ruth, ignoring Adam’s barely concealed contempt, all the time caring for Penny every bit as dearly as if she were her own. They could do better than this. They could take Penny with them if that was how Lorna wanted it – he’d be more than happy. He’d bet Ruth would be relieved. But something had to change – he and Lorna had been taken advantage of, and it had to stop.