Part 26 (2/2)
Gus shouted at Rafael excitedly from his tree house. Blythe held her son's hand. Gus was a menace. The last time they had played together Gus had hit him over the head with a heavy wooden train track and given him a swollen egg for a week. She had warned Rafael never to be left alone with him. ”He's a horrid little boy,” she had told him. ”You don't want another egg, do you?” Rafael gazed longingly at the tree house.
Gus was Captain Hook in the eagles' nest of his s.h.i.+p, scanning the sea for enemies. Inside the hollow Joe and Madeleine were imprisoned Lost Boys, while outside, Tinkerbell, played by Storm, and Peter, played by Fred, were sneaking through the gra.s.s to rescue them. The game was halted while Storm and Gus shouted for Rafael to join them. Rafael hovered by his mother's side, nervous of Gus who looked so much bigger and more frightening at the top of that tree. Finally, his curiosity got the better of him. Pulling his mother by the hand, he dragged her over to the tree.
”Do you want to play?” Gus asked, jumping lithely down the ladder, a broad grin eating up the freckles on his face. Blythe was surprised. He didn't look like the surly child she knew. ”He can be another Lost Boy if he likes.” His politeness grated. She almost preferred him sullen and uncommunicative. It seemed as if Miranda had everything. Then she thought of David. Almost everything.
As Rafael was bundled into the hollow with Joe and Madeleine, Miranda stepped out the front door. She waved at Blythe. ”I didn't hear your taxi,” she said as she approached. Blythe studied her carefully. In a pair of jeans and s.h.i.+rt she looked radiant. I never knew she had quite such long legs, Blythe thought grudgingly, even in trainers!
”You look so good, Miranda, I'm feeling sick!” she gushed.
”Don't be silly!”
”You do. Your house is divine, by the way. Stunning. It's paradise down here. You're so lucky. I want it all and I want it now.” She laughed huskily and delved in her handbag for a cigarette. ”Do you want one?”
”I've given up.”
”Hence the glow.” Blythe sighed before popping a Marlboro Lite into her mouth and flicking her lighter. ”I'll give up once this b.l.o.o.d.y divorce is done with.”
”How's it all going?”
”Dreadful. I feel like I've been through a mangle.”
”You look well on it.”
”That's because I have a lover,” she whispered smugly. She couldn't resist. Miranda's perfect life was too much to bear.
”Same one?”
”Same one.”
”Come inside and have a cup of tea,” Miranda suggested. Blythe glanced at her son. ”Rafael's fine here,” Miranda added. ”Gus will take care of him.”
”It's Gus I'm afraid of,” said Blythe drily. ”He's Captain Hook!”
Miranda laughed. ”Don't worry. His battle cry is worse than his hook.”
”It's an amazing tree house. Did David make it?”
”No, Jean-Paul, the gardener.”
”Wow. Some gardener! It's incredible.”
”He's wonderful. I'll show you around. The garden is really beautiful. It used to belong to this fascinating old woman called Ava Lightly. When I arrived no one could talk of anything but her amazing garden. It didn't look like much when we bought the place. It had all been left to rot. The house was unoccupied for two years. Then Jean-Paul took over and agreed to bring it back to its former glory. He's done the most incredible job. I'd like to invite Ava Lightly over to see it. I think she'd be really pleased.”
”Or appalled. Old people can be so ungrateful.”
”I don't know. She sounds such a nice person.”
”Do you have friends down here?”
”Yes. The people range from charming to eccentric. A mixed bag. You'd love Troy, he's gay and has a hair salon on the high street. Henrietta Moon, who owns the gift shop, has become a good friend. We've just started doing Pilates together, which is hilarious. Some of the other girls are really nice. We all have coffee together afterward. It's hard work, but great fun and the trainer is rather easy on the eye. If he were ugly I wouldn't do the extra ten!” As they walked into the hall Miranda added, ”The vicar is putting on a drinks' party in the village hall tomorrow night in order to raise money. It's twenty-five pounds a ticket. If you'd like to check out the local flavor, we could go. Might be a laugh.”
”Or h.e.l.l!”
”David will go. He loves lording it over everyone. He's dragged me to church once or twice just so he can stride up the aisle and sit in the front pew, which I was amused to find was already taken by some oldies who weren't going to budge for him. You can imagine his disappointment. Once he heard that the Lightlys sat there every Sunday there was no stopping him. He chatted to everyone afterward, dispensing pearls of wisdom no doubt. The generous-spirited person that he is!”
”He's incorrigible,” said Blythe, smiling as she thought of him. ”What time does he come home?”
”In time for dinner.”
Blythe gazed around the oval hall. At the end large French doors gave out onto a leafy terrace where she could see vast urns of tulips and a stone walkway that extended into the distance, lined by big fat topiary b.a.l.l.s. In the middle of the hall stood a round table, neatly decorated with glossy books and a luxurious display of pink lilies. Their scent filled the room with the smell of spring. Miranda had painted the walls a warm ivory on which hung a collage of large black and white photographs in silver frames. The look was effective. ”Did you get help from an interior decorator?” Blythe asked.
”No,” Miranda replied. ”I wanted to do it myself.”
”You've done it beautifully. I want to repaint my house. What is that paint?” She pressed her nose up against the wall to take a closer look.
”Sanderson.”
”Of course. Very subtle.”
”I love light.”
”There's plenty of that here. What happens outside?”
”Let's get a cup of tea, then I'll show you around.”
”I think it's time for a gla.s.s of wine,” said Blythe, needing fortification. Surely no one deserved to live in such a paradise.
Blythe took her gla.s.s of chardonnay around the entire house, taking her time to poke her nose into each room, commenting on the wallpaper and furniture as if she were a potential buyer. Once she'd seen inside, she asked Miranda for a tour of the garden. They wandered up the thyme walk, stepping across long shadows cast by the topiary b.a.l.l.s, watching the setting sun bleed into the sky. The children's voices could be heard on the other side of the house, rising into the air like the loud chirping of birds.
Miranda showed her the vegetable garden, telling her proudly about sowing the vegetable seeds. ”There was a time I couldn't live in anything but a pair of heels. Who'd have thought I'd learn to wear gumboots with style?”
”I thought you were miserable down here.” Blythe had preferred it when she had been unhappy.
”I was. Now I love it. I have Jean-Paul to thank for that.” They walked up the meandering path of the cottage garden. Miranda pointed out the shrubs and plants beginning to flower. Blythe was surprised how she knew them all by name. Her friend had changed and she wasn't sure she liked it. The balance of power had s.h.i.+fted, leaving her at a disadvantage. Only her secret gave her consolation. They walked on until they came to the old dovecote, watched over by towering larches. ”I want to buy some doves,” said Miranda. ”There's something very lonely about this place. It's like a neglected corner of the garden. Sad, somehow. Doves will put the life back, don't you think?”
At that moment, Jean-Paul strode out of the trees, pus.h.i.+ng a wheelbarrow full of dead branches. Blythe caught her breath. ”h.e.l.lo, Miranda,” he said, setting Blythe off balance with a wide smile.
”Wasn't Mr. Underwood supposed to clear away that tree?”
”Yes, but he's old.” Jean-Paul shrugged and settled his eyes on her friend.
”This is Blythe,” Miranda said. ”She's come to stay for the weekend. I'm showing her around the garden.”
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