MADELINE folded the last letter and placed it in the envelope, sealing it thankfully. There; she was finished!
She pulled the plastic cover over her typewriter, locked her drawer and slipped the keys into her shopping bag. Walking to the door she lifted down her sheepskin coat and put it on, surveying the room as she did so to satisfy herself that everything was tidied up for the week-end. Then, satisfied, she opened the door and stepped into the corridor outside.
The lone, rubber-tiled corridors stretched away ahead of her, flanked by classrooms and more corridors. Deserted now, without the chattering throng of boys and girls, it looked stark and uninspiring.
Suddenly the figure of George Jackson, the school porter, appeared from around one of the many comers and made his way towards her. Madeline smiled at his approach, liking the elderly custodian who looked after things so efficiently.
‘Not away yet, Mrs. Scott?’ he asked, as he neared her. ‘It’s past five o’clock, you know.’
Madeline nodded. ‘I’m just going, George. I’ve left the last few letters on my desk, as usual.’
‘All right, I’ll see to them.’ George searched his pockets for his pipe. ‘You get along now, my dear. That daughter of yours will be wondering where you are.’
‘You may be right,’ said Madeline, smiling again. ‘See you on Monday.’
She walked away down the corridor, her heels almost soundless on the rubber flooring. Although it was empty the school still had appeal for her. She enjoyed working there as secretary to Adrian Sinclair, the headmaster. She had been his secretary for over five years now, ever since they came to Otterbury, in fact.
The staff entrance opened on to the school car-park. Madeline, who owned a scooter, left it here and she walked quickly across to where it was parked, the only machine left on the car-park. As she kicked the starter she shivered. Although it was late March, the air was still icily cold in the mornings and evenings, and riding the scooter was not as much fun as it had been during the warm summer months.
She rode to the exit and slowed as she reached the main road. Traffic streamed by, mostly workmen leaving the nearby automobile factory. Although Otterbury was only a small town, the big new factory which had recently sprung up on its outskirts had enlarged the population considerably and new council houses were gradually being built to house the men who at present commuted from further afield.
She turned into the main stream when there was a break in the traffic and changing gear she increased her speed easily. She enjoyed the feeling of freedom the scooter gave her and the menacing vehicles which swarmed past her did not bother her a jot. She was not nervous, she never had been about driving, and riding the scooter took little effort.
Suddenly an enormous red car sped past her, its smooth, snake-like body a sure indication of unlimited speed. Madeline grimaced as the draught of its passing affected her like swell on the ocean and she was hardly righted again before she had to apply her brakes for all she was worth as the tail of the monster seemed to be hurtling at her. The driver had halted abruptly, twin brake lights like beacons illuminating the road even in daylight.
Madeline was too close. She put both feet to the ground tentatively, but the scooter was skidding and a second later she hit the rear of the other vehicle. It was not a severe bump. Her brakes had saved her that, but the scooter overturned and she landed in the road, feeling foolishly like a schoolgirl falling from her cycle.
As she attempted to scramble to her feet two strong hands assisted her, while a voice like crushed ice demanded: ‘Whatever do you think you’re doing?’
Madeline’s eyes widened, and she gazed up at the man confronting her so angrily. Was he actually blaming her? Why, he was the one to blame!
‘This is a highway, not a child’s playground!’ he continued relentlessly, his tone uncompromising. ‘You ought to think ahead. Or stay off the road altogether,’ he added, as an afterthought.
‘Now, wait a minute,’ began Madeline indignantly. ‘It was your fault for stopping so precipitately.’ She fumed as sardonic eyes surveyed her, and she wondered what nationality he really was. There was a faint but unmistakable accent in his voice that was definitely not English. ‘This road was not built for motor racing, and cars usually signify their intentions to give their followers forewarning—’
‘I am aware of that,’ he interrupted her. ‘All right, I admit I did stop abruptly, but if I hadn’t something much more serious could have happened. If you will walk round to the front of the car you’ll see for yourself.’
Straightening her shoulders, even though she felt a little shaky, Madeline walked slowly round the red monster. Then she halted, thrusting her hands into the pockets of her coat. Three vehicles were in collision in the centre of the road, a lorry and two cars, one of which had obviously run into the other two. A police car came whining up the road from Otterbury as she stood there, but happily no one seemed seriously injured.
‘Well?’ said her companion, looking rather amused now. ‘Does that convince you that my motives were reasonable?’
Madeline shrugged. ‘Of course. I’m sorry I was so quick to jump to conclusions, but really, a scooter doesn’t have the braking power of a car like this.’ She indicated the automobile.
The man inclined his head. Then he said, rather belatedly: ‘Are you hurt?’
Madeline could not suppress a smile. ‘No,’ she replied, shaking her head. ‘I’m all in one piece, thank you. You’d better examine your car. It’s much more likely to be in need of repair.’
He smiled too, rather mockingly, and Madeline found herself thinking what an attractive man he was. Tall, with broad shoulders tapering to slim hips, he was very tanned, and his eyes were a dark blue. His hair was very dark as well, and it was this that made Madeline think he might be a Spaniard, or an Italian. He moved with an easy fluid grace of movement and his attitude of indolence seemed to conceal a leashed vitality. The cut of his suit was impeccable and had obviously been made by a master craftsman, and the faint accent and his excellent grasp of English seemed to point to an expensive education. She wondered who he could be. She knew by sight most of the affluent people in Otterbury, but this man was a stranger. And, as though aware of her thoughts, he said:
‘As I am attached to the Sheridan factory, I hardly think we need concern ourselves with the repair of my car. Besides, it’s only slightly dented, as you can see.’
Sheridans was the car factory further up the road, an Italian–American concern, this being their first enterprise in England. That also seemed to explain his accent. He was obviously of Italian descent, but had probably spent many years in the States.
‘That’s all right, then,’ she said, bending to pick up the scooter and her shopping bag, which was fortunately closed. The man forestalled her, however, lifting the scooter effortlessly and scanning it with a practised eye.
‘Your scooter seems to be intact,’ he said. ‘If anything should go wrong just give us a ring and I’ll arrange to have it fixed. The number is Otterbury 2001.’
Madeline thanked him, conscious now of how dishevelled she must appear. As he handed her the scooter she was overwhelmingly conscious of his eyes appraising her quite openly and she felt her cheeks grow hot with embarrassment.
‘Th … thank you,’ she stammered, and kicked the starter. To her relief it started first time and she sat astride the seat and said: ‘Good-bye.’
‘Au revoir … Miss … Miss …?’ He smiled and waited for her answer.
‘It’s Mrs. Scott,’ she corrected him, and with a brief smile she rode away. She was aware of his eyes watching her as she rode down the road, and she prayed she would make no more mistakes.
Within seconds he sped past her, his hand lifted in acknowledgment, and she felt herself relax again.
Reaching the centre of Otterbury she turned right at the traffic lights towards Highnook. Highnook was a suburb of Otterbury where a lot of new housing had gone up, including the block of flats where Madeline lived with her daughter, Diana. The flats were in Evenwood Gardens, overlooking the River Otter, and Madeline always felt a thrill of pleasure when she reached her home. It was such a nice flat and Otterbury was such a pleasant town.
The flat was on the first floor, and as she opened the door and entered the small hallway, she called:
‘Diana! Are you home?’
There was no reply, so she closed the door and removed her coat. The living-room opened off the hallway. It was a large room with plain distempered walls which Madeline had ornamented with several plaques. The wall-to-wall carpeting, which had taken a lot of saving for, was sapphire blue, while the three-piece suite was white leather hung with dark blue fringed chair-backs. The heating was all electric, unfortunately, for Madeline preferred an open fire in at least one room. She now turned up the valve which operated the radiators, for although the room was warm compared to the cold air outside it was by no means comfortably so. The room had a homely, lived-in atmosphere. A china cabinet contained her few pieces of really good china and glass and the rest of the space was filled with bookshelves, well filled with novels, a television, and Diana’s pick-up which stood on a table in an alcove with a stack of ‘pop’ records beside it.
Madeline lit a cigarette and turned on the television. She had shopped at lunchtime and the chops she had bought for their dinner would not take much cooking.
Carrying her shopping bag through to the kitchen which opened off the lounge and was very tiny, she unpacked the food and put on the kettle. Then she returned to the lounge. It was nearly six, so Diana ought not to be long.
She walked into the bedroom which she and Diana shared. There was only one bedroom with a small bathroom and closet adjoining it. The flats were really only intended for one person, but as the two-bedroomed flats had been two pounds more a week, Madeline had had to content herself with the single bedroom. She did not mind for herself, but Diana was getting to an age when she objected to not having a room of her own. However, when they arrived in Otterbury after Joe’s death, Madeline had been grateful enough of a place of their own.
She stripped off her jersey dress and went into the bathroom to wash and brush her teeth. As she did so, she found herself wondering what the man in the car had really thought about her. She had found him immensely attractive, but then any woman would. She wondered how old he was. He had only looked to be in his early thirties and as she herself was thirty-three, he was probably about her age.
Brushing her hair, which when loosed from the French knot she usually wore it in fell to her shoulders, she wondered how old he had taken her for. She knew she did not really look her age. Adrian Sinclair was incessantly telling her that she looked more like Diana’s sister than her mother, but Adrian wanted to marry her and that was his way.
Of course, Diana grumbled sometimes too, that Madeline wore clothes which were not in keeping with her position as the headmaster’s secretary, and a respectable widow, but again, Diana was old-fashioned in some ways. She supposed that was due in some measure to Joe’s influence.
Critically, she decided that her eyes were her best feature, greenish-grey with tawny lights and her hair was silky-soft and the colour of rich amber. She was tall; too tall, she always thought, although at least she was nicely rounded and not angular. All in all, she reflected, she was an average, presentable female, but certainly not outstanding in any way.
Now the man, she sighed, he had been outstanding, in every way. She felt sure that dozens of women must have thought so too. After all, in his income bracket, if women were rather dull or drab, their beauty parlour, hair-stylist and plastic surgeon could soon remedy that. From the rather world-weary cynicism she had seen round his eyes and his mouth, he was all too bored with his life and well aware of his own magnetism.
Madeline grimaced at herself in the mirror, amused at her own thoughts. Good heavens, she was behaving like a child, simply because she had happened to meet a man who without question was way out of her sphere!
She slipped her arms into a quilted housecoat and as she buttoned it she pushed all thoughts of the man out of her mind. No matter how she felt, Diana was always her first consideration. Poor Diana, who after all had never really recovered from the shock of losing Joe when she was just seven years old.
As she merged from the bedroom, a key in the lock heralded the arrival of her daughter. Diana breezed in cheerfully enough, a slender, younger edition of Madeline except that her hair was dark brown. Diana was sixteen, and at the commercial college in Otterbury. She was often late home at present as the college was rehearsing for its end of term play and Diana had a starring role. They were performing a play written by another of the students and it was to be staged in the college hall with the proceeds going to local charities.
Diana was not as tall as Madeline and wore her hair fashionably long. Dressed in a dark grey duffel coat and swinging a tartan bag, she was a typical teenager.
‘Hello, Mum,’ she greeted Madeline, flinging her bag on to a chair, ‘Isn’t it cold tonight? I’m freezing!’
Madeline nodded. ‘Yes, it’s not much like spring,’ she agreed. ‘Did you have a good rehearsal?’
‘So-so,’ replied Diana, indifferently. ‘Miss Hawkes always tries to run the affair like a military tattoo, but apart from that it was all right. It seems such an uproar I’m sure it will never come right.’
Madeline chuckled. ‘It will on the night, I’m sure. Never mind, it will soon be over. Term ends in three weeks, doesn’t it?’
‘Yes, thank goodness. Gosh, then we’ll have two whole weeks with nothing to do! It will be glorious!’
Madeline smiled and went into the kitchen. As she prepared the vegetables and put the chops under the grill she decided not to say anything to Diana about falling off the scooter. After all, no harm had been done and Diana often said that Madeline ought to use the bus during peak traffic hours. Diana was a little possessive about her mother at times, probably due to the fact that she was her only relative, and Madeline did not want to cause her any more worry.
They had their dinner in the lounge. One end had been converted into a dining recess by the addition of a velvet curtain, shielding the table from view. Diana set the table while Madeline dished up the meal and they sat together afterwards, idly watching the television while Madeline had a cigarette with her coffee.
‘Shall I wash up?’ asked Diana, stretching lazily. ‘Is Uncle Adrian coming round tonight?’
‘I think Adrian’s coming and I should be grateful if you would do the washing up. I want to change into something more suitable.’
Diana smiled and rose to her feet and Madeline looked at her queryingly.
‘Are … are you going out tonight?’ she asked tentatively.
‘Why, yes. Jeff asked me to go to the Seventies Club.’
‘Oh!’ Madeline nodded.
‘Do you mind?’
Madeline ran a tongue over her lips. ‘No. No. Why should I?’
‘No reason, but I’ve noticed you don’t really enthuse about my going out with him.’
Madeline half-smiled. ‘I’m sorry, darling. Of course you must go.’
Diana shrugged. ‘Well, it’s something to do,’ she said lightly.
‘Yes. Besides, Adrian will probably be round later. He said he had some marking to do, but I guess he’ll find time,’ Madeline smiled wryly.
‘He always finds time for you,’ murmured Diana slyly.
Madeline compressed her lips. ‘Yes, that may be so. But that means nothing, Diana, absolutely nothing.’
Diana shrugged regretfully and began carrying the dishes through to the kitchen. Madeline stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray and walked through to the bedroom. She was becoming a little tired of Diana’s insinuations about herself and Adrian. Truthfully they were insinuations based on fact, but Madeline had no wish to make insinuations reality.
As she dressed in dark blue stretch slacks and an Italian silk over-blouse, she found herself wishing, not for the first time, that Joe was still alive. Diana was growing up now and becoming quite a responsibility in many ways. Also, she had worshipped Joe and he had adored her. He had been a bachelor for so many years before he married Madeline and he had found Diana utterly irresistible. Madeline wondered now whether her marrying Joe had precipitated his condition. He had certainly had more responsibilities and had worked hard in the years following their wedding. But his illness had been incurable, and the doctors had told her numerous times that she had made his last years happy ones.
She decided to leave her hair loose and emerged from the bedroom looking youthfully attractive. Diana was touching up her make-up with a deft hand. She wore only dark eyeshadow and lipstick, her olive skin not requiring any further cosmetic.
She looked critically over her shoulder at her mother.
‘Does Uncle Adrian approve of slacks?’ she asked pointedly.
Madeline looked amused. ‘I can hardly see how it matters,’ she answered lightly. ‘I’m wearing them, not Uncle Adrian.’
‘I know, but honestly, Mum, you’ll probably marry him one day and then you really will have to dress more in keeping with your position.’
‘My dear Diana, I have no intention of marrying Uncle Adrian. I’ve told him, and incidentally you, so a hundred times. Heavens, I’m thirty-three, not fifty-three, and although I’m sure it seems a great age to you, I don’t intend taking to my rocking chair yet.’
Diana frowned. ‘Uncle Adrian is no older than Daddy, would have been had he—’ She halted.
‘Oh, darling, I know. But that was different.’
‘How?’
Madeline glanced at her watch. ‘Isn’t it time you were going?’
Her daughter shrugged. ‘I suppose so. Okay, suit yourself.’ She pulled on the duffel coat. ‘I’ll go, then.’
‘All right, darling. Look after yourself.’
Diana kissed her mother’s cheek and whirled out of the flat. Madeline walked into the kitchen. Evidences of Diana’s hasty washing-up session were to be found on the floor which was almost swimming with water. The dish-mop was soaking and causing a wet stain to trickle over the window ledge and down the tiles to the sink.
Madeline squeezed out the dish-mop and taking the large mop she soaked up the water from the floor, wiping clean the parquet flooring. Then she put away the dishes which Diana had left on the bench, and returned to the lounge.
She had just settled herself in front of the television when the door bell pealed.
Lazily, she rose to her feet and padded to the door. Opening it, she found Adrian Sinclair waiting to be admitted.
Adrian was a tall lean man in his early fifties. Twenty years older than Madeline and a bachelor, he found his secretary utterly charming and desirable and all his hitherto undisturbed feelings were being violently churned by her apparent lack of romantic interest in him. Frankly, Madeline wondered what it was about her that appealed to older men. She found Adrian intellectually stimulating but emotionally cold, and marriages were not built on intellect alone. He made no headway in any other direction with her.
‘Come in, Adrian,’ she said, smiling now. ‘Is it still as cold?’
‘Colder,’ remarked Adrian, coming in and loosening his overcoat. ‘Hmm. This is a cosy room, Madeline. I always feel at home here.’
‘Good. I’m pleased.’ Madeline closed the door and relieved him of his coat before following him across the room. ‘Do you want a drink before I sit down?’
‘Thank you. I’ll have a small whisky.’
Adrian seated himself on the couch in front of the television where Madeline had been seated before his arrival and after pouring the drink, Madeline joined him.
She enjoyed Adrian’s companionship and his ready humour and was glad he made no strong attempts to force their relationship into anything more. He often broached the subject of marriage, but Madeline had tried to make it plain from the outset that there could never be anything more than friendship between them.
Adrian came to the flat as often as he was able, whether or not Diana was at home. He liked Diana and she was very fond of him. He had been Uncle Adrian since she was eleven years old and she saw no reason to change that now.
He owned a house in Otterbury, run for him by an efficient housekeeper. The house was near the Otterbury Secondary School of which he was headmaster, and although it was large and rather gloomy for a man living alone, he liked it, and kept it well filled with a selection of objets d’art which would furnish a museum. Madeline had sometimes mused that should he ever marry and have children about the house he would be in an eternal state of anxiety about his collection.
‘There was an accident on the Otterbury road today,’ he remarked now, casually. ‘Two cars and a lorry collided. It was in the late paper.’
‘Oh! Was there?’ Madeline suppressed her own knowledge of the accident. She had no intention of telling Adrian any more than Diana about her own mishap. Like Diana, he deplored her constant use of the scooter on the busy road and would have preferred her to use public transport on those evenings when he was unable to bring her home.
‘Yes. Some people move too fast for safety. Most of these collisions could be avoided with a little forethought.’
‘Oh, I agree,’ averred Madeline, sitting down beside him, and hoping her face would not give her away. ‘The traffic from Sheridans moves pretty fast.’
‘It does indeed. I’ll be glad when those houses are finished beyond the factory. Then those blighters won’t have to come into Otterbury to take the London road. Most of the cars make a racetrack of that stretch outside the school. I’m eternally grateful our crowd are away before them. Can you imagine what it would be like with a swarm of cyclists leaving our gates and trying to integrate with that lot? Heaven help them!’
Madeline accepted a cigarette from him and after they were both smoking, she said: ‘Have you ever been round the Sheridan factory?’
‘No. Not since it was opened. I once went over the site during the early stages of construction. It’s a terrific place. Apparently it will employ about five thousand men when it’s fully operational. They’ve brought several key workers over from Italy, of course, and from their factory near Detroit. I’ve heard that Nicholas Vitale himself has come over from Rome to make sure everything is going satisfactorily. Of course, he’s only here for a visit. He’s the big boss. His father started the business, you know. A man called Masterson is running this end. He’s an American, I believe, and he’s bought his family over. They’ve leased that house near Highnook. Ingleside, I believe it’s called.’
‘Yes, I know the place, Adrian. It’s enormous. Didn’t it belong to some penniless member of the aristocracy at one time?’
‘Yes. Old Lord Otterbury himself used to live there years ago.’ Adrian chuckled. ‘Trust Americans to install themselves in the local stately home!’
Madeline laughed. ‘It must be nice to be free from money worries.’
‘My dear Madeline, you too could be free from money worries if only you would let me take care of you.’
‘I know, Adrian, and I appreciate it. But I just can’t see myself as a headmaster’s wife, dispensing tea and sympathy to the parents of the children. I’m not the type, I’m afraid.’
‘Nonsense, Madeline, you would adapt yourself easily.’ Adrian sighed. ‘Seriously though, Diana would be agreeable to your marrying me. She’s like a daughter to me already.’
‘I know that, Adrian. She’s a great advocate for your cause. It’s simply that – well, I enjoy my freedom, and more important still – we’re not in love with one another.’
‘Were you in love with Joe?’ Adrian frowned when Madeline did not answer. ‘Besides, I do love you, Madeline. Being in love is for young people. We’re adults; mature people, not teenagers hankering after the moon. Wouldn’t you like to relax sometimes and put your feet up instead of rushing out to school every morning and working all day just to rush home again in the evenings?’
Madeline sighed. All that Adrian had said was true. Diana would be delighted if they got married. Indeed she would be very enthusiastic. She liked and respected Adrian and would enjoy the social distinction of being the headmaster’s stepdaughter. And Madeline knew how pleasant it would be to have loads of spare time to read all the books she would like to read; explore all the museums and art galleries that she enjoyed visiting; maybe even have a larger family.
At this she drew herself up with a start. She could never resign herself again to a life like that. She was not a mercenary person at heart and the idea of marrying someone for the material benefits that were to be enjoyed appalled her. She couldn’t do it. She and Diana had managed alone this far, and in a couple of years Diana would be working and able to supply herself with the little luxuries that Madeline could not always afford.
‘I’m sorry, Adrian,’ she said, sighing again. ‘I couldn’t do it. Much as I like and respect you, I don’t see how we could make a go of it. You’re too set in your ways to change anyway. You would hate having a teenager in the house, upsetting your precious collection and rousing you at all hours to the sound of the latest pop group. You have no idea what it would be like.’
‘Nonsense,’ said Adrian once more. Then he sighed as he saw the reluctance on her face. ‘All right. Forget it. Anyway, where is Diana tonight?’
‘She’s gone to the Seventies Club with Jeffrey Emerson. Do you know him?’
‘I know of him,’ replied Adrian thoughtfully. ‘His brother is in the first year at my school, but Jeffrey goes to the Grammar, doesn’t he?’
‘Yes. He’s only seventeen. He has taken his Advanced Levels in G.C.E. and now he’s waiting for a place at university.’
‘Ah, yes. I remember Hetherington was talking about him the last time we had dinner together.’ Mr. Hetherington was the headmaster of the Grammar School. ‘He said that his mother is quite different, however. He can hardly believe that Jeffrey is her son. She’s quite coarse, I believe.’
Madeline bit her lip. ‘Jeffrey is quite a handsome boy and as you say he is intelligent, but I wonder sometimes if he’s a little wild, at least away from school.’
Adrian frowned. ‘Yes. Maybe.’ He looked ponderous. ‘Are you worried about his influence on Diana?’
‘Yes. Yes, I am.’
‘But Diana isn’t a tearaway.’
‘Oh, I know.’ Madeline moved restlessly. ‘It’s just that she’s so young.’
Adrian shrugged. ‘They mature earlier these days. Diana is a sensible girl. She would never behave stupidly.’
‘Wouldn’t she?’ Madeline rose to her feet. ‘Wouldn’t she?’ She smiled. ‘No. I suppose not.’
Adrian smiled too. ‘Look, I know how you feel. You’re her guardian. You feel doubly responsible because she has no father.’
‘What … what does Jeffrey’s father do?’
‘He works for a firm of haulage contractors,’ answered Adrian. ‘As I said before, Jeffrey is certainly the changeling in that family.’
The Seventies Club was located over a coffee bar of the same name in Otterbury High Street. Its members were all teenagers from the local schools or the technical colleges and the music was provided by a jukebox which was provided free by the owner.
This Friday evening it was packed with youngsters, all gyrating and turning madly to the lusty music issuing from the jukebox. A low bar along one wall served coffee or Coca-Cola and the lighting was subdued and mellow.
Diana Scott and Jeffrey Emerson were dancing together and as the music ended, Diana collapsed, laughing, against her partner.
‘Gosh,’ she exclaimed, ‘I’m fagged out. Shall we sit down for a while?’
Jeffrey grinned down at her, and his arms closed round her, holding her a prisoner.
‘I’d rather stay like this,’ he murmured softly, and Diana blushed scarlet. She liked Jeff very much and was pleased that lately their relationship seemed to be entering a more serious stage. She had never had a steady boy-friend before and she wanted to be like the other girls who spent their time discussing the merits of different boys.
She wriggled free, however, and holding his hand, she drew him across the room to the bar. They perched on stools together and Jeffrey ordered two coffees and took out a packet of cigarettes which he offered to Diana. Diana shook her head and Jeffrey lit his own and put them back in his pocket.
‘I thought you intended to try smoking sometimes,’ he remarked lazily.
‘I did … I do.’ Diana bit her lip.
‘You’re frightened,’ he jeered, and she stiffened her shoulders.
‘No, I’m not. Give me one.’
Shrugging, Jeff handed her a cigarette and lit it. Diana drew on it as she had seen other people doing and then began to cough chokingly.
Jeff grinned and pounded her on the back and Diana shuddered.
‘Ugh, it’s horrible!’ she exclaimed. ‘I don’t know how you can.’
‘You must persevere,’ said Jeff. ‘Go on, have another drag.’
‘No, thank you.’ Diana was adamant. She threw the cigarette on the floor and put her foot on it.
‘Hey!’ Jeff was indignant. ‘They don’t grow on trees, you know.’
‘No. Plants,’ replied Diana sarcastically, and Jeff looked furious.
‘Very amusing,’ he said coldly, and stalked off across the dance floor.
Diana was flabbergasted. She had never dreamed he would walk away and leave her. Her heart was pounding rapidly and she felt herself going cold inside.
She knew that all the other girls at the Club envied her her association with Jeffrey Emerson. He was a very attractive boy and could have his pick of the girls. That he should choose her had always thrilled her enormously because prior to the last two months he had treated her like a child. Since she had started at the Commercial College she had grown up greatly and did not realize just how appealing she was with her silky hair and wide eyes. When he had started dating her, her prestige with the others had gone up a lot, and part of his attraction was that he was the current heart-throb.
The music had started again and she saw him approach a slim, fair girl and obviously ask her to dance. Diana felt hurt and angry. How dared he treat her like this? She had a good mind to go home. But she knew she wouldn’t. She would wait and see whether he came back. It was galling, but she couldn’t walk out on him. Not now.
She ordered another coffee and sat sipping it pensively. If he didn’t come back between dances she would have to go home. It would be awful!
She was in the depths of despair, two dances later, when she was aware that someone had joined her. Hardly daring to look round, she gave him a sidelong glance. To her relief, it was Jeff.
Jeff’s face was rather remote, but he said:
‘Do you want to dance?’
Diana felt her hands go clammy. ‘I … well, do you?’
He shrugged. ‘Yes. I’m going to dance,’ he replied coolly.
‘All right.’ She slid off her stool.
The music was slow and haunting now, a love-song being crooned by a current disc idol. Jeff drew her into his arms and put his cheek against her hair. They moved slowly, their arms wrapped round each other. Diana could feel herself trembling and he murmured: ‘Relax.’
‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered, aware of herself apologizing for nothing. But anything was better than his indifference.
Jeff looked down at her. ‘Are you?’ he asked.
‘Why did you walk away?’ she murmured, looking anxious.
‘I don’t like being treated like an idiot.’
‘But I wasn’t … oh, Jeff, I guess I am silly at times. Can’t we forget about it?’
Jeff’s eyes softened. ‘All right, Diana. I guess I was as much to blame for taking the huff. Did I make you jealous?’
Diana blushed. ‘Yes, you succeeded in that direction,’ she remarked softly, against his neck, and felt his arms tighten possessively about her.
When the music ended he glanced at his watch.
‘It’s nine-thirty,’ he said quietly. ‘Let’s go, hmn?’
She nodded and went to collect her coat. Outside the air was clear but bitterly cold and they walked swiftly along to the bus stop. Jeff lived at the opposite end of Otterbury, near the secondary school, in fact, but he always saw Diana right home.
The bus dropped them at the end of Evenwood Gardens and they walked up the darkened road towards the second block of flats where the Scotts lived. Before they reached the second block, between the two tall buildings, was a small ornamental garden with flower beds and a bench set among rose trees and rhododendron bushes. The last few dates they had had together had ended on the bench where they said a prolonged goodnight to each other. Although it was cold they still walked through the gardens to the bench, but they did not sit down tonight. It had been raining earlier in the day and everywhere was still slightly damp, but the bushes at least provided a little privacy.
‘Well,’ said Diana, looking up at Jeff, ‘thanks for bringing me home.’
‘It was a pleasure,’ he said softly, pulling her to him, close against his warm body. ‘Oh, Diana,’ he groaned urgently, and his mouth met hers.
Diana slid her arms around him, returning his kiss more responsively than ever. Their minor upset this evening had merely served as an incentive to their mutual attraction for one another and Diana, no less than Jeff, found something infinitely more absorbing in their embrace than ever before.
Diana knew very little about kissing of this kind, not being as old as Jeff or as experienced, but she was aware of a kind of danger not far away. Something about his intense hold on her and the increased tenor of his breathing warned her he was emotionally disturbed in a way hitherto unknown to her. With a feeling of revulsion, she suddenly drew back and swallowed hard.
Jeff fastened his overcoat with unsteady fingers and said:
‘Have you any idea what kissing like that does to a fellow?’ in a tight, withdrawn voice.
Diana bit her lip and clenched her fists. ‘Is … is something wrong?’ she asked nervously.
Jeff laughed shortly and mirthlessly. ‘Oh, no. Not at all.’ He looked furious. ‘Look, I’ve got to go.’
‘Will … will I see you tomorrow?’
Jeff hesitated, and then hunched his shoulders. ‘Oh, yes, I guess so. I have a lecture in the morning, but tomorrow afternoon I’m refereeing the rugby match. Would you like to come?’
‘Could I?’ Diana was interested.
‘Of course. We could have tea afterwards at my mother’s and then go to the pictures in the evening. If you’d like to.’
Diana looked more at ease. ‘I’d love to, you know that. Will your mother mind?’
Jeff shook his head. ‘Of course not. Well?’
Diana smiled. ‘All right.’
Jeff managed a smile in return and thrust his hands into the pockets of his coat. ‘I must go now,’ he said. ‘See you tomorrow. We’ll meet at the school.’
He left her at the entrance to the flats and then walked back down the gardens to catch his bus.
When Diana opened the door of the flat and went in she found her mother just preparing coffee and sandwiches in the kitchen while Adrian Sinclair was stretched out on the settee watching the television. It was apparently the repeat of a football match held in some continental country and after greeting Diana, Adrian returned to his viewing while Diana went out to the kitchen to see her mother.
Madeline smiled cheerfully at her. ‘Well?’ she said. ‘Did you have a good time?’
‘Yes, thanks,’ said Diana, sighing a little as she remembered the kiss they had exchanged. She supposed idly it was the first real kiss she had ever experienced. Prior to tonight all the kisses she had been given were light, casual affairs, and even Jeff had been the same. Now suddenly it was all different. Tonight’s kiss had been full of emotions that she had not realized existed.
Madeline was looking at her curiously and she asked: ‘Why the faraway look in your eyes? Where have you been?’
‘Just to the Club,’ exclaimed Diana, flushing and feeling rather embarrassed. ‘I … we … I’ll go and get undressed, Mum, and then I can go straight to bed after supper.’
‘All right, darling.’ Madeline frowned to herself. There was something different about Diana tonight and she couldn’t decide what it was. It disturbed her to realize that Diana was getting to the stage where she did not tell her mother everything.
