The Silk Vendetta (43 page)

”Her first husband was a great drinker. She may have learned the habit from him. I expect she found it to her liking and now it seems to be a solace. She is ruining her health and her life and her chance of happiness.”

“It is a tragedy. I often think of those days when she was coming out. Do you remember how excited she was? Then the Countess came … and how frightened she grew. Poor Julia. She used to eat too much then and now it is drink. She was so sure of herself at one moment and so unsure the next. And how awful it was for her during that first season when she didn’t come up to expectations!”

”I remember it well.”

“Then she married that old man and he left her rich. I think if she had found someone younger before she got the feeling that she was not as attractive as some girls … she might have been different. I feel a sort of protectiveness towards Julia.”

“I think you do towards us all.”

“I do want you to come with me when I go to see her. Do, Lenore. I am sure she wants to see you, too.”

”I am not sure of that.”

“But she does. She is always talking about you. Do understand, Lenore, she is very unhappy.”

I did go to see her. She made me very welcome. She looked much brighter. I wondered if she realized what harm she was doing to herself and was trying to reform.

She was excited. She was going to give a party. It was the fashion now to engage a pianist to give a performance. She thought that would be a wonderful idea. A number of Drake’s colleagues would be invited. “A piano performance and then a buffet supper afterwards,” she cried. “Don’t you think that would be a good idea?”

Cassie was so glad to see her interested that she was enthusiastic.

“You will come,” she said to me, and I agreed to go.

Grand’mere was rather subdued these days. She knew that I was meeting Drake and this worried her. She was very anxious. I believed she was thinking I had been celibate too long. I was young and I had tasted the joys of married life briefly. Grand’mere would like to see me respectably married to a good man. I think that was her great desire. Drake would have been ideal in her eyes if he had not been married already.

I sensed then that she had a fear that I might be carried away by my emotions. I wanted to explain to her that my feelings for Drake had never been such as to drive me into reckless action. I was fond of him in an enduring and steady way. I knew how differently one could feel about people … now.

Cassie and I went to the party. Cassie was pleased for she said this was exactly what Julia should be doing. “It gives her an interest,” she said. “It is exactly what she needs.”

Julia and Drake, side by side, received us. I was a little dismayed to see that Julia was unnaturally flushed and there was a purplish tinge in her cheeks; her eyes were bright with excitement.

“Dear Cassie! And Lenore! You look lovely. So elegant, doesn’t she, Drake?”

Drake smiled at me sadly.

I said I was looking forward to the evening and hearing the pianist. Then we passed on while they greeted other guests.

As we moved away I saw Charles. Madalenna de’ Pucci was with him. She looked arrestingly beautiful in a gown of red velvet which accentuated her dark Italianate looks.

Charles greeted us effusively.

“How nice to see you here. I am sure Julia is delighted to have you.” He smiled slyly. “Drake, too. Quite a gathering, isn’t it? Some of our most famous … or should I say notorious politicians are here. All for Drake’s benefit.” He turned to his companion. ”My dear, this is a section of English society. Those who make the rules and those who obey them. I must say Drake looks very pleased with himself… and the company.”

Again he was giving me that significant look. I was more than a little afraid of Charles.

He stayed with us, which made me uncomfortable. He had a proprietorial air as regards Madalenna, but the manner in which he kept glancing at me disturbed me.

In due course Julia came over to us.

“It’s fun, isn’t it? I’ve got a man coming to take pictures. I want it done soon … at the beginning … before people start to droop. After that we’ll have Signore Pontelli to play for us, and when that is over the buffet and dancing. It’s been fun arranging it all with the caterers.”

“You’ve done wonderfully,” I told her.

She smiled at me warmly. “I’m so glad you think so.”

“I was just saying how pleased Drake must be.”

“I hope so … oh, I do hope so. Oh look, there’s the man for the pictures. I’ll go and get him. Stay where you are. I’ll get one or two more and you can be in one group.”

So I was with Charles and Madalenna when the pictures were taken. There was a good deal of fuss while we were placed in position; the photographer told us to smile and we stood there with our lips drawn back affecting great pleasure while he hummed and hawed and the grins froze on our faces.

At length it was over.

The pianist arrived and played with great efficiency and expression—mostly Chopin—and he deserved more attention from the audience than he received.

When it was over he was quietly applauded and the musician played for dancing and after a while we went into supper. I was with Cassie and Drake joined us with a political friend. An interesting conversation ensued while we ate cold salmon washed down with champagne. I enjoyed the talk until I saw Julia at a table watching us intently. I noticed that whenever I looked her way she had a glass in her hand.

After supper there was dancing. Julia had cleverly turned one of the rooms into a ballroom; it looked very elegant with potted plants brought into the house for this evening. There was a small orchestra to play for the dancing.

I knew that Drake would seize the opportunity to dance with me. There was a recklessness about him which I thought was alien to his nature. I think he had had so much to endure that he was becoming indifferent to convention. He must have known that Julia was jealous of his feeling for me. I was sure that in one of her drunken rages she had made that clear. There were times when I thought he did not care—in fact that he was trying to bring their marriage to some sort of climax.

The dance was the waltz which had originally shocked people when it had first come into fashion. They thought it was rather bold.

Drake swept me round the floor.

“It is wonderful that you are here,” he said.

“Julia has arranged a very successful occasion.”

“It is successful … now. What do you think about Jameson’s views?”

He was referring to our suppertime conversation.

“Interesting,” I said.

”I think he is leaning towards Salisbury.”

“But he is one of your Liberals.”

”There are a lot of waverers.”

We were silent for a while, then he said: “This is bliss … holding you like this.”

“Drake,” I begged, “please be careful.”

“There are times when I can’t be … when I don’t seem to care. Something has to happen soon. Why don’t we go away together?”

“You can’t mean that.”

“I don’t know. I think a lot about it. I plan … and sometimes it seems the only way.”

“Think of your career.”

“We could go right away … start afresh.”

“No. It would be wrong. Besides …” He looked so wretched that I could not tell him I was not sure if he were free and asked me to marry him that I would. I was so sorry for him. I was so fond of him. I did not want to hurt him more than he had been already by telling him that I was not in love with him.

He said: “I feel so frustrated at times. Julia is … intolerable. It becomes more difficult every day. Sometimes I feel I would do anything … just anything to end it all. Now that you are here it is even harder to bear.”

”Perhaps I should go to Paris for a while. That could be easily arranged.”

“No … no.” He held me closer. “Don’t go.”

I was aware that Julia was watching. She was not dancing. She was standing with her hands gripping one of the chairs as though to support her. The inevitable glass was in her hand and I noticed that she was swaying dangerously and some of the champagne had slopped over onto her dress;

Then suddenly she cried out: “Listen everyone. I have something to say.”

She stood on the chair. I thought she was going to topple over at any moment. There was a stunned silence. The music stopped. She pointed at Drake. ”That,” she said, ”is my husband, Drake Aldringham, an ambitious politician.” Her words were slurred and to my horror I realized that she was completely intoxicated. “He doesn’t want me. That’s the one he wants … that one he is dancing with … holding her tightly … whispering to her … telling her what a terrible time he has with me. He wants her, the dressmaker, Lenore the bastard. No, he doesn’t want me. I’m only his wife. She is his mistress. She’s taken him away from me.”

There was a deep silence. I could feel the furtive glances which were coming our way.

Drake went to her and said in a voice of disgust: “Julia, you are drunk.”

She began to laugh wildly. She would have fallen if Drake had not caught her. Then she slid gently from his arms and lay prone on the floor, her eyes wide, staring at nothing.

I saw Charles making his way towards her.

“Better get her upstairs,” he said and it seemed to me that he could not quite hide his amusement.

Cassie was beside me. “We ought to go home,” she said.

And so … the party was over.

I cannot think clearly even now what happened after Julia’s outburst. I felt stunned. I was aware of people about me, avoiding looking at me.

Cassie was strong and practical in a crisis. She had taken my arm and I found myself outside the house. The carriage was to have come for us much later so there was no conveyance to take us home.

Cassie said: “Let’s walk.”

So we walked through the streets, she holding my arm, saying nothing. I was glad of that.

As we entered the house Grand’mere came down to see what had happened and we went into her room to talk about it. She listened horrified.

“Poor Julia!” said Cassie. “She was quite unaware of what she was doing … what she was saying.”

“It must have been in her mind,” I said. “How could she make such false accusations before all those people!”

“They will all know that she was drunk.”

“That was obvious. But what she said! People will believe the worst.”

“My dear child,” said Grand’mere, “try to be calm. We’ll find some way out of this. Perhaps you could go away. You could go back to Paris.” She stopped, frowning. I knew what she was thinking; go back where I might possibly fall into the hands of the Comte. I could sense her weighing up the situation and deciding that in spite of the scandal and the difficult times ahead I was safer here.

“That would seem like running away,” I said.

She nodded. “I’ll tell you what. I’m going to make us a nice soothing drink. We’ll take it and get a good night’s sleep. We’ll all feel better in the morning.”

In spite of the drink I could not sleep. I did doze a little at dawn only to wake with a feeling of deep depression as the memory of that disastrous night came flooding back to me.

Could I leave? I wondered. I wished the Countess were here. With her worldly wisdom she would have summed up the position more clearly than the rest of us could. Suppose the Comte was still in Paris. He would think I had come back to be near him. He would continue his pursuit. I wondered whether I should find it irresistible.

I felt that I wanted to look at the situation more clearly than I had on the previous night. Of one thing I was certain: those who had been present would already be telling their friends of that scene last night. For a woman to accuse her husband of adultery with someone there, had surely never happened before. Those who had witnessed this scene would want to take advantage of having been eye witnesses.

I wondered what would happen now. Would credence be given to the story that I was Drake’s mistress? I was sure it would.

Perhaps I should get away after all.

I thought of being in Paris … of the possibility of seeing him, putting all this unpleasantness behind me. They would be sure I was running away—and so I should be!

A day passed. We were very busy. Far from custom falling off, there were many who could not curb their curiosity and came on the pretext of buying something. I stayed out of sight.

Two days later to my amazement Julia came to the salon.

Cassie came to tell me that she wanted to see me.

”I can’t see her,” I said. ”I think it better that I should not.”

“She is very distressed,” said Cassie. “She’s crying. She must see you, she says. She can’t rest until she does.”

I hesitated but Cassie was looking at me pleadingly. Cassie had become very motherly over the years and she seemed to feel that her mission in life was to protect us all.

“Do see her,” begged Cassie. “I hate these quarrels in families.”

So I agreed.

Julia came in. She was rather pale and the receding colour made the tiny veins in her cheeks more visible. She looked older and pathetic.

We regarded each other in silence for a moment, then she burst out: “Oh, Lenore, I am so terribly sorry. I didn’t know what I was doing… what I was saying. I don’t remember much about it. I was standing on a chair … and I don’t know how I got up there.”

“You shouted a terrible accusation about Drake and me.”

“I didn’t mean to.”

“How could you think such things?” 1 demanded. “They must have been in your mind.”

“I’m so unhappy, Lenore. I think I’ve always been jealous of you. Drake liked you from the first… better than he ever liked me.”

“He’s married to you, Julia.”

”I know, but that doesn’t mean everything, does it? He doesn’t love me. Sometimes I’m frantic. I was afraid that he’d marry you. That’s why I tried to stop it… like I did when we were at Swaddingham and I forced my maid to pretend she was the ghost up in that gallery … the ghost that appears to warn them about marrying …”

I was puzzled then I remembered.

“Oh Julia,” I said, “how could you be so … so foolish. Your implications are untrue.”

“I’m so sorry, Lenore.”