by Anne Hampson
‘Gale dear, take the other chair; then you can have the coffee tray on that small table over there.’
She glared at him, because he had afforded her no attention at all. Raising his brows in a gesture of inquiry, he served only to produce another glowering look and, shrugging languidly, he extended his wife no further interest at all, and when the time came for Daphne to leave he accompanied her home.
Watching them from the patio as they wandered along the tree-shaded drive towards the road, Gale felt something far deeper than anger rise within her. It was a strange and incomprehensible feeling, rather like a dead weight, yet sort of empty too. What was it? - this so new and troublesome thing that had taken possession of her? Pensively she kept her eyes on the pair until they reached the curve where they stopped a moment, to speak, and a dark frown marred the beauty of Gale’s face. Why stop? They could carry on a conversation while walking. Gale’s eyes narrowed as, after a backward glance so fleeting that it was scarcely noticeable, Julius slipped a hand beneath his companion’s arm and they walked on again, to become lost to sight round the bend.
Gale moistened her lips. That earlier pang was felt again, and this time it hurt so deeply that she knew she must probe the reason for it. Did she need to probe very far? The pang was born of fear, she told herself — fear that her husband would be unfaithful to her, would decide his former lover was, after all, more desirable than his wife.
CHAPTER EIGHT
ON his return Julius gave his wife the dismaying news that he was going to Munich on business and would be away about a fortnight.
‘So long?’ she quivered. ‘Can’t I come with you?’
He shook his head, telling her that as he would be engaged all the time on business matters she would find it dull.
‘I’d not even be able to spend the evenings with you, as we frequently discuss business over a dinner. You can explore the island,’ he suggested without much interest. ‘We’ve done a little, but not all by any means, Get Apollo to drive you to some of the interesting places.’
He set off early the following morning, Apollo driving him to the port where he would board a ferry which would take him to Rhodes, from he would make air connections.
A fortnight.... It seemed a long time, Gale thought, but then she recalled that he had once or twice spent that length of time in England. What should she do with her time? She could have gone to England. She still could! Yes, she would go home for ten days or so.
Apollo helped in every way, having knowledge of the aeroplanes from Rhodes and their times of departure. Kate packed for her and only two days after her husband had left for Munich Gale was on her way to England, having sent her mother a cable letting her know the approximate time of arrival. But to her surprise there was no one in when she reached home and she had to while away a couple of hours until her father put in an appearance at half-past five.
‘Your mother’s on holiday,’ he snapped even before his key was in the lock. ‘I got your cable, but I had commitments at the university and couldn’t be here when you arrived.’
‘Mother’s on holiday?’ Gale half-turned as she stepped into the hall, preceding her father. ‘She never goes on holiday!’
He seemed to grit his teeth - Gale could not be sure of this, but she was sure of the slamming of the door. The whole house shuddered!
‘Your mother does a lot of things lately she’s never done before!’ He swept an illustrative gesture around the sitting-room as they entered it. ‘Damned place hasn’t seen a duster since she went! I’ve not had a decent meal, either!’
‘Where’s she gone?’ Gale put down her suitcase and shook her head disbelievingly. ‘When did she go?’
‘She went a week today! And she’s gone to Cornwall!’ He flung his briefcase on to the couch and glared at his daughter. ‘Can’t say I’m overjoyed to see you at this time,’ he growled, going on to declare that it was all her fault for carrying on the way she had. ‘If you must have a good time in that way then why the devil didn’t you do it on the sly!’
Angry colour fused her cheeks. Already she regretted the hasty decision that had resulted in her coming home.
‘Do you do it on the sly?’ she had to ask, sending him a glance of contempt.
'Shut up about my affairs! What’s wrong with you anyway? Your marriage cracked up already?’
Her colour heightened.
‘Julius is away on business; that’s why I’m here. I thought it would be nice to see Mother - and you,’ she added as an afterthought, bringing a sneer to her father’s lips.
‘You wouldn’t care if you never saw me again, so don’t give me that rubbish!’ He paced about for a few wrathful seconds before coming to a halt close to where Gale stood, still in her outdoor things. ‘You’ve ruined both our lives; I hope you’re proud of yourself'!’
‘Don’t shift the blame, Father. You and Mother have had nothing between you for a long while — but why should you need reminding of this? You know who’s to blame if things are not what they were.’
‘She was resigned! It was only when you let her down that she turned. I still can’t believe it!’
Slowly Gale unbuttoned the jacket of her suit and took it off.
‘You have Mother’s address?’
‘I have not! Refused to give it. I swore I’d not allow her to go off on her own — on her own,’ he said in snarling accents. ‘Do you suppose she’s with a man?’ ‘Certainly not!’ But Gale was not sure. It would appear that her mother had gone on holiday with Jack, incredible as it seemed. ‘You were saying you wouldn’t let her go away...?’
‘Yes, I told her straight she wasn’t going and that was that. She made no argument and I thought that was the end of it. I came home from work a couple of days later to find a note. She’d gone off to Cornwall for a fortnight! My God, I wouldn’t have given her as much housekeeping money if I’d known she could save for a fortnight’s holiday!’ He looked Gale over, diverted for a space as he noted the very expensive outfit she
wore and the soft leather suitcase beside her, with her monogram embossed in gold on the lid. ‘Did well for yourself — after all that rot you used to talk about never getting married.’ Breaking off, he wagged a forefinger at her. ‘Something fishy about that affair, too. Damned odd that he’d marry you if he could get you without—’
‘ Stop it! He did not — not — get me without, as you so vulgarly term it.’
He shrugged ... and suddenly she noticed a faint heaviness in his breathing which caused an involuntary catch of her own breath. It could be the result of temper, of course, but ------ Suddenly Gale did not like
the look of him.
‘Are you going to get me some tea, seeing that you’re here?’ he demanded.
Gale nodded but hesitated, dropping her jacket over the back of a chair.
‘Are you feeling all right? I mean - you’re not off-colour?’
He glowered at her and thumbed towards the door.
‘I’m fit enough! It’s my mind that’s troubled. Get me something to eat. You know where the kitchen is!’
‘Are you going out this evening?’ she was inquiring later as they sat together eating the meal she had prepared from what little she could find in the fridge.
‘I am! And have you anything to say about it?’ he added challengingly, his whole manner one of belligerence.
‘Nothing at all,’ returned Gale calmly. ‘I merely asked because I’ve no intention of sitting here on my own.’
‘So you’re going out too? Seeing one of your boyfriends?’
She ignored that - she had to, otherwise there would have been one big row and she’d have found herself on the plane again, returning to Greece. She wanted to see her mother, who would be back in a week’s time. They would have three days together, Gale hoped. But if she quarrelled with her father in the meantime she could scarcely remain at home.
‘Don’t wait up for me,’ her father said as he went out after washing and changing and fixing a car
nation in his buttonhole. ‘I’ll be late.’
So that was that. Gale looked at the closed door of the sitting-room and breathed a deep sigh. What a homecoming ! No welcome from either of her parents. Just an empty house with an atmosphere of disunity seeming to pervade every corner of it. She glanced around, automatically comparing the room with that in which she and Julius sat when they were not out on the verandah or in the dining-room. Again she heaved a sigh. Her mother had tried so hard, but there was so little on which to indulge her artistic instincts. It had been a hard life, and a not very happy one. No luxuries simply because her husband squandered the greater part of his salary on other women. This naturally brought Gale’s thoughts back to this holiday of her mother’s. Had she saved for it or had her man friend paid for it? Baffled and unable to envisage her mother going off on holiday with another man, Gale shook her head from side to side. It was not feasible, she told herself — and yet who else was there with whom her mother could go away? As far as Gale knew she had never made a woman friend, and she had no sisters or cousins.
‘It’s a mystery,’ she sighed, rising and going to the
door. ‘And if Mother was going away, she might have mentioned it in one of her letters.’
Gale went up to the old room she had occupied when at home. She had told her father she had no intention of sitting in the house all evening on her own, but where could she go? There was Tricia, of course, and one or two other of her old friends. ... Suddenly Gale felt lost and alone - utterly alone. The reason was that she had looked forward eagerly to seeing her mother, to chatting with her as they used to do in the days before the incident at the lodge had brought such disunity into the house. Gale believed that her marriage to Julius had put right the position between her and her mother and indeed her mother’s letters had all been affectionate, and each had included the hope that Gale was happy with her husband.
And yet no mention of this holiday had ever been made.
Endeavouring to thrust from her the disappointment at not finding her mother at home, Gale washed and changed and applied a little make-up to her cheeks and lips. Then she went out, called a taxi and after stopping at a telephone box to discover if Tricia was at home, she directed the driver to take her to the Sims’ house where she was greeted enthusiastically by Mrs. Sims and her daughter, both of whom were in the garden, relaxing in chairs on the lawn.
‘How very nice to see you, Gale dear! We had no idea you were in England until you phoned. Sit down and tell us why you’re here and how long you’re staying. It’s Tricia’s twenty-first birthday on Monday. Will you have left by then? We’re giving a party for her.’
Her spirits lightening at this reception, Gale smiled and took the chair offered.
‘No, I’ll still be here. I’d love to come to the party.’ She went on to explain how she came to be here without her husband. Her eyes strayed several times to Tricia’s face and she saw by her shadowed expression that she had not yet recovered from the loss of her fiance to another girl. Nevertheless, she was far more composed than when on that fatal day she had suggested Gale should attempt to bring Trevis to disgrace in the eyes of the man whose daughter he hoped to marry.
‘She’s met someone else,’ Mrs. Sims told Gale when for a few minutes they were alone in the living-room while Tricia was upstairs tidying herself up before supper. ‘But although both her father and I like him enormously Tricia is merely lukewarm about the whole affair. I do believe she would forgive Trevis even now if he should turn up and ask her to take him back.’
It was clear that Tricia had not enlightened her mother about the affair at the lodge. Gale said, frowning a little,
‘It takes a long while to get over being jilted. There’s the pride element in addition to the heartache. A girl gets an outsize inferiority complex when the man whom she loves, and who has chosen her as his wife, suddenly discovers he prefers someone else.’
Mrs. Sims nodded understandingly.
‘I realize that, Gale. And of course Tricia is the type who has little confidence in her own attractions anyway. And with Stephen - that’s the boy she goes out with now and then - she’s convinced that if she lets herself fall in love with him he’ll treat her as Trevis did. It’s no use trying to persuade her that this isn’t so; she won’t listen either to her father or to me.’
Gale nodded.
‘I felt like that,’ she reminded her friend’s mother. ‘For a long time - yes, indeed. But you’re happily married now. How surprised we all were! Gale of all people, I said to my husband. Gale, who always swore she’d never marry. But your Julius is inordinately handsome, I’m told?’ ‘He is, yes.’ Gale felt shy - a rather new experience for her — and she lowered her head, faintly embarrassed by Mrs. Sims’ amused gaze.
‘Tell me about your house,’ urged Mrs. Sims, whose interest was plainly genuine. ‘Your husband’s a very wealthy man, so the rumour goes, and I expect it’s true, even though rumours are more often false.’
‘It’s a beautiful house, with pretty gardens and magnificent views over the lower part of the hills and the beach, to the sea.’
‘You’re a very lucky girl,’ returned Mrs. Sims, and added, her voice adopting a note of anxiety, ‘I do wish Tricia were settled.’
‘She will be,’ Gale asserted with confidence. ‘This Stephen - would he like to be serious with her?’
‘He’s confided in me that he would.’
‘Does he know about Trevis?’
Mrs. Sims nodded her head.
‘Yes, he knows. He says Trevis was a fool to lose her.’
A faintly bitter curve touched Gale’s full wide mouth. ‘That isn’t much consolation to Tricia.’
‘I suppose people said something of the kind to you?’
‘They did, but it wasn’t any help.’ She paused a moment, reflectively. ‘It’s rather strange, now, to think how deeply affected I was at the time. You think you’ll never get over these things, but you do.’
‘It’s like having a death in the family. When I lost my first husband I thought I’d die. And yet the time came when I found to my surprise that I could love again — as you have done, Gale. I’ve tried to convince Tricia that it’s possible to love more than once, but when one is young one finds this difficult to believe.’
Gale was strangely silent, impressed by her companion’s words in some way she could not at present define. The only surface emotion she experienced was one of guilt - she felt a hypocrite for allowing Mrs. Sims to believe she was in love with Julius. It was rather like
living a lie.
During supper, at which Mr. Sims was also present, Tricia suggested that, as Mrs. Davis was not at home, Gale should spend a few days with her friend.
‘That is,’ Tricia added, ‘if your father wouldn’t mind.’
‘I don’t expect he would,’ responded Gale, hoping the dry note in her voice had escaped everyone’s ears.
‘You’ll come, then?’
‘Yes - and thank you for asking me. When shall I come?’
‘This week-end - or any time to suit you.’ Mrs. Sims looked questioningly at her. ‘I expect you’ve other friends to visit while you’re over?’
‘Just one or two,’ replied Gale absently, reflecting on how quickly one lost touch after marriage. Letters had been sent and received from one or two of the crowd Gale used to go about with, but a lack of enthusiasm was gradually creeping in.
It was arranged that Gale should go to the Sims on the Friday morning and stay until about Monday or Tuesday, depending on how she felt. The party was to be at the Roebuck Hotel in Burton and Gale had the pleasure of buying herself a new dress for the occasion, not having brought anything at all formal with her. She also shopped around for a suitable present for Tricia, and also one for Mrs. Sims, just as a token of thanks for having her.
Much to her surprise Gale met with some slight opposition from her father when she told him of the invitation, which, she added, she had accepted.
‘You’
re going off and leaving me on my own? That’s a fine thing! If you think anything of your father you’ll turn down the invitation - which should never have been made, seeing as you’re here only for a short time.’
‘I didn’t expect you’d care what I did. You intend to stay in at night with me - if I decide to turn down the invitation?’ she queried, having not the least intention of giving back word to Mrs. Sims.
‘Stay in?’ He raised his brows. ‘I never stay in.’
‘Then you’ll not miss me,’ she pointed out suavely. ‘Breakfast and tea,’ he snapped. ‘I’d like a decent meal or two put before me.’
Her eyes raked him with contempt.
‘I’m not Mother,’ she told him softly.
‘None of your damned cheek, Gale! You used to know how to respect your father. Are you turning down that invitation or aren’t you?’
‘I’m not. What would I do here all day by myself? And what sort of evening would I spend, sitting here alone?’ ‘You could get busy with some housework—’ ‘Housework?’ she interrupted, staring at him in a way which could only be described as one of hauteur. ‘I
haven’t come all this way to spend my time in housework. I’m on holiday.’
‘Too high-and-mighty, eh - now that you’ve managed to land yourself a rich husband?’
‘If Mother were at home I should naturally help her, as I always did, but as she isn’t home I’m going to stay with Tricia and her people.’
‘The place hasn’t been touched for a week! ’
‘I don’t suppose you notice any difference. I’ve never once heard you comment no matter how hard Mother’s worked to make the place look nice.’
He said nothing to that, but went out and left her to her own devices. She washed the dishes and then went by taxi to see another friend. But she didn’t stay long and she was in bed by half-past nine.
She lay there, thinking of Julius and wondering what he was doing. He’d be enjoying himself, no mistake about that. These business trips which men took were invariably pleasure trips as well, Gale thought, recalling how her husband used to attend all the parties when he was in England. Perhaps he had some friend in Munich, some friend like Professor Ingham who would introduce him into a circle similar to that to which his friend had introduced him here.