The Seduction of Mrs Pendlebury

by Margaret Forster

  ‘Everything all right?’ Stanley said as she came in. ‘I thought I might pop in as well and cheer her up.’

  ‘You’ll do no such thing,’ snapped Rose. ‘She’s in no fit state for visitors. I don’t think she’s at all well. They should never have let her out of hospital.’

  ‘They turn everyone out before they’re ready these days,’ Stanley said. ‘Take me – I needed another week but –’

  ‘Oh shut up, turn everything to yourself you do. There was nothing wrong with you so don’t you go comparing yourself with a woman who’s just lost a baby. I won’t have it.’

  ‘Anyway –’ Stanley said, feebly.

  ‘Mind you,’ Rose went on, ‘knowing what I know I’m not surprised. The very idea of going out at that time and just out of hospital What can you expect? Of course, I didn’t say nothing, I don’t want to know their business. But to go gadding about like that – it’s not right. What’s the good of all those doctors and nurses putting her right if she doesn’t take care of herself? I can’t get over her wanting to go out, I can’t really.’

  ‘You don’t know where she went,’ Stanley said, ‘there is that to consider. All you saw was them getting into a car, that’s all.’

  ‘It was enough – and coming back, I heard them coming back, after eleven it was. Oh there’s no doubt where they’d been.’

  ‘Where?’

  ‘The theatre or the pictures of course.’

  ‘They could just have been having a meal.’

  ‘From seven o’clock to after eleven? What kind of meal is that?’

  ‘They might have been at her sister’s.’

  ‘I don’t want to discuss it. The harm’s done and she’s paying the penalty. White as a sheet she is.’

  ‘I’ll wait till she’s a bit better then before I go in.’

  ‘If at all,’ Rose said.

  But Stanley was determined. He liked Alice, he was very fond of her – in a different way to Rose of course but nevertheless he had a soft spot for her. She was always so cheerful, that was what he liked, always a smile and a cheery word for him. Besides, they had a lot in common. He knew she must have put up with Rose’s peculiar moods just as much as he had. Rose might pretend all was sweetness and light in there, but he was no fool. He didn’t believe it. He wouldn’t be a bit surprised if there hadn’t been plenty of sticky moments, and he owed it to Alice to let her know in his own way how he knew what she had to put up with. So he would go and see her, take her some grapes, pass the time of day. Rose could say what she liked – she knew perfectly well that once his mind was made up there was no stopping him.

  He arranged the visit himself. Catching sight of young Tony coming home from work he nipped out without Rose even being aware of it and asked him if he thought it might be convenient for him to pop in and see Alice for a few minutes the next morning. Tony said that would be fine, he would leave the key in the door and Mr Pendlebury could come in about eleven. Pleased with himself, Stanley said nothing to Rose. Luckily the next day was a clean shirt day so he felt quite presentable when he gave the bell a touch so she would know he was coming and went straight in. Rose thought he’d gone for his paper – which he had in a manner of speaking. He had it under his arm and grapes in his other hand.

  Alice, lying waiting for her second Pendlebury visit, was intrigued at the idea of Stanley coming on his own. She had, it was true, visited him in hospital so perhaps he was merely returning the courtesy. She hoped so – to endure another agonizing session of the sort she had spent with Mrs P. was too much. It was not, she reassured herself, in Stanley’s line. He would stick to platitudes and the only difficulty would be to get him to go. Once settled in a comfortable chair in a warm room he was hard to shift. But Stanley surprised her. He refused a seat and insisted on standing to attention at her bedside, his small brown face creased in smiles.

  ‘I’m not stopping,’ he said at once, ‘just come to pay my respects and see you aren’t fading away.’

  ‘No fear of that – I’m too well looked after.’

  ‘You make hay while the sun shines,’ Stanley said. ‘Once you’re on your feet there’ll be no going back.’

  ‘Oh, I’ve been on my feet,’ Alice said, ‘I’ve even been out, wasn’t it wicked? We went out to the theatre and for supper the night I came home.’

  ‘I should think so too,’ Stanley said. ‘Cheers you up, an outing, I always say.’

  ‘Do you know, it did. I felt human again. Just getting dressed made me feel better. But I would never have thought of it – wouldn’t have dreamed of it – if Charlotte hadn’t arranged it. Wasn’t she kind?’

  ‘She was,’ Stanley said. ‘She’s been very kind to my wife too, but you know Rose.’ He paused, still smiling. ‘She’s a bit prickly but her heart’s in the right place.’

  ‘Exactly,’ Alice said. ‘But she worries me sometimes.’

  ‘Oh, you don’t want to let Rose worry you. You just have to take the rough with the smooth.’

  ‘I was wondering –’ Alice stopped.

  Stanley was bland, placid, determined not to see malice even when it was intended. He would not misconstrue anything she might say, he would not doubt her motives were honest. But would he ever admit to difficulties, real difficulties, with his wife? Might she not presume too much?

  ‘I was just wondering,’ she went on, ‘whether sometimes she’s quite well?’

  ‘Oh, she’s as tough as an old boot. It’s me has the troubles.’

  ‘Yes, but – well, she gets more than depressed, don’t you think?’

  ‘We all do sometimes.’

  ‘True.’ Alice thought she detected the merest glimmer of warning in Stanley’s small, pale eyes. ‘Anyway, Australia will cheer her up.’

  ‘Yes, that’ll keep her going.’

  ‘Wasn’t it good of your son to arrange it?’

  ‘He’s a good boy, Frank. Never gave any trouble. Always thoughtful.’

  ‘Just like his mother.’

  ‘Yes.’ Stanley sucked his cheeks in and let them go with a pop. ‘Of course, he’s the spitting image of me really. Except for height. Where I’m average he’s tall – easy 5 ft 9 he is. It seemed to happen all of a sudden – one minute he was going to be average and then it was like the beanstalk, just shot up.’

  Stanley straightened his 5 ft 5 inches and, ‘I must get on or I’ll catch it.’

  ‘Thank you for coming to see me.’

  ‘Now don’t forget – the minute you feel like an evening out again you let us know. We’ve missed babysitting.’

  ‘I will, but at the moment –’

  ‘That’s right, slow and steady wins the race. You stay in for a while, but when you’re ready, tip us the wink.’

  Rose hardly let him in the door before she was on him like a terrier.

  ‘You’re sly,’ she hissed at him, ‘sneaking off like that – that’s what you are, sly. If there’s one thing I hate it’s slyness.’

  ‘I wasn’t sneaking,’ Stanley said. ‘You never asked me where I was going. I would have told you if you had.’

  ‘Butting in where you weren’t wanted.’

  ‘I only stayed five minutes. You were in an hour.’

  ‘We had things to talk about.’

  ‘And I took a present, some nice grapes.’

  ‘Grapes?’ Rose laughed scornfully. ‘She has any amount of grapes, cartloads of them. Didn’t you see them in a big dish on her dressing table? Trust you – can’t think further than grapes.’

  ‘What did you take then?’

  ‘That’s my business but I can tell you it was a damn sight more interesting than grapes.’

  Stanley took his coat off and prepared to go into the sitting-room to read his paper. To his annoyance Rose followed and sat down too.

  ‘Aren’t you busy?’ he asked, hopefully.

  ‘I’m always busy, unlike some people I could mention.’

  ‘Don’t let me keep you back.’

  ‘You al
ready have with me having to worry about where you were.’

  ‘What’s worrying about that?’

  ‘How was she then?’

  ‘She was all right. I thought she looked grand, a lot better than I did after I came –’

  ‘Did she say anything about babysitting?’

  ‘No, but I did.’

  ‘I told you never to mention it! I knew it! That’s done it! That’s torn it!’ Rose was up, attacking the china cabinet with a duster.

  ‘I only said to let us know when we were wanted and she said she didn’t feel like it at the moment.’

  ‘Oh no! Doesn’t feel like it! But we know different don’t we, we know she’s been out behind our backs.’

  ‘Yes, she was telling me about that,’ said Stanley, taking care to be offhand.

  ‘She admitted it, did she?’

  Stanley thought about that. ‘No,’ he said, ‘she just told me, in the course of conversation.’

  ‘And what did you say? I hope to God you didn’t say we’d been watching?’

  ‘I wasn’t watching,’ said Stanley pointedly. ‘You were. But anyway I didn’t say. I just said I was glad she enjoyed herself. Now can I get on with my paper?’

  ‘You haven’t got time for reading papers. There’s a lot to be done. We’ve only three weeks and not a thing bought, not a blessed thing. We’ll go out straight after lunch and again tomorrow and again the day after that if necessary.’

  ‘It won’t take me five minutes to get what I want.’

  ‘What do you want? You’ve no idea, have you, it’s all up to me, isn’t it? You want pyjamas for a start off, you hadn’t thought of that, had you? And underwear and socks and a suit –’

  ‘I’ve plenty of suits.’

  ‘Not for travelling you haven’t.’

  ‘What do I want to be buying suits for at my time of life? I’ve enough to see me out.’

  She whirled round, knocking the lamp off the top of the cabinet, and snatched the paper out of his hands.

  ‘I won’t have that!’ she shouted. ‘That’s enough – no more talk about one foot in the grave. I’ve had enough of it, it’s disgusting that attitude.’

  ‘All right then,’ he muttered, ‘now look what you’ve done – I shouldn’t be surprised if you’ve ruined that lamp.’

  ‘What if I have – I’m sick of the sight of it. It’s been there twenty-five years and I’m sick of the sight of it. I could do with breaking a few more things. That’d show you.’

  Stanley noticed, against his will, little bits of froth overflowing from her moving lips, globules of spit that gathered, hung for a moment and then dribbled down her chin.

  ‘Here,’ he said, sternly, handing her a handkerchief, ‘wipe yourself,’ but she dragged a sleeve across her mouth instead and he put the clean square of white cotton back in his pocket, glad she had not sullied it. ‘You’ve got yourself in a state,’ he said, ‘and there’s no call for it. Now take it easy for a bit.’ To set her an example he sat down himself and spread his newspaper out on his knees. She stood still for a while and then picked up the lamp and slowly dusted it and replaced it on the cabinet. Then she left the room, her feet shuffling instead of trotting.

  It was hot and still in the garden. Rose couldn’t claim it freshened her up. She walked round a few times, tending to things as she went, and then came to rest near the low part of the wall. She looked over quite openly, not caring who saw her. It already seemed an age since Amy had sat pulling daisies and looking up at her. She had a great yearning to see the little girl, but there was no sign of her. She was always across the road these days, or out playing with other children. She didn’t need Pen any more. Rose’s eyes filled with tears. She didn’t need the insufferably complacent Stanley to tell her that was the way of the world. Of course it was, she understood that, but it didn’t mean to say she couldn’t grieve if she wanted to, did it? It was usually the winter when she got these feelings but there was nothing wintry about this humidity. Perhaps there would be a storm and that would help. Sadly, Rose trailed her hand through the leaves, plucking a few and scattering them as she went.

  There was a storm and it did help. Rose woke up feeling quite gay and jolly. So different was her mood that she actually apologized to Stanley for her ‘temper’ the day before and not even the graciousness of his acceptance annoyed her. In such a mood, there were no problems – everything fell into place. She saw quite clearly what they needed for Australia and how she could get it, and how the house could be cleaned in time and arrangements made to have Elsie pop in occasionally. She didn’t want to ask the Orams, not with all the trouble they’d had.

  She rang Elsie first thing and laughed a lot while she talked to her.

  ‘I’m going to ask you a favour, Elsie,’ she said, her voice loud and cheerful.

  ‘I’d do anyone a favour,’ Elsie said, mournfully, ‘you know me. If it can be done, I’ll oblige.’

  ‘Yes, well, it’s about the house being empty while we’re in Australia.’ There were loud exclamations at the other end which only increased Rose’s happiness. ‘Yes, I’ve been meaning to tell you but it’s all been that sudden. Frank arranged it all at his end. We’re off October 1st.’

  ‘Fancy you wanting to go all that way. You’re not flying I hope?’

  ‘Yes, we are. It’s never too late to start.’

  ‘Well you’re welcome I must say. Rather you than me. I only hope everything’s all right.’

  ‘What I wondered was if you could pop in occasionally and open the windows and that?’

  ‘Certainly.’

  ‘If it wouldn’t be a bother.’

  ‘No bother. You’ll tell your friends, will you, so they won’t think I’m breaking in?’

  ‘I will.’

  ‘They won’t be offended will they? I mean, me coming in with them so near . . .’

  ‘They’ve had a lot of trouble,’ Rose said, just a little sharply to show she’d registered the insinuation. ‘Alice’s baby died.’ The exclamations this time made Rose impatient, ‘So you see they’ve enough on their plate.’ She was ready to ring off. Elsie was a trial even at the best of times. ‘We’ll bring the key round before we go,’ she said. ‘You’ll be in Sundays will you? Not going away?’

  ‘No. Dolores and Alan are moving flats or we’d have gone up there.’

  ‘Nice place is it?’

  ‘We haven’t managed up yet. George has been busy.’

  ‘Doesn’t seem a year.’ Rose immediately felt unkind. She needn’t have said that. ‘Time flies,’ she said. ‘Anyway, I must be off. I’m rushed off my feet what with getting ready.’

  They managed to buy the suitcases that afternoon without too much bother, and very satisfactory they were. The price was scandalous but she had made it clear to Stanley before they ever entered Selfridges that on this point she was immovable: good luggage they must have. Forty-seven pounds each they were, big black leather things with scarlet silk lining and two handles and strong all-round zips and locks and keys. She tried carrying them as well as Stanley – back and forward along the basement floor – and found them easy to manage. Then the assistant kindly filled them with tennis rackets and things so they could get the weight and back and forward they went again. No bother.

  Rose didn’t feel at all tired when they got back. She took the cases up herself to the bedroom and opened them and had a practice pack. She was in the middle of this when the doorbell rang and was down the stairs, as nimble as you like, in a flash. She was delighted to see Charlotte there with Amy.

  ‘Hello,’ she said, expansive, beaming, ‘now I haven’t seen you for a long time, young lady.’

  ‘Alice left her with me till four o’clock, Mrs Pendlebury,’ Charlotte said, ‘but I’ve just had a phone call to pick up my husband from his office and I didn’t want to drag Amy down and miss Alice so –’

  ‘Yes,’ said Rose, ‘I’ll have her.’

  ‘It’s only a matter of ten minutes really.’
<
br />   ‘Come on, Amy.’

  There was a fraction of a second during which Amy hesitated but then she was running down the, hall and Rose closed the door and followed, chasing her through the house. There was the old cupboard to be pulled out and the usual objects to examine, only this time Amy was cleverer and not so amazed. She put a pair of Stanley’s shoes on and clumped around the kitchen and then had to have one of Rose’s aprons to complete her outfit. The bell went again before they had time to really begin to play.

  Alice came in with some embarrassment. Almost the only time she’d ever been in the Pendleburys’ house, apart from high tea, was at the time of Stanley’s accident. But Mrs P. was in no mood for remembering such painful moments – it was all shouts and laughter as she led her through into the back and showed her Amy in all her splendour.

  ‘Me cook,’ Amy said.

  ‘What shall we cook?’ Mrs P. asked.

  ‘Pastry.’

  ‘Right. Where’s the flour? Look – isn’t she smart, she remembers it’s in that bin. Right. What next? Where’s the lard? Where does Pen keep the lard?’

  ‘Actually,’ Alice began, ‘we’ll have to go – my sister’s coming to take us to the zoo. It’s her youngest’s birthday and that’s his treat.’

  ‘Oh well,’ Mrs P. said, but quite nicely, ‘we can’t compete with that, can we? Are you going to see some monkeys Amy?’

  ‘No,’ Amy said, scowling. ‘I want to cook.’

  ‘She’s getting a will of her own,’ Mrs P. said.

  ‘Come on, Amy,’ Alice said, ‘you can cook another day if Pen will let you.’

  ‘She’s always welcome, though we haven’t seen much of her lately, but she doesn’t forget, do you, Amy?’

  ‘I want to cook,’ Amy said. Mrs P. smiled.

  Alice had to pick her daughter up and carry her forcibly out of the house screaming all the way and Mrs P. following, enjoying every minute of it. She felt sick with the physical effort by the time she got her outside and even then Mrs P. stood at the door watching as though enjoying the spectacle. Though this was how she felt, Alice was aware that she was reacting exactly as Mrs P. herself would have done – attributing nastiness to somebody when they felt none. She wished Charlotte had dumped Amy anywhere except next door, she wished she had got back just ten minutes earlier, she wished she’d taken Amy with her – anything to have avoided that scene. As it was, Amy would have to be allowed to go back and cook or she would never be forgiven.