He did it in the hope that you would one day be proud to take over here, but no. You couldn’t wait to be gone. Just like your mother. She was nothing but a basket full of bad decisions too.’
Henry felt his mouth thin and wondered if his eyes had grown hard and narrow. ‘Don’t forget her crippling lack of self-worth. Wonder how she came by that.’
‘Henry,’ his grandfather warned.
‘Rein it in. I know.’ When had he ever not?
‘Neglect happens.’ His grandfather sat back in his chair, still broad of shoulder and firm of jaw, even if his eyes looked like they’d seen a lifetime of war. ‘And sometimes it doesn’t matter much in the grand scheme of things if a farm remains empty and land remains left to its own devices for a few years. So what? Four generations of slightly neglected family-held land will go to the highest bidder when we die, and a new family will set down roots and be happy here. The land will clean up a treat under good stewardship. Trust me. The bones are there.’
‘I’d like to help.’ And maybe that was what he should have said all along. ‘How can I help?’
His grandfather wouldn’t hold his gaze. ‘Just be here and do what you’ve been doing. Small favours around the house. Keeping us company. That’s been grand.’
‘Oh, grand, yes,’ his grandmother piped up. ‘Driving us into town to see friends and go dancing—that’s been marvellous, hasn’t it, George? I haven’t danced like that in such a long time.’
‘George?’ Who the hell was George? And … dancing? But his grandfather nodded, even as his eyes pleaded with Henry to make nothing of his wife’s words.
‘That’s right, love.’
‘You could come back to London with me. Stay awhile,’ Henry began, but his grandfather was already shaking his head.
‘We talked about that and decided against it. We don’t want the worry of travel and getting ill. We have everything we need right here. And now that you’re free of your work commitments you might even decide to start back up again in Australia. Or somewhere else not so far away, so we could see more of you. Or stay in London—whatever you need to do.’
‘You could visit more often, couldn’t you George?’ his grandmother said, only Henry had no idea who she was talking to, because there was no one here called George at all.
But they were both looking to him for a reply. ‘I’m sure I could,’ he offered slowly, guided by his grandfather’s nod. Wouldn’t be hard to visit more than once every three-and-a-half years, now would it? Shame flooded in, even as his grandfather rose from his chair and motioned for Henry to follow.
‘Stay there, love. I’ll put the kettle on and see to the dishes.’
‘And I’ll help.’ Henry waited until they were out of earshot before confronting his grandfather. ‘Who’s George?’
‘Her brother. He died before you were born. She just … forgets names sometimes. It’s nothing.’
‘Have you had her tested?’
‘For what?’ Defensiveness rang in the older man’s voice. ‘There’s nothing wrong.’
‘But—’
‘Enough, Henry. It’s nothing.’ The older man could not hold his gaze. ‘Nothing I can’t handle.’
*
Silly Tilly was a name she hadn’t worn in years, but every time Matilda stepped outside Henry’s beautiful apartment and braved this bold new world full of people and colour and movement and smells, her old nickname came to mind. She’d followed Henry’s directions to the letter and braved the clothing boutique, the restaurant and the gallery. The day after that she’d hit a fancy tea shop and left with a loose-leaf Earl Grey that she wasn’t sure she liked, and a kitschy white teapot with Queen Elizabeth’s elderly face painted on it. It was hideous, but the shop attendant had been so nice and asked her where she was from and how long she was staying and did she need any souvenirs, so …
It was the teapot or a Big Ben biscuit tin and the teapot had been smaller.
The following evening she caught a double-decker red bus, and it was the right number—the one Len had told her would take her straight into the city. Such a pity it had been going the other way. Out of London Central and off to somewhere called Peckham. By the time she’d turned around and arrived at the West End theatre, the show had already started and she’d had to wait in the foyer for a break before they’d let her in. She had one of the best seats