The Forget-Me-Not Sonata(99)

‘I have seen your parents and Aunt Edna,’ he replied. ‘All a little older but basically the same.’

‘Henry gave Louis a dinner party at the Club to welcome him back,’ said Cecil. Then he added in a softer voice, ‘Rose wants to hold a memorial service for Isla, now that Louis is here, but she was waiting for you to return.’

Audrey lowered her eyes. So much had happened while she had been away. ‘I see,’ she replied. ‘I would like that very much.’ She looked at Louis nervously, playing with the handle of her handbag. ‘How long will you be staying?’ She focused her eyes on the shiny brown leather, not wanting to reveal how much she wanted him to stay. Cecil drained his glass and stood up to pour another. He had to muster all his strength to control his shaking hands.

‘I don’t know. I have no plans.’

‘If he stays he’ll have to marry Nelly,’ Cecil joked, sitting down again. The alcohol now dulled his senses and his pain gnawed at him no longer. ‘Because Nelly believes she’s the reason he’s returned.’ He chuckled.

‘Nelly?’ Audrey gasped.

‘Hilda’s determined. Only Agatha is married and Nelly’s getting on a bit.’

‘We went to Hilda’s for dinner the other night,’ said Louis with a sigh. ‘Of course, she seated me next to Nelly. Poor girl, nature hasn’t been kind, has she? The girl’s not unpleasant though. Not like her mother.’

This was all too much for Audrey to take in. She stood up and rubbed her forehead. ‘I’m very tired,’ she explained. ‘Do you mind if I go and have a bath and a rest? Cecil, will you apologize to Mercedes for me, I’ll go in and see her when I come down for lunch. I have a letter for her from Alicia.’

‘Of course, my dear, can I get you anything?’

She shook her head and pulled a tremulous smile. ‘No, thank you. I’ll be fine after a sleep.’ Then she made for the door but stopped suddenly and turned around, defeated. ‘It’s very quiet here, isn’t it?’ she said sadly.

Louis looked at his brother who stared into his empty glass, the ash from his cigar dropping onto the carpet.

When Audrey reached the sanctuary of her bedroom, she locked the door behind her and ran a hot bath. She had been dreading returning to an empty house. She could barely think about her daughters without sobbing. It had been so painful leaving them and then leaving England where she had at least been close by. But Louis’ appearance had been a far greater shock than finding the twins’ rooms empty and silent. She had expected a miserable homecoming, but she hadn’t expected Louis.

She sank into the bath and let the water ease the tension that had knotted all her muscles in tight, painful balls of unhappiness. Why wasn’t Louis furious with her? How could he sit there with her and Cecil as husband and wife and smile as if he felt nothing? What did he hope for now that he had returned? She fingered the gold band on her left hand. She was married. Everything had changed except her heart.

The bath made her drowsy and when she curled up under the covers she slipped into a deep sleep quicker than she would have ever thought possible under the circumstances.

She was awoken by a light tapping on the door. She opened her eyes and glanced at the clock. It was two in the afternoon. ‘Audrey, it’s lunchtime,’ said Cecil, trying to turn the knob. ‘Why have you locked the door?’

‘Did I lock it?’ she asked, pretending that she hadn’t meant to.

‘May I come in?’

‘Of course,’ she replied, getting up.

‘You look much better now,’ he said once she’d unlocked the door. ‘The colour’s returned to your cheeks. Do you feel better?’

‘Much,’ she answered truthfully. ‘Sleep is a great healer.’ She opened the curtains letting the sunshine tumble into the room with the enthusiasm of spring.

‘Louis has had the most amazing adventures,’ he said, sitting down by the window and watching his wife make the bed.

‘Really?’

‘Yes, he went to Mexico where he spent eight years teaching music to children.’

‘He would be good at that,’ she said. Then she remembered that he was downstairs and her skin tickled with excitement.

‘No, my dear, the amazing thing is that the children were deaf.’

Audrey looked at her husband and frowned. ‘Deaf?’

‘Exactly. I thought it sounded a little incredible myself. But he explained how he taught them to close their eyes and express their feelings through their fingers. I think they could feel the vibrations or something. He brought back a few cuttings from the local papers. He caused quite a sensation. It obviously did him the power of good.’