Born of Woman (46 page)

Lyn grabbed the bannister. There wasn't room for Susie. It would be only a tiny house—all three crammed together—hot dangerous bodies touching. Four including the baby. More than four. The hall was filling now with writhing shadowy figures. Susannah Jane screaming and bloody in childbirth. Edward Arthur James snatching Hernhope like a toy and tossing it across the globe until it hit New Zealand. A two-year-old with ringlets and a smile. Susie with a smile. Susie's mouth opening wider wider wider, splitting like a cunt. He might split her even further if she lived with them—harm the baby, smash Susannah …

‘Lyn, what d'you think, darling? I mean, if I went and told Susie now, it would cheer her up no end. Give her something to hang on to.'

‘Y … yes,' Lyn said. ‘All right.' He couldn't shout or scream. He had returned to be a loving giving husband. He could feel himself shrivelling everywhere. Susie would make him a nun again. If he seized her, she would only laugh. Watch his grab turning limp and weak and stupid. She and Jennifer giggling at his impotence, whispering in corners, sharing confidences, shutting him out, betraying him.

‘I'd … er … better have my bath.'

‘Yes, you do that. I'll be as quick as I can, I promise. You
are
a darling, to be so understanding. Give me a kiss before I go.'

‘No. I …'

‘All right, keep it for me. I'll be back to claim it. ‘Bye, sweetheart.'

Sweetheart
. She hadn't called him that for months. Only said it now because she was thrilled about the thought of Susie living with them. She laughed with Susie—never laughed with him. Susie had giggled when he kissed her. Supposing he kissed her again? Threw her on the bed, made her a Susannah? He couldn't live with Susie. Too dangerous, too confusing. Susie swollen with another Edward, pushing him out of the nest, snatching his wife away when he had already lost his mother. All his fears returning. Jennifer returning. Dashing across the hall again. What did she want now? Come to ask if Susie could share their bed? He heaved up from the stairs.

‘Lyn, Lyn! It's Matthew. He's back. He's
here
—just outside with Anne. They're paying off the taxi. What shall we do?

‘Matthew?' Lyn clawed at the wall to steady himself. ‘But … but you said he was flying back tomorrow—overnight.'

‘Yes, that's right. He wasn't due to arrive till first thing Sunday morning. I was going to meet their plane.—6.05. Terminal 3. It was all arranged.'

‘Quick! Let's get out, then. Slip out of the back while they come in the front. I can't face Matthew now.'

‘But you're not dressed, Lyn. You can't go out in a towel. Look, grab a mac or something, to …'

‘No, don't. They're coming. Hide!'

‘Jennifer! Hallo, my dear. Where
are
you dashing off to? Sorry to surprise you like this, but Anne took a turn for the worse, so we managed to change our tickets and come home earlier.' Matthew swept through the door, a suitcase in each hand, Anne pale and stooping behind him. ‘Though I don't know why we bothered, there were so many delays. We should have been in hours ago, but these airlines are totally inefficient.' He put the cases down, kissed Jennifer on the cheek. ‘You look extremely well yourself, I'm glad to say. It
is
nice to be back. Everything all right?'

‘Er … yes. Fine. Welcome back. H … how was the … trip?'

‘Good and bad. Australia was wonderful. A triumph, you might say. They were eating out of my hand by the time we left. Japan less so. We ran into a few problems there, unfortunately. Ah, Lyn—hallo. Been hiding, have you? I'm not sure I approve of the South Seas style of dress.'

‘Sorry. Just had a … bath.' Lyn clutched the towel around him, bolted upstairs.

Jennifer longed to dash after him, smiled at Anne instead. ‘Look, let me take those bags from you. You don't look well at all. How are you feeling?'

‘Rotten, I'm afraid. I've had some stupid bug for the last three weeks. It spoilt more than half of the trip, and even now, I can't seem to shake it off.'

‘What a shame. I'm sorry. Why don't you go straight upstairs to bed? I'll sort out the cases.'

‘Good idea, Anne.' Matthew removed his jacket. ‘You go up and rest.'

‘No, I'd rather see the boys first. I've missed them terribly. Where are they? Out with Susie?'

‘They … er … won't be long. Let me make you a cup of tea or something. You must be exhausted after the journey.'

‘That would be nice. I've been longing for some proper English tea. How is Susie, by the way? I hope she's been some use.' Anne had followed Jennifer into the kitchen and was glancing around at the pile of dirty dishes, the cooker splashed with grease.

‘Oh, yes. A great help.'

‘Where's she taken the boys?'

‘She … er … hasn't.'

‘Where is she, then?'

‘I'm afraid she's … Well, she … I mean, she had to … leave. This morning.'

‘Leave?' Matthew had swooped into the kitchen. ‘What do you mean?'

‘It's her … mother. She was taken ill. A stroke. It was all quite unexpected. The … er … father phoned and said Susie had to return immediately.'

‘Oh dear, I am sorry.' Anne sat down, her face ashen beside Matthew's sallow one.

‘Look, you ought to go to bed, Anne. You look awfully pale, you know. I'll bring your tea up.'

‘No, really, thanks. I'd rather have it here. I want to know what's going on. When did all this happen?'

‘Just this morning. About … ten o'clock Susie had the call, and she was on the train by lunchtime.'

‘Poor girl. What a shock for her. Did she have enough money for the fare? It's quite a distance, isn't it, Great Yarmouth?'

‘Yes. We … er … took it from your emergency fund. I hope you don't mind. It was all such a rush, you see, and …'

‘No, that's quite all right. That's what it's there for. Is her mother expected to …? I mean, d'you think there's any chance of Susie coming back here?'

‘Well, not for a … while, I shouldn't think. I mean, there's all the other children to look after, all younger, and …'

Matthew was pacing up and down in front of the window, blocking out the light. ‘Well, it is
most
unfortunate. I mean, to lose er at this time—with Anne unwell and the boys needing all their school things sorting out. Where are they, did you say?'

‘At … er … Mrs Briggs.'

‘Mrs Briggs? We
never
let them go there! Charlie Briggs's language leaves a lot to be desired, and Mrs Briggs may
call
herself a cleaner, but her own house doesn't show much sign of it. She doesn't appear to have done much here, in fact.'

‘No. Well—I … let her have some time off. She kept complaining that …'

‘
I
decide her holidays, Jennifer, if you don't mind. She's a born complainer. What you should have done was …'

Lyn had slipped into the kitchen, now dressed in corduroys and a shirt. ‘Look here, Matthew, Jennifer's worked bloody hard all summer. Taken the boys out, mended and cooked and cleaned for them, done the garden, dealt with Mrs Briggs, and all you can do is start …'

Anne got up. ‘We're
very
grateful, Lyn. Of course, we are. We couldn't have managed without you both.' She reeled, clutched the table. ‘Oh dear, I do feel dizzy. I think I'd better go and rest.'

She closed the door. Matthew frowned. ‘I'm going to phone the doctor in the morning. Make sure she has a really thorough check-up. We only saw some … quack out there, who seems to have made her worse. She's missed the boys, of course. She's never left them so long before and I think it's been upsetting her. They're all well, I hope?'

‘Oh, yes. Thriving. Look, I'll go and fetch them shall I? It might cheer her up to see them.'

‘That
is
kind, Jennifer. Thank you.'

Lyn saw her to the car. ‘Listen,' she whispered to him. ‘I only said I'd go so I'd have an excuse to call on Susie. I'll race to Southwark first and warn her what's happened, then go and fetch the boys. You keep Matthew happy. If he wonders why I‘m gone so long, make up some excuse. All right?'

Lyn nodded, walked slowly back to the kitchen. Matthew had gone upstairs to Anne. He picked up Jennifer's cup, sipped her tea. He must imbibe her strength, her resourcefulness. This could be their last month in Matthew's house, the end of Matthew‘s tutelage, if only he didn't weaken.

Matthew was standing at the door. ‘Anne's half asleep already. I'm afraid this trip's exhausted her. I like to keep up the pace, but she's less used to it, especially in the heat.
You
look well, Lyn. You've caught the sun, I see.'

‘Yes.'

‘Everything all right in the office?'

‘More or less, I think. I … er … haven't been there for a week or so. I took some … leave, as you suggested.'

‘Good, good. You'll be nicely rested for our next project. I've got some very exciting plans.
Born With The Century
has really taken off in Australia and they're talking about a sequel. Something built round Jennifer, this time, rather than Hester. A sort of self-sufficiency book for the modern woman. There's a lot of interest in Jennifer, you know. In fact, I'm hoping to take her with me on another foreign tour. I had a long talk with the publicity man at …'

‘No.'
Lyn said. Jennifer's tea was only dregs now. He could see half a face in the tea-leaves. A battered face.

‘Now, be a good chap, Lyn. You mustn't stand in Jennifer's way, you know.'

‘She doesn't want it herself—never did.'

‘This is completely different. A chance to see the world, broaden her horizons. We can keep her schedule very undemanding, if that's what you …'

‘I said ‘‘no''.'

‘Surely that's for Jennifer to say.'

‘We've already discussed it. We've just been talking, in fact, half an hour ago. We've both had more than enough of the book. We want to get away, buy our own place.'

‘Of course you do. I know that. It's all part of my plan. I'm investing your money with that in mind. But you ought to wait a while. Summer's never a good time for buying property. Leave it till Christmas and you'll get a better buy, and there'll be more money in the kitty anyway. You should be able to afford something with some character—even a bit of ground. And meanwhile you can stay on here, and if I need Jennifer for any more publicity, then she's right on the spot and …'

‘I'm sorry, Matthew, she's not doing any more. We've made up our minds. I want that money you owe me—
now
, not Christmas time—and I want it in cash, not promises or investments or useless bits of paper.'

‘Lyn, I've only just walked in, for heaven's sake. I've been travelling for more than eighteen hours, plus all those long delays. It's a little unreasonable to make demands like this before I've even had a … wash.'

‘I wouldn't need to make them if you'd paid me my share of the royalties all along.'

‘That's hardly fair, Lyn. We agreed that I'd invest your …'

‘
You
agreed. I didn't.'

‘Look, let's have a sherry, shall we? Calm down a bit.'

‘I'm calm, thanks. And I'd better warn you, Matthew, whatever you say, Jennifer and I are leaving the minute we've found another place to live. We've agreed on that. We must be on our own. I've hardly seen my wife all summer, she's been so busy with the boys and the house and … But now you're back, there's no reason for us to stay here. In fact, it's probably best we leave immediately. Decide on the area we want to live and rent a room there while we do our house-hunting. There'll be far less travelling, that way. We can even treat it as a sort of … holiday.'

‘It sounds most impractical to me, and hardly fair at the moment with Anne unwell. She can't cope from her sick-bed, not with Susie gone. She needs looking after herself.'

‘Well, Jennifer's not the one who's going to do it. She's done enough. You'll have to hire some help, Matthew. You can easily afford it—a nanny
and
a nurse—and a decent cleaner as well, if you're so browned off with your present one. Mrs Briggs has got her grievances, too, you know. I heard her telling Jennifer she's very rarely paid on time. Perhaps you're investing
her
money.'

‘That's not funny. I feel quite upset, Lyn, to hear you talking like this after all the trouble I've taken with your affairs. Jennifer particularly asked me to look after the financial side.'

‘I wasn't aware of that.'

‘Maybe not. There are quite a lot of things you're not aware of. Which perhaps is why your wife prefers to trust
me
on money matters.'

‘Are you suggesting that …'

‘I'm not suggesting anything. I merely feel that my superior knowledge and experience of the … Good God! Must the boys slam the front door like that? I've told them a hundred times. They'll break the …'

‘Jen … Jen! Where the bloody hell are you? You
said
you'd come. You said you wouldn't leave me. I've spent all my fucking money on a taxi and now I've … Jennifer!'

Susie burst into the kitchen, tears streaming down her cheeks, along and grubby raincoat billowing over bare legs and gym shoes. She stopped dead, stared at Lyn and Matthew. ‘Oh, Christ!' she said and began to back away.

Matthew lunged towards her. ‘Susie! What are you doing here? I understood you were on the train to Great Yarmouth.'

‘Yeah … yeah, I was.' Susie spoke in little gasping sobs. ‘I … er … got off again … came back.'

‘Came back? But I thought your mother was ill. Gravely ill.'