Lucy Gordon - The Wedding Arrangement

Neither of them had mentioned their closeness of the night before, but when he laid his hand on her arm it seemed natural for her to lie down lengthways, with her feet over the end of the sofa, and her head resting on his leg.

‘You got that last one wrong,’ she said, taking a bite out of an apple.

‘I did not,’ he said hotly. ‘There were three choices-’

‘And you got the wrong one,’ she insisted.

‘You don’t know what you’re talking about. The first contestant said-’

‘Oh, shut up and hand me another apple.’

He did so and she tucked into it until, a few minutes later, she began to laugh.

‘Pepin the Short,’ she said. ‘What a name!’

‘That’s what you get for being English,’ he said lazily.

‘Half English.’

‘How did that work out when you were a child?’

‘Not well. I don’t think my parents’ marriage was very happy. My mother was a rather uptight person, while my father, as far as I remember him, was very-very Italian, emotional, with a big warm heart and a way of not letting himself be bothered by details. It drove Mamma mad, and I suppose she was right really, because it meant a lot of burdens fell on her. But I didn’t see that. I just saw that he was wonderful, and she disapproved of all the things I thought nicest about him.

‘When I was eight he died, and she took me back to England as fast as she could. But I could never be at home there. By that time I had an Italian heart and I hated the way she tried to make me completely English, as though she could wipe out my Italian side just by fighting it hard enough. I wasn’t allowed to speak Italian or read Italian books, but I did anyway. I used to get them from the library and smuggle them into the house. I can be terribly stubborn.’

‘Really? You?’

‘Oh, don’t be funny. Anyway, you haven’t seen me at my worst.’

‘Heaven help me!’

‘I’ll chuck something at you in a minute.’

‘You wouldn’t assault an invalid, would you?’

‘I might if it was you.’

‘Go on with your story while I’m still safe.’

‘Luckily my mother married again when I was eighteen, and I was clearly in the way, so I could flee back to Italy without anyone trying to stop me. In fact-’

Suddenly a wry grin twisted her mouth.

‘What did you do?’ he asked, fascinated.

‘I don’t want to tell you; it’s rather shocking,’ she admitted.

‘You never did anything shocking.’

‘Don’t you call blackmail shocking?’

‘Blackmail?’

‘Well, in a sort of way. Although I think bribery is probably a better word. My stepfather was very well-off and he let it be known that if I’d make myself scarce it would put him in a generous mood. I knew I’d need some help until I found my feet-’

Luke began to laugh. ‘How much did you take him for?’

‘Let’s just say it covered my training.’

‘Good for you!’

‘Yes, I was quite pleased with myself in an insufferable sort of way.’

‘Insufferable, nothing! You were smart. If you ever get tired of law I could use you in my business. Come to think of it, the business could use a good lawyer.’

‘Ah, then I have to admit that I gave it all back.’

‘Minnie, please!’ he said in disgust. ‘Just when I was admiring you! Now you’ve spoiled it.’

‘I know. I tried not to. It was a fair bargain because we each gained from it, and I’d kept my side and never troubled them since. But when I was earning enough to repay it, I just had to. I was really cross with myself.’

He didn’t speak for a while. He was fighting an inner battle, sensing the ghost hovering on the edge of their consciousness, unwilling to spoil the moment by inviting him in, yet knowing that he must do so, if he were to be any use to her.

At last he forced himself to say, ‘What did Gianni think?’

HE WAITED to see if she flinched at Gianni’s name, but she merely gave a fond, reminiscent smile.

‘Gianni thought I was crazy but he didn’t try to stop me. Come to think of it, that was always the way. He was very easygoing. He used to say, “You do it your way, carissima.”’ She gave a brief laugh. ‘So I always did.’

‘He sounds the ideal husband,’ Luke observed, keeping his voice carefully light. ‘You said, “Jump” and he jumped. What more could a woman ask?’

‘Sure, it makes me sound like a domineering wife, but actually it was all a con trick. He pretended to be meek and helpless but it was just a way of pushing the boring jobs on to me. If there were forms to be filled in, phone calls to be made to officials, it was always, “You do it, cara. You’re the clever one.” And after a while it dawned on me that I’d been tricked into doing all the work.’

‘Did you mind?’

‘Not really. It made sense since I was a lawyer, and you know what bureaucracy is like in this country.’

‘And if you hadn’t been a lawyer?’

‘He’d have found some other excuse, of course,’ she said, smiling. ‘He was just like my father. Anything not to fill in a form! But so what, as long as one of us could do it? We were a team, a partnership.’

‘And you were the clever one, weren’t you? Cleverer than him, I mean.’

‘He used to laugh and say anyone was cleverer than him. Sometimes I’d rebel and say, “Come on, you can do that one yourself,” and he’d grin and say, “It was worth a try, cara.” But I didn’t mind because he gave me so much in return, love and happiness. We had a marriage that-I don’t know-I can’t say.’

‘Go on,’ he said when she fell silent. ‘Tell me how it was.’

She shook her head.

‘Mind my own business?’ he asked lightly.

‘We were married for ten years. How can I tell you how “it” was? Which “it” are we talking about? The first year, when we were discovering each other, or the middle years when we settled into being an old married couple?’

‘You mean when you were in your mid-twenties? That sort of old?’

‘That’s right. I didn’t mind being “that sort of old” because I knew I’d come home and found the place I belonged. I wanted to stay there for ever.’

‘But you can’t. Life moves on.’

‘I know,’ she said with a sigh. ‘At first we fitted together perfectly. I spent years going to law school and then serving an apprenticeship with a firm, not earning very much, and he didn’t earn very much either.’

‘What sort of job did he do?’

‘He drove a truck for a local firm that buys a lot of stuff through Naples and Sicily.’

‘So he was away a lot?’

‘If it was Naples he could get back the same day, even if it was quite late. For Sicily he’d have to be away overnight, maybe two.’

‘But that must have been handy if you were studying?’

‘It was. He used to say that all the other drivers worried about leaving their wives, in case they were unfaithful, but he knew his only rival was my books.’

‘What about children? Did you ever think of having any?’

Was it his imagination, or did she hesitate a moment?

‘We talked about it, but there were always hurdles to clear first. I wanted to give him children. He had such a great heart; he’d have been a wonderful father.’

She didn’t say any more and he left it there. Another show was coming up on television and they watched it for a while, making ribald comments about the quality of the contestants. She went into the kitchen to create a late night snack, then checked the curtains to make sure that they were completely closed.

‘They weren’t looking in, were they?’ Luke asked.

‘I wouldn’t put it past them. Once Netta’s set her heart on something, she doesn’t give up.’

‘Couldn’t you just be strong, and tell her that nothing on earth would prevail on you to marry me?’ he suggested.

‘I’ve already done that. It didn’t work. The way she sees it, our marriage would benefit everyone, so it’s my duty to sacrifice myself.’

‘Thanks!’

She grinned. ‘I just thought I’d warn you of the forces ranged against you.’

‘Think I can’t manage for myself, huh?’

‘Are you kidding? Between you and Netta I’d back her any day.’

‘So would I,’ he observed gloomily.

‘Don’t worry; I’ll save you from that ghastly fate. I’ll be strong for both of us.’

‘Who’s strong for you?’ he asked impulsively. ‘Who’s ever done that?’

Her shrug seemed to imply that she had no need, but he was beginning to know better.

The game show was followed by a historical film, made about fifty years ago and set in the days of ancient chivalry. It concerned a knight escorting a lady to her wedding with a great lord. They fell in love but maintained perfect virtue, symbolised by the knight laying his sword on the ground between them as they slept side by side.

People said ‘Gadzooks!’ and ‘Avaunt!’ The lady swooned regularly. The colour was lurid and the film was truly terrible. They enjoyed it immensely.

‘If you tried that sword trick in real life,’ Luke observed, ‘you’d be cut to pieces.’

‘And they’re all so clean,’ Minnie objected. ‘Days travelling through the countryside, and not a speck. Do you want anything else to eat?’

‘No, thanks,’ he said, yawning. ‘I’m off to bed.’

‘Me, too.’

In the doorway he paused and said lightly, ‘I don’t have a sword, but I do have a bad arm.’

‘You don’t have to reassure me,’ she said quietly.

‘I’ll see you, then.’

When she appeared in his room a few minutes later he was in bed. He extended his good left arm and she tucked herself into the crook. He turned out the light, and for a while she was so still that he thought she’d fallen asleep. But then she said, ‘Thank you, Luke.’

‘Does it help?’ he asked quietly.

‘You’ll never know how much.’

She fell asleep on the words. He waited, listening to her soft breathing in the darkness. At last, easy in his mind about her, he settled down.