‘I don’t think she is,’ he said with a grin. ‘If you knew my sister, you’d understand. She’s not the warmest of women.’
‘My sister’s very warm,’ said Isla, now beginning to slur her words. ‘She’s in a world of her own though. She’s a dreamer.’ Louis looked down at Audrey with eyes the colour of cornflowers and smiled at her reflectively.
‘I’m a dreamer too,’ he said and for a moment Audrey was sure she saw a sudden gloominess pass across his face as if the sun had briefly disappeared behind a cloud.
‘I would die of grief if Audrey left me to live in a foreign country,’ Isla interjected melodramatically. ‘Promise you won’t, Audrey.’ Audrey caught eyes with her mother who noticed to her dismay that her younger daughter had already drunk too much.
‘I promise I won’t,’ she replied indulgently. When she looked at Louis again the cloud had passed and his face was untroubled once more.
‘Isla dear, please will you go into the kitchen and tell Marisol that we are ready to eat,’ Rose said. Then she added in a whisper as Isla floated past her, ‘Have a large glass of water while you’re out there. Your father will be furious if he sees that you’re tipsy.’
The two guests sat on either side of Rose, then Isla was placed beside Louis and her father while Audrey had Cecil on her left and Aunt Edna on her right. She looked across at Louis and wished that she could swap places with her sister. Louis raised his eyes and caught her gazing at him with ill-concealed fascination. Audrey at once stared into her bowl of soup before turning to talk with Aunt Edna for her mother was already discussing the war with Cecil, clearly enraptured by him. Had she allowed her eyes to linger a moment longer she would have seen Louis’ face crease into an enchanting smile.
‘Isn’t he charming?’ Aunt Edna commented under her breath. Audrey knew she wasn’t referring to Louis.
‘Very,’ she replied automatically, humouring her aunt.
‘He’s very handsome. A handsome army officer, desperately romantic, don’t you agree? I think he likes you, my dear, I saw him gazing at you.’
‘Oh, I don’t think so,’ she protested. ‘Besides, I’m too young for love, apparently.’
Aunt Edna laughed. ‘You’re eighteen now, Audrey dear, I was your age when I fell in love with Harry. Dear Harry,’ she said with emphasis. ‘He was a good man.’
‘Did you love him very much?’ Audrey asked, changing the subject.
‘Very much,’ Aunt Edna replied, but she refused to allow the thought of her late husband to dampen her enjoyment of such a pleasant evening. She smiled through her melancholy, once more conquering it with humour. ‘Harry was a great mimic,’ she began. Audrey cast her eyes across the table to where Louis was laughing boisterously with Isla, who giggled back flirtatiously. To her frustration she suffered an unsettling twinge of jealousy at the sight of their mirth and turned back to her aunt, desperate to ignore those feelings that were both unfamiliar and primitive. ‘He could mimic my mother, your grandmother, to perfection,’ continued Aunt Edna, oblivious of her niece’s turmoil. ‘Once when my father shouted in from the garden “Elizabeth, what do you suggest we do with this cherry tree?” Harry replied in my mother’s voice before she had time to, “Rip it out, darling, rip them all out.” My father was left greatly puzzled.’
‘How did you know Harry was the one?’ Audrey asked, fighting her impulse to stray once again across the table. Aunt Edna looked at her and frowned.
‘Aren’t you a curious child?’ she mused. Then her chubby fingers settled onto the ruby engagement ring she still wore and she sighed pensively. ‘Because he was different from everyone else I had ever met. He made me laugh more than anyone else. I suppose I just knew. An instinct, quite animal really, very primitive. He made me feel wonderful. With Harry I was always facing the sun. My sunshine Harry. The sun has never been quite the same since,’ she added, then smacked her lips together, wrenching her thoughts back to the present. ‘You’ll know, Audrey dear. When it happens, you’ll know.’ Audrey felt certain she knew already. She glanced across at Louis aware that there were unsettling forces at play drawing them together.
When the main course was served Rose turned to Louis leaving Cecil free to talk to Audrey. With Cecil the conversation was light and easy. His expression was kind and his attention unwavering as he gazed upon her with the full force of his beautiful face and if it hadn’t been for his brother, who sat opposite them like a wild dog, one moment buoyant, the next sinking into melancholy, her heart might have been captivated by this dazzling army officer. But Audrey found Louis compelling. Her ears strained across the table in spite of herself. She knew she shouldn’t and battled to control her feelings. But the more she sensed the danger the deeper into it she sunk.