‘I’m sure Daddy won’t see it that way.’ Rage was building up inside Juliet; she was horrified at how this woman could dismiss her father so callously.
‘You don’t need to tell me that, Juliet. Your father made his position very clear in the past. He is fundamentally opposed to divorce. That was why I had no other option.’
‘But to marry another man without even… Well, I just don’t know how you could even…’ She could hardly get out the words.
‘Juliet. Please calm down. People are staring. Conduct yourself.’
While Juliet was still trembling with fury, a tall silver-haired man approached the table.
‘Ah, this must be the beautiful Fräulein Juliet – and this gallant young man is James?’ The stranger with his heavily accented English threw Juliet, and she momentarily forgot her rage at her mother. ‘Let me look at you. Yes, you are exactly the beauty your mother said you would be.’ The man bent low and kissed her hand.
‘Children, this is Otto Hugenberg, my husband. Otto, James and Juliet Buckley. My children.’
The twins stared in astonishment. How should they react?
James, on automatic pilot, shook the German’s hand – and immediately felt disloyal to his father.
Otto was fairly tall, almost six feet, heavily built and dressed in a very well-cut suit. The canary-yellow tie suggested someone who didn’t take life too seriously. His skin was lightly tanned and the piercing blue of his eyes shone from his face. A full head of blond hair was swept back from his handsome face. His smile was broad and seemed genuine, as if meeting his wife’s estranged children was something one did every day of the week. In any other circumstance, James found himself thinking in confusion, he would have liked the look of the man.
Juliet shook the man’s proffered hand; she felt rigid with shock. This situation was simply ridiculous. Edith couldn’t be married to this Otto Hugenberg. Coming here, part of her had hoped – even assumed – that Edith wished to seek forgiveness for deserting them. Not that she wanted her mother back in her life – far from it – but an acknowledgment that she had done wrong seemed fair. Yet, apparently, Edith was the same as she had always been – expecting the world to revolve entirely around her own needs. Another aspect of her mother had also gone unchanged – Edith was still clearly far more interested in her son’s life than in her daughter’s. Though Juliet remembered little of life in Dunderrig before her mother left, she always knew that although Edith had left them both, she had loved – or at least, liked – James more.
Juliet mentally shook herself. Why should she care whether Edith felt any affection for her? The woman was a deserter, an adulterer, and now a bigamist. They were all better off without her. Let Edith live where she wanted and with whomsoever she chose and stay out of their lives. This German man seemed pleasant enough, if a little effusive. Let him be the one to look after Edith. All Juliet wanted to do now was finish this stupid meeting and go home, and forget they had ever seen her.
She turned to her brother – and her heart dropped. He was gazing in wonder at Edith and Otto as they extolled the virtues of Germany in the summertime: the Black Forest, Bavaria, its beautiful medieval cities. Edith was telling James that he simply must go, that he would love Germany, and that he would find such inspiration for his painting. For the first time in her life, Juliet felt that she was on a completely different wavelength from her brother, and she hated the sensation. Normally, even if they were in disagreement about some minor issue, they could always easily reach a compromise. Deep in her heart, she felt this time was going to be different. She should have known; she should have insisted that they both refuse to meet with Edith. But James had been fatally tempted by that letter – addressed to him – and now her mother was weaving a terrible spell around him. Juliet feared she would never get her brother back.
Otto’s voice interrupted her thoughts. ‘What about you Fräulein Juliet? How does a trip to Germany sound to you?’
‘I have never considered it.’ Juliet replied coldly. ‘And if your Mr Hitler has his way, perhaps, it is not the best location for a holiday anyway.’
Edith stopped her chat with James. ‘You don’t approve of the Führer’s plans, Juliet? Perhaps, if you visited Germany and saw for yourself how things are there, you would be better informed to discuss it. Hitler is trying to help the German people to recover and emerge from under the huge yoke placed on them by Versailles and the British. The German people were left destitute after the last war. It is entirely understandable that they should try to regain their position. We, the Irish, should understand that better than others – colonised as we were for so long.’
Juliet was about to retort sharply to her mother when Otto, clearly disliking tension, interrupted.
‘Come now! A beautiful day and beautiful ladies on our arms. James, let us not spend our time discussing boring politics. I’m sure that sense will prevail and all will be well again. Let us go for a walk in Stephens’s Green, shall we? We will ask the waiter for some crusts, and we will feed the ducks. What do you say?’ His eyes sparkled with enthusiasm and fun, and it would have been churlish to refuse. Taking a deep breath, Juliet rose to follow them from the table.
Strolling through the beautiful city park in the August sunshine did nothing to lift Juliet’s mood. James was talking animatedly with Edith, who had linked his arm. They were discussing the Impressionists, a subject about which Juliet knew nothing, so she couldn’t have joined in even if she had wished. Despondently, she threw little pieces of bread into the duck pond. The mother duck paddled over to retrieve them, followed by her ducklings – at least six of them.
‘Life is so simple for ducks, no?’ Otto spoke to her. His large body reflected his large personality. In other circumstances, she could have warmed to him. He had crinkly eyes and a broad genuine smile. ‘Mother takes care of the little ones until they can take care of themselves. It is the same for all ducks: German ducks, Irish ducks, Spanish ducks, Chinese ducks. Ah, I am glad to see you smile, my dear. You are too beautiful to look sad.’
Juliet turned and gave him a weak smile.
He said, ‘It is hard, families. I understand. You are so like her, you know. She is brave, sometimes fiery, as are you, I imagine. But James is different – softer, maybe?’
‘Yes. James is the sensitive one, I suppose. People always assumed it would be me, being the girl, but he’s the one who understands art and nature and all of that. He’s kind and sometimes a little naïve. When we were children, I was the one that got into fights, and our father would scold James for not defending me, his sister. What Daddy never knew was that most of the time, it was me protecting James.’
Turning back and looking over the pond to the verdant trees on the skyline, she added, ‘I just wish I could protect him now.’
‘Please don’t worry, Juliet. James is fine. Your mother is so happy to reunite with you both. She has been planning this for some time. Can you give her a chance?’
Juliet sighed, ‘That’s exactly what James said. I just can’t get around the idea that she married you when she is still married to our father. Didn’t you realise she was a bigamist? Didn’t you care that your wife was already a married woman? Not to mention the kind of woman who walks out on her husband and children without a backward glance. She’s probably told you that my father is an ogre, a terrible husband, or that he was having an affair with Solange. But none of that is true. My father is a good man and was a good husband to her, giving her whatever she wanted. Yet she just upped and left without a word. Do you have any idea what that was like for him? For us?’ Juliet’s voice was cracking now, betraying her emotions.
Otto led Juliet to a nearby bench and sat facing her. Holding one of her hands in his two big ones, he looked deeply into her eyes. The intimacy of the gesture made her slightly uncomfortable, but she didn’t pull away.
‘Firstly, I think these are questions you should direct at your mother. You are very angry, and tha
t is your right. Of course, it must seem strange. You and James have been well brought up, by good people I am sure, so you have a strong sense of what is right and what is wrong. So you are…I don’t know the word, verletzen in German…outraged, I think? Yes, outraged. However, this you must understand. Your mother, she did not love Richard. Never did she tell me he is a bad man, who was unkind, but she did not love him. It was simply impossible for her to stay. You have had a good life, no? Better perhaps than if she had stayed with your father? She is not good with little children, not everyone is, but now that you are grown, she wants to be a mother to you.’
Juliet whipped her hand away, eyes blazing in indignation. ‘And that is all she has to do, is it? She just reappears after all these years, no apology, no explanation, and we just welcome her back with open arms? She is not good with children! I never heard such rubbish! Solange is no blood relation of ours but she was, she is, our mother. Not that cold-hearted bitch!’
Years of anger and hurt bubbled over, and Juliet fled from the park, bumping into strollers as tears blinded her. Running down Grafton Street, she reached the quays. They had stored their bag with their train tickets at the station ready to pick up before the six o’clock train to Cork. She would wait in the train station for James, go home to Dunderrig, and never think about Edith ever again.
She went into Bewley’s to freshen up and fix her face after the bout of tears. Composing herself in front of the mirror, she resolved that she would have to convince James to cut Edith from their lives. It would be a difficult task, she knew, but that woman brought nothing but destruction and division wherever she went. Juliet was determined to cut her off completely, in the same way that Edith had cut them off as children.
Chapter 14
Juliet was sitting in the sunny kitchen reading the Southern Star newspaper. Richard stood with his back to her, gazing out at the gardens of Dunderrig in the late summer sunshine, taking a break during morning surgery. The atmosphere in the house since the twins had returned from Dublin was strained.
Richard had remained entrenched in his wishes for his children and so James had enrolled in first-year medicine. Juliet knew her brother’s heart wasn’t in it even if he pretended to be enthusiastic. He just didn’t want to displease his father – especially now, when he was feeling guilty about meeting Edith. Studying medicine seemed to him something he could do to make up to his father for his secret betrayal.
Things had never been like this between Juliet and James. He’d arrived at the station in Dublin in time for the train on that day, but he was furious with her. Without giving her even a second to explain why she was so upset, he had launched a verbal attack that shocked her. She’d never seen him so incensed. He accused her of being selfish and hard-hearted and claimed that she had never intended to give Edith a chance to explain. He said she’d been rude and sullen and he wondered why she’d agreed to meet their mother in the first place if that was all she was going to do.
Juliet recalled the sinking feeling that came with the realisation that she had been right. Their mother had beguiled her brother and sowed division between them – as no doubt had been her plan all along.
That was three weeks ago and though there had been some stilted conversation since, they had lost the closeness that had always defined them. She tried hard to find a way to make James understand what a manipulative woman their mother was, but James would hear none of it. She knew he must be appalled at the bigamy, but whenever she tried to raise the subject, he became so defensive of Edith that any rational argument was impossible. Finally, she realised that his infatuation with their mother was outside her control, though it still hurt her more than she could ever say. Edith had indeed driven a huge wedge between them.
Solange had asked what was wrong and Juliet longed to confide in her, and nearly did on one occasion, but knew she couldn’t – to do so would mean admitting that she and her brother had lied and that they’d met Edith. Despite the frostiness between the twins, neither would betray the other by telling the truth. So Juliet had no one to talk to, and her estrangement from James left her feeling dull, dispirited and lonely.
Danny Dalton had been in the shop the other day and had asked her if she’d go to the dance with him. He was less cocky than she remembered and she needed a night out, so she’d agreed. They’d actually had fun, and he wasn’t as bad as she remembered him. He clearly adored her, and it made a pleasant change from the heavy silences and gloomy atmosphere that was hanging around Dunderrig these days.
The growing threat from Germany wasn’t helping the mood. Every morning over breakfast, her father bemoaned the situation in Europe and the stupidity of allowing it to escalate into another war – a war he was sure would be as pointless as the last.
Juliet knew her father’s fierce opposition to violence did not stem from cowardice. Long ago, a college student had come to the house explaining he was researching the history of Irish medics in the military. Richard was out on a call and the young man had passed the time in telling a mesmerised Juliet how her father had been awarded the Meritorious Service Medal with bar, the Distinguished Conduct Medal and a Military Medal, as well as several mentions in dispatches for his services to the wounded in Amiens. Yet when her father arrived, he claimed he didn’t know where his medals were, and neither did he care. As he showed the young man to the door, he had told him that all anyone needed to know about the war was that millions of innocent people had been slaughtered needlessly.
Juliet couldn’t help but feel the coming war might be different. Despite the animosity between Ireland and England, most people seemed to think the German Führer was a thug and a bully and that something should be done to stop him marching his troops wherever he liked. There were also of course those who subscribed to the theory that ‘my enemy’s enemy is my friend’. Independence was still a relatively new reality and anti-British feelings ran deep, but even allowing for that, the consensus was that Hitler was bad news. Juliet recalled her mother’s insistence that the world they knew was about to change.
She wondered how it would affect Edith and Otto if war did break out – as seemed inevitable now. Maybe it would be the best thing ever. Perhaps they would just take off back to Germany and no one would ever hear from them again. Then she and James could return to their old closeness. If only it could be that simple.
Chapter 15
James was miserable at the university. Juliet could see it, despite his cheery tales of student life when he came home. She longed to confront him but those days were gone. They’d reached a level of friendship again – the frostiness had thawed – but they weren’t of one mind as they had been before.
Despite her best efforts, her father had refused to allow her to go to college with her brother. She replayed the last conversation repeatedly in her head. They had been sitting in the kitchen, the silence heavy between them, the new term only weeks away. She knew he hated having this strained atmosphere between them as much as she did. She decided to give it one more try.
‘Is there any way you’d reconsider about me going to university? It’s all I want to do, Daddy.’
Eventually, Richard spoke. ‘Juliet, you know I love you, don’t you?’
She was taken aback. Of course, she knew he loved her, but it wasn’t something he came right out and said very often.
‘I do,’ she replied, and waited for him to take the lead in the conversation.
‘And I want you to be happy, more than anything. However, I just don’t think this would make you happy. There isn’t room in this practice for two. I know James wasn’t too keen on the idea of studying medicine but once he gets going with it, he’ll realise it’s in his blood. You’re different. He’s a bit like me, plodding and maybe a bit of an old stick in the mud, but you need something else. I really think you do. You hated studying at school. Didn’t you break our hearts with the nuns, in trouble ten times a week? No, medicine is not for you. You’d hate it.’
Juliet tried to stay calm. Hysterics would only prove his point that she was flighty and overemotional.
‘Can’t I at least try, Daddy? If I do hate it then so be it, but at least let me try…’
‘No, Juliet, and that’s my final word on the matter.’ His words were hard, but his tone was gentle. ‘I know Danny isn’t your choice, though what on earth is wrong with the lad I can’t fathom, but there must be some nice lads around the place that have caught your eye? Don’t go filling your head with a load of nonsense about careers and the like. You don’t need it. You’re a beautiful girl, and you could have the pick of the county, so browse around…’
Juliet was trying so hard to control her temper. ‘Solange works as your medical secretary. And what about Mrs Canty? And Mrs Kelly in the Post Office, and Molly Sullivan inside in an office in Skibb. Loads of women have jobs now, but no, you just want me to sit around like a brood mare waiting for a stallion to show interest. Is that all you see me as? A burden to be married off to the highest bidder?’ Despite herself, her voice was rising to a crescendo.
He sighed heavily. ‘Juliet, please calm down. Don’t be so dramatic. This is precisely why I don’t think you are cut out for medicine. What are you going to do the first time someone is rude or difficult to deal with? Fly off the handle like you’re doing now?’
‘I’m just trying to explain things from my point of view…’
‘Juliet, I genuinely don’t think it would suit you to be a doctor. The reality is a far cry from whatever romantic image you’ve conjured up in that active imagination of yours. It wouldn’t be right for you. You’ll just have to accept that I know what’s best for you in this case. Over in Europe, hundreds of thousands of young men will, in the not too distant future, be wasting their lives doing something pointless and stupid. All because of some imagined glory. I will not have you being equally foolish. They’ll need doctors over there, and when things get very bad, which believe me, they will, they’ll take anyone who is prepared to go. No, staying here in West Cork where you’re safe and protected is the best thing. At least we are away from it.’
Jean Grainger Box Set: So Much Owed, Shadow of a Century, Under Heaven's Shining Stars Page 12
