‘She didn’t come across like that to me,’ Stuart exclaimed in surprise. ‘She certainly seemed to be very concerned about your welfare.’
‘That’s just the point,’ Kay sighed. ‘You call it concern, but I think of it as interference. Ever since I can remember, Aunt Chrissy has been there in the background, fussing over me like a mother hen with one only chick.’
‘You mean she brought you up? You never told me that.’
‘Probably because I was trying to forget about it. My mother died when I was about eleven and as Aunt Chrissy was staying with us at the time she stayed on and took care of things. Then, when I was about fourteen, Dad was killed in a road accident so Aunt Christabel was left in sole charge.’
‘So how did you end up in London?’
‘Marlene and her parents were living there and I used to visit at weekends and stay with them in my school holidays.’
‘Go on!’
‘There’s not a lot more to tell except that I failed my Higher School Certificate exams . . .’
‘All because you spent far too much time with Marlene in London instead of at home studying,’ Stuart cut in.
‘Aunt Chrissy told you, did she?’
‘No, as a matter of fact, she didn’t. I managed to work that much out for myself,’ he laughed.
‘And you got it completely right! In fact, I was in London when my exam results came through. Aunt Chrissy told me over the phone that I had failed them all and she sounded so upset that instead of going back and facing a lecture from her I decided the best thing to do would be to find a job and stay in London. You know the rest,’ she ended with a wry smile.
‘Your aunt must have been very upset; after all, she must have put her own life on hold in order to stay and look after you.’
‘I suppose she must have done, I never thought about it like that,’ Kay agreed reluctantly. ‘My dad was her sister and they got on very well. I know she was terribly upset when he died, and she must have been pretty lonely afterwards. I suppose I should have stayed with her but, at the time, all I could think of was putting it all behind me and getting away so that I could start afresh.’
‘Which must have been devastating for your aunt after all she’d done for you.’
‘Marlene says she’s found herself a boyfriend. Yes, it’s true, even at her age,’ she laughed when she saw the look of surprise on Stuart’s face. ‘Apparently they worked together during the war when she was a nurse and she met him again at the hospital when my dad had his accident.’
As silence descended between them Kay pondered on what Stuart had said. It made her think about her Aunt Christabel in quite a new way and she felt that perhaps she had been thoughtless, unkind even, to have deserted her like she’d done when, as Stuart had pointed out, Aunt Chrissy had obviously changed her whole life to look after her.
She stole a sideways glance at Stuart wondering how she would feel if she had to change her lifestyle and never see him again. She knew she would be heartbroken because she loved him so much and was determined to marry him. She’d never thought about it before but now she wondered if perhaps Aunt Chrissy had forfeited the chance of marrying in order to look after her and her father.
When Aunt Lilian had heard that she was seeing Stuart on a regular basis she’d wanted her to tell Aunt Chrissy about him.
‘Well, at least bring him here so that we can meet him,’ she begged when Kay had refused to take him to see Aunt Chrissy. ‘He sounds all right, but there are some very strange people in London, and you are very young and inexperienced.’
Kay had still not done so, preferring to keep him to herself but, in the end, she’d had to give in because Aunt Lilian had insisted that if she wanted to bring him to Marlene’s wedding then she and Alex must meet him first.
They’d made quite a party of the occasion so that Stuart wouldn’t feel that he was being inspected. Marlene and her prospective husband Bill were there, and Alex had invited people from the film set, and it had turned out to be a very convivial evening.
Afterwards, both Alex and Lilian had said they liked Stuart and kept reminding her that she ought to take him to meet Aunt Chrissy. Aunt Lilian was far too busy with the preparations for Marlene’s wedding to follow up her suggestion with any enthusiasm and Kay was happy to let her forget about it.
Kay herself was so involved with work and with Stuart that she’d not checked on whether Aunt Chrissy had accepted an invitation to Marlene’s wedding or not and seeing her in the church as they walked in had been a shock. Kay wished she wasn’t sitting in a pew behind them. She could feel her eyes on them, studying her and Stuart, and it made her feel uncomfortable all through the service.
Afterwards, at the reception, when Aunt Chrissy sought them both out, Kay had felt cornered, and knew there was no way at all that she could avoid introducing Stuart to her.
She had to admit that her aunt had seemed to be extremely pleased to see her and hadn’t reproached her at all for not keeping in touch. However, having to walk away to fetch the glass of white wine that Aunt Christabel had asked for and leave Stuart chatting to her on his own for a few minutes had been almost as great an ordeal as introducing them to each other in the first place.
They seemed to be on the best of terms when she returned, so she assumed nothing untoward had been said, although she thought Stuart looked at her in a rather puzzled way as she rejoined them.
Kay was surprised to find that their weekend in Wallasey was an extremely pleasant one. Aunt Chrissy made them both very welcome. She had put Stuart in the larger of the guest rooms and Kay in her old room, which was at the other end of the long passage.
The weather had brightened up so Kay and Stuart spent Saturday afternoon visiting places she knew in Wallasey and New Brighton. It was the first time he had been there and he was very impressed by the New Brighton Tower and the fact that it was possible to look across the Mersey at the impressive Liverpool frontage and also far away to the West to see the outline of Mount Snowdon and the Welsh mountain range.
In the evening, Mark joined them for dinner and Kay was surprised to discover what good company he was. Afterwards, they’d all talked until quite late and Kay was intrigued to hear that he had two sons who were older than she was and that he had first known her aunt when she was about her own age.
Up until the moment when she went upstairs to collect her suitcase, the weekend had been surprisingly successful. Christabel knew from the look on Kay’s face that she’d been greatly relieved because she’d been very tactful when reminiscing about the past and appeared to have accepted without any argument that she now had a life in London.
She wished with all her heart that Kay would come back home but she knew she had to accept that it would never happen now, not since she’d met Stuart. It was so obvious that they were in love and Christabel had to admit that Mark was right and that Stuart was a very solid sort of chap and would make Kay a good husband.
Christabel waited until next morning when Kay was coming downstairs with her suitcase and then asked her to come into the sitting room so that she could have a private word with her, saying they hadn’t had a chance for a talk since Lewis had died and there were a lot of things they needed to talk about.
She realised the moment she shut the door that Kay thought she was in for a lecture and that she was immediately on her guard.
‘Oh not now, Aunt Chrissy. Please don’t ruin the weekend by lecturing me,’ Kay protested.
‘I’ve no intention of doing that, my dear,’ Christabel reassured her. ‘It’s been lovely having you and Stuart here and I hope that you will both come again very soon. It’s just that there are several things that we’ve got to sort out concerning your father’s will and where you stand in regards to this house and everything else.
Stuart waited until they were clear of Liverpool, then he pulled over into a layby, switched off the ignition, and turned to face Kay. ‘Right, let’s hear what it is, then. What was it your Aunt Christabel
said to you that has made you clam up and look as if you’d been told the Stock Market had crashed and you’d lost all your money?’
‘I’m all right, really,’ Kay protested.
‘You haven’t said a word since we left Wallasey,’ Stuart protested. ‘It wasn’t because you heard me promise her that we’d come back again soon and that next time we would try and stay much longer, was it? I thought you were both getting on so well with each other by the time we left that you would want to do that.’
‘You’re quite right, I do. I’m very pleased that you told her that. In fact, I think I have been rather mean and made her feel unwanted over the last few years. I’m glad she’s got such a good friend as Dr Mark Murray, he seems to be such a nice man.’
Stuart looked puzzled. ‘So why such a subdued mood, then?’
‘Aunt Christabel was telling me about my dad’s will and about the house and I found it rather upsetting. Look, I don’t want to talk about it now. I’ll tell you all about it some other time.’
Chapter Twenty-Five
With a feeling of dismay Christabel reread the letter from her sister Lilian which had arrived that morning. It certainly put a dampener on her own plans, she thought wryly.
She was sorry to hear that Alex had died but, remembering his lifestyle and the copious amounts he always ate and drank and how overweight he had been for years, Christabel wasn’t all that surprised. She felt sad for Lilian because she’d depended on him so much. It had always been Alex who was the figurehead in their family and who made all the decisions.
Christabel reflected she and Alex had not been on very good terms for a long time, because she’d blamed him and Lilian for the rift between herself and Kay after Lewis had died.
She’d had such high hopes for Kay’s future and she’d been planning for her to go to university and make something of her life. She was quite sure that would have happened if it hadn’t been for Lilian and Alex encouraging her to visit them in London.
Spending so much time there with Marlene meant that Kay had neglected her studies and consequently her examination results had been so dire that Kay had been afraid to come home.
It had meant a long estrangement between her and Kay. If Mark hadn’t come into her life when Lewis died and been at her side ever since, she wasn’t sure how she would have endured not being in touch with Kay because it had left such a dreadful void.
Christabel sighed, remembering how terribly upset and unwanted she’d felt when Kay told her that she was going to marry Stuart. When she’d confided in Mark about it he’d pointed out that since Kay was already leading an independent life it probably wouldn’t make very much difference.
‘I know I can’t take Kay’s place in your heart but I’ll always be here for you,’ he’d added, taking her in his arms and giving her a reassuring hug.
All that, of course, was in the past and, as Mark was quick to point out whenever she mentioned that she still missed having Kay at home, she now saw her quite regularly.
This was very true and most of the time Christabel knew she was very fortunate that nowadays Kay did keep in touch and included her in her life as much as she possibly could, even though she was still living in London.
Until a couple of years ago, even after they were married, Kay and Stuart had made the journey from London to Wallasey so that they could spend the weekend with her at least once a month. Since Jill was born they’d not managed to come quite as often. She understood that, of course; travelling with a very young child wasn’t easy, there was so much that they had to bring with them.
Not for the first time, Christabel reflected on how lucky she was to have met up with Mark again and to have had him in her life for the past six years. He was not only a calming influence but was also dependable, wise and helpful.
She had Mark to thank for suggesting that since she had nursing experience she might find it interesting to come and work at the clinic that was part of the practice where he worked. It had not only stopped her brooding over Kay’s absence but had also provided her with a much-needed income.
Their friendship had blossomed into a deep companionship that suited them both and which they both enjoyed. Over dinner the previous night Mark had asked her if she would marry him and she had accepted.
Christabel wondered if she should tell the rest of the family about their future plans when they all came to Liverpool for the service to commemorate Alex’s life. She wasn’t at all sure that Mark would think it was the right time to do so and wondered if he would even want to be there with them.
He mightn’t want to intrude on such a sensitive family affair as the disposal of Alex’s ashes. Yet, on the other hand, since they were shortly to be married he might consider himself to be part of the family already, she mused.
Mark was very family orientated and always so considerate and careful to do what he thought was the right thing. She remembered how, when they had realised that they meant so much to each other, he had insisted that she must meet his two sons.
She’d been very nervous about doing so because from what Mark had told her they had both been very close to their mother and had taken her death rather badly. Christabel had been afraid that they might resent her close friendship with their father in case she tried to take their mother’s place. They were both so charming and so courteous towards her, however, that she’d felt quite overwhelmed.
Since then she’d grown to know them both extremely well and she now felt a genuine interest in them and was almost as concerned for their welfare as Mark was.
‘It always seems to be weddings and funerals that bring about family reunions,’ Kay commented as she passed the letter, which had arrived that morning, across the breakfast table to Stuart.
‘It’s not Aunt Christabel getting married, is it?’ He grinned as he took it from her.
‘No, I think she’s far too set in her ways to do anything as reckless as that.’ Kay smiled.
‘We really should go and see her this weekend. She hasn’t seen Jill for a couple of months now and you know how much she enjoys spending time with her.’
‘I know, but we seem to have been so busy lately. I have written to her most weeks and sent her the latest snapshots we’ve taken of Jill.’
‘That’s not quite the same as visiting her, and you know it isn’t!’ Stuart remonstrated. He looked again at the letter Kay had passed across to him from her cousin Marlene to say that her father had died in America, and that her mother was bringing his ashes back to England:
It’s Mum’s idea, she wants them to be interred in the family grave in Liverpool. I very much hope you will come because I’m counting on your support.
We will be staying over in Wallasey with Aunt Christabel, of course, so it will be a good opportunity for us all to meet up as a family. You barely know Bill, and I have only met Stuart a few times. You’ve not seen either of my children any more than I have seen your little poppet.
‘Marlene says she’s relying on you being there, so when do you want to travel to Merseyside?’ Stuart asked, passing the letter back to Kay.
‘She’ll have her husband and Aunt Lilian so she doesn’t really need me there for moral support,’ Kay demurred. ‘It might all be too much for Aunt Chrissy. I know she has the room to put us up, but I don’t think she can afford to cater for so many visitors and you know she’s too proud to let us pay for anything.’
Stuart looked at his watch. ‘I’m running late, we’ll talk about it when I get home tonight, OK?’ He stood up, kissed her goodbye and made for the door.
For the rest of the day Kay worried about what to do. She certainly wanted to see Marlene and her family, even Aunt Lilian, but staying with Aunt Chrissy at a time like this could be awkward.
Aunt Lilian was bound to talk about Uncle Alex’s will and that would be the opening for Aunt Chrissy to get on to the subject of Lewis’s will and there was so much involved that Kay felt this wasn’t the right time to deal with it.
Aunt Chrissy
had mentioned the will several times before but Kay had always managed to avoid the issue, mainly because she was pretty sure that Aunt Christabel wanted to talk about what was to be done with the house in Rolleston Drive and was waiting for her to say what she wanted to do about it. She knew there would have to be a decision eventually but knowing that it would affect them both, she didn’t know what was to be done because selling the house would mean turning Aunt Christabel out of what had been her home for so many years.
Kay knew she ought to talk to Stuart about it and tell him exactly what was involved and ask his advice, but she kept putting it off mainly because she still had feelings of guilt for having behaved so unfeelingly towards Aunt Christabel immediately after her father had died.
For so many years, she reflected, they’d been almost like mother and daughter but after Lewis had died, Aunt Christabel had started putting the pressure on, determined to make her go to university, and that was when she’d rebelled.
She was quite sure that Aunt Christabel had forgiven her and accepted that was all in the past. They would never be as close as they’d been when she was a child, but they were still very fond of each other and affectionate towards one another.
At the moment, Kay reflected, everything was so harmonious that she didn’t want to do anything to upset things – especially the almost-perfect life that she and Stuart were living now that he was working with his father. For many years Stuart’s mother had been in poor health due to a heart condition, and when she died a few months after Stuart and Kay married, Stuart’s father, who was an estate agent in the picturesque Thames Valley village of Cookham, had suggested that it might be a good idea if Stuart joined him as a business partner.
‘You’ve worked in the housing market ever since you left college,’ he pointed out, ‘so you have a fair grounding of business matters and you might enjoy the change.’
Whispers of Love Page 21
