“No, don’t do that. I wanted to give you something special, something you could keep.”
Maggie gave a shaky laugh. “It matches my eyes.”
Fell looked at her, puzzled.
“See?” She removed her heavy glasses. Her eyes were very large and green with flecks of gold.
“You have beautiful eyes,” said Fell. “You should wear contact lenses.”
Those eyes filled with tears. “What’s the matter?” asked Fell quickly.
Maggie took out a handkerchief and dried her eyes and put her glasses firmly back on. “I’m just tired, Fell, that’s all. You know what it’s like. The last customers didn’t leave until one in the morning. Now, first I had to tell my mother about our engagement. She doesn’t know it’s a pretend engagement and wants to meet you. I told her you were too grief-stricken, and then afterwards I can tell her it’s all off.”
“I hate making you lie for me.”
“I always lie to my mother anyway. It’s a form of self-protection. My father’s dead. Mother always says I’ll never get a man, so from time to time I invent a boyfriend. They never jilt me, you know, they either die or go abroad. Anyway, enough about me. What do you want to talk to me about?”
Fell had meant to tell her only about the inheritance. But somehow, under her sympathetic eyes, he found himself beginning at the beginning. He told her everything – about his childhood, about his relief at his mother’s death, about his guilt, and about the mysterious money in the cash box. He ended by saying, “I can’t understand why I didn’t tell the relatives about the money I’d been left or offer to give them some. I don’t know their financial circumstances. My parents never talked about them. They never really talked much about anything. I only know I want all the money for myself. Is that greedy?”
“No, it’s your inheritance. You’ll never satisfy them. You’ll simply cause a lot of envy and upset. We’ll talk to them at the funeral and find out if any of them need money. If they don’t, you’ve got nothing to worry about. It’s yours, so keep it.”
“I’m worried about that fifty thousand. I’ve already started to make a hole in it.”
“I can’t believe it’s anything illegal. Was there anything else in the desk to give you a clue?”
“I didn’t look further.”
“I’ll come back with you after lunch. I took the day off. I’ll need to see your kitchen because I’ll need to prepare some food for after the funeral.”
“I know,” said Fell. “I could hire a catering firm.”
“Might give them the idea you do have money. Do you have a microwave?”
“No, but I can buy one.”
“We can buy lots of savouries and things from Marks and I can heat them up. Leave it to me. So what will you do? Travel?”
“I thought about that. But I don’t want to see all that money drain away. Maybe I’ll start some sort of business. Maybe a restaurant.”
“A restaurant’s a bit too much like what you’ve been doing for most of your life.”
Fell smiled lazily at her, enjoying the unaccustomed effect of half a bottle of champagne and the heady relief of having been able to talk about himself at length with another human being. “What would you do, Maggie, if the money was yours?”
“I’m like you. Books are my solace, my friends. I would open a little bookshop with a coffee bar and a few tables at the back. I would have poetry readings, things like that. Oh, I’m being silly.”
“We could do it!” said Fell, suddenly excited.
“We?” said Maggie faintly.
“Maybe you want to keep on at the hotel.”
“God, no. Could we actually do it?”
“Why not?” Fell spread his arms. “There’s so much we can do. Maggie, you’ve listened and listened to me. I know nothing about your life. Tell me.”
“I’m trapped a bit like you were,” said Maggie, “but not because my mother’s possessive – far from it – but out of fear of living, fear of taking risks, lack of money. I’ve two older sisters – they’re married. Mum has various men friends, who sometimes stay the night. She’s got a sharp tongue. She runs me down a bit.”
Perhaps it was the champagne or Maggie’s worried and suddenly depressed face that made Fell say, “Move in with me.”
She stared at him.
“Well, why not? It’s a new century. We’re friends.”
“I’m beginning to feel as if I’ve been run over by a truck,” said Maggie.
“We’ll respect each other’s space,” said Fell. “I’ve promised my aunt Agnes all the furniture from the house. I want new stuff, light and airy.”
“And everything clean,” breathed Maggie.
“Oh, it’s always been clean.”
“My home’s a tip. I keep my own room clean, but Mum has the rest of the place in a mess. I try clearing up after her, but lately I’ve given it up as a bad job.”
“So why don’t you just give up your job at the hotel?”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that. I need you, Maggie.”
“Is this a real proposal?” asked Maggie with a light laugh.
Suddenly the old Fell was looking at her, his face wary and tight and set.
“I was only joking, Fell,” said Maggie quickly. “We’re friends, right? No funny business. Just friends.”
Fell looked relieved. “Just friends.”
“I’ll go and powder my nose.”
Maggie went through to the ladies’ room and leaned against the handbasin. “The Maggies of this world,” she told her reflection severely, “must take what they can get.”
But a dry sob like that of a hurt child escaped her lips. She firmly reapplied her make-up and went back to join Fell.
¦
It turned out that Maggie owned a small car, something Fell had not known before. She went home to fetch it, asking Fell to wait for her. It was too soon for him to meet her mother.
When Maggie returned with a suitcase of clothes they went out and bought a microwave and then loaded up the car with savouries from Marks.
As they unloaded the stuff in the kitchen, Fell said ruefully, “I’ll need to buy a new fridge. There’s hardly room in this little thing for all the stuff.”
They had also bought bottles of various drinks and glasses. Maggie bustled about, examining everything. “How many relatives do you have?” she asked.
“Very few,” said Fell. “There’s Aunt Agnes; she’s a widow. Then there’s Cousin Tom and my other cousin, Barbara, and her husband, Fred. That’s all.”
“I hope they’re hungry. We’ve bought rather a lot.”
“We could eat some of it tonight and open a bottle of wine.”
“Right. Which room shall I take?”
“I’ll take my parents’ room and you can have mine. What did your mother say?”
Maggie blushed. “She was out, so I left a note.”
“She’ll be round here any minute.”
“I didn’t tell her where I was going. I said I would phone her.”
“Better get it over with,” said Fell. “The phone’s over there.”
“Is that the famous desk?”
“Yes. Phone first and then we’ll take a proper look through it.”
Maggie phoned her mother. The conversation seemed to be very one-sided, with Maggie saying, “But…well, you see, it all happened suddenly. But…” At last she replaced the receiver. “She’s furious. She says she needs my rent.”
“Will she manage?”
“Of course she will. I’ll need to get some sort of job, Fell. I can’t live off you.”
