Lorna reluctantly followed them to the dining room, fearing that once they were all seated round the table, they would start to peck at her like a group of chickens.
The steak and kidney pie was indeed delicious; golden, flaky pastry covering succulent meat in a rich, winey sauce. Despite her emotions raging through her, Lorna could not help but enjoy it. Nathan sat one side of her, and Beth on the other.
The conversation centred on the beef and the local farm where it came from. They discussed how the taste and texture of the meat depended upon the food the animal was fed on, then Sonia asked her what she thought of Philip Carson, the estate agent. ‘He is a nice enough young man, but not a patch on Henry, his father,’ Sonia started. ‘He was so attentive . . .’
Nathan interrupted his mother impatiently, saying he was sure Lorna didn’t want to talk about Ravenscourt. This surprised her, for she’d convinced herself – after hearing Gloria’s idea that Nathan wanted the house – that he’d bought her here with the people most likely to benefit from him buying Ravenscourt to try and persuade her into selling it to him at a knock-down price.
‘I must show you the proofs for my brochure before you go. They’ll go out in August, in plenty of time for Christmas,’ he said, his eyes lingering on hers, provoking the memory of his kiss. Determinedly, she turned her attention to her plate.
‘Thank you, I’d like to see them, Gloria says they are wonderful.’
‘They’ve come out very well, I think we managed to capture the best bits,’ Beth said, and Lorna braced herself for her to start on about her skill at lighting and turning tired and sad old places into sumptuous palaces, but to her great relief she did not.
The lunch limped on; the pie was replaced with fresh fruit salad and cheese. Clara remarked how nice the cheeses looked, arranged on the olive wood cheese board. They talked of events happening in the district and gossip concerning various neighbours and Lorna felt more and more tense, feeling that Ravenscourt was the huge elephant looming among them threatening to charge upon them, though everyone seemed determined not to mention it.
When the meal was finished, Nathan suggested she come and see the brochure. She followed him into a room on the first floor. It was a very masculine room, with a large leather-topped desk by the window; two leather chairs, one in front of the desk, the other by the wall; and a smart filing cabinet made of dark wood with gilt handles. Various pictures were well arranged on the walls. Some were etchings of ancient cities, others seascapes. On the desk was a large photograph of a young man with a surfboard, grinning into the camera.
‘This was my father’s study, I still feel him here,’ Nathan said, going over to the desk and opening a large file which enclosed the photographs.
‘You must miss him. I miss my parents still,’ Lorna said, looking down at the photographs.
She had to admit that Beth and the photographer had made a good job of them. The table, laden with food, looked wonderful in the hall in front of the elaborate fireplace and the glowing fire; the fine moulding on the ceiling edged the top of the picture just enough to add to the sumptuousness of it, but not enough to show the cracks and broken pieces.
The food display in the kitchen – the one that Beth had accused her of ruining – just homed in on the produce, leaving out the drab kitchen. Nathan pointed out her cakes.
‘Look, pride of place. We must make a date to set that up. I have a smaller brochure around Easter and perhaps I could put them in that…baby Simnel cakes in pretty boxes: small, edible presents or just treats. Do you bake them yourself?’
He was standing close to her, turning the pages; she could feel the warmth of him.
‘Yes, I bake some and Martha, whose shop it really is, bakes the rest with her sister. We have a shop in Wandsworth, and supply some to coffee shops around. We hope to go online one of these days.’
‘Sounds good, well maybe we could set up a meeting. I’m going to be coming to London quite a bit in the next few weeks so we could make a date to meet at the shop?’ He smiled and she waited for him to say he was going to lodge with Gloria, but he did not.
‘Any time … I’m around.’ Then, to change the subject, she said, ‘Who’s that good looking young man? He doesn’t look like you, and yet he does.’
‘That’s my son, Kit,’ he said easily. ‘He’s on his gap year in Tibet.’
His son? She knew so little about him. ‘Interesting, how long is he there?’
‘He’s having a great time, he’s a wonderful boy and I miss him, but then children have to spread their wings and leave the nest, don’t they?’ He smiled. ‘He’ll be back in the summer to go to university. He put it off for a year, having had enough of school.’
Clara came into the room. ‘Excuse me, but we ought to get back, the next estate agent will be due soon. Jane is leaving too so she’ll give us a lift, save you doing it Nathan, I’m sure you’ve got lots to do.’
‘Oh … OK, that would be helpful, Clara, thank you.’ He shut the folder.
Lorna wished she could stay here with him instead of going back to Ravenscourt and the estate agent and another gloomy verdict. She felt pleasantly sleepy after such a good lunch and she couldn’t help feeling that she should be making more effort to find a way to keep the house, but short of winning the lottery – perhaps she should start doing it at once – there was surely no way she could raise the sort of money needed to save it.
31
An Unexpected Arrival
‘I can’t believe Ravenscourt is worth so much money.’ Gloria stared at her in disbelief. ‘Almost two million pounds! It can’t be true; it needs so much doing to it. I’m sure the agents are only saying that so that they can get it on their books. Then, when it won’t sell, they’ll tell you some nonsense about houses like that having suddenly gone out of fashion and you must drop the price dramatically.’
‘You should see the prices of the houses that are done up. I suppose if a developer buys it and does it up he will sell it on for far more, and there’s quite a chunk of land with it too.’ Lorna was surprised herself at the price quoted but both the agents she’d consulted over Ravenscourt had suggested virtually the same valuation. A sick feeling cramped her stomach. There was no guarantee Ravenscourt would sell in this financial climate and all the time it was deteriorating. If the winter took a turn for the worst, it could finish it off. Would she be compelled to watch it slowly disintegrating like a person dying of a disease? If only she could find a way of keeping it, but after seeing the survey, it would be impossible.
‘I will always love it, as it played such a part in sorting out our lives.’ Gloria poured Lorna some coffee, bringing it over to her at the table. She put it down beside the jewellery Lorna had brought round to sell alongside the cashmeres in an empty shop that Gloria and some others had hired for a month. She sat down opposite her.
‘Ivan and Rosalind seem to be happy together, and the girls are behaving better, especially Chloe. I suppose it helps that Polly has gone travelling with some boyfriend, so is not popping round all the time causing havoc, but I’m sure Ravenscourt played a big part in making Ivan see sense. It certainly helped get Adrian into rehab, even though he had to break his arm on the stairs to do it.’ She sipped her coffee, her eyes sad.
‘Is he still there?’ Lorna asked.
‘As far as I know. Joanna will be very supportive and now she’s a widow she can give her time to him, and it will help her get over her husband’s death. And you, Lorna,’ Gloria snapped out of her mood, saying encouragingly, ‘It didn’t actually solve your marriage problems but at least it clarified everything. Setting you free now to do what you want. I’m sure in time you’ll find love again; you’re still young and very attractive.’ She smiled at her, a sort of bracing smile that did not lift Lorna’s mood.
Had Nathan already moved in as a lodger? Was he part of the group who had hired the empty shop? He had not yet contacted her about buying some of her cakes and she wondered if he had only said it in gr
atitude for her lending him Ravenscourt for his brochure and because she was there at Mulberry Farm. She would not ask Gloria who, with her sharp eyes, would surely winkle out her own confused feelings for him.
It was over a week since her kidnap to Mulberry Farm. They were in Gloria’s kitchen overlooking the garden. The jewellery she’d made over the last few evenings lay on a tray among their coffee mugs and a miscellany of books, newspapers, a jar of beauty cream on its way upstairs and a parcel waiting to be posted.
Usually she enjoyed being with Gloria, but the arrival of Ravenscourt and Nathan in their lives was like a stone in a comfortable, well-worn shoe. She’d meant to just drop her jewellery and leave, but habits die hard and Gloria had been so pleased to see her that she’d felt annoyed with herself for her negative feelings towards her, and stayed.
She managed to keep Gloria busy by discussing Justin and his girlfriend, before getting back to Adrian. ‘We have talked on the phone. He can’t come back here to all the temptations, in fact he can never really come back to this house. We’d have to move if we got together again,’ she said.
‘Move?’ Ravenscourt flashed into her mind. Any mention of selling or buying a house now filled her with anxiety. Felicity was still going on about their spiritual retreat and Gloria thought Nathan should have it, not that he’d mentioned it at all, anyway not to her, the owner. She was beginning to feel that the house was part of her, like another limb, but she must harden her heart and do what was best for it, and that meant selling to someone who could save it.
‘Yes, apparently it’s better to start somewhere fresh, away from one’s old life, or that’s one of the theories anyway.’
‘So you are going to take him back?’ She thought of Gloria’s agony over the years; waiting up all night wondering where he was, crucifying herself with lurid accidents that had befallen him. And what about Justin with his new girlfriend? Surely she didn’t want to risk losing him?
Gloria sighed, ‘I don’t know, not as he was, never, but it’s hard being alone after being married so long isn’t it? Well, you must know.’ She touched her arm.
‘Yes. I wish the old Stephen would come back to be a support with Flora and the baby, but I’ve come to accept… since Christmas and that night at Ravenscourt when he refused to come back… that it won’t happen, and you’ll come to feel that too, but it takes time, Glory.’
Gloria smiled, ‘I must say, it’s wonderful not having that day to day worry about Adrian. I felt like a warden or a nurse, always keeping an eye out.’
‘Nurse and a purse, that’s what Mum used to say,’ Lorna finished her coffee.
‘That’s what I’ve been all these years to Adrian. A nurse and a purse, working like mad to pay the bills as his work decreased, and picking him up out of the gutter.’
‘But you’ve stopped now. Remember, you are now going to live life for yourself and Justin. You deserve it,’ she said firmly, hoping that Gloria wouldn’t have a wobble and take Adrian back unless there was a miracle cure.
Gloria’s face clouded. ‘It’s a bit like being joined at the hip to someone most of your life; once they have gone, you have to re-balance yourself. But I’m determined to start all sorts of new things. I’m thinking of doing a course in making herbal beauty products to sell online or at those fairs.’
‘That’s a good idea. I must make more of an effort with my cakes. Nathan hinted that he might take some, I must chase him up on that,’ she said.
‘He might pop by soon,’ Gloria glanced at the clock on the wall, ‘and then you can ask him yourself.’
‘He’s coming here … today?’
‘He said he might … not to stay, though we might sort something out for later. He’s looking for somewhere to move to with his business.’
‘In London?’
‘Probably not, the prices are astronomical and you get nothing for it, but he’s looking all over the place. Also, he has things to do in London and it’s a bore, especially in the winter, to have to keep going back to Sussex.’ She didn’t mention Ravenscourt, but she might as well have had it up in neon lights dancing from the walls.
‘Well I must go. Thanks for the coffee and for taking my jewellery, let me know if you need help in the shop and I’ll come over,’ Lorna said hurriedly, getting up.
But before she could collect up her things the doorbell went and Gloria got up. ‘Probably Nathan, I’ll just let him in,’ she said, leaving the room.
Lorna wasn’t sure she could face seeing Nathan right now – Nathan and Gloria together, especially if Gloria was going to bring up Ravenscourt. Anyway, it was time she went; she’d promised Martha she’d experiment with a new kind of skinny muffin to tempt people hoping to stay thin.
Lorna could hear the low hum of their voices, too indistinct to make out any words as a clue to their conversation.
She jumped up smartly, the legs of her chair squeaking against the floor. Making more noise than she needed to, she began to clear the table of their mugs and a jug of milk, opening the dishwasher, hoping the noise would curb their ardour – if there was any, or Gloria urging Nathan to make an offer for Ravenscourt. Her mobile rang, scattering the notes of Debussy’s La Mer over the room. At the same moment, Nathan and Gloria appeared, neither dishevelled as if they had been disturbed in a moment of abandon. Nathan smiled at her, took a few steps towards her and might even have kissed her if her mobile hadn’t rung and he’d indicated that she answer it before she greeted him.
It was Flora, her voice raw with panic. ‘Oh, Mum, help me, the baby is on its way and it’s not meant to be born yet.’
Flora’s anguish shocked her. Lorna stumbled, shot out her arm to save herself from falling and Nathan caught her. She clung to him with one arm while desperately trying to soothe Flora through her mobile clamped to her ear with her other hand. She found herself mouthing platitudes she did not believe; that everything would be all right, that it was a false alarm. Flora may have mistaken the pains for indigestion but she knew, with sickening intelligence, that the situation could be very serious indeed.
She must keep calm for Flora’s sake, but Flora’s fear transferred itself to her, adding to the anxieties that burdened her already, and it was Gloria who ended up taking the phone from her and sending down soothing messages.
‘Your mother’s on her way,’ she said. ‘Stay calm, that will be good for the baby, too. Don’t worry, you’re in the best place, they will know what to do. This may be terrifying for you, but it is every day stuff for them.’
Nathan gently untangled Lorna from him and sat her down on one of the chairs by the table, pulling up another chair so he could sit beside her, facing her. They were so close their knees touched, and he leant forward and took her hands. Quietly but firmly he tried to piece together what had happened, asking where Flora was, saying he would take her there at once.
‘John Radcliffe hospital, I know it. She’ll be fine, I’m sure. It is her first baby, they usually take ages, as you probably remember.’ He smiled as if humouring her, stroking her hands as they ground together in her lap.
‘She’s only six months pregnant,’ Lorna said, and his expression changed, eyes darting with pain, his lips clenched so tight the colour went from them. ‘Let’s get there, as soon as we can.’ His voice was brusque and he jumped up, picking up her handbag that was under the table, fetching her coat from the hall and easing her into it. He gave off a sort of calmness and momentarily she felt soothed by it.
Once she had rung off, Gloria, who had lost so many babies herself, was less calm. ‘Poor darling, I can’t bear it for her. I could take you there if Nathan’s busy. But it may be a false alarm and the contractions might stop, though she will probably have to stay in bed now until the end.’
Gloria meant well but her anxiety and grief at the memory of her own miscarriages increased Lorna’s panic. Nathan, seeing her suffering, said, ‘Lorna will be all right with me. We’ll keep in touch, I’m sure everything will be fine.’ He led her to th
e front door.
If only she had wings and could fly to her. Lorna pulled at his hand to go faster, not caring who came with her. She must get to her daughter as soon as possible. With a further word to Gloria, Nathan came out with her into the street. His car was outside and he opened the door and helped her in.
‘We’ll get there, try not to worry,’ he said as he drove off.
The journey was a nightmare. Nathan drove fast, cutting expertly into the traffic, dashing through traffic lights just before they changed, but every time he did have to slow down or wait for some hold up, she wanted to scream. She prayed, made promises to fate or any God who was listening, to make everything all right and she would never ask for anything, ever again.
‘They may be able to stop the baby coming. Or it may not be on the way at all and she is just having pains.’ Nathan said. ‘How old is she? Is there someone with her?’
Lorna told him the whole story, throwing out her fears about Ben and Tess and how she worried that they might somehow take the baby from them. Such foolish fears now, when there may not be a baby to take. Nathan did not interrupt her flow with questions but just listened, turning to her every so often to offer a word of support.
‘Can it live born so early?’ She implored him, going on before he could speak, ‘I didn’t want her to be pregnant this way, but it would be terrible to lose it.’
‘The baby will always be there in your life, if it lives or not,’ he said, and something about his voice made her look at him. She saw how tight his face had become; a muscle twitched with tension by his mouth. ‘It will always be part of your lives, whatever happens.’
‘Has something like this happened to you?’ Why had she asked this? The words had formed themselves and slipped out before she could stop them.
‘Yes,’ his brief nod of acknowledgment was resigned; as though it was a burden he’d carried a long time. ‘It broke up my marriage.’
‘I’m so sorry.’ Should she ask what had happened or would it be better to leave it as it was? But he went on,
Difficult Husbands Page 25
