A Daughter’s Dream. Cathy Sharp

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СКАЧАТЬ wouldn’t marry a man so much older than you, would you?’

      ‘No, certainly not. I wouldn’t have Major Bradwell whatever age he was. Besides …’ She wrinkled her nose in concentration. ‘I am not sure I want to marry anyone, Amy. My father and Aunt Emily both say I should marry into a good family but I don’t think I could unless I was in love. I’m not sure I’d want to, even then.’

      ‘I think it will be nice to be married, to the right man, of course.’

      ‘It might be worth trying if he was like Paul …’ She sighed. ‘That would never be allowed, of course.’

      I thought I understood what she meant.

      ‘Cousins are allowed to marry, aren’t they?’

      ‘Not in my family. Aunt Emily certainly wouldn’t approve. She says there’s bad blood in the Ross side of the family and my father wants more than that for me. I think he hopes I’ll marry a viscount or something – and he doesn’t get on with Paul’s father. They had a huge row years ago.’

      ‘You wouldn’t really want to marry Paul – would you? Not if he’s so moody.’

      ‘Perhaps not.’ Mary looked thoughtful, unsure. ‘I’d rather marry Paul than most of the men I know, but it won’t happen. Daddy would do something to stop us.’ She shivered despite the heat of the sun, and once again I sensed something hidden – something that bothered her deeply. ‘No, I mustn’t even think of it.’

      ‘You might meet someone wonderful at a dance, Mary.’

      ‘I might,’ she agreed. ‘If I don’t I can always go off and become a nun or something.’

      I laughed because there was mischief in her eyes and I believed she was joking.

      ‘Make the most of your Season first then, Mary.’

      ‘I intend to,’ she said and giggled. ‘My father is giving an evening party for my friends next Friday. Would you come, Amy? He phoned me and told me to ask whomever I want.’

      ‘He probably didn’t mean a shop girl, Mary.’

      ‘Daddy owns shops …’ She frowned, again seeming uncertain. It was becoming clear to me that Mary’s feelings about her father were very mixed. At times she seemed almost to fear him, at others to accord him a reluctant respect. ‘At least, I think he does. He owns all kinds of things. He won’t even ask who you are. I shall tell him I like you and he won’t care about anything else.’

      ‘Well …’ I hesitated and was lost as I saw the eagerness in her eyes. ‘I should like to come, Mary. What do I wear?’

      ‘A long dress of some kind. It doesn’t have to be extravagant, just fairly formal. Daddy doesn’t like short dresses, especially in the evening. He says decent women shouldn’t show too much of their legs.’

      ‘I had better not wear my best suit then. Don’t worry, Mary. I’m sure I can find something suitable.’

      I decided I would wear the dress I’d made for my eighteenth birthday party. It was the only formal evening gown I possessed.

      ‘If not, I could lend you something. You could soon alter it to fit you.’

      ‘Not if I’m going to have your gown ready on schedule.’

      ‘I’m looking forward to wearing that,’ Mary said. ‘How is it coming along? Have you done any more designs that might suit me?’

      ‘Yes, one or two. I’ll show them to you when you come for the final fitting.’

      Since the subject had turned to fashion, we talked about various ideas. Mary had heard of Coco Chanel, of course, but her aunt did not approve of the French designer’s casual style.

      ‘I’m sure Aunt Emily would have me wearing whalebone corsets if she could,’ Mary said and laughed.

      ‘My mother thought my Chanel-style suit was too short at first, but my father bought it for me so she couldn’t forbid me to wear it.’

      We talked about clothes until lunch, and then Mary took me inside. The house seemed dark and cold after the warmth of the sun, but despite the formality I could see that it was the home of a very wealthy man. There were antiques, silver and what I presumed were valuable paintings and huge mirrors in each of the rooms we passed through, and the dining table was set with beautiful crystal, china and silver.

      The meal itself was very nice. We had iced soup with watercress to start, followed by fresh salmon poached in white wine with tiny new potatoes, minted peas and green beans. For dessert there was a choice of lemon meringue pie or chocolate cake and coffee. The white wine was chilled and delicious. I was careful to drink only one glass, because I was afraid it might make me giggle. I wasn’t used to drinking wine in the middle of the day, or at any time really.

      After lunch, Mary put some jazz records on the gramophone and we practised a new dance that had just come from America.

      ‘Did you know there’s a craze for marathon dancing out there?’ she said. ‘They just go on and on for hours at a time.’

      ‘Yes, I know. I read about a new record for the amount of hours danced in the paper. It’s absolutely mad, isn’t it?’

      ‘My father goes to America sometimes,’ Mary said. ‘I went with him once on a huge liner. It was quite exciting. They have some marvellous shops in New York, and the women have fabulous furs and jewels. Daddy says he may retire there one day. I hope he doesn’t make me go with him; I don’t think I would like it.’

      ‘Oh, my uncle has gone out there to live with his new wife. Why didn’t you like it, Mary?’

      ‘It was nice for a holiday but I prefer the country. We have a lovely house in Hampshire, much nicer than this. You must come and stay with me for the whole weekend, Amy. We could go down in one of Daddy’s cars and stay there – just you and me.’

      ‘Would your father allow that?’

      ‘Oh yes, he scarcely ever goes there himself. It was my mother’s house really, left her by her grandmother. She lived there most of the time after … after she couldn’t have more children.’

      ‘It sounds nice, Mary, but I would have to have time off. I usually work on Saturday mornings.’

      ‘Miss O’Rourke would let you off for once,’ Mary said. ‘Especially if you were working on dresses for me.’ She gave me a wicked smile. ‘I could order several if I wanted – and tell all my acquaintances where I bought them.’

      ‘That’s blackmail, Mary.’ I was both amused and shocked by this revelation of another side of her character.

      ‘Well, why not? I’m not above using a little persuasion if it gets me what I want. Other people do it all the time.’

      I wondered what kind of people she knew, but didn’t comment. I wasn’t sure I liked this side of Mary. I preferred the shy, gentle girl she seemed to be most of the time. But there appeared to be two sides to her, and I thought she was probably more like her cousin than she knew or СКАЧАТЬ