A Married Man Part 18

Already I could feel myself flushing. A night? You fool! Talk about the sublime to the ridiculous. What are you, a gauche adolescent? Why don't you just run up and get your toothbrush, now? Jump in the car with him? Rip off your top and throw up down your naked b.r.e.a.s.t.s like Lavinia and have done with it? No, no, restraint was called for here. It was important to calm down, not to act like a girl who hasn't been kissed for four years. I folded my arms, smiled broadly.

'Bye then, Charlie,' I said in a loud, public voice. Too loud, perhaps. 'Thanks for the lift.'

He drove away waving. I watched him go, hating the moment when I'd have to turn and face Jack again. I prolonged it, standing in the front garden, shading my eyes into the sunshine, watching his car disappear, letting my heart-rate go down a bit. After a while, I bent down and began deadheading the roses. Well, they could all come and find me out here, couldn't they? Why should I go inside to them? As I straightened up to toss the faded petals on the lawn, something caught my eye. Down in the valley, in the distance, a scurrying figure was tottering precariously across the bridge over the lake, and up the hill towards me. It was Rose, and for once, I was glad to see her. She was still quite a way in the distance, but I waved, and went to greet her at the garden gate. She finally panted up to the top, breathing heavily, clutching her side. When she reached me, she seized the gate-post. Leaned on it, eyes shining.

'Lucy! Oh, I am glad I've caught you, I wasn't sure if you'd be in,' she panted. 'Tell me, have you and the boys had lunch yet?'

'No, not yet. I'm a bit disorganised today. Been, er, job hunting,' I added guiltily.

She peered at me. 'Yes, well, you should have brushed yourhair for an interview, Lucy, but anyway, do please come up and have a bite with us. I've got such exciting news.' She beamed. 'My dear, what d'you think?'

I shook my head and smiled into her shining eyes. 'What, Rose?'

'Hector,' she paused importantly, 'and Sophia Lennox-Fox are what do you young people call it now you know, an item!'

I frowned. 'Really?'

'Yes!' She clasped her hands. 'Isn't that heaven? Apparently he did spend time with her at the party, and then he slipped away on Sunday morning I must say, he was very emotional at breakfast and followed her up to London. Went all that way to woo her, and then, my dear get this apparently spent the entire week with her!' She clapped her hand to her mouth and suppressed a little giggle. 'Our Hector!' She lowered her voice. 'Hope he knew what to do. Anyway, by all accounts he's been courting and romancing her ever since, and is completely smitten, the dear, dear boy!'

'Really? Golly.' I was surprised. 'Well, that's wonderful. But who on earth told you all this?'

'He did!' she squeaked. 'At least, he told Pinkie, on the telephone. Started off by just sort of saying he wouldn't be back for a few days because he'd met someone, then I heard her positively shriek with excitement. Of course, I had to grab the phone from her. "Who is it, Hector darling?" I roared down the phone. "Tell Mother!" You know how reticent he is. "You don't really know her," he muttered back, unconvincingly. "Don't know her? Must know of her, surely?" Then Pinkie hissed in my ear, "I think it's Sophia Lennox-Fox, Mummy!" and I nearly dropped the receiver.'

'And is it?'

'That's exactly what I said, Lucy. "Is it, Hector? Is it Sophia Lennox-Fox?" Finally he sighed and muttered, "Oh G.o.d, whatever. If you like." Honestly Lucy, I could hardly hear him. So I said, "Well, don't be shy, boy. Bring her down here and we'll all have a gla.s.s of champagne!" '

'Oh Rose,' I cautioned, 'D'you think? Bit soon, wouldn't you say?'

'Well quite, and Hector wouldn't have it. Wouldn't even contemplate it, but that doesn't stop us having one on his behalf, does it, to toast the happy couple? Because let me tell you, Lucy, this is it, I can feel it in my bones. I know that boy like the back of my hand, and I knew full well that one day he'd just shut his eyes and leap. Impulsively. Feet first. Just like Ned did with you!'

I blinked. 'Er, right.'

'So please, do come up and have some lunch! I'm dying to talk flowers and catering and mother-of-the-bridegroom outfits with someone, and Lavinia's still a wee bit sensitive because of You Know What. I'm also a bit worried,' she fell into a dark and meaningful tone of voice, 'that she might be having her own, private little hot summer.' She raised her eyebrows at me.

I gaped. 'Rose! She can't be, she's far too young!'

'Oh not at all. Tilly Hargreaves got hers at thirty-six, poor girl, and Lavinia shows all the symptoms. Mood swings, hot flushes and sometimes rather whiffy, too. Anyway, enough of Lavinia. Do come up, Lucy, do!'

I looked into her shining eyes. Smiled. 'I'd love to. Boys!' I yelled back over my shoulder. It occurred to me that if I played my cards right, I might not even have to go back in the barn at all. Not face the music. Ben stuck his head round the door.

'Yeah?'

'Darling, wash the river off your hands and faces please, we're going up to lunch with Granny.'

'Oh, OK.' He popped back in, then his head came out again. 'Can we see you up there, Mum? We're just gutting this fish. We'll come up with Jack, in a minute, OK?'

'Fine, darling,' I said coolly.

Rose linked my arm. 'So, now, tell me what you think,' she gushed on excitedly. 'Obviously the reception will be at her parents' house which is desperately ugly and will really take some decorating - we'll have to positively drip it with flowers, nightmare task - but I did wonder .....you think we could host a dance here as well? Or d'you think that would be treading on their toes?'

'Well no, as long as that's what Hector and Sophia want. Don't you think you should ask them first? Ned and I, if you remember, fought rather shy of all that.'

'Oh, but that was completely different! You were like a couple of gauche teenagers. And all this,' she swung her arm around at her many acres, 'was so new to you, Lucy. But this is Sophia Lennox-Fox! Full of savoir faire!'

'And this is Hector's big moment too, don't forget. His house, his inheritance, bringing his blushing bride home, and - oh my dear, the whole county will be here. I feel I could faint away with happiness!'

'I'm glad,' I smiled, meaning it. Finally one of her children had come up trumps for her.

She squeezed my arm delightedly as we strolled down the hill and across the lake, then up the rolling parkland on the other side. As it turned into manicured lawn, we were met by Lavinia, running down the terrace steps and through the rose garden, grinning and waving her arms wildly.

'Isn't it exciting!' she shrieked. 'Pinkie told me!'

'Oh my darling, you are so sweet to take it like this,' said Rose, clutching her arm anxiously. 'I rather thought-'

'My nose would be out of joint because I should have been first? Not at all, Mummy, I'm thrilled to bits. A wedding! Think of all the parties there'll be!'

Think of all the men to trawl, she meant. I took her aside as Rose peeled off, trotting excitedly up the steps to give orders in the kitchen.

'Lavinia.' I lowered my voice. 'What d'you mean, a wedding? He's only known her about a week, for G.o.d's sake. You can't be serious.'

'Oh, but you don't know Hector. This is a first you see, Lucy. The first time he's ever admitted to seeing anyone, any girl at all, and we've always known that when that moment came that would be it. He's all or nothing, old Hec. You mark my-words, if he's been ga.s.sing on the phone to Pinkie, of all people, he's smitten. He's in deep.'

'That's what your mother said.' I had to admit, her words had a ring of truth about them. Besides, she was wrong, I did know Hector, up to a point, and I too had always had an inkling he'd do this one day. Come up with the goods and surprise everyone. Make his mother proud. Well, good forhim, I thought. I just hoped he didn't feel too pressurised; too oh well, the cat's out of the bag so I'd better shut my eyes and take a deep breath; it is, after all, what's expected of me.

Behind us, out of the corner of my eye, I could see Jack and the boys coming up the lawn. I stuck to Lavinia like glue and followed her up the terrace steps and round the table, which yet again, had been laid outside for lunch. Presumably Archie had been persuaded of the merits of eating outside; certainly he was grinning broadly as he appeared through the French windows. He rubbed his hands gleefully as he sat down beside me.

'Well my dear, what a to-do! Your ma-in-law is in a perfect twitter, eh?'

I grinned. 'It's what she's been waiting for, Archie. She's been thwarted up to now, but this is her big moment.'

'It's what she was born for, you mean!' he roared. 'And grandchildren too! Your boys are a positive delight to us, Lucy, as you know, but she'd love Hector to have some. The girls, too. Family is so very important, don't you think?' He turned wide, rheumy eyes on me.

'Oh very,' I agreed, wondering though, whether some families were just a little more important than others.

Ben and Max appeared and scuttled in between me and Pinkie, which left Jack oh G.o.d opposite.

'So,' he eased himself in, 'I gather old Hector's set the cat among the pigeons. Spilled some girlie beans. Bad move. But then he's new to this game, doesn't know the ropes. And frankly I'm surprised. I had an idea the object of his affections was someone entirely different, that's what a little bird told me, but never mind, crossed wires. Sophia Lennox-Fox it is.'

He glanced around the table. 'I don't suppose there's any danger of you lot getting off his back and letting him conduct this love affair in private, is there?' He grinned and reached for a bread roll. 'All love affairs need room to breathe, you know, to flourish. Especially s.e.xy new, illicit ones, eh Lucy?' He winked. I flushed angrily.

'Ah yes, an affair like this,' he went on, waggling the bread roll sagely and narrowing his eyes thoughtfully, 'needs to be nurtured. It needs to be cherished, to be nourished, and it needs to be conducted in private. It needs to be cosseted and played out in dark, candlelit eateries, then smuggled under a duvet, under the eaves of some delicious little love nest. It certainly doesn't need you lot, with your faces pressed to the window, breathing all over it. Isn't that right, Luce? Give the boy a break, that's what I say!'

'Of course we'll give him a break,' said Rose, bustling through the French windows, still smiling and even carrying a bowl of salad, which had Joan's eyes behind her, out on stalks.

'We'll give him whatever he wants, won't we darling! If he needs s.p.a.ce, he can have the dower house.' She beamed at her husband.

Archie blinked. 'Steady on, old girl. Within reason, eh? And I do think, my love, that understandably excited though you no doubt are, Jack has a point. Give the lad five minutes' peace, eh? Don't interrogate him, question him rigid the moment he walks through the door. Salad, Lucy? Boys? And don't scare the poor girl away, either. No waggling Brides magazine under her nose or mentioning family tiaras, you know what you're like. Get that would you, Joan?' He turned as the telephone rang.

"Scare the poor girl?" Good heavens.' Rose's mouth gaped incredulously. 'Lucy. Did I ever scare you?' She rounded on me as she sat down.

'Er, well,' I scratched my chin. 'Intimidate, perhaps, but never actually scare, Rose,' I added hastily, seeing her face. 'And don't forget, Sophia is much better equipped than I was, coming as she does from a similar social background. All that savoir faire under her Gucci belt'

'Well quite!'

I grinned into my plate as Archie, beside me, got up to take the call Joan had answered.

'Did you feel that, Lucy?' Lavinia asked in surprise. 'That you lacked something, amongst us?'

I just loved the way she put that. No guile, either. 'No,' I answered truthfully, 'but I felt others might have done.'

'Ah.' She frowned, perplexed, as she tried to figure that one-out. She gave up. 'So!' She clapped her hands prettily. 'Pages?' She turned to Ben and Max.

'Pages of what?' asked Ben, bewildered.

'Page boys, darling,' she tinkled. 'You know, it means you follow the bride up the aisle and take her flowers, that sort of thing. We'll try not to force you into tights'

'What bride?'

'Uncle Hector's bride, of course! Oooh, Mummy, I meant to say,' she leaned across the table, 'Mimsy Compton-Burrell has just done the most delicious flowers for the church. If we wanted to keep it simple, naive, and very un-Londony - and I think we do - then we really couldn't do better than her. She does the most heavenly things with Cow Parsley.'

'I agree. I must talk to Angela Lennox-Fox. Not to - you know, foist our opinions on her or anything, because she is after all, in pole position, but just, you know, to guide her.'

'Quite right. After all, she's only married three daughters herself,' muttered Jack.

'Just to have a word, point her in the right direction. And let's face it, she has got the most frightful taste. The flowers she had at Edward's sixtieth well, my dear!'

'Ghastly,' shuddered Lavinia.

'Which at least means you won't clash at the wedding, Rose,' Jack pointed out naughtily. 'Since you'll be in the most tasteful ensemble imaginable'

'Oh heavens no, we won't clash! She'll be in some ghastly fuchsia pink affair, much too short particularly with her legs and with feathers billowing out of her hat, whereas I'll be in-'

'Lilac?' suggested Jack, head on one side, index finger pointing camply to the corner of his mouth. 'Lilac's very a la mode this year. And with a witty little touch of pale green, perhaps, in the hat?'

'P-oss-ibly,' nodded Rose, unaware she was being wound up, 'or maybe a very, very pale lemon. I saw a divine lemon suit in Peter Jones recently.'

'Oooh, lemon!' Jack shut his eyes ecstatically. 'Heaven!' he murmured, clasping his hands.

'Yes, it was heaven, actually,' Rose went on excitedly. 'It had the most darling little square pearl b.u.t.tons all the way down the front, and- Archie! Good Lord. Whatever's the matter?'

Archie had appeared back from the house through the French windows. His normally ruddy face was pale and his lips, thin and compressed.

'That was Hector,' he announced. 'Ringing from London.' 'Oh!' Rose got up happily. 'How is the dear boy? Is he coming back soon?'

'Sit down, Rose,' he snapped. No, he rang to tell us about the wedding.'

'Oh! So there is going to be a wedding!'

'Oh yes, there's going to be a wedding all right. But it's not the one you think'

'What d' you mean?' Suddenly Rose's eyes were huge with fear. She lowered herself into her chair.

'He's not marrying Sophia Lennox-Fox at all. He's marrying someone else'

'Someone else?' she breathed. 'Who?'

'He's marrying Rozanna,' he said grimly. 'Rozanna Carling'

Chapter Fourteen.

The blood left Rose's face. 'Rozanna? You mean Lucy's friend - the girl who was here at the weekend?'

'Exactly.'

'Oh!' Rose's hand flew to her mouth. 'Oh, so not Sophia Lennox-Fox . .

'No! Not Sophia sodding Lennox-Fox,' snapped Archie impatiently. 'Rozanna Carling!'

'So why did Pinkie say ...' she turned in a daze to her daughter. 'Pinkie, why did you tell us ...?'

'Because that's what he said,' squeaked Pinkie indignantly, colouring up. 'That's what he said when I talked to him on the phone. He said Sophia Lennox-Fox!'

'What, with no prompting?' asked Jack.

'Well,' she bl.u.s.tered, 'I suppose I did rather, you know, press him. But not much. When he said he was with someone, I just sort of teased him, you know, like we do. "Ooh, Hector," I said, "it's Sophia, isn't it?" And finally he just sighed and said, "Oh G.o.d Pinkie, whatever you want to think." ' She went a bit redder. Looked like she might cry. 'I didn't know he was palming me off, did I?' She turned tearfuleyes on her father as everyone looked at her. 'Daddy, tell them it's not my fault. I didn't know he was going to lie to me!'

'No no, all right poppet,' said Archie gruffly. 'The lad's at fault as usual. Led you up the garden path. And the moral of the story is,' he said angrily, 'don't corner him. Don't run him to ground unless you want lies, d.a.m.ned lies, and more d.a.m.ned lies!'

'Well. Rozanna!' Rose's voice sounded unnaturally shrill. She was frantically twisting a hanky around her finger. Her face was still pale but her eyes were suffused with a curious brightness. 'I mean, Lady Carling. Yes, and I thought she was delightful, actually. I mean - her father's Lord Belfont, isn't he?' You could see the frantic thought processes at work as she turned to Archie. 'And she was awfully pretty, don't you think?' She swung around in her chair to Lavinia. 'Lavinia, you thought so too, didn't you? And,' she turned to me, 'she's. a friend of yours, isn't she, Lucy? You brought her down here.' She looked at me eagerly. 'I imagine she's absolutely lovely.'

I swallowed, feeling faintly sick and wishing I were another form of life. An earthworm would be ideal. 'Um, yes,' I muttered eventually. 'Yes, she is.'

'And Lavinia, you liked her, didn't you darling?' Rose urged.

'I thought she was a complete poppet,' gushed Lavinia, clearly not to be done out of her party. 'So elegant and sophisticated, and that darling way she does her hair. And to be honest, Mummy, I've never really liked Sophia much anyway. She reminds me of a ferret.'

'Smells like one, too,' sniffed Pinkie, wiping her nose. 'Well quite,' said their mother staunchly. 'Those long, yellow teeth, and those ghastly heavy b.r.e.a.s.t.s, too. They'd drive me round the bend. You know she had two pounds surgically removed from each one of those, imagine! That's the equivalent of two huge bags of sugar and she still has to put her hands underneath them if she breaks into a trot. And of course there was that terrible business after Tootsie Pilkington's twenty-first . .

'Oh, with Willie Fergason?' said Lavinia eagerly.

'Exactly. And with her mother's new Dyson. Speaking of which, of course, her mother is a prize b.i.t.c.h quite apart from having no taste and a hideous house. And Rozanna seemed such a sweet little thing, really lovely.' The colour was rapidly returning to Rose's cheeks as she warmed to her theme. 'And Lavinia, did you see the way she knew everyone? And she doesn't even live here! Obviously extremely social and well connected, and oh!'