Chapter 5
The evening sun hadn’t lost any of its warmth and Dorothy wiped her forehead with her handkerchief. It came away with a smear of warm ivory, which reminded her she’d rather overdone her make-up. She’d considered it warpaint really, a shield to hide behind. Being in Leonard’s house was proving more difficult than she thought it would. The fact that he wasn’t even here yet was making her feel twitchy and she was anxious for Gina to arrive.
Her grandson, Toby, was playing the piano and the gentle sound of his music came through the open French doors to the patio where Dorothy and some of the family were beginning to gather. There was a large oak table and chairs with a parasol open to keep the sun from the ice bucket, full of champagne. This had been provided by Harry, Leonard’s chef. Harry also seemed to be a right-hand man, as he’d shown them to their rooms, helped them with their bags and offered afternoon tea – all with a small amount of conversation and an even smaller amount of eye contact. Dorothy thought it incredibly rude that Leonard hadn’t been there to greet them himself, but then he always did like to make an entrance and, frankly, that was the least of his crimes.
Dorothy’s daughter, Sophie, poured her a glass of champagne and sat down beside her with a glass of her own.
‘This place is actually amazing, isn’t it, Mum,’ she said. ‘Can’t believe we have the whole week here.’
Sophie was right; Leonard’s home was amazing. Dorothy had never actually been here before. She’d only heard about it and seen a few photos of the outside. Leonard had said in the past how she and Philip really must come and stay, but he’d never actually invited them. It always seemed odd to her that for a man so happy to brag, he hadn’t ever given Philip the grand tour. The house didn’t make her feel as impressed as it did her daughter, though; it made her feel a bit sick. It was huge. Where would you even start?
She glanced at her daughter, seemingly relaxed in this opulent setting. Dorothy was glad. She’d been worried about Sophie recently. She’d appeared tense and snappy, which could be the pressure of work. Sophie was the head of a girls’ school in Surrey and unsurprisingly the most efficient, bossy and organised person Dorothy knew. Nothing like herself, she often mused. Dorothy tended to be impulsive and held a grudge like a drowning person would hold on to a life belt.
Sophie was Dorothy’s long-awaited second child. After Miles had been appointed the title of the honeymoon baby, to the family’s great delight and Dorothy’s mortification – the mere thought of them all discussing their sex life – Dorothy assumed she’d have another child as easily as her first, but it took years – ten to be precise. Sophie was fifty-seven now, which could be another indicator of her change in mood; Dorothy remembered it very well.
‘Granny?’
Sophie’s daughter, Juliet, glanced up from her phone for the first time in a good hour. She was thirteen and probably also factored in her mother’s irritability. Sophie had had her own struggles conceiving and she’d been a resigned forty-four when Juliet had made a surprising appearance. A teenager and the menopause was surely a heady combination. In fact, both of Dorothy’s children had been late bloomers, in the child-rearing department, which meant she’d most likely never see any great-grandchildren, but she was grateful for what she had.
‘Do you think I could have some champagne?’ Juliet asked.
‘I think you should ask your mother,’ Dorothy said, glancing at her daughter.
‘I’m right here,’ Sophie said with both of her eyebrows raised in Juliet’s direction.
‘Yes, but you’d say no and Granny might say yes. She did let me have some of her sherry at Christmas even though it was disgusting; no offence, Granny.’
‘None taken,’ Dorothy said. ‘Although you are dropping me in it.’
‘Sorry, but no,’ came Sophie’s response. ‘You’re only thirteen; get back to me when you’re an adult.’
‘Gah!’ Juliet exhaled, theatrically sliding down further into her seat and tucking her chin into her chest. ‘There is literally nothing for me to do here. At least a glass of booze might perk things up a bit.’
‘I find it usually has the opposite effect, actually,’ Dorothy said with a wry smile.
Sophie glanced at her mother with a thoughtful look.
‘How about I pop inside to see if Dad needs any help with the unpacking and I won’t know if Granny accidentally allows you a small sip,’ Sophie said, getting to her feet, offering her mother a little shrug and disappearing back inside the house.
Dorothy grinned at Juliet and slid her glass across the table, pleased that her daughter was prepared to ease up a little bit this week.
‘A small sip,’ Dorothy said.
The music stopped then and Toby appeared in the doorway with his wife-to-be, Caroline. She was a bright and beautiful young woman. She had a sunny disposition and even though Dorothy had only met her a few times, she could see how much love she offered Toby. Toby just needed to step up a bit to meet her, Dorothy thought. As much as she loved her grandson, he did appear a little undeserving at times. Perhaps it was because he’d always been a bit spoiled, and she had hopes that once married and away from his mother’s clucking, he would blossom.
Lavinia and Miles appeared behind them and then a couple that Dorothy had only met once before, at the engagement dinner.
‘Mum, you remember Leonard’s brother, Paul.’
‘I do, hello,’ she said beginning to rise from her seat.
‘Please don’t get up,’ Paul said walking over to her and bending down to kiss her cheek.
There had been a celebratory engagement meal eighteen months ago when Dorothy’s husband, Philip, had still been alive and Leonard had announced he wanted the wedding of his niece to be at his ‘manor’ as he’d put it. Dorothy wondered at the time what the father of the bride thought about that, but Paul had seemed keen and she’d been pleased to see he was nothing like his odious brother. He’d been warm and interesting with a genuine smile, although he did have a whiff of whisky on his breath when he’d greeted her and there it was again, now, that sour smell of alcohol. But then, weren’t they all drinking? His wife, Sandra, hadn’t been all that memorable from that time before and now, she stood back and offered Dorothy only a thin smile.
‘Rufus, our son, is around here somewhere,’ Paul continued. ‘But I’ve no idea where.’
‘He’s in the gardens,’ Juliet said. ‘I saw him earlier.’
Dorothy looked across the perfectly planted parterre and could see the man wandering among the clipped hedging. He wasn’t admiring the vista though, he had his head down, his attention firmly on the screen of his phone. Sandra scurried off to join him.
‘Hello, everyone,’ said a quiet voice behind them and Dorothy turned to see that Gina had arrived. Her relief was immediate and she could feel it flooding her body.
‘Gina! Wonderful to see you,’ Dorothy said and then struggled to her feet as Gina looked a little overwhelmed at being thrust into someone else’s family gathering. ‘This is my friend Gina,’ she announced to the assembled party. ‘Gina, this is everyone else. Right, that’s done. I’d love to take a turn about the garden with you,’ she said to Gina, keen to get her alone.
‘That would be lovely,’ Gina said.
‘No time now,’ said Miles, ‘Leonard’s just arrived.’
As he said this, Dorothy could detect a throaty roar from the front of the house. It sounded as if Leonard had arrived on a very noisy motorbike. She took a breath to settle her nerves.
There was a scuffle at the table then, and the group were up. Drinks were abandoned as they moved towards the house. Rufus, still walking in the garden, began jogging in their direction, his mother at a hurried pace behind him.
Juliet hadn’t moved. She still had her face turned down into her own phone, her thumbs moving quickly across the screen, Dorothy’s now empty glass in front of her.
‘Hello there,’ Gina said to her, but she didn’t respond or even look at Gina.
‘Juliet, please don’t spend the whole week on your telephone. The rest of us have to socialise and it’s not fair,’ Dorothy said, and then Juliet looked up, a half smirk on her lips. ‘Come on, let’s go and get this party started, shall we.’
‘If we have to,’ Juliet said in a sulky tone. ‘Not sure why I’m needed to watch you all get drunk and play stupid games.’
‘Believe me, I feel exactly the same. Now, this is Gina, my friend,’ Dorothy said, pointedly, and it was enough to make the girl turn Gina’s way.
‘Hello,’ Juliet said in the smallest voice possible and Gina lifted her hand in a little wave, which seemed a bit pathetic to Dorothy, but Juliet just looked through her anyway before walking into the house.
‘Juliet doesn’t want to be here. A week is an awfully long time when you’re thirteen. Let’s take that walk in the garden after dinner, shall we. We have lots to discuss,’ Dorothy said to Gina.