Camellia

by Lesley Pearse

  Magnus had half expected some of the guests, particularly the actor friends, to interrupt the flow of the film by making ribald comments, but the story was so powerful that they quickly became immersed in it. In fact Magnus found himself forgetting that the tough instructor who bullied, cajoled and reached the hearts and minds of those young offenders, or shinnied up rock faces seemingly effortlessly, was his son. But every now and then, mostly when the camera caught Nick in a close-up, and he saw the lad's clear blue eyes, and his angular cheek bones, he felt a pang of sorrow that Ruth wasn't here beside him.

  Mel, sitting between Magnus and Nick, was so enthralled that when they got to the part where Nick fell into the crevice, she cried out in fear.

  In the final poignant scene where the young tearaway changes his mind about running away to the city and climbs back to help Nick, both Helena and Mel were sobbing. Magnus glanced round over his shoulder and saw that Sophie was too. He hadn't seen her react emotionally to anything since she was a young teenager.

  As the credits rolled and Nick Osbourne's name flashed onto the screen, Magnus leapt to his feet.

  'That's my boy,' he yelled, his eyes as damp as Mel's.

  'Oh Dad.' Nick embraced his father fiercely, too choked up to say anything coherent. A babble of laughter and chatter broke out, hands reached out to pat his back, but his father's pride and delight meant more than anything.

  'You were absolutely wonderful.' Mel hugged Nick, still sniffing and dabbing at her eyes.

  'Dan was better,' Nick said. 'He made the film. Did you see that expression on his face when he was fighting? He really looked like a hard nut.'

  'Which one was Dan?' she joked. 'I only saw one face throughout the whole film.'

  They all moved back into the bar, the two waitresses coming in to move back the chairs for dancing later and to set up a table for the buffet. The barman was opening bottles of champagne and everyone was talking at once, trying to get Nick's attention. But Nick stayed firmly by Mel's side, introducing her to his friends, smiling happily at their extravagant praise.

  'Look who's coming!' Nick whispered to Mel a bit later as Sophie elbowed her way towards them, dragging her husband Michael by the hand.

  Mel thought she looked very attractive tonight. It was good to see her in a smart dress, instead of baggy tweeds and twin-sets. She hadn't any idea that Sophie had such a good figure or such nice legs.

  'You were very good, Nick,' she said in the same kind of snooty voice she used to speak to Oaklands staff. 'I'm very proud of you.' She stopped suddenly, as if aware her tone was all wrong. 'I mean it, Nick,' her voice softened. 'You made me cry.'

  Mel glanced at Nick, hoping he wouldn't come back at Sophie with sarcasm. To her delight he reached forward and gave his sister a warm hug. 'That's a nice thing to say, Soph. My family's opinion is more important to me than tomorrow's papers. I'm really glad you came – it's a long way from Yorkshire.'

  Sophie smiled – really smiled from the heart – and for the first time ever Mel saw Magnus in her face. She shared none of his strong features, but just this once she had her father's joyful expression.

  'Hullo, Mel.' She turned to Mel almost timidly. 'I'm so sorry to hear about what happened to you. It must have been terrible. But you look well now. Are you feeling better?'

  It was enough that Sophie hadn't been waspish with Nick; the last thing Mel had expected from his sister was that she'd be nice to her. I'm absolutely fine now,' she said in a rush, wishing she knew how much Magnus had told his daughter. 'It's nice to see you again, and Michael.' She smiled at the whey-faced man with thick glasses standing just behind his wife. 'Isn't this a lovely party?'

  Mel expected Sophie to move on men – she had never been any good at sustaining a conversation beyond two or three sentences – but to her further surprise Sophie blushed and dropped her eyes.

  'I'm sorry if I was sharp with you in the past,' she blurted out.

  'Were you? I didn't notice,' Mel lied.

  'I was. I suppose I was a bit jealous because Dad was always talking about you.'

  There was nothing Mel could say to that so she just smiled. She wondered if Sophie realised they would soon be sisters-in-law.

  'Dad seems very chummy with her now,' Sophie nodded her head towards Helena who was talking animatedly to one of Nick's actor friends. 'I don't know that I like it. I hear she's an alcoholic.'

  'Sophie!' Nick exclaimed. 'She isn't and anyway do you have to judge people so harshly?'

  'I'm sorry,' she retorted, but her old acid tone was back, probably to stay. 'I can't helping worrying about our father, it's in my nature.'

  As Sophie flounced off with Michael following meekly behind, Nick grinned. 'Now there's another person who must've been swopped at birth. She hasn't got an ounce of Mum or Dad in her. Somewhere out on the Yorkshire moors there's a couple of ogres who she really belongs to. Poor old Michael! I wonder what he did wrong in his previous life.'

  As the champagne flowed, so the noise level in the bar rose. Nick had taken Mel around the room introducing her to friends. She'd seen some of them before at Oaklands – a young doctor and his wife, a jeweller and his fiancée – but most were actors.

  The ringing of the bar bell made them all turn. Magnus was standing behind the bar with a smile which lit up the room.

  'I just want to say a few words,' he said, once everyone was hushed. 'To thank you all for coming tonight and sharing my pride in my son. It came as quite a surprise to me to find he has some talent. There was a time when I worried because he couldn't get the hang of anything useful like bricklaying.' A ripple of laughter broke out at this. 'Now if you'd like to raise your glasses with me I'd like to propose a toast. Not just to Nick, or to the success of Delinquents but to all actors and actresses, for their skill at entertaining us and for enriching our lives.' He lifted his champagne glass. 'To Nick, Delinquents and the world of entertainment.'

  His toast was repeated by everyone, amongst cheering and clapping. More party poppers were fired into the air and Joan Downes was clicking away with her camera.

  'Your turn now, Nick,' someone yelled from the back of the bar and the cry of 'Speech' was taken up by everyone.

  Nick moved over towards the doors which led onto the garden, took a swig of his drink and grinned broadly. 'I'm not much good at impromptu speeches,' he began. 'I'm used to getting my lines written for me. But I would like to say thank you to all of you for not sleeping during the film or walking out to get a drink. I'd also like to thank my father, not just for this party, but for being such a brilliant dad all these years and for not insisting I became a bricklayer, or even a plumber. Maybe the reviews tomorrow will be so bad that I'll have to ask him for a job as a waiter or groundsman, but I think I should warn him now I drop plates and I can't do stripes in lawns.

  'Finally, before you all start yawning, I've got something further to share with you all. Today I asked Mel to marry me. Unless she's changed her mind since seeing me on the screen, she accepted, and we want to get married as soon as possible.'

  A barrage of cheering and clapping started and Mel was pushed forward for Nick to kiss her.

  But as Nick released her and they turned back to face the cheering group in front of them, Mel knew she'd found far more than a fiancé She had a real family at last. All the apprehension she'd felt earlier about what that meant vanished at seeing their reaction to Nick's announcement.

  Magnus had tears of joy running down his cheeks; he wasn't even attempting to hide them. Miles was perched on a bar stool, smiling so broadly he looked almost ridiculous. Helena's mouth was quivering, her eyes like two dark woodland pools. Even Sophie and Stephen were cheering and clapping with everyone else. As for Joan, she had her face embedded in Antoine's chest, her shoulders heaving.

  In the ensuing barrage of congratulations and kisses, no one noticed Magnus slip from the room. Stephen organised more champagne to be opened, Joan tearfully came forward to hug them both, and even the kisses from Sophie a
nd Stephen were warm and sincere.

  Then just as Magnus was missed, the door opened wide and he came back in, grinning like a new father. Everyone turned to look at him expectantly.

  'An engagement isn't truly possible without a ring,' he said. 'I know Nick probably intended to choose something with Mel tomorrow, but it's my belief this is the one Mel should wear, tonight and forever.'

  He held out a single diamond ring.

  'This was Ruth's,' he said, his voice trembling and his eyes damp again. 'Both Sophie and Stephen were married before Ruth died and I know she would have liked one of her children to wear it into marriage. I couldn't find a more fitting hand to put it on than Mel's. To me she has always felt like another daughter.'

  For a second there was complete silence, as an almost visible current flowed between Magnus, Nick and Mel.

  'Are you sure, Dad?' Nick said in a quavering voice.

  'Just put it on her finger,' he said huskily.

  Nick took the ring and Mel's left hand and slipped it on.

  A champagne cork popped like gunshot and wild cheering broke out.

  'I love you,' Nick whispered to Mel as he leaned closer to kiss her.

  An hour or so later Mel slipped away from the party, into the drawing room. She was a little drunk, the cigarette smoke in the bar was making her eyes sting, and she wanted a few minutes alone.

  The party was in full swing, Lena Zavaroni's 'Ma he's Making Eyes at Me' was belting out from the dining room, and all the younger guests were in there dancing, joining in with exaggerated raucous voices. There had never been quite such a noisy party at Oaklands before.

  As she left the bar, Nick was deep in conversation with his brother Stephen, Magnus had his head together with Sophie, Helena was talking to a couple of actors and Miles had fallen asleep in an armchair with his head lolling forward onto his chest.

  It had been such a perfect evening, all her dreams and hopes coming together, yet for some inexplicable reason she had suddenly felt sad.

  To her surprise the fire in the drawing room was still blazing away. Magnus must have built it up expecting people to come in here. It was peaceful and fresh after the noise and smoke in the bar, but she'd expected it to be cool too.

  Perhaps it was partly because Ruth's ring was twinkling on her finger, but she felt very much aware of Nick's mother's character as she stood looking around. The calming blues and greens of the decor reflected her love of the countryside, the comfort of the room showed her desire to cosset and protect, even those vast handsewn curtains showed the woman's patience.

  Ruth, or so Mrs Downes had told her, never minded guests' children jumping on the furniture and lovingly touched up scratches on the beautiful walnut coffee table without saying a word in complaint. Would she be saddened to find that children seldom come to stay here now? That Oaklands had gone beyond being a family hotel?

  There was still a box of toys and jigsaws in the walnut sideboard. Once Mel had taken them out and marvelled at the woman who'd found time to make a complete layette for the baby doll instead of thrusting it away in a tattered old dress as most hotel owners would do. She wished she had known Ruth. Everything she'd ever heard about her told her they would have been friends.

  It was so hot Mel opened the curtains a little and unlocked the French windows to let in some cool air. She looked out for a moment. The small courtyard was lit up outside, but beyond the low ornamental wall that surrounded it, she could see nothing, almost as if a black curtain were hung there. But she could hear the sighing of the wind in the trees and the distant hoot of an owl.

  The courtyard was at its best in summer – urns overflowing with flowers, a small fountain playing in the little pool. She could remember dodging the pale mauve tassels of wisteria as she took drinks out to the guests lounging in the sun. But the pool was still and black now, a carpet of fallen leaves covering the ground. It looked as sad as she felt and chilly, so she pulled the door to and moved back across the room to sit by the fire.

  Helena came in just seconds later.

  'Oh, there you are,' she said, a slightly anxious look clouding her eyes. 'You had me worried for a moment.'

  'Just gathering myself,' Mel admitted. 'I love parties, but I got a bit tired of being the centre of attention, and all the questions.'

  'I know exactly what you mean,' Helena smiled and perched on the end of the settee across the fire to Mel. 'It's been difficult for all of us tonight – I mean the questions – but much more so for you. You aren't used to having a spotlight turned on you.'

  'A shrink would probably say I'm insecure,' Mel grinned sheepishly. 'I go looking for black clouds, even when the sky is blue.'

  'Me too,' Helena laughed, tossing her head, her eyes dancing. 'I used to cry buckets when I got one bad review against nine excellent ones. Eventually one has to accept that absolute perfection is extremely rare, perhaps even nonexistent. But what black clouds have you found tonight?'

  'None,' Mel admitted. 'I just suddenly felt a bit sad. I don't know why.'

  'I do.' Helena gave a rueful smile. 'At the times in our life when we are happiest, our mind often flits back to wishing we could share the moment with someone who for one reason or another can't be there. On the opening night at the Phoenix back in 1945, I can remember feeling absolute joy at the curtain calls, yet deep sorrow that my mother wasn't in the audience. Magnus wished Ruth were here tonight, I'm quite sure Nick did too. Miles said earlier how much Mary would have enjoyed the party.'

  'I haven't been wishing anyone else was here, aside from Conrad,' Mel said, not quite understanding what Helena was getting at.

  'No?' Helena raised one perfect arched eyebrow. 'What about Bonny?'

  'She never even crossed my mind, except to think but for her I wouldn't be having to be so evasive about everything.'

  'So she did cross your mind?' Helena looked at Mel, her lips quivering with a smile. 'Maybe you didn't consciously miss her, but it amounts to the same thing. I know I thought how much she would've relished tonight. She would be overjoyed to find you'd become engaged to Nick.'

  Mel was deeply touched. It hadn't occurred to her that Helena would continue to cast Bonny in the role of mother, or stop to consider her views on Mel's engagement. 'You think so?'

  'I know so,' Helena said and getting up off the arm of the settee she came over to Mel's chair, crouched down in front of her and took Mel's hand between both hers. She looked like an exotic orchid in her flowing green and blue chiffon. 'Just because someone is dead doesn't mean you should shut them out. Of course if Bonny had been here tonight, a few sparks would have flown. But then you know what I mean by that!'

  They both laughed in complete understanding. Mel's sadness flew away.

  'She would have stolen the show,' she admitted. 'Dressed to kill in something revealing, flirting with every man in sight. She'd probably have rolled back the carpet and given us a tap dance too.'

  'I might have joined her.' Helena smiled with affection. 'We had some wonderful times together, Mel, one of these days we must sit down together and I'll tell you them all. I never had as much fun with anyone as I did with Bonny.'

  The warmth in Helena's voice moved Mel. 'Why aren't you bitter?'

  'Now what have I got to be bitter about?' Helena's eyes widened at the question. 'I regret agreeing to give you to her and John, but if I hadn't, you and I might have had a very hard time. I'm sad too because we couldn't work something out between ourselves so that I shared in your growing-up. I have been angry that Bonny neglected you later on. But I don't feel bitter.'

  'But why not? I would if I was in your shoes.'

  Helena shrugged. 'I know Bonny loved you. Just the way you are proves that. If you had been a burden to her she would have got in touch with me when John died. I believe her silence then proves that you were the most valuable part of her life.'

  'She had a strange way of showing it!'

  'Maybe.' Helena reached out and tilted up Mel's chin to look at her. 'But wou
ld I have done better? I was in a bad way too remember! Look at you, Mel – you're warm, intelligent and I know from Magnus how resourceful and hard-working you can be. Can you honestly say none of that was down to Bonny's influence.'

  It was Helena's loyalty to her old friend which tugged at some string inside her. Everyone who knew Bonny had maligned her – even Magnus – leaving Mel almost nothing to cling onto. Helena, who had more than enough reasons to hate her, was honest and compassionate enough not only to forgive, but to treasure her memory.

  'I ought to get back to the party,' she said a little reluctantly. 'But we must spend some time together soon. I want to hear all your stories, but right now I should be with Nick.'

  They both stood up but Helena cupped her two hands around Mel's face, looking right into her eyes. 'We've got the rest of our lives to get to know one another,' she said softly. 'I'm so happy I've found you again, and so delighted at the way you've turned out. That's enough for the moment.'

  Something stirred inside Mel, a sensation of warmth melting an icy place inside her. She put her hand tentatively on Helena's cheek and caressed it tenderly. 'Are you going to tell the world I'm your daughter?' It was a bit juvenile to ask such a thing, especially when she wasn't even sure she wanted it herself, and she felt a little embarrassed.

  But Helena's wide exuberant smile proved she was more than ready to nail her colours to the mast. 'Oh darling! I want to scream it from the rooftops. I'll call a press conference tomorrow if you'll let me. But the decision about that must rest with you. Your emotions might be too raw still for such a thing.'

  Mel's inner reserve broke down at this forthright statement. The icy lump inside her dissolved completely and when Helena drew her into her arms, this time there was no resistance. The spontaneous sweetness of the embrace broke through the barricades as no mere words could. Two bodies and minds fused together out of mutual need as they cried on each other's shoulders.

  'Very touching!'

  Mel's eyes shot open at the sound of a male voice just feet away from them.