At Home With The Templetons (19 page)

‘Would I? If I hadn’t already done it for Hope all my life, maybe, but now, forget it. If she’s going to be back at the Hall, Dad, I’m never coming home again.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous. You’re in charge this weekend.’

‘I mean it. If Hope’s there, I won’t be back this weekend, next weekend, or ever again.’

‘You’re just going to live at the boarding school forever? Camp out at university?’

‘I’m not going to stay here and I’m not going to university either.’

‘So what are you going to do?’ ‘I’ll work.’

‘Doing what? You haven’t got any qualifications.’

‘I’ll think of something. Do something. Go back to England. I’ll do whatever I have to do, Dad, but I won’t come back to the Hall while she’s there.’ ‘You’ll feel differently in a day or two. Wait until your mother is home and talk to her.’

‘Mum already knows how I feel about this. I mean it, Dad. It’s Hope or it’s me.’

Henry laughed. ‘Because there’s not room here for the two of you?’

‘Don’t try and joke your way out of this one. Goodbye, Dad.’ Henry was left staring at the receiver as Charlotte hung up on him.

As they ate a dinner of toasted cheese sandwiches later that evening, Spencer didn’t seem bothered by the news of Hope’s return. He simply shrugged when Henry told him.

‘You don’t mind, Spencer? She doesn’t upset you as much as she upsets the others?’ Henry glanced at Gracie. She’d gone silent since he’d told her about Charlotte’s threat. Spencer shrugged again. ‘She’s okay. A bit mad, but I like the way she gives me money.’

‘Gives you money?’

‘Well, not just gives it to me. I have to do things for her.’ Henry went still. ‘Like what?’

‘Nothing too hard. Take the bottles out of her room. And take more bottles in.’

‘What bottles, Spencer?’

‘The bottles of wine. She pays me a dollar a bottle.’

Henry’s voice was casual. ‘And where do you get these bottles?’

‘From that cupboard under the stairs. There’s always loads in there. We have a system. I take up a full one, she gives me an empty one and two dollars.’ ‘How do you get past the lock?,

‘Your keys,’ Spencer said matterof-factly. ‘And what do you do with the empty bottles?’

Spencer was looking a bit fed up with the questions. ‘I throw them in the dam. Or under the bushes on the driveway. Or in the rain tank. Loads of places.’

Before Henry could reply to that, Gracie spoke.

‘I’ve had an idea, Dad. Maybe you could pay Nina to look after Hope at her house. That way she’s close by but not living here and Charlotte could come home.’

Henry was distracted. ‘I don’t think so, Gracie. We’ll work something out. Don’t worry.’

‘We have to, Dad,’ Gracie said, now nearly in tears. ‘Or Charlotte is lost to us forever.’

The next day Gracie reported it all to Nina in great detail. ‘Charlotte means it, Nina, I know she does. But Mum won’t send Hope away again. It’s a very awkward situation.’

‘I’m sure it must be,’ Nina said, still trying to take in all that Gracie had told her since she’d arrived without notice that afternoon. She now didn’t even bother knocking, simply calling out

a greeting before walking straight in. ‘Your parents will sort it out, I’m sure.’

‘I just hope they can.’ Gracie hopped up from her seat. ‘I’d better go home. Thanks for the tea, Nina, and for having me. See you tomorrow.’

It was some time after Gracie’s departure before Nina was able to start working again.

‘Three weeks after Eleanor and Hope arrived back at Templeton Hall, Charlotte still hadn’t come home for a weekend. Eleanor’s reasoning, then arguing, then pleading, then insistence had fallen on deaf ears. Charlotte refused to change her mind.

‘And you’d better not bring her to Audrey’s special night, either,’ Charlotte told her mother during the latest call. ‘She’ll only wreck it for Audrey and for everyone else.’

‘Hope’s much better now, I told you,’ Eleanor said. ‘She’s not drinking, she’s out working in the garden every day, joining us for dinner, helping Gracie and Spencer with their schoolwork.’

‘Oh, I’m sure she’s an absolute pussycat. Especially now I’m out of the way.’

‘You’re not out of the way. You’re refusing to come home and I still don’t understand why and I’m very disappointed in you. I thought you had more ‘

‘If you say compassion, I’ll scream, Mum. What stores of compassion I might have been born with were used up years ago. I’ve already lost enough of my childhood because of Hope. I don’t want to lose what’s left of my teenage years either.’

‘Stop being so melodramatic.’

‘I mean it about Audrey’s special night, Mum. She’s nervous enough as it is. If she knows Hope is there and liable to do anything, get drunk and take off her clothes or start screaming at the stage, it will make it even worse for her. Get a babysitter in if you don’t dare leave her for an evening. But I’m begging you, don’t let her come or I won’t be held responsible for my own actions towards her.’

‘It’s only an award presentation, isn’t it? Why would Audrey be so nervous about that?’

Charlotte nearly kicked herself. She’d forgotten that Audrey - for some inexplicable but undoubtedly dramatic, selfobsessed reason - was still keeping her acting debut secret from the rest of the family.

‘She just is,’ she improvised. ‘And I’m backing her all the way. If Audrey’s big night is upset in any way, I swear I’ll stop her from going home ever again too.’

Henry laughed that night when Eleanor recounted her conversation with Charlotte. ‘Get a babysitter? She was joking, Eleanor. Hope is thirty-six years old. She’s not a toddler we’re trying to keep away from the poisons cupboard.’

‘No? She’s not far off from being a toddler sometimes. The tantrums. The selfishness. The noise.’ Eleanor ran her fingers through her hair. ‘Oh, she’s better, Henry, she is. The new tablets, being sober, all the talking we did, but she’s still angry at me.’

‘Why? Because you let her come back here? You should be angry with her.’

‘You know she’s always felt I got all the good things in life and she was left with the dregs. That I have it easy. Oh, yes, very easy, trying to stay above all that is going on, keep this business afloat, teach Spencer and Gracie, handle Charlotte and her temper, Audrey and her pipedreams. I really have it easy. How dare she, Henry? Hasn’t she taken even a second to see what my life is like, how she makes it even more difficult? Of course she hasn’t. Because since the moment she was born it’s only ever been about her and I’m so sick and tired of it.’

‘Then why did you bring her back here, Eleanor?’ His voice was quiet.

‘Because she begged me, Henry. Begged me. And because I never want anyone else to go through the guilt I went through, finding her passed out after that overdose, thinking she was dead and it was my fault. She’s my sister. My only sister. How could I say no?’

Henry didn’t answer, just took his wife’s hand and absentmindedly stroked it. There was silence for a few minutes before he spoke. ‘Charlotte’s right, though. I don’t think it’s a good idea if Hope comes to Audrey’s presentation. I’ll stay here with her.’

‘You can’t. Audrey would be devastated. She’s insisting we all, be there.’

‘Surely we could leave Hope on her own just for one night? It’s mid-week. There shouldn’t be any visitors. We could lock the front gate if we had to.’

‘And make it harder for the police or the ambulance to get through if she did something stupid again, like cut herself or throw herself down the stairs? We can’t do that either.’

‘I do have a small idea. Maybe it’s asking too much, maybe it’s out of the question, but maybe not, just for one night.’ Eleanor protested about his suggestion at first, then listened

some more, then finally agreed that it was worth exploring, if nothing else.

‘But I’ll go and do the asking,’ Eleanor said, looking tired and sad. ‘It’s only fair. She’s my sister.’

At least this time there’d been a chance to tidy up a little bit, Nina thought the following morning. Eleanor Templeton had phoned the night before to ask if she could call over. The house was now tidy, there was a tray of tea things ready in the kitchen and Nina had changed into a dress rather than the painting outfit she normally wore each day.

Eleanor arrived at exactly ten o’clock. Nina noticed immediately that she shared none of her younger sister’s imperious behaviour. There was something gentle about her. Even her looks were softer than her sister’s. Hope was all sharp angles, tilted chin, fast movements, her clothes tailored and expensive. Eleanor’s face was rounder, prettier, her expression more guarded, her summer dress elegant but clearly well-worn. Nina glanced down. Eleanor was wearing an ordinary pair of sandals, stylish but showing wear, a long way from her sister’s impractical red shoes.

‘Thank you, Nina. I appreciate this.’ Eleanor’s voice was also different to Hope’s: low, even, without Hope’s dramatic tones. She’d barely taken her seat before she began talking. ‘Nina, we don’t know each other well enough, or know each other at all, so there’s no point in me making polite conversation or pretending this is a social call.’ Eleanor laughed softly. ‘Well, it is a social call, and I’m trying to make it as normal as possible, because it’s quite an awkward situation. I’m also sorry I haven’t called

over to thank you before now.’ At Nina’s clearly puzzled expression, she hurried on. ‘About us borrowing your Tom. I can’t tell you the difference it’s made to Spencer. It’s been different with each of the children, you see. We lived in cities with Charlotte and Audrey when they were being homeschooled, and so they were able to make friends with their neighbours. And Gracie, well, as you may have discovered, Gracie is an unusual child. If she hasn’t a friend nearby, she’s just as happy to talk to a leaf or a passing cloud. And we assumed it would be the same with Spencer, that he’d be happy in his own company, especially once we arrived here with so much space and land. But it’s true, isn’t it, that the devil makes work for idle hands? Did you find that with Tom? But of course you didn’t. Tom has beautiful manners. He’s a credit to you. I only hope Spencer isn’t having a bad effect on him. You haven’t noticed Tom becoming wilder by the day?’

It was quite a speech and Nina liked her more for every word. ‘Not so far, no. He’s always too full of praise for Spencer and Templeton Hall. It’s when they go quiet on us that we should worry, I think.’

Eleanor smiled, then shifted position. ‘Nina, I’m actually here to talk to you about Hope. My sister. I’m not sure what, if anything, you know about her.’

Nina tensed, hoping immediately it hadn’t been too obvious. ‘Not much. Only what she told me herself, and a little from Henry and Gra’

‘What she told you herself?’

‘She came here one night. About a month ago. Just before she went to England with you.’

Eleanor ran her hand through her hair. A piece was left standing up. Another time Nina might have found it comical but now it just made Eleanor seem more vulnerable.

‘I’m so sorry, Nina. Do you mind telling me what she said? How she was?’

Nina hesitated, not sure where to start. She explained how Hope had appeared at her door, how she’d asked for a drink and begun to talk. ‘She seemed to have a few …’ She tried to find the right word, ‘grievances she needed to get off her chest.’

‘Nina, please don’t feel awkward. I know that Hope gets it into her head sometimes that she and Henry had a long and torrid affair. It’s not true. I’d be quite sure that nothing she told you was true. That time, before we went back to England, was a particularly - how can I put it? - troubled period for her. Can I also assure you that no, she isn’t Gracie’s real mother, that no, Spencer isn’t adopted, Charlotte isn’t a recovering drug addict and Audrey doesn’t have a fatal disease and less than two months to live.’ Eleanor registered Nina’s expression and gave a soft laugh. ‘Oh, dear. Am I right in guessing that Hope didn’t get to those and I’ve just opened a Pandora’s box myself?’

At Nina’s nod, Eleanor ran her fingers through her hair again. The errant lock dropped into place. ‘At least now you’ll be prepared for it if you do hear it. Can I ask how you managed to get her home that night? None of us were even aware she’d gone missing.’ ‘I didn’t take her home,’ Nina said, surprised that Eleanor didn’t know. Surely she’d have heard about a visit from a police sergeant. Nina had delivered Hope into his not exactly welcoming care that evening. ‘I did as she asked, drove her to the Castlemaine police station. She’d got quite, um, agitated about people stealing her plants and wanted to press charges. The sergeant told me he’d take care of things.’ ‘Oh, God, so now the whole town knows. It’s hard enough -‘ She stopped. ‘Sorry, Nina. I’m sorry you had to put up with that. ‘I wish I’d known. Henry said he visited here while I was away to talk about Tom but he didn’t mention anything about Hope visiting you.’

‘I didn’t tell him. It didn’t seem right, in front of the children and then ‘

‘Of course. Spencer cut his hand. Thank you for your discretion. In light of that, I think I may as well go home without asking you what I’d come to ask. You’ve already seen Hope in full flight. I’m sure it’s not an experience you’re in any hurry to repeat.’

‘I’m sorry?’

Eleanor looked exhausted. ‘I was here to ask an enormous favour that we as a family have no right to ask. We’ve lived beside you for two years and have never made an effort to call over and meet you before now, so it’s beyond reason that you would even consider it, but we were desperate on behalf of one of our daughters and acted without thinking.’

Nina listened as Eleanor explained about Audrey’s school event in Melbourne and the family’s fear about bringing Hope with them.

‘There are times when we wouldn’t worry about leaving Hope on her own for a night…’

‘But this isn’t one of those times?’

‘I’m embarrassed to even ask, and babysitting isn’t the right word.’

‘Would I just keep an eye on her for the night, do you mean?’ ‘That’s it, exactly. But, Nina, I can see from your face how you feel, and I understand, and I hope this won’t have any bearing on Tom’s visits to us ‘