The Red Cliffs (19 page)

“
I am interest
e
d,
”
he said, and she spread the sheets on the bench. Rough sketches but drawn with easy, flowing lines; Joseph, Mary and the child, the three kings, the shepherds, and lightly sketched in, bare y suggested, the ass and other animals and the manger.

“
You
’
ve taken on a l
ot of work,
”
observed Neil.

“
I know. Half the time I te
l
l myself I
’
m crazy; the other half I
’
m so enthusiastic that I can hardly wait to get at it. I didn
’
t want a small toy affair, only for the children: I want fairly large figures, full of character, that will have something to say to everybody.
”
She gathered the sheets together, and put them away.
“
We must go back to the house,
”
she said.
“
I ought to be helping Corinne.
”

“
I
’
m sure that Corinne doesn
’
t lack help,
”
said Neil, but he turned to go with her. The heavy door had swung to, and he moved to open it for her at the moment that she moved to switch off the light, and they collided. In the sudden darkness, he put out a hand to steady her. At the same moment they murmured an apology, then silence flowed back around them. There was a strange, hesitant pause, almost an expectant pause, as if something was due
t
o happen at this moment. A
lison
felt an odd powerlessness, as if she were a puppet waiting for an unknown hand to pull the strings. Then Neil
’
s hand left her arm and pushed open the heavy door, and they went out into the cool night, and back to the party.

Several pe
o
ple had left, but Bonnie Taylor was still there, Neil
’
s friend Malcolm and a young man called Hairy. Bonnie had arrived with Neil and was waiting for him to take her home, but Corinne suggested they should stay for an al fresco supper, which they all did, after making various telephone calls. Alison was to discover that this was typical of Corinne. She was most hospitable, she liked people so much that she never tired of having them round her, and. she never made heavy weather of her entertaining. If she had plenty of time she would prepare elaborate meals and unusual settings; if she had not, meals wou
l
d be casual and no less enjoyable. This was a casual occasion with everybody helping to fetch and carry, conversation getting on in the kitchen along with preparation, and a pleasant, timeless, unhurried meal.

As Alison set glasses and cutlery on the dining table, her mind was still on the scene in the workshop, her feelings incredibly mixed. The old anger against Neil was still there, but it was no longer the only feeling. There was now a grudging gratitude too, for the help he had given her; and, although she had not yet admitted it, a growing respect. He might be interfering, he might be outrageously obstinate, but he acted from the best motives, even if Alison sometimes considered them mistaken. An unexpected thought occurred to her as she remembered his interest in her work and sketches;
“
If we had met in different circumstances, knowing nothing about each other beforehand, we might even have liked each other.
”

When their guests had gone at last, Alison and Corinne shook up cushions, emptied ash trays and opened windows.

“
Success?
”
asked Corinne, stretching luxuriously.

“
Definitely,
”
said Alison.

“
Lots of nice people around us.
”

“
Yes.
”

“
Of course, it
’
s nice having the Navy within hailing distance, as it were.
”

“
I can see that you
’
ll be a home from home for them.
”

“
What could be nicer, for them and for us? What happened to you and Neil? You were missing for a long time.
”

“
He wanted to see his finished carving; and I showed him the sketches for the crib.
”

Corinne looked at her with speculation.

“
You are the two people who like to avoid each other,
”
she commented.
“
Well, well.
”

“
He may be coming in tomorrow to pick it up.
”

“
Good, I don
’
t want to avoid him in the least.
”
They went into the kitchen, put the scraped dishes into the sink, turned the hot tap on to them and left them.
“
No sense in making housekeeping a burden,
”
said Corinne.
“
Let
’
s go to bed.
”

Next day, when Alison returned from the office, the house was as neat as a pin, but Corinne was not at home. She put on the kettle to make some tea, and went upstairs to change her clothes while the water boiled. She put on tapered trousers and a light casual sweater, and was about to go down again when she heard voices from outside and looked out of the window to see Neil helping Corinne from the grey car. Corinne was speaking in her swift, expressive way, her face alight and her hands describing eloquent gestures, and Neil was standing immobile looking down at her with an amused and interested smile. Alison watched them for a few moments and experienced a quite unreasonable feeling of being left out. She knew that it was unreasonable, but it left an odd faint feeling of depression. She pulled herself together and went down to make the tea.

Corinne came in, smiling, talkative and exuberant.

“
I have had a most interesting afternoon, Alison,
”
she said.
“
I
’
m sure you can
’
t imagine where I have been, so I will tell you. Yes, I will have some tea, please. I
’
ve had some already but would like some more. Well, Neil came in at about noon as arranged, and we talked for a while, and he said why not go up and have lunch with him at the house? and I did (a wonderful lunch, too); and then he said he had to ca
l
l at his creamery and would I be interested to go and see it. Well, of course I was interested, so off we went. I had no idea what to expect, but I was astonished. It was a huge place, like a factory, and a factory of the future, all immense funnels and huge vats and bins; and miles of pipes running in all directions and gauges everywhere; and men in white uniforms and white caps looking after them. Everything spotless and shining and men hosing the place down all the time; and mountains of butter coming out of churns and travelling on belts, and being pushed into machines which square it off, and being guillotined into blocks. All most exciting. And everybody terribly respectful to Neil, and curious about me, eying me as discreetly as possible
...”

“
Well, you have made yourself look exotic to go and look at a butter factory.
”

“
Not to look at the butter,
chérie
, but to lunch with Neil. Anyway, when I had been rushed through the creamery, he asked if I would care to see the cannery while I was there, so we got in the car for a few hundred yards and saw chapter two of the machine age. It looked busy enough to me, but Neil says it warms up during the fruit seasons. Practically all the women for miles around come and pick fruit, and thousands of cans are turned out, fruit, vegetables, even fish. Neil gave me masses of figures, which went out of my head again at once, though they were most impressive. And I was taken to see the canteen, very light and modern and efficient; and then I was presented with
a hamper. Neil
says everybody who goes over the plant takes something away, butter, or a few cans; but I got the V.I.P. treatment with a whole hamper.
”

“
It will come in useful, for Lucy and Ralph are coming for Whitsun.
”

“
Y
ou aren
’
t nearly as impressed with Neil
’
s achievements as you ought to be; and I haven
’
t to
l
d you all either. There was a whole frozen food department. He obviously got a lot of pleasure from showing me round—I wonder you haven
’
t been yourself.
”

“
I told you we don
’
t seek each other
’
s company.
”

“
I think you shut up your mind when
e
ver he is mentioned; which seems si
l
ly to me when he can make life so much more interesting.
”

“
He made it interesting for you, that
’
s plain to see. You
’
re very cock-a-hoop this evening.
”

“
Of course, I
’
ve had a lovely time. I think he enjoyed it too. And if any more opportunities like that come my way, I shall snap them up at once. You know, A
li
son, I find him exciting, challenging; he wakes me up.
”

Alison laughed.

“
You don
’
t need waking up, you
’
re always as lively as a cricket. Well, I
’
m glad it
’
s not dull here for you. I
’
m going out to work.
”

“
I
’ll
come and fetch you when dinner is ready.
”

“
But not too soon.
”

Alison went into her workshop, leaving the wide double door open to the evening air and light, but she did not start work at once. She sat on her stool, p ay ng with the chisel in her hand, gazing out at the brilliant green headland and trying to conquer the faint depression that sti
ll
lingered with her. With her customary honesty, she tried to trace its source, and came to the conclusion that she was behaving in a dog-in-the-manger fashion. She had consistently turned down overtures of friendship from Neil, yet she felt excluded and shut out because he was showing friendly attention to Corinne. She had no doubt that, if she had shown the slightest interest, he would have been delighted to take her over his creamery, cannery or fa
rm
s, but she had chosen to ignore him, so that it was foolish and unreasonable to feel herself ignored now; foolish and unreasonable to feel that

Corinne had stepped in to take from her something that had never been hers.

She stood up and went to the bench, but she still could not bring her mind to bear on her work. It occurred to her that Corinne had spoken as if Neil
’
s works had been models of their kind, and the canteen for the workers exceptionally so; and she remembered that her own views of Neil as an employer had come from Roger, and wondered if Roger had been as unreliable in this as in other things.

Her thoughts centred on Corinne. Corinne was so attractive, and because she was an extrovert, never afraid of wearing the unusual thing, adopting the unusual hairstyle and being conspicuous, she was not easily overlooked. She was gay and good company, she had a lively intelligence, and Alison concluded rather mordantly that she was a little jealous of Corinne, afraid of being overshadowed; and that as this was a childish attitude, she had better take herself in hand.

She turned to her work with a sigh, but it was no good. She could not overcome her reluctance, and threw down the chisel with a feeling of relief. She went back to Corinne.

“
No good,
”
she said.
“
I just can
’
t work this evening. I think I shall walk over the headland instead.
”

“
That
’
s a good idea,
”
said Corinne.
“
Go and get a good appetite for your dinner. What you need is a young man to go with you, Alison—it
’
s a pity we haven
’
t got the Navy here this evening, or your Ralph from London.
”

“
I can be quite happy by myself,
”
laughed Alison, but she thought of the many evenings she had spent last summer with Ralph, and knew that her evening walk would have been the happier for having him with her.