The Sea Garden

by Marcia Willett

  ‘Just because we’re young, and we’re strong, and we can,’ he answers, and they go downstairs together with his arm still holding her close at his side.

  * * *

  They sit together at the kitchen table, the coffee pot between them.

  ‘I hate seeing her like that,’ says Sophie. ‘It’s just so not Rowena.’

  ‘It’s a bit weird, the Juliet thing, isn’t it?’

  ‘From what everyone says Jess is an absolute ringer for her grandmother and I think it’s completely thrown Rowena.’

  ‘It’s thrown my old pa as well. What’s this about Al?’

  ‘Jess has revived all the old memories. I think that, in her confused state, Rowena thinks that if Juliet has come back then Al might come too.’

  Oliver thinks about Jess and the photograph.

  ‘So there was a little group of friends,’ he says carefully. ‘My father was Johnnie’s friend and Mike was Al’s. What was that about Freddy? Is that the Freddy I met earlier?’

  Sophie nods, cradling her mug of coffee in both hands.

  ‘Johnnie and Freddy were the younger ones. Al and Mike were the top dogs. There were a couple of others. They all trained at Dartmouth together. Your father was one of them, wasn’t he?’

  ‘Yes. Al and Mike were a couple of years senior but they all seemed to hang out together. I just wondered who the others were.’

  She looks at him curiously. ‘Why?’

  He remembers his promise to Jess; shrugs. ‘Oh, just trying to get the whole picture.’

  Sophie puts down her mug. ‘I feel there’s something going on. It started when Rowena first knew that Jess was coming to visit. She began to get out all the photographs.’

  ‘Photographs?’

  ‘She’s got hundreds of them. We’d begun to sort them out a while back when Johnnie started to write his history of the family, about his merchant forebears and the sailing ships that used to come right up the river. And then his grandfather was a very keen sailor and raced in the America’s Cup. He had some amazing boats. The Alice was one of them, built specially for him in 1908. So there were all those photographs to be sorted for the book, and then Rowena began to make a collection of the family ones. When she knew that Jess was coming she got very excited and put them all out in the morning-room. She wanted to show Jess what it had been like in the sixties when her grandparents had been here as young people. There were parties in the sea garden, and the boys when young and in uniform, and girls in ball gowns and stuff like that.’

  ‘And this worried you?’

  Sophie frowns. ‘Rowena was so intense about it all. I couldn’t quite see why this girl was stirring up so much passion in her. Yes, of course it’s fun to see an old friend’s granddaughter, and all that, but Rowena hadn’t seen Juliet or Mike for forty-odd years and, as far as I know, there hadn’t been any contact. It puzzled me.’

  ‘Was Johnnie surprised?’

  ‘Oh, you know Johnnie. Everyone’s welcome and it’s all great fun. I mentioned it to him but he simply said that it was a chance for Rowena to talk about Al. He was her blue-eyed boy, the favourite, and she never got over his death. Apparently Al fancied Juliet and was furious that Mike got there first, so it seemed a bit odd that Rowena remembered her with such affection. I talked to Fred about it too, but he agreed with Johnnie. So that was fine – but then there was the angina attack.’

  ‘And what do you think now?’

  Sophie shrugs. ‘I don’t know what to think. Rowena was showing Jess the photographs when she had the attack. Jess was very upset, of course. She had no idea that her appearance would cause such consternation. She said that when she saw the photograph of Juliet at the same age she was completely taken aback but she could at least see why everyone was reacting the way they were.’

  ‘So the impression is that this shock has swung Rowena off balance and back into the past.’

  ‘I think so. I think that looking at the photographs with Jess, thinking about Al, caused the attack. The trouble is, each one she has weakens her. She’s got several other health problems so it’s a worry. Poor Jess feels in some way responsible, though it’s not her fault.’

  ‘Yet she wants to stay.’

  ‘She loves it here. To be honest, I think she’s a bit shell-shocked by it all, but she loves Johnnie and Will, and she’s doing some work as well, she says. Are you worried about her?’

  ‘Only that with Kate down in Cornwall I’ve been left a bit in loco parentis, but Jess is old enough to take care of herself. Anyway, I’ve got to go upcountry for a few days soon to some meetings so I’m glad she’ll be here with you rather than in Chapel Street on her own or with Guy. Who, along with my sister and their twin boys, is a completely different kind of complication.’

  She looks at him sympathetically. ‘You seem to take your uncle role very seriously. What’s Guy’s problem?’

  Oliver groans. ‘How long have you got?’ he asks.

  * * *

  When Oliver has gone, Sophie goes out across the lawn to the sea garden and stands leaning against the balustrade. Circe towers above her, watching for the Alice to return.

  Sophie feels almost as confused as poor old Rowena up in her bedroom. She hasn’t expected to feel like this again; unreasonably happy, missing him already. The world is looking rather sparkly, new-rinsed specially for her, and little brightly coloured sails flash to and fro across the shining water beneath the two graceful bridges. At the edge of the sea garden the elegant acer trees gently shed their leaves, yellow and crimson, and orange spindleberries are vivid in the hedges.

  Sophie’s heart is filled with joy at this beauty, which seems to be totally at one with the warmth of the love she is experiencing. At the same time she can’t quite see the future.

  ‘You’d never want to leave this place,’ Oliver said. ‘You are so much a part of all these people.’

  And it’s true. How could she leave them – Rowena, Johnnie, little Will – to fend for themselves?

  People are leaving their families all the time, she tells herself. And the families manage; find other people to help them. She puts out a hand to touch the wooden folds and pleats of Circe’s dark red skirt. Johnnie had her repainted last year; shiny black coils of hair, scarlet smiling lips, blue and white bodice. Sophie looks up at her; she’d miss Circe, and sailing with Johnnie and Fred, and Christmases here on the Tamar with Louisa and all the family.

  Suddenly, now that Oliver is not near her, she is filled with panic. She wonders if she’s imagined the whole thing and if he’s merely been chatting her up. She recalls each moment of their meeting: remembers that sense of familiarity and ease combined with a happy excitement that she’s never experienced before. When he kissed her outside Rowena’s room she’d known for certain then. Kisses are so important, so revealing.

  Sophie smiles to herself; confidence returns at the memory of that kiss. She approves of Oliver’s compassion. She likes it that he was moved by Rowena’s helplessness; that he’s worried about his sister and Guy, and about Jess. He will understand that she cannot simply turn her back on the Trehearnes and together they will sort something out.

  She gives Circe a final pat and goes back across the lawn to make Rowena a cup of tea.

  * * *

  The sailors return, happy and tired. Alice is back on her mooring and Guy says hurried farewells, drives away in his hired car.

  ‘He’s nice,’ Jess says at supper. ‘He seems a bit formidable at first, not very forthcoming, but he’s so passionate about boats. It’s rather sweet, really, like Will with his Heron.’

  ‘Passion is so attractive, isn’t it?’ Johnnie glances at Sophie and is amused, and slightly surprised, to see a flush of colour wash over her cheeks. He’s been aware of the attraction between her and Oliver but hadn’t realized how serious it might be. ‘It’s like Jess here,’ he goes on, not wanting to embarrass Sophie, ‘with her painting and drawing. Because she is passionate about it she infects other people with t
hat passion.’

  ‘Gosh! Do I?’ It’s Jess who is embarrassed now. ‘I hope I don’t go on about it.’

  ‘Of course you don’t,’ says Sophie quickly, cross with herself for blushing. ‘No more than Guy does with his boats. I agree with Johnnie, he comes alive with it, doesn’t he? I think he could have spent hours in the Growlery looking at those old photographs. He was fascinated by your book.’

  ‘He’s a first-rate sailor and he’s got some very good ideas about classic boat sailing,’ says Johnnie thoughtfully. ‘Taking people to sea simply for the experience or on training courses. He’s been trying to persuade his father to back it out in Canada.’

  ‘I think,’ says Sophie, standing up and piling plates together, ‘that Guy’s family is hoping that he’ll move back.’

  ‘Yes,’ says Jess, getting up to help. ‘His wife is back already and his boys are at Mount House. We’re meeting up at the rugger match on Saturday.’

  ‘Yes, he told me. I didn’t quite get it,’ says Johnnie. ‘I assumed the boys had come back to go to school and that Gemma was returning to Canada once they were settled. Guy was at Mount House, wasn’t he?’

  ‘And Oliver,’ murmurs Sophie. She has that foolish need to say his name aloud. ‘And his brother,’ she adds quickly.

  Johnnie watches her speculatively: she’s got it bad, poor old Sophes.

  ‘Will is looking after them,’ says Jess. ‘Guy’s boys, I mean. Ben and Julian.’

  ‘So Guy’s wife,’ says Johnnie, who wants to get his facts straight, ‘has moved back permanently?’

  Sophie and Jess glance at each other, wondering which one of them has the most reliable information.

  ‘Gemma is Oliver’s sister,’ says Sophie. ‘You probably gathered that. Oliver says that Gemma’s missing her family and friends and that Guy’s father is a rather difficult man. He’s not giving poor old Guy much leeway and Guy’s very frustrated. They have lots of rows and Gemma doesn’t like it. She’s come back with the boys and is hoping that Guy will follow, though neither of them knows quite what Guy would do to earn a living.’

  Jess puts some cheese on the table, glad that she hasn’t been called upon to explain the situation. She isn’t sure that she’s qualified to explain to Johnnie the things that Kate has told her. Clearly Sophie doesn’t think that Guy’s private life is a secret.

  ‘He told me he used to run a yacht brokerage,’ Johnnie says. He cuts a piece of cheese, looking preoccupied.

  ‘That’s right,’ says Sophie, putting biscuits and fruit beside him. ‘But I think Guy’s a bit more ambitious than that now.’

  He looks up at her. ‘Mmm,’ he says vaguely. ‘That wouldn’t surprise me.’

  * * *

  ‘So you approve of Oliver?’ asks Jess.

  She and Sophie are clearing up together; Johnnie has gone into the Growlery to check emails and put in some work on the book. Sophie’s reaction to Oliver has begun to penetrate Jess’s preoccupation and she is surprised how pleased she is at the prospect of Sophie and Oliver getting together.

  ‘I do, rather,’ says Sophie, back turned as she stacks the dishwasher. ‘You don’t mind?’

  Jess snorts with laughter. ‘Of course I don’t. I like him, too. To be honest, I rather fancy him. Why wouldn’t I? He’s really good-looking and such fun, and there’s something … well, I don’t quite know how to put it. Reliable isn’t right. It makes him sound a bit boring, doesn’t it?’

  ‘I know what you mean, though,’ says Sophie. She turns round, quite composed now, enjoying the opportunity to talk about him. ‘He’d get you out of a fix. He might not be able to actually deal with it himself but he’d always know a man who could.’

  ‘Yes,’ says Jess. ‘That’s absolutely it. He’s really with it.’

  She longs to probe and question but she restrains the desire to know more.

  ‘It’s a bit tricky, though,’ says Sophie. It’s rather a luxury to have another woman to chat things over with; a change from Johnnie and Fred. ‘I mean, I can’t quite see how we’d go forward.’

  ‘But you want to,’ says Jess quickly. She has an absolute longing for this to be a proper romance. ‘Don’t you?’

  ‘Yes,’ says Sophie, after a moment. ‘I think I do. Weird, isn’t it?’

  ‘It’s wonderful,’ says Jess contentedly. ‘Love at first sight.’

  ‘I was a bit afraid that I was poaching,’ admits Sophie. ‘You seemed keen for him to come to the reunion supper and you talked about him quite a lot. And you’ve been a bit quiet lately, since Rowena showed you the photographs.’

  It is Jess’s turn to be discomfited. ‘It’s only because Oliver is much younger than all the others,’ she explains quickly. ‘And I suppose I was a bit bowled over by him to begin with. I mean, he’s something, isn’t he? But it was never a serious crush. Honestly. I’m utterly thrilled that it’s happened to you and him. It’s another part of the story.’

  ‘Story?’

  ‘Well, like me winning the Award and meeting Kate, and Tom and Cass, and coming here to see where Mike and Juliet met. And then me looking so much like Juliet.’ She hesitates and gives an odd little sigh. ‘It’s been a terrific shock.’

  ‘And you’re part of the story?’

  Jess nods. ‘I feel connected. I like it.’

  But she looks rather forlorn and Sophie feels a little stab of anxiety; even fear.

  ‘It’ll be fun, won’t it?’ Jess is saying. ‘All of us going to the rugby match on Saturday. Like a big family.’

  ‘Yes,’ agrees Sophie.

  She sees the connection between Jess and herself. The Trehearnes and their friends have become her family in a way her own relations never have. It seems as if it will be the same for Jess. They mustn’t allow her to drift away; she must continue to be part of the story.

  TAVISTOCK

  ‘This is so weird,’ says Gemma as Guy unlocks the door with Oliver’s key and lets her into the cottage in Chapel Street. ‘Are you sure your mum doesn’t mind?’

  ‘She suggested it.’ Guy puts their bags inside the door. ‘She’s coming up on Monday.’

  ‘It’s a nice little house, isn’t it? I really like it. With all Kate’s things here it feels like I’ve known it all my life.’ Gemma takes a carrier bag of food and milk into the kitchen. ‘I’ll make some tea and cheese on toast.’

  Suddenly she feels terribly tired. It’s been exhausting trying to keep calm, knowing how Guy hates any form of histrionics, yet determined to win him back to her. As she fills the kettle and switches it on, takes the milk and a loaf and eggs and cheese out of the bag, she thinks back over the past few days.

  To begin with it was such a joyful shock, hearing his unemotional voice telling her that he was in the country just for a week; that he’d hired a car and driven down the previous afternoon and was staying with Oliver in Chapel Street. For a moment she couldn’t comprehend it. Why should he be in Chapel Street, and with Ollie of all people? Why hadn’t he let her know he was coming? Frustration, disappointment and anger threatened to overwhelm her joy and relief in knowing that he’d come at last.

  ‘So what am I supposed to do?’ she cried. ‘I’m in South Brent with Debbie and she’s got theatre seats booked for tonight. Honestly, Guy. I can’t believe you could do this without warning me that you were coming. I could have met you somewhere…’

  Her disappointment deprived her of words but Guy remained quite calm. He was going to lunch with these friends of Oliver’s on the Tamar, he told her. No, he couldn’t remember what they were called but the girl had won David’s Award. There was no need to cancel her arrangements with Debbie. He’d come over and fetch her the next day. Gemma wanted to scream at him. He made it sound as if it were perfectly normal to travel all this way to see her and then postpone their meeting for twenty-four hours while he spent the time with complete strangers.

  She willed down her anger; it was crucial the meeting between them should work. If she raged at him he might easily
catch the next plane out.

  ‘But what then?’ she asked. ‘Does Ma know you’re here?’

  ‘Nobody knows. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing,’ he answered. ‘I ran into Oliver by mistake. Just as well he was staying here, actually. It hadn’t occurred to me that Mum might be down in Cornwall.’

  He sounded surprised, even aggrieved, and she closed her eyes, took a deep breath. Don’t say it, she told herself silently. Just don’t.

  ‘So where shall we go when you pick me up?’ she asked instead. ‘Shall I tell Ma…?’

  ‘Not likely!’ he said. ‘We need to be on our own for a couple of days. Let’s go to that hotel just outside Dartmouth where we went on honeymoon.’

  The suggestion surprised her, got under her guard. Suddenly her resentment fell away and she simply wanted to be with him.

  ‘What a brilliant idea,’ she said. ‘Oh, Guy. I’m so glad you’ve come over. I’m missing you so much.’

  ‘Mmm,’ he said. ‘Will you book it or shall I?’

  ‘I’ll do it,’ she said. ‘And what about the boys, Guy? You’ll want to see them?’

  ‘Of course I shall,’ he said irritably.

  He was always irritable if his affection for Ben and Julian was called into question, and she hastened to allay his irritation.

  ‘As long as you haven’t got to rush back before the weekend, that’s all. It’s a Sunday out so we can collect them after church. They’ll be over the moon to see you.’

  ‘OK then. Book two nights. Look, Oliver’s wanting to get on. I’ll phone again later.’

  For the next twenty-four hours she swung between joy and anger; anger winning, especially when he phoned again that evening to say that he’d been invited to go sailing the next day and would be over rather later than he’d first planned.

  ‘And can you get a taxi to the hotel?’ he added. ‘I don’t want a public reunion scene in Brent.’

  She suppressed an urge to scream loudly and throw her phone at the wall, but then he began to tell her about the boats and how he’d met Jess and someone called Johnnie whose grandson was at Mount House with Ben and Julian.