Meet Me Under The Ombu Tree (13 page)

people chatted in low voices. What struck Emer immediately was the superior way with which Paco held himself and the loftiness of his gaze. He possessed an air of languorous privilege and easy charm that Emer felt must belong to the enchanted world from which he came. At that moment she feared her daughter had swum far out of her depth and would have trouble keeping up with the strong undercurrents her new situation would bring. Aunt Dorothy thought he was the most handsome man she had ever seen and she experienced a bitter twinge of resentment that her niece, in spite of all her caprices, had won the heart of such a gentleman when fate had removed any such possibility from her own past and without doubt, her future too.

After the initial pleasantries, about the dreary weather and the show they had seen the night before, Paco took it upon himself to tell them a little about his family. ‘I understand that this is somewhat hasty for you, but I assure you I am no infatuated cowboy. I am from a decent family and my intentions are decent,’ he explained. He told them that he had been brought up in Argentina. Both his parents were of Spanish origin, though his maternal grandmother was Austrian. That accounted for his fair hair and blue eyes, he laughed.

‘My father is so dark, you wouldn’t know we are related,’ he said, trying to alleviate the heaviness of the atmosphere. Emer smiled with encouragement, Aunt Dorothy sat tight-lipped and unforgiving, Anna listened to his every word with more reverence than she would have accorded the Pope. His command and confidence assured her that she would be well looked after when they were married. In him she recognized the manly self-possession she had always admired in Cary Grant.

He had been educated, he told them, at the English boarding school of St George’s in Argentina. He spoke English, French and was completely fluent in Italian as well as his native Spanish. His family was one of the wealthiest and most respected families in Argentina. His father owned a small plane. As well as the family
estancia
, Santa Catalina, his family took up most of an apartment building in the centre of Buenos Aires. Once they were married they would live in an apartment of their own in the same building and spend weekends at his parents’ house at Santa Catalina.

‘I can assure you,
Senora,
your daughter will be well cared for and will be very happy. I love
Ana Melodia.
I cannot describe how I love her, I have surprised even myself. But I do and I believe she loves me too. Sometimes one is lucky enough to be struck by a bolt of lightning. Some people take longer to

find love and are unable to understand the bolt of lightning. I was one of those, but now I understand what poets have so often written about. It has happened to me and I am the happiest man in the world.’ Emer could understand exactly how he loved her daughter. He looked at Anna in the same way that Dermot had looked at her all those years ago when they married. She wished he were with her now but feared his reaction. He would never let his precious daughter marry a foreigner.

‘I don’t care much for riches, Mr Solanas, neither does my husband,’ said Emer in her gentle voice. She sat with a straight back and looked steadily into Paco’s sincere blue eyes. ‘What concerns us is the happiness and health of our daughter. She is our only child, you see. I can speak for my husband on this account. The thought of her marrying and living across the seas, so far away, is traumatic for us. But we have always given Anna Melody a certain amount of freedom. If this is what she really wants, we cannot stand in her way. Although, we would feel happier if you could just spend some more time together before you get married. Get to know each other a little. That is all. And, of course, you will have to meet my husband to ask for her hand.’

‘But, Mam . . .’ protested Anna. She knew her parents couldn’t afford to put her up in a hotel and they knew no one in London. Paco silently understood their dilemma.

‘Might I suggest that your daughter stays with my cousin Antoine La Rivfre and his wife Dominique? They are recently married and living in London for the moment. If after six months we still wish to marry, do we have your blessing?’

‘I will have to discuss it with my husband,’ Emer said carefully. ‘Anna Melody must come back to Ireland with us tomorrow.’ Anna looked at her in horror. ‘Dear, let’s not rush into this. Yer father will want to talk it over with you,’ her mother said, patting her hand and smiling sympathetically at Paco.

‘Then at least can we spend the evening together,’ she said, ‘if I’m to go back to Ireland tomorrow? You want us to get to know each other, don’t you?’ Paco took Anna’s hand in his and lifted it to his lips and kissed it, silently telling her to leave the discussion of such matters to him.

‘I would be honoured if you would allow me to take the three of you out for dinner tonight,’ he said politely. Anna opened her mouth in horror. Emer ignored her sister who kicked her under the table.

‘Yer very kind, Mr Solanas,’ she replied, drawing her feet in under her chair. ‘Why don’t you take Anna Melody out on her own? After all, you’ll have to get

to know each other if you want to marry. You can pick her up from the hotel at seven-thirty.’

‘And return her before midnight,’ added Aunt Dorothy tartly.

After tea Anna and Paco said goodbye to each other at the door while her mother and aunt waited for their coats.

‘Sweet Jesus, Emer, do you think we’ve done the right thing?’

‘All I can say, Dorothy, is that our Anna Melody knows her mind. She’ll have a much better life with this young man than she’d ever have with Sean O’Mara, that I can tell you for nothing. I can’t bear to think of her the other side of the world. But how can I deny her such a life? If that is what she wants. By God, there’s got to be more of a life for her out there than in Glengariff’

‘I hope Paco Solanas knows what a spirited, fanciful young woman Anna Melody is. If she’s as cunning as I think she is, she’ll play the game until the ring is on the finger,’ Aunt Dorothy commented dryly.

‘Dorothy, sometimes you are so mean.’

‘Not mean, Emer - truthful. I seem to be the only one around here who sees things the way they are,’ she said grimly, and walked out into the street.

The last night in London had been unsettling. Emer and Aunt Dorothy had sat up in their nightdresses until Anna was safely returned to them at midnight. Anna, trapped in her lie about where she was staying, had been forced to take another taxi to Brown’s Hotel so that Paco could meet her there as agreed. He had taken her to dinner at a small restaurant overlooking the Thames, where they had later walked and talked beneath the tremulous stars that glittered above them.

Paco was unhappy that she had to return to Ireland and couldn’t really understand why. He had hoped she would stay in London. Afraid that she would disappear into the Celtic mists never to be seen again, he had taken great care in writing down her address and telephone number and said that he would call her every day until she returned. He had wanted to walk her back to Brown’s, but she insisted that he see her into a taxi on account of the lack of romance in the hotel lobby.

‘I want you to kiss me beneath a lamp post in the drizzle. I don’t want to remember you in some public lobby,’ she said and he had believed her. His

kiss had been long and soulful. When she returned to the De Vere in South Kensington her heart was burning through her skin with ardour and her mouth still trembling from where he had kissed her. She was too excited to sleep so she lay staring into the darkness, replaying his kisses over and over again until her thoughts turned into dreams and she drifted into a sensual sleep.

Anna was like a wind-up doll, spinning around the suite in a state of manic excitement. She didn’t seem to care much about Sean O’Mara; all her thoughts were for the handsome Paco Solanas alone, and however much Aunt Dorothy tried to impress upon her the gravity of her situation she just didn’t seem to want to know.

‘Sit down a while, Anna Melody, yer making me dizzy,’ wheezed Aunt Dorothy, turning pale.

‘But I’m so happy I want to dance,’ she replied, breaking into an imaginary waltz. ‘He’s so romantic - like a Hollywood film star.’ She sighed and skipped across the carpet.

‘You really must think about this very hard. There’s more to a marriage than passion,’ her mother said carefully. ‘This young man lives in a faraway country. You may never see Ireland again.’

‘I don’t care for Glengariff The world is opening up for me, Mam. What is there for me in Glengariff?’ Her mother looked hurt and swallowed a sob. She couldn’t allow her own feelings to influence her daughter in this choice although she felt an overwhelming desire to fall at her feet and beg her to stay. She didn’t know how she would be able to live without her.

‘Yer family, that’s what,’ interjected Aunt Dorothy crossly. ‘A family that loves the bones of you. Don’t belittle that, my girl. There’s more to life than riches. You’ll learn that the hard way.’

‘Calm down, Aunt Dorothy. I love him. I don’t care how rich he is. I’d love him if he were a pauper,’ Anna said imperiously.

‘Love is something that grows, my dear. Don’t rush into anything,’ her mother said indulgently. ‘We’re not talking about London or Paris, Anna, we’re talking about a country that is on the other side of the world. They speak a different language. The culture is different. You’ll miss home.’ She choked, then pulled herself together.

‘I can learn Spanish. Look I can already say
te amo -
I love you,’ Anna said and giggled.
‘Te amo, te amo.’

‘It’s yer decision, dear, but you’ll have to convince yer father,’ Emer

conceded sadly.

Thank you, Mam. Aunt Dorothy’s an old cynic,’ Anna joked.

‘Oh, and no thought at all for young Sean? I suppose you think you’ll be able to pick up with him where you left off when it all goes wrong?’

‘Aunt Dorothy, no!’ gasped Anna. ‘Besides, it won’t go wrong,’ she added firmly.

‘He’s too good for you.’

‘Dorothy, really,’ chided Emer nervously. ‘Anna knows her own mind, she knows what’s best for her.’

‘I don’t know, Emer. You haven’t spared a thought for that poor young man who's been nothing but kind to you. Don’t you care what becomes of him? He’s looking forward to a future with the woman he loves and you’re just callously throwing that back in his face. I tell you, Emer, you and Dermot have indulged this child to the point where she can only think of herself. She hasn’t been taught to think of anyone else.’

‘Please, Dorothy. This is a happy time for Anna.’

‘And a miserable time for Sean O’Mara,’ huffed Aunt Dorothy, folding her arms in front of her stubbornly.

‘I can’t help it if I’ve fallen in love with Paco. What do you expect me to do, Aunt Dorothy - ignore my own heart and return to a man I no longer love?’ Anna said melodramatically, sinking into a chair.

There, there, Anna Melody, it’s all right. Yer aunt and I, we only want what’s best for you. This has all come as something of a shock. Better to break it off with Sean now than regret it down the line. Once yer married, yer married for life,’ Emer said, gently stroking her daughter’s long red hair.

Aunt Dorothy sighed heavily. There was nothing she could do. How many scenes like this had she witnessed? Countless. There was no point trying to put the world to rights. Destiny will do that for me, she thought to herself.

‘I’m only being realistic,’ she conceded, adopting a softer tone of voice. ‘I’m older than you and wiser, Anna. As yer father always says, “knowledge can be learnt, wisdom comes with experience”. He’s right, of course. I’ll leave life to do the teaching.’

‘We love you, Anna Melody. We don’t want to see you making a mistake. Oh,

I do wish yer father had been here. What is he going to say?’ her mother asked apprehensively.

Dermot O’Dwyer’s cheeks grew redder and redder until his large grey eyes looked like they would pop right out of his face. He paced the room in agitation, not knowing what to say. He wasn’t going to allow his only daughter to disappear off to some godforsaken country at the other end of the earth, to marry some man she had only known for twenty-four hours.

‘Jesus, Mary and Joseph, girl. What on earth has possessed you? London fever, that’s what. You’ll marry young Sean if I have to drag you there myself,’ he said angrily.

‘I will not marry Sean even if you put a gun to my head, Dad,’ Anna cried defiantly, her pink face wet with tears. Emer tried to intervene.

‘He was a fine young man, Dermot. Very handsome and mature. You’d have been impressed.’

‘I don’t care if he’s the bloody King of Buenos Aires, I will not have my daughter marrying some foreigner. You were raised in Ireland, you’ll stay in Ireland,’ he bellowed, pouring himself a large whisky and knocking it back in one. Emer noticed that his hands were shaking and his pain tore at her heart. Like a wounded animal he was gnashing his teeth at anyone who approached him.

‘I will go to Argentina if I have to swim there. I know he’s the man for me,

Dad. I don’t love Sean. I never have. I only went along with it because I wanted to please you, because there was no one else. But now I’ve seen the man who is my destiny. Can’t you see, God meant us to meet? It is meant to be,’ Anna said and her eyes implored him to understand and relent.

‘Whose idea was it to take you off to London in the first place?’ he asked, looking at his wife accusingly. Aunt Dorothy had gone out. ‘I’ve said my piece,’ she had explained as she closed the door behind her. Emer looked around helplessly and shook her head.