The Woman in the Peacock Patterned Coat

by Jennifer Jones

  ‘Well, make sure you do. I saw you taking notes. Are you an art student, like me?’

  ‘I finished my degree a few years ago. But I’ve recently started painting again after a bit of a break. I’m interested in trying some different techniques. Are you studying at the university here?’

  ‘At the Glasgow School of Art. I’m in my second year.’ They fell naturally into a conversation about art, the subjects Janey had studied, what Justin saw himself doing in his future. At one point he bought himself a cup of coffee and a refill for her. The peppermint tea was doing its job, settling her stomach. Time passed. Then Janey looked up and saw Neil walking across the hall from the car park. She stood up and waved to him.

  ‘Neil!’

  He came up to her and they embraced.

  ‘Darling, I’m sorry I’ve been so long. The Super wanted to talk and it seemed rude not to, when he’s been so co-operative. We’ve still got time for a quick look around though. Oh … hello!’ he noticed Justin for the first time.

  ‘Neil, this is Justin. He’s an art student. We’ve been having a chat about art, college, I’ve been re-living my student days.’ She laughed lightly.

  ‘You make it sound like ancient history. It’s nice to meet you, Justin.’

  ‘You too. Well, Janey, I’d better get going. It’s been great talking with you. You make sure you come back for a longer visit one day, OK?’

  ‘We will. Goodbye, Justin, and thank you.’

  Justin walked off. Neil watched him go into a room at the far end of the building, then said,

  ‘I’m just going to the Gents, then we can have a look at Dali’s painting, OK?’

  He found Justin studying some watercolours by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. ‘Excuse me.’

  Justin turned, startled. ‘Hey, keep it cool, man, we were just talking. There was nothing going on.’

  ‘Why did Janey say “thank you” like that?’

  ‘Well, I think you should ask her that.’

  ‘I’m asking you.’

  ‘Look, there was this dude hassling her, he said something really offensive.’ He told Neil the whole story. Seeing the grim look on Neil’s face when he had finished, his eyes opened wide. ‘Oh my God … she was, wasn’t she? That’s why she reacted the way she did …’

  Neil inclined his head, imagining the scene – people staring curiously, or looking away in embarrassment, only one man daring to speak out. ‘You’re a decent man, Justin. Thank you, for showing her such kindness.’

  Justin blushed. ‘It was no hardship,’ he said. ‘No hardship at all.’

  ***

  ‘Janey. Janey.’

  Janey woke with a start. She looked around in confusion. The car was stopped, it was night-time. ‘Oh, God, how long have I been asleep? And you driving all this way … what terrible company I am …’

  ‘Janey, look.’ Neil pointed through the windscreen. ‘Look down there.’

  They were parked on the crest of a hill. Beneath them were the lights of a small town. Cars moved along the main road, traffic lights changed from red to green to red again, house lights twinkled.

  ‘It’s so pretty,’ she said.

  ‘See that dark ribbon there – that’s the canal. And there, where the houses give way to woods, that’s where my parents live.’

  ‘It’s lovely.’ She sighed. ‘It seems very quiet up here – peaceful – compared to all that movement below.’

  ‘Yes. This is just a back lane, really. It gets very little traffic.’

  She turned to him, smiling. ‘Is this where you used to bring your girlfriends?’

  He grinned. ‘That’s right.’

  ‘How romantic.’

  ‘I thought so.’

  ‘And would you … in the car?’

  ‘Would we what?’ he teased. He leant across and kissed her briefly on the lips. ‘There might have been a bit of that going on.’ He kissed her again, longer. ‘And some of that.’ His hand slid under her jumper, caressed her breasts. ‘Definitely lots of that.’

  Her breathing quickened. She pulled him closer, her hand reaching for the front of his trousers. She unzipped them, and the moment he felt her fingers on his cock he was hard in her hand.

  ‘What about that?’ she murmured.

  ‘There might have been some of that,’ he said hoarsely. He was about to reciprocate, his hand was on her skirt, when she said, ‘And this?’ and bent her head to his lap.

  ‘Janey …’ he breathed, then gave himself up to the sweet sensation of her lips, her mouth, moving on him. His hand rested lightly on her hair, remained resting there lightly even as he felt his orgasm building. ‘Janey …’ he gasped urgently, ‘Janey …’ His head went back against the seat, his whole body shuddering in climax. ‘Janey!’

  She straightened up. There was a dreamy look in her eyes. ‘You were saying?’

  ‘I’m sure there was never any of that,’ he said, trying to get his breathing under control. ‘You are a wicked, wicked woman!’

  She laughed. Drawing him close again she kissed him long and hard on the mouth. He reached for the edge of her skirt, pushed it up. He stroked her thighs and she turned, opening her legs to him. He eased his hand inside her knickers. She was very wet.

  ‘Mmmm …’

  ‘Look at me, Janey. Look into my eyes.’ He stroked her gently, rhythmically, surely, never taking his gaze from her, watching the flush of heat that rose in her cheeks, the same dreamy look appear on her face as her pleasure mounted higher and higher.

  ‘Neil! Oh, God …’ She clung to him, he felt her body tremble around his fingers. ‘Oh, God …’ Her eyes closed, she gave a long, drawn-out sigh.

  ‘Darling …’

  For several minutes they sat, regaining their equilibrium. Then she said,

  ‘Did you ever … go all the way?’

  He gave a low laugh. ‘I was eighteen. There wasn’t anywhere else. But it hardly made for many memorable memories, so to speak – all elbows and knees, a mouthful of hair, wondering if Mum and Dad would guess what I’d been up to.’ He took hold of her hand, squeezed it tight. His were the memories of thousands of adolescents, the world over. But her memories were not like that, they were darker, more painful. ‘And speaking of Mum and Dad, we’d better get going. They’ll have supper waiting.’

  Chapter 13

  Brian and Caroline arrived the next morning, while Janey was in the shower. Brian took Neil to one side.

  ‘She’s not going to want to talk football the whole time, is she? There’s nothing worse than a female fan gushing about the game, thinking she knows …’

  ‘She knows more about football than I do, Brian, and God knows I’ve learnt a bit over the years. But don’t worry, I’ve warned her you don’t like talking shop.’

  Janey came in, wearing a charcoal, knee-length linen skirt and a loose, russet-coloured top. When she saw Brian her face brightened and she walked quickly towards him.

  Neil turned to her. ‘You look nice,’ he said.

  He didn’t see the derisory look Brian gave him, but Janey did, and faltered, her confidence fading. Neil drew her forward.

  ‘Brian, this is Janey.’

  She put out her hand. ‘It’s lovely to meet you at last, Brian.’

  Brian smiled. ‘Need we be so formal? You’re almost family, after all.’ Without warning he put his arms around her and hugged her.

  She couldn’t help it. The suddenness of his action triggered a panic reaction in her and she stiffened in his arms, unable to return the hug. After a few seconds he released her and stepped back, a puzzled look on his face.

  ‘O…kay.’

  Her face burned red. In her shame and confusion she said in a rush, ‘It’s lovely to be able to thank you at last for the T-shirt you gave me. It was such a special gift.’

  ‘Think nothing of it.’

  ‘I-I-I’ve been an admirer of yours for … for …’ His eyes glazed over and she stammered to a halt.

  ‘You know what? I m
ight just go and see where Caro has got to. Excuse me, would you?’ He left the room.

  Neil was frowning. ‘What just happened?’

  ‘I don’t know! I don’t … when he hugged me, I just … it was too sudden, I wasn’t expecting it, and I … I just froze. I’m sorry.’

  ‘Because you thought …’

  ‘No! I didn’t think! That’s the point. Some crazy part of my brain just reacted – blindly – without thinking, and I’m sorry! I’m sorry! All right?!’

  ‘All right,’ he said quietly.

  ‘And now I’m snapping at you. Oh, God! You, when you’re always so superhumanly patient with me – and this is the thanks you get!’ She burst into tears and ran from the room. As the door slammed behind her another opened and Brian and Caroline came in.

  ‘Everything all right?’ Brian asked. ‘Is Janey all right?’

  ‘She’s not very … she’s not feeling very well. Excuse me, I’d better go to her.’

  ‘A few sandwiches short of a picnic if you ask me,’ he heard Brian mutter as he left the room.

  At lunch, Janey looked pale but calm. The conversation followed fairly innocuous lines for a while – a trip Eric and Denise, Neil’s parents, had recently made to the Isle of Wight, the new shopping centre being built in the next town. Then Brian said to Janey,

  ‘Neil tells me you’ve taken his name, even though the two of you aren’t married yet.’

  She looked startled. ‘Y-yes, that’s right. Why do you ask?’

  ‘Oh … I’m just interested. Now Caro – she’s built her whole business around her name, it would be crazy for her to change it … and I would never expect her to.’

  Was this a dig at Neil? Janey smiled. ‘Well … when my divorce came through, I didn’t want to keep my first husband’s name any more, and it seemed silly to go back to my maiden name for just a short while, so I asked Neil if I could take his straight away, and he said yes.’

  ‘How sweet.’

  ‘What is your maiden name, Janey?’ Eric asked.

  She turned to him. ‘Christopher.’

  ‘Christopher. That’s very unusual – as a surname – isn’t it?’

  ‘Yes, it is very unusual,’ Brian said. ‘And yet, you prefer Hammond. No offence, Dad.’

  ‘I was quite happy to take your father’s name, Brian,’ Denise said, ‘and my maiden name was quite exotic, too. I don’t see what the problem is.’

  ‘There’s no problem, Mum, I just …’

  ‘Yes, Brian, why are you making such an issue of it?’ said Neil. ‘Is it because – maybe – despite you saying all the right things – that secretly you’d prefer Caro to have the same name as you?’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ Brian snapped.

  There was an awkward silence, then Janey said, ‘Tell me about your business, Caroline. What is it you do?’

  As Caroline talked about the public relations consultancy she ran, Janey could feel Eric’s eyes on her, assessing this newcomer into their home. She wanted so much that he and Denise would like her, welcome her into the family. That was natural, wasn’t it? Her emotions were always in such turmoil these days, sometimes she wasn’t sure what was normal any more.

  ‘And what work do you do, Janey?’ asked Brian, bringing her out of her reverie.

  ‘Well, I’m an artist. I paint. There’s a gallery near where we live that displays my work, I’m making some good sales.’

  ‘So not really a proper job, then?’

  Janey was stung. ‘I … I …’ Then she smiled. ‘There’s some that would say kicking a ball around a patch of grass isn’t a proper job, either.’

  Brian looked furious. He leant aggressively across the table towards her.

  ‘I …’

  ‘You asked for that, Brian,’ Eric cut in. He pushed his plate away. ‘Your mother and I are going out this evening, so you’ll have to fend for yourselves. Think you can manage?’ He looked around the table. ‘Any plans for this afternoon?’

  ‘I thought I’d take Caro for a walk in the woods,’ Brian said. He looked at Neil. ‘Want to come along?’

  Neil shrugged. ‘Sure. Why not?’

  They walked along a narrow lane deep in leaf litter. There wasn’t a great deal of conversation – Brian and Caroline occasionally murmured something to each other, or Brian would make a remark to Neil about how much the place had changed since their childhood. Janey kept silent, focusing on their surroundings, the colours and textures of the foliage. The lane ended in a small grassed area with a few picnic tables. Neil immediately headed for one of the tables but Brian said,

  ‘I thought I’d take Caro further in.’

  ‘To the clearing, you mean?’

  ‘That’s right.’ Brian winked at him.

  Neil turned to Janey. ‘What do you think? The way is a bit overgrown and dark but at the end it opens out into this beautiful clearing, like something you’d read about in a fairy tale.’

  ‘It sounds lovely.’

  The path was even more overgrown than they remembered. Trailing ivy caught at their ankles, now and then they had to clamber over a fallen tree. But as long as they could still see the path ahead of them, they pushed forward.

  ‘Ouch! I’m caught in some brambles.’

  While Brian went to Caroline’s aid, Janey and Neil went on ahead. Janey walked between two trees and suddenly found herself standing on grass. The trees opened out around her, forming an almost perfect circle. Sunlight filtered through the branches, casting green shadows.

  ‘It’s … it’s magical.’

  Neil came up to her. She took his arm and drew him forward. ‘Look at the lichen on this branch, the pattern it makes, like a lace sleeve.’

  ‘Tell me, Janey. Tell me what you see, with your artist’s eye.’

  She led him from tree to tree, describing things for him, making him feel that he was seeing things properly for the first time. Nature in its tiniest detail. She knelt to examine a clump of violets, then straightened slowly, her fingers to her lips.

  ‘Look,’ she whispered.

  He followed her gaze. At first he couldn’t tell what it was he was meant to be looking at, but then he saw it – a small nest wedged between two branches, three tiny heads appearing above its rim. As they watched, a mother bird swooped in with a struggling worm in her mouth. Three eager mouths opened wide to receive it. After a few moments she flew away again, in search of more food.

  Janey let out her breath. ‘Wasn’t that amazing?’ She turned excitedly to Brian and Caroline. ‘Did you see … oh!’

  Neil turned too. Brian and Caroline were on the ground, wrapped in each other’s arms. Brian’s jeans were around his knees. He caught a glimpse of a naked breast and looked quickly away.

  Janey was trembling. ‘Is … is that what you wanted to do?’

  Neil laughed shortly. ‘And have ants and spiders crawling over my bum? Not on your life!’

  ‘I … I suppose we’d hear, if anyone was coming …’

  ‘Janey, I’m serious. It’s not my thing. Come on, let’s leave them to it.’

  They returned the way they had come, stopping to investigate patches of colour – fungi, orchids, a blue feather caught on a twig. Neil took photos on his mobile phone, so Janey could paint from them when they got home. When they reached the picnic ground she sat up on one of the tables, while he sat on the seat beside her. After a while he rested his head against her leg, and closed his eyes, while she ran her fingers tenderly through his hair.

  ‘How very Jane Austen,’ Brian said.

  Neil turned. ‘Have a nice time?’ he enquired politely.

  ‘Why’d you two take off like that?’

  ‘We thought we’d give you your privacy.’

  ‘Well I thought you … I thought that’s why we were all … God, you’re so straight sometimes, Neil!’

  ‘Actually, Brian, it was me that didn’t want to,’ said Janey, looking him directly in the eyes. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, then
muttered something under his breath. As he turned to go back to Caroline, waiting for him on the path, Janey said,

  ‘You have a very nice bottom, Brian.’

  ‘You weren’t meant to be looking,’ he said grumpily, and walked off.

  Neil was looking angry. ‘Why did you do that?’

  ‘D-do what?’

  ‘Lie for me. Let Brian think what he likes. He knows I’m a cop, for Christ’s sake!’

  ‘I-I-I’m sorry.’

  Seeing her stricken face he immediately softened. ‘No … no … it doesn’t matter. It’s extremely sweet of you, jumping to my defence like that, but really, it’s not necessary. Come on, let me take you for a drive over the hills.’

  After a dinner where Janey made every effort to get back on friendly terms with Brian, succeeding to some degree, the four of them settled down to watch an old black and white horror movie. The plot centred on a remote, ramshackle haunted house. An hour in, the lead actress, overwhelmed by all the ghostly happenings, ran outside into the dark.

  ‘Honestly,’ said Brian, ‘why do they always do that?’

  But Janey had sat up straight, her back stiffening. She gave a small whimper of fear.

  ‘Shit,’ said Neil. ‘Janey, it’s all …’

  A tall, white-faced figure loomed up behind the woman. Janey screamed, and ran from the room.

  ‘Christ!’ said Brian. ‘What’s the matter now?’

  ‘It’s OK,’ Neil said. ‘I’ll go to her.’

  Janey ran to their bedroom, then got into bed and sat against the headboard, the sheet pulled up to her chin. She couldn’t stop shaking. Who’d rape you? But he had, that man whose face she had never seen, who had come up out of the dark, and clamped his hand over her mouth so she couldn’t scream, or get away. He had, who had only ever been a body to her, she had heard his voice, smelt him, felt his touch … but she had never seen him …

  ‘I never saw him,’ she said out loud, as Neil came into the room. ‘I never saw his face …’

  ‘Janey, it’s all right.’ He went quickly to her, sat beside her, took her in his arms. ‘It’s all right.’