The Whispering Grove Read online

  The tempo quickened, modulating from the lyrical adagio passage into the mounting climax. Feather-light, Toni poised, arms uplifted above the proud carriage of her head, then launched into the final dazzling series of jumps. Dimly she heard clapping and the last quivering chord that froze her into immobility, almost on wings above that one satin-shod point.

  Then the echoing chord was a blinding pain, and a scream that was not her own rent the air as she crumpled like a bird stricken in mid-flight. Through the fiery stabs that shot from the injured foot she felt small frantic hands on her shoulders.

  ‘Toni! Toni! Your foot! Oh, you were lovely.’ The frantic hands fluttered. ‘Toni, is it broken? Can’t you move?’

  She raised a pain-filled face and tried to smile reassuringly at the scared little girl in sleep-crumpled pyjamas. ‘I - I just slipped. Don’t look so frightened, darling, it’ll go off in a minute.’ She struggled into a sitting position and unfastened the ribbons.

  ‘I didn’t know you could dance like that.’ Eyes enormous, Juliet watched Toni draw off the slipper and tentatively flex the ankle. ‘Can’t you stand up?’ she asked in a frightened whisper. Suddenly she whirled to the door. ‘Daddy! Are you awake? Toni’s hurt her foot. Daddy! We’ll have to get Dr. Pierne.’

  ‘No, Juliet!’ Toni scrambled up and winced. ‘Come back. Don’t disturb him. I’m all right.’

  Juliet came back doubtfully. ‘But it might be broken. You ought to let Daddy send for—’

  ‘No, darling, it isn’t broken. I just slipped.’ By now Toni looked almost as frightened as the child. She said desperately, ‘It’ll go off in a while. You mustn’t tell Daddy, he’ll only w—’

  ‘Mustn’t tell me what? What on earth is going on?’

  The voice came from the veranda window and the long shadow curled across the floor. Then it jerked forward. ‘Toni! What happened?’

  ‘Nothing.’ Trying to keep her weight off the damaged foot, she swung to face the tall, dressing-gowned figure. ‘I’m sorry about the racket. I just wanted to—’

  ‘Daddy, her foot gave way! I saw her. She can’t walk!’

  Toni put out a restraining hand which completely missed the quicksilver child. ‘Please, Juliet, don’t exaggerate,’ she said helplessly, suddenly wishing they would leave her alone to deal with this setback in her own way.

  Justin looked from the slight figure in the pale blue practice dress to the agitated face of his daughter. Then his glance dropped to the floor. He picked up the discarded ballet shoe, running his fingers over the tapering, stiffened toe. When he looked up he was frowning. Deliberately he held out the shoe. ‘Here, Toni.’

  He stayed there, silent, his arm outstretched, while she tried to make the only natural response to his gesture, that of stepping forward to take what was proffered. The gallant attempt told its pitiful truth and with an impatient exclamation he flung the slipper aside and caught her up into his arms.

  At a glance from him Juliet ran on ahead and opened the door of Toni’s room, to hover anxiously while he carried Toni in and set her down gently on the bed.

  ‘Run and ask Ellie to make some tea - immediately,’ he instructed. ‘Then go and get dressed. I’ll look after Toni.’

  Reluctantly the little girl obeyed, and Justin closed the door on her backward glance before he turned back and said in a voice of mingled concern and disapproval: ‘You’ve been breaking the rules, haven’t you? Why couldn’t you wait until I’d arranged an examination of that foot, before trying anything?’

  She said flatly: ‘Well, it’s saved you the bother. I’ve tried it, and it let me down, exactly as they said it would.’

  Avoiding his eyes, she sat up and took off the other shoe, pleating the soft satin upper into overlapping folds and winding the broad ribbon round as she had always done. ‘It’ll be all right after I’ve rested it.’

  ‘Will it?’ He did not appear reassured. ‘We’ll have a look at the damage first.’

  He went into the next room and returned almost immediately with a small first aid case. ‘If it’s swelling a cold compress will help. And if it doesn’t go off, as you put it, I’ll have Dr. Pierne in to take a look at it.’

  He unlocked the case and extracted from it a roll of broad bandage. He swung round and cried impatiently: ‘Oh, child, don’t just sit there. Haven’t you got that stocking off yet?’

  ‘I - I—’ Cautiously she stood up. ‘They’re not stockings, they’re tights.’

  His gesture dismissed this as a quibble, and she smiled faintly. ‘I have to take everything else off first to get down to them.’

  Justin’s exasperated sigh was perfectly audible, and his glance quite clear in its comprehension. ‘So what? After all, you are my wife.’

  Before she could move he had released the long slide fastener at the back of the leotard and slipped the garment off her shoulders. He put a steadying hand under her elbow while she stepped out of it, then reached for her wrap and almost curtly tossed it round her. His mouth grim, he waited until she struggled out of the pink nylon tights.

  ‘And having disposed of modesty, perhaps we can attend to what does matter,’ he said sardonically when at last she looked up at him and propped her foot on the stool he placed ready.

  ‘Yes,’ she said in a choked voice.

  Perhaps she had not concealed well enough her hurt at his brusqueness, for he gave her a sharp glance as he knelt down and his tone perceptibly softened.

  ‘This is what husbands and wives are for, Toni,’ he said quietly. ‘To help each other. Why hide from it?’

  With gentle fingers he probed the swollen foot then bound it lightly, fetching ice to make the compress really cold. Then he straightened the bed-covers, which were still jumbled from her precipitous exit earlier on, and bade her lie down.

  For long moments he looked down on the pain-shadowed young face, seeing the hand that strayed instinctively to the bound foot and then trailed despairingly across the counterpane, and his eyes filled with compassion.

  He said gruffly: ‘I’m sorry-more sorry than I can say that this had to happen.’ He touched her shoulder with a gentle hand. ‘Try not to grieve, even though it must be heartbreaking. You’ll only make yourself ill, child.’

  ‘I’ll be all right in a little while,’ she whispered. ‘I - I think I knew in my heart it would happen, but I had to know.’

  Yes.’ He straightened and turned away. ‘It hasn’t worked out, has it? Nothing we really want in this life ever does. Oh—’ he exclaimed hopelessly, ‘where the hell is that woman with the tea?’

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  ‘Well, there you are, young lady.’ Dr Pierne smoothed the strapping he had secured in place and straightened, his smile brisk and professional. ‘Rest, and no more dancing.’

  ‘How long will it take?’ Toni cautiously eased on her sandal. ‘I mean before I’m back to normal.’

  Dr. Pierne shrugged, a typical Gallic gesture. ‘That depends on you, my dear, and what you mean by normal. There is already a medical history to that foot: a metatarsal fracture, a tear of the external ligament of the ankle. In view of this, I am surprised that you took such a foolhardy risk, to try to dance again as you once did.’

  He shrugged again and glanced at Justin. ‘There must be no stress on that foot until the swelling abates. And even then ... ’ He frowned and turned to the X-ray plate illuminated in the viewing box. ‘There will always be a weakness, I’m afraid, and’ — his voice took on a warning note — ‘the possibility of trouble with the ankle, of an arthritic type, developing in later years.’

  ‘I understand,’ Justin interposed into the sudden silence. ‘There’ll be no more nonsense - I’ll see to that. Thank you, Doctor. Come on, Toni.’

  Juliet was waiting in the car when they came out of the clinic. She said anxiously: ‘Is it going to be better in time for the wedding?’

  ‘I’m afraid the wedding’s out,’ Justin said shortly as he helped Toni into the car. ‘Toni has to rest.’
/>   ‘But it’s the day after tomorrow!’ Juliet looked dismayed. After a moment she said: ‘Couldn’t she still go, Daddy? If you took her in the car and she sat down all the time we were there?’

  ‘Oh, Juliet, don’t be ridiculous! Getting her there doesn’t present any problem, but you can’t sit around at weddings. At least not this one. They’re having half the island there, from what I can gather,’ he added feelingly, ‘and knowing that crowd, it’ll be a pretty lively wedding—’

  It was rare for Justin to be impatient with the child, and she subsided, her small face tense with hurt. Toni put her arm round her, knowing she had been looking forward to the occasion, and said sympathetically: ‘But you can still go and wear your new dress, and tell me all about it afterwards.’

  At the wheel, Justin remained silent, and Toni said: ‘You will take her, won’t you?’

  ‘I suppose so,’ he said unwillingly. ‘I dislike weddings, having to circulate and be frolicsome with a lot of people I don’t know and don’t particularly want to know.’

  Toni restrained a surprised glance at him and sighed. Either he was more concerned about herself than she had imagined or he was betraying a guard over unsuspected bitterness. How long did one have to live with a person before they ceased to surprise one?

  He went on: ‘Anyway, why on earth Juliet’s suddenly so keen on going is beyond me. If she was being a bridesmaid I could understand it. However ... ’

  Toni stayed silent. This was not the moment to try to explain a little girl’s sense of importance at being invited to a grown-up function, or the awakening feminine interest in a new dress for the occasion and the quite natural pleasure at being the only child invited. Juliet was looking forward to a youthful showing off.

  During this difficult time Toni tried to avoid communicating her own depression to the little girl, but it was not easy. The dancing lessons had been interrupted, for how long she did not know, or even dare to contemplate. Juliet made a tentative attempt to practise the following morning, but the frustration of having to watch the child’s mistakes and be unable to demonstrate the correcting of them almost drove Toni to tears of despair. The advent of Justin in the middle of it and his immediate ban on ‘any more of this nonsense’ only served to heighten her sense of hopelessness.

  Somehow, poor Juliet, through no fault of her own, seemed to suffer the brunt of his impatience and this added guilt to Toni’s worries. With her he was unfailingly patient, enwrapping her with gentleness and care, against which protests were in vain.

  ‘Listen,’ he said patiently on the morning of the wedding, ‘if Juliet were ill you’d be sitting up night and day with her, wouldn’t you?’

  ‘Probably, but that’s different.’

  ‘How? If anything happened to me you would doubtless discover unsuspected nursing talents. So where’s the difference?’

  This line of male logic was unanswerable. She said weakly: ‘Nothing ever happens to you, so I doubt if the occasion would arise.’

  ‘That’s my good fortune. Now I’m going to settle you on the veranda before we set off for this confounded wedding. If it gets too warm for you call Ellie. Don’t move by yourself. You’re not to risk further damage to that foot, understand?’

  ‘Yes,’ she said wearily, suddenly longing for him to take her in his arms and ... Oh, it was hopeless. He never would. She forced a smile and thanked him.

  He hesitated, surveying her for a moment and noting that she had books, cigarettes and everything she might want to hand. ‘Now where’s that child of mine?’

  ‘Here, Daddy.’ Still in her blue poplin shorts, Juliet appeared from the lounge window and squatted on the end of Toni’s foot-rest.

  ‘Are you ready?’

  ‘No. I’m not going.'

  ‘Not going?’ Justin stared, and Toni started up. ‘Not going to the wedding?’

  ‘No. I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to go now,’ she said in a small firm voice.

  ‘You’ve ...!’ Words failed Justin and he raised his hands and let them fall.

  ‘But, Juliet, why not?’ Toni exclaimed. ‘I thought you were looking forward to it. Your new dress, and taking our present, and

  — and bringing me back a piece of the wedding cake.’

  ‘Daddy can do that.’

  ‘Oh, can he?’ said Justin sarcastically. ‘Well, that settles that. I’d better go and phone all our apologies to your stepmother.’

  ‘Oh, but ...’ Toni stared her dismay. Justin looked furious and Juliet mutinous, and she knew it only needed a spark to provoke a quarrel. She said helplessly: ‘It’s too late to phone. She’ll be on her way. Juliet, if you think you have to stay here and keep me company you’re mistaken, darling. I wish you .’ She shook her head, dangerously near to tears. ‘Oh, this is all my fault. If only I hadn’t ...’

  ‘It is not your fault.’ Justin thrust his hands into his pockets and turned away, to stand at the veranda rail in tight-lipped silence. At last he swung round and ran one hand over his hair. ‘Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll go over. I suppose one of us ought to show our face. But I’ll have something to say to you, young lady, when I get back.’ He cast a sharp glance at Juliet and then bent over Toni. ‘I won’t be long - a couple of hours at the most. I’ll give Marise your love.’

  His mouth brushed her hair and he departed.

  Juliet did not speak until the tail of the car slid out of sight. Then she sighed, ‘He’s mad.’

  “Yes, I’m not surprised,’ said Toni wearily. ‘What made you change your mind, after we’d persuaded him to take you?’

  ‘Because he didn’t really want to take me. It spoils everything.’ Juliet prised out a loose end of cane in the basket weave of the foot-rest and snapped it off. ‘Well, it does,’ she added defiantly.

  Toni watched the small restless fingers and a sudden suspicion came to her that something else was worrying Juliet. She said slowly: ‘Do you remember once saying to me that people’s weren’t always as nice when they were at home? You were trying to say that people put on their best face to meet strangers and casual friends, and become their true selves with their families. But no one can be happy and charming and entertaining all the time; life brings too many worries and sorrows to grown-ups, sometimes to children too. You have to make allowances for that, and realize that some day someone will have to make allowances for you. Do you understand?’

  Juliet nodded.

  ‘Your father is one of the kindest and most understanding persons I’ve ever met, and he loves you dearly, but you mustn’t expect him always to be gay and teasing and having fun with you. It’s too much to expect from anyone, no matter how patient and considerate they are.’

  The child was silent, her head downbent. At last she said: ‘I know. I think it’s because of you. He’s worried about your foot and because—’ She looked up. ‘Toni, were you really going to go back to being a dancer again?’

  ‘I - I—’ Toni felt herself go cold. ‘Why do you ask that? I never said I was going away. I belong here. Besides,’ she glanced down at the strapped foot, ‘how could I? I’ll never be able to dance again, Juliet. Ever.’

  ‘You were going to see another doctor, in South Africa,’ the child said flatly. ‘To see if you could. I heard you and Daddy talking. Oh, I know I shouldn’t, but I couldn’t help it. I asked Daddy, and he said that you might. It would all depend.’

  ‘On what?’ Toni whispered.

  ‘I don’t know. He said it would all work out if you did, because I’d be going to school in England and I’d be able to see you a lot oftener than if you stayed here.’

  Juliet stopped and stared at Toni with wide anxious eyes. ‘Toni,’ she whispered, ‘why are you frightened? You’ve gone all white.’ There was no response and the child suddenly flung herself on the older girl. ‘Oh, please don’t go away, ever. And please make Daddy let me stay here. Oh, Toni, why can’t we be together for always, like other families do?’

  Toni drew her close and stared over the da
rk head with pain-filled eyes. Choking down her distress, she said softly: ‘We are together. Don’t be upset, please, darling. It’s a mistake to think too much of what may lie ahead. It’s far better to think of now and what we have now. It will work out, Juliet. Believe me, and don’t fret over what might never be.’

  If only the conviction in her words were not a bitter mockery! She forced herself to appear calm and gently pushed Juliet away. ‘Go and ask Ellie to make some coffee, and see if she’s made any rice cookies.’

  In a subdued mood, they had their coffee, then Juliet got out her games compendium and suggested draughts.

  ‘I’m sure it’s more than two hours since Daddy left,’ Juliet remarked, making a triumphant swoop and capturing Toni’s last crown. ‘Will we wait lunch for him?’

  ‘I don’t think so. He’ll be having lots to eat at the wedding, I expect.’

  ‘Yes, he’ll probably stay longer because he didn’t have to worry about bringing me home in good time,’ Juliet decided, having apparently regained her bright spirits.

  It seemed Juliet’s surmise was correct, for it was quite two hours after lunch before Juliet gave a cry and announced that her father was back. Toni saw the Mercedes sweep up the drive, and then echoed Juliet’s second exclamation as two more cars followed.

  ‘He’s got Aunty Marise and Mr. Manton! The wedding must be over. And there’s Norene and—’ The child’s voice tailed off as the cars spilled forth their occupants and the nearside door of the Mercedes opened.

  Lucy Sandanna, dazzling in white, stepped out and retained Justin’s courteous hand a fraction longer than was necessary. She moved forward, slightly to one side of the gaily chattering group, and for a moment they ceased to exist for the girl who had got unsteadily to her feet to lean on the veranda rail.

  ‘We’ve brought the wedding to you!’ Kit Manton cried as he bounded up the three steps and hugged Toni exuberantly. ‘You still look gorgeous, anyway.’ He kissed her and laughed. ‘I guess I’m sort of a stepfather a couple of times removed now, so I’ve got the right to do that. How’s the crocked tootsie?’