Baby had said that he was not some man, he was her husband elect, the father of her children, and as such he had some right to her support. Angie had told him if he wanted her support he could make some supportive gesture, like making over some Praeger shares to her. Then she might just possibly feel a little more secure.
It was not the first time she had made this suggestion, and Baby replied, not for the first time, that it was so far out of line as to be purest fantasy. Whereupon Angie told him to go fuck himself and went to bed in the guest room.
No wonder, he thought, he was feeling the strain.
His secretary, a pretty girl called Katy Prior, with awe-inspiring legs, was waiting for him with a large jug of fresh coffee – ‘Making fresh coffee is your major job, I cannot drink that lousy instant stuff,’ he’d said when he’d hired her – and some messages.
‘Dr Curtis phoned. Could you make Friday for the appointment. And your wife called.’
‘My wife? Would that be –’ Baby’s voice trailed away awkwardly. ‘It was a London call, Mr Praeger,’ said Katy helpfully.
‘OK. You’d better get her. She’ll be at her office. You have the number, don’t you, honey?’
‘Yes, Mr Praeger. Oh, and a Mr Soames-Maxwell rang. He wants to talk to you.’
‘Oh Jesus,’ said Baby.
Angie was very chilly; she was going to be out that night. She hoped Baby had no objections. Baby said, almost equally chilly, that he had none, and told her he was going to New York at the weekend, for a main board meeting.
Then he rang Soames-Maxwell.
‘Baby! Hi. Nice of you to call. I wondered if we could meet?’
‘I don’t think so,’ said Baby wearily. ‘What did you want to talk about?’
‘Oh – I’m a little worried about Max. I didn’t want to bother his – Alexander. Of course I may have to. But I wondered if we could talk first. I’m very happy to buy you a drink.’
‘Thanks,’ said Baby, ‘but I can buy my own.’
‘Well maybe I should call Alexander. Charlotte tells me he isn’t too well …’
‘When did you talk to Charlotte?’
‘Oh, a few days ago. I try to stay in touch. Or I could talk to Georgina. She might –’
‘No,’ said Baby, suddenly seeing Georgina’s white face and large, haunted eyes looking at him on the morning after the party as she and Charlotte told him what they had found out about Virginia. He had a duty to look after those children. Virginia’s children. ‘No, don’t do that. I’ll come and meet you. Where do you suggest?’
‘The American Bar at the Savoy. Where else?’
Baby walked to the Savoy from the office. For the second time that day he felt he needed the fresh air and exercise. He dreaded these encounters with Soames-Maxwell. This was the third. It wasn’t just that he intensely disliked the man, and disliked still further the corner he had them all in; he found the thought of him having a relationship with Virginia literally nauseating. He had fought it fiercely at first, despite all the corroborating evidence: had sat in the Savoy, where Soames-Maxwell always insisted they met, and told him and tried to believe it, that he felt there was nothing established, no proof, that he had no claims on them. And Soames-Maxwell had leant forward, a slightly sympathetic smile on his face, and said, ‘Oh, but I think I do. Your brother-in-law, Lord Caterham, certainly is not Max’s father. Max told me that. Your sister and I had a very – what shall we say – intense relationship. For many years, but particularly at the time when – well, Max would have been conceived. He looks like me. He is like me. The more I know him, the more I see it.’
‘Well, I’m afraid –’said Baby.
Soames-Maxwell smiled at him. ‘I’m not afraid. In fact I’m delighted. But we can have some tests done if you like. If that would make you feel more – cooperative towards me.’
‘What kind of tests?’
‘Oh, blood tests, tissue typing. I believe that’s very accurate.’
‘Well,’ Baby had said, ‘we can discuss that another time perhaps.’
There was a silence. Then he said, because he was too curious not to, ‘When – when did you last see her? My sister?’ The words seemed to come out against his will.
‘Oh – the summer she died. She flew down to Key West for a couple of days. We took a boat out, did some snorkelling. She was still extremely beautiful.’
‘Was that your boat?’
‘Oh, no. I sold her in what – seventy-five. My money was just sailing away in that boat, much as I loved her.’
‘Was that when you went to Vegas? To conserve your assets?’
‘No. No, I was hanging between Key West and Nassau for a long while. I sold my house on Cuba the year after the boat. Stayed with friends, mostly, you can do that for a long while, you know. Then they started moving off, dying off. Life was changing. But your sister was a constant. Fun, loyal, she was so good to me. And now – well, I have Max. It’s very nice for me. Very nice indeed.’
‘Yes,’ said Baby. ‘Yes it must be.’
‘I know,’ he said, with another dazzling, flashing smile, ‘I know you think I’m going to try and milk the relationship. Milk Max.’
‘Oh,’ said Baby, looking at him with contempt. ‘I cannot imagine what can have given you that idea.’
‘Well – I kind of get that feeling. Clearly I was wrong. Anyway, I’m not going to.’
‘I see.’ Baby had watched him closely. He had no illusions that Soames-Maxwell was going to let them off the hook; he was mildly intrigued by the man’s tactics. Did he really think they were all going to accept him, make him their friend?
‘I just want a home. A nice home. At my age – I’m quite a little older than you – one doesn’t really want to be living in cheapjack hotels in places like Las Vegas. Especially when you’ve known something so very much better.’
‘No. I suppose not.’
‘Do you think I could have another drink? I was right, they do mix them superbly here.’
‘Yes, of course.’ He called the barman over: Soames-Maxwell was drinking champagne cocktails, somewhat surprisingly. Baby would have expected bourbon or even beer.
‘Now then, where was I? Oh yes, a home. A nice home. That’s all I want. And of course a little spending money. For the upkeep.’
‘I wonder if you could come to the point.’
‘Of course. Now I naturally wouldn’t expect to live at Hartest. Not at the moment, anyway.’
‘What do you mean by that?’
‘Well, maybe one day. When Max inherits. He could find a small wing for his old dad. Meanwhile, the house in Eaton Place would do me just fine. I’ll just stay there, not be a nuisance, you don’t have to worry.’
‘Mr Soames-Maxwell, I do assure you there is no question of your living at the house in Eaton Place. It is a family house, it belongs to my brother-in-law.’
‘Yes, but I understand nobody else uses it much. It seems a waste of a very nice house. It would do me perfectly. Near Les Ambassadeurs. I was a member there, you know. I’m so delighted Max has joined. We went there last week.’
‘Indeed? Well that must have been very nice for you.’
‘Yes, it was. I was very tempted to tell a few people there, old friends, you know, old colleagues at the tables, that Max was my son, but of course I didn’t.’
‘Of course not.’
‘And as long as I’m comfortable, I never will. You have my word on that, Mr Praeger. Or may I call you Baby?’
‘Call me what you like,’ said Baby wearily. ‘Mr Soames-Maxwell, I think you should understand a few things. First, what you are saying amounts to blackmail. Second, the Caterham family is not cash rich. Third, there is no question of your staying at Eaton Place. Or at Hartest. Do I make myself clear?’
‘Yes you do. Now let me take those one by one. First I don’t mean to blackmail you. But I think as an old friend of the family – well of your sister – I am entitled to a little consideration. Second, I am quite read
y to believe they are not cash rich. But, I suspect, not quite on the poverty line. And I imagine some of you Praegers have a dollar or two to rub together.’
Baby stood up then. ‘You will have to excuse me,’ he said, ‘I’m sorry. I have an urgent appointment with a lawyer.’
Baby had talked to Charles St Mullin together with Charlotte; despite the awkwardness of the situation, he liked him very much. He was straightforward and charming, almost a caricature of an English barrister. Baby found a relationship between him and Virginia easier to contemplate than one with Soames-Maxwell, but he tried to avoid the contemplation altogether.
‘It’s a horrible mess.’ Charles St Mullin sat looking out over Lincoln’s Inn. ‘Very hard to see quite what we – you can do. This man has no claim on any family money whatsoever. But –’
‘I know he has no claim. But morally, I suppose we do in a way,’ said Charlotte.
He smiled at her. ‘Charlotte, I’m very much afraid that morals don’t come into it.’
‘No. Sadly. But what I meant was that Max is obviously getting very involved with this bastard – sorry, unfortunate choice of word – and wants to do something for him, not unnaturally. And it could be argued that it would be very hard for Max to walk away from him and send him back to his den in Vegas.’
‘Well, I think Mr Soames-Maxwell would probably have quite a lot to say if he did. To the press, for a start. I mean, that’s the worry, isn’t it?’
‘Yes. Yes it is. Well, not just the press, simply people. It would be the most wonderful story. And it would just about break Daddy’s heart.’
Baby was intrigued by her reference to Alexander as Daddy, and St Mullin’s acceptance of it. They had obviously come a long way together, these two, in what was clearly a close, if odd, relationship.
‘Yes it would,’ Charles agreed. ‘Well clearly we have to shut the man up. But it won’t be easy.’
‘Do you think we should let him stay at Eaton Place?’ said Baby. ‘Not really. The sooner he’s out the better.’
‘Yes, but how do we get him out?’
‘Start by talking to Max, I suppose. He must see it’s dangerous.’
‘I don’t think he does. But anyway, assuming we can persuade him to leave, what should we do?’
‘Charlotte, my darling, I don’t know. I really don’t. Whatever we offer him, he will clearly ask for more. I am tempted to start by trying to frighten him off.’
‘What, you personally?’
‘Me and my good friend the Law. It’s worth a try.’
‘Well look,’ said Baby, ‘let me talk to Max first. Charlotte has to get back to New York, don’t you, darling? Max gets back from one of his modelling trips on Saturday, apparently. I’ll take him out to lunch and talk to him then. Thank you for your good counsel, Charles.’
‘That’s all right. My pleasure. I feel I have a strong duty to try and look after your interests.’ He smiled and shook Baby’s hand.
Charlotte gave him a kiss. ‘I think your sense of duty may be severely strained quite soon.’
‘I’ll speak to you when I’ve seen Max,’ said Baby.
‘Fine. Meanwhile I’ll see if I can’t come up with anything else.’
‘It’ll need to satisfy Max too. That won’t be easy.’
Baby had called Max the moment he was back in London from his trip. ‘Max, it’s Baby Praeger here.’
‘Hi,’ said Max. He sounded less than welcoming.
‘You don’t sound terribly pleased to hear from me.’
‘Let’s say I’m suspicious.’
‘Really? Of what?’
‘Of what you might be going to say,’ said Max impatiently. ‘If you’re going to tell me to get Tommy off your backs, you can get off mine. I like him, he’s my father, and I intend to look after him.’
‘Max, he doesn’t need looking after. He can look after himself very nicely.’
‘If that’s the case, how come he’s been on the breadline in some hole in Vegas for years?’
‘Max! He’s not some tragic underprivileged old tramp. He was a very wealthy man. He got on the breadline, as you call it, by his own fecklessness. He’s not a charity case.’
‘No, I didn’t say he was. But he needs help and I’m going to give it to him.’
‘By offering him a permanent home at Eaton Place?’
‘Well – yes. It’s nice to have him there. It’s fun. We’re enjoying ourselves.’
‘Max, it isn’t yours to make available to him. It’s your father’s.’
‘Alexander is not my father, Baby. Tommy is and I want to help him.’
Baby hung on to his temper with an effort.
‘But Max, I understand that and I think it’s really nice. But you can’t install him at Eaton Place.’
‘Look, Baby,’ said Max. ‘I don’t quite know why Alexander allowed our mother to behave as she did. I don’t know what on earth was going on between them. But it seems pretty sick to me. And I find it hard to see why I should feel any particular loyalty to Alexander.’
‘Max, how can you! He’s been wonderful to you.’
‘Well – he’s been OK.’ Max sounded weary. ‘He didn’t exactly have to work his fingers to the bone, did he? Just set us down in the heart of his little kingdom and watched us grow.’
‘Max, that’s not true.’
‘I’m afraid it is. It’s no use, Baby, you can’t emotionally blackmail me. I’m going to help Tommy.’
Baby had put a proposition to Max: it was St Mullin’s idea. ‘Make it quite quite clear, and in writing, that the offer is to him, and him alone.’ He said that since Max clearly required a London base of his own, not one to share with the Earl of Caterham (who had indicated he might be needing the London house himself rather more frequently in the future), and that since the Earl should not be worried by detail, Baby proposed to make available to Max a small house in London which Max could use rent-free ‘for the foreseeable future, not exceeding a period of five years’. It would revert to Baby sooner, should Max find himself somewhere of his own to live. Very fortuitously, Angie had such a house available, in Pond Place, Chelsea.
To the enormous relief of the family (and to the slight puzzlement of Charles St Mullin) Max accepted this offer. When Soames-Maxwell phoned Baby to thank him (with rather more grace than Max had shown) Baby said coldly that the house was for Max, and Max alone.
‘But there is no stipulation that he may not have house guests?’ said Soames-Maxwell, and his voice was very amused.
‘Unfortunately not,’ said Baby and put the phone down.
Since then he had been summoned by Soames-Maxwell once more; Max had run up a gambling debt of £5,000 at Les Ambassadeurs, and neither of them could pay it. After checking carefully that it had indeed been Max’s debt, Baby paid it. But he had come to dread any calls from Soames-Maxwell; and their inevitable consequence, a meeting in the Savoy Hotel.
Soames-Maxwell was already there when Baby came in; he stood up, and held out his hand. Baby ignored it. He noticed that Soames-Maxwell was looking slimmer and rather better dressed than when he had first turned up at Hartest.
‘Baby! Hi. You’re looking tired.’
‘I feel tired,’ said Baby. ‘I work very hard. Unlike some people,’ he added and then regretted it, feeling it had sounded childish.
‘Oh, we work hard, Max and I. He at his modelling, I at the housekeeping. Of course there is not a great deal to do in that tiny little house, it can be cleaned very quickly. Which is something in its favour. Although we are a little cramped.’ He smiled at Baby. ‘What will you have?’
‘I’ll have a bourbon,’ said Baby. ‘What point are you trying to make?’
‘Oh, that the house is a little too small for us.’
‘Well, that is unfortunate,’ said Baby, ‘very unfortunate. Perhaps Max should try to earn a little more money, and then he could purchase something larger.’
‘That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Max’s mone
y.’
‘Oh yes?’ Baby took a slug of bourbon. ‘What about Max’s money?’
‘It isn’t enough.’
‘Enough for what?’
‘His needs.’
‘Oh for God’s sake,’ said Baby. ‘My wife read an article only last week, about the fees these models can earn. Max was quoted as turning over a hundred thousand pounds a year. Of course it’s enough.’
‘Press articles are notoriously inaccurate,’ said Soames-Maxwell, ‘but he does earn, I have to say, a little over half that.’
‘And you’re telling me that isn’t enough.’
‘I’m afraid I am.’
‘And what,’ said Baby, with a very heavy sigh, knowing the answer, ‘what has that to do with me?’
‘Well, Max has debts to settle.’
‘But what kind of debts, for God’s sake? At what level are you living to need more than – what – fifty thousand a year? When that’s spending money?’
‘Well you see,’ said Soames-Maxwell, ‘it’s what Max is spending it on. That’s the problem.’
‘I’m sorry,’ said Baby, ‘I don’t understand.’
‘It’s the membership of Les Ambassadeurs,’ said Soames-Maxwell, with a heavy sigh. ‘And of course now I’ve had to join the Clermont as well.’ He spoke as if joining the Clermont was on a par with the need to buy a season ticket, or a new pair of shoes.
‘Mr Soames-Maxwell –’
‘I wish you’d call me Tommy.’
‘Mr Soames-Maxwell, I am simply not prepared to pay your gambling debts. I’m sorry. Max will have to cut his expenditure, or ask his – ask Alexander.’
Wicked Pleasures Page 54
