Masters And Lovers 1-4 novel Chapter 42

Michael

The lawns might have been mown, but the shrubs and borders are heading for the sky. A quick exploration of a small back shed produces saw and secateurs, so I set to, getting the garden back under control.

“Hello.”

I turn to see a woman, standing by the garden gate. Wearing jeans and a shirt, her hair tied tightly back in a ponytail, she has a prim, pleasant face. “Hello, I’m Eleanor Collier. I’ve been keeping an eye on the house. I saw something was happening…?”

I stand, wiping muck and sap off my hands and onto my pants, then stride forward to offer my hand. “Michael Summerford.” My brain connects the dots. “Collier, was it? Charlo… Jennifer’s foster mother?”

Her face lights up. “That’s right. You know Jenny? She’s here?”

“I’m her husband. And yes, she’s here.” I yell towards the upstairs window. “Charlotte! Friend of yours here.” I gesture to the gate. “You’d better come in.”

From above, a movement at the window, then a clatter down the stairs and Charlotte erupts from the house, her eyes wide and her face lit to a delighted smile. “Mrs Collier!” The woman holds out her arms and Charlotte throws herself into the embrace.

James appears at the door, pointing and mouthing to me silently. ‘Who?’

I mouth just a silently back, ‘Foster mother.’

The two women are chattering excitedly. “It’s so lovely to see you, Jenny.” She stands back, looking her up and down. “And you look so well…”

*****

Inside, Sebastian keeps an endless supply of pots of tea coming, plus the coffee James enjoys; fit to asphalt the road with. Charlotte and Chad sit with Eleanor, gossiping and catching up on old times.

James sits in the background, silently watching, a smile playing around the corner of his mouth.

There’s a knock at the door. I yell through. “It’s open.”

There’s a click, a clunk and footsteps, then the door opens and a woman steps inside. “Eleanor, I saw your car… Oh!”

Her eyes settle on Chad. “Chad! You never said you were here. What…?” Then she sees Charlotte, and with a face like a wasp, “Oh, it’s you, is it? Come to cause more trouble, I suppose.”

Thunder rolls over James’ face and he starts to stand, but I gesture him down as Chad, rising smoothly from his seat, says, “Hi, Mom. Yes, I was coming to see you. There’s someone I want you to meet.” He shouts back into the kitchen. “Seb, take a break will you and come through.”

Sebastian’s slim, pretty, Latino face pokes around the door. “Yup?”

Chad strides over, takes him by the hand then tugs him into the room. “Mom, this is Sebastian, my husband.”

Her face goes slack, then her forehead knits. “Chad, dear, I don’t understand you. Why are you here with…” She casts a venomous glance at Charlotte… “… with her? I thought when you divorced her that would be the end of it.”

“Mom, I didn’t divorce Jenny. She divorced me. And this is why.” He swings up his hand, still entwined with Sebastian’s, then points to the gold band on the fourth finger. “My marriage to Jenny was never going to work, and it wasn’t her fault.”

James watches with an expression of fascination, propping an elbow on his chair arm and his chin on his knuckles.

Mrs Bennett’s face morphs through a kind of rainbow from pink through red to purple, which looks wrong on the face of a wasp.

Sebastian pipes up. “Can I get you a cup of tea, Mrs Bennett? We were all just getting to know each other.”

She doesn’t so much as look at him. Lips pursed tight she brushes dust from the tweed of her jacket. “Your father will have something to say about this.” And turning on her heel, she marches out, banging the door closed behind her.

Eleanor bursts into laughter. “Oh, God, Chad. Why did you not do that years ago? You would have saved everyone so much trouble…” Her eyes shift to Charlotte… “… and some of us a lot of anguish.”

Chad breathes deep, rubs the back of his head. “Yes, I should have done, shouldn’t I. But she’s my mother and…”

“… and she’s needed telling for a long time. She may be your mother but she’s also…” She shakes her head. “I don’t know. Jenny, when I think… That morning after your wedding when you were so upset. I wish I’d known.” She grinds to a halt, and the silence grows awkward.

“Eleanor,” says James. “I have a favour to ask. Am I right in thinking that Jenny here rode one of your horses?”

Her face breaks into a sunshine smile. “Of course, yes. Oh, you’ll want to see Charlie again while you’re here, won’t you Jenny?”

“I’d love to.”

Chad leans in close. “And now, you’re going to see a sight to behold.”

*****

Oh, my God…

I’ve never had a lot to do with horses. I’m a city boy. Horses are something from movies and racing tracks.

That’s going to change.

Charlotte sits astride a mare; very pretty, with a black mane, tail and lower legs. The rest of her…

“I didn’t know horses come in pink.”

James, arms resting on the timber rail of the fence, gives me a side-look. “The colouring pattern is called ‘bay roan’. I wouldn’t let any of the locals hear you describe her as ‘pink’ if I were you.”

I don’t care. I watch my wife riding her namesake.

The meadow stands two feet high in a swaying sea of grass, dotted in white and blue and yellow with wildflowers. The hum of insects rises over the whisper of the breeze. Charlotte sits atop Charlie, picking her way through at a slow walk.