The Forget-Me-Not Sonata(26)

An icy claw scratched her heart and awoke her with a jolt. She opened her eyes to the reassuring sight of her pale blue bedroom, the linen curtains billowing at the window, the early morning light tumbling in with the breeze and the cheerful dawn chatter from the bird tree. She heard the seven a.m. siren from the Goodyear factory in the distance and her sister’s deep breathing and remembered where she was. Her heartbeat slowed but the dream continued to haunt her. She was afraid to close her eyes in case the image of Cecil returned with the ominous sense of destiny that hovered in the wings ready to snatch her future away.

As Audrey embarked upon a secret and dangerous romance with Louis Forrester her dream receded into the shadows of her memory until it no longer troubled her, so certain was she of their future. However, they had to use all their resources and ingenuity to see each other. Louis worked every day in the city with his brother, taking the train early in the morning from the small station in Hurlingham. Not to be defeated by the seemingly impossible nature of the situation he devised a way of communicating through little notes that he would hide in a hole in the brickwork of the station house as he left in the morning and retrieve her reply from the same place at the end of the day. He spent evenings at the Garnets’ house quietly sketching caricatures of Aunt Edna and portraits of Audrey and Isla while Cecil sat on the terrace with Rose and Henry oblivious of the tender glances that passed between the young lovers. Then at night, when the long hours of waiting were finally over, Audrey would creep out of the house and into the garden where Louis would be waiting for her in the orange orchard, hidden beneath the umbrella of a cherry tree.

To mask her feelings for Louis she devoted more attention to Cecil. As long as she shared the same air as Louis she was prepared to welcome the attentions of his brother, for if everyone suspected her heart to be attached to him her true feelings would naturally go unnoticed. So absorbed was she in her secret world that she failed to realize Cecil’s growing confidence and her parents’ increasing speculation on the gentle progress of their affection for one another.

‘Why doesn’t he court her?’ Aunt Edna sighed one Saturday afternoon while the girls lay in the sun up at the pool with Cecil and two of Hilda’s insipid daughters, Agatha and Nelly. Rose smiled hopefully, leaning on her golf club.

‘Henry says it’s because he’s a correct young man,’ she replied. ‘You can understand, poor Cecil, being in love with the boss’s daughter. I imagine he wants to take his time, assure himself of her affection, before asking Henry’s permission.’

Aunt Edna nodded her head in approval, picking up her golf club again. ‘What beautiful manners he has. Most other boys would dive straight in there without asking.’

‘Not Cecil,’ said Rose. ‘He’s a different type of man altogether. I know it’s only been a short time since he arrived in the Argentine, but I’m so terribly fond of him.’ She bent down to place the ball on the tee.

‘So am I,’ Aunt Edna agreed. ‘But I’m also fond of Louis.’

Rose stood up and positioned herself for the drive. ‘Oh, me too. I’ve got to know him better over the last few weeks. He’s a wonderful artist and plays the piano most beautifully. He’s just not the sort of man one would want for one’s daughter.’

‘True. Isn’t it lucky Audrey’s so sensible,’ Aunt Edna commented.

‘Oh, Audrey wouldn’t fall in love with Louis, she’s much too intelligent. No, she needs a strong man with a stable job and a good, solid personality. Now Isla’s more of a worry, she’s likely to fall in love with the most unsuitable man just to cause trouble.’

‘You’re going to have to watch that one,’ Aunt Edna chuckled.

‘So are you,’ said Rose with a smirk. ‘We all are.’ Rose swung the club a couple of times to get her eye in, then shuffled her neat feet, pulled the club back and swung down upon the ball. ‘There, much better than yesterday, don’t you think?’ She laughed as the ball was launched into the air in a perfect arc.

‘Goodness me, Rose, that was awfully good,’ her sister congratulated with admiration. ‘The thought of Audrey and Cecil is really improving your game.’

Rose tried to hide the smugness in her smile, but she was so confident of their attachment the effort proved too much and she grinned openly.

‘It’s improving everything,’ she replied.

Cecil was confused. One moment Audrey was giving him her full attention, walking with him around the garden in the evening, sitting talking to him up by the swimming pool, laughing with him while they watched his brother play the piano in the hall, always with animation as if there was no one more important to her than him. Then the next moment she would appear distracted, gaze out into the half-distance lost in thought as if he wasn’t there. During those interludes he knew there was nothing he could do to reach her. It was those brief dives in the steady rise of their friendship that delayed his asking her out properly. They threw his mind into doubt. He longed to discuss it with Louis, but Louis wasn’t the sort of brother one could confide in, he wouldn’t understand. Louis had never been in love and probably never would be. His mind was elsewhere. So Cecil resolved to keep his anxieties to himself and be patient, after all, her actions suggested that she preferred his company to any other, so he had all the time in the world.