***chapter 36***
***Family Matters***
"Apologies, my good chap," Arthur's voice sliced into Jimmy's tender memories of yesteryear. "We wanted you, being such a dear friend to us, to be the very first to know. Unfortunately, in your absence, it was necessary to take a few others into our confidence - Margaret Geraghty, and our regular contacts at Harrods, and of course Jack drove us to the hospital when Prudence was so suddenly taken ill…"
"Such a shock," Prudence interjected. "Such a terrible, terrible shock. To think, only this time yesterday I little dreamed…" She shook her head and Arthur squeezed her hand reassuringly.
They sat together on the sofa, Prudence, unusually pale, sniffing delicately and dabbing her eyes with a lace handkerchief, and Arthur drinking his whiskey with unusually pensive demeanour.
"My wife refused to stay in hospital," he added, as though everything made perfect sense. "Press and everything, you know. There are only a handful of people who know of this…this dreadful state of affairs."
"But…but who does the child belong to?" Jimmy queried, bewildered.
"To whom does she belong?" Arthur corrected pedantically. "Why, Prudence and me, of course. Quite a shock, old sport, quite a bally awful shock to discover you're going to be parents only five hours before a birth!"
Jimmy, wondering once more if he really had stumbled into a different realm, jumped at the startling revelation, and the baby, asleep now that she felt more secure, whimpered briefly at the jolt. Bit by bit, the broken pieces of the jigsaw locked together.
Prudence had been seized with agonizing stomach pains the previous night, Arthur continued, as he poured Jimmy a glass of whiskey. Not wishing to attract the attention of reporters if an ambulance were to be seen arriving at, or departing from, the grand residence of Lord and Lady Maddocks, they had instead telephoned Jack to drive them to an exclusive private hospital just a few miles away. It was here that an obstetrician told the astonished couple the incredible news: Prudence was not only pregnant but in labour! And, five hours later, in the early hours of the following morning, as the snow fell quietly over London, a healthy baby girl, weighing 61b 4oz, was born.
The doctors wanted to keep Prudence and her daughter in hospital for at least another week, Lady Maddocks being not only a first-time mother but a mature and menopausal one at that. But Prudence had no intention of staying in hospital for another day, let alone another week, and the Maddocks' huge wealth and high political importance meant they had never done anything they didn't wish to. It was arranged for the parents to take their newborn home and for Prudence to receive daily visits from the midwife, who, like all the medical staff involved, had been sworn to secrecy about the birth until such time as Lord and Lady Maddocks chose to make a statement to the press. Should the news be leaked beforehand, they warned the small pool of people in the know, then they would immediately lose their lucrative posts.
"And what are…what are your plans for the future, sir, ma'am?" Jimmy asked, feeling he sounded like a prospective father-in-law.
He knew that Prudence and Arthur disliked children and he wondered, but fervently hoped not, he already felt mightily attached to the poor, unloved little mite, if they would put their daughter up for adoption or perhaps have her brought up by one of Arthur's married brothers (Prudence being an only child) and pass her off as a niece.
"Well, Margaret's already fed and changed her twice," Prudence replied, misunderstanding, and not seeing as far into the future as Jimmy was. "To think, they actually expected ME to learn how to change nappies at the hospital!" (she shuddered at the memory.) "It was so fortunate Margaret was on hand when we came home although, goodness knows, she never expected to be preparing bottle feeds instead of breakfast! We haven't hired a nurse for the child yet and dear Margaret, being a grandmother of three and quite used to the things, has agreed to take on that role until we have time to explore the avenue further. And we've ordered the nursery furniture, which is being assembled even as we speak, the gentlemen from Harrods having assured us of total discretion. As you can see, Jimmy, we are quite the doting mother and father!"
She and Arthur exchanged smiles and clinked glasses, inordinately proud of themselves, blissfully unaware that they had yet to show an inkling of affection towards their daughter, let alone dote on her...