Whispers of Love (26 page)

‘I'm still here,' Christabel told her in an icy tone. ‘I simply cannot believe what I'm reading, which is why I've gone through it again.'

‘Why? What do you mean?'

‘What do I mean?' Christabel's voice was dangerously quiet and controlled. ‘What I mean, is that you've failed in absolutely every subject, Kay!'

‘There must be some mistake.' Kay's voice held a mixture of fear and defiance.

‘You haven't got a pass in anything. Not a single subject! You'd better get back here right away. You've got a lot of explaining to do, Kay,
and we've got to have a very serious talk about your future.'

As she waited for Kay's return, Christabel was filled with an overpowering sense of unease. When it came to late afternoon, and Kay still hadn't arrived home, she phoned Lilian.

‘Kay left here immediately after your phone call,' Lilian told her. ‘Perhaps she stopped off somewhere to do some shopping.'

‘Shopping?' Christabel snapped. ‘I very much doubt it!'

‘Well, don't shout at me about it,' Lilian said coldly. ‘I've no idea where Kay is. I've got plenty of problems of my own. Marlene has just told us that she doesn't want to return to America with us because this boyfriend of hers, Bill Wood, wants them to get engaged. As you can imagine I'm out of my mind with worry because she's far too young and—'

‘Will you ask Marlene if she knows where Kay is?' Christabel interrupted.

‘Marlene's not here, she's gone to meet Bill,' Lilian said irritably.

‘So, Kay might well be with her. If she has told Marlene how dire her report is, then Marlene will know Kay's in trouble, and she may be trying to shield her.'

‘Shield her from what?' Lilian asked bemused.

‘From me, of course! I want her to come straight home so that we can discuss it and talk about her future. Not one single pass! I still can't believe it. I blame you for encouraging
Kay to come to London so often. All this gadding about with Marlene has ruined everything for Kay. Heaven alone knows what's going to happen to her now!'

‘Well, don't blame Marlene! If you hadn't pushed Kay so hard she would probably have done better when it came to her exams.'

‘What absolute rot,' Christabel exclaimed furiously. ‘Now, tell me where Marlene's gone with this so-called boyfriend of hers, and I'll phone and see if Kay's with them.'

‘I've already told you, Chrissy, that Marlene has no idea where Kay is. After you phoned this morning, Alex told Kay that he would drive her to the station as soon as he'd finished at the film studio, but she said she couldn't wait until then. She said she'd take a taxi to the station.'

‘So why hasn't she turned up here? Where is she?'

‘Chrissy, I've already told you, I don't know,' Lilian repeated wearily. ‘As soon as you get off the line I'll make some calls and find out if any of our friends have seen her, or if they know anything that might be of help.'

‘I think perhaps I should go to the police.' ‘What on earth do you want to do that for?' Lilian exclaimed.

‘Kay's missing, isn't she? The sooner we set the wheels in motion to find her the better. Anything could have happened to her. What was the time of the train she was intending to catch?'

‘I haven't any idea. I simply know that she said she was going to call a cab.'

‘There you are, then,' Christabel said triumphantly. ‘She's probably still in London. Now are you going to tell me where I can contact Marlene?'

‘I've already told you that I have no idea where Marlene is,' Lilian snapped. ‘I'll ask her to phone you the moment she comes in.'

Marlene phoned Christabel as soon as she got home, but she was not able to help. She promised to contact everyone she knew to see if they had seen or heard anything from Kay.

Another two days passed and Kay was still missing. Christabel was beside herself with worry. It was at times like this, she reflected, that she missed Lewis so much. If he had been there to share the worry with her it possibly wouldn't have seemed nearly so bad.

Next morning, Kay phoned. She wouldn't say where she was, only that she wouldn't be coming back home.

‘But you must, Kay. What are you living on? Where are you sleeping?'

‘Don't worry about me, Aunt Chrissy, I'm fine. I'm working as a receptionist in a hotel, and I live in. I'm OK, and I won't be coming home – not for a while, anyway. I'm sorry about my results, but don't worry about it. I never wanted to go to university.'

Christabel tried her hardest to persuade Kay to come home so that they could discuss the
situation and decide what to do for the best, but Kay remained adamant. She had made her choice, she said, and she was staying where she was.

Christabel phoned Lilian right away to let her know that Kay had made contact and made Lilian promise that if Kay contacted them and they could find out exactly where she was, they would let her know right away.

In the ensuing weeks Christabel felt quite sure that if Mark hadn't phoned to ask how she was and if she and Kay were coping all right without Lewis, she would have gone out of her mind from not having anyone to share her worries with.

‘Kay went back to London with Lilian right after the funeral,' she told him. ‘She was so quiet and withdrawn that I'm very concerned about her. She doesn't seem to want to talk to me about her father, so I'm hoping that being with Marlene might help her to come to terms with what has happened.'

‘It sounds to me as though you need someone to talk to about it, so if you are on your own, what about coming out for a meal with me?' Mark asked.

It had been the start of regular meetings. They'd gone to quiet little restaurants where Mark seemed to be well known. The food and wine were good and the service discreet, so they were able to talk in comfort.

The intervening years since they'd both been at Hilbury gradually vanished; they felt comfortable in each other's company as their friendship blossomed.

Christabel now found herself automatically turning to Mark for advice when Kay insisted on staying on in London and none of them knew exactly where she was or how she was coping.

‘She may only have just left school but you've brought her up to be confident and well adjusted so I'm sure she'll be all right,' he pointed out.

‘She's also suffered a great loss, the second one in a comparatively short time. Marlene is very impetuous and rebellious, and although as I say it might help her, I'm also worried that Kay may follow in her footsteps.'

‘From what you've told me, Marlene may be rather precocious and think of herself as a child star, but Kay is certainly not following in her footsteps or she would have persuaded her uncle to give her a part in one of his films. Instead of that, Kay's not only found herself a job but she's also been very pragmatic and made sure that it is one that also provides her with somewhere to live.'

‘When you put it like that, it all sounds very sensible and responsible,' Christabel agreed. ‘What we don't know is what sort of hotel it is and whether or not she's safe living there.'

 

It was several months before there was any more news, and then it was Kay phoning Marlene to find out when she would be returning to America.

Marlene told her that she intended to marry Bill as soon as she was old enough to do so and would probably be staying on in London. ‘You will come to my wedding, Kay?' Marlene begged.

Kay laughed a little self-consciously. ‘It's a long way off! Would you really want me to be there?'

‘Of course I would. Anyway, I want to see you before then, and tell you all about it and introduce you to Bill. So when are we going to meet?'

‘If I come to your home, your mother might tell Aunt Chrissy in advance, and I don't want to have to face her yet.'

‘OK, we'll make it somewhere else; just the two of us, and I won't tell anyone that we are planning to meet up,' Marlene agreed.

The meeting restored the close friendship between them. It was like old times as they chatted and caught up on each other's news.

Kay confided in Marlene about her new friend, Stuart Blakemore, who often stayed at the hotel where she worked. When she said that he was single and that he always took her out whenever he was in London, Marlene teasingly suggested they should have a double wedding.

Before they parted, they arranged to see each other again soon. ‘Why don't you come to the house and bring your boyfriend, and you can both meet Bill,' Marlene suggested.

Kay looked dubious. ‘Is Aunt Chrissy going to be there? If so, I'm not sure I want to come.'

‘I was thinking of inviting her; after all she's family. You're family, too, Kay,' Marlene insisted, ‘so you must come.'

‘I don't know; I really am scared stiff of meeting Aunt Chrissy. If Stuart comes with me, I'm sure she'll disapprove of him, and probably try to stop me seeing him,' she added worriedly.

‘Rubbish! You're being paranoid. Anyway, how can she stop you seeing him when you're living in London, and she's hundreds of miles away in Wallasey?'

Kay looked uncertain. ‘I don't know, but Aunt Chrissy always seems to get her own way,'

‘Aunt Chrissy has been desperately concerned about you since you left home,' Marlene reminded her. ‘I really think you should get in touch with her to let her know you're all right and to tell her about Stuart and give her the chance to meet him. It might stop her worrying about you so much.'

 

Christabel felt very relieved when Kay phoned her – until she mentioned Stuart Blakemore. She couldn't believe she had heard aright. It had been bad enough when Kay had told her she'd found herself a job and was staying on in London, but she found this latest piece of news was a great deal more shattering.

‘Surely I don't have to wait until Marlene's
wedding before I see you?' Christabel pressed. ‘It won't be for ages; at least another year or perhaps longer.'

‘I think that would be best,' Kay said stubbornly, ‘and you'll be able to meet Stuart at the same time.'

‘That will be rather a lot to take in all in one day,' Christabel protested.

‘Do you mean for you, or for Stuart?'

‘For both of us, I should imagine, Kay. Why don't you bring him here for a visit first?'

Kay refused to be enticed even though she was relieved that her aunt appeared to be taking the news much better than she'd expected. Even so, she was not looking forward to a meeting between Aunt Chrissy and Stuart, but if it was at Marlene's wedding, then Aunt Chrissy would have to be civil to him, she reasoned.

 

Christabel was at the church early, eager to have a chance to talk to Kay before the service started and was disappointed that Kay and Stuart turned up so late that she didn't have an opportunity to do so.

She felt a lump in her throat as she watched Kay make her way down the aisle and slip into one of the front pews. She had always been above average in height, and she looked extremely smart in a turquoise wool suit that fitted her perfectly. She was wearing her straight dark hair drawn back from her face in a French plait topped
by a frothy little hat that emphasised her high cheekbones and vivid blue eyes.

She might only be nineteen but she looked a lot older. Very grown-up and sophisticated, Christabel mused, as she studied her carefully. In so many ways it was like turning the clock back to when she was that age, she thought.

Her reminiscing was cut short as the organ music changed to greet the bride's arrival, and Marlene, a vision in frothy white lace, entered the church on her father's arm.

As they walked up the aisle to where Bill Wood was waiting by the chancel steps, Christabel recalled how disastrous her own love life had been. She remembered Dennis Williams, and how she had lost him to Lilian, and then her brief affair with Alex before the same thing happened all over again.

Christabel wished she could have her life over again. If only her first love, Philip Henderson, hadn't been lost at sea and she hadn't been forced to give up their baby, then things could have been so very different.

Christabel smiled to herself. There was still a great deal that no one in the family would ever know about her. She wondered what Lilian's reaction would be if she told her that she, too, had borne a daughter. It was a secret none of them had the slightest idea about since she had confided in no one except Lewis and he had kept her secret.

What had happened was very much in the
past so there was no point in thinking about it now, she told herself. Nevertheless, looking at Kay, standing tall and confident beside the man she assumed was Stuart Blakemore, Christabel hoped that Kay's future wouldn't be a replica of her own, even though they were so alike in looks and temperament.

Marlene, she was sure, would settle down happily, have two or three children, and by middle-age probably be fat and contented in her role of wife and mother.

She wasn't at all sure that life would be such a bed of roses for Kay. She had spirit as well as a streak of independence which Christabel recognised only too well as being a Montgomery trait. It was one of the reasons she was so anxious to meet Stuart Blakemore and to be able to reassure herself that he was the right partner for Kay.

She studied him throughout the service, and she could understand why Kay had fallen for him. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and had a strong profile.

He looked comfortable in his well-cut suit, as though he were used to dressing smartly. His thick brown hair was swept back from his brow, and his general appearance was commanding and self-assured. His manner towards Kay seemed to be very protective. Even though he seemed quite a bit older than her they appeared to be at ease with each other.

Being the maiden aunt in the family had been
her role for so long that she supposed they all thought she didn't understand about being in love and that she had no right to interfere in what Kay did. They were entitled to their opinion, of course, but for Lewis's sake, she was still concerned when it came to Kay's future happiness.