The Forget-Me-Not Sonata(114)

She had driven the twins to the airport and seen them onto the aeroplane. They had both been consumed with excitement, rushing around like a couple of young dogs. She had had to have sharp words with Alicia who had teased Leonora for taking Saggy Rabbit onto the plane in her hand luggage. ‘You can be very unkind sometimes,’ she had said in exasperation. ‘When you’re unkind you look extremely ugly.’ She hoped that the fear of looking unattractive might have some effect. Alicia was very vain.

Now she was at home and the house was quiet and cold. Very cold. She lit fires and piled on the jerseys and rushed around to keep warm. Only Marcel was allowed the luxury of a gas heater for he complained he had to break the ice on the water beaker before he could put his brush into it. ‘I simply cannot paint with frozen hands, mon amour,’ he complained, gazing at her with his dark, Gallic eyes. ‘And I cannot call upon you to warm me up whenever my body trembles with cold. As much as I would like to make love to you all day, my dormant creativity would torment me.’ Cicely longed for the nights when his dormant creativity remained dormant, but during the day he requested that he be left alone to work. What he was working on she had no idea. Sometimes she wondered whether he did any work at all.

Audrey, Aunt Edna and Rose were at Buenos Aires airport to meet the twins. It was a hot December day, the air heavy and sticky so that they had to fan themselves to keep cool. They stood on the roof in the sunshine and watched the plane transformed from a mere glint in the distance to the large and powerful airbus that was bringing their precious girls home. Audrey had been counting the days and writing daily, even when she knew they’d be home before they received the letters. Louis was a blessed distraction but she never forgot, not for a moment. Their little faces lingered at the forefront of her mind and her spirit quietly yearned for them even when she was in her lover’s arms.

When Leonora saw her mother she dissolved into tears and threw her arms about her. The journey had been long and tiring and Alicia had sulked all the way after Cicely had told her off. Audrey cuddled her back and kissed her forehead lovingly, relieved that she smelt the same. Leonora, choked with happiness, was unable to speak. She clung to her mother like a monkey, even when she embraced Alicia and even when they set off in the car. There was nothing that was going to make her let go. She had missed her more than she had ever admitted and now she had her back she wanted to hold her, to verify that she was real and the same mother as the one she dreamed about.

Alicia cheered up as soon as she had an audience. Aunt Edna drove and Rose sat in the passenger seat, leaving Audrey in the back with the twins. ‘Froggie, our French teacher has such bad breath we put toothpaste in her cup of tea,’ she said and giggled.

‘Surely she can’t really be called Froggie?’ Audrey exclaimed, so happy to have her daughters back.

‘No, she’s really called Madame Duval, but we call her Froggie behind her back. She eats too much garlic. And we have midnight feasts all the time, just like in the storybooks. Leo doesn’t, she’s too scared. She’s a goodie goodie.’

‘I hope so,’ said Aunt Edna. She wanted to add that it was Alicia’s wickedness that got them both sent away to England in the first place.

‘I heard all about Art Club, Leonora. What a responsibility that is,’ Rose enthused. Leonora was snuggled up against her mother, sucking her thumb and rubbing her nose with Saggy Rabbit’s furry ears.

‘Gussie brings us tea and cakes on Thursday afternoons,’ she said quietly. ‘I like Gussie.’

‘Well, she clearly likes you too.’

‘I hate art. I prefer gym. I’m very good at gym, Miss Pole says so,’ said Alicia. ‘Do you know, there’s a stable boy called Larry who speaks with a lisp? Do you know what a lisp is?’

‘Of course,’ said Audrey.

‘He can’t say Alicia, he says Alithia.’ She laughed heartily. ‘Mattie says he’s retarded because he can’t talk properly.’ Leonora knew how much Mattie and Alicia teased him but she wasn’t about to betray her sister. Fortunately Larry was a bit unusual, for he didn’t realize they were being cruel and enjoyed the attention. ‘Tho, Alithia, I’ll thaddle up Thalty for you,’ she continued mockingly. Rose and Aunt Edna weren’t in the slightest bit amused but Audrey squeezed Alicia and kissed her temple, regardless.

At home, Mercedes was waiting on the doorstep with Loro and Oscar. Alicia squealed with excitement and tumbled out of the car as fast as she could. ‘My dear child,’ sighed the old cook. ‘You’ve grown an inch, I’m sure of it.’