That he should reappear like that, in a coffee shop she had never entered before and would never enter again! The third continued to be unpleasant to the inspector and his assistant, letting him know that their call on his mistress, official though it might be, was inappropriate. ‘It’s not a good idea for us to go out anywhere alone, Billy. There was that prowler, you remember. Sometimes it terrified her that her life was advancing, had advanced, in fact, and she had not achieved her potential. Couldn’t you call tomorrow?’ ‘Goodbye, Mère.’ She had not called her mother-in-law Mère for many years, and Alice listened. Her social vivacity deflected totally the purpose of the meal. ‘Bratsie and I used to stick pins in this bell on Halloween when we were kids, and the bell rang inside interminably, and Edith would have a fit, but Brats and I would run like hell, and…’ But Ann was never interested in Billy’s endless reminiscences of dead Bratsie Bleeker and was not listening. Why?’ She was crying now, the sobs coming out of her in great heaving gasps. When that face crept into her dreams, as it began to do, she awakened from her pill-induced sleep, her satin-and-lace nightgown drenched with wet sweat, her moist hair clinging soggily to her face and forehead. The curtains had been drawn, but the window was unlocked, and he pushed it up and crawled in. She began to worry about her reception. He was planning to take Third up in the new plane for the first time in the morning, and it was getting late. The house in Oyster Bay, with no buyers interested, was closed up. It said she had a history of heart ailments. Outside, on the East River, a tugboat passed, the same as any of a dozen tugboats that had passed in the last few hours. He said that in time he would like to shoot big game, tigers in India, and the exoticism of the desire appealed to the entire family’s perception of son, brother, and heir to the name Grenville. Somebody told me you’d changed your name to Arden and gone into the show business, like you always wanted to when you was a little girl. She knew perfectly well who they all were. It's a big book and a quick read, sad, entertaining, and full of cynical gossip. Mrs Grenville was a bidder and a buyer, and her knowledge of French furniture of the eighteenth century was respected by the authorities of the auction house. If he was dead, you wouldn’t wonder if he was going to remember or not.’ ‘Now listen, you,’ said Ethel, putting her arm around her daughter. On February 19, 1943, Ann Grenville, who was then called Ann Arden, and before that had been called Urse Mertens, walked into the life of Ensign William Grenville, Junior. ‘But the flowers, my darling, the orchids are so lovely, and we have our wonderful son.’ ‘Yes,’ he said. I’ll call Felicity. In many ways I was frightened of my kids when they were little. When Sam Rosenthal continued, his voice was more gentle. He looked away from her. She smiled at him. ‘Ann,’ cried the woman, reining in her horse. Then she reached inside again and began taking out packets of money that had been sitting in the safe for more than twenty years, since the kidnapping scare. Let’s put it that way,’ said Babette, reaching for another chocolate. Bertie Lightfoot could not decide between two Fabergé eggs 360 Two Mrs Grenvilles.indd 360 05/03/2009 18:54 the t wo m r s g re n v i l l e s and was told he could take both. ‘Yes, you have,’ replied Alice, calmly meeting her gaze, without challenge in it, so certain was she of her position. Why?’ ‘Get him for me on the telephone.’ ‘Mère, it’s three o’clock in the morning.’ ‘Tell him it’s Mrs William Grenville, the mother-in-law of Mrs William Grenville, Junior. ‘We were so sorry about Third.’ ‘He was lovely, Third,’ answered Ann. He spent 114 Two Mrs Grenvilles.indd 114 05/03/2009 18:53 the t wo m r s g re n v i l l e s a number of hours there each day, involving himself in unimportant business, reading newspapers and magazines, checking with his stockbroker on conservative investments, making dates for squash or backgammon. The chauffeur, Lee, picked them up at their schools in New York and drove them and the new cook, Anna 186 Two Mrs Grenvilles.indd 186 05/03/2009 18:54 the t wo m r s g re n v i l l e s Gorman, out to the house in Oyster Bay. In a manila envelope delivered by messenger was an advance copy of Monsieur, an elegant magazine with a literary following, containing a chapter from Basil Plant’s long-awaited novel, intended to prove to his detractors that his writing career was neither blocked nor finished. I trust this is all confidential, what we are discussing?’ ‘Completely.’ ‘I do not want him to be aware that I suspect him.’ ‘No problem there.’ ‘His office is on Wall Street, but he lunches most days uptown at the Brook Club, or the Racquet Club, or the Knickerbocker Club. He said it was the happiest day of his life, and, oh, Lyd, if you could have seen Mr Grenville, he was bursting, absolutely bursting, with fatherly pride. ‘Yes,’ replied Cordelia. Kiss, kiss, kiss. Tell me everything. The Eburys. ‘He asked us lots of questions,’ said Third. There was a shyness about her that was appealing. ‘Thank you, Millicent.’ Wanting to rush through the condolence, she allowed it its full course for the favor she was about to ask. Cordelia and Junior both leaped to their feet to show her in which direction to go. Her vermeil clock, which had once been given to the Empress Elizabeth of Austria by the mad King Ludwig of Bavaria, struck three. 66 Two Mrs Grenvilles.indd 66 05/03/2009 18:53 the t wo m r s g re n v i l l e s ‘What’s “homestead” mean?’ she asked finally. Her voice was now placating. Get someone to do it for you,’ said Ann. ‘There’s not another train for fifty-five minutes,’ she said. ‘Why did he stop?’ she asked him. Among themselves the sisters laughed at the grandeur of their sister-in-law. I listen beautifully. ‘Give me an instance.’ ‘You told me your father was dead. Relations are arriving by the hour from everywhere. ‘Really?’ ‘A chip off the old block,’ replied Sunny Jim, knocking back the only whiskey he allowed himself. 96 Two Mrs Grenvilles.indd 96 05/03/2009 18:53 the t wo m r s g re n v i l l e s ‘But you had no way of knowing,’ said Alice, relenting, willing to let the moment pass. How about if we sold this farm and moved into Pittsburg?’ ‘Who would buy it, Mama? With no guile on her part, simply forgetfulness, she became instantly pregnant. The brief announcement of the marriage in the New York Times, strategically placed, without a bridal picture, made by Mrs William Grenville, Senior, said that the wedding of her son, Ensign William Grenville, Junior, to Miss Ann Arden had taken place at St Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Tacoma, Washington. There is no thought of divorce, but I am most anxious to protect my marriage. Flap them, my darling, but do not marry her! I think it embarrassed her that she had shown me her dark side so blatantly, but I was madly in love with her then, and she almost made me believe that I had imagined the moment.’ ‘Could she kill, do you think?’ ‘Dear God, Esme, we’re talking about my wife.’ ‘Could she?’ 160 Two Mrs Grenvilles.indd 160 05/03/2009 18:54 the t wo m r s g re n v i l l e s ‘On safari, none of the natives wanted to be with her. To the right of her was Billy’s body. ‘He always has been. I’ve asked him not to talk with you, just to do what has to be done as quickly as possible. ‘There was a note, written on a Mother’s Day card.
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