Oriental Hotel (5 page)

‘I hope so,' Elise said quietly.

‘Melodramatic! Now I know where Paul gets his notions of being an actor – straight from you!'

‘This isn't a game,' Elise said. ‘I promise you, Alex, I was never more serious in my life. If I should discover that Katy is part of a deal, and that by voting against it I can prevent her from becoming involved, then I warn you I shall do it.'

‘Mother, the company …'

‘Don't talk to me about the company,' she said. ‘It's my world as much as it is yours. But it must never be allowed to become the master rather than the servant. There are some lines which have to be drawn.'

‘And we draw them.' Now it was Alex's turn to lose his temper. ‘For God's sake. Mother, what do you think we are? Do you really suppose I would sell my niece, or David his daughter, like some whore? This is 1983 and whatever Katrina does, she does because she wants it that way. Surely you know that?'

There was silence in the room. From somewhere on the other side of the door Elise could hear the clacking of a typewriter, restoring a sense of normality. After a moment she nodded, gathering up her bag and rising to her feet.

‘Thank you for taking me into your confidence at last, gentlemen,' she said with ironic formality. ‘ I hope that from now on you will do me the courtesy of keeping me informed of developments. I don't like being treated like an imbecile child – particularly since I was involved with the company before you were born, Alex, and while you, David, were barely toddling. As to the other matter, I'm going to see Katy now. And all I can say is that I hope you are right and I am wrong. Otherwise, I promise you, you will have to fight me – all the way.'

Neither man replied. Both, without admitting it, felt guilty that Elise should have stumbled upon what was happening in this way; both were stunned by the vehemence of her attack. Tucked away in the Cotswolds, looking after the gentler side of the business, she had allowed them to forget what a tigress she could be when aroused.

As she left the office, an almost identical thought occurred to Elise. I had forgotten the feeling of power, she thought, forgotten the excitement of the deal that can make or break a company. And forgotten how passionately I can feel – how fierce I can be on behalf of those I care for, how deeply I have loved myself. Over the long years I had lost my awareness of the vulnerability of youth and forgotten how vital it is that a capacity for loving should not be wasted.

But now that I have remembered, I must share that knowledge with Katy. For she must not make the mistake that I did.

Outside at the kerb her Bentley was waiting, Evans standing patiently beside it. As Elise appeared he moved forward to open the door for her and she slipped into the luxurious interior, airconditioned against the heat of the summer evening.

‘Bartlett Mews, please, Evans,' she said quietly, and as the car purred gently away to slide through the London traffic she sat back and pondered on her coming meeting with Katy.

‘Granny, this is a real treat! I couldn't believe it when you said you were coming up to town tonight!'

Katy, cool and lovely in a strappy camisole top and harem pants in palest lemon lawn, stood in the centre of her cluttered kitchen beaming her welcome at Elise.

Around her, chaos reigned. Piles of books and magazines jostled vases of freesia, roses and sweet peas; unwashed dishes were stacked high on the draining board beside the orange peel from this morning's freshly-squeezed oranges and the joint of lamb Katy was defrosting for a weekend supper party. Tidiness was not and never would be one of her attributes.

‘Sit down, Granny!' Expansively Katy cleared a space on her kitchen bench of scrubbed pine. ‘Sorry about the mess – I don't know where it all comes from.'

‘I didn't even notice it,' Elise lied. ‘You're looking very brown, Katy.'

‘Yes, I am!' Katy stretched out-slim tanned arms and looked at them with critical pride. ‘After the fortnight I had in Bermuda at the beginning of the summer, I was determined not to let all that lovely sunbathing go to waste and turn pasty white again. So every week when the sun hasn't shone, I've treated myself to a topping-up at the solarium.'

Elise laughed. ‘You haven't needed to do that this week.'

‘No, it's been gorgeous, hasn't it? Not that I get much opportunity to be out in it. The gallery …'

‘Oh yes, how is the gallery?' Elise asked.

‘Fine! I've sold two originals this week by a super new artist I found all by myself. And I've made an enormous profit on a print I picked up at auction for a song …' She broke off, pushing her mane of rich brown hair behind her ear with an impatient gesture. ‘I'm sorry, Granny, going on about work When you must be starving. What can I get you to eat? How about some lamb? I could cut off a couple of slices from the end of this leg, I expect; it's just about defrosted. And I've got courgettes in the fridge, and a punnet of fresh raspberries …'

‘Darling, no, really!' Elise protested. ‘You know too much supper doesn't agree with me these days. One meal a day is quite sufficient and I had that at lunch-time.'

‘A drink, then? Oh, I suppose Uncle Alex has topped you up pretty well?'

‘He tried!' Elise agreed.

‘You mean I can't get you anything? Oh, Granny, that's ridiculous after you've come all this way.'

Elise smiled. ‘ I'll have a glass of wine, Katy, if you have it.'

‘Yes, of course. There's the most enormous bottle of white plonk, or … have you tried Lambrusco? Light red, with bubbles that tickle your nose if you're lucky!'

‘All right, I'll try it,' Elise said, smiling as she thought of the cellar of fine old wines and new season Beaujolais at Durscombe Park.

‘How's Mummy?' Katy asked, pouring wine into a glass and setting it down on the scrubbed pine table at Elise's elbow. ‘Have you seen anything of her?'

‘Not a great deal,' Elise confessed. She sipped the wine and was pleasantly surprised at its light, fruity flavour and the semi-sparkle that tickled on her tongue. ‘You know how it is with your mother, Katy. Horses, horses, horses!'

‘Yes, it's not surprising I'm an only child, is it?' Katy observed. ‘I'm amazed she found the time to have me. They talk about theatrical babies being born in a trunk in a dressing-room – with me, it was a loose-box, wasn't it, with a vet in attendance!'

Elise laughed. I laugh more in the few hours I spend with Katy than during all the rest of my time put together, she thought.

‘Mummy and her horses!' Katy went on. ‘Do you remember how she used to rub embrocation on me every time I had a tumble? I must have reeked to high heaven! But the really awful thing was knowing I was disappointing her because I couldn't be as interested in it all as she wanted me to be. I mean, it's really nice to take a pony out through the woods on a good day. But not in all winds and weathers! And as for those awful horse shows and gymkhanas …' She broke off, subdued momentarily by the memory of summer afternoons of torture, trying to win the cups and ribbons she knew were expected of her.

‘Katy …' Elise hesitated, wondering how to bring the conversation around to the subject that was hovering over her consciousness, but her granddaughter appeared oblivious.

‘How long can you stay, Granny?' she asked, her usual sparkle returning. ‘ You can have my bed for the night, if you like, and I'll sleep on the sofa. That would save you driving home again the same day.'

‘It's sweet of you, Katy – but no, I ought to get back tonight,' Elise told her. ‘And in any case, there's Evans to think of. I asked him to come back in an hour.'

‘An hour? Is that all? Oh, I'm sure he could have amused himself for much longer than that! Which reminds me – how is that dishy new gardener of yours – what's his name? – Richardson?'

Elise smiled. ‘He's fine, though I must say the number of young ladies picnicking in our woods or taking strolls through the home meadows has noticeably increased. It will be a good thing when the weather cools down and he puts his shirt on again, if you ask me.'

‘Oh Granny, you wouldn't tell him so, would you?'

‘Of course not.' Elise hesitated, then continued smoothly, ‘Talking of dishy young men, I'm anxious to hear all about your new escort.'

‘Oh – you mean Gunther.'

Was it her imagination, wondered Elise, or had some of the sparkle died in Katy's eyes?

‘Yes, Gunther! You've been seeing a great deal of him, haven't you?'

‘Have I? Yes, I suppose I have.'

‘So tell me about him.' Elise sipped her wine, but above the rim of the glass her eyes were sharp and watchful.

‘Well, he's doing some kind of deal with Daddy and Uncle Alex. I daresay you'll get to hear all about it sooner or later. And he's been taking me out – clubs, theatres, all the social bit – you know!'

‘I see. It's very casual, is it?' Elise asked, catching the hesitation before Katy replied.

‘Well … yes.'

‘When you said he was picking you up this evening, it sounded a little more serious,' Elise pressed her.

‘Did it? Weil, maybe it is.' Again the hesitation and this time Elise was sure that Katy's sparkle had dimmed.

‘He's really very nice, you know. Granny. I'm very fond of him. And he certainly knows how to treat a woman.'

I'm sure he does, thought Elise. If he has not learned that by his age, then he never will!

Aloud she said, ‘He's a great deal older than you are, Katy.'

Katy shrugged without replying, but the look on her face alarmed Elise: a mulish look, stubborn, determined – but without the light that should be there if she really cared deeply for the man about whom she was talking.

‘How old did the papers say?' she persisted. ‘Fifty-four? That's quite a bit older than your father! Darling, I know it can have its attractions, but do be careful, please …'

‘Well, you're a fine one to talk, I must say!' Katy retaliated sharply. ‘How much older than you was Grandpa? I've heard you say he was nearly forty when you married him – and you were younger than I am now.'

‘Yes, I was seventeen,' Elise said reflectively. ‘ But Katy …'

‘I know the difference between Gunter and me is greater, but the principle's the same,' Katy said reasonably. ‘Anyway, I'm only seeing him. At the moment, that's all it is. Honestly!'

At the moment
. The words went home to Elise and she sighed as she read the deeper meaning behind them.

The girl reached over, touching her arm.

‘Don't worry, Granny! Look, I quite like Gunther, really I do. And if it's going to help Daddy … I think things have been a bit sticky for him and they could get stickier. So just leave it to me, OK?'

Elise's heart sank. So she had been right: Katy was seeing Gunther not because she had chosen him but because it was what he wanted – part of his price, maybe, for throwing his weight behind the company. She could imagine him hinting that he would feel much more favourably disposed towards Sandersons with Katy's charming company to encourage him. What else would he demand?

It could be that he was interested in Sandersons merely because they were a prestigious firm. But it could be that the stakes for which he was playing included a young and beautiful wife.

‘Katy …' Helplessly Elise searched for a way to express what she wanted to say: Don't give yourself away for less than real love. Wait … for the person who can make your eyes sparkle the way they should, the person who starts a fire in you which can only be satisfied by being with them all the time. Wait, Katy, don't rush, however good your reasons might seem to be. You have so much to give.

But there was no way she could say all this. Close as they were, this barrier was too great to surmount with mere words. As if reading her distress Katy stood up, reaching for the bottle of wine and pouring some more into her glass.

‘For heaven's sake, drink up. Granny.' Her voice was bright now, if slightly forced. ‘You can sleep all the way home if you want to! And if Daddy and Uncle Alex make you this morose, I should stay away from them. Just come and see me more often. Right?'

‘I wish I could,' Elise said. ‘Selfish that I am, I just wish you were nearer, Katy.'

‘Pooh! Two hours in the car, what's that?' Katy teased.

‘For someone who travelled the world the way you did, it hardly counts as a trip to the shops. Do you know, when I was a little girl there was nothing I liked better than hearing you talk about faraway places. Hong Kong, Cairo, Singapore …'

‘That's a long time ago now,' Elise said, thinking: was it really me who travelled to all those places? It seems now as if it was someone else …

For a while they talked on: Katy chattering as if to fill every second and so prevent Elise from raising the subject of Gunther again; Elise going along with her because she knew that for the moment there was nothing else she could say. Then, after a while, she glanced at her watch.

‘I ought to see if Evans is outside,' she said regretfully.

Katy pulled a face. ‘I think I heard the car a while ago, but I didn't say anything,' she confessed. ‘Your Bentley has a very distinguished engine sound.'

‘It's a very distinguished car,' Elise said with a smile. ‘Your grandfather always said that every Dick, Tom and Harry had a Rolls, which was why he had a Bentley.'

‘That sounds just like Grandpa!' Katy laughed.

‘Well, if Evans is there I ought to be going, darling,' Elise said. ‘I've a two-hour journey in front of me and however flattering you might be about my age, I do like to get to my bed at a reasonable hour these days. And I've a busy day tomorrow, finalising arrangements for the Flowet Show and drawing up the agenda for the regional meeting of the Rural Women's Fellowship that I'm supposed to be chairing next week.'