Whispers of Love (29 page)

When she did phone Marlene, however, her cousin seemed to be rather reluctant. ‘I'd love to come and see you, Kay, but some other time, not while Aunt Chrissy is staying with you,' Marlene told her. ‘I don't want her taking over my life.'

‘What on earth are you talking about? Aunt Chrissy has changed; she's mellowed with age.'

‘If you say so.' Marlene laughed. ‘But watch out. I noticed the way your Jill was running round after her, exactly the same as my mum always said you used to do when you were small! Jill is such a replica of what you looked like at her age, apparently, that Mum said that seeing them together was like the rerun of an old film!'

Christabel breathed a sigh of relief as she closed the front door behind the last of her visitors and the silence wrapped round her like a comforting cloak. She also felt a twinge of guilt because, although their visit had gone extremely well, she had not told them about her own plans for the future.

She had fully intended to tell them that she was marrying Mark while they were all gathered together because it would have been an ideal time to do so, but somehow there was never the right moment.

Most of the talk had centred around Alex and all the things he had said or done and that had stirred up so many memories and reminded her how very much her life had been interwoven with his in the past.

Perhaps if Mark had been there, standing at her side, holding her hand, or with his arm around her, giving her the back-up she felt she needed when she told them her news, it would have been different. Mark, though, had not been there; he'd had to attend a medical conference in Birmingham.

Now they'd all left she regretted not having
told them but of course it was too late. Actually Kay was the only person whose opinion really mattered. Christabel should have taken her to one side and told her because it was going to affect her and the details were too complicated to put in a letter or explain over the telephone.

 

‘There's an old adage that says absence makes the heart grow fonder, so you should try it,' Marlene sighed. ‘You don't have to invite Aunt Chrissy to stay with you quite so often, Kay.'

‘I don't, and she doesn't come all that often!'

‘You most certainly do! Every time we want to come to visit you she's staying with you for the weekend,' Marlene said crossly.

‘So what does it matter if she is here? There's room for you as well, isn't there?'

‘Not on your life! I don't want to spend a whole weekend under the same roof as Aunt Chrissy and neither does Bill. I'm surprised Stuart stands for it.'

‘He never complains. In fact, he quite likes her. They seem to get on very well.'

‘I doubt it! He probably only puts up with having her there for your sake; anyway, what about Jill?'

‘Jill loves her. She asked me the other day if we could adopt her as a Granny!'

‘I bet Aunt Chrissy put her up to it. She's a cunning old bat! You know how she monopolised you when you were small. I hope you told Jill she wasn't to call her Granny.'

‘I did, as a matter of fact, but I don't think it has made a lot of difference. I heard Jill doing so the last time Aunt Christabel was here. She doesn't do it when they know I'm around, so there's not a lot I can do about it.'

‘Oh, can't you indeed! I'd do something about it and pretty damn quick. Aunt Chrissy is an out and out fraud. And, what is more to the point, she's trying to take over your life again.'

‘Oh, come off it, Marlene, she's not all that bad,' Kay protested mildly.

‘She is and you know it; anyway, I didn't telephone to discuss Aunt Chrissy and her foibles,' Marlene said sourly. ‘I phoned to ask if you would like to come to London and stay with us next weekend. It's the première of
Rock of Ages
. Bill has been involved with all the promotional work and there will be quite a lavish celebration afterwards which all the stars will attend.'

‘Oh dear, it's back to Aunt Chrissy again, I'm afraid,' Kay said contritely.

‘What do you mean?'

‘She and Mark are coming to visit us next weekend.'

‘Then put them off!'

‘She'll be terribly hurt if I do that,' Kay said apologetically. ‘I suppose we could bring her with us and they could stay with Aunt Lilian and help her look after the children when we go out.'

‘Oh, no, she'd probably insist on coming with us and I'm not risking that. I've got Bill's
business friends to consider. Can you imagine their reactions?'

‘Surely they're all civilised and well mannered, aren't they?' Kay said tartly. ‘Anyway, some of them are pretty way out themselves in the way they dress and the things they say.'

‘That be as it may, Mark's quite acceptable, but I have no intention of being ridiculed by any of them because of Aunt Chrissy's autocratic behaviour. My God! Bill would never forgive me. Surely you can put her off.'

‘You'd better leave it with me then,' Kay murmured. ‘I'll see if I can think of some suitable excuse.'

‘Why bother with an excuse? Simply tell her that I have invited you for the weekend.'

‘And that your invitation doesn't include them?' Kay laughed.

‘Yes, do that if you want to. It won't worry me. I hardly ever see her anyway. If you tell her that then she might realise that you have a life of your own and that you can't always be at her beck and call any more than you can include her in everything you do.'

Kay felt that Marlene was being very unfair about Aunt Chrissy and had no intention of being as outspoken as her cousin suggested. Tactfully, she explained to Aunt Chrissy that something had come up, and they would have to postpone her visit until the following weekend.

To her embarrassment, Aunt Chrissy seemed
to be well aware that it was because of the film première and guessed that they'd been invited to attend.

‘You really should tell the truth and not make silly excuses, Kay,' she sighed. ‘It was the same when you were a child and growing up, you used to concoct the most elaborate stories to try and outwit me. It was such a waste of time because I always found out what the truth was in the end. I would have thought that by now you would have outgrown such petty behaviour. It sets a very bad example for Jill, you know.'

‘I was only trying to save your feelings, Aunt Christabel,' Kay told her lamely.

‘Absolute rubbish! You should know by now that there's no love lost between me and Marlene. I wouldn't go to one of her flamboyant parties if she asked me. Actors and actresses, I've met them all and I despise most of them.'

‘As long as you understand, and you don't mind putting your visit off until the following weekend . . .'

‘Of course I don't mind, Kay,' Christabel assured her. ‘Go and enjoy yourselves in London but remember, I would like to see you and Stuart soon because there is something of importance I want to tell you both.'

‘Can't you tell me about it on the phone?'

‘No,' Christabel hesitated. ‘I don't really want to do that, dear. Next week will be fine.
By the way,' she added, ‘mind you tell Jill that you're the one who has altered the arrangement, not me. I wouldn't want her to think her Granny—' she pulled herself up quickly, ‘her Aunt Chrissy had broken her promise about coming to see her.'

The receiver at Christabel's end went down before Kay could make any reply. I must ask Stuart to have a word with her about encouraging Jill to call her Granny, she thought as she replaced her own phone. As Marlene had pointed out, it was all very well to say it was harmless fun but it was probably best to nip it in the bud.

 

The weekend in London was in such complete contrast to their usual lifestyle. Marlene's two children, Tracy and Tommy, were always pleased to see Jill and once the three of them were together they were inseparable.

‘It's almost as though we hadn't got her with us,' Kay commented as they set off for a top London restaurant with Marlene and Bill, leaving the children in Lilian's care on the first evening of their stay.

‘All part of the service,' Bill told Kay. ‘You get a built-in babysitter when you come to stay with us.'

‘Are you sure it's not too much responsibility for Aunt Lilian having to look after all three of them?'

‘Not a bit of it,' Marlene told her briskly.
‘Mum loves doing it. She says it keeps her young.'

Kay said nothing but she thought Marlene's comment was a long way from the truth. She had been shocked by her aunt's appearance. She seemed to have shrunk to nothing since Uncle Alex had died, and she looked so thin and frail that Kay wondered if there was anything seriously wrong with her. When she finally found an opportunity to mention it to Marlene, her cousin shrugged.

‘Simply a matter of getting older,' she said dismissively. ‘She is in her forties, you know, so what can you expect?'

‘Aunt Chrissy is older than your mother, yet she looks as fit as a fiddle!'

‘She's only ever had herself to worry about, that's probably why.'

‘Marlene, how can you say such a thing? She brought me up and kept house for Dad until he died,' Kay defended.

‘Yes, I know all that, but she's never had to keep a husband happy, or worry about making financial decisions or anything like that. Your father paid all the bills when you were growing up so she had no money worries. When he died she was able to stay on in his house and go on living in comfort on the money he left. Mum says that by rights that should be yours or it should have been shared out between you. Heaven knows, she could do with it now.'

Kay felt taken aback that Marlene knew so much.

‘It was probably my dad's way of compensating her for giving up her job and everything so that she could look after us all those years, and for bringing me up,' she countered.

‘Is that really what you believe?' Marlene looked sceptical. Her Cupid's bow mouth tightened into a disapproving little knot, and her blue-grey eyes hardened into glassy pebbles.

Kay frowned, puzzled by the bitterness in Marlene's voice. ‘I always understood that Uncle Alex was terribly successful. I thought he would have left Aunt Lilian so very well provided for that she wouldn't want for anything.'

Marlene gave a sharp, bitter laugh. ‘You're so naïve, Kay,' she said scathingly. ‘You believe everyone is full of good thoughts and kindness. The world isn't like that – leastwise, not the real world, the one we have to live in.'

Kay stared at her, bemused, wondering what she had done or said to bring on such an onslaught. Marlene was usually so frothy and bubbly, so laid back, as if she hadn't a care in the world. Now, judging from her outburst, what she presented on the surface was totally different to what she was feeling underneath.

‘I don't understand what you are trying to tell me,' she admitted awkwardly. ‘Are you saying that Aunt Lilian is in some sort of financial difficulty?'

‘Thanks to Bill she isn't. Dad died penniless.
In fact, he died owing money. He was such a great guy.' She sighed. ‘He lived life to the full, drank vintage wines and spirits, and ate only at the top restaurants. He had so many friends in high places, but it costs a lot to keep up a lifestyle like that. It took every penny he earned and some. It wasn't until after he died that we found out how little there was left, or how much he owed. If it hadn't been for Bill, I don't know what would have happened to my mother. Their house was mortgaged up to the hilt, and every bank account he had was over-drawn. Creditors swooped on Mum like a flock of magpies.'

‘You mean that Bill had to bail Aunt Lilian out?' Kay said in a shocked voice.

‘Not only bail her out financially, but we also had to let her come and live with us. I love her, don't get me wrong. It used to be wonderful seeing her from time to time, but having her living with us . . . well, I'll leave that to your imagination!'

Kay shuddered. She could feel the tension, sense the strain.

‘What can I say?'

‘Not a lot! Watch your own step, though. Don't let Aunt Chrissy impose on you or you might find yourself in a similar situation. Imagine having her move in with you!'

‘Why don't you suggest to your mother that she stays with Aunt Christabel for a while?' Kay suggested brightly. ‘They are sisters, after all.'

‘I had thought of it, but that would put us under an obligation to Aunt Chrissy and then I would have no way of refusing to let her come here for a visit whenever she wanted to. No, it's not so bad, really. Mum has her own room and spends quite a lot of her time up there, especially in the evenings. She's very good with the children, and if ever we want to go out on our own, then we know she will keep an eye on them.'

Marlene's outburst shattered Kay's equanimity. She found herself looking at Marlene and Bill's set-up with completely different eyes.

Bill was like Marlene's father in so many ways, Kay thought reflectively. He was tall but rather paunchy, even though he was only in his early thirties. He had a round face with a small nose and a rather sharp chin. His brown eyes shone like bright beads behind his gold-rimmed glasses and his thin dark brown hair was sleeked back from his high forehead, almost as if he had just stepped out of the shower.

He had a suave, plausible manner, always dressed impressively, and had personalised number plates on his state-of-the-art-Mercedes. She had never been able to pin down precisely what he did for a living, except that it was something to do with promotions and publicity in the film world.

Living up to his flamboyant lifestyle with all the entertaining it entailed had certainly had dire effects on Marlene over the years, Kay
noted. Whereas Aunt Lilian was only a shadow of her former self, Marlene was a round ball; her dumpling figure overflowed from her dresses, which were bursting at the seams.