‘That’s a terrible thing to say.’
‘Let’s face it, it’s what Hope believes, even if she never says it aloud. You and I both know that she was happy to let me design her new house, but God forbid I should have designs on Annelise. Which is ironic, given how she used to go on about the classless society during the war.’
Romily knew that Stanley was right. There was a time when Hope had indeed been a great advocate of an egalitarian society, just as Romily had been. But whereas Romily still was, Hope’s principles, and for whatever reason, had perhaps not stayed the course. And certainly not when it came to Annelise and the man she might one day marry. Heaven only knew what she would have to say about Annelise having an affair with a married man!
‘Annelise said you were physically sick at the party.’
He frowned, plainly embarrassed. ‘I’d drunk too much. That was all.’
Romily gave him a direct stare. ‘Not according to Annelise. She seemed to think that it was talking about your childhood that made you ill. She mentioned also that you’d attended your mother’s funeral earlier in the year and—’
She got no further as the telephone rang shrilly, causing Tucker to stir from his slumbering in front of the fire. Pointing to the plate of buttery crumpets on the table and indicating that Stanley should help himself, Romily went over to the telephone on thesecretaireand picked up the receiver.
‘Romily, it’s me, Edmund.’
‘Hello, Edmund. How’s it going with the new house?’
‘Is Hope with you?’ he asked, ignoring her question.
‘No. Did she say she was coming to see me?’
There was a silence down the line.
‘Edmund, are you still there?’
‘Yes.’
‘What’s wrong?’
‘I ... I don’t know, to be honest.’
Thinking how odd he sounded, and aware that Hope had definitely seemed more on edge recently, Romily pressed for more information. ‘I can hear in your voice that you’re worried, Edmund. Please tell me if there’s anything I can do to help.’
It was a few seconds before he answered. ‘The thing is,’ he said, ‘we had an almighty row earlier and when I came back from being called out to a patient, Hope was gone. Heather, our maid, says she went for a walk. But that was hours ago.’
‘Perhaps she went to see your sister?’
‘I’ve just spoken with Evelyn and Hope hasn’t been there. I can’t think of anybody else she would go and see when, well, you know, when she’s not feeling herself.’
Again Romily could hear the concern in Edmund’s voice, as well as the storm that was building outside. ‘We should go and look for her,’ she said decisively. In a lighter tone, so as not to alarm Edmund any further, she added, ‘Probably all that’s happened is that Hope is sheltering somewhere until the worst of the weather has passed.’
ChapterForty-Two
Melstead St Mary
November 1962
Stanley
The rain was icy cold, yet it pricked at his face like hot burning needles. The storm was making the tree branches creak and saw, and each time he tried to say anything to Romily, or called out Hope’s name, his voice was snatched from his mouth and lost on the wind.
With Tucker accompanying them, they had set off in Romily’s Lagonda to find Hope. They had only reached as far as the end of the drive when their way was suddenly, and terrifyingly, barred. A massive branch was ripped from the old oak tree in the gale and crashed to the ground just a few feet from the bonnet of the car.
With nothing else for it, they had taken the torch which Romily kept in the glove compartment and continued on foot. They were drenched in no time. Stanley hoped to God they hadn’t embarked on a wild goose chase. These were not the conditions to be out on a fool’s errand. He really wouldn’t be surprised if Hope was somewhere warm and dry, and deliberately paying Edmund back for something.
To be honest, Hope wasn’t Stanley’s favourite person right now. Ever since moving into Fairview, she had been in constant touch with him to complain about one thing or another. He had tried explaining that there were always teething problems with a new house and the contractors would happily resolve whatever needed putting right. But there had been no mollifying her. He had made the mistake of talking to Edmund in private, but Hope had found out and torn a strip off him.
During his years of training to be an architect, he had been warned that even the mosteasy-going of clients could turn on a sixpence. When he had accepted the commission from Hope and Edmund to build them a new house, he had accepted the inevitably of Hope keeping a close eye on every step of the design and build process. What he hadn’t anticipated was how irrational orbad-tempered she would become.
