The Forget-Me-Not Sonata(64)

‘Besides putting him in a pan and boiling him for dinner?’

‘You should put a mirror in his cage.’

Mercedes stood speechless with admiration, her hands placed firmly on her wide hips. ‘You’re a genius, niña, he’ll think he has company,’ she said. ‘And your father thinks you need to be sent all the way to England to get an education!’

‘No, Merchi! The shock of seeing his ugly, plucked coat should be enough to stop him picking at his feathers like that.’

‘Don’t judge him by your own standards, he’s not as vain as you. Just lonely,’ Mercedes chided, waggling her long brown finger. ‘You don’t need an education, child, but a short sharp smack on your bottom.’

‘Juicy bottom, juicy bottom!’ squawked Loro, taking a bath in the basin.

Mercedes pursed her lips together. ‘He didn’t learn that from me,’ she said then narrowed her eyes. ‘Oscar!’

Three years had passed since Cecil had announced to Audrey that the girls were to be educated in England. Audrey had declared that she would never forgive him and she had meant it. She didn’t rage at him and she didn’t talk about her resentment to anyone else but Isla, whom she communicated with as she rode out over the grassy plains of the pampa, certain that her sister’s spirit was present and sympathetic to her predicament. Instead, she showed her anger and hurt in the polite and formal way that she now treated him. She smiled, she talked, she hosted his dinners and his drinks parties in the manicured garden of their comfortable home, but always with the same distant reserve, as though he were no more intimate with her than their guests. She tamed her wild curls into a severe knot at the back of her head that made her face look longer and sadder and let it down only at night when she covered the piano with candles and played with a ferociousness that no one who knew her would have thought possible. Cecil noticed everything but held fast. He wasn’t going to allow his wife to manipulate him. He knew he was doing the right thing for his children, for their future, and was old fashioned enough to think that it was a woman’s duty to support her husband. He grew accustomed to her silent defiance until it became so much a way of life that he ceased to notice it except during the long nights when, in the large and arid bed of his exile, his body yearned for the warmth of hers and the affection that she had once shown him.

Finally the day of departure arrived. Cecil had organized for the family to go by boat in order to enjoy a fortnight’s holiday before starting school and Audrey was grateful that she would have that precious time with her daughters. Rose and Aunt Edna arrived at the house in the early morning armed with sweets and shiny new pencil cases filled with crayons for school and embraced the children warmly. ‘Just don’t forget us, will you,’ said their grandmother, hugging them tightly and blinking away her tears. Edna handed Leonora an old saggy rabbit that she had had as a child, because she loved Leonora the best. ‘Look after him, won’t you, he was very dear to me when I was a little girl,’ she said, kissing her grand-niece on her forehead.

‘And don’t forget to write often, we want to hear all the news so don’t spare the details,’ said Rose, glancing at her daughter whose face looked pale and strained.

Aunt Hilda dropped by with Nelly but her hands were empty of gifts. The twins hadn’t expected anything from her but were delighted when Nelly handed them both large jars of dulce de leche. ‘I bet they don’t have this in England,’ she said.

‘You lucky things going to England,’ said Edna with forced cheerfulness, ‘they have the best of everything over there. Bring a Christmas pudding back when you come home for the holidays.’

‘And some mince pies,’ added Rose. At least they’ll be home for Christmas, she thought sadly; after that they wouldn’t be home until the following Christmas. She sympathized wholly with Audrey and spent many sleepless nights wondering how she was going to survive such a cruel separation, but there was no use in discussing it with Henry, for as far as he was concerned Cecil was doing the right thing. There was nothing quite like an English education.

Mercedes had refused to say goodbye to the girls for she hated open displays of emotion and considered tears and wobbling lower lips acts of extreme weakness to be avoided at all costs. So she went into town to do the shopping, leaving Loro alone in his cage squawking, ‘dreadful shame, dreadful shame,’ as loudly as he could to betray his mistress’s despair to anyone who would listen.

The sky was grey with the apathy of winter, casting the port in a gloomy, cheerless light. Audrey boarded the Alcantara with Alicia and Leonora hopping about her with the excitement of two small people embarking on a big adventure. Not only had they never been to England but they had never been on such a large and luxurious ship. Audrey wondered whether lambs sprung around with such enthusiasm moments before they were brutally slaughtered. The bustle of people, porters carrying heavy piles of suitcases, whistles blowing, engines roaring, families weeping and waving, embracing and kissing filled Audrey with panic. It was all so unfamiliar and disconcerting. She hated such noise and chaos and she feared for the safety of her children. But she needn’t have worried for the twins were enchanted by everything and barely spared a moment to say goodbye to their father who watched with fatalistic detachment as his family climbed the gangplank and disappeared inside. Audrey had kissed him coolly on the cheek then stared into his eyes with an icy defiance as if to remind him that this parting was of his own making and that she would never forgive him for it. He hoped time would thaw their estrangement and that she would appreciate the gift he had given them when the girls returned home with beautiful manners and superior educations. In the meantime the gin bottle would warm his wintry spirit.