Difficult Husbands

by Mary de Laszlo

  ‘Nathan was what?’

  ‘He’s worn out. It’s a difficult time of the year for him, and I suspect he takes on too much because of it, and then he had all that fuss over the brochure. He’d probably far rather shut himself in the house away from the rest of the world and re-appear when it is all over.’

  Gloria’s remark, ‘all that fuss over the brochure,’ made her wonder if Gloria was obliquely blaming her for Nathan’s exhaustion. Perhaps he had made some bad tempered comments about the house, which was unfair as she’d lent him Ravenscourt and he had professed to love it. She was about to question her further when Gloria suddenly remembered her mince pies were ready to be taken out of the oven, and rang off.

  Despite her exhaustion, Lorna slept badly. What did Gloria mean about Christmas being a difficult time for Nathan? Was it just because it was the most frantic time for his business or was there something else? She drifted off and was woken by the telephone. It was Clara.

  ‘They are still in bed so I’ve slipped across to the cottage to ring you now. I don’t dare risk it from the phone in the kitchen in case one of them comes down and catches me at it.’

  Cold fingers of dread kneaded her stomach as she braced herself for bad news. The men had insisted on leaving, threatened to call the police, tried to contact friends to rescue them. Clara went on, ‘They spent quite a time in the wine cellar choosing wines for the meals. Poor Fergus couldn’t drink near the end so I hope the wine is still drinkable. Anyway they drank quite a lot and the room got very warm near the fire and they were so busy talking they didn’t notice you were not there for quite a while.’

  ‘I hoped that would happen. They don’t have the energy they once had. They just might settle down until Christmas is over,’ Lorna said, relief seeping through her.

  ‘We gave them dinner and Ivan asked where you all were. We said you had gone to fetch the children and would arrive later. They accepted it, but they were too far gone to really question it, they were quite tired too. I don’t know what they will be like today, though, when we tell them the real story.’

  ‘We’ll have to hope they’ll have such huge hangovers they’ll stay there,’ Lorna said. ‘What’s the weather like?’

  ‘Quite wet, the forecast is for heavy rain all day and there’s a nasty, nippy wind, so that might keep them here. We’ve plenty of food, Nathan left a lot after the shoot and there’s the wine cellar. I’ll try and ring you later, but Jane has their measure. They seem quite in awe of her but I think they like her too, perhaps they’ve reverted to their school days.’ Clara laughed. ‘How Fergus would have loved this.’

  Fergus would have taken part in the plan with great enthusiasm and kept them enthralled with his personality. Perhaps he knew about it, and was cheering them on, Lorna thought fondly.

  The day passed quickly, as there was so much last minute stuff to do. ‘Every year I’m disorganised,’ Lorna wailed, but the children seemed to take over. Marcus had slipped into Stephen’s role without her realising, and perhaps without knowing it himself. He organised the drink and fetched the turkey, and Flora helped in the kitchen. None of them mentioned Stephen and as the time went on, the three of them getting things done, laughing and joking together, Lorna realised what fun they were having, and how calm it was without Stephen in his new persona.

  As the day progressed without any news about the men at Ravenscourt, or indeed from Rosalind or Gloria, Lorna found herself becoming more and more anxious that something would go wrong. She turned off her mobile, wishing she could escape where no one could contact her and spoil the genial mood between them by warning her that Stephen was on his way. She suggested that they go out for supper and then go on to Midnight Mass.

  ‘Don’t let’s get there too early, it’s usually so cold.’ Flora was looking tired, her face pinched and drawn. Next year there would be the baby, Lorna realised with a jolt. Next year, what would their lives be like then?

  Just before lunch, Clara telephoned. The ring of the phone struck Lorna like a weapon.

  ‘It’s me,’ Clara whispered as if she was employed in espionage, which in a way she was. ‘We had a bit of trouble with them when we told them they were staying here without you for Christmas, but…’ She paused. Lorna waited in trepidation, straining for the sound of the doorbell heralding Stephen’s arrival. ‘They’ve settled down. Fergus had a huge stack of videos and they’re watching those and drinking a lot I’m afraid. Sonia rang to remind them about her party which perked them up, so I think they are quite enjoying being all bachelors together, “not being bossed by their wives” as one of them put it.’

  Lorna did not ask which man had said that. Relieved they’d not escaped and were coming hot foot to London, she thanked Clara sincerely, making her laugh and say it was certainly a change for Jane and her and they were enjoying it.

  The house was crowded for lunch, with Lorna’s sister and brother-in-law and their two daughters, the ‘goer’ Katie and her youngest sister, Amy; and Colin and Sue Elliot, two of Lorna’s oldest friends, and their children, Toby and Grania. Apart from Felicity giving the run-down of their Church attendances – needless to say, they were all in various church choirs – it all passed off well. The turkey was perfect, the stuffing and sauces delicious, and everyone got a spoonful of Christmas pudding before the blue fire of the flaming brandy went out. After lunch the children moved to the corner of the room to play Monopoly, using a tattered old board that they reverted to at Christmas, leaving their parents to their coffee.

  Jonathan, who’d drunk a little too much, said jovially, ‘Can I ask where my brother-in-law is? I thought he might have played the prodigal, repented and come home for Christmas.’

  Sue and Colin Elliot perked up. They knew of, and had witnessed, Stephen’s behaviour and Lorna’s grief, and were very supportive of her. Colin had tried to knock some sense into Stephen without success, but they were obviously curious to know what he was doing today.

  Lorna had been dreading, yet expecting, the question. She said, reluctantly, ‘He’s in a house party in the country.’

  ‘With friends?’ Felicity asked.

  ‘With the girl?’ Jonathan asked at the same time.

  ‘Just friends.’ Lorna hoped to leave it at that, not mention that they were at Ravenscourt. Both her brother and sister were envious of her inheriting the house. When she’d heard of it, Felicity had asked if they couldn’t all share it as a country home. If she’d been lucky enough to be left such a house, she would have shared her good fortune with her brother and sister.

  Lorna did not want her bossy older sister to be yet someone else to muscle in on Ravenscourt’s fate, and had explained to her then that the house needed a fortune spent on it, which it did, but she’d exaggerated, describing it as ‘virtually derelict’. Before she could change the, subject, Colin said unwittingly,

  ‘Didn’t you inherit a large house in Sussex, Lorna?’

  ‘Yes she did, lucky thing. My godparents weren’t at all generous to me.’ Felicity broke in. ‘We must all go down for a weekend when the weather gets warmer. I thought,’ she turned to Sue, ‘we could share the house for weekends and things. We’d pay our way of course. I don’t think Lorna realises how expensive running such a house would be – she’d be grateful for our contribution.’

  ‘Is it very big?’ Sue asked Lorna.

  If only they’d leave it alone, she didn’t want to talk about it. It was bad enough having Beth and Gloria taking over Ravenscourt with their ideas for it, her sister would be far worse. But more crucial than that, she did not want them to know about the three men imprisoned there. She tried to sidetrack them by asking how her niece Becky was getting on in Sydney. This worked for a few moments before Felicity started on about Ravenscourt again, telling Lorna that she was longing to see it and that she could advise her on the best plan for it.

  ‘Perhaps Jonathan could get together a group of friends and buy it and we could lease it out for spiritual study and retreats,’ Felic
ity finished, excitedly. ‘Get it to bring in some money for you, and enjoy it at the same time.’

  Nathan wanted it for his food enterprise and Felicity for spiritual purposes, how diverse was that?

  The children were making quite a noise with their game but there was a sudden silence as Felicity said loudly, ‘You must at least let us see Ravenscourt even if it is in a state, Lorna. Dad used to talk about it, remember? Said how lovely it was. Fergus was one of his oldest friends,’ she explained to Sue. ‘He often stayed there.’

  ‘I’ll come with you,’ Marcus looked up from the game. ‘I loved it when I was little, rushing round the garden and hiding in the attics. We nearly had Christmas there with Dad. Stop, two hundred pounds, please,’ he shouted as Toby landed on his space. There was a shocked silence like a shot of icy water between the adults sitting over their coffee.

  ‘Stephen is at Ravenscourt?’ Felicity exclaimed, in her most commanding way. ‘Lorna, if it so derelict, why is Stephen at Ravenscourt?’

  ‘Too late, Flora’s thrown the dice,’ Toby Elliot announced gleefully.

  ‘But it hadn’t hit the board,’ Marcus retorted, more interested in getting his rent out of Toby than covering up his mistake in letting slip that his father was at Ravenscourt. Flora kicked him under the table to punish him but he ignored her and he and Toby argued, involving the others over the legality of Toby paying the fine.

  ‘Cool it, children,’ Felicity demanded, before turning on Lorna. ‘Do you mean to say that Stephen is at Ravenscourt, now, for Christmas?’

  Lorna, exhausted by the tension of the last few days and the monumental preparations she’d made for Christmas, nearly wept. It was a struggle not to tell Felicity that it was none of her business, but she knew from past experience that that would bring on one of Felicity’s ‘caring’ moods, which meant that she would put on her soft voice as if dealing with a raving lunatic, make sure she had the others on her side, and try and wheedle what she wanted out of her, until, out of sheer exhaustion, she would give in and tell her anything she wanted to know.

  Lorna remembered Gloria’s words: ‘Above all don’t let your sister know about it until it is all over.’

  Seeing her distress, Sue said firmly, ‘Don’t let’s spoil this lovely day by talking about Stephen. What’s happened is tragic, but I don’t think it is fair on Lorna to discuss it now.’

  Colin said, ‘Yes, come on, let’s talk about something else. Tell us how your cake shop is going with Martha. We bought our Christmas cake there and it’s almost too pretty to eat.’

  Before she could answer him, Felicity said, ‘We cannot pretend Stephen does not exist. He’s been part of our family life for over twenty years. I would say he looms larger in the room precisely because he is not here. Anyway,’ she sounded offended, ‘all I wanted to know is why he’s at Ravenscourt when Lorna told us it was a ruin.’

  ‘There are some habitable rooms, just not very many,’ Lorna said shortly, turning back to Colin to discuss the cake shop.

  Jonathan said, in the tone of voice of a doctor breaking bad news, ‘So he’s there with this… woman then? Of course he couldn’t bring her here. I quite understand that.’

  Sue and Colin tried to look disapproving at his remark, but Lorna saw they were curious to know whom Stephen was with. She’d found that, while most of her friends had been very supportive of her and shocked and saddened at Stephen’s uncharacteristic behaviour, they also longed to know all the juicy details.

  ‘No he’s not. I don’t want to talk about him or Ravenscourt any more.’ Lorna said firmly, getting up and going into the kitchen to make some more coffee, snapping on the kettle and irritably stacking some dirty plates into the dishwasher. It was too much to have hoped that they would get through the whole of today without Stephen being mentioned, or worse still, him turning up, but apart from Felicity’s interrogation, the day had gone well and for that she was thankful.

  She could hear the young all laughing and ragging each other over their game. It had been a happy day and that was all she cared about. She would not think about how it was going at Ravenscourt, or Flora’s pregnancy, or how her sister would react over that. She would save all that for another time when she was alone with her.

  To steer everyone away from this fascinating topic, Colin suggested they all go for a walk. Sue agreed, saying she had eaten far too much. Lorna, stressed by this new mood of inquisition, abandoned the coffee, and encouraged the idea. She guessed her sister had drunk too much, which often made her extra bossy; a good, brisk walk would do her good. Felicity leapt up from the sofa and went over to the young, urging them to leave their game and come out for some fresh air.

  Flora stretched and yawned, ‘I don’t feel like it, I’ll stay here.’

  ‘Come on Flora, you can’t stay cooped up all day,’ Felicity insisted, wanting her own girls to go out to stop them being grumpy later and afraid that if Flora refused to come, they would too. ‘We must go now, it is almost dark already.’

  There was nothing Flora hated more than being treated like a child and made to do something she didn’t want to do. ‘I’m going to stay, we haven’t finished our game,’ she said.

  ‘You can come back to it,’ Felicity said cheerfully, trying to win them over. ‘Come on girls,’ she addressed her daughters, ‘let’s get our coats on.’

  Amy her youngest daughter, who was eleven, wandered into the hall to find her coat. Toby and Marcus, now sparring with each other, rushed out of the house, snatching up their coats on the way, their energy urging them out into a larger space. Grania, who rather fancied Marcus, followed them. Katie, who was close in age to Flora, said sulkily, ‘Oh Mum, lay off, it’s cold outside.’

  ‘Katie and I will stay here, we’ll wash up,’ Flora said, though she had no intention of tackling all those pans and dishes just now.

  ‘Yes,’ Katie said, with a defiant look at her mother. ‘We’ll stay here.’

  Lorna could not help smiling at her niece’s stand for independence. There was nothing worse than dragging round a sulky individual who spoilt whatever one was doing by their seething bad humour. Felicity caught this look. Bruised already by not being told about Stephen being at Ravenscourt when she herself had been put off going there, and feeling that Flora had encouraged Katie to disobey her, she spat out, ‘Both you girls need an outing. You’re putting on weight, Flora. You used to be so thin, you don’t want to get fat.’

  ‘I’m pregnant, that’s why I’m fat,’ Flora said with cool defiance, her eyes glittering with a sudden surge of power on seeing them all staring at her in horror.

  ‘Pregnant!’ Felicity turned accusingly towards Lorna.

  Lorna said, ‘Look, let’s all go out, let the girls stay here. I’ll tell you about it later.’

  ‘So it is true?’ Felicity stared from one to the other in shock.

  Colin said hastily, ‘On second thoughts, I think it’s getting too late for a walk, it gets so cold at this time of the year. If we don’t see the children, tell them we’ve gone home. We had such a lovely lunch Lorna, thank you so much.’ He went over to her and kissed her, saying quietly, ‘You poor girl, come round and chat any time if you need to.’

  ‘Thanks, I will.’ She wished he would stay, people accused Colin of being dull but now she longed for dull. Dull and dependable seemed appealing in her state.

  Sue hugged her, ‘Thanks so much, love. I’ll ring you, chin up.’

  Amy came back into the room in her coat, staring at Flora in excited awe. ‘A baby,’ she said, ‘you’re going to have a baby?’

  ‘Amy, go out and find the boys,’ Felicity said bossily. ‘Jonathan, you take her, I’ll stay behind and deal with this.’

  ‘No, you won’t,’ Lorna said firmly. ‘I was going to tell you about it Felicity, but not today. Now you know about it we’ll talk about it another time.’

  ‘You’ve had a dreadful time with Stephen, but it seems you’ve lost control of your family. It’s no good Lorna, ignoring thi
ngs. Stephen should have been forced to get proper medical help and Flora . . .’ Felicity glared at her as though she would have locked Flora up in a chastity belt had she been her own daughter, ‘should have been given proper guidance on how to behave in sexual matters.’

  ‘I know how to behave, this was an accident,’ Flora said. ‘And you’d better know it all,’ she added with abandon. ‘He’s married.’

  ‘Married!’ Felicity sank down on to the nearest chair.

  Jonathan hovered like an ungainly heron. Not knowing how to deal with this new scandal so close to home, he suggested they leave at once, ‘and discuss this rationally at a later date.’ Preferably, Lorna guessed, one where he was not present.

  ‘All this has happened because Stephen went off,’ Felicity said, after reflection. ‘No doubt, Flora, you were looking for a father figure in this man. How old is he?’

  Lorna, who thought the same thing said, ‘Look, let’s leave it now. It will work out.’ It probably would not, but she didn’t want Felicity to know any more about it now.

  ‘How can it possibly work out?’ Felicity addressed her. ‘Really Lorna, you seem to have completely lost your ability to cope. I shall take charge; get Flora to a doctor at once and see what can be done.’

  ‘You will not,’ Flora burst out. ‘It is my baby and my problem and it is absolutely nothing to do with you.’ And she marched out of the room and upstairs to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

  ‘We’d better go.’ Jonathan glanced nervously at his daughters as if they too might be tempted to follow Flora’s example.

  ‘I see I’ll have to take charge,’ Felicity repeated with fervour, as if this was to be her new mission in life. ‘Stephen’s desertion has been a terrible blow to you, Lorna. It’s quite unhinged you. I blame myself for not supporting you more. I don’t suppose this man will marry her.’ She glared at her. ‘How can Flora support a child? And what about the man’s poor wife, is he still married?’