Greyglass, Tanith Lee [general ebook reader .txt] 📗

said, Todd, who seldom wanted sex, only that Crissie go with him to various functions, and act “as if I can’t keep my hands off him.”

“Isn’t that –?”

“No,” cried Crissie, “it’s fun, like acting in drama. I love it. He’s brilliant too. We scream afterwards.”

She spoke of them all undamningly. She never told Susan anything much, either, carefully not betraying them, and sometimes stressed that this was not the man’s real name, she didn’t know what that was.

“Shall we go for tea? This is a rotten time, the trains will be getting packed,” said Crissie.

So they went to Zwemmers, then had tea and scones, and then Crissie got them both a black cab all the way back to Tower Gardens.

Anne rang that night, at a quarter past midnight.

“Anne…? Are you all right?”

“Sure, I’m fine. Just bored as hell. So I thought I’d call you. What time is it there? Oh. Well it’s just around seven p.m. here.”

Wizz was away on one of his, by now, perennial excursions. This time it was to Hawaii.

“I didn’t want to go,” said Anne. “I mean, take-off in winter, with ice on the wings when you land?”

They talked for a while, Susan holding the receiver away to shut off her yawns from her mother – she had been in bed, drifting, when the phone went.

Finally Anne said, “You know, I think the rat is playing around again. No, I am sure he is. He’s been doing it, on and off, for years. What a skunk. Christ, I’ve long thought he even had the Hispanic maid that time.”

“I’m sorry,” said Susan.

“Not as sorry as he is when I start on about it. But God, Sue, I’m old. I’m so old. That’s what it is. It never matters if you’re a man. But for a woman – past fifty is shitsville.”

Anne had never called her Sue. Anne perhaps, would never have said I am old. So who was this on the line?

VII

Outside the vegetable house, the vegetable trees of the maintained garden were putting on again their sticky, chestnut-red buds. A man came and gave the bench below Susan’s French doors a new coat of glaucous peacock paint. Later there was a solitary blue paw mark on her steps – the autograph of one of the pet cats. Probably not the white one though. She hadn’t seen it, nor had Crissie, ever again. That cold day of the bench painting, too, a letter came from Anne, the first for some time. The airmail envelope had come undone, which had happened once or twice with registered mail in the past, but the sheet of paper was not lost. Susan took it out with a definite feeling of unease.

But, to begin with, there was no fresh update on adultery or arguments.

‘I’m coming over, across the Pond, to your neck of the woods, in a week, maybe two. I mean to London. It will be great to see you. This visit, let’s really have a good time. Wizz says stay ten days. And cash isn’t a problem. But of course I have to earn it. Even when he gave me those trips I took to Paris and Germany – did I ever mention those? I sent you postcards, I’m sure I did – even then I always had to go meet someone for him. Unpaid courier for the business. Although to be fair to him, I guess I do get paid, don’t I. And the couple in Germany were great. Anyhow, this time is the worst. It isn’t some packet to deliver this time. I have to bring this darn girl over to her father. Eve spoke to me about it, too. Eve is her aunt, or something, God knows and who cares. Obviously they don’t want this brat travelling alone, so I have to be the chaperone for the trip, and I am dreading it but dreading it. Can you picture me? Stuck with a twelve-year-old for eight hours in a plane. My favorite thing. And then an hour or whatever into London. Oh well. Why don’t you meet me – us – at the airport? I’ve enclosed details of a good cab firm Wizz knows, near London. I’ll pick up the check. All you need do is call them your end. Okay? Did I ever say Eve and I had a falling out, too? The bitch took his side, I mean Wizz’s side. Over this fooling around stuff. She said, men do it, I’d better put up or shut up. I’d suspect Eve of being part of the stuff done, only she’s two years older than me, and now she looks like a crow that’s been through a car-wash.’

“I’m not looking forward to seeing her. I can’t help it. She says she may be here ten days. I don’t know if she’ll want to stay in a hotel or come out here. God – I really – I don’t want to see her.”

Crissie nodded. “It’s difficult. Perhaps she won’t stay as long as she says. Or she’ll go off on her own like last time.”

“I don’t think she will, now. She sounded so fed up on the phone. She must be very unhappy. I feel sorry – but I still hate the idea. And I hate saying I hate it, too.”

“Whyever? Why lie to yourself?”

“Don’t you?”

“Not often, Susie-Woo.”

“Well, who do you lie to, then?” Susan said, unexpectedly.

She answered thoughtfully. “Men, sometimes. I have to, or they don’t have the best sort of time with me. Let’s see, who else? Oh, you. About your birthday present. But that’s all I’m saying on that score.”

Susan smiled a little. Then she said, “How is it I didn’t break all contact with Anne, as you did with your parents? I mean, I only had one to get rid of, and you managed both.”

“True. But then I think they really wanted the break too.”

“They wanted it –”

“They were scared of me, Susan. I mean really scared. And even when everything