- •Harriet evans ))))))
- •If you close your eyes, perhaps you can still see them. As they were that sundrenched afternoon, the day everything changed.
- •Part one February 2009
- •I nod instead. 'Of course,' I say. 'Have you booked a cabin?'
- •I blink, trying to take it in. 'So?'
- •I can't answer this, as I know she's right, but I can't agree with her without hurting her feelings. 'I just don't know, Mum,' I say. 'I look at our life together and I—'
- •Frances Seymour
- •I'm going to scream. I'm going to scream. Yes, I am.
- •I don't care about their damn c/othes.
- •If Louisa was surprised at this sudden confidence from her brother, she didn't show it. 'She is rather a funny old thing, isn't she,' she said casually. 'What do you mean exactly?'
- •Into the silence that followed this statement came Mary. 'Now, does anyone want some more coffee?' she said, wiping her hands on her apron. 'Eggs? Frank, how about you?'
- •91All right,' she said.
- •It came to an end for them not long afterwards. The following day, Saturday, was hot and muggy, and over the next few days the winds seemed to drop as the temperature increased.
- •Part three February 2009
- •I take the pages out from my skirt and look at them, wondering what comes next.
- •I am not in the mood for her amateur dramatics, her sighing and hair tossing. 'I had my reasons,' I say. 'I told you that. I'm sorry if you feel left out.'
- •I remember how angry she was with him in the kitchen, just before I left last night. Only twenty-four hours ago. 'Why not? He seemed quite nice. As if he knew what he was talking about.'
- •I am completely absorbed by the conversation and her voice in my ear, but the noise, someone calling my name, somewhere nearby, makes me jerk upright and I remember. I didn't close the door.
- •I nod. 'Sorry. I needed to get out. You were still asleep.' Oli touches my hand. 'Look,' he says. 'You can't just run away again. We need to talk about this.'
- •I can't believe she feels guilty about it. 'Louisa, you've been amazing,' I say, and it's true. 'Please! What are you talking about?'
- •I'd forgotten; she told me that awful day at Arthur's, that she wasn't working with him any more. I should have remembered. I just haven't seen them. I blush. 'Of course, sorry.'
- •I unfurl my legs, stiff and aching from the cold and from being in the same position for so long. I roll my head slowly around my neck, and it crunches satisfyingly.
- •I ask just one more question. 'You don't know where she is, though?' 'No,' he says. 'As I said, she'll be back.'
- •The frances seymour foundation
- •I laugh: Ben is really funny. Then there's an awkward silence, in amongst the noise and chatter of the pub. I start picking at a beer mat.
- •I nod emphatically. 'Sure.'
- •I don't know how to respond to such honesty, and the silence is rather uncomfortable. After a few moments, Guy recalls himself.
- •I don't say anything. 'Natasha, you don't know what it's like to lose a sibling,' he says.
- •It is V hot in Dad's study. I remember that even in winter & today in the heat it was baking. Me: No.
- •Part four March 2009
- •I stare at him, unsure of what to say next - so, is it normal between us now? Is that it?
- •I don't expect him to remember. 'Cecily's diary?' he says immediately. 'I've been wondering about that. Did your mum have it?'
- •I touched her shoulder. 'Cathy - it's Oli,' I said. 'Look - over there. He's - I'm sorry. I just, I just want to get out of here.'
- •I want to say, I don't bloody care about bloody Fez! What the hell are you talking about! I want to know about the diary, about you, about what you think of all of this! Jesus! h! Christ!
- •I must be imagining it, but it seems his tone is softer, kinder, for a moment, and the parent he could have been is apparent for a split second.
- •I say softly, 'How could you ever forgive Granny, Arvind? I mean - did you know?' He is silent, for so long that I think perhaps he hasn't heard me.
- •I see Mum taking in her out-of-breath cousin, in her slightly too-sheer white kaftan, red shining face, floral skirt and fluffy blonde hair.
- •I lean forward and give her a big hug. 'Thank you for everything you did today,' I say. 'Well, everything. You should come into town some time. Come and see me.'
- •I was starving, but now I have no appetite at all. 'No, thanks. Can I have a coffee?' I say.
- •If I can do this right now.'
- •I blink; it still sounds so strange. 'You didn't have any idea? I mean - you knew you'd slept with her, Guy, didn't you? Are you trying to say she drugged you?'
- •I smile, because he's totally right, and it's so strange that he knows this. Knows her as well as he does. I prop my elbows up on the table, my chin in my hands, listening intently.
- •I let his fingers rest on mine, feeling his warm dry hand, his flesh, and I stare at him again in
- •I shake my head, overwhelmed all of a sudden. I don't know what to say and I am very tired. 'I'm
- •I nod. 'He's lovely.'
- •I take a deep breath. I'm feeling completely light-headed, with the running, the sunshine, the events of the last hour.
I nod instead. 'Of course,' I say. 'Have you booked a cabin?'
'Yes, just now,' she says. 'Don't worry, Natasha, I won't make you share with me like the old days,' and she runs her hands awkwardly through her fringe and I feel a pang of guilt, for that is exactly what I was thinking.
'Well, that's great. I'm just going to find Mum then,' I say, and I touch Jay on the shoulder and dash towards the kitchen. Mum is talking to Guy, the Bowler Hat's brother. Her hands are on her hips, she is leaning over him as if she's about to spit at him. They both jump as I stride in.
'There you are,' Mum says, standing upright. Her jaw is set, her green eyes flinty; she is staring at Guy with something approaching loathing and I know the signs. She's about to blow. She blinks,
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rapidly, as if calming herself down, and she says, 'Nat - darling, my darling, how are you? We need to talk, don't we?' She winds some hair round her finger. I look suspiciously at Guy. 'Everything OK?'
'Yes, absolutely,' Guy says smoothly. 'It's fine. I was just asking your mother about the . . . stuff in the house.'
'The stuff in the house,' I say carefully, because I don't want to be rude. 'Look, I said this to your brother already, and please don't take this the wrong way, but do you really think now's the time to be poking around valuing things here?' He is turning red. 'It's not great timing.' I'm surprised to hear my voice shaking. 'Perhaps you should come back another day.'
Guy turns to my mother, who is staring at her feet. There is a chicken vol-au-vent on the linoleum floor. 'Why doesn't she know?' he says.
Mum says nothing.
'Know what?' I ask.
'That's why it all seems rather abrupt, Natasha. Your grandparents agreed it years ago, that when Frances died something should be established in her name. A charitable foundation, or a gallery. You know, she hasn't had an exhibition for years. It's a disgrace, a painter of her stature. But she's never let them. There was a big show planned for the autumn after Cecily, after she died.' He stops and collects himself, and I remember he must have known her too, that summer. I hadn't thought of that before. 'The country hasn't seen Frances Seymour's work, apart from the two in the Tate Modern and a few in America, for well over forty years.'
I blink, trying to take it in. 'So?'
'Now she's dead, the terms of her will say the foundation should be established as soon as possible. Miranda,' he says crossly. 'You should have told Natasha. She's one of the trustees, for God's sake.'
'Me? I say. 'I don't know anything about painting. I never saw her paint, anyway.'
'It's nothing to do with that. She wanted you to be one of the trustees. You, your mother, and me—' He clears his throat, awkwardly. 'I - I don't quite understand what I've got to do with it, but—'
'Look,' says my mother, her throaty voice cutting across Guy's. 'I get it, OK? I get the whole thing. All I'm saying is, Archie and I would also like to make sure that the house and furniture are sold in the right way. You know, we have got bills to pay out of all of this. And Arvind's nursing home.' She twists the big jade ring she's wearing, and this seems to give her momentum. 'You know, Guy, you've got a bloody nerve, showing up here, trying to tellus what to do, after all these years. I was going to tell Natasha, but you know it's been a busy day.' She shakes her hair, pursing her lips and staring at him in fury, and she does look rather magnificent. 'After all these years,' she says, more quietly. 'You should know that.'
'Fine,' Guy says. He holds his palms up towards her. 'I understand. You're right. We'll discuss it another day.' He looks up and chews his little finger. 'Look, I'm sorry - I didn't think—'
'It's fine,' I say, looking to Mum for confirmation. 'Thank you, Guy.' She is staring at me, but I interpret this as tacit approval of my actions. She's useless at confrontations, though she acts like a diva the whole time.
'Goodbye, Miranda,' Guy says, turning to her. 'It's been a sad day, but it was really lovely to see you again.'
'Well—' Mum blinks slowly, her long, soot-black eyelashes brushing her smooth skin. There is a crumb of mascara on her cheekbone; I stare at it. 'It was lovely to see you again. It's been a long time.'
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He nods, and bows his head at me. 'Natasha, you too.' He clears his throat. 'Once more, I'm sorry if you've thought I've been inappropriate, or anything like that. Let me—' He fumbles in his pocket and takes out a card. 'If you're ever up this way—'
Guy Leighton Antiques & Rare Books Cross Street
London N1
'I'm sure we'll be in touch, about the foundation at the very least.' I take the card. 'Well, thank you, Guy. Thank you.' As if I am a dowager duchess whom he will never be fortunate enough to meet again.
'Goodbye, then,' he says, and shuts the door quietly behind him, with one last apologetic look at my mother.
The room is silent. 'Are you OK?' I say. Mum is blinking back tears.
'I am,' she says. 'I'm just rather tired. It's been a long day. Lots of memories, you know? And I'm worried about you, Natasha.'
She says it quietly, without tossing her hair or rolling her eyes or trying to get something. She just looks rather beaten, and it hits me in the solar plexus. I put my arm round her. 'I'm sorry, Mum,' I tell her. 'I wanted to explain about me and Oli, but it was . . . too hard. And then Granny died - I couldn't just drop it into conversation, could I?'
'So what happened?' she says. 'Do you want to tell your old mum about it?'
Mum isn't very good at being a mum out of an Oxo ad. She's better when she's just being a
person.
'He's been sleeping with someone else,' I say. 'An affair?' Mum's eyes are wide open now.
'No.' I shake my head. 'A girl at work. It was a couple of months ago. He says it's nothing. It's
over.'
'Ohh!' my mother says, her voice high, as if that's that then. 'Right.' I look at her.
'That's absolutely awful,' she adds. 'You poor thing.'
I can't believe I'm having this conversation with her; in fact I remember one of the reasons why I dreaded telling her in the first place. Mum absolutely adores Oli. They get on really well. I often think they'd have a better time without me there. He thinks she's hilarious, wonderful, and she plays up to it, and they get drunk together and egg each other on, like old boozers in a pub, and I sit there, wearily watching them, feeling like a beige carpet in a Persian rug shop.
There's a frown puckering her forehead. I say, 'I think he wants to come back, but I don't know what to say if he asks. I just don't know if I can trust him.'
'Hmm,' says my mum, one finger on her cheek as if consider ing this point seriously, and I remember the times I'd ask her when she'd be back home from a party or dinner with friends. 'Hmm . . .' she'd say, finger on cheek, and after a long pause, 'not late, darling. Not too late.' And then, when I'd finally got to sleep, worn out by being terrified by noises inside the flat that I thought were rats or sinister intruders, and of being terrified by noises outside the flat that I knew were masked robbers or deranged psychopaths, in the dark still hours of the early morning I'd hear the creak of the door and the soft tap on the parquet floor as she crept past my room to her bed. 'Hmm . . . I'm just not sure.'
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'I am,' I say. 'I can't trust him. I can't have him back if I don't trust him.'
'He's your husband, and he looks after you, and you don't have to worry about anything,' Mum says sharply. 'I think you need to look at it like that instead, Natasha. I mean, he didn'tkill anyone, you know. He slept with someone. He's a good husband.'
'What?' I am momentarily stunned, as though this is a modern-day version ofGigi and I am Leslie Caron and should just put up with it. 'He pays for our nice life, for my new boots, I should just shut up,
right?'
She stares at me defiantly. 'Sometimes, darling, I think you just don't get it at all. I'm just saying it's hard, being on your own.'