Lynda Plante - The Talisman

‘Look who’s here! Surprise, surprise, it’s Daddy.’

Edward held out his arms and she went to him, gave him a small peck on the cheek and promptly stood back, looking down at her feet. Edward lifted her chin to look into her eyes, and she blushed.

‘Your mother’s given you a complex, you’ve got wonderful eyes. Come here and let me see — they’re green, well, well, Jinks has got green eyes.’

‘It’s because Ma makes me eat so much of her lettuce.’

Edward laughed at her attempt to make a joke, then they all went inside for tea. Jinks still would not meet her father’s eyes, but hung her head at the table until he grew angry with her. He started to argue with Harriet, and Jinks left the table.

The next morning they drove back to London. Jinks hated the dark rooms of the manor, and always had nightmares. She was also highly nervous about starting her new school, and even when told she would at least know someone, as her cousin would be there, she pursed her lips in identical fashion to Harriet. ‘I’ve never met him.’

‘Oh, you will, darling, you two are going to be friends. You can invite him back for tea and things like that.’

Harriet snorted, ‘Oh God, if he’s anything like his mother she won’t. And speaking of Barbara, this arrived this morning, it must have slipped by her. I’ve been invited to this luncheon... She’s chairman of Save the Animals, Save the Whale, and God knows what else — look, it came yesterday. Shall I go? It’ll be a laugh, don’t you think?’

Examining the embossed invitation, Edward agreed she should go. He thought no more of it until he walked into his office one morning a few weeks later.

Alex buttonholed him. ‘Barbara is absolutely furious with Harry — you know she turned up at a Save the Wild Animals lunch with a fox fur wrapped round her neck?’

Edward gave him no more than a cursory shrug of the shoulders. Nothing ever surprised him where his wife was concerned.

In an abrupt change of subject, Alex commanded all Edward’s attention. ‘I want to ask your advice.’ Alex never asked for advice, he usually offered it. ‘It’s Evelyn, he’s becoming a hell of a handful for Barbara. And, well, I put him down for Eton and Harrow. You don’t know anyone who has any influence with one of them, do you?’

‘You’re asking me? Me? Listen, your dear wife wouldn’t even let him come over to our place for Jinks’ birthday party last year, how come I can suddenly play a part in his education?’

‘Well, I’ve got enough contacts of course, but... Well, he isn’t what I’d call academic. Give him a rugger ball and he’s happy as a lark, but he won’t study, he’s way behind.’

‘So, what can I do?’ Edward couldn’t help smiling. All these years he had wanted some contact with his son, and now it looked as though he was going to get it.

‘Well, I just thought, with all your Cambridge friends, you might be able to pull a few strings.’

‘Can’t Barbara?’

‘She’s trying, but I’d like a second opinion. He’s only nine and she wants him boarding, it would be for the spring term, after Christmas. I doubt if he’s as bright as we were, remember the scholarships we both won? Anyway, if you’d ask around I’d be grateful... she can’t get rid of him soon enough.’

Edward agreed to do what he could, and to Alex’s amazement he seemed quite pleased to be helping out. But when Alex told Barbara she hit the roof, demanding to know, of all people, why did he have to choose Edward?

Of late they had not been getting along at all well. Barbara attended so many functions he saw her rarely, and her lack of participation in Evelyn’s upbringing drove him to distraction. She had no time for the child, and had even missed his sports day at Hill House. Evelyn had won four races and was so popular and outgoing that Alex had been as proud as Punch.

He had sat with Harriet, who moaned to him that Edward was off on one of his trips. She even said, laughingly nudging Alex, ‘And we all know what he’ll get up to. You know, it used to destroy me, but... Well, now I must close my eyes, ignore it. If it makes him happy then so be it, and he has settled down. He’s stopped drinking, did you know?’

Alex knew about Edward’s liaisons, his so-called business trips, and he gave Harriet a small smile. Through all the upheavals in their lives they had remained friends, even if they did see each other rarely.

Harriet watched as Jinks came in second to last in the egg and spoon race, and grimaced. ‘Well, at least she’s brainy although not very well co-ordinated, is she? But then, it’s her eyes, she squints, did you notice it at all, Alex?’

‘Not really. Does she have to wear those terrible glasses? Why don’t you get her a better pair?’

‘Oh, I can’t be bothered, really, and of course she won’t have to wear them all her life, you know. It’s just to straighten out her eye, it’s the left one, goes right into the side — terrible affliction.’

Meanwhile, Evelyn was getting into a fight on the other side of the field. Alex sighed. ‘God, he’s a handful. You know he tied Barbara’s bathroom door closed and she was trapped for hours? It was the servants’ day off, all hell broke loose, as I’m sure you can imagine. Anyway, I gave him a good talking to, but it just drips off him like water.’

‘My father always used his old military belt. He made us run up the stairs like soldiers, with our socks down, and he whopped us with it. We got big red welts on our legs. You know something funny, I’ve never thought of it before — but you don’t think that’s why Allard’s such a big poofter, do you? Have you ever met him? He worked for you on and off, with Dickie Van der Burge in South Africa. You hear anything of Skye Duval at all? I often wonder about him... Ah well, years go by.’

Alex had been listening with only half an ear until South Africa was mentioned.

‘Who is Skye Duval?’

‘He works for Edward. Right, that’s it, tea time.’

Alex remained sitting on the bench, deep in thought, while Harriet marched across the field to collect Jinks. He had come to the conclusion that Skye Duval was some sort of alias Edward used from time to time, but now it was quite clear he actually did exist.

Harriet waved to Evelyn, and he turned and grinned back. She was already busy collecting her daughter’s plimsolls and gymslip.

‘Well, darling, you did very well, at least you weren’t last.’

Jinks was gazing across the field at her handsome cousin. He had hardly ever said two words to her, and unlike her he was extremely popular. She had once tried to make friends, but he had stuck out his tongue then crossed his eyes, mimicking her, so she had never tried again. She trailed after Harriet, who appeared to know everybody, and kept stopping to chat. She was laughing with Jinks’ teacher, as outgoing as ever. She patted her daughter’s odd pigtails.

‘Well, she can’t be top in everything. It’s her glasses, you see, I’m sure without them she would run like the wind, wouldn’t you, darling?’

‘Honestly, Mother, it’s got nothing to do with my glasses, I just can’t run very fast.’

‘Well I know that, darling, but you might at least have won the egg and spoon race. When I was at school we used to stick ours to the spoon, but everyone’s so honest these days.’

Alex tried to discuss Evelyn’s prowess in the sports events with Barbara. Uninterested, she continued writing her diary, reminding him that they were dining out that evening.

‘I said he won...’

‘Yes, I heard you, but perhaps you should encourage him to do his homework. It’s all very well winning prizes for running, but that won’t get him into Eton or Harrow, which is your fault, you should have put his name down. There’s a waiting list, I couldn’t believe my ears... waiting list for a school, sometimes this country is ridiculous, it really is. Now I’d better start dressing, I’ll tell Scargill to run your bath, was there something else?’