The Forget-Me-Not Sonata(28)

‘Oh, fine, thank you, Juan Julio,’ she replied in Spanish. He straightened his hat and pulled his trousers up over his round belly. His face was red and sweating. He was too fat for this heat and too lazy for a job such as his. He sighed heavily as he waddled slowly towards her like a penguin having just feasted on a sea full of fish.

‘How hot it is today,’ he commented without caring that he had said the same sentence to everyone he had come into contact with for the past two months.

‘Yes, it is.’ She nodded. ‘I like the heat.’

‘Oh it doesn’t suit me,’ he lamented, mopping his forehead with a grubby hanky. ‘It’s always hotter on the platform. Not good for my blood pressure. Not good at all.’ He walked past her towards the signal box. Audrey’s shoulders relaxed with relief. He was too deep in his own stupor to notice the notes or to even ask what she was doing there. She skipped off to where she had left her bicycle and bumped straight into Diana Lewis and Charlo Osborne, dressed in cream hats, silk dresses and long pearl necklaces as if off to a garden party.

‘You’re looking very happy today, young lady,’ observed Charlo, when she saw Audrey’s bright eyes and smile.

‘It’s a lovely day,’ she replied, picking up her bicycle.

‘What are you doing here of all places?’ Diana asked, removing her gloves. ‘Far too hot for these,’ she muttered to herself, squashing them into her handbag. Audrey decided it was best to avoid the question and diverted their attention to themselves.

‘Are you going into town?’ she asked.

‘Charity luncheon in the city,’ Charlo sighed. ‘But one must do one’s duty,’ she added sanctimoniously, looking Audrey up and down with her sharp blue eyes.

‘One certainly must,’ Diana agreed. ‘Mind you, it’s too hot to be in the city on a day like this. Good God, I’m already glowing. Still, one must think of all those poor people and do what little one can.’

‘How is that dear Cecil Forrester, Audrey?’ Charlo asked silkily. ‘I gather he spends an awful lot of time at your house.’

‘Yes, he and his brother both do,’ Audrey replied innocently. ‘They’re both very well.’ Charlo’s mouth twitched with frustration. But Diana wasn’t going to leave without throwing a piece of bait into the water.

‘You look full of the joys of life, Audrey,’ she said. ‘Oh to be young and in love again!’ She sighed, shaking her head so that her chins wobbled like a fat chicken. Audrey frowned at her.

‘Come on Diana, I can hear our train, we wouldn’t want to miss it.’

‘And do the poor out of precious funds, no we certainly wouldn’t,’ Diana added. They waved goodbye to Audrey as she cycled up the road then entered the stationhouse gossiping about Audrey and Cecil’s advancing friendship, which they were both certain would amount to marriage at some time in the near future. ‘She’d be a fool to let that one go,’ Diana said, pulling out her purse.

‘She’s no fool, that I assure you,’ Charlo sniffed confidently. ‘She knows what’s good for her. Always done the right thing, ever since she was a child.’

Audrey dreamed the day away while Isla and her brothers were at school and her mother was at the Club playing golf with her sisters. She sat on the bench in the shade reading, but although her eyes followed the lines of prose her mind was in another realm, the one inhabited by Louis, the place where she was happiest to be. As irritating as the Crocodiles were she had to congratulate herself on the success of her deception. Everyone thought she had lost her heart to Cecil and as much as she longed to shout her true feelings from the rooftops she knew that her patience would pay off in the end, when at last they would be able to declare their love to the world without facing disapproval and prohibition. They’d all see the good in Louis in time.

The hours passed as slowly as Louis said they would and she watched the clock and thought of him watching it too, willing the time to fly. Finally day succumbed to night and darkness flooded in to hide their secret in cool pools of shadow that even the moon was unable to penetrate. Once again Audrey removed her shoes and tiptoed down the stairs, taking care to avoid the floorboards that she knew creaked. As she left the house she was too excited to notice the pair of eyes that silently watched her from the upstairs window.

Louis met her beneath the cherry tree in the orange orchard as usual. Sometimes she’d go there in the daytime, when he was at work, and sit in a daze, feeling with her senses his vibrations that lingered in the boughs and in the leaves as if part of him was still there. After embracing her and kissing her ardently he led her out into the street where a car awaited them, hidden around the corner like a crouching puma. The driver knew where to take them and Audrey sat in Louis’ arms, watching the mysterious world of the night pass by the window. As they drove into the city she noticed at once that far from being sleepy the streets were throbbing with activity. The lights dazzled and the cars tooted their horns, impatient to reach their destinations. The smoke-filled restaurants heaved with people and music reverberated across the leafy avenues and plazas where couples walked hand in hand in the warm glow of the streetlamps. She squeezed Louis’ hand to show him how pleased she was that she had come and he squeezed it back in silent agreement.