We'll Meet Again (41 page)

‘And you weren’t going to tell me?’

‘Of course we were, but we don’t want a fuss.’

‘And when is the wedding?’

Josie pulled a face and giggled. ‘The morning after the May Ball.’

‘But that’s the day after tomorrow.’

‘I know. It’s fun, isn’t it?’

‘Josie, you’re an incurable romantic.’

Josie’s smile faded. ‘I’m sorry, Meg. I’m being totally selfish.’

‘Nonsense,’ Meg said with a lift of her chin. ‘To hell with Rayner Weiss, I say. We’ve got a wedding to organise and we’ll go to London and buy you a dress that will make Walter’s head spin.’

Rayner had been trying to reach her by phone all day, so Walter told Meg when she and Josie eventually returned from London, laden with the results of their shopping. He handed her a phone number where Rayner could be reached. Meg tore it up and went to bed. Next day Josie insisted that Meg was not needed at the boutique. Meg argued at first
and then, relieved to have time to herself, she agreed reluctantly, promising to spend the day quietly preparing the shop accounts for the accountant.

The telephone rang several times but Meg ignored it. She shut herself in Paul’s old study and applied herself to the books, finishing late in the afternoon and then luxuriating in a hot bath until Walter and Josie returned home in time to change for the ball.

Meg lay on her bed with her wet hair wrapped in a towel and her eyes closed. She could hear Josie’s excited chatter and peals of laughter and Walter’s deeper tones as they splashed around in the bath together. They sounded like a couple of children getting ready for a party, and Meg’s intention of excusing herself from accompanying them to the ball suddenly seemed selfish. Reluctantly she raised herself, did her hair and makeup and slipped the cool satin gown over her head. She smoothed the material down over her slim hips and flat stomach, smiling a little as she remembered the last time she had dressed for a May Ball in this very room. Coming from a sheltered background, she had been little more than a child then; a girl on the brink of her adult life. She sighed. She was no longer that girl. She was a woman tried by love and war. She squared her shoulders. No man was going to get the better of Marguerite Colivet. She was not going to mope for her lost love or give in to despair. The war might be over but her personal battle had just begun.

*

It was a quarter to midnight and the ball was in full swing. Walter and Josie had done their best to include her in their celebrations but Meg was struggling to enjoy herself. Everyone around her was paired off, dancing, flirting, drinking champagne and having a wonderful time. She did her best to join in, but the ice-cold feeling in the pit of her stomach had grown worse as the evening wore on, and no matter how much champagne she drank it did not seem to have achieved the desired effect. She sat quietly watching Walter and Josie waltzing together, totally lost in a world of their own. Suddenly she could stand it no longer, and she scribbled a note on a paper napkin telling them that her headache had returned and that she was going home. Like a modern Cinderella, she left the party and ran the few hundred yards to where she had parked Josie’s little Austin Seven. She had insisted on driving them as it gave her the chance of an early escape. She gathered her dress into a bunch above her knees, settled herself down in the driver’s seat, pulled out the choke, switched on the engine and pressed the starter button. The car coughed and spluttered and the engine purred into life on the second attempt; Meg thrust it into reverse and as it shot backwards there was a loud hiss and she felt the front nearside wheel deflate with a bump. She climbed out of the car and prodded the flat tyre with the toe of her satin slipper. There was no one about to offer help. She had not thought to bring money for a taxi, and she did not want to drag Walter away from
the ball and spoil his evening. There was only one thing for it. She bundled her skirts up around her waist and kicked off her dancing shoes. She had learnt how to change a tyre, but she had never done it in the dark and certainly not in a long gown. It took her nearly an hour as the wheel nuts were tight and it needed a huge effort to loosen each one, but eventually she secured the spare wheel and wiped her hands on the travel rug that Josie always kept neatly folded on the back seat. Her dress was streaked with oil and her hands and forearms were covered in dirt and grease, but she climbed back into the car and started the engine.

She had intended to go straight home, but on an impulse she turned the car in the opposite direction. When she reached St Aldates she turned right into Thames Street and drew the Austin to a shuddering halt. She shivered in spite of the warm evening. Suddenly the most important thing in the world was to be on Folly Bridge at midnight. She knew that Rayner would not come; he would be too busy making love to the beautiful, sexy Luiza. All Meg knew was that she had to be there. There was no logical reason for it; she just knew it was something she must do, if only to lay a ghost. She picked up her skirts and ran towards Folly Bridge like a lemming about to leap over a cliff.

The silence of the night was unbroken, apart from the gentle sound of the river lapping against the stanchions of the bridge and the tip-tapping of her high
heels on the pavement. There was no one in sight and she stopped in the middle of the bridge, leaning against the parapet. A faint breeze rustled the drooping branches of the willows as they dipped their fronds into the oily darkness of the water. The fruity damp earth smell of the riverbank and water meadows took Meg back to the day when they had punted downstream. She might have drowned if Rayner had not dived in to save her. But he was not here now and if she were to throw herself into that tempting swirl of watery oblivion he would know nothing about it until he read it in the morning newspaper.

‘Are you all right, miss?’

She spun round and found herself staring at the buttoned tunic of a policeman.

‘I didn’t mean to startle you.’ His face looked ghostly in the pale light of the street lamps. ‘It’s not a good idea for a young woman to be out alone this late at night.’

Meg licked her dry lips and leaned her back against the parapet, realising suddenly what an odd sight she must look. ‘Thanks but I’m fine, constable. I just needed some fresh air.’

He took a step forward, advancing warily as if she might fling herself over the edge at any moment. ‘Come along, miss. I know it’s high jinks time at the colleges but don’t you think you’d be better off at home?’

Suddenly the whole thing seemed so ridiculous that Meg wanted to giggle. ‘Oh no, you’ve got the
wrong idea. I wasn’t going to do anything stupid.’

‘If you say so, miss. But I suggest you get yourself off home. Things will seem better in the morning.’ He stood with his thumbs tucked in his belt and his feet planted squarely apart, watching her.

She backed away towards the street where she had parked Josie’s car. ‘Yes, you’re right, officer. I’m going home.’

Poor man, she thought as she hurried towards the spot where she had parked the car, he really thought I was going to jump.

‘I’ve brought you a cup of tea, Meg.’

Meg screwed her face against the light and squinted at the clock on her bedside table. ‘Oh, my God. I’ve overslept. Why didn’t you wake me earlier?’

Josie put the tea tray on the table and smiled. ‘Don’t worry. You’ve plenty of time to get ready. The ceremony isn’t until eleven thirty. I’ve run your bath, so have a nice long soak.’

Meg sat up and stretched. ‘I ought to be rushing around looking after you, you’re the bride.’

‘Never mind that. I’m all ready except for putting on my dress.’ Josie headed for the door but she paused, looking anxious. ‘You will be all right, won’t you, darling?’

‘Don’t worry about me. This is your day.’

‘The taxi will be here at ten past eleven.’

‘I’ll be ready in time.’

Meg had to scrub her skin with a loofah and a pumice stone to get rid of the last traces of oil on her hands and arms, but less than an hour later, she was combing her hair into a shining pageboy bob and adding a touch of rose pink lipstick to her pale lips.

‘Meg. Are you ready?’ Josie’s voice floated up from the hall.

‘Coming.’ Meg snatched up the confection of turquoise silk and feathers. The colour was a perfect match to her fashionable gown, which fitted tightly at the waist and then flared out in an elegant swirl to mid-calf length. She was pinning the hat to her head as she ran downstairs.

‘Walter’s gone on ahead,’ Josie said, struggling to set her own hat at the correct angle and looking to Meg for help.

Meg adjusted it with a twitch of her fingers and handed Josie her bouquet of white lilies and trailing stephanotis. ‘You look gorgeous.’

‘Oh God. I’m so nervous.’

‘You’ll be fine. You look absolutely wonderful, Josie. Like a young girl.’

‘Darling, I feel ridiculous. Everyone will say I’m cradle-snatching.’

‘Don’t talk rot. Walter is a mature man who’s lived through all the horrors of war and is coping bravely with his disability, which you helped him to conquer. And anyway, he’s dotty about you.’

Josie began to pace the room. ‘I can’t do it, Meg. The family will never speak to me again, and
Walter’s parents are going to be so furious with him for going behind their backs.’

Meg ran to the window as she heard the sound of a car pulling up outside. ‘The taxi’s here.’

‘I can’t do it. You’ll have to go and tell Walter.’

‘I’m not telling Walter anything of the sort.’ She moved swiftly to Josie’s side and gave her a hug. ‘You’ll be fine. Everything will be absolutely wonderful.’

They were only a couple of minutes late arriving at the register office. Walter was already seated in one of the red plush chairs and he stood up as Josie entered the room. Meg came to a sudden halt as she recognised the man standing at his side. Looking incredibly nervous and unforgivably handsome, Rayner met her eyes with an attempt at a smile.

She would have bolted back into the vestibule but the registrar, apparently unaware of any undercurrents, closed the door firmly and went to his position behind the desk. ‘I have another wedding in twenty minutes,’ he said apologetically. ‘I don’t want to rush the proceedings, but I suggest we begin straight away.’

Meg felt her legs about to give way beneath her and sank onto the seat beside Josie, turning her face resolutely away so that she would not have to look at Rayner. She barely heard the words of the short ceremony. She refused to look at him when they signed their names as witnesses and she moved
away hastily, making for the door.

They emerged from the gloom of the vestibule into the dazzling sunshine outside. Another wedding party had just arrived and this time there seemed to be dozens of guests, all dressed in their best and chattering excitedly. Walter held on to Josie’s arm as they edged through the crowd to where their taxi was waiting.

Rayner was at her side and Meg stole a glance at him. ‘What are you doing here?’ she murmured in an undertone.

‘Walter asked me to be a witness.’

‘Well, you’ve done your bit. I hope you’re not thinking of coming in the taxi with us.’

Walter handed Josie into the back seat of the taxi and he turned to them with a warning frown. ‘Don’t spoil Josie’s day.’

Meg opened her mouth to protest, but she saw Josie’s anxious face peering out of the window and she knew she was trapped.

‘Sit next to Josie,’ Walter said, giving her a gentle nudge towards the open door. ‘I’ll find it easier to cope in the front seat.’

It was a waking nightmare for Meg as she sat between Josie and Rayner. The cloying perfume of the lilies could not blot out the sensual scent of the man, and it plunged her into a maelstrom of emotion. She could feel the warmth of his thigh burning into her flesh but his body was stiff and tense. They might as well have been total strangers.

The taxi ride only lasted a few minutes but to Meg it seemed like an eternity. When they decanted themselves onto the pavement outside the Mitre Hotel, she was tempted to walk away, but she knew that such an action would ruin Josie’s day and that was unthinkable. Bracing her shoulders, Meg followed the bride and groom into the hotel, walking just a little ahead of Rayner but deeply conscious of his presence. Inwardly she seethed with indignation and bewilderment. She could not understand why he had agreed to be Walter’s best man when he knew that she would be present at the wedding. It seemed like a cruel joke in which they had all colluded, but Josie was never knowingly unkind and Walter would cross the street rather than have an argument with anyone. Puzzled, hurt and angry, Meg followed silently as the maître d’hôtel led them through the crowded restaurant to a table in a quiet corner, which was fragrant with the scent from the white lilies and roses that surrounded a delicately iced wedding cake.

As they took their seats, Meg noticed that there were two more places set at the table and she was just trying to work this out when Rayner and Walter rose to their feet. She twisted round in her chair and almost fell off it as she saw Luiza walking towards them with a beaming smile on her lovely face. ‘Rayner, we’re late and it’s all my fault.’ On seeing Meg she threw up her hands with a throaty chuckle. ‘But I know you. You are the kind lady who helped me choose the lovely gowns.’

Meg leapt to her feet but Rayner slipped his arm around her shoulders before she had a chance to speak. ‘Meg, may I introduce my cousin Georg and his wife Luiza.’

Stunned and barely taking in the information, Meg nodded and found herself automatically chanting ‘How do you do’ in a prim little voice that sounded as if it came from someone else.

Georg grasped Meg’s hand in a grip that almost welded her fingers together, and his Nordic blue eyes were disturbingly similar to Rayner’s. ‘This is a pleasure, Meg. We have heard so much about you.’

She found herself returning his smile. She was saved from replying by the soft hiss of a champagne cork leaving the bottle, and the waiter began to fill their glasses. There was nothing she could do without drawing attention to herself. She sat down, and Rayner took his seat next to her.