Unknown to him, Taggie was slumped, shivering and equally miserable, in a second-class carriage down the train. She’d been doing an early Christmas lunch for some overseas sales reps in Swindon which had seemed to go on for ever. She always found train journeys unnerving, having to read all the strange station names and the platform directions and the train times. Today by mistake she’d got on a train going back to London and had to get off and wait in quite inadequate clothing on Didcot station for half an hour.
As Declan had taken the new Mini, Maud had borrowed Taggie’s car to buy a new dress for her audition for A Doll’s House tomorrow. She’d promised to meet Taggie at Cotchester if Taggie rang and told her what train she was coming on. But when Taggie had tried to ring her at Didcot there was no answer.
Rupert thought he was dreaming when he saw Taggie ahead of him on the platform at Cotchester. The snakey curls had dropped; she was back to her old ponytail. As she walked up the steps of the bridge, he noticed a man behind admiring her long black-stockinged legs. Fucking letch; Rupert wanted to kill him. As she turned to hand in her ticket, under the overhead light bulb he noticed the black shadows under her eyes. Too much sex, he thought savagely.
No one was there to meet her; there were no taxis; the telephone box didn’t work. Peering out through the square glass panes, Taggie’s legs nearly gave way beneath her as she saw Rupert getting into his car. Rushing out into the street, she waved at him. There was a moment of blind hope as she thought he waved back as he stormed past spraying snow all over her, but he was only adjusting his driving mirror.
The only answer was to walk into Cotchester and find another telephone box, or perhaps ask Bas to run her home. Why the hell hadn’t she worn boots? She wasn’t thinking straight at the moment. The icicles glittered from the station roof as she went past. Ahead she could see the white spire of Cotchester cathedral glinting in the moonlight with all the coloured windows lit up by a service inside. The next minute a car skidded to a halt beside her.
‘What the hell are you doing?’
‘Trying to find a telephone box to ring Mummy,’ she muttered through furiously chattering teeth. Her lips were a livid green, her nose bluey-brown in the orange street light.
‘Get in,’ said Rupert. Viciously he punched out the number he knew so well. He let the telephone ring for two minutes. There was no answer.
‘Mummy’s on the toot as usual,’ he said. ‘I’ll run you home.’
‘Oh please don’t bother.’
‘It’s not exactly out of my way,’ he said sarcastically.
The frozen snow twinkled like rhinestones in the moonlight. Once they’d got out of Cotchester on to the country lanes there was only room for single-line traffic between the huge polar drifts. They didn’t speak for a few miles, then, glancing sideways, Rupert saw the tears pouring down her face.
‘What the fuck’s the matter now?’
‘I thought we were friends.’
‘Then why did you go to bed with Bas?’
‘I didn’t. I meant to, because I was so miserable about you. I thought if I got some really good experience, you might fancy me a bit, but when it came to the crunch, I couldn’t do it. I love you too much.’
Rupert stopped the car, pulling it into a gateway.
‘I’m desperately sorry,’ sobbed Taggie, groping in her bag for a paper handkerchief. ‘I know it must be boring having every woman you meet in love with you. I didn’t want to be one of them. I’ve tried so hard to get over you. Work doesn’t help at all. It’s just that you’ve been so kind looking after us, sorting Mummy out the other night and getting all that food when I made an up-cock at Sarah Stratton’s dinner party, and giving me all those lovely things, and buying the wood for far more than it’s worth.’
‘Who told you that?’ said Rupert, appalled.
‘Ursula did. She saw Daddy’s bank statement. It was the only good thing in it. I’m sorry for being such a drip.’
Rupert raised clenched fists to his temples in a superhuman effort not to reach out for her. Taggie mistook the gesture for sheer horror at being propositioned by yet another girl.
‘I’m sorry.’
‘For Christ’s sake stop apologizing.’ Rupert started speaking very slowly and deliberately as if he was addressing some loopy foreigner. ‘Look, it wouldn’t work. I’m terribly fond of you, Tag, but I’m far too old. Remember that hamburger bar manager who thought you were my daughter? I’ve never been faithful to anyone for more than a few weeks, and I’m not going to ruin your life by having a brief fling with you.’
‘My life’s ruined already,’ sobbed Taggie, who’d soaked one paper handkerchief and was desperately searching in her pockets for another.
‘You’ll get over me,’ said Rupert, handing her his.
‘Like that five-bar gate in front of us,’ said Taggie helplessly.
What made it worse was that the car got stuck and they had to push it out and Taggie slipped over and Rupert picked her up, then almost shoved her away, as though she was white hot, so desperate was his longing to take her in his arms.
The Priory was in darkness when they got back.
‘Tell your father I’ll ring him later,’ said Rupert, cannoning off a low wall in his haste to get away.
Across the valley he could see lights on in his house. He couldn’t face Cameron at the moment. If only he could dump on Billy, but it was Wednesday and Billy would be at the television centre presenting the sports programme. Mindlessly he drove back to Cotchester and parked outside Basil’s flat.
One look at Rupert’s set white face was enough. Bas poured him a large whisky.
‘Taggie said there wasn’t a legover situation.’
‘There wasn’t,’ said Bas. ‘Not through lack of trying on my part. She is utterly adorable, but she utterly adores someone else, you lucky sod.’
Rupert drained his whisky.
‘I’m not going to do anything about her.’
‘Why ever not?’ said Bas incredulously. ‘It’s on a plate.’
‘I’m too old, shopsoiled, evil. .’
‘Oh, don’t be so fucking self-indulgent. All these histrionics and tantrums are just the last frantic struggles of the lassooed bronco. You’ve never been in love before. It’s really very nice, if you stop fighting it. Everyone’s got to hang up their condom sometime. Taggie’d be worth it.’
‘I don’t want to talk about it.’
‘OK,’ said Bas, filling up their glasses.
‘Am I interrupting you?’
‘Not excessively. I was just looking at the books. The Bar’s had a staggering year, thanks to all those malcontents from Corinium drowning their sorrows and plotting my big brother’s downfall. Won’t be so good next year, with you and Freddie and Declan running things. They’ll all be working so hard, they won’t have time for a lunch hour. D’you really think we’ll get it?’
‘’Course we will,’ said Rupert, thinking he really didn’t give a fuck any more.
Bas shook his head. ‘Tony gave a bloody good interview to The Times this morning. Came across as Mr Caring.’ He threw the paper in Rupert’s direction.