Scarlet Feather

by Maeve Binchy

  'Well, maybe his wife wouldn't trust him around Geraldine's long legs and flashing smile,' Tom said with a grin.

  'She was pleased with how well Glenstar looked for the recovery party after the wedding. She's decided to capitalise on it.'

  'She's not going to have the dancers as a cabaret, by any chance,' he asked.

  'No, she's drawn the line there. Tom, are we taking on too much, do you think?' she sounded worried.

  'No, of course not, we've a load of terrific stuff for a buffet in the freezer already, and I'd say she'd like shellfish, don't you think?'

  'Yes, but getting it ready, setting it up, serving it.'

  'Cathy, June and I will do most of it. Does she need a barman as well, do you think?'

  'Yes, she does, whether she knows it or not.' Cathy wanted every hand on deck.

  'Relax, Cathy, there are bound to be times you're tired. Accept it, will you?'

  She smiled wearily. It was great not to have to put on a brave face all the time.

  Freddie Flynn's next rented-villa reception went very well. This time they had rum punch served in coconut shells, Bob Marley on the record player and June wearing a garland of flowers around her neck, which was, strictly speaking, more Hawaiian than Caribbean, but nobody cared.

  'How's that marvellous aunt of yours?' Freddie asked.

  'Wonderful. Will we be seeing you at her big party next week?' Cathy asked with an innocent smile. It had the desired effect of catching him off guard.

  'Er… um… no, come to think of it, I believe I'm away next week, yes, I am, so that must be it,' he said.

  'Oh well, next time then,' Cathy said brightly.

  Sara came to The Beeches to ensure that the back-to-school process was going as planned. Kay looked at her bewildered. Sara explained slowly. Textbooks, exercise books, uniform, shoes to the mender's, haircuts. The kind of things normal people understood.

  'There's always so much to do,' Kay Mitchell sighed. 'It's all quite endless, really, isn't it, Sara?'

  'Endless, Mrs Mitchell. Shall we make a list of what has to be done?'

  When he was taking Hooves for a healthy walk,Muttie met JT Feather by chance.

  'Desperate business about the vandals destroying Tom and Cathy's premises,' Tom's father said.

  'Never heard one single solitary word about it,'Muttie said.

  They agreed that children these days were secretive and devious, and took risks and wouldn't tell you about anything unless they had to.

  'They had to tell me something to get my men to try and build the place up again,' JT said grudgingly.

  'Well, you're streets ahead of me in information anyway,' said Muttie, which pleased the other man greatly.

  'Why didn't you tell me?' Lizzie demanded.

  Cathy was nonplussed. There were so many things she hadn't told her mother. Which one could her mother mean?

  'About what?' she asked.

  'About your premises getting broken into.'

  'Oh, Ma, I didn't want you going on like you're going to go on now.'

  'And do they know who did it?'

  'Nope, not a clue.'

  'And were you insured?'

  'Of course we were, Mam.'

  'So this isn't the reason why you're killing yourselves and you're looking like a long wet week?'

  'Mam.' She felt a surge of gratitude to her mother. She'd tell her about the baby this minute if there was any point, but it would be just one more worry. 'No, Mam, we're absolutely fine,' Cathy lied straight into her mother's anxious face.

  James Byrne had been to the premises today and said that the hopes of getting the insurance company to pay up in the foreseeable future were very slim. They would be renting this expensive stuff for months down the line. Working flat out, they would see no profit, and quite possibly a massive loss at the end of the year.

  The room was filling up at Geraldine's apartment. From the kitchen, Cathy saw James Byrne come in, wearing his best suit, and trying to find a background to stand in.

  'Hey, he isn't your speed,' she warned her aunt. 'I've been in his flat; nothing you'd aspire to at all.'

  If I didn't have so much invested in you, Cathy Scarlet, I'd throw you off my balcony this minute. Mr Byrne's here because he advises our Residents' Association about our service contracts. One of the ladies here knew him years ago in Galway, and now that he's retired he does several of these little jobs. Most helpful and courteous he is, too.'

  Cathy was pleased to see him. When it got quieter she might ask him about how the dinner party went.

  June went up to Peter Murphy, hotelier and great friend of Geraldine's. 'Lovely party, isn't it, Mr Murphy?' she said to him.

  'It is indeed, my dear,' he said distantly, giving the air of never having seen her before in his life.

  'I'm no hit with that Peter Murphy,' June complained to Cathy.

  'I think he still fancies the hostess,' Cathy said.

  'Well, why doesn't she go back to him now that his wife's gone to Holy God and the other fellow back to his wife?' June grumbled.

  'I don't know. I did ask her, but she gave me some crap about never revisiting things. I haven't an idea of what's she's talking about.'

  'Look who's here now,' June said, nodding to the door. Joe Feather had just come in.

  'Oh, God almighty,' said Cathy. This would be the first time the brothers had met since the night of the fashion show.

  Shona walked straight over to the window, to where James was standing.

  'I'm very sorry, I didn't know you'd be here,' she said.

  'And I didn't know you'd be here either,' he said simply.

  'I'd like to return your hospitality sometime soon,' she began.

  'Oh, please, don't think you have to do…' he stammered.

  'I don't think I have to, I'd like to. Would you like to have lunch with me at Quentin's one day next week?'

  'But Shona, that's a very…' He spoke softly. But stopped. He had been about to say the restaurant was much too expensive. That might not have been tactful, or indeed sensitive.

  She seemed to know what he had been going to say.' I save my money to pay a posh rent and to have the odd meal in a posh place. I'd love you to be my guest. You pick a day.'

  ' I'd be proud and delighted to meet you there on Wednesday,' he said.

  'I'll book the table for one o'clock,' she said, and left him.

  'All right, Tom?' Joe said in a fake Cockney accent.

  'All right, mate,' Tom answered in the same cheerful voice.

  They looked at each other for a moment, not sure what to say next.

  'Great place for a party,' Joe said eventually.

  'Isn't it just? Have you a drink, or have you gone temperance on us?

  'I'm never going to drink again, Tom. Believe me.'

  'Rough night, was it?'

  'No, but I think I must have been drunk on the day when I gave that bloody gangster all that credit, he nearly wiped me out. Did you hear about it?'

  'I heard something, yes.' Tom was vague.

  'Listen, I won't interrupt you here at your work. Maybe we'll have a temperance lunch one day, and weep on each other's shoulders?'

  'Okay, but I want somewhere with a pint, and I don't get to do any of the weeping, you do all that side of it. Okay?'

  'Okay,' said Joe.

  The telephone rang in Geraldine's apartment, and June answered.

  'Please, June, could you put the call through to the bedroom, it's Frederick Flynn. Tell her I won't keep her long from her friends.'

  'It's very busy here, Mr Flynn, do you think that you could—'

  'Now, please, June,' he said.

  Geraldine went into her bedroom and picked up the receiver. 'Yes, Freddie?' she asked pleasantly.

  'I must have been mad. I tell you this, I must have been stark staring mad, I won't be without you, you mean too much to me.'

  'I beg your pardon?'

  'You heard me. I'm telling her.'

  'What exactly
are you telling Pauline?' she asked, her voice ice-cold.

  'Well, I'm telling her that I have to spend some time in Dublin in the evening after work, that I can't be tied to coming home to the country every night, and… you know.'

  'Oh, don't do all that, Freddie, it will upset Pauline and it won't mean anything in the end.'

  'What do you mean? I love you, Geraldine, you're an exquisite woman. I'm such a fool to have said I'd give you up.'

  'You didn't say that at all, Freddie, we agreed it had run its course.'

  'But it hasn't… not for me.' There was a silence. 'Geraldine?'

  'Yes, Freddie, I'm here, but I have people in so I must get back to my guests.'

  'I know you have people in, half the bloody country, don't you think I want to be there too?' He sounded very upset. But she hardened her heart. He had made a decision. He had not called Geraldine with the news that he loved her so much that he would leave Pauline. Or even defy her. She was being asked to settle for a few more stolen nights until Pauline cracked the whip again. He had been the warmest, funniest of all her men, but still, he was a weak man, she wasn't going to get back into a muddled, uneasy compromise of a relationship where he would always be looking at his watch.

  'You'll always be a special person to me, Freddie, but I have to go,' she said. She hung up, and straightened her bed. Geraldine went back to her party.

  'Con, can you take this tray? I have to sit down,' Cathy said.

  'Sure. You're very white, Cathy,' he said. 'Can I do anything for you, brandy, glass of water?'

  'Yes, go and see which of Geraldine's posh bathrooms is free. I used to think she was mad to have two, but tonight we need one.'

  He was back in seconds. 'The near one is free, lean on me, Cathy.'

  'Thanks, Con, you're a trooper.' She went in and locked the door.

  The first guests were beginning to leave. They had cleared a lot of things into the kitchen. June came in with a pile of plates.

  'Cathy's in the loo, she doesn't look well,' Con reported.

  'Right, you bring in the next lot of dishes, I'll go and check.' June went to the bathroom. 'Cathy, open up the door this minute.'

  'June, go away, go to the other one.'

  'I want this one, I'm going to keep knocking and shouting until you let me in.'

  'You're mad, go away, get out of here.'

  'CATHY,' June roared.

  The bolt was drawn back, and Cathy sat there on the side of the bath, her face as white as the white porcelain around her.

  'Go back, June,' she said in a weak voice. 'Go back, for Christ's sake, we can't afford to foul up on a good job like this, aunt or no aunt.'

  'What's wrong? Just tell me,' June said.

  'I felt a pain. Look, it's nothing, no bathroom full of blood, it's not a haemorrhage or anything, now will you go back. She grimaced and held her middle.

  'Have you passed any blood at all?' June snapped out the words.

  'Literally a couple of drops, nothing you would notice unless you were looking for them.'

  'You've got to lie down,' June insisted.

  'Now? In the middle of the party? You're mad.'

  'In the spare bedroom and now,' June said, scooping up all the towels she could see in the bathroom. 'Come on, Cathy, don't give me any trouble or I'll hit you in the jaw and knock you out.'

  Cathy staggered to the spare room, very tasteful shades of lilac and mauve with a rich purple carpet and a wall-hanging in the same colours. 'Imagine, I'm probably the first person ever to sleep in this bed,' Cathy said dreamily as June put cushions under her feet and then went to collect what looked like an enormous amount of more towels from the hot-press beside the bathroom.

  June approached Peter Murphy. 'Mr Murphy, I'm June. I wonder if you could tell me quietly whether anyone in this room might be a doctor?'

  'Has there been an accident in the kitchen?'

  'A sort of crisis, yes; I don't want to disturb Geraldine…'

  They both looked over to where Geraldine stood talking animatedly to a tall man who seemed very taken with her.

  'I don't know half the people here,' Peter Murphy said. 'I was just leaving. Perhaps her new friend is a consultant or something; he certainly dresses like one.'

  'Why are you looking for a doctor?' Tom had amazing ears.

  'Cathy. She's in the spare bedroom.'

  He was in there in a flash. 'Tell me quickly, Cathy, what do we do?'

  'There's a bit of blood… Tom, I don't know whether it's better to try and get to a hospital or to stay still.'

  'Jesus, why didn't any of us qualify as doctors? Have you got your mobile?'

  'In my bag in the kitchen, but don't go just yet, Tom.'

  June was back in the room. 'There was a doctor, she's coming in.' She was one of the residenIs at Glenstar, a small Indian woman with an easy smile. She took in the situation immediately, sat down on the chair that June offered her and held Cathy's hand.

  'How many weeks?'

  'Fourteen or fifteen, I think.'

  'And the pain? The cramps? The blood?' She asked the questions without any sense of rush. And nodded, as if pleased with all the answers. 'We'll keep you here and make you comfortable for a while, and then we'll think again,' she said.

  'Please go back to the party,' Cathy begged. 'I'm all right now, you can see that.'

  'They're coping fine,' Tom soothed her.

  'God, Tom, there's only Con out there, and you know the panic people get into when they think the party's about to end. Go out and give him a hand, both of you.'

  'Calm, calm,' the doctor said.

  'You might as well try to turn back the tides as ask her to be calm,' Tom said resignedly.

  'Are you her husband?'

  'No, no, I've rung Neil but it's the answering machine. I didn't want to leave a message that would alarm him. Can you give me his mobile number, Cathy?'

  'Not yet, let's see what we have to tell him first. Now please go, all of you,' she begged.

  They left, and tears rolled down her face in the darkened room with its graceful design. She noticed that the doctor, helped by June, had put still more big bath towels beneath her. The good news was that Geraldine's elegant counterpane would not be stained or marked. The bad news was that the doctor must be expecting to see a lot more blood shortly.

  Geraldine knew that something was wrong but that it was under control. She bade farewell to Nick Ryan, who owned a chain of dry-cleaning firms around the city. She murmured that she must not monopolise him; he really should circulate and meet everyone else. He murmured that he hated to go, but really he had no interest whatsoever in talking to anyone else. That was about as strong an indication as he could possibly give that he found her attractive. Geraldine saw Peter Murphy looking at her. But she would not go back on her tracks. No revisiting, as she had often told Cathy, not that the girl ever listened to anything. And where was she, by the way? This party was so strange, in a way. James Byrne and Shona Burke knowing each other from way back. That very nice neighbour, Doctor Said, who had said that she would drop in just for an hour, still here with the hard core. Freddie ringing to ask her to go back to him. Peter Murphy being utterly jealous and possessive. Wasn't bad for a girl about to turn forty. Geraldine was about to congratulate herself, when she saw Doctor Said moving quietly towards the spare room, and she suddenly realised why she hadn't seen Cathy for the last hour or so.

  Only when she got to the hospital did Cathy tell them Neil's mobile number. And by the time he got there it was all over.

  Back at the premises Tom, June and Con unpacked the van, washed up, tidied and stored everything. Geraldine said she would call them there when there was any news. They sat and drank coffee on the big sofas in their front room. It was the first place they had insisted on repainting and doing up after the break-in. Otherwise they would have been too depressed to face a day's work. They were trying to be practical; they would get Lucy, that bright little student, in again, and she might even
have a couple of friends. It often worked that way. Con had a pal who was a good, reliable waiter. Whatever the news, they knew that Cathy wouldn't be able to work for a while. If she had kept the baby, she might have to lie down for weeks.

  'One thing is sure… she's never going to recover her strength if she thinks we can't manage,' June said. What Cathy needed as much as any hospital care was the assurance that Scarlet Feather could survive her absence.

  When the phone rang it seemed unnaturally loud. It was two in the morning and Geraldine was ringing from the hospital to say that Cathy had lost her baby. June sat there, and didn't even wipe away the tears. Tom and Con blew their noses loudly in great wads of kitchen paper. June, for the first time ever, rang a taxi and went without complaint or comment straight home to her husband. Con and Tom went to a club and had three Russian vodkas each.

  'I thought it would make me feel better,' Tom said, disappointed.

  'Me too, I don't even feel drunk,' Con said.

  'What a terrible, terrible waste at those prices.'

  'I know, we could have drunk vodka for free back at the premises, with no blaring noise and no strobe lights,' Tom said furiously.

  And for some reason, they both found this funny, and they laughed as they headed for their homes. Con to the flat he shared with three other guys, who might still be up and playing poker. Tom to Stoneyfield to sleep for a full two hours before he got up to make the bread at Haywards.

  Neil came in and sat beside the bed to hold her hand.

  'Well,' she said to him in a very tired voice.

  'They say you're going to be fine,' he said.

  'Yes,' she said.

  'That's what matters. You're very precious to me.'

  'Yes,' she said again.