Through the kitchen window I could see Mando kneeling in front of a bench on the lawn, with a tarpaulin on which rested flowers, jugs and ribbons, all of which he was dividing up and sorting out. It was hot, but the sky was a murky sea-green-grey. I poured myself some coffee, grateful for the relative cool of the kitchen.
Kate staggered in with a box of plates in her arms. ‘There we are,’ she said, as she deposited it on the table. ‘God, it’s a vile day. You can feel the humidity on your skin.’
‘Have Dad and Chin gone?’ I said.
‘Not yet. Your father’s still in the study. Budge over, Lizzy. I need to get that pie-dish out of the cupboard.’
‘When’s Mike getting here?’ I asked, as Kate knelt on the floor, her floral skirt flaring out about her.
‘Lunchtime.’
‘You spoke to him last week, didn’t you?’
‘Yes,’ Kate said, shutting the cupboard.
‘How was he?’
‘Fine,’ said Kate. She stood up with the pie-dish. ‘Where’s the butter?’
‘Here,’ I said. ‘What did he say?’
‘Mike? He said…’ Kate gave a tiny sigh. ‘He just said he was arriving at lunchtime today. I don’t think he’s looking forward to it. To be honest, he’s…well, he’s terrified.’
It was so unlike Kate to venture information of this nature voluntarily that I was unsure how to continue. She stared vacantly at the butter, twisting her wedding and engagement rings, then grimaced suddenly. ‘That’s salted, Lizzy. Get the other butter from the larder.’
Kate and Mike. What I wouldn’t give to know what was going on there? I mused, as I went into the larder, where jars of chutney and pickles stood on the deep shelves with trays of fruit and vegetables. I picked up an apple and rubbed it on my jeans.
‘Hello, John. Nearly ready to go?’ I heard Kate say.
When I came out, Dad was standing there in his suit, his wallet-style leather briefcase under his arm. He looked smart, like a little boy on his first day at school. The sharp juice of the apple stung the back of my throat.
Mum appeared behind him, her hands in her pockets. Her eyes were red and her face was blotchy. She had been crying. It was such a miserable scene, so stupid that my mum was crying about this, that I felt a new wave of rage against Mike.
‘Have you got everything?’ asked Mum, wiping her nose on the back of her hand.
‘Here,’ said Kate, and handed her a kitchen towel.
‘Thanks.’
‘It’s hot,’ Dad said.
‘Boiling,’ said Mum. ‘I’m afraid you’re going to swelter in that suit, John.’ Then she tried to put a positive spin on the conversation: ‘Chin’ll bring you back in time for lunch and you’ll have a nice glass of beer and a nap and you’ll be relieved it’s over. We all will.’
‘Yes,’ said Dad doubtfully.
‘Where’s Chin?’ said Mum.
‘Don’t know,’ said Dad. He went out into the corridor. ‘Chin! I’m ready when you are.’
There was a silence, broken only by the sound of Mando gabbling to himself on the lawn.
‘Chin?’ Dad called again.
‘She’s around somewhere,’ said Mum. ‘I saw her first thing and she bit my head off. Said the dried flowers in the downstairs loo reminded her of something from a retirement home and couldn’t I make them look less repellent?’
‘Oh, honestly,’ Kate said impatiently. ‘She is the limit. I know it’s her big day tomorrow but, really…’
‘Chin!’ Dad called, advancing further into the corridor. ‘I can’t be late. Mike needs the money to go out today, and Caldwell has some tax issue he’s worried about.’
‘Really?’ Kate said.
‘Oh, yes,’ said Dad. ‘Their solicitor’s a terrifying woman. If it doesn’t get signed and completed today, aside from the mess that’d leave Mike in, the Caldwells can pull out. We’d have to pay them compensation.’
‘Ridiculous man,’ said Kate in disgust. She strode out and stood at the back door. ‘Ginevra!’ she boomed, so loudly that the birds scattered out of the mulberry tree.
‘Mando, have you seen Chin?’ Mum called out of the window.
‘Chinevra? No,’ said Mando, standing up and brushing off his trousers. ‘Well, not since one hour ago when she left in the car.’
Kate stomped up the path towards him as Mum and I leaned out of the window.
‘She left an hour ago?’ I said.
‘Mando, are you sure? In the car?’ Mum said.
‘Why didn’t we hear it?’ Kate demanded suspiciously.
‘Yes, in the car. In her car,’ Mando said, waving a branch of Chin-approved pink roses at us. ‘She parked it round the corner last night – do you not remember? – because of the Caldwells.’
‘What’s all the shouting about?’ asked Tom, as he came into the kitchen.
‘Chin’s gone and she’s supposed to be giving John a lift to the solicitor’s now,’ Kate said succinctly.
‘I’ll take him,’ said Tom. ‘Let me get my keys.’
‘That’s not the point, though,’ I said. ‘She said she’d give Dad a lift – she made a big deal about it, how out of her way it was and everything. What’s she playing at?’
‘Morning, everyone,’ said Gibbo, ambling into the kitchen.
We rounded on him.
‘Where’s Chin?’ Mum screeched.
‘Gibbo!’ Kate boomed from outside, where she and Mando were peering into the kitchen. ‘Where’s Chin?’
Gibbo looked tired, and who could blame him? ‘I don’t know,’ he said, looking around at all of us. ‘She was…well, we had words last night. And first thing this morning. Then she didn’t sleep at all. Then she just stormed out. Mate, it was strange,’ he said, appealing to Tom.
‘But did she say where she was going?’ Tom asked.
‘She said she had to go into town…with John.’ He spotted my dad and smiled at him. ‘Hey, John, there you are! So where’s Chin?’
‘We don’t know,’ said Kate, through gritted teeth.
‘Oh,’ said Gibbo. He drooped a bit.
‘What did you argue about?’ Tom demanded. ‘Was it – was it a serious argument?’
‘No, not really. Well…sort of…’ Gibbo scratched his head.
Dad ran his finger around the back of his collar.
‘To be honest, I’m not sure,’ Gibbo said, his voice quieter. ‘The last month or so…she’s been in a right state. Snappy. Nothing’s right.’
‘About wedding stuff?’ I asked.
Gibbo thought for a moment. ‘No, not really. She knows what she wants there.’
‘What, then?’ Mum said.
‘I don’t really know. I think it’s to do with the house. And that Sophia Gunning. She’s always off meeting her and her friends.’
I remembered Sophia’s flaxen hair and perfect white teeth, her patronizing manner. Why on earth was Chin so keen on her?
‘Hey. What’s this?’ Mum said sharply, and picked up a folded piece of notepaper that was propped against the breadbin. It said John on the front. She opened it, her hands shaking a little. ‘ “Dear John,”’ she read. ‘“I can’t take you in today. Something important’s come up. Don’t sign the contracts, don’t go to the solicitor’s. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Love C XX PS Tell Gibbo I’m sorry.”’
There was a silence.
As if by unspoken consensus, Mum, Tom and I took a step towards Gibbo and patted his arm.
‘Well, well,’ Mum said, refolding the note. ‘ “Don’t go to the solicitor’s.” Honestly, what’s she playing at?’
I looked at the clock. It was nearly ten. ‘Dad, you’re supposed to be there soon. Shouldn’t you give them a call?’
‘I’m going to,’ said Dad, heading for the study.
‘Someone else can give you a lift,’ said Mum. ‘I’ve got to go to the surgery now. Kate?’
‘Of course,’ said Kate.
‘Right,’ said Mum. ‘Well…I suppos
e I’d better go. This is all very strange. See you later. Lizzy, remember the pie’s in—’
‘Yes, Mum,’ I said. ‘Don’t worry about any of that. See you later.’
Mum hurried out, jacket over her arm, handbag swinging from her shoulder. I turned to Tom, who crammed some bread into his mouth and raised his eyebrows at me. ‘It’s not her failing to give Dad a lift that pisses me off,’ I said. ‘It’s just – sorry, Gibbo – that she’s been such a bitch lately. It was the one thing she had to do for Dad, and she can’t even do that.’
‘I’m with you, honest I am,’ said Gibbo, his brows knitting, ‘but there’s something about it I don’t understand. It’s just not like her.’
‘Well…’ Tom and I began, but Kate flashed us a warning glance.
Dad came back into the kitchen, still on the phone. I could hear Stuart Caldwell’s voice in a trickle of tinny noise. ‘Yes, Stuart. I know…Yes, I know. Look, I really don’t see—Yes. I’ve said I’m sorry. I’m on my way now…Yes, of course I want this to go ahead! I’ve said so…Yes, I appreciate that was one of the conditions…Yes…Yes, I know…Look, we can have this conversation when I get there.’
Dad stood next to me and picked up a wooden spoon. His face was like thunder.
I could hear Stuart Caldwell saying, ‘I’m not happy, John. Not happy.’
‘Yes, I can appreciate that, but it’s not the end of the world. I’ll see you in twenty minutes.’
‘This money has to go out of my account today or I’m fucked.’
‘You’ve said that,’ said Dad. ‘Goodbye, Stuart. See you in a little while.’
‘John, you’d better—’
Dad switched the phone off.
‘Something dodgy going on there,’ he said slowly. ‘He says he has a financial commitment and has to move this money out today for tax reasons. If we don’t have the papers signed by twelve it won’t and some deal of his’ll fall through.’
‘He sounded pretty cross.’
‘He was,’ said Dad briefly. ‘Nasty piece of work. I wish it was anyone but him. She’s a sweet girl, but he’s a thug. Still, I’m going to have to go, no matter what Chin’s note says. If she gets back, give her a short sharp shock from me.’
‘Come on, John,’ said Kate, jangling her car keys.
We walked with them to the hall, then Tom, Gibbo and I stood in the courtyard and watched Dad flick through his papers one last time. Not a leaf stirred in the trees.
‘See you later,’ Dad said. He raised his arm and turned away.
At that moment, an extraordinarily loud noise rang out from behind us, like a roaring wave heading towards us from the road away from the house. It sounded almost like a jet plane. Tom jumped, and we all swivelled round, in time to see a sleek silver car screech round the corner and come to a ferociously abrupt halt.
‘Fuck!’ yelled Kate, all composure gone.
I giggled, more out of shock than anything else.
‘What the hell—’ Tom said simultaneously.
‘Stop! Stop!’ someone screamed, and through the gate, looking like a bedraggled water rat, ran Chin, crying, one arm waving at us, the other dragging behind her a beautifully presented, beaming Sophia Gunning.
‘Hello, John, hello, Kate,’ she panted, as we lined up to greet her. ‘Do you remember my friend from school, Sophia?’
‘Yes,’ said Dad.
‘Hello,’ said Kate.
‘Eh?’ said Tom.
‘Ssh,’ I hissed.
Chin brushed her hair out of her eyes. She looked about nineteen again. ‘Thank God I caught you in time,’ she said. ‘I’m so sorry about all of this. Hello, gorgeous,’ she said, and blew a kiss at Gibbo.
‘’Lo,’ said Gibbo, looking as if he’d swallowed a gobstopper.
‘Oh, it’s so lovely to be here again,’ Sophia said, in her calm, silvery voice. ‘It’s going to be just great.’
‘It is,’ Chin said. They grinned at each other.
What’s going to be great? I wondered idly, as I do in moments of drama rather than simply saying, ‘What on earth are you talking about?’
‘What the hell is all this about, Chin?’ said Dad. ‘I’m so furious with you I’m seriously considering – I have to walk up that aisle with you tomorrow and give you away, and apart from relief at having you off my hands, I’ll feel a huge sense of disappointment at you and your behaviour lately. First Mike, now you. I’m sorry. You’ve let us all down. Now, if you don’t mind…’ He gazed at her coolly and put his hand on the car door.
‘I’m not explaining very well,’ Chin said, unperturbed by my father’s uncharacteristic anger. She took his hand. ‘Oh, John, you’re going to love me. I love me. You don’t have to sell the house.’
‘What?’
‘You don’t have to! Sophia works for Lizzy’s company. She wants to hire it! For a film! And she’ll pay us rent for the orchard and the meadow, so there can be production offices and catering vans and things there too! They want to film entirely on location for three months, all here, at Keeper House. Here! It’s a vast amount of money! You can get the rest to pay Mike by remortgaging – we all can. I’ve done the sums and I’ll explain, but the main thing is you don’t need to sell the house.’
‘It’s true,’ Sophia said quickly, before any of us could say anything. ‘Chin and I met up for a drink about a month ago – we hadn’t seen each other for years.’ She coughed, tactfully, and Chin looked at her feet. ‘I’ve been in the UK working with our location people, trying to find the right place to film this wonderful script – it’s been driving us up the wall.’
‘The Diary of Lady Mary Chartley,’ I said, as if in a dream.
‘Yes, of course, Lizzy. I can’t believe you didn’t think of it yourself.’
‘I—’ I began lamely.
Sophia turned to Dad. ‘I came down here with Chin a couple of weeks ago, John, when you were away for the day. You’d gone to see your aunt.’
Dad nodded, clearly unable to speak.
‘I brought a couple of people down with me. Paul, Jaden—’
‘Jaden was here?’ I said.
Kate cleared her throat and spoke for the first time. She looked at Chin. ‘Is this true?’ she said. ‘Is this the real thing?’
Chin nodded. ‘I promise you it is. I couldn’t tell you because I didn’t want to raise your hopes till it was definite. That’s where I was yesterday afternoon, sorting out the rest of it. See?’ She held out her hands. ‘No manicure. Do you believe me now?’ She turned to Dad. ‘John, you’ll have to move out next month for the summer but – hey – you’re all packed up anyway, aren’t you? I’ve got all the sums here. We don’t have to sell. I promise you, we don’t have to sell.’
The phone rang inside the house.
‘I think I know who that is,’ said Dad, turning towards the front door.
‘Who?’ Chin said.
‘The bloke who was going to buy the house. We need to sit down so you can explain it all to me, Sophia. But right now I’d better break the bad news to him. Blimey.’ He stepped forward. ‘You’re absolutely sure, aren’t you?’ he said to Chin. ‘I’m about to burn my boats. Just say it once again.’
‘You don’t have to sell. I promise,’ said Chin. Dad gave Chin a hug, then disappeared into the house.
Tom yelled and jumped up in the air. ‘You gorgeous, gorgeous woman!’
Chin seemed bashful. She glanced up at Gibbo. ‘I’m sorry for being such a cow,’ she said.
‘’S all right,’ said Gibbo, smiling.
‘I thought if I told anyone it might jinx it. And I wanted to do it by myself. I didn’t want it to be anyone else’s fault if it went wrong. God, I was dying to say something earlier – especially yesterday when those bloody Caldwells turned up. That vile man groped me in the lane.’
‘In the where?’ said Tom, smirking.
‘Anyway,’ Chin went on, ignoring him, ‘I know I’ve been a total bitch lately. I’m really sorry. But it’s been getting
to me, not knowing – Sophia only got the final call this morning from the director so she drove down straight away. John has to agree, you see.’
‘I can’t see that he won’t,’ I said, but thought that actually Mike was the one who had to agree, and if he didn’t I would chop him up into small bits and sauté him in butter. With haddock.
Gibbo stepped forward and gripped Chin’s shoulders. ‘I’m proud of you, doll,’ he said, and hugged her. Chin looked almost girlish.
As we were all hugging each other – even Sophia Gunning, to whom Gibbo gave a big smacker on the cheek – a shadow appeared at the doorway. ‘Hello,’ called Jess. Her curly hair was like a halo round her head. ‘What’s been going on? Have you all had breakfast yet?’
TWENTY-NINE
I am ashamed to say we all got knee-walking drunk at lunchtime. Dad opened a case of the wedding champagne, which had arrived that morning. We were too excited to eat the pie Mum had made. Instead we munched bread and grapes, but mostly we talked, asking Chin and Sophia questions, congratulating ourselves, getting pleasurably maudlin about what might have been, explaining the situation over and over again to Jess and Mando, drinking toast after toast to:
1 Chin
2 Sophia Gunning
3 Monumental Films
4 My big boss from New York Paul’s wife, Julie who had walked out on him earlier that year for her yoga instructor (I personally don’t remember that being one of the central principles of yoga, shagging your rich Tribeca-based clients), sending Paul into a spiral of drink-and-drugs hell, which culminated in him being flown over here to dry out at an exclusive clinic where the only book in his room apart from Mills & Boons and The Complete Works of Shakespeare was The Diary of Lady Mary Chartley, which was why the film was being made in the first place. Thank you, Julie! Hope all’s working out with the yoga instructor.
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