The Forget-Me-Not Sonata(40)

Cecil opened the door for her and watched her walk into the hall. ‘I await your answer with impatience,’ he whispered, aware that the rest of the family were upstairs asleep. ‘Good night.’ Audrey managed to turn around and mumble a confused ‘good night’ as he closed the door and strode, whistling his favourite military march, down the pathway that led onto the street.

She staggered up the stairs, blinking away her horror, gripping onto the banisters to stop herself from stumbling. Isla, who had been waiting in her sister’s bedroom, heard her heavy steps and crept out onto the landing. When she saw Audrey’s pale face and blue lips she immediately thought the worst. ‘Oh God, he jumped on you?’

Audrey shook her head slowly. ‘That would have been a blessing,’ she replied bleakly.

‘What could be worse?’

Audrey raised her eyebrows. Isla folded her arms in front of her. ‘He asked you to marry him, didn’t he?’

Audrey nodded and pulled a thin smile. ‘I’ve really gone and done it now.’

‘It’s fine,’ said Isla firmly. ‘You did say no, didn’t you?’

‘I didn’t say anything.’

‘You didn’t say anything?’ Isla repeated, screwing up her nose. ‘Why not?’

‘I didn’t know what to say, it was such a shock.’

‘You could have said “no”.’

‘Oh, Isla, what am I going to do?’ She sniffed, taking off her glove and wiping her tears on Cecil’s silk handkerchief.

‘Come inside,’ she suggested calmly, ‘I think it’s time you told everyone the truth.’





Chapter 8



When Audrey read Louis’ next note, she was stunned to learn that Cecil had told him of his proposal. I am consumed with a burning jealousy, Louis wrote. Although I know such emotions are needless, I cannot help but despise my brother for his audacity. Audrey’s spirits sank even lower. She had wanted to tell him herself, that night in the garden, when they could discuss it together and devise a plan. She thought of Cecil and her resentment mounted. Then she shuddered at the possibility that he might well tell someone else. She had hoped she would wake to discover that it had all been a horrible dream. Now there was only one avenue open to her: she must tell Cecil that she wasn’t in love with him and that she could never marry him. Then she would simply have to confess to her parents that she had lost her heart to Louis and face the consequences.

Hastily she plugged the hole in the brick with her reply and left the station before Juan Julio spotted her lurking about the platform again. Once she had gone the station master shuffled out of his office like a lazy, overfed cat, scratching his groin and glancing around to make sure that there was no one to see him read the next instalment of a love affair that had him hooked like a girl with a romantic novel. He hovered about the wall, twitching with anticipation, glancing sideways up and down the platform. When he was satisfied that Audrey Garnet had well and truly gone he shoved his podgy finger into the hole and eased the white note out like a snail from its shell. He chuckled as he looked for the word ‘love’, which was one of the few English words he could understand and any others that resembled Spanish. It didn’t matter that the content of the letter remained a mystery to him, the secrecy of it enthralled him and he could barely wait for the following day. After replacing it carefully – he wasn’t about to jeopardize his enjoyment by carelessness – he sloped on up the platform to the signal box where he sat out of the cold, picking his nose and pondering on the destiny of these ill-fated lovers.

When Isla returned home from school she was pale and tearful, claiming that she felt unwell. Albert rolled his eyes and accused her of pretending in order to get attention and Rose silently agreed with him until she took the girl’s temperature to find that she had been struck down by a nasty bout of flu. ‘I ache all over,’ she wailed, crawling beneath the sheets and curling up into a ball.

‘You’ll be fine, Isla dear,’ reassured her mother gently. ‘I’ll make you a nice hot drink of lemon and honey and have you right in no time.’

‘I suppose she won’t have to go to school tomorrow,’ Albert grumbled. It wasn’t the first time that Isla had skipped school due to some phantom illness. But this time she had the temperature to prove it and lay in bed soaking up all the attention with the melodramatic air of an actress.

‘Oh, darling Isla,’ Audrey sighed taking her sister’s hot hand in hers. ‘You poor thing. Do you feel dreadful?’

‘Dreadful,’ replied Isla. ‘But you can cheer me up. Are you going to see Louis tonight?’