by Lily Baxter
‘His friends?’ Adele was suddenly alert. ‘Are they joining us for lunch?’
Josie smiled and nodded. ‘We’re meeting your escorts for the ball at lunch. David will introduce you but I’ve already met Walter. He’s a charming young man who’s studying medicine, and there’s Frank Barton.’ She shot a mischievous look in Adele’s direction. ‘You’ll like him, Addie. He’s good-looking and frightfully well off. He could have been ordered for you straight from Harrods.’
Adele blushed and frowned. ‘Don’t be mean, Aunt Josie. You make me sound like a gold-digger.’
‘Not at all, darling. I know you for a sweet girl and I’m sure Frank will see that too.’ She turned to Meg, her expression serious for once. ‘Now, Meg, I know you’re inclined to speak your mind, so I want you to be very careful what you say. David’s other friend is everything that Walter is and Frank too, so I’ve heard, but there’s a subtle difference. I want you to think before you speak and treat him exactly the same as the others.’
Meg stared at her in surprise. ‘What’s wrong with him? Has he got two heads or something?’
CHAPTER TWO
As she left the bright sunshine and entered the cool interior of the Mitre Hotel it took Meg several seconds to grow accustomed to the dim light in the oak-beamed vestibule. ‘It’s really old,’ she murmured, gazing around in awe.
‘It was a coaching inn until 1926,’ Josie said with a knowledgeable smile. ‘There, girls, that’s your history lesson for today. My darling husband would be proud of me. He always says I have the attention span of a goldfish and this proves him wrong. Anyway, let’s go and find the boys. I believe I’ve worked up quite an appetite for lunch.’ She led the way through the reception area to the restaurant, giving her name to the maître d’hôtel. With a courtly bow, he escorted them to a table at the far end of the room.
On seeing them David rose to his feet, and forgetting decorum Meg rushed over to fling her arms around him. ‘It seems ages since you were last at home. I’ve really missed you.’
Laughing, he slipped his arm around her shoulders. ‘I’ve missed you too, Meg.’ He held his hand out to Adele. ‘You’re not going to make a show of me in front of everyone, are you, Addie?’
She smiled. ‘No, of course not, but it’s lovely to see you looking so well, David.’
‘My turn,’ Josie said, moving forward to kiss his cheek. ‘Aren’t you going to introduce the girls to your friends? I know Walter, of course.’
There was a hint of coquetry in the smile that Josie directed at him. Meg was quick to notice that her aunt’s charm was not lost on Walter or his two companions who had leapt to their feet and were waiting their turn to be introduced.
‘It’s good to see you again, Mrs Shelmerdine,’ Walter said, blushing.
‘Josie, please. None of this Mrs Shelmerdine nonsense.’ Her attention wandered to a broad-shouldered young man. To Meg’s eyes he looked the type who would be captain of the cricket eleven or one of the oarsmen in the annual university boat race.
‘This is my good friend, Frank Barton, Aunt Josie,’ David said, standing aside to allow Frank to shake her proffered hand. ‘Frank, my aunt, Josie Shelmerdine, and my sisters Adele and Meg.’
‘How do you do?’ Frank shook hands rather too heartily, Meg thought, as he pumped her arm up and down. She noticed that his gaze rested rather longer on Adele than it did on either her or her aunt, but then that was only to be expected. Addie turned heads wherever she went.
David did not seem to be aware that anything out of the ordinary had occurred, or maybe he had grown accustomed to his friends falling head over heels for his pretty sister. Meg was used to taking second place, and catching Walter’s eye she thought she saw a hint of sympathy in his smile. He was nice, she decided, warming to him. He looked like an overgrown schoolboy with a fresh face and smiling grey eyes. If Frank was the all round good egg and sportsman, then Walter was the sensitive, kind-to-animals type of person; someone to whom you could turn in a crisis. Walter was definitely all right in her book.
‘This, as you’ve already gathered, girls, if you were paying attention, is Walter Howe,’ David said somewhat unnecessarily.
‘I’m delighted to meet you both at last,’ Walter said, shaking their hands in turn. ‘David’s told me so much about you and your home in Guernsey.’
Adele flashed him a smile but Meg could see that her sister was far more interested in Frank. Aunt Josie, it seemed, had hit the nail on the head as far as Frank Barton was concerned.
‘Last, but not least, is my good friend, Rayner.’ David turned to a tall, blond young man. ‘Aunt Josie, Addie, Meg, may I present Rayner Weiss who has come all the way from Dresden to study English.’
Rayner bowed from the waist. ‘How do you do?’ He spoke with only a trace of an accent.
Meg angled her head. So this was the mystery man. For almost as long as she could remember she had heard her father speak disparagingly of the Teutonic race, but this young man did not look like anyone’s enemy. He had been standing quietly behind David but as he stepped forward she thought he looked surprisingly ordinary. He was a little above average in height and he had the straight features and fair complexion of any one of the Nordic peoples. What she had expected a German to look like she did not know, but Rayner Weiss looked as wholesome as an advert for breakfast cereal or toothpaste. She jumped as Adele nudged her in the ribs and she held out her hand. ‘How do you do, Mr Weiss?’
‘How do you do, Miss Colivet?’
There was a hint of a smile in his blue eyes that reminded Meg of the sea on a summer’s day. She felt herself blushing and looked away. Once again she wished that she had had more practice in dealing with the opposite sex. Addie was a natural; she made it all look so effortless.
‘Everyone sit down, please,’ David said, holding out a chair for Josie. ‘I’m starving. I don’t know about the rest of you, although I expect that Meg is more than ready for her lunch.’
She was about to retaliate when Rayner moved swiftly to her side. ‘Allow me, Miss Colivet.’
‘Meg,’ she murmured as she took her seat. ‘It’s Meg, short for Marguerite.’
He smiled. ‘That is a beautiful name.’
‘Don’t encourage her,’ David said, sitting down next to Josie. ‘Meg is still just a kid.’
‘I am not,’ Meg said fiercely. ‘I’ll be seventeen in June. You know that jolly well.’
He leaned across the table to pat her on the head. ‘Now, now, little sister, don’t get in a pet. I was joking.’
‘It’s such a pity that Paul couldn’t join us for lunch, but the poor dear is snowed under with work,’ Josie said swiftly before Meg could retaliate. She glanced at the waiter who was hovering at a discreet distance from the table. ‘I think we should order now, don’t you, David?’
The meal passed pleasantly with Josie encouraging the young men to talk about themselves, their studies and their ambitions for the future. Meg could only sit back and admire her aunt’s ability to draw people into conversation, even the shy ones like Walter, who with a little gentle probing from Josie became quite animated as he talked about his desire to practise medicine in a rural area. Frank needed no persuasion in order to bring him out of his shell, if he had one, Meg thought wryly, when he talked at length about his father’s business, which turned out to be a shipping line. Adele listened with rapt attention, hanging on his every word. Meg could almost hear the wedding bells ringing in her ears as she watched her sister being seduced by the world of wealth and privilege.
Rayner was less forthcoming and Meg admired him for that. He talked fondly about his parents and his home in Dresden, but said little about the toy factory owned by his family, and then changed the subject to include David and their shared passion for flying. Taking his cue, David was only too pleased to talk about their exploits in the air. Meg could not help wondering what their father would make of the fact that his son and heir spent more time flying aeroplanes than he did attend
ing lectures. She did not blame David one bit, but she decided that this would be one piece of news that she would not pass on to her parents when she returned home. As she listened to her brother she could not help casting covert glances at Rayner. His calm expression and self-contained manner fascinated her. He did not seem to need to push himself forward like Frank, nor was he self-effacing like Walter. His reserve seemed to be based in the quiet confidence of a man who knew where he was going and what he wanted from life. He might be of a similar age, but in her opinion he made David and the others look like callow youths. Rayner Weiss was someone she would like to know better. She realised suddenly that David had stopped talking. She looked up to find him frowning at her. ‘You haven’t heard a word I said, have you, Meg?’
Everyone was staring at her.
‘I’m sorry,’ she murmured apologetically. ‘What were you saying?’
He shrugged his shoulders. ‘Since you couldn’t be bothered to listen, I don’t suppose you’d be interested. We’ll go without you tomorrow.’
*
‘You were ogling Rayner Weiss all through lunch,’ Adele said, chuckling. ‘You were in a dream world all of your own, as usual. If Rayner hadn’t stood up for you I think David really would have made you stay at home and miss the river trip tomorrow.’
Sitting cross-legged on her bed in the room they had shared as children and still elected to use now, even though the Shelmerdines’ house boasted seven bedrooms, Meg tossed her slipper at her sister. ‘I didn’t ogle him. Anyway, you only had eyes for Frank so you wouldn’t have noticed if I’d got up and danced on the table.’
Adele stopped brushing her hair for a moment to glance over her shoulder. ‘I think I might.’ She twisted round on the dressing table stool to face Meg. ‘But Frank is absolutely super, isn’t he? He’s so good-looking, and charming too.’
‘And rich. I don’t suppose that has anything to do with your crush on him?’
‘Of course not. Well, if I’m being perfectly honest, I suppose it does add a teensy bit to his attractiveness, but I’d like him even if his father didn’t own a shipping line or two.’
‘Well, good luck,’ Meg said sincerely. ‘He seems a decent enough chap and if you like him, that’s all that matters.’
‘I don’t suppose it will come to anything. We’ll be going home in less than a fortnight and I may never see him again.’ Adele turned back to gaze soulfully at her reflection in the mirror.
‘Then you’d best work fast if you want him,’ Meg said, uncurling her legs to sit on the edge of the bed. ‘You’ll have a chance to get to know him better on the river trip tomorrow, and then there’s the May Ball. I expect he’ll dance you off your feet, and there’ll be wine and moonlight and music …’
‘Meggie, you’re turning into a real romantic,’ Adele said, smiling. ‘You must be in love with the handsome German.’
Meg lobbed the other slipper, narrowly missing Adele and knocking a cut-glass perfume atomiser off the dressing table.
Frank and Walter arrived punctually at one o’clock the next day. Encouraged by Meg to make the most of her charms, Adele drifted across the gravelled drive in her ankle length rose-print chiffon dress. In one hand she carried a small white handbag little bigger than a purse, and in the other a wide-brimmed straw hat. Her high-heeled sandals were not designed for walking on rough ground, but Meg’s master plan seemed to have worked as Frank helped Adele into his Riley tourer as if she were too fragile to get in unaided. Meg watched them with a satisfied smile; so far so good. Frank Barton would have to be made of concrete if he could not see what a lovely girl Adele was beneath the frills and furbelows. Her sister might aggravate her sometimes, but she would go to any lengths to see her happy.
‘Hello, Meg. You look smashing,’ Walter said, smiling shyly.
‘Thanks, Walter.’ She looked him up and down and was impressed by his smart, if conservative, appearance in a black blazer and grey flannels. ‘You look pretty good yourself.’ As she climbed into the back of the car Meg was glad that she had worn plain navy blue slacks, a striped sweater and deck shoes. She might not look a picture of feminine elegance like Addie, but at least she would be comfortable. Some girls were born to be pampered, and others to be a jolly good sport. She suspected that she was the latter.
David and Rayner were waiting for them on the towpath below Folly Bridge. The punt was moored alongside, complete with velvet cushions and a large wicker picnic hamper.
‘This is lovely,’ Meg said enthusiastically.
David ruffled her hair. ‘Glad you think so, but don’t forget, one peep out of you, kid, and it’ll be man overboard.’
‘Surely that should be woman overboard?’ Rayner said with a wry smile.
David slapped him on the back. ‘Pedantic as usual, you old Kraut.’
‘Well, I am here to brush up my English. At least you might try to get it right for me.’
Meg pulled a face at her brother. ‘David hasn’t learned to speak English properly himself.’
‘Get into the punt, Meg, and don’t be cheeky to your elders.’ David pulled the punt closer to the shore, and Walter caught her as she leapt aboard. Adele was already seated in the stern with her skirts spread out around her and Frank had placed himself next to her. The pair were deep in conversation, and determined not to play gooseberry Meg sat as far away from them as was possible. Walter and Rayner manhandled the picnic basket into position and took their seats while David untied the mooring rope and leapt onto the punt. He balanced expertly and poled it into midstream. Meg was secretly impressed by his efforts, but it was obvious that this was not his first time on the water. Again, she wondered what their parents would say if they knew of their son’s extracurricular activities. ‘It looks quite easy. Can I have a go?’ she said after a while, as the punt skimmed silently downriver.
David shook his head. ‘Not now, Meg. I want to find a quiet spot where we can have lunch. You can have a go later.’
She turned to Walter who had settled himself on a cushion beside her. ‘This is fun. What a pity Aunt Josie couldn’t come with us.’
He nodded his head. ‘She’s a wonderful woman. I’ve never known anyone quite like her.’
‘She is rather special, isn’t she?’ Meg eyed him curiously, sensing a deeper emotion than simple admiration. ‘Do you see very much of her?’
‘She’s very kind and invites us poor undergrads to supper at least once a week.’ He trailed his fingers in the water. ‘That husband of hers never seems to be at home.’
‘Uncle Paul’s a busy man. He works terribly hard.’
Walter shot her a wary look. ‘I didn’t mean to criticise him. It’s just that I don’t understand how he can leave a lovely vibrant person like Mrs Shelmerdine so much on her own.’
Meg digested this in silence. She had seen her uncle briefly at breakfast the morning after their arrival, and he had apologised profusely for not being there to greet them when they arrived, but his place at table had again been empty last evening at dinner. Meg knew from the long hours her father spent at the office and in the law courts that the life of a lawyer was not necessarily his own, but she had never thought of Aunt Josie as a neglected wife. She pushed the disturbing vision to the back of her mind. It was becoming obvious that Walter had a crush on her aunt, but she was at least ten years his senior, maybe even twelve. Even if Aunt Josie were free, she would never consider allying herself to a much younger man. That would not be the accepted thing at all. Mother would have forty fits and even Pa might raise an eyebrow.
Meg leaned back against the cushions. Frank and Adele were nattering away as if they had known each other for years, and Rayner had pulled his straw boater down over his eyes as he lounged in the bows. She wondered if he was asleep or merely wanted to remain aloof from the party. She was not quite sure how to treat him, but she was keen to know him better. She found him enigmatic and fascinating. He was unlike anyone else she had ever met, but he seemed to have set up an invisible b
arrier, excluding everyone except David. It was quite obvious that they were the best of friends and totally at ease in each other’s company. Meg was mystified and intrigued. She relaxed and breathed in the scent of the river. The smell of mud and rotting vegetation mingled with the honey fragrance of clover from the fields on either side of the weeping willows that lined the banks. It was quiet and peaceful with just the plashing of the water against the hull of the punt. Adele and Frank were silent now, but a quick glance over her shoulder revealed them holding hands and gazing at each other. Meg smiled to herself. Things were going well for Addie. She could not have been happier.
When they were a little further downriver, David steered the punt towards the bank declaring that he had done enough hard work for now and needed a rest. ‘Wake up, Rayner, you lazy dog. Look lively there. Hop ashore like a good chap and tie the painter to a tree or something.’
Rayner raised himself quickly for someone who was supposed to have been dozing and he leapt onto the bank to secure the rope to the branch of a stunted hazel. Walter undertook to heft the heavy hamper onto dry ground, and it was Rayner who held his hand out to help Meg ashore.
His fingers felt strong and cool, and she was vaguely disappointed when he released his hold and strolled off to assist David, who had selected a suitable place for their picnic in the shade of a willow tree. Frank had gallantly lifted Adele onto dry land, and taking off his blazer he laid it on the ground for her. Like a modern-day Sir Walter Raleigh, Meg thought, sighing. How terribly romantic.
Walter was attending to the practicality of unpacking the hamper. He brought out several packets of sandwiches wrapped in greaseproof paper, a fruit-cake and two bottles of champagne.
The food was consumed rapidly and the second bottle of champagne was opened and drunk with the same speed as the first. Adele said she would like to walk along the towpath and Frank scrambled to his feet saying that he also would like to stretch his legs. Walter had fallen asleep leaning against the trunk of the willow, snoring gently with his chin resting on his chest. David and Rayner sat smoking cigarettes and chatting about the flying club, which precluded Meg from the conversation. Bored and feeling slightly light-headed after the champagne, she scrambled to her feet. ‘I’d like to have a go at punting, David.’
