Artistic Licence (34 page)

‘No. I’m going to weld his pictures to the walls quickly, so there’s no question of it.’

‘But Thea! You can’t do that! You’ll never get them off and we’d have to redecorate all over again.’

‘Only joking, Molly.’ Really, by this time she shouldn’t have to explain all her jokes to Molly. Gently, she set the puppy back on its feet.

‘Are you going to ring Ben and tell him the news?’

‘Nope,’ Thea said firmly. ‘If you think he needs to know, you ring him. Personally I think he could just find out when he gets his invitation to the private view.’

‘Thea! What have you got against Ben, all of a sudden? I thought you liked him.’

‘Did you? Oh, well. You tell him if you want to. I really don’t mind one way or the other. Now, lovey, I’ve got a million things to do. I’ll see you at the gallery in about an hour.’

Chapter Twenty

The gallery seemed larger, whiter and brighter than it had done only a few days ago. The sun, shining through the massive windows, added to the impression of a huge light space. One of the big windows still had to be blocked off, to make extra space, but now Thea just enjoyed the sense of airy joy the place gave her.

She went downstairs to where Rory’s pictures, shrouded in bubble-wrap, were stacked in the passage. She hadn’t allowed herself to look at them when she thought they might be denied to her. Now she dragged one of them into the big gallery and undraped a landscape.

It took her straight back to Ireland. She could almost feel the cold air on her face, the bright sun in her eyes. She knew the feel of the sea against her ankles if she went down to the shore and took her shoes off.

She propped it against the wall and dragged out another. Molly would be here in a minute, full of bustle and questions about the private view. Should they serve canapés, what sort of wine? Now, she wanted a really private view, just her and the paintings, with no one else around.

Her reverie was pitifully short. Molly arrived, as Thea had predicted, the party for the private view her
chief concern. She barely glanced at the paintings.

‘I think we should serve things to eat, otherwise people will just lap up the free wine and get plastered.’

Well, she certainly didn’t want Rory getting plastered – perhaps food was a good idea. ‘OK, Molly, what sort of things do you think? Sandwiches, sausage rolls? Little quiches?’

Molly looked appalled; working with Thea could be very difficult. The poor girl had
no idea
what was what. ‘I was thinking blinis with caviar, a little sushi, perhaps. Maybe smoked salmon, that sort of thing?’

‘That sort of thing won’t stop anyone getting drunk and it’ll cost a fortune. And who’s going to make it? I’ve got more than enough to do without spending all night stuffing cherry tomatoes!’

‘We get a caterer! I know a lovely girl who’ll do it all for us. She’ll even provide waitresses.’

‘But how much will it cost? Financially, we’re running on empty with this gallery. Until we start earning, we can’t afford unnecessary luxuries like that.’

Molly stuck out her chin. It was what she did when Derek said they couldn’t afford something and it always worked.

‘It’s too expensive,’ said Thea.

‘I’ll pay,’ said Molly.

Thea’s own chin went out, rivalling Molly’s.

‘Oh, please let me! Just for this show.’

Molly’s disappointment was more effective than her pouting. ‘We should start as we mean to go on.’

‘It’s just that Ben has–’

‘What?’ Thea hadn’t told Molly of her falling out with Ben, but Ben must have said something or Molly
wouldn’t have halted in mid-plea.

Molly started picking at a spot of paint on the light switch. ‘He said he wanted to invite all sorts of people from London.’ She turned to Thea. ‘He really wants to help the gallery, Thea, whatever you think.’

‘It’s all right, Molly. If Ben wants to invite a few of his friends, he’s welcome. If he thinks they’ll come all the way out here.’

‘That’s my point!’ declared Molly. ‘If they do come, I don’t want to look like a small-town gallery that doesn’t know what’s what.’

Thea didn’t either, but the thought of spending the equivalent of several pictures’ worth of commission in case Ben’s arty chums turned up to patronise her did not appeal. ‘I’ll compromise. No food, but I’ll book a table at the Chinese for afterwards. At least that way we won’t be buying food that won’t get eaten.’ She resolved to make sure Rory ate several large stodgy sandwiches before the opening, to line his stomach.

‘The Chinese!’ Molly couldn’t have been more horrified if Thea had suggested going on to a strip joint.

‘The Chinese Dragon is really elegant. Have you been there? It’s just like a proper restaurant. I went there with friends when it first opened. It’s fab, honestly. I’ll book a table for ten or so and hope some of them pay for themselves.’

‘OK, that sounds quite fun, but I want canapés!’ The stamped foot was implicit.

Thea caved in. She had other, bigger battles to fight. ‘Oh, all right, Molly, but only for Rory’s show. When things are normal we’ll just have wine, and charge them for the second glass.’

Molly hissed in horror, as if Thea were suggesting she charged people for sherry in her own house.

‘Well, you don’t actually charge them, that’s illegal, you just ask for contributions. It’s what people do, honestly. I found out when I was in London.’ This was a lie, but if Molly could stamp, she could bend the truth.

‘Very well, I’ll let you know best on that one. But for our very first party – I mean show – I want to do things properly.’

Thea shrugged. ‘She who pays the piper gets the sushi.’

Molly smiled, but then became serious. ‘Ben’s quite worried, by the way.’

‘Oh, dear. Poor Ben.’

‘No, really – about Rory suddenly changing his mind.’

‘Changing it back, you mean.’

‘It did make me wonder if we really ought to let Rory show here. Veronica can be so spiteful and according to Ben she was spitting tacks when she heard.’

The phone calls must have been flying to and fro across London like nuclear missiles. ‘I don’t think anyone could ruin Rory’s career now. Edward, the gallery owner in London, thought very highly of him. And although Veronica seemed to take the credit for getting the space, Edward would have shown him anyway. I really don’t think she can hurt him.’

‘I think Ben was more worried about what Veronica would do to this gallery than to Rory.’

This did pierce Thea’s confidence a little. ‘Why? Why would she do anything to the gallery? What
could she do? Fire-bomb it?’

‘Don’t joke! She’s a very influential woman! The wrong word from her and people will stay away in droves. She’s never liked me and – ’

‘And what?’

‘Ben says she thinks you kidnapped Toby.’

‘Well, that’s totally ridiculous. No one could possibly be so stupid as to think that. For God’s sake, Toby followed us out of the gallery. She must have realised that. If she ever cast a glance in his direction she’d have seen him leave.’

‘Well, I don’t know, at least, only what Ben tells me. And he did tell me that Veronica’s livid with you.’

‘Because she thinks I kidnapped Toby?’

‘Oh, I think there’s more to it than that. I think she’s peeved because you got on so well with Edward Grampian, who Ben tells me is very important in the art world. And she doesn’t like it if Ben gets interested in a woman. She doesn’t want him herself, but she doesn’t want anyone else to have him.’

‘She needn’t worry about that. Ben is not interested in me. Not in the slightest. Now, do you think we could stop gossiping and get on with some work?’ Then, realising she shouldn’t have shouted at Molly, Thea went on, ‘Sorry. I am a bit stressed by everything at the moment. And I do think Ben should have made it clear to Veronica that he and I aren’t even good friends.’

‘Aren’t you?’ Molly was so unaccustomed to seeing the easygoing Thea in this mood that she couldn’t think of a better answer. ‘He’s renting a house in Bristol, you know, to make it easier for house-hunting.’

‘Oh? Well, I hope Toby won’t mind leaving all his
London friends.’ It then occurred to Thea that perhaps it was her friendship with Toby that had made Veronica jealous.

‘I expect Ben’ll end up sending Toby to prep school. It is easier for a single parent.’

The thought of Toby going to boarding school brought sudden tears to Thea’s eyes. ‘I thought that was why they were moving, so he could go to a local school. What’s the point of uprooting him if he’s going to be sent away anyway?’ Then she got a grip. ‘Anyway, it’s none of my business,’ she said, trying to sound brisk. ‘So, when is your pet man coming to fill in the window? Or shall we tackle it ourselves?’

‘Thea! I wouldn’t have an inkling of how to start! I know it’s good to be economical, but really, there are limits to DIY.’ She said the word as if it were strange, very coarse slang and unfit for a lady’s lips.

Thea managed to laugh. ‘Only joking. We’ll have your Handy-Andy.’

‘He’s not called Andy.’ Molly looked worried. ‘He’s called Bob.’

‘Just be a doll and give him a ring, Moll—ee.’

Molly shook her head. Sometimes she found Thea completely incomprehensible.

A lifetime later, at home, Thea sorted through the post, the puppies fighting with her ankles as she did so. Apart from the junk mail there was one letter. She opened it. It was from Toby. He had typed it on his computer.

This rather formal communication was decorated with stars and space ships. Thea bit her lip. There was no point in her getting sentimental. Toby wanted her and Ben to get together, so he could have a proper mother. Now she’d met Veronica, Thea could see his point. She might not know the first thing about child-rearing herself, but at least she genuinely enjoyed Toby’s company, which she doubted Veronica did.

She just hoped Ben didn’t know how Toby felt. It would madden him. Relationships were difficult enough without having your son trying to influence your love life. Ben would never marry anyone Toby didn’t like, she knew that instinctively. In the same way that she could now accept that if he said he didn’t go looking for Rory for Veronica he probably hadn’t; it was all a horrible coincidence.

Not that it would have made any difference. If she’d said, OK, I believe you, when Ben had first told her that it wouldn’t have warmed his tepid feelings into passion. The only passion he ever felt in connection with her was anger – not an emotion to build a relationship on. But still, if she got an opportunity, she would like to tell him that she no longer thought him capable of such a massive deception. Perhaps, if he came to Rory’s private view, there might be a chance then.

Which still left her with Toby’s letter, which she
would have to reply to, and quickly, or it wouldn’t reach him. She didn’t want to find herself obliged to ask Molly for Ben’s Bristol address – it would promote a torrent of probing questions that Thea had no answers for.

Later, she sat at the kitchen table with a lined pad, thinking what to write. She had a nice card she could copy it on to when she’d finally thought it out. So far, she hadn’t got beyond ‘Dear Toby’.

Eventually, after much crossing out, starting again and making balls of paper for the puppies to chase, she came up with,

She decorated her letter with drawings of Lara and the puppies, chasing each other round the page, leaving
puddles behind them. By the time she’d done all this she realised it wouldn’t fit on the card, especially if she wanted to re-create the drawings, so she just folded up the letter and sent it as it was. Toby wouldn’t criticise her for writing on lined paper and if Ben did, well, he always had disapproved of her terribly.

As she walked Lara to the postbox later, she resolved to put Ben completely out of her mind. There was so much still to do before the show that she wouldn’t have any spare thought capacity for him anyway.

The rhythm and pace of Thea’s life became hard and fast. She kept her wellington boots by her bed and leapt out of bed at six o’clock, straight into them. Once she had swilled out the kitchen and fed everyone, she took Lara for as long a walk as she had time for. Then she checked that whoever was detailed to come in and see to the brood at lunchtime was aware of their responsibilities, got in her car and drove off to the gallery. Thea discovered the sad fact that the more people she had to help her, the longer every job seemed to take.