The Forget-Me-Not Sonata(70)

‘We’re going to love it, aren’t we, Leo?’

Leonora nodded half-heartedly and Audrey instinctively put her arm around her and pulled her close.

‘I’m staying with Cicely for a few weeks to settle you in. I’m allowed to take you out for the weekend after a fortnight, so you can tell me all about it.’

After they had settled into the Normandie Hotel in Knightsbridge they took another taxi to Oxford Street and Audrey promised them a ride on a bus after they had bought their uniform. Debenham & Freebody was throbbing with mothers buying clothes for their children, all clutching the same white sheets of paper that listed everything from pants to outdoor shoes and Aertex shirts, which Audrey had never heard of before. The girls eyed up the other children with a mixture of suspicion and curiosity while Audrey tried to find a sales lady to help her. She caught the attention of a small sparrow of a woman who was serving a tall lady in a camel hair coat. She smiled sweetly and indicated with a nod that as soon as she had finished she would look after her. So Audrey sat in an armchair and watched while the twins skipped through the department, playing chase.

‘We won’t be long,’ said the lady in the camel hair coat, sitting down next to Audrey. ‘They take forever in this shop. My Caroline’ – she pronounced this as Cairline – ‘has two elder sisters who are both seniors at Colehurst House but most of their old things are worn through so we’re having to get the essentials brand new. Quite an extravagance, it’s not cheap.’ The saleswoman disappeared through a door into the store room and the lady’s daughter, a freckly child with thin hair and a turned-up nose, emerged from the changing room in a brown and beige uniform looking long faced and grumpy. Audrey smiled at her but she lifted her chin and stuck out her lower lip sulkily. ‘Not a pretty uniform, is it?’ continued the girl’s mother who spoke with such a grand accent her chin practically disappeared into her neck.

Audrey nodded. ‘It could be worse,’ she said diplomatically, feeling the child’s discomfort.

‘Goodness me, it’s ghastly, but at least it means they don’t wear out their own clothes. With all those dogs and ponies and tearing around in the mud, I’m jolly grateful for it.’

‘It’s my daughters’ first time at boarding school,’ said Audrey softly.

The lady raised her eyebrows and grinned. ‘Oh, what fun, you’ve got it all ahead of you,’ she gushed. ‘It’s a charming school and the gels are nice and well mannered. Diana Reid is a jolly good headmistress and an excellent horsewoman. My Caroline has been longing to go, she’s the last, you see, and has had to put up with me. Jolly boring, isn’t it, darling?’ She didn’t wait for her daughter to reply. ‘I wouldn’t let her go at eight like her sisters, she was a slow learner and needed extra tuition. So she’s ten. Going into the second year. She’s taking Teasel with her, though. Nothing in the world could split those two up, could it, Caroline? What would he do without you?’

‘Teasel?’ asked Audrey, assuming he was a dog.

‘Pony,’ replied the lady briskly. ‘Caroline won’t go anywhere without Teasel. If your gels have ponies they’re most welcome at Colehurst House. Really, it’s like a five-star hotel for horses. They’re happier there than at home, the little devils,’ she added, fluttering her eyelids and pursing her lips together to illustrate her amusement.

At that moment Leonora and Alicia bounded around the corner giggling loudly. ‘Ah, do these two belong to you? They must meet Caroline.’ The twins skidded to a halt beside their mother and Leonora placed herself on her knee throwing her arm around her neck.

‘This is Leonora and that’s Alicia,’ said Audrey, ‘and this very smartly dressed girl is Caroline.’ The twins said hello politely and Caroline pulled a small smile in return.

‘I like your uniform, is it like ours?’ Leonora asked. Caroline’s eyes came alive and her smile lengthened.

‘Exactly like yours,’ Audrey replied, watching the other child’s expression soften.

‘If you follow me I’ll show you what else you have to have,’ she said and Alicia and Leonora followed her at once to the changing room where they rummaged through the pile of beige shirts and heavy brown skirts.

‘Charming gels,’ said the lady who suddenly remembered to her horror that she hadn’t introduced herself. ‘I’m dreadfully sorry, I don’t even know your name.’

‘Audrey Forrester,’ replied Audrey.

‘Dorothy Stainton-Hughes, a bit of a mouthful I’m afraid,’ she said and chuckled heartily. ‘Where are you from? You have a most curious accent.’