The Woman from Paris
Page 38
She loved the way he now turned up without calling first. Sometimes he brought another score of music for her to learn, other times they’d walk up to the folly and chat in front of the fire—they never ran out of things to say. He was a wise counsel and a sympathetic listener, but he was also witty, and the more she got to know him, the more she appreciated his humor. He had a very dry sense of humor, transmuting sorrow into laughter, and little by little Antoinette found that with him she could shake off her melancholy and feel joy again.
She patted the earth around the weeping willow and stood up to admire it. “This will be beautiful once it’s big,” she said to Barry.
“Willows grow quite quickly.”
“Good. What next?” She turned to the row of plants and shrubs neatly placed on the grass behind her and thought how beautiful it was going to look. Without Phaedra her plans of opening the garden to the public in the summer and starting the farm shop seemed like a pipe dream—she didn’t feel brave enough to do those things on her own. She wiped her brow and glanced up at the house, half expecting to see William striding down the lawn towards her, but instead Basil scurried into view to herald the arrival of Margaret.
The old lady marched down to the lake in her long green coat and Wellington boots. Once, that sight would have struck fear into Antoinette’s heart, but now her heart warmed in anticipation of her mother-in-law’s good company and irreverent humor. “Come and see what we’re doing down here,” she said as Margaret reached her.
“Gosh, haven’t you been busy at the garden center.” Margaret’s cheeks were rosy from her walk. She wore a green headscarf tied at the chin and a pair of designer sunglasses Tom had given her. They looked comical teamed with her Barbour coat and rubber boots.
“It’s keeping me very busy.”
“That’s the spirit. The gardens are so big, you start at one end, and by the time you reach the other, it’s time to go back to the beginning again.”
“Do you want to come in for a cup of tea? I could do with a break.”
“That would be lovely.” They set off up the lawn towards the house. “You know, I’ve just had Roberta on the telephone. She and Joshua have been asked to a very grand charity dinner-dance at Battersea Power Station. Do you think David would lend her the Frampton Sapphires? By rights they belong to him now, being the eldest son. It’s just the occasion, and it would be nice for them to get a little wear.”
“You know what he thinks of Roberta,” said Antoinette.
“It’s about time he buried the hatchet! Really, it’s no help at all having those two at each other’s throats.”
“Let me ask him. You never know . . .”
“It would be nice. We all have to make up and move on.”
Antoinette shook her head. “I’m not sure David can.”
“Really, is it that bad?”
“Yes, it’s bad, Margaret. His heart is well and truly broken.”
“Good gracious, I never realized. Well, something must be done.”
“He won’t go looking for her. He thinks she doesn’t want him. In any case, he wouldn’t know where to start looking.”
Margaret narrowed her eyes. “Are you ready to forgive her, Antoinette?”
“I think I am,” Antoinette replied, a little anxiously. She realized now that, in spite of the charade, the girl’s extraordinary gift of transforming lives had been very real. “At least, if I suddenly found myself face-to-face, I don’t think I’d be able to resist her.” She sighed and pulled off her boots. “I’m not sure she’d want to see us, though. I have a dreadful feeling she’s gone, never to be found.”
That evening, when Antoinette broached the subject of lending Roberta the Frampton Sapphires, David shrugged noncommittally and changed the subject. His face was so dark and serious these days, falling into a scowl as if it were his natural repose, that she didn’t think it wise to persist. They dined together in the little sitting room, just the two of them, and Antoinette tried to draw him out of himself. She’d lost George and then Phaedra; with every day that passed misery took David a little further from her, too. Soon he’d be but the shell of a man. She was determined not to let that happen. But save finding Phaedra and bringing her back, there was nothing she could do. He didn’t want to go out and meet people; he had even withdrawn from his friends. His life was reduced to the farm and Rufus, and he seemed to have given up on joy. A long, bleak winter stretched out before them.
The second weekend in September, Rosamunde came to stay along with Joshua, Roberta, and Tom. Antoinette had asked Margaret for dinner, and the atmosphere, although more subdued than when Phaedra had been a part of the family, was lighter than before. Antoinette didn’t know why it was so. Perhaps it was simply time putting some distance between the horrendous events of spring and the beginning of autumn: a new season, a new chapter, a new beginning. She thought of the leaves on the trees turning brown and falling to the ground, and wondered whether they, as a family, could shed their pain and grow afresh again.
“How’s the Women’s Institute?” Margaret asked Rosamunde.
“Well, I didn’t really want to join, but you know Marjorie, my neighbor who looks after the dogs when I’m away, was very keen to take the cookery course. I couldn’t let her down and I owed her a great debt of thanks. So I’m keeping her company. She needs me, you see. I couldn’t say no.”
Antoinette noticed the excited light in her sister’s eyes. “Of course you couldn’t, Rosamunde. You’re very generous, considering how reluctant you were to join.”
“Well, it’s not really my sort of thing, but they need people like me on the charity side,” Rosamunde continued, fooling no one. “I’m tireless when it comes to raising money and I’m very good at organizing people.”
“Sounds just your thing,” said Tom, stuffing his mouth with a roast potato.
“I do like to be busy,” Rosamunde replied. “There’s nothing worse than being bored. The WI takes up all of my time, which is more than I intended, but they need me, and I’m not one to let people down.” Antoinette caught Margaret’s eye and noticed the old woman’s mouth twitching at the corners. She looked away in case Rosamunde saw them making fun of her.
“Roberta, do tell us about the dance you’re going to. Sounds frightfully grand,” said Margaret.
“Oh, it is, very grand. We went last year, and everyone who is anyone will be there!” she said excitedly.
“Then I can’t imagine why I haven’t been invited,” said Tom.
“That’s because you’re not anyone,” Joshua joked, not unkindly.
“There’s a lot of talk of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attending, but no one knows for sure. It’s very hush-hush,” Roberta informed them.
“Sounds very jolly,” Margaret enthused. “In my day I went to all the best parties, and my dance card was always full.”
“Grandma, we don’t have dance cards nowadays,” Tom laughed.
“Girls don’t play hard to get and men don’t open doors, either,” Margaret sighed. “I wouldn’t think I was so clever if I were you.”
Tom rolled his eyes melodramatically. “I hate girls who play hard to get.”
“The girl who wins you in the end will be the one you always felt was out of your reach, mark my words, Those are the girls with quality,” Margaret told him firmly. “Play around with sluts by all means, but marry a girl of quality, wouldn’t you agree, Antoinette?”
“Of course,” she replied, distracted suddenly by the sound of the front door.
A moment later David stood in the doorway with Rufus. “David!” Antoinette exclaimed in surprise. “I wasn’t expecting you for dinner.”
“I’m not staying,” he replied. He looked awkward. In his hands he held a red box. Roberta recognized it immediately, and her heart gave a little skip.
“Oh, do,” his mother pleaded. “It’s been so long since we’ve all been together.”
“Your mother’s right. Do stay,” Rosamunde echoed.
“I’ve come to give Roberta the Frampton Sapphires for her party,” David said.
Roberta’s face shone with excitement. “Oh, David, I don’t know what to say.” But she knew what to do. Propelled by gratitude and over five months of self-reproach, she pushed out her chair and rushed round the table to thank him. David was astonished when she threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his bristly cheek. “Thank you!” she said earnestly. “This means a great deal to me.”
Her genuine appreciation warmed David’s frozen heart, and the stern expression on his face softened. The beginnings of a small smile twitched the corners of his mouth. He handed her the box. “Come and join us,” she said. “Please.” The meaningful look in her eyes told him that she wanted his forgiveness.
“All right, I’ll stay,” he replied with a resigned sigh, but Antoinette could tell that he was pleased to have been persuaded.
He helped himself to a large plate of dinner and sat down between Rosamunde and his grandmother. Roberta watched him from across the table. She knew he was devastated about Phaedra, but she hadn’t realized how badly broken he was. It was as if he had stopped caring about himself. He was unshaven, purple around the eyes, and sullen—a shadow of the witty, charismatic man he had once been. It was as if Phaedra had sucked the life out of him and left a dark husk in his place. Her heart buckled at the sight, and even though she knew she wasn’t to blame for Phaedra’s lies, she had played a big part in hunting her down. What if she could play a part in putting it right?
31
Three days later Margaret collapsed. She managed to get to the telephone and call David, who happened to be at home having his breakfast. “David, thank the Lord, I’ve taken a turn. You have to come over right now. It might be a heart attack!” David thought she sounded a little too lively for someone suffering a heart attack, but he hurried to his Land Rover and drove over at once.
He found Margaret lying on the sofa with her eyes closed, hands folded across her body as if she were already dead. He tiptoed in fearfully, but as soon as his foot touched the carpet she opened her eyes with a start. “Oh, it’s you,” she said in a feeble voice. “You gave me a fright.”
“Sorry, Grandma.” He approached the sofa, relieved. “How are you feeling?”
“Weak.” She took a labored breath. “Very weak.”
“I’ll call Dr. Heyworth.”
“No, don’t call anyone. I need to talk to you quickly. If I’m going to die, I want to be given time to say my piece.”
David looked appalled. “You’re not going to die.”
“We’re all going to go sometime. Now listen.” He sat down beside her on the armchair and shuffled it closer. “It’s about Phaedra.”
“Grandma, are you sure I shouldn’t call Dr. Heyworth? If it’s a heart attack—”
“It’s not a heart attack. I don’t know what it is. Death, probably. Now listen. It’s important. I have a dying wish. Indulge me!”
“Okay, what is it?”
“You must go to Paris and bring Phaedra back.” David opened his mouth to object, but Margaret closed her eyes again, and for a terrifying moment she seemed to be drifting away.
“Go on,” he urged her softly.
She inhaled and opened her eyes. “It is my dying wish that Phaedra is brought back into the family so that we can all be happy again.”
“But, Grandma, I wouldn’t know where to find her.” Then he frowned. “Did you just say Paris?”
“Yes, Paris. I have her address.”
“How on earth do you have her address?”
“Don’t ask, long story, I don’t have time.” She took his hand and gripped it hard. “It’s written on a piece of paper on my desk. You have to be quick. I might not last . . .”
David strode over to the desk and found the paper lying on the blotter. He stared at the words, heart racing. So Phaedra was in Paris, after all. But what if she had moved on and no longer wished to see him? Margaret read his thoughts. “This isn’t about you, David,” she continued from the sofa. “This is about me and my dying wish. I want to forgive her before I meet my Maker.”
“Grandma!”
“You have to do it for me.”
“Why don’t you send someone else?”
“Who else could I send, David? Really, you’re being very difficult. I’m dying!”
David wasn’t so sure. “How do you know she’s there?”
“I don’t. It’s a gamble, but it’s all I have.”
“What do I say to her? She’s not going to be very happy to see me after—”
“Goodness, David, if you don’t get going, I’ll be dead before you leave the country!”
“Okay, I’ll go, but I’m calling Mother and Dr. Heyworth, whether you like it or not.”
“Fine, I suppose you can’t leave me here to peg out on my own.”
David waited for his mother to arrive then left in a hurry to make arrangements to set off immediately. He wondered how his grandmother had got the address and how long she’d had it. The whole thing was very perplexing. He wasn’t sure Phaedra would be there: after all, she seemed to spend a lot of time traveling. She could be up a mountain for all he knew, the other side of the world. But his grandmother had insisted, so he had no choice. If she really was dying, he had to do his duty and bring Phaedra back. He suddenly felt sick with nerves. What was he going to say to her? So much time had passed, they’d be strangers.
Antoinette was distraught to find Margaret languishing on the sofa. She rushed to her side and took her hand tearfully. “Oh, Margaret, don’t leave me now we’ve just become friends.”
Margaret opened her hooded eyes like a wily iguana. “Where’s Dr. Heyworth?”
“He’s on his way. David called him, too. He shouldn’t be long. Can I get you anything?”
“No, I’ll just stay here where I’m comfortable.” She knitted her fingers and sighed contentedly.
“How are you feeling?”
“Numb.”
Antoinette was seized with panic. “Numb? Where?”
“Everywhere. I feel like I’m slipping away.”
“Please don’t. Hang in there: William will be here any minute.”
Margaret raised an eyebrow. “You like Dr. Heyworth, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do.”
“He might not be top drawer, but he’d be good for you.”
“Oh, Margaret, how can you think of something like that at a time like this!”
The old lady scrutinized her daughter-in-law and detected two pink stains on the balls of her cheeks. “Because if I’m going to pop off, I’d like to feel everyone was settled.”
“You’re not going to pop off.”
“Well, I’m very old.”
“You’re very strong.”
“I’m rather looking forward to seeing Arthur, you know.”
“He can wait.”
Margaret smiled. “So what are you going to do about Dr. Heyworth? You said you liked him.”
“Not in that way!”
“Why not in that way? What’s wrong with him?”
“Nothing. It’s just that George—”
“George is gone, my dear, and he’s not coming back. You have the rest of your life to live, and it’s not so much fun being on your own. Trust me, I know. William, as you call him, likes you very much—any fool can see that. Give him a little encouragement, Antoinette.”
“I’m not sure how.”
Margaret sighed impatiently. “Really, no one seems very capable of doing anything by themselves in the love department.”
Suddenly, they heard the hall door open and close with a bang. Heavy footsteps could be heard stri
ding towards them. A moment later Dr. Heyworth appeared in the sitting room, and just behind him a very grim-faced Reverend Morley. “Oh good, you’re both here,” Margaret exclaimed. “Reverend, you can give me the last rites.”
The vicar looked horrified. Dr. Heyworth grinned. “So the patient has recovered a little, I see.”
“William, you must see to her at once!” Antoinette commanded. “Reverend Morley and I will wait in the hall.” She stood up and rushed over. “You have to get her better, William,” she hissed. “It’s very important that she doesn’t die. I can’t cope without her.”
“I’ll do my best,” he replied.
Antoinette and the vicar sat in the hall while Dr. Heyworth closed the sitting room door and went over to examine the patient. After a brief inspection he sat in the armchair and gave her a stern look. “Well, as I suspected, Lady Frampton, you are in the very best of health.”
“Oh good,” she replied, sitting up and swinging her legs down. “What a relief.”
“Certainly for Lady Frampton.”
“Call her Antoinette,” said Margaret. “It’s confusing having two of us.”
“I’m very glad that Reverend Morley is no longer needed. He can go home without the grim prospect of another funeral.”
“I think I gave him quite a fright. Did you see his face? It was as white as a sheet!”
“You gave Antoinette a fright, too.”
“That wasn’t my intention,” she was quick to reply.
“Then if I may be so bold, what was?”
She smiled at him a little sheepishly. “I’m afraid I concocted the plan with Roberta. You see, David’s falling apart, and I can’t bear to watch it. His heart is broken and shows no signs of mending. Roberta remembered that Phaedra was house-sitting in London for a friend. So Roberta went round and asked for Phaedra’s address in Paris. It was really very simple. The girl was happy to give it.”