A Family Concern (29 page)

‘Frankly, it's been hell. Obviously I'd have had no choice if it had involved the children, but it never did. She's devoted to them and they to her.'

Rona said awkwardly, ‘Would you like a drink? I'll bring another glass.'

He shook his head. ‘You'll understand if I don't feel like celebrating.'

‘So what are you going to do?' Max asked.

‘Well, since I can't look after her myself, because of work and everything, she'll be going back to Ipswich with her parents. They'll get her started on the treatment, and if she responds well, as we're all hoping, she'll soon be back with us. In the meantime, my sister's coming to keep house for me and look after the children. They're well settled at school, and it didn't seem right to uproot them again.'

‘Is there anything we can do?' Rona asked.

‘Thank you, but no. Adele's caused enough upheaval in your family.' He glanced at Max. ‘I'm not entirely clear what happened, but she asked me particularly to thank you for your encouragement with her painting, and to say how sorry she was that things got out of hand.'

‘Give her my best wishes,' Max said stiffly.

‘Well, I must be going. I have to pack a case for her.'

‘It's too bad it's happened so near Christmas,' Rona said.

‘Yes, but the children and I will go up to my parents-in-law, and we'll all spend it together.' He moved towards the door. ‘Again, I'm deeply sorry for all the trouble, especially this latest episode. If I'd been home, it would never have happened. I do hope, though, that when everything's settled a little, we can remain friends.'

‘Of course,' Rona said, and after a minute, Max nodded.

They showed him out, and returned to the sitting room, their mood of relief tempered by the news they'd heard. The champagne seemed hardly appropriate.

‘Perhaps we should toast Adele,' Rona suggested, ‘and her speedy recovery?'

‘I'll drink to that,' Max said.

It had been agreed that Max's arrest and the events leading up to it should remain between Lindsey and themselves. There was no point in going over it with Tom and Avril, and the sooner the whole thing could be forgotten, the better. But over the next day or so, the shadow cast by it overlay the preparations for Christmas, and decorating the tree and hanging up the cards didn't generate the usual pleasant anticipation.

‘I'm glad we're going to the Trents' tomorrow,' Rona said, on the Friday evening. ‘It might lift our spirits a bit. Though goodness knows, the Tarltons have more need of spirit-lifting than we have. What with all the business with Adele, I've hardly thought of them this week.'

‘There hasn't been anything new, anyway,' Max said. ‘Quite honestly, I don't see how there can be.'

‘In which case, they'll have to spend the rest of their lives wondering who killed Velma. What a ghastly prospect.'

‘Especially if they start suspecting each other,' Max said.

For Avril, too, it was a lacklustre run-up to Christmas. The cards falling on her mat in undiminished numbers were, of course, addressed to both herself and Tom, and she hadn't the heart to put them up. Instead, she read the messages they contained, ticked them off in her record book, and laid them aside to pass on to him when she saw him on Christmas Day.

In a moment of defiance, though, she had bought a small artificial tree and set it up on a table, decorating it with tinsel and silver balls, and laying the parcels she had wrapped around it. She was glad they'd all be together for Christmas lunch. By next year, she'd have had time to get used to her changed status.

The phone rang, and Lindsey's voice said, ‘Hello, Mum. I wondered if you'd like to come to the flicks this evening? They're showing that new film everyone's talking about. It doesn't start till eight, so we could have a bite to eat first.'

‘That would be lovely, darling,' Avril said gratefully.

As always, Rona felt herself relax as they drove through the Trents' gateway. The trees in the comfortably overgrown garden had been decked with coloured lights, and there was a large holly wreath on the door.

She'd brought an armful of presents for everyone, including the three cats, and amid profuse thanks, they were placed on the pile under the tree.

‘Yours are here, too,' Dinah told them. ‘Remember to take them when you go. And, of course, there's also something for Gus.'

Gus, always sure of his welcome here, looked up at her with lolling tongue, before trotting over and lying down in front of the fire. Two of the cats, already in position, opened an eye to see who'd arrived, and closed it again. A non-aggression pact existed between them.

Rona hadn't seen Mitch, Melissa's husband, since their wedding, and she'd forgotten how tall and broad he was. With his tanned, open face and crew-cut hair, he was unmistakeably American.

‘How much longer will you be out in the Gulf?' Max asked him.

‘I'm halfway through; it was a six-month assignment.'

‘And how are you liking it?'

‘It's OK, though I miss the family, of course. Luckily I've avoided the worst of the heat, but it was still pretty fierce when I arrived.' He smiled at his mother-in-law. ‘Dinah's turned up trumps and volunteered to look after the kids for a week in February, so Mel can fly out and join me.'

‘That should be lovely!' Rona exclaimed, turning to his wife. ‘No doubt you'll make for the gold souks?'

‘My first port of call,' Melissa confirmed.

Rona accepted the glass of hot punch Barnie handed her and sat back in her chair, her eyes going contentedly round the familiar room, now dominated by the enormous tree whose twinkling lights lent it an air of magic. As always, she wished she could feel as relaxed with her own family as she did here. And thinking of her family, she realized that Barnie and Dinah didn't know of the split. She was wondering how best to bring it up, when Dinah did it for her.

‘I suppose by now your father will have retired?' she asked, perching on the pouffe beside Rona's chair.

‘Yes, at the end of last month. Actually …' She waited until she had everyone's attention. ‘I'm sorry to say, he and my mother have separated.'

‘Oh, my dear!' Dinah exclaimed. ‘I'm so very sorry.'

‘They were making each other unhappy, so it seemed the best thing.'

‘What's happening to the family home?' Barnie asked.

‘Mum's staying on there. She's decided to take in lodgers, for company.'

‘And your father?'

‘He's renting a flat in Talbot Road.' She'd no intention of mentioning Catherine and hurried on, ‘However, after initial hiccups things are more amicable now, and we're all having Christmas lunch together.'

‘Well, I suppose that's something,' Dinah said doubtfully. ‘Do you think there's any chance of their coming back together?'

Rona shook her head. ‘None,' she said.

Melissa, sensing the air of embarrassment, said quickly, ‘Isn't it exciting, having a murder in the town? We've been telling Mitch about it. Pity you're not on the
Gazette
, Rona; you'd be au fait with developments!'

Rona shot Max a warning glance. ‘I feel very sorry for them all,' she said.

‘You were thinking of researching the family, weren't you?' Barnie remembered. ‘Better put that on hold for the moment.'

‘Oh, I don't know,' Mitch put in. ‘It'd be an even better story now.'

‘It depends on the outcome,' Max said.

Everyone turned to him.

‘Do you think the husband did it?' Melissa asked. ‘That's how it usually turns out.'

‘I know no more than the rest of you, but Robert Tarlton doesn't strike me as a killer.'

‘Under sufficient provocation, anyone could be,' Barnie said darkly.

Dinah jumped to her feet. ‘Dinner's almost ready; I'll go and put the finishing touches to it. Mel, you could bring in the first course for me, if you would.'

The meal was as sumptuous as always: melon with prawns, roast goose with all the trimmings, and an iced Christmas bomb for dessert.

‘I didn't want to pre-empt the turkey,' Dinah said, ‘but it had to be Christmassy!'

As they were finishing, a group of carol singers came to the door. Barnie went to open it, and they sat in silence, listening as the familiar tunes reached them.

‘There are some mince pies in the kitchen, Barnie,' Dinah called, when they came to an end.

‘Beautifully stage-managed, Dinah!' Max said. ‘All we need now is some snow, and it will be really Dickensian.'

‘It's quite cold enough for me, thanks!' Mitch protested. ‘The temperature's already some twenty degrees lower than I'm used to.'

They returned to the fireside for coffee, but Max and Rona declined the offer of liqueurs. ‘We have to drive home,' Max said regretfully. By now, talk was desultory, and when a cry from upstairs summoned Mel, it seemed time to make a move. Dinah searched out their presents from under the tree and Mel, having resettled her daughter, came down in time to say goodbye. The whole family gathered in the doorway to see them off, and they drove away to a chorus of ‘Happy Christmas'.

‘I do hope it will be,' Rona said. ‘For everyone.'

F
reya said, ‘I do wish we were spending Christmas together.'

Matthew nodded. ‘Me, too. Trouble is, up to now we've both spent it with our families, and since we're not engaged or anything, it's what they still expect. In fairness, I've not seen my lot for a month or two; I feel I owe it to them.'

‘And I couldn't desert mine, especially this Christmas. Dad looks like a ghost, while everyone else is going round with false smiles plastered on their faces. And it's all my fault.'

Matthew reached for her hand. ‘No,
it isn't
. You couldn't help having those nightmares. It's a wonder you've kept so sane all these years, after what you went through.'

‘It's Christmas lunch I'm most dreading. We've always gone to the Clarendon, the whole family, including Nanny until a few years ago. I was sure they'd cancel it, but they seem determined not to. So we'll be sitting there in the middle of the restaurant like a prize exhibit, with everyone staring at us.'

Her voice wobbled, and Matthew squeezed her hand. ‘I'm sure it won't be like that. You said business has been good these last weeks, with everyone offering support.'

‘Or coming to see for themselves how we're coping.' She gave a little shudder. ‘I still can't believe Mummy's been there all this time, so
close
to us all. It's – macabre.'

‘Have the police any leads?'

‘No. They keep questioning me. I'm sure they think I'm keeping something back, that having actually
been
there, I must know who killed her.'

‘But you don't,' Matthew said stoutly. ‘If you did, you'd have remembered by now.'

Freya turned her white face towards him. ‘Matt, I
must
have seen him! He was walking about immediately beneath me.'

‘Then it's obvious you didn't know him, isn't it? Which is why you can't remember his face.'

‘That's what I keep telling myself. But suppose my subconscious is blocking it because I
did
know him? Very well?'

She pulled her hands from his and covered her face with them, while Matthew, whose thoughts had been along the same lines, could only watch in helpless despair.

Stephen said, ‘Are you quite sure you've ordered enough? It's not as though there's a choice of main course on Christmas Day – apart from vegetarians, everyone will be having turkey.'

Gerald gritted his teeth. ‘Dad, this will be my sixth Christmas in charge. I do know what I'm doing.'

‘And the desserts? Not everyone will want the pudding, you know.'

‘We've already discussed this; there's also a choice of chestnut soufflé, iced cranberry ring or mincemeat flan. And, of course, the usual selection of cheeses.'

Stephen nodded distractedly. ‘How many are booked in the Grill Room?' At Christmas, the smaller and more intimate restaurant was, paradoxically, reserved for parties of a dozen or more.

‘Ten tables. Capacity. And before you ask, they're catered for.'

‘As long as you're sure. Remember that for most people, this is the most important meal of the year.'

‘No pressure, then,' returned Gerald drily.

But Stephen was not the only member of the family with misgivings.

‘I've been expecting the Tarltons to cancel every day,' Dorothy remarked to Ruth, as they checked the list of bookings. ‘I hope they don't cast a pall on the rest of the diners, poor souls.'

‘I think they're being very brave, not pulling out,' Ruth said.

‘Oh, I agree; but bravery doesn't make for a festive atmosphere. People will either pointedly ignore them, or stare unashamedly.'

Ruth gave a protesting laugh. ‘Dorothy, it's our clients we're talking about, not a bunch of yobbos!'

‘But they'll be drinking more than usual, and that weakens inhibitions. If that poor girl had to be found, why couldn't it have been at the height of summer? Then everything would have died down by now.'

‘She was a member of the family, don't forget.'

Ruth's voice was mild, but her mother-in-law flushed. Then she smiled, and patted her hand. ‘You're quite right, my dear; I'm a self-centred old woman, I admit it. It's just that everyone works so hard in the run-up to Christmas, it would be too bad if events beyond our control spoiled it in any way.'

‘Then we'll have to make sure they don't,' Ruth replied placidly, and returned to her checking.

The days passed in a round of last-minute shopping, present-wrapping and card-hanging.