Wicked Pleasures (25 page)

‘No,’ said Alexander briefly, ‘no really, it isn’t for sale.’

That night, Mary Rose insisted on having Virginia and Alexander to dinner. It was an uncomfortable occasion; Virginia was depressed, Alexander exhausted, Baby irritable. He had tried very hard to dissuade Mary Rose from issuing the invitation, but she insisted.

‘It would be discourteous,’ she said, ‘and you know how I feel about discourtesy. Baby, do stop picking at those nuts, you’re getting appallingly overweight.’

Inevitably they discussed Fred’s offer.

‘I think,’ said Alexander, ‘if I had to open Hartest to the public I would die.’

‘Why? Why would it be so bad?’ said Virginia, determinedly positive. ‘It would still be beautiful. Look at Blenheim. Beaulieu. Castle Howard. They aren’t spoilt.’

‘Oh Virginia, I’m quite shocked to hear you talk like that,’ said Mary Rose. She made it sound as if Virginia had suggested turning Hartest into a brothel. ‘Once these places are turned over to the public they lose their soul.’

‘Mary Rose, with respect I think I have more idea what I’m talking about than you do. I do actually live in England, you know.’

‘Some of the time,’ said Mary Rose with her frostiest smile. ‘And my book on the art heritage of the eighteenth century took me inside a great many English houses. It seemed to me that the ones still in private hands had preserved a mystique, a personal quality, a sense of care that was quite gone from places like Blenheim. Of course it was an extremely subtle thing –’

‘Yes, well subtlety doesn’t pay bills,’ said Baby. He was very drunk.

‘Paying bills isn’t everything,’ said Alexander.

‘I thought,’ said Baby, ‘that’s why you were here.’

‘Well at least the house would be safe,’ said Virginia quickly. ‘If you – we did open it to the public. I would have thought that was what mattered.’

‘You don’t understand, do you?’ said Alexander, and she shrank slightly from the great darkness behind his eyes. ‘You just don’t understand. It’s just a place to you, just a building and some land.’

‘And what is it to you?’ said Virginia. She felt suddenly violently angry. ‘I can see it’s very beautiful, that it’s a marvellous thing to own, to pass to your children. I can see that’s important to you. But what would change if you charged a few people to go round it every now and again? I’d have thought you’d have liked that, showing it off.’

‘Sometimes,’ he said, ‘I think you’re jealous of Hartest. Of how I feel about it. It’s the only explanation I can find for your attitude.’

Virginia stared at him. She was flushed.

‘Mary Rose,’ said Baby hastily, ‘coffee, do you think? In the drawing room? It’s getting very late.’

Alexander left for England the next day. Virginia stayed to tie up some problems on her latest project, then left two days before Easter. She said she had promised Alexander and the children to spend it with them.

When she got to Heathrow, Harold Tallow was waiting for her at the airport.

‘Tallow! I was expecting my husband. And possibly even the children.’

‘Charlotte and Max are in the car, madam, with Nanny. I have a letter for you from Lord Caterham.’

‘A letter! Good gracious, how formal. Just wait a moment, Tallow, and let me read it.’

She read it in silence. Tallow watching her saw a red flush sweep up her face from her neck; and then a few moments later, she turned very pale. Then she smiled at him, a quick, bright smile.

‘Right. Let’s go and find the children. I hope they’ve been good.’

‘Very good, my lady.’

They approached the car; Max burst out of it and hurled himself at her.

‘Mummy, Mummy, you look beautiful, what have you brought me?’

He always said that, and it always made her laugh.

‘A stetson, Max, that’s what I brought you, a real ten-gallon hat like they wear in Texas. Charlotte, my darling, you’ve grown so much taller! And thinner! I told you you would. Oh, you look so pretty. But I think the jeans I got you in Bloomies will be too short. And too loose. Never mind, it’s a nice problem. Give me a kiss. Nanny, hallo, how are you?’

‘Very well thank you, madam,’ said Nanny. ‘It has been rather cold of course, but Max has been very good.’

‘Good,’ said Virginia, slightly uncertain, as always when confronted by Nanny’s non sequiturs, which one to respond to. ‘Oh, I’m looking forward to getting home. We’ve been circling round Heathrow for over an hour, trying to land. I hope you knew that and haven’t been waiting all this extra time.’

‘We checked, my lady,’ said Tallow. ‘They told us you were delayed.’ Charlottee looked at her mother critically. ‘You’re terribly thin, Mummy.

And you look tired.’

‘Burning the candle at both ends, I daresay,’ said Nanny sternly. ‘Like his lordship.’

‘Well a bit, maybe,’ said Virginia. ‘But anyway, I’m home now. And Lord Caterham is away, I understand.’

‘Yes, madam.’ Nanny’s face was expressionless. ‘He went to see his mother yesterday.’

‘And took Georgina with him?’

‘Yes indeed, madam.’

‘Isn’t that amazing, Mummy? All these years and Granny never sets eyes on any of us, and then suddenly out of the blue, she phoned and asked to meet Georgina. And –’ Charlotte paused for maximum effect –‘and Max and I are going next week. Did you know that?’

‘No,’ said Virginia. ‘No, I didn’t.’ She leant against the window suddenly; Nanny looked at her sharply.

‘Are you all right, madam? Is it that lagging you’re feeling?’

‘Jet lag, Nanny. Yes, I think it is. I’ll be all right. Charlotte, when did this happen? This invitation to stay with your grandmother?’

‘Daddy phoned this morning. He said she liked Georgina so much she wanted to look at me and Max. I can’t wait. She lives in a castle, you know, a real one, with turrets.’

‘How exciting! Well, I shall be waiting with bated breath to hear about it all. I shall have you here for a few days, though, shall I?’

‘Well – yes. Sort of. I’ve been invited to stay with Joanna Lavenham for the weekend. Is that all right? Daddy said it would be. But Max will be here.’

‘That’s fine,’ said Virginia automatically. Her head was beginning to ache.

Easter without the children was bleak. The house seemed large and very silent. Virginia wandered about trying to work, and determinedly staying cheerful. It was only a few days, she told herself. After all, she often left them. It was
probably unreasonable to expect them to be sitting waiting for her all the time.

On Monday, Georgina phoned.

‘Mummy! It’s wonderful here. Granny is really nice, not like we all thought at all. She’s quite young-looking really, and guess what, she has a pony for each of us. We did the Easter egg hunt in Granny’s woods yesterday with her dogs helping. They’re lurchers, not very nice to look at, but very clever. One of the bitches is in whelp and Granny says I can have one of the puppies. Tomorrow we’re going fishing. Hang on, Max wants to talk to you.’ (Much giggling in the background.) ‘Mummy, sorry, he doesn’t, Granny’s cook has just called him, he’s going to help her make the supper. Oh, it’s brilliant here. I wish we’d come before. See you next week. Bye, Mummy.’

‘Mummy? It’s Charlotte. Yes, it’s just the best fun. Granny is really really nice. I’ve got a lovely room, overlooking the loch, and I’ve got a four-poster bed. Look, would you mind if we stayed another week? The thing is Granny has organized a bit of what she calls a jolly at the weekend, asked lots of people over, lots of people my age, it’s going to be brilliant. You don’t mind, do you? Daddy sends his love. No, he’s out now, fishing. He’s terribly good at fishing.’

‘Virginia? How are you? Not too lonely? Good. Yes, they seem to love it. They’re getting on very well indeed with Mother. She says she should have invited them years ago. What? No, I really don’t think she’s quite ready for you. But give her time. Look, I completely forgot to tell you and I’m terribly sorry, a Miss Ward phoned, the day you were getting back. She wanted you to ring her. She said it wasn’t urgent, but she wanted to discuss her rugs. Would that be right? I really do apologize for not telling you. But she’s probably phoned you herself by now. She hasn’t? Oh well, you’d better ring her. I’m so sorry. Yes I’m all right. Worried of course. Desperately worried. It’s so sad your father won’t help. What’s that? Virginia, I’m afraid I don’t see that as help. I’m sorry. No, I know you can’t influence him. You keep telling me that. I’m afraid I feel very alone in all this. Look, I have to go. Goodbye, Virginia. See you soon.’

She had never heard him so cold, so distant.

Susannah Ward was very cool when Virginia phoned her.

‘I’m sorry, Virginia, but I simply couldn’t wait. I thought I made it plain to whoever it was I spoke to that it was urgent.’

Arrogant bitch, thought Virginia. She clearly hadn’t, Alexander was always painstakingly careful about messages. ‘So I’ve gone ahead and chosen the rugs myself, and now I’ve had a chance to think carefully about them, I can see they don’t quite tone with the wall colour you proposed. So I’m deepening that a little, and I’m taking a further look at the fabric for the blinds as well. It’s a pity, but there it is. I did tell you at the beginning I was in a great hurry to get this done.’

‘I’m very sorry,’ said Virginia more humbly than the situation probably allowed.

She put the phone down and went for a long walk. It wasn’t a great deal of
fun; Alexander had even taken the dogs with him.

Later she ate lunch and then tea alone. It was at times like this that she most longed for a drink. She drove into the village and bought some chocolates and some French cigarettes. When she was low, she needed such things.

She decided to talk to Catriona Dunbar. Catriona had been urging her for months, on and off, to come onto her Riding for the Disabled Ball committee; Alexander had been urging her to do it, she had told him she didn’t have the time. ‘You would have time if you were around here a bit more.’ Suddenly even that seemed a more attractive prospect. At least it would mean she could go over and see Catriona, have lunch maybe.

Catriona’s voice was guarded, cautious. ‘Oh, Virginia. Hallo.’

‘Hi, Catriona. How are you?’

‘Frightfully well, Virginia, thank you.’

‘Er – Catriona, I’m ringing about the Riding for the Disabled.’

‘Oh – yes?’

She sounded very cool. Had she been that difficult about it, Virginia wondered. ‘Well, Catriona, if it’s not too late, I really would quite like –’

‘Virginia, I’m frightfully sorry, but it is too late. We don’t have unlimited time, you know. The Ball is in September, and Jennifer Compton Smith has joined us now.’

‘Oh. Oh, I see. Well, if there’s any small thing I can do.’

‘Yes, well thank you, Virginia. Jolly nice. Look, I have to go, Martin and I are going to a point-to-point.’

‘I couldn’t –’

‘come with you?’ she had been going to say, suddenly and slightly foolishly hungry for company; then she hauled herself up. She wasn’t that bad and Catriona was clearly feeling the opposite of friendly. She hadn’t realized there had been a time limit on the wretched committee, and anyway, she was sure she’d told Catriona she’d give her an answer when she got back at Easter. God, these women and their minutiae-filled lives.

‘Sorry, Virginia. Must dash.’

‘Bye, Catriona.’

She put the phone down rather slowly. Silly bitch. What a fuss about absolutely nothing at all. Jennifer Compton Smith was welcome to it all. Thank God she had a career to occupy her. She decided to go to London for the day and do some shopping, and go and see a couple of people. She and Alexander had met a woman called Anne Lygon at a cocktail party just before she’d gone to New York, a property developer who’d asked her to come to see her about doing a show flat in a new development in the City. It was a very nice high-profile job and she’d been excited about it. She’d done some preliminary sketches in an entirely new mould for her, the currently buzzy high-tech style, all perspex and stainless steel mesh and black and white, which Anne had liked, and asked her to develop; she decided to ring her.

‘Anne? This is Virginia Caterham. Look, I’m in London today and I have some more ideas; I’d love to come and see you about them. Would that be convenient?’

Anne Lygon sounded polite but guarded. ‘Well, Virginia, I’m very busy today.’

‘That’s OK, I didn’t expect you to drop everything for me.’ She struggled to keep her voice light and amused, to staunch the creeping sensation of chill in her stomach. ‘I could come tomorrow or even Friday.’

Anne sounded embarrassed. ‘Look, Virginia, I’m sorry, but I really don’t think this is going to work out. I’m sorry. I really do have to proceed very fast now, and I was hoping to have got further down the line with you. Another time, maybe.’

‘Yes,’ said Virginia, not even trying any more to keep her voice from bleakness. ‘Yes of course. Goodbye, Anne.’

‘Goodbye, Virginia.’ Anne Lygon sounded relieved.

She went to London and spent a great deal of money on a new mink coat. If Alexander was short of six million, three thousand wasn’t going to make much difference.

Charlotte had telephoned from her grandmother’s, and left a message asking her mother to ring back. Virginia had never rung the number before, it was an eerie feeling. She hoped Alexander’s mother wouldn’t answer the phone. That would be awful. She would just have to ring off. Virginia realized suddenly she was shaking slightly. She put the phone down quickly, mid-dial, and lit a cigarette. That was better. She redialled. A male Scottish voice answered the phone.