“You left your cardigan at the flat the other night,” said Cat.
“Here it is.”
Isabel took the cardigan, which Cat produced from a small carrier bag. “Come in for a quick cup of tea,” she said. “I was just about to make some. Christopher Dove is here.”
Cat looked interested. “Christopher Dove? Do I know him?”
“No. He’s on the board of the journal. In fact, he’s . . .”
She trailed off. She was about to say that he was taking over, but at that moment, at the door, she was not so sure. It was complicated.
“All right,” said Cat. “But I can’t stay long. I’ve left Eddie in charge and I think he wants to get away early. He’s doing a class in the yoga centre near Holy Corner.”
“That’s a good thing,” said Isabel. “Poor Eddie . . .”
Cat did not pursue the subject of Eddie. “Well, Eddie’s Eddie.”
“That,” said Isabel, “is undoubtedly true. And you can probably say the same about most of us,
Cat looked at her sideways.
T H E C A R E F U L U S E O F C O M P L I M E N T S
1 4 1
“That is,” Isabel continued, “changing that which requires to be changed. In this case, the name.”
Cat said nothing. They had entered the hall, and Christopher Dove had appeared from the study. Isabel introduced them, and Christopher stepped forward to shake Cat’s hand.
Isabel watched and immediately noticed the change in Cat’s demeanour.
“We’ll have a cup of tea in the kitchen,” said Isabel.
Cat looked upstairs. “Where’s . . .”
“With Grace this afternoon,” said Isabel. She did not want to talk about Charlie in front of Dove. Grace had taken Charlie to the Botanic Gardens to walk him round and get some fresh air. Isabel had been happy for Charlie to be out of the way during her meeting with Dove and had not pointed out her belief that the air in Merchiston, her part of Edinburgh, was every bit as fresh as the air in Inverleith, where the Botanic Gardens were. In fact, the air was fresher in Merchiston and Morning-side, which were several hundred feet higher than Inverleith, and there was also that occasional miasmic mist which snaked into Inverleith from the shores of the Firth of Forth and which she would never describe as fresh.
They went into the kitchen.
“Such a large house,” said Dove. “In London we have to make do with—”
“You’re very crowded,” interjected Isabel. “It’s most unfortunate.”
Cat was watching Dove; a scene enacted in Isabel’s garden from time to time when the neighbour’s striped cat stalked birds. Isabel smiled at the thought, and turned away to put on the kettle and hide her amusement. But that amusement lasted for only a few seconds, for then she thought:
Isabel went out of the room for a moment on the pretext of 1 4 2
A l e x a n d e r M c C a l l S m i t h fetching something. But she stopped in the hall and thought: I can’t bear it if she falls for him. Dove! She took a deep breath before going back into the kitchen. Cat and Dove were in animated conversation.
“Such a great city . . . Do you know London? . . . A delicatessen? I’ve got a great one near my place in Islington . . .
Hard work, I bet . . .”
And, “I’ve got a friend there . . . I should get down more often . . . I love it when I do . . . That buzz. Yes. There’s a buzz . . . Show you round? Are you staying?”
Isabel busied herself with the making of the tea. It was every bit as bad as she feared. But of course she should have anticipated it. Dove was older than Cat by a few years—eight maybe—but he looked youthful and he was exactly her physical type. She remembered Toby, to whom Cat had been briefly and disastrously engaged. He had looked just like Dove, now that she came to think of it, and so she should not be surprised, and now . . . she could hardly believe it: the invitation to dinner had been extended, and accepted. There would be plenty of time, Dove told Cat, as the sleeper did not leave until after eleven.
Isabel handed Cat her cup of tea with a look into which she tried to pour a wide range of emotions: surprise, pity, and the reproach that went with betrayal. But her efforts were in vain.
Cat did not see her. Nor did Dove.
CAT L E F T after half an hour, and Isabel and Dove returned to finish off their work in the study. They did not have much to do, which meant that Dove could leave in good time to meet Cat at the delicatessen and then go out for dinner.
“Cat has very kindly offered to show me a bit of the town this evening,” said Dove.
T H E C A R E F U L U S E O F C O M P L I M E N T S
1 4 3
“She’s very interested in . . .” Isabel wanted to say
Grace should be back soon, although sometimes she took Charlie to visit her cousin, who lived in Stockbridge, not far from the Botanic Gardens. And Jamie would be due any moment, as he had said that he would be back early in order to see Charlie before his bath time.
