Page 253 of The Sun Sister

‘Julius,’ said Cecily with a shudder.

‘It might hearten you to know that I heard he left this world some years ago, having gone through countless wives and copious vats of brandy, leaving no progeny. Anyway, the local estate agent says he has an eager buyer for my own far smaller pile. It should bring in a pretty penny – apparently some pop star wants to put a recording studio in the wine cellar. I say, what do you think of these Beatles chaps then? I heard nothing else on the radio when I was in England, and it seems to be the same here in America.’

‘Stella adores them, obviously. I guess I like their tunes too. They’re catchy.’

‘Not exactly smooching music, though, is it? Do you remember that night with Joss and Diana when they were so desperately in love, and poor old Jock sat like the eternal cuckold in the corner watching them?’ Bill reminisced.

‘I do, yes.’

‘You and I danced to Glenn Miller. I often think back to that night. I remember it being the start of the rehabilitation of you and I after we lost Fleur. If only war hadn’t come...’

‘Well, it did. And here we are now,’ said Cecily. That night had been seminal for her, and she was amazed that it stuck out in Bill’s memory too.

‘Halcyon days,’ he murmured. ‘Why is it we only realise that they were in retrospect? Anyway, Cecily, whether you like it or not, I’m going to place an amount into your account and then I’m going to help you find a nursemaid – or whatever one calls them in America – to come and sort Rosa out. And I won’t hear another word about it. What are you doing tomorrow?’

‘What I always do – taking Rosa to school, then home to get on with my bookkeeping, and then—’

‘How about instead, tomorrow you take me out and show me the sights of New York? Having finally made it all the way here, I should see what all the fuss is about. What do you say, Cecily?’ Bill leant forward and put a hand on hers.

‘I guess so,’ she agreed, trying to ignore the tingle that shot up her arm at his touch. ‘Now, you’ll have to excuse me, but I need to get some sleep.’

‘Of course. I’ll see you in the morning. Thank you again for putting a roof over my head.’

‘Remember, Bill, you once put a roof over mine. I’m just returning the favour. Goodnight.’

Despite a sleepless night of tossing and turning and failing to make head nor tail out of her thoughts and feelings about Bill’s abrupt return to her life, Cecily had a wonderful day out in the city with him. It was a long time since she’d been across to Manhattan, so they started with a carriage ride around Central Park, where she pointed out her family home, dwarfed on either side by huge apartment buildings.

‘Does my dragon of a mother-in-law still inhabit the house?’ Bill asked her.

‘Oh yes, although Mamie says she constantly moves from one ailment to the next, swearing she’s dying, and making a fuss.’

‘And your father?’

‘Oh, he just puts up with her like he always has.’ Cecily gave a small shudder as the carriage clopped away from the house. Then she walked him along Fifth Avenue whereBreakfast at Tiffany’shad been filmed some years back, and was horrified to discover he’d never seen it.

‘But, Bill, surely youhaveto have seen it! I doubt there’s a person on the planet that hasn’t.’

‘A person on Planet America maybe, Cecily. Remember, I’m more comfortable in a loincloth with a spear than in this great overwhelming pile of vertical concrete.’

Then they went to the Empire State Building where Bill leant over the edge, only to stumble backwards.

‘Good God! My head is swimming. I seem to have caught vertigo. And this from the man who climbed Mount Kenya without even pausing for breath. Take me down and plant my feet back on the solid carpet of the earth immediately!’

A trip out on the Hudson to see the Statue of Liberty came next, and Bill pronounced himself extremely disappointed with the whole affair.

‘She’s so bloody small,’ he complained, ‘and I far prefer Lake Naivasha and its hippo population to the murky pond you have here.’

‘Quit complaining, Bill! You’re turning into a grumpy old man.’

‘You know only too well that I was once a grumpy younger man, so I haven’t changed one jot, have I?’

Rosalind had very kindly agreed to take Rosa home with her after school and feed her supper. She knew all about Bill, of course, but when they arrived to collect Rosa, Cecily felt almost shy when she introduced him to her.

‘Well, hi there, Bill,’ Rosalind said, regarding him with a mixture of suspicion and curiosity.

‘I’m awfully glad to make your acquaintance, Rosalind. Cecily has told me that you have been a true friend to her over the years.’

Within a few minutes, they were talking like old friends, Bill’s British accent winning out over any reservations Rosalind might have had. A drink led to dinner as Terrence arrived home. Rosa was put to bed downstairs and Terrence and Rosalind listened avidly to everything Bill had to say on the new Independent Republic of Kenya.