They had come to explain why little Thomas had died, and they did it gently and with compassion but it made no difference to the grief-stricken young people in front of them. Thomas had gone and they would never see him again. That was all they could really take in.
Chapter 11
‘Darling, I understand about Thomas, really I do, but I don’t see why we should put back the wedding.’ Charles took Amy’s hands in his, shaking them slightly as he said,‘Now the funeral is over, life has to be lived again, don’t you see? And forgive me for saying this, my love, and don’t think I’m being unfeeling, but it won’t help anyone if we postpone getting married.’
They were sitting in the drawing room of what was to be their married home, a fire blazing in the hearth despite the warm May day outside. The weather had finally made up its mind to be kind in the last few days and even the constant north-east wind had changed to a pleasant breeze, perfumed with lilac and wallflowers and the heady scent of hyacinths - in this more select residential area of Ryhope at least. It would take a most resourceful flower indeed to think of blooming in one of the back-to-back terraced streets of the main town.
‘We’ve had the furniture delivered for the rooms that matter and Mrs Franklin and Lucy are due to move into their quarters at the weekend. Everything is arranged. They will have two weeks to put the house to rights so that once we are married things should run like clockwork. I can appreciate you might prefer to honeymoon later in the year, but to postpone the actual wedding is not sensible.’
‘It doesn’t seem right, Charles.’
‘Darling, I know Ronald and May took you in as a child but when all’s said and done Thomas was not your brother. He was your cousin. Everyone understands that and no one would expect us to put the wedding off because of what’s happened. I’m more than prepared to forgo the festivities at night and restrict the wedding breakfast to a small party of immediate family, but anything other than that really is not viable.You can see that, can’t you, my sweet? You can see that it is only compromise that is needed here?’
Amy lowered her gaze from his and directed her eyes towards the crackling fire. ‘You’re being very reasonable,’ she agreed flatly. How could she explain to him what it had been like - what it was still like - at home since Thomas’s passing? By his own admission Charles had never really participated in what she considered normal family life. From babies he and his brother had only been brought out of the nursery by their nanny to say goodnight to their parents in the evening before the adults dined. From the age of seven they had moved from one institution to another - an expensive preparatory school, followed by another public boarding school and then university. How could Charles understand the consuming black cloud that hung over the household these days, which even had little Milly refusing to eat and crying all the time? Her uncle had withdrawn into himself, her aunt and her granny were distraught and the whole family was in shock. It was awful, just awful.
‘Look, come and see the bedroom suite which was delivered yesterday,’ Charles said, drawing her to her feet as he spoke. ‘It will take your mind off things. And the new writing desk for the morning room came too.’
Amy allowed herself to be led to the door and when Charles turned in the doorway, his arm round her waist, and said, ‘This really is the most beautiful room, isn’t it? Imagine an eight- or nine-foot Christmas tree in that far corner by the piano,’ she tried to be enthusiastic in her reply.
And the room was beautiful, all the rooms in the house were. The ornate high-ceilinged drawing room, elegant morning room, dining room, breakfast room and Charles’s book-lined study were tastefully decorated and quite lovely, and the enormous kitchen at the back of the house could have swallowed the ground floor of her Uncle Ronald’s house whole. The house boasted not one but two bathrooms, one off the master bedroom and then a family bathroom, and all the bedrooms were large and spacious.When he’d first bought the house Charles had had each room redecorated from top to bottom, with new carpets and curtains throughout, but he had acquired no furniture.
‘That was something I had in mind for us to do together,’ he’d told her the first time he had shown her over their future home. ‘If I could persuade you to say yes to marrying me, of course.’ She had laughed with him, declaring he must have known he wouldn’t have to use much persuasion and in answer he had lifted her right off her feet and swung her round and round until she was pleading for mercy.
She glanced at him now as they made their way into the oak-panelled hall and over to the winding staircase. He had quite literally swept her off her feet in every way, she reflected. And she loved him, she did love him, so why had she felt the tiniest element of relief when she had thought the wedding would have to be postponed?
And then she answered herself: because it had all happened so fast, that was all. There was absolutely no other reason. How could there be? And Charles was probably right. The church was booked and everything was arranged, it would be difficult to reschedule now. If he was happy with a much quieter affair than they had first planned, she couldn’t very well argue with that, could she? She was so glad she’d held out against the combined pressure of Harriet and the twins and insisted she wanted no bridesmaids now in view of everything. Apart from the rush to get her own dress and veil, let alone dresses for bridesmaids, she had known if she had one of her cousins she would have to have all of them. And the thought of Eva marching down the aisle behind her as chief bridesmaid wasn’t to be borne.
‘There. Do you like it now it’s in place?’ Charles had opened the door to the master bedroom with a flourish and a big grin on his face.
Amy stared at the bedroom suite she had ordered in the happy days before Thomas’s death. Charles had favoured a deep mahogany one which she’d thought was cumbersome and dark, and when she had seen this light oak one with a gold trim and ornately carved dressing table she had fallen in love with it. He had immediately deferred to her, declaring that if she liked it then he liked it too. She turned to him now, a catch in her voice as she said, ‘It’s lovely.’ He had given her so much, he was so generous and kind and loving. She was the luckiest lass in the world.
Amy married Charles on the first Saturday in June just as news broke that Charlie Chaplin had secretly married Paulette Goddard two days earlier. ‘He can’t be as happy as I am,’ Charles whispered to his new wife as they sat at the head of a long table, which was in fact several smaller tables placed together in Callendar’s glittering restaurant which was closed to the public for the day.
There had been a satisfying number of oohs and aahs when Amy had walked down the aisle of the church on Ronald’s arm, her long white dress accentuating her tiny waist and her frothy veil held in place by a wreath of tiny pink and white rosebuds, the same flowers reflected in the posy she was carrying. Her wedding finery had taken every penny of the nest egg in the post office but Charles had played ball and given the impression he had covered the cost when Amy had explained the situation to him, and Muriel had been overjoyed she had provided for her granddaughter.
The service passed in a dream but once they were in the wedding car and Charles kissed her, everything became real. He held her within the tight circle of his arms and told her he was the luckiest man in the world, smothering her face with kisses. Amy hadn’t wanted the short journey to the restaurant to end.
She reached for Charles’s hand now, replying to his whispered words with a quiet smile and then glancing down the table at the assembled guests. There were twenty-four at the reception. Before Thomas had become ill the number had been over one hundred and fifty, mostly made up of friends and business colleagues of Charles’s. On the left side of the table sat Charles’s mother and her sister, the latter having moved into the Callendar home when Charles’s father had died. Next to the aunt sat Charles’s maternal grandmother and two great-aunts. Then came Charles’s brother and wife and their two quiet and very well-behaved children. On the right side Amy’s uncle and aunt, Bruce and the fi
ve girls made up the family party, although Amy had insisted Mr and Mrs Price and Kitty be present, much to May’s chagrin. She had been only slightly mollified when, for the sake of family harmony and in view of the grief May was suffering, Amy had included Mr and Mrs O’Leary.
Muriel was too ill to leave her bed but Amy had been closeted in the front room all morning, involving her grandmother in all the preparations. It had been her granny’s fumbling gnarled fingers which had slowly fastened the little buttons at the back of her wedding gown and helped her secure her veil in place.
There was no doubt in Amy’s mind that their wedding guests were an ill-matched assembly. May and the O’Learys were falling over backwards to ingratiate themselves with Charles’s relations, but his family didn’t seem in the least bit interested in anyone. Kitty and her parents were as quiet as mice, clearly somewhat overawed, and Ronald seemed to have washed his hands of his wife and was devoting himself to little Milly. Eva and Harriet and the twins spent most of the time whispering behind their hands, but at least Bruce was his normal self, she thought fondly, catching his eye and smiling at him.
Ronald got to his feet as Verity and another waitress began to serve coffee. Six months after Amy had begun to work upstairs, Verity had joined her there, but the two girls had never really got back on their old footing.
Ronald’s speech was short, very short. ‘I’d like to wish Charles and Amy health and happiness always,’ he said formally,‘but most of all gain with contentment.To be content with each other and your lot in life is a true blessing.’ He didn’t look at his wife during this but Amy did, and May’s face was like stone. ‘Would you all raise your glasses to the bride and groom.’
In a break with tradition, it was the best man, Charles’s brother Edward, who next stood. His speech was even shorter. After glancing at his mother, who was yawning behind her hand, he said quietly, ‘I’m not one for speeches but would everyone rise and drink to Charles and Amy on this, their special day. To Charles and Amy.’
Amy took another tentative sip from her glass. She had never tasted champagne before and she wasn’t sure if she liked it or not. She caught Kitty’s eye and as Kitty winked at her and then pulled a face she got the impression her friend was feeling the same.
Then Charles was on his feet and although his voice was not loud it had a quality to it which commanded attention. Even Eva and Harriet stopped their whispering. ‘This is the happiest day of my life and I’m glad you can all share it with my wife and I.’ He smiled at Amy, who smiled back, her cheeks growing pink. ‘It’s not everyone who gets a second chance of happiness and I’m fully aware of how fortunate I am. In Amy I have a wife who is beautiful not only on the outside but on the inside as well, where it really counts.’
His words echoed those that Amy had flung at Eva years before and for a moment the scene in the kitchen was there in front of her. She glanced down the table at her cousin and Eva’s eyes met hers, something in their dark depths telling Amy her cousin had neither forgotton nor forgiven what had been said that day.
Charles’s face lost its smile and his voice became sombre as he continued, ‘The good book tells us we should rejoice with those that rejoice but also weep with those that weep. There has been great sorrow within Amy’s family recently and we have indeed wept at little Thomas’s passing.We believe he is living life to the full in a better place but it is hard for the loved ones he has left behind. I would like to thank Amy’s aunt and uncle and cousins for their bravery and unselfishness in being present with us all today.’
There was a murmur of acknowledgement round the table and May dabbed at her eyes, but Amy was wondering if she had imagined the slight emphasis Charles had placed on her relationship to the family. As though he was distancing her from them.
‘Now I would ask you all to rejoice with those that rejoice. Would you please stand and raise your glasses to my precious wife, my beautiful Amy, the new Mrs Callendar.’
He turned to toast her with his glass but also his eyes and Amy smiled up at him, a glow spreading through her at the love in his face. They were going to be the happiest couple in the world, she just knew it.
It was half past seven when Amy and Charles left the restaurant amid a shower of confetti thrown by Kitty and Sally Price. Charles’s mother and the rest of his relations had departed for London two hours before, and with their going the constrained atmosphere within the restaurant had lessened, especially after Charles had invited Robin Mallard and the rest of the staff to join them. The drink and chatter had flowed, and at one point Verity had sidled up to Amy when she was standing alone for a moment. Verity pressed a little package into her hand, saying, ‘I know everyone clubbed together for the rose bowl for you and Mr Callendar, but I wanted to give you something myself. For old times’ sake.’
The small silver teaspoon was ornate and beautifully fashioned. Surprised and touched, Amy hugged Verity.
‘I’m sorry I haven’t been the best of friends,’ Verity said quietly, ‘but I can see why Mr Callendar fell for you, Amy. We all can. Even those of us who are pea-green with envy.’
Amy went pink. ‘Thank you,’ she said, not knowing what else to say.
‘Don’t forget to call in and see us when you’re in town, will you.’
Amy smiled but said nothing. Charles had already made it clear he didn’t want her calling in at the restaurant too often. She had protested at first but he had explained he had always liked to keep his private life and business life totally separate before he had met her.‘I want to know you’re waiting for me at home,’ he had murmured, kissing her until she was breathless. ‘That when I walk through the door I’m in a different world, our world.’ She hadn’t quite understood what that had to do with her not visiting Callendars, but it wasn’t important enough to quarrel about.
The evening was sunlit and warm as they emerged onto the pavement, laughing and trying to shake the confetti from their hair and clothes. Some passers-by stopped and watched as Charles helped her into the back of the wedding car he had hired for the day, and when Amy threw her bouquet into the little crowd, a stranger caught it. ‘Ee, sorry, lass, I didn’t mean to do that,’ the big buxom matron dressed in a long black coat and black hat called, before saying to the woman next to her - who happened to be Kitty - ‘Here, lass, you have it. You’re one of the party, aren’t you?’
The car drove off amid much laughter and banter, but when everyone went back into the restaurant to collect their things, Bruce didn’t follow them. He wanted a few minutes to himself. He had been terribly conscious all day of one little person who should have been with them and the effort of being bright and cheerful for Amy’s sake had taken its toll. He walked across the road to a shop doorway and stood in the shadows. He took a small tin from his pocket and rolled himself a cigarette with the tobacco and papers it contained. Long gone were the days when he could afford to buy a packet ready made, he reflected soberly.
He stood undecided as to whether to go straight home or back into the restaurant but he really didn’t want company. His mother appeared with Milly, his grandparents and other sisters behind them. Terence O’Leary must have ordered a taxi because one soon drew up and they all piled in.
A taxi no less. His grandfather was aiming high the day but then he would like to make a show in view of Amy marrying into the Callendar family. He’d bet that had stuck in his granda’s craw when he had first heard the news. He wasn’t surprised his father hadn’t joined the crew in the taxi, though; his granda and father were barely on speaking terms these days. Neither were his mam and his da, if it came to it.
Mr and Mrs Price and Kitty were the next to emerge but as he watched them walk away down the street they all stopped at the corner, then Kitty began to walk back to the building they’d just left. ‘You go on,’ he heard her shout after her mother had called something. ‘I’ll catch you up. Put the kettle on if you get home before me, I’m dying for a cuppa.’
He watched the thin figure in the cornf
lower blue dress and straw hat disappear into the building and after a moment or two he stirred himself to walk across the road. He’d catch the tram home with his da, he decided. Likely his da was feeling a bit put out at his mam up and skedaddling with his grandparents. He had thought his brother’s death might bring his mam and da closer together but he’d seen no signs of it to date. Why his mam constantly rubbed his da’s nose in it he didn’t know, but there was barely a day went by lately when she didn’t remind him he was still only employed because of the strings Terence O’Leary pulled to make it so.
His mind preoccupied, he walked into the couple canoodling on the stairs leading up to the restaurant.
His shock at seeing his father and Kitty wrapped in each other’s arms was so absolute that for a moment he couldn’t move a muscle.They had sprung apart as he’d blundered into them and Kitty gasped, her hand going over her mouth.Then his father drew Kitty against him again, his arm round her waist.
‘Hello, lad,’ Ronald said steadily. ‘I thought you’d gone home.’
‘Bruce—’ When Kitty reached out to him Bruce recoiled so sharply he nearly fell backwards.
‘No, don’t. I can’t believe it. I can’t believe the pair of you would do this.’
The Rainbow Years Page 18