THE COMPLETE TRILOGY, COMPENDIUM OF THE HEART: An epic love story

by RJ Hunter

  The car was there within minutes, and Pauline was pleased to see that Mark was the driver. He looked horrified as she got into the car beside him.

  "Pauline, what the hell has happened to you, are you alright?"

  "Yes, I think so, Mark. Let's just get out of here in case he comes to look for me. Go to my mother's house?"

  "I think I'd better take you to a hospital, Pauline."

  "No, Mark, nothing's broken, just put your foot down."

  He nodded and muttered something derogatory about Frank, before obeying Pauline's instructions and setting off to drive her to her parent's home.

  As they neared their destination, Pauline suddenly ordered Mark to stop the car.

  "What is it, what's the matter?" He asked, pulling up the car abruptly.

  "I can't let my parent's see me like this. Oh, I don't know, just drive around for a while, I don't care." She blurted out, close to tears.

  "Look, I'm taking you to my place," replied Mark decisively. "You can have a nice long bath and time to think. If we hurry, we might even be able to save your expensive blouse."

  Ignoring Pauline's objections, he turned the '69 Vauxhall Victor around, and headed of in the direction of his own home.

  What happened at Mark's home was a combination of several things. Mark has never made a secret of his feelings for his boss's wife, and like now, always seemed to be on hand when things went wrong for her. As for Frank, Mark did admire his business acumen, but this however was in direct contrast to his feelings for him as a husband to Pauline. Although, he was never in awe of Frank, deep down, Mark knew that the day of reckoning had already appeared on the horizon.

  Pauline on the other hand needed to be loved, right there and then. For a few hours she allowed herself to despise Frank and all that he stood for. To her, this was her vengeance, just like when she humiliated him at the Christmas dance when they were students, like when she allowed herself to be seduced by Claire and Yvette. On this occasion, what happened between her and Mark would remain their secret, a secret, until Pauline decides that it should stay that way no longer.

  Her mind, already troubled by Frank's betrayal and the savage beating she had taken was made worse by the alcohol she had consumed, and of course by Mark's subtle advances.

  They only made love once, and on that September night, Jamie was conceived. Pauline quickly had to find an opportunity to sleep with Frank to avoid any suspicions regarding her pregnancy. It was later automatically assumed by both men that Frank was the rightful father of the child.

  Now, having reached home after her visit to see Sally, Pauline was beginning to re-consider Mark's approaches in a different light. Perhaps, it was getting near the time to relinquish her secret after all.

  23. THE SINGING BAMBOO

  It was only a five minute walk to Westminster Cathedral from Empire House, the nurse's home where Laura lived. At first she was rather pleased about this as it meant she would have that much more time to get ready and wouldn't have to rush in order to meet Nick. That was the theory behind it anyway, but of course Laura ended up rushing.

  She had a good-sized room with an impressive view over Vincent Square, but she had been fortunate to have acquired the room in the first place. Initially, when she had started her training, Laura had been housed along with the rest of her group at Queen Mary's Nurse's Home. This was mainly for the younger, first-year student nurses, and was thought to be more of an open prison than an accommodation block. It was attached to Westminster Hospital by a system of intricate tunnels, which most of the young nurses were too scared to enter on their own. The main entrance to QM, as it was known was manned by porters on a twenty-four hour basis, and Miss Sharp, the Home Warden, a stern lady in her mid fifties, always kept a tight rein on any nocturnal activities.

  During their second year, the vast majority of the students were desperate to escape from Miss Sharp's oppressive regime, and either moved out to less stricter homes, or if they could afford it, moved into private flat shares. For Laura, it had been a case of being in the right place at the right time. A friend had told her that a room had just become available in one of the highly sought-after buildings around Vincent Square. She immediately contacted the accommodation officer, only to be told that the room had already gone. Dismayed, Laura returned to QM and put the matter out of her mind. However, two weeks later she received an unexpected letter in the internal post telling her to call the accommodation office as soon as possible. It was then that she learnt that the other girl had caused a disturbance, what with late-night parties and entertaining men in her room, that she was asked to vacate forthwith. Laura couldn't believe her luck when she finally got to see the room, and accepted it immediately after promising there wouldn't be a repeat of the last person's antics. It suited her to stay there for the time being, after all, it was right in the centre of London, close to work, and the rules were lapse, provided a little discretion was used. Besides, several of Laura's friends had in the past, given up the security of the nurse's home for rented accommodation, only to find they couldn't afford it and had to ask for their rooms back again.

  It was a clear, pleasant evening with just a hint of a cool breeze in the air. Laura checked her watch, and immediately quickened her pace. She was only a few minutes late, but didn't want Nick to leave and think she had stood him up. She eventually reached the top of Thirlby Road, but instead of turning left into Ashley Place, which would have led her straight to the cathedral, she hesitated a little and continued along Victoria Street. She felt slightly nervous, and began to think about her mother, as if to take her mind off her impending date. However, she couldn't help smiling as it seemed they were both having dates as it were on the same night. More absurd was the fact that a similar arrangement had happened a couple of weeks earlier. Laura quickly stopped the more unpleasant aspects of that evening from entering her train of thought. She began to wonder where Nick would take her, and what they would talk about, but above all she found herself pondering over whether she was doing the right thing, in view of Tina. There were several places locally they could go, if he was only planning to take her for a drink. However, she had decided to go out on an empty stomach, just in case they did end up going for a meal after all. Laura wasn't due back on duty until the following afternoon, she consoled herself, so at least she could relax, have a couple of drinks and just try to enjoy herself, after all, she deserved it, as Nick had pointed out.

  Laura had deliberately dressed down. She was wearing a faded denim shirt tucked into a pair of equally faded tight jeans, and over her arm she carried a short jacket in case it turned chilly. Her mother had told her a long time ago that she must never expect her boyfriends to be loaded with money and to pay for everything. One sure method of avoiding unnecessary embarrassment by going to a restaurant that was too expensive was to dress down and just plead ignorance.

  Laura felt her heart beat faster and deliberately slowed her pace as she neared the meeting place. Her earlier nerves had returned, and she delved into her bag for some chewing gum. She heard a group of people coming up behind her, and the sound of male laughter. Instinctively she moved over to one side to allow them to pass.

  "Hello, gorgeous - you've got a lovely arse!" Shouted one of the group. Another one stopped and uttered something obscene. Laura thought he was going to approach her, but the young man seemed to hesitate and lose his nerve as the others got further away. She breathed a sigh of relief once they were out of sight, and veered left as the cathedral came into view. She could do nothing to prevent herself from feeling slightly flattered, even though the compliments were a little on the crude side. Outside the cathedral, there were several people milling around, obviously meeting others just as Laura was. She scanned the figures through the fading light, but it was Nick who saw her first. He waved and came towards her. She was pleased to see that he too was dressed casually in fawn-coloured chino's and a baggy jumper. Laura was also relieved to see he wasn't wearing his jumper tucked into his tr
ousers, which was becoming the trend during those days.

  "Laura, you made it!" He said, looking more than a little surprised.

  "Of course. Why, did you think I'd stand you up then?"

  "Well, I wasn't sure," he replied awkwardly.

  "I always keep promises. Besides, it was me who rang you, remember!"

  "I'm glad you did, Laura. Are you hungry?"

  "I could be tempted by a morsel, but it depends on what you've got in mind. I'm not dressed to go to Buckingham Palace!"

  "Let's go and have a drink first," he laughed.

  They walked along Victoria Street and crossed over to go into the Duke Of York pub. It was busy inside, but they managed to find an empty table, where Laura sat as Nick went to the bar to get the drinks. During the short time since they had met, an invisible barrier seemed to have gone up between them. Nick wasn't sure if it was due to shyness with it being their first date, or if it was due to other reasons, like him being married, or the Tina incident. These were bound to make the situation awkward.

  "Have you been in here before, Laura?" He asked, after a few moments of silence.

  "Yes, a few times, but just passing through - you know, girl's nights out, that sort of thing."

  He nodded and took a sip from his beer, but it was Nick who had to initiate most of the conversation. It wasn't that Laura was shy in any way, she was merely testing the water and tactfully trying to remain a little reserved. The talk at first was predictably superficial, with Nick inquiring about her family, and why she had chosen to go into nursing. They were both consciously trying to avoid certain subjects like, Nick, his marriage, and Laura, her friendship with Tina.

  They finished their drinks perhaps a bit too quickly, making Nick have to return to the bar once again. Laura felt uncomfortable sitting alone at the table in such a crowded pub. Nick seemed to be taking forever, and now the pretty blonde was getting some unwanted attention from one or two of the other customers. A few feet from where she was sitting, Laura noticed a wall-mounted jukebox, and decided to put some music on. She selected a couple of records, and had one selection remaining, however, she couldn't make up her mind to go for Atomic, by Blondie, or Spandau Ballet's True. So in the end, she put more money in and picked them both.

  Nick returned, put the drinks on the table and went to stand behind her. He couldn't resist letting his eyes wander up and down her shapely figure, as she stood with her back towards him, clad in skin-tight blue jeans.

  "What music do you like, Nick?" She asked, turning unexpectedly, and catching him leering at her bottom.

  "Oh, I'm not really that fussy," he babbled back, looking embarrassed.

  "Come on, there's still another two selections - you choose."

  He moved in closer behind her, deeply inhaling her rich, heady scent and, glorious, lush hair. He was tempted to place his arm around Laura's waist, but resisted, even though she may not have objected, he realised he still had some way to go.

  "I've booked us a table at the Singing Bamboo, do you know it?" Asked Nick, as they sat back down, and moved a little closer to each other.

  "Isn't that the one near the Devonshire Arms?"

  "Yes, that's right, but there's no hurry, we can go by taxi."

  It was fortunate that Nick had taken the trouble to book a table. The restaurant was popular at the best of times, and it happened to be exceptionally busy that evening. They passed at least a dozen people waiting on the stairs and in the lobby, hoping to get in.

  The waiter led them over to a table, which overlooked the street below. The Singing Bamboo was somewhere Laura had wanted to go since she first started her secondment at St. Mary Abbot's. Indeed, when she came off duty after a late shift and went out to catch the coach back to Westminster, she would always look up at the restaurant's softly glowing windows and wonder what it would be like to go inside. One girl in Laura's group had actually been there and was still raving about it.

  It was very unique inside with beautiful, exotic plants bordering the tables to give a certain degree of privacy. Huge murals adorned the walls and delicate-looking Chinese lanterns gave the restaurant its distinctive, inviting reddish glow.

  Laura was very excited and gazed about her, taking in the wonderful decor, and soaking up the rich atmosphere, with all its hustle and bustle. Nick was delighted his partner was so impressed with the eatery he had chosen for her.

  As the large, powerful limousine slowly glided into Sally's drive, Frank glanced at the interior clock, it was a little after 8pm.

  He alighted from the car, and proceeded to open one of the back doors. He then gently lifted out an impressive bouquet of red roses, and a bottle of champagne. The earlier incident at Albert's hadn't affected his mood in the slightest. In fact, he felt rather satisfied with himself. The only drawback Frank had was a dull, aching pain in his left shoulder, where the old man had caught him with his walking stick. Frank even admired Albert's audacity, as he briefly mulled over the events in his mind. At least, the old bugger hadn't got him on the other shoulder, for that could have had a serious effect on his drinking arm. Frank rang the doorbell, unbeknown to him that his wife, Pauline had visited earlier that day.

  He heard the familiar sound of Pepys' bark and cleared his throat as Sally opened the front door.

  After exchanging pleasantries, she invited him inside, and led him through to the large kitchen area, that doubled as a living room. Sally looked stunning in a short, clingy, black dress, and Frank was immediately aware that she wasn't wearing a bra.

  Without asking he went straight over to the freezer, and pushed some of Sally's frozen goods to one side in order to make space for the champagne. He carried out this exercise in a tender and loving manner, as if he were tucking up a small child into bed.

  "I see you've come prepared Frank," said Sally jokingly. "I didn't realise you had such a fondness for champagne, I've got some in the fridge, and what's more - it's chilled!"

  "But is it a decent brand?" He replied icily. "I only drink the best."

  Sally's champagne wasn't Dom Perignon, like Frank had brought, but all the same it was still expensive and good quality. She felt rather annoyed by Frank's remark, but let the comment pass, thinking that perhaps it was just his way of having a joke.

  "Well, Mr. Fussy, let's have a glass of wine instead!" With that, Sally poured them both a glass of the Chablis Lizzie had brought over that afternoon.

  Frank finished his drink almost immediately, and reached for the bottle to help himself. Sally declined a refill, she was more interested in finding out a bit more about him and if there was any truth in Tina's disclosure, about him sexually assaulting her. However, it was a very sensitive subject and she needed to proceed with caution.

  She asked Frank about his work, owning a successful mini-cab business, along with a Mayfair nightclub. He seemed happy enough to tell her about the day-to-day running of the business, but wasn't so forthcoming about the club. She eased off a bit, and once she had things under control in the kitchen, she manoeuvred Frank into the lounge. Although he was quite entertaining in his own, often crude way, she began after a short while to find his presence a little oppressive.

  "I can't help noticing you seem more interested in your transport business, Frank?"

  "Yes, I built it up from scratch into a multi-million pound empire. It's my baby." He replied, proudly. The club doesn't bring in as much income as you would expect. There's lots of overheads, insurance, costly repairs, staff to keep happy, licensing rules, fire regulations, the list goes on. I've had to carry out extensive rebuilding work since I took it over, and to be honest, if the right offer came in, I'd sell it straight away."

  "Well, I must say it all sounds very glamorous."

  "Yes, possibly, but I don't even think about that now, it just comes with the territory."

  There was a lull in the conversation, and Sally decided this was a good a time as any.

  "Pauline was here today, Frank."

  The effect was
immediate. It takes a lot to shock Frank, but Sally's chosen words hit their target with devastating accuracy.

  "Pauline? But, what do you mean, I don't understand?" He gasped, jaw dropping.

  "Why on earth didn't you tell me you married her and that Tina was your daughter?"

  Frank put his glass down gently, and sat back on the sofa. He was well used to being in uncomfortable situations, and was an expert at bluffing his way out of them.

  "Sally, please listen to me. I had my reasons," he replied, staring directly at her. "So how was she, drunk I imagine?"

  "Well, she wasn't when she arrived, but yes, I suppose she was quite drunk by the time she left. But, I have to say, it was rather an emotional occasion for her, as it was for myself and Lizzie."

  "So why was she here, was it about me?" Frank asked defensively.

  "No, it wasn't actually. She was here because she wanted to thank me for helping your daughter. Tina tried to kill herself here, Frank, while you were sitting downstairs. Did you know that?"

  "Yes, I did know. I'm grateful for all you did to help her." He replied, unconvincingly

  "It wasn't just me. In fact, my daughter, Laura did more to help, and of course, my son, Jonathan has been visiting Tina in hospital."

  "You have a wonderful family Sally. You must be very proud of them?"

  "Frank, please, I went out on a date with you, after you had told me you were separated from your wife." Remarked Sally, in a heated tone. "You put me in a very awkward and compromising situation, which I'm not happy about. I think you owe me an explanation."

  Frank sighed and finished his wine, before pouring the remainder of the Chablis into his glass. He then unloosened his tie and sat forward.

  "Sally, listen to me. Pauline is very sick. She has mental health problems, which she has passed onto Tina. I try my very best with her, but every day is a challenge. Surely you must have noticed there was something troubling about her?"