Chapter 70: Chapter 70: The Girl Who Came Back - Chapter Twenty-Six

“Anyhow,” continues Haswell, “I think that a fitting conclusion to this is that we all get to know each other a little better. I would like to invite you to dinner at my home. I think it is about time that my fellow director met my wife, and I think, Charlotte, that you and Elizabeth would get along rather well.”

My Master looks stunned, but only briefly. Quickly he gathers himself. “Thank you, Richard, I’d like that.”

“And, when I say you….” continues Haswell, “I mean the three of you, since you appear to be a stable… unit… I think that, at least for the purposes of getting to know each other, you should all attend.”

As we leave, my Master mutters under his breath to me. “This should be interesting.”

*****

We pull up the long, curved drive of a small mansion.

“Wow!” I say. “What a gorgeous place.”

The tree-lined, gravelled carriageway, set in manicured lawns, leads to an elegant portico: tiled steps leading up to a door, stone lions to either side.

My Master, wearing his best suit, rings the doorbell. Michael, also ‘suited and booted’ holds my hand.

Unsure what to wear, I have chosen the safe option, and am wearing a classic ‘little black dress’;

demure but sexy.

The door is answered by a man I do not recognise. “James Alexanders….” says my Master, “…with my friends.”

“Good evening Mr Alexanders. Do come in. Mr and Mrs Haswell are expecting you.”

Inside, the house is elegant, warm and obviously old. A mix of architectures suggests that it has been built and worked on over several centuries, but the style is mainly Georgian, all plaster coving, chandeliers, and tall windows.

The man leads us into a drawing room where Haswell and a woman are waiting for us. He has an air of expectant waiting about him.

“Good evening James, Charlotte, and you must be Michael?” He reaches to shake hands. “And this is my wife, Elizabeth.”

She is tall, willowy, red-headed and pale skinned, a few years older than me I think, but otherwise, I could be looking into a mirror. We stare at each other.

Finally, she speaks. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, Charlotte. Richard has told me a lot about you. He… didn’t exaggerate.”

Remembering my manners, I step forward to shake her hand. “Nice to meet you, Mrs Haswell.”

“It’s Beth. And, you too.”

The men are standing silently looking at us. Michael looks utterly mesmerised, my Master intrigued.

Haswell looks amused. “Forgive me, but I’d already met Charlotte. This is a surprise for you two.”

My Master shakes his head. “I feel like I’m seeing double.” Then, “My apologies, lovely to meet you at last, Beth. Your husband talks about you all the time.” And he steps to kiss her on the cheek.

Michael simply nods, smiling at her, then glancing back at me.

*****

The dinner is excellent. It turns out that the man who showed us in, Ross, is also the chef and is Haswell’s driver. Since in addition, he serves as butler for the meal, he seems unlikely to be out of work anytime soon.

Beth turns to me. “So, Richard tells me that you’re hoping to join us, as a trainee?”

“Mmm, yes. I’d already been thinking about changing my course when I saw the plans for the new City Project. When I saw how all that old part of town was being replaced in that way, it just fired me up. I wanted to be part of it. I’m hoping Mr Haswell will, um, sign me up.”

“Let’s not sit on ceremony, Charlotte. It’s Richard.” He looks intrigued. “It sounds as though you know that part of town well?”

“Mmm… yes. Grew up there,” I reply, immediately regretting my words.

My Master swings to face me, puzzled. “I thought your parents were on a farm somewhere up north?”

Oh, hell. Now, what do I say?

“Um... not actually my parents. My foster parents.”

Uncomfortable, I concentrate on my food, conscious that my Master is staring at me.

“Foster parents? But Charlotte, you’ve talked to me about your parents. You said you were visiting them at Christmas.”

Well, it’s out now….

“Yup. Still my foster parents…. Didn’t stay long really. They weren’t too keen to have me hanging around. I was… I was, er…. a bit of a handful when they had me….

Richard purses his lips, suppressing a smile. “No…? Really?”

Trying to ignore his comment, “…. I went back to the City instead, trying to look up some of my old friends, but when I got there, I found it had all been bulldozed.”

Richard breaks in. “You look unsettled, Charlotte. I’m sorry. Did it upset you when you found your childhood home demolished?”

“Not at all,” I say, through a mouthful of food. “You can turn a flamethrower on it for me….”

Richard raises his eyebrows, sitting back in his chair. Realising that I have just been unconscionably rude, I try to take back my words.

“Um, sorry. Didn’t mean it to come out like that. My apologies.”

Richard regards me under hooded eyelids. I can almost see the wheels turning in his head. “No apology needed, Charlotte.” He speaks slowly, choosing each word. “You grew up in that area and went to foster parents…?”

My throat tightens….

He continues. “You were in a children’s home then? Was it by any chance, Blessingmoors?”

Mumbling through my food. “That’s the one.” I gulp down a mouthful of wine, and then another.

Michael and my Master are both staring at me. Michael takes my hand in his.

Richard continues. “You are correct, of course. We demolished that…. institution… towards the end of last year. The reason we demolished it, rather than renovating and rebuilding, is that there were a number of…. scandals… associated with it.”

I say nothing.

Michael silently squeezes my fingers. My Master takes the other hand. “Charlotte, why have you never spoken of any of this? I… Michael and I.… had no idea….”

It is not easy to speak, and I am fighting back a rising tide of panic. “The subject never came up. And since I’ve been with the two of you, always I could enjoy living in the present, or even better, look to the future. I never needed to think about the past.…”

Beth stands up suddenly, her chair scraping back. “Enough, you men! Leave her alone. She’s had enough without you digging and probing.... Let her enjoy her meal.”

For a moment, there is a stunned silence, then Beth turns to Michael. “So, what do you do Michael?

Are you an architect or engineer too?”

“No, not me.” he smiles, still holding my hand. “I run ‘Life and Fitness’, down in the west end.”

“Really?” says Richard. “I think Beth uses your services a couple of times a month, don’t you Beth.”

“Yes, I go there with my friends sometimes for a massage, and to use the gym. Perhaps we’ve met before?”

Michael looks at her, with his beautiful blue eyes, shaking his head. “I’m quite sure I would have remembered.”

*****

The dinner over, Beth stands up. “I’m going to show Charlotte around the house and gardens and have a chat. You three, talk among yourselves. Enjoy your brandy and cigars, or whatever it is men do….”

She hooks an arm through mine and picks up a bottle from the table. “C’mon Charlotte. Let’s leave ‘em to it. I’m dying to have a gossip with you…” Then she scans the table. “In fact, bring that other bottle with you. I don’t think this is going to be a one-bottle-of-wine talk…”

Richard and my Master glance at each other. “Do you think we should be worried?” asks Richard.

“Yes, I think we should.”

Michael sits back in his chair, saying nothing, looking thoughtful.