Chapter Eleven
Hugh entered his wife's room as she was putting in her earrings. He whistled and fell on the bed in a dramatic swoon.
"Oh stop it!" said his exasperated wife "You know that wife of Dickie's is a nightmare. If I hadn't dressed to the nines for dinner she'd be sniping at me all night."
"Come now, she's not that bad…." Hugh began
"And you'll be no help" interjected his wife. "You'll tuck yourself in a corner with Dickie and a decanter and reminisce over old cricket scores! I'll be left to deal with the woman all on my own. Why do you do this to me?!"
"I promise I won't tonight." His wife raised an eyebrow "I promise!" Hugh held up his hands in surrender and followed her from the room. "Anyway, I think he mentioned her not being about… or something… I wasn't listening." She turned to glare at him as they reached the hallway "What? I was in a hurry!"
"For goodness sake, Hugh!" she turned to the butler "Phillips, please be alert to the fact that there may be no Lady Merton tonight and lift a place setting if necessary."
"Of course ma'am" nodded Mr Phillips, with just the slightest hint of a smile.
"See! Tonight will be better than you thought!" Hugh moved towards the drinks cabinet "Have a drink. It will all seem better after a little drinkie" He waved the gin bottle. His long suffering wife sighed for effect.
-TW- -TW- -TW-
"They really are a lovely couple." mentioned Dickie for at least the third time. "We never dined with them often, but Hugh is terrific fun. Everybody gets on with Hugh"
"So you keep saying" Isobel observed, amused. She found his hand in the dark of the cab and gave it a squeeze "I'm sure everything will be fine. Stop worrying."
Dickie sighed. The cab drew to a halt in front of a smart townhouse and he quickly kissed her hand before paying the driver and stepping out to assist her.
"I think Rosamund lives near here somewhere" said Isobel, as the houses seemed to look familiar "I wonder if they know her."
"Possibly, probably, maybe" Isobel laughed at Dickie's comments as he followed her up the steps to the front door.
Mr Phillips opened the door for them and welcomed them into the house. After handing their coats to a footman, they were confronted by a jolly man with a handlebar moustache. This is obviously Hugh thought Isobel as she involuntarily smiled in greeting. The chap just oozed joie de vivre.
"Hello, hello, hello!" Hugh spread his arms wide in greeting "Welcome to our humble abode" he chuckled.
"Isobel, my old friend Hugh Barrington-Smythe. Hugh, my wife Isobel" Dickie performed the introductions.
"Well, well, well, no wonder Dickie doesn't take you about Town much! Hiding you away for himself, no doubt!" Hugh took Isobel's hand to give her an exaggerated kiss on the knuckles.
"Easy Hugh" warned Dickie, looking proud as punch "Remember I always beat you at boxing".
Hugh roared with laughter "Too true! Too true! Come and meet ma wife. She'll be very pleased to meet you!" Hugh tucked Isobel's arm though his and steered her across the hallway.
"But she doesn't know me!" queried Isobel with a glance back at Dickie over her shoulder. He just winked.
"Trust me" was all Hugh would say. "You're not the Lady Merton she's expecting" he whispered to her. As they entered the drawing room he said "Look what the cat dragged in!"
Isobel stood and stared "Margaret?"
"Isobel?" Hugh's wife could not believe her eyes. "Is that really you?" She closed the distance between them and embraced her friend "Oh, my dear! It's so wonderful to see you."
"And you! Of all the people I thought I might meet tonight, you are the last person I thought it would be" Isobel smiled. The men exchanged glances: Dickie shrugged. "I'm afraid I'm a little underdressed. I didn't expect to be going to any grand parties."
"Not at all. That dress suits you very well." Margaret glanced at her watch "I've got 10 minutes, I'm going to change. Have a drink with Hugh and we'll catch up over dinner." And with that she disappeared leaving a confused but smiling Isobel behind.
"Umm, yeees." Hugh seemed a little off balance after the display between the women "Drinks! Who'd like a drink?"
"Yes please Hugh" said Dickie, he turned to Isobel "How do you know Margaret?"
"We were in Paris together during the war" Isobel replied. "There were a number of us who worked at different things, but as we were English we sort of, flocked together. People joined and left as jobs changed and the war went on, but it was a sisterhood of sorts I suppose. We were very close for a time, helped each other through. I left when Matthew was injured. I kept in touch for a while after, but with the end of the war things just seemed to naturally ebb away."
"Aah, you're one of The Girls!" Hugh exclaimed. "Yes, makes perfect sense. They still meet every now and then you know. Have teas and lunches and the like. Some of them live here in London, others join in when they visit. There's one of them tries to keep it all going. What's her name now… it'll come to me… Lottie? Laura? Lorna? Something like that."
"Something like what?" asked Margaret coming back into the room looking far more comfortable but still stylish and elegant.
"That woman that organises you Girls for teas and dinners and such" Hugh replied.
"Barbara?" Margaret said. Hugh nodded "Barbara Williams. She worked in that French Red Cross convalescence home , if you remember?"
"Oh yes! She didn't speak much French if I remember rightly, but seemed to get through with a bustling efficiency on the wards and a no-nonsense approach." Isobel chuckled "She tried to get me back on the wards too, but I was too busy with the records section."
Mr Phillips entered the drawing room and nodded.
"Come on let's go through. I can assure you the food is better than the Marseille Canteen" Isobel and Margaret both laughed as the men followed them through to dinner.
"Be grateful." Hugh said to a bemused looking Dickie "If they're on war reminiscences, we can recount our glory days without withering looks and comments about growing up."
Dickie chuckled "I was hoping to talk about something other than your cross country medals, if I'm honest!"
"But you're the only chap that truly remembers those days!" protested Hugh.
"So, how long have you been married?" asked Margaret "I hadn't heard a whisper of you being the new Lady Merton."
"Just over 2 years now. Dickie was quite poorly when we got married, but we soon found out he had been misdiagnosed. I suppose if he hadn't been ill we would have been around a bit more, but we both enjoy the quiet life" Isobel replied. "How about you? How are the boys doing?"
"Oh, they're alright. Both married and settled. We've got 3 grandchildren and I think there may be more yet. I do so love being Grandmama. It's so different than when I was doing the hard work myself" both ladies chuckled. "How old is Matthew's boy now?"
"He's just turned 6. He's a wonderful chap, so bright and full of energy. It's hard sometimes as he's so like Matthew was at that age, but I'm so grateful to have him. Mary has remarried and he has a little sister now. It's good he has a family life" Isobel paused "And we recently found out that Dickie has a grandson too. John, who is staying with us in Yorkshire. He's a delightful little chap with those clear blue Grey family eyes" Isobel smiled at Dickie.
"What's this? Another Grey bound for Rugby? Wonder if he'll be there at the same time as my boys! Renew the old rivalries, eh!" Hugh interjected.
"It's not much of a rivalry when one side always wins" Dickie noted dryly.
Hugh laughed. "Not always, old chap. Not always. Has he ever told you what his school nickname was Isobel?"
"No, I don't think we've talked much about school." Isobel responded with interest. "Do tell"
"Well, initially he was called Lanky. Rather unoriginal if you ask me. Not nearly colourful enough, but he always had that look of someone who'd been racked in pre-prep." Hugh grinned. "But there was an incident that first summer. We were playing cricket against another school, I forget who…"
"The Lawrence Sherriff first XI…" added Dickie quietly, starting to go a little pink.
"That's right! Always a head for the details" Hugh chuckled "Not much good at that myself. Probably why you were so much better at exams. Anyway, we knew Dickie was a whizz with the bat from school competitions, but that day, well, he absolutely knocked it out of the park! Literally!"
"Oh goodness" Margaret sighed "Cricket. Always it's the cricket" Isobel chuckled.
"How many sixes was it? Fifteen? Twenty? Amazing stuff!" Hugh continued enthusiastically.
"Two." Dicke said, straightfaced. Isobel and Margaret laughed "Six fours. I finished forty-six not out."
"That's it!" Hugh roared, clapping his hands "Won the blooming match! Anyway, he'd not been at the crease long and this cracking fast ball comes down from one of their bowlers. Absolutely steaming this ball was. Dickie took a good swing and I was sure it was another six…"
"I played a blocking shot" interjected Dickie "I knew it was coming too fast for me to hit it. Really Hugh, your embellishments get worse every time you tell this story" He looked at his friend indulgently.
"Yes, yes, yes, whatever you say. Got to build the drama and suspense old chap! Anyway, this ball comes searing down the pitch, full toss and hits Dickie's bat so hard it broke! Clean in half! Splinters flying everywhere!" Hugh laughed uproariously. "Best shot I saw all day!" Dickie chuckled.
"But was anyone hurt?" Isobel asked, concerned more for injury than the spectacle of a broken bat.
"What? Hurt?" Hugh looked non-plussed. "You sound like matron" He grumbled.
Margaret chuckled "Isobel trained as a nurse Hugh, and had a boy herself. She knows boyhood stories often cover up broken bones and bruised egos"
"But it was awesome! And after that I started calling him Splinters." Huch grinned. "And it wasn't the only time splinters flew either. When we were looking at colleges, we went punting in Cambridge…"
"But I thought you went to Merton College?" Isobel queried.
"Well, yes. Father wasn't seriously going to let me go anywhere else, but all these trips were a day out of school…" Dickie replied with a mischievous glint in his eye.
"So, anyway, we went punting. Dickie did pole vault, so we all volunteered him to have the first go" Hugh started laughing "We'd barely got into the river proper when he went in the first time. Got the pole stuck in the mud!" Everyone laughed "Reckoned he'd got the hang of it now and this time he got left behind, clinging to the pole like a monkey while we all drifted downstream without him!" more laughing "Anyway, we did okay for a while, got into a bit of a tussle with some Eton chaps, then turned to go back. We were nearly there when you won't believe what Splinters did"
"What?" asked Isobel while looking fondly at Dickie with a big smile on her face.
"He snapped the pole in two! And fell in to boot!" Hugh roared "He pushed us back to the jetty and we had to give the boatman back the two halves of the pole. I remember spending most of the afternoon trying to find ways to dry his clothes before we had to go back so that we wouldn't get in trouble for going punting in the first place. Ahh, good days, good days."
"As I remember it, most of the stories you will hear came from an idea Hugh had." Dickie commented "But it always seemed to be someone else who came off worse, or got into trouble. Like that time he challenged Steven Roberts to climb a statue when we were on a trip to London to visit Westminster. Steven might have won the dare, but climbing down he got caught by his trousers on a protruding detail and ended up hanging there for a good hour before we finished laughing long enough to find someone to help him down."
"He didn't have to do it" said Hugh defensively "And besides, if he'd done it right, he wouldn't have got caught! Not getting caught is the best bit!"
"Like all those cream cakes you used to 'reallocate' from the house kitchens?" Dickie smiled at the memories.
"Absolutely! First come, first served" Hugh grinned.
As they headed back to the drawing room Margaret asked "How long are you planning on staying in London?"
"Well, to be honest Margaret, this wasn't exactly planned." Isobel admitted "Dickie came down to see to some business and had to stay longer than he intended, so I came down to join him. All being well we'll be heading home tomorrow."
"Oh, that's a shame. I'm sure some of the Girls would have loved a catch up." Margaret lamented "Would you believe that Celia got married about 3 months ago?"
"Surely not. She was the most militant spinster I ever met!" Isobel was truly surprised "If you'd told me she'd been elected to parliament I'd have understood it, but married?"
Margaret laughed "Apparently the heart wants what the heart wants! They're due back from honeymoon on the continent this week - touring the Germans states to see the ongoing economic effects of the Versailles Treaty must have been very romantic - and we were planning on having a get together to hear how she got on."
"That's a shame, but do write and let me know." Isobel paused "Hugh said you meet for lunch every now and then? It might be nice to pop down and meet up with everyone next time you plan one."
"Let me check my diary." Margaret crossed the room to the writing desk in the corner and came back with her diary and a card "Charlotte Granger is not in very good health and it's her 80th birthday at the beginning of next month. I think Barbara is planning a special lunchtime surprise for her. It would be lovely if you could come down for that." She scribbled the details on her card and gave it to Isobel. "You're more than welcome to stay here. It would be lovely to have you … if you can cope with the endless cricket stories" She nodded over to where Hugh and Dickie stood. Hugh was obviously demonstrating some kind of cricket shot. Isobel laughed.
"I never knew Dickie was that into cricket. We haven't really known each other that long, I suppose." She looked a little wistful. "Mary, my daughter-in-law, is his Goddaughter, but he never really knew Matthew that well. It's a shame as I think Matthew would have really liked him, and his own sons are almost strangers to him now: they didn't approve of me"
Margaret looked shocked "Why ever not? I knew Ada Merton about as well as I ever wanted to, and that wasn't well. She was a spiteful piece who never had a good word to say about anyone and never did anything unless she could see what she'd get out of it in return. That's why I was wearing my war paint when you arrived: she was the kind of woman who would have picked at me all night, even in my own home. I was so upset when Hugh told me he'd invited Dickie to dinner because I could never stand her. You and she are chalk and cheese. They should be grateful their father is happy at last."
"They thought I was marrying him for his money and trying to usurp their mother." Isobel paused. "In all honesty, it only took me so long to agree to marry him the first time because he was a Lord and so wealthy. It was a lot to take on."
Isobel hadn't noticed the men had come over to join them "Oh! I see! He had to wear you down, hey?! Makes sense, makes sense. You're too much of a catch for old Splinters!" Margaret shot her husband a warning glance which he studiously ignored.
"Actually, you've got that wrong." Isobel looked lovingly at Dickie as she said "I kidnapped him into marriage, didn't I Darling." Dickie smiled adoringly.
-TW- -TW- -TW-
"Well, that was a much better evening that I could have imagined. You're right, Hugh is easy to like." Isobel commented as she got ready for bed.
"He does always tell the same stories though" lamented Dickie. "And I like cricket, I do, but an alternative topic of conversation every now and then would be nice. I suppose we don't see each other often enough these days to have anything else to talk about."
"From some of the comments Margaret made, I don't think you're the only one who is fed up of his cricket stories" Isobel laughed "It is nice to hear about times you shared in your early years though. That story about you and the blackcurrant crumble was priceless!" She grinned at him.
"He does have a tendency to exaggerate." Dickie mumbled.
"Besides, next time we come down you can talk to him about George and John. That should get him on to talking about his own grandchildren. That would be something different." Isobel suggested as she climbed into bed.
"He'd probably talk about how well they can catch and which fielding position they'd be best in" grumbled Dickie.
Isobel laughed and Dickie smiled at her "I'm glad you enjoyed this evening. I was so hoping you would."
"I really did. It was wonderful to see Margaret again and hear some of her news. I was wondering if we might come down again in early December for that lunch. We could maybe do some Christmas shopping at the same time?" Isobel asked.
"Of course. I'm already looking forward to it" He kissed her happily. "I'm also looking forward to a nice lie in tomorrow." He took Isobel in his arms.
"Oh yes, a lovely lazy morning, just the two of us." Isobel murmured as she snuggled closer to him.