Swimming Pool Sunday (33 page)

‘Oh, yes,’ said Daisy vaguely. ‘Yes, they are.’

‘They were talking about the Academy,’ continued Alexis. ‘You didn’t tell me you’d won a scholarship there.’

‘Oh,’ Daisy shrugged, ‘it wasn’t anything much.’

‘That’s not what your parents seem to think, nor that conductor chap.’ Alexis looked seriously at her. ‘You know, Daisy,’ he said, ‘you have something very precious. I don’t think I realized before today quite how precious it was. And how important it is that you make as much of it as you possibly can.’

He walked a few steps, sat down on the grass, still warm from the day’s sun, and patted the ground next to him. Daisy sank down in a dark billowing cloud of taffeta, and nestled up to him.

‘Today was lovely,’ she murmured. ‘Doing the concert, and seeing my parents, and them meeting you and everything.’ She looked up at Alexis. ‘This has been such a perfect summer.’

‘I know it has,’ said Alexis softly. ‘Perfect.’ He paused
and ran a hand through his hair. Daisy nestled closer.

‘But, you know,’ continued Alexis slowly, ‘the summer’s nearly at an end. And then you’re going to move to London and start your new life at the Academy, and things might …’ he swallowed, ‘might be a little different.’

‘What do you mean?’ Daisy turned her head to look at him, wide-eyed. ‘What do you mean, different? Do you mean us?’

‘In a way,’ said Alexis. He put up a hand and cradled her chin.

‘Your life is just beginning,’ he said gently, ‘and it’s going to be a very exciting life. You must make the most of it.’

‘I know,’ said Daisy. She stared at him. ‘But we’ll still be the same, won’t we? I mean, I’ll come down every weekend, and we’ll still see each other nearly as much as we do now, that’s what we said.’

‘I know that’s what we said,’ agreed Alexis, ‘and of course we will see each other, but …’ He broke off.

‘But what?’ Daisy sat up, suddenly agitated. ‘Wh-what’s wrong?’ In her distress she began to stumble over her words, and Alexis felt his heart squeeze painfully.

‘Nothing’s wrong,’ he said. ‘It’s just …’ He broke off and briefly closed his eyes. What was he doing? What the hell was he doing? Why was he torturing himself and Daisy like this?

‘D-don’t … don’t you want to go out with me any more?’ said Daisy. Her lips were quivering and her eyelashes batted nervously. Alexis stared at her, almost unable to reply.

‘Of course I want to,’ he said at last, his voice thick with emotion. ‘Daisy, I love you.’

‘And I love you, too,’ said Daisy in a trembling voice. Alexis looked away. He could hardly bear to say what he was about to.

‘But sometimes,’ he said, forcing himself to speak,
‘sometimes just loving each other isn’t enough.’ Daisy drew breath, and he carried on quickly before she could speak. ‘When you get to London, you’re going to meet a lot of new people, all your own age, and you’re going to have a lot of fun. And, I hope, you’re going to work very hard at your music.’ He paused. Daisy was silent.

‘And all I wanted to say,’ he continued, ‘was that you mustn’t come back down here every weekend. You must go out and have fun, and join in with all the others. And if,’ he swallowed, ‘if you happen to meet someone – a boy – who’s a bit nearer your own age …’

‘I won’t!’ said Daisy passionately. ‘I wouldn’t ever …’

‘You might,’ said Alexis gently, ‘and if you do, you mustn’t feel bad. You mustn’t feel guilty.’ He somehow managed to smile at her. ‘We’ve had a perfect summer together, and nothing can ever change that, but now you’re moving on.’

‘I don’t want to move on,’ whispered Daisy. She bit her lip. ‘I want to stay here with you. I wish I wasn’t going.’

‘I know you do,’ said Alexis thickly. ‘God, so do I.’ He suddenly pulled her close to him and buried his face in her soft, white, scented neck.

‘Let’s not think about the future,’ he murmured against her skin. ‘Let’s just enjoy the next two weeks. And then, when you move to London – well, we’ll just see how it goes, shall we?’

‘OK,’ said Daisy in a shaking voice. She pushed him away slightly, and he saw, with a small shock, that her cheeks were stained with tears. ‘I’ll always love you, Alexis,’ she said. ‘It wouldn’t matter if I was in London or here or … or on the moon. And I think,’ she hesitated, ‘I think you’re wrong. I think that’s all that counts. We love each other, and … and nothing else matters at all. That’s what I think.’

Alexis stared back at her for a few trembling moments.

‘I’m an old fool,’ he said at last. Daisy gave a surprised giggle.

‘No, you’re not!’ she said.

‘I am,’ said Alexis. ‘I don’t know what I’ve been thinking of. I should be wining and dining you, sweeping you off your feet. We should be celebrating! What are we doing, sitting here?’

He got to his feet, and held out his hands to Daisy. ‘Now,’ he said. ‘You’re the star, so you can choose. Red wine, white wine, or …’

‘Champagne,’ said Daisy, ‘of course!’

‘As much as we can drink,’ said Alexis. He looked at her ruefully. ‘Daisy, don’t ever again listen to a word I say,’ he said. ‘Please.’ Daisy giggled.

‘OK,’ she said, ‘I won’t.’

‘Good,’ said Alexis. ‘Now, let’s go and find some champagne worth drinking.’

Louise and Barnaby sat, in silence, in the kitchen of Larch Tree Cottage. They had neatly folded up the garden chairs, brought the wine inside, and sat down to wait. That was five minutes ago. Now every little sound from outside made them start and glance towards the door, then look sheepishly at each other and back down again.

Barnaby stared miserably into his glass of wine. He felt as though he had been on the brink of something outside, on the edge of a new understanding, a new beginning, even. If they’d just had a bit more time to talk … He glanced covertly at Louise and her words floated through his mind. ‘Do you really think there’s any future for me and Cassian?’ Barnaby clenched his fist tightly. He felt like smashing it down on the table. What did she mean? Was she asking him a question? Was she trying to tell him something? Was she teasing him? He couldn’t stand this roundabout talk.

Suddenly there was the sound of a key in the
lock. Louise jumped, and looked at Barnaby.

‘I feel like hiding under the table,’ she whispered. ‘Don’t you?’

But there was no time for Barnaby to reply, as into the kitchen strode Cassian. He looked office-smart, and swung his briefcase jauntily. To Barnaby’s amazement, he was smiling.

‘Hello,’ he said. ‘Hello there, Barnaby. Nice to see you.’

‘Oh,’ said Barnaby, taken aback. ‘Yes.’ Surprise made him sound gruff and ungracious, and he suddenly felt a bit unsure of things. Had Louise really made up her mind about the case? Why was Cassian looking so cheerful? What was going on? He watched as Cassian sat down and poured himself a glass of wine; he looked completely unperturbed. Barnaby glanced at Louise, who was looking down pensively. He couldn’t tell what she might be thinking, and in spite of himself, his heart began to beat nervously.

‘So, I gather’, said Cassian smoothly, ‘you’ve been having second thoughts about the case.’ He spoke to Barnaby, as though Louise were not there, or didn’t count. Or as though she didn’t agree with Barnaby.

‘Well,’ said Barnaby, glancing at Louise, ‘yes. We’ve decided we don’t want to go any further with it.’

‘I understand completely,’ said Cassian kindly. ‘It’s a very daunting prospect, going to court, but don’t worry, you’ll be fine. So what I suggest is that you have a careful think and sleep on it, and don’t rush into any decision yet.’

‘Well,’ began Barnaby doubtfully. He looked at Louise again; she wasn’t saying anything. What was wrong? Had she changed her mind about the whole thing? He looked up at Cassian, who was politely waiting. Someone was going to have to say something. Barnaby frowned.

‘The thing is, Cassian,’ he said, ‘I really think we’ve
made up our minds already.’ He glanced at Louise and, when there was no response, ploughed on. ‘We think the case is going to be too much of a strain, both on us and on Katie,’ he said, ‘and there’s no guarantee of getting any money, and even if there were, the Delaneys …’ He tailed off feebly.

‘The Delaneys are your friends,’ suggested Cassian.

‘Well, yes,’ said Barnaby, ‘something like that.’

‘Yes,’ said Cassian. He didn’t sound surprised. ‘Well, as I say, have a good think, and I’m sure you’ll come round to the idea again.’ He smiled at Barnaby. ‘You know, you owe it to Katie.’

‘Don’t say that!’ Louise’s voice interrupted him like a whiplash, and both men jumped. ‘Don’t you dare say anything at all about Katie,’ she said in a fierce deliberate voice. ‘You have no idea at all. This case isn’t going to help her! It’s going to label her as some kind of helpless head case! It’s going to tell the world that her whole life has been ruined! What kind of help is that?’

‘Louise,’ said Cassian in soothing tones. ‘I realize it’s difficult to face up to Katie’s needs …’

‘I face up to them every day, thank you!’ exclaimed Louise. ‘I know exactly what her needs are. She needs a normal life and support and encouragement, not a bloody legal battle to screw her up!’

‘Oh, right,’ said Cassian in scathing tones, ‘and I suppose all this comes free, does it? All this support and encouragement?’

‘Most of it, yes!’ said Louise. She folded her arms and looked straight at Cassian. ‘Katie is not a victim any more,’ she said. ‘She’s just fine. We’ve been incredibly lucky, and I think it’s time for us to start appreciating that a bit more. All of us.’

‘Well, great,’ said Cassian sarcastically, ‘that’s a lovely romantic vision, but what happens, I wonder, when Katie grows up? And she realizes that she could have had half a million pounds, but her parents were
too lily-livered to go to court? What are you going to say to her then?’

‘For a start,’ said Louise furiously, ‘I think you should just stop talking about this famous half a million pounds. I’m not stupid, I saw the way those other lawyers were looking at each other. We would never get that much in court, never!’

‘That’s not …’ began Cassian. But Louise interrupted him.

‘And even if we did! Even if we did! What do we need it for?’ She paused and glanced at Barnaby. He was gazing at her, mouth open in shock. She gave him a quick grin and looked back at Cassian. ‘We’re OK for money,’ she said slowly. ‘We’re more than OK. And when my father eventually dies …’ She swallowed awkwardly. ‘Well, then we’ll be even … even more OK. And for us to go to court and fleece Hugh and Ursula of all their life’s earnings, just because Katie happened to be in their pool and not someone else’s … well, it’s immoral.’ She took a sip of wine and both men eyed her warily. ‘You can say what you like, Cassian,’ she continued calmly, ‘but we’re not going ahead with this case. We should never have got into it in the first place.’

‘Louise,’ said Cassian smoothly, ‘I can tell you’re a bit upset.’

‘Oh, shut up, Cassian!’ shouted Louise exasperatedly. ‘You can’t tell anything! You can’t tell when a case starts to look weak; you can’t tell when someone really does change their mind.’ She paused. ‘You can’t even tell right from wrong.’ Cassian glared at her.

‘This case is
not
weak!’ he shouted. ‘It’s a very strong case, backed up by some of the finest legal minds in Britain, and if you pull out now, I can tell you, you’ll be making a big mistake!’

‘Fine!’ cried Louise. ‘Let us make a mistake. At least we’ll be able to sleep at night!’

‘And actually,’ pointed out Barnaby in a low gruff
voice, ‘we could always sue later on, if we wanted to. We’ve got up until Katie’s eighteen.’ Cassian shot him a look of pure loathing.

‘How very clever of you, Barnaby,’ he said in a voice which quivered with anger. ‘Any more top legal tips from Farmer Giles?’

‘Leave him alone!’ shrieked Louise. ‘God, you’re a shit, Cassian.’

‘Well, you’re a fool!’ retorted Cassian. ‘You’re both fools! This case could be a gold-mine!’

‘We don’t need a gold-mine!’

‘Yes, well, I do!’ Cassian suddenly yelled. ‘I fucking well need this case to happen! Everyone knows about it; everyone’s involved in it. I mean, the London office is helping to draw up the writ. The London office! Do you know what that means? Do you know how important that makes it? Do you know what a fucking
disaster
it’ll be if I have to turn round and say, Oh, sorry, the clients have changed their minds?’ He stopped, panting slightly; Louise and Barnaby exchanged astonished glances.

‘I should have known,’ he continued in slightly more controlled tones, ‘you fucking well haven’t got a clue, have you? Either of you. Bloody peasants.’

There was a thunderous rasping as Barnaby pushed the kitchen table forward by about three feet. His face was bright red and he was breathing heavily.

‘That’s enough!’ he bellowed. ‘That’s enough! Now get out, and don’t ever dare to talk to my wife like that again, or I’ll kill you!’ He stood up, a big rough giant. Cassian raised an eyebrow.

‘Of course,’ he said, ‘now we move on to physical threats; the last bastion of the cerebrally challenged.’

‘Shut up!’ commanded Barnaby.

‘Oh reall …’ began Cassian, but he broke off into a yelp as Barnaby’s huge hand grasped his shirt by the neck.

‘Now,’ said Barnaby, breathing heavily, ‘either you go, or I throw you very hard against that door. And then I pick you up and throw you again.’

‘Louise!’ squawked Cassian. ‘Tell him to stop! This is assault. I’m warning you,’ he said furiously to Barnaby.

‘Take me to court,’ said Barnaby, throwing him back down into his chair. ‘See if I care.’

Cassian smoothed his hair down with trembling hands and straightened his tie.

‘Louise …’ he began. But she cut him off with a raised hand.

‘If I were you, Cassian,’ she said gently, ‘I’d go. Now,’ Her mouth twisted into an unwilling grin. ‘You don’t know what these peasants are like when they get really angry.’

Cassian stood up. He looked from Louise to Barnaby and back to Louise again; his face white; his features distorted with anger.

‘You’ll be hearing from me,’ he said curtly and picked up his briefcase.

‘Goodbye, Cassian,’ said Louise.

‘Oh, fuck off,’ said Cassian.