Promises (24 page)

F
rom the enclosed terrace where they were placing the furniture, Nina could see the peacock-blue Atlantic and a line of snow-white beach umbrellas along its rim. From every window on the housefront this view expanded to the horizon. If you were to fly straight across the ocean from here, she reckoned that you would probably land in Morocco.

The house was marvelous, with airy spaces and flowers everywhere, on tiles, in great glass bowls, and on the walls. Not in the usual Florida style, it was more like a planter’s house in Bermuda or on a Caribbean island. The exterior was the palest pink, and Nina had furnished it as the planters had furnished theirs when they brought their Chippendale treasures from England. Willie and Ernie had let her handle most of the work by herself; she had secretly been nervous about having so much responsibility, but now that everything had turned out well and everyone was so pleased, she was feeling much pride.

“It was a great idea of yours, Nina, telling the folks to
enclose this terrace. Jerry and I only get to use the place during school vacations when Florida’s too hot for outdoor sitting, so we’re going to appreciate it, I can tell you that.”

The speaker was one of the owners’ daughters, and it was for the benefit of three generations that they had bought and refurbished this vacation house, complete to Mother Goose murals and a canopied crib.

Nina smiled. “It looks as if you’ll be making good use of the nursery.”

The other young woman smiled back. “Me first and next my brother’s wife. This house intends to be used.”

The table was set for lunch when Nina fastened the last tieback on the last curtain. Driving away, she saw the husband walking home from the beach with his little boy riding on his shoulders. Together they would all sit down at the table and plan the rest of the day. And although there was certainly not the least resemblance between this lavish house and the one in Elmsford, they both gave forth the same feeling of stability and calm, so that all the way back to her hotel she had a sense of happy recollection.

She had planned a swim on this last day before returning to New York, but had no sooner entered her room before the telephone rang.

“What’s up?” asked Keith. “How’s everything going?”

“Just perfectly. I’m in the most gorgeous hotel. Willie and Ernie treat me like a princess when I go on these business trips.”

“Why not? You are a princess. How would you like some company?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve got a little business to do in Florida, and I can take an extra day if you want me to.”

“If I want you to! I’m floating around in a wonderful room with a king-sized bed.”

“No, no, I wouldn’t dare come there. There’s bound to be somebody on the east coast of Florida who knows me. Or the west coast too.”

“Where, then?”

“My brother’s horse farm. Or I should say his and my farm. I’ve some matters to attend to there. Can you fly up for an overnight? It’s about twenty minutes by air from where you are.”

“What about your brother? I mean, do you—”

“Trust him?” Keith laughed. “With my life. Anyway, he won’t be there. A couple of maids will make us a nice dinner, and we’ll have the place to ourselves except for them and the horses. Doesn’t it sound good?”

“Very good,” she said.

A long, low house lay within a grove of pin oaks at the end of a long, curving drive. Green level fields were intersected by rail fences and were dotted now, in the bright afternoon sun, by the dark shapes of grazing horses.

“It doesn’t look at all like Florida!” exclaimed Nina.

“Not the Florida most people think of. I’ll never forget the first day I saw it. The rain was teeming and it certainly didn’t look its best, but I knew I wanted to have it. The funny thing is that I hardly ever get a chance to use the place. But my brother and his family get a lot of fun out of it.”

They walked into a great central space with a fireplace
at either end, a gleaming wall of windows, leather sofas, and stacks of books all around.

“If you can say that any space this huge can be cozy, I’ll say so,” Nina remarked.

In various nooks and corners stood clothes racks holding outdoor gear, tennis rackets, fishing rods, and boot trees.

“Most of that stuff belongs to Pete’s kids. He’s my older brother. He’s got teenagers. Come on, I’ll show you where you’re going to sleep. Where we’re going to sleep, I should say. Then we’ll go out and look around the grounds. Do you know anything about horses?”

Nina laughed. “Only that they eat oats and that some people ride them.”

Excited and enjoying himself, Keith raced her through the upstairs hall into a room with dark Spanish cupboards and a carved bed, hung with red silk, whose fat pillows reminded her of Prague; tonight would be their first entire night together since then. And, she knew, he must be having the same thought.

“It’s a pity you don’t ride,” he said. “Maybe now’s a good chance to give you a lesson.”

“Oh, not now!”

“Why? Not scared, are you?”

“No, honestly not, only embarrassed about looking foolish. Besides, I have nothing to wear.”

“Jeans will do. I’ll send Camilla to find one of the girls’ hats and some boots for you. The hat’s for safety’s sake and you’ll need boots because sneakers don’t fit right in the stirrups. If there’s anything else you need, just ask Camilla,” Keith called back over his shoulder. “She understands English pretty well.”

The marble bathroom opened into another bedroom.
Through the partly open door a wall of photographs and medals was visible to Nina, and entering farther, she saw that they belonged to a boy about Danny’s age, as well as to a magnificent horse whose bridle he held.

“Nice picture, no?”

“You must be Camilla,” Nina said, turning to the woman, hardly more than a girl, who presented an armful of boots and hats.

“You try on. Yes, nice boy. You have kids?”

“No,” Nina spoke briefly, not wanting to be caught up into any intimacies about herself.

But Camilla was only a “kid,” curious and talkative. “They have five. Big, big boys. Tall. Come here, ride horses all day. Nice family.”

“Yes,” said Nina. “I’ll take these. And thank you, Camilla.”

Keith was waiting at the front door, and they started off across the fields.

“I’ve a pocketful of sugar cubes for you. They’ll help you get acquainted. Look there,” he said, as they stood leaning over a fence. “Now, there’s an example of a prime English Thoroughbred.”

A stately stallion with a coat like black satin came at a trot to thrust his quivering nose across the rail.

“He knows we have something for him. Hold out your palm, Nina.”

After a moment or two awareness spread across the field and four more handsome heads leaned over the fence.

“Pete knows almost all of them by name, even the ones he intends to sell. Oh, look there, Nina! Now, there’s something interesting for you. See that gold-colored fellow? See anything different about him?”

She said carefully, “His face is especially thin, and his neck seems much longer.”

“Right. He comes from Central Asia. It’s an ancient breed, very rare. I forget the name. Pete learned about it and somehow managed to get hold of one. They’re very strong, very elegant, but not as fast as our regular Thoroughbreds. Come on, let’s go to the stables and put you onto a saddle.”

A little wind came up, ruffling the trees, bending the grass, and perhaps delighting the horses, for many of them went running with it.

“What a wonderful day!” cried Nina.

The stables were cool and fragrant with the sugary scent of last fall’s remaining hay. A mother was nursing her foal, born yesterday.

“She’ll be a beauty, don’t you think so, Mr. Keith?” asked one of the stable boys.

“Like her mother, a gentle lady. Have you got another gentle lady for my friend? This is her first time on a horse.”

So a docile, rather elderly mare was led out for Nina; Keith explained how you mount on the left, keep your heels down, adjust the reins around the little finger, and straighten your back.

“Now, off we go, Nina. I’m right behind you.”

She was not a bit nervous. They walked slowly around the paddock. After a while they went out onto the bridle path. After a while more they began a slow trot. The wind rose higher, beating softly on Nina’s flushed, sun-warmed cheeks.

It was all marvelous, a golden day.

*  *  *

The candle flames swayed in a sudden gust from the open window. Music filtered out of the great room into the dining room. This beauty was contagious; invigorated by the afternoon’s activity, and yet rested, Nina felt lovely. She felt the pearls resting on her throat. She felt the delicacy of the hand that held her glass of wine.

Keith was smiling at her. “You’re having fun,” he said.

“Oh, yes! Wouldn’t you love to stay here forever?”

“I could never afford to. Actually, I have only a moderate interest in the land. My brother makes money with the horses, you see.” Suddenly Keith grew serious. “He’s a fairly rich man, I’m really not.”

It seemed to Nina that, lately, he had been mentioning rather often that he had concerns about money. He must have been having some troubles about it at home.

And she reached across the table to touch his hand, saying gently, “I see that you’re worried, aren’t you? I suspect you’re thinking about keeping up two homes and all that. Don’t be afraid that I have any illusions about your wealth. I’m earning a fine income myself, and I’m very careful with it. I wasn’t reared in luxury, just in a nice middle-American home. What’s that old saying: ‘Use it up, wear it out’? Something like that. Well, I know how.”

When he did not respond she knew that her words had moved him; he had seen that they came from her heart.

Now into the silence the music broke with rising power. Keith stood and went to the player. “Landowska on the harpsichord. I’ll turn it up.”

The melody soared into the room; passionate and trembling, it mounted, broke, and descended in a sweet,
flowing stream. Somewhere in its depths there recurred a phrase that Nina recognized: Julie had been practicing it the last time Nina had been home. And she was pierced by a sudden sad nostalgia.

Home! In the evening after dinner there was music, or talk, or the whisper of turned pages.… They were together.… At that pink house, lunching by the sea today, they had been together.… Here in this house now, where the tennis rackets and the boots stand in the corner and the boy smiles beside his horse in the photograph upstairs, and the rocking horse left over from somebody’s childhood is still in the hall, they are together.… In New York, in the apartment, there is only waiting, waiting alone.

The candles’ constant flicker was making her dizzy. Feeling faintly sickened, she pushed the dessert aside and took a long drink of water.

The music stopped and Keith asked, “Don’t you like the cake?”

“Yes, but I’ve had enough.”

“What is it, Nina? You’re worried about something. Tell me.”

“You know,” she told him, hating even to mention the subject.

He sighed. “I guess I do. It’s hard, very hard.” Shaking his head, he blew a soft whistle. “A friend of mine was telling me the other day what his divorce was costing. Astronomical.”

“Why? The legal fees?”

“That’s part of it. Lawyers charge whatever the traffic will bear. But that’s only the beginning.”

“Her father’s a lawyer, so that means he’ll know how
to put up a hard fight, if it comes to that. Will it come to that?”

“Nina, I don’t know. I haven’t gotten that far. I wasn’t talking about myself, about specifics. I was talking in generalities.” He sighed again. “It’s been a hard year. A hard couple of years, what with Eric’s operations and my mother being sick again.”

His eyes appealed for understanding. And she did understand; she knew that he was the victim of a wife, an iron chain around his neck, a barrier to his peace and happiness.

“I feel so sorry for you,” she murmured. “For us both.”

He got up and raised her face toward his. “We don’t need this sort of talk. It’s not good for us. If you’re just patient, everything works out. Don’t you know that?”

She smiled then. “I suppose it does,” she said.

“You know it does! Listen, we came here for fun together, and we’re going to have it, little Nina.” His eyes went bright with his familiar twinkle. “We have a long night for a change. A whole long night again!”

When he kissed her, she rose and clung to him. Treasure the moment, she told herself. Patience, patience! Things work out. You’ll get what you’re waiting for. It’s stupid to waste one beautiful hour in worry. Just trust him and love him the way he trusts and loves you.

Yet patience wavered. Depending upon degrees of fatigue or the vagaries of the weather, it came and went. So one day Nina went to Ernie and asked whether she might borrow his car. “Tuesday, maybe?”

“Well, you’ve been working like a beaver, so I don’t know why not. Where are you going?”

“Just up to Westchester. I won’t be long and don’t worry about your new car. I won’t get a scratch on it.”

She had looked up the address in the telephone book and had already consulted a township map. It was in the back country on Plum Tree Road. And as she drove up past the city limits into the newly green suburbs, she asked herself whether it was morbid curiosity or masochism that was urging her on toward Keith’s house. Undoubtedly, whatever the reason, it was a foolish one because the very sight of that house was sure to hurt her to the quick. Nevertheless, she had to see it.

The area was beautiful. Large, tasteful houses, none of them ostentatious or too new, lay among fields, slight hills, and luxuriant shrubberies. Here was nature educated and well brought up, a setting absolutely right for Keith.

His house, too, was what she had imagined, a low white country house at the top of a long, sloping lawn. Here and there were specimen trees just beginning to leaf: an enormous beech that must be close to a century old, a cluster of cedars and English hollies. She parked the car not too close to the driveway—for in a neighborhood like this one they were wary of strangers—yet close enough to get the feel that she needed. There were three windows on either side of the central doorway. One of them on the second floor must be in Keith’s room. Or perhaps he slept at the back of the house? And she thought of him going in and out at that door, up and down that driveway, walking across that grass.