She was happy to have pleased him. “Normally I’d share with my sister, but now I’ll be on my own.”
“Oh, boy. I can’t wait.”
She knew how he loved the high life, and she so wanted to make him happy. What else would he like? “We’ll order scrambled eggs and champagne from room service.”
“I’ll want to stay there forever.”
That brought her back to reality. “My parents will be moving to my grandfather’s place in Connecticut after a few days. Then I’ll have to find somewhere to to live.”
‘We’ll look together,” he said. “Maybe get rooms in the same building, or something.”
“Really?” She was thrilled. They would have rooms in the same building! It was exactly what she wanted. She had been half afraid that he would go over the top and ask her to marry him, and half afraid he would not want to see her again; but this was ideal: she could stay close to him and get to know him better without making a foolishly hasty commitment. And she would be able to sleep with him. But there was a snag. “If I work for Nancy Lenehan, I’ll be in Boston.”
“Maybe I’ll go to Boston too.”
“Would you?” She could hardly believe what she was hearing.
“It’s as good a place as any. Where is it, anyway?”
“New England.”
“Is that like old England?”
“Well, I’ve heard that the people are snobbish.”
“It’ll be just like home.”
“What sort of rooms will we get?” she said excitedly. “I mean, how many, and so on?”
He smiled. “You won’t have more than one room, and you’ll find it a struggle to pay even for that. If it’s anything like the English equivalent, it will have cheap furniture and one window. With luck there might be a gas ring or a hot plate for you to make coffee. You’ll share the bathroom with the rest of the house.”
“And the kitchen?”
He shook his head. “You can’t afford a kitchen. Your lunch will be the only hot meal of the day. When you come home you can have a cup of tea and a piece of cake, or you could make toast if you’ve got an electric fire.”
She knew that he was trying to prepare her for what he saw as unpleasant reality, but she found the whole thing wonderfully romantic. To think of being able to make tea and toast yourself, anytime you liked, in a little room of your own, with no parents to worry about and no servants to grumble at you.... It sounded heavenly. “Do the owners of these places generally live there?”
“Sometimes. It’s good if they do, because then they keep the place nice; although they poke their noses into your private life, too. But if the owner lives elsewhere, the building often gets run down: broken plumbing, peeling paint, leaking roofs, that sort of thing.”
Margaret realized she had an awful lot to learn, but nothing Harry said could dismay her: it was all too exhilarating. Before she could ask any more questions, the passengers and crew who had disembarked arrived back, and at the same moment Mother returned from the ladies’ room, looking pale but beautiful. Margaret’s elation was punctured. Recalling her conversation with Mother, she realized that the thrill of escaping with Harry would be mingled with heartache.
She did not normally eat a lot in the morning, but today she was ravenous. “I’d like some bacon and eggs,” she said. “Quite a lot, in fact.” She caught Harry’s eye and realized that she was hungry because she had been making love to him all night. She smothered a grin. He read her mind and looked away hastily.
The plane took off a few minutes later. Margaret found it no less exciting even though this was the third time she had experienced it. She no longer felt afraid, though.
She mulled over her conversation with Harry. He wanted to go to Boston with her! Although he was so handsome and charming, and must have had lots of chances with girls just like herself, he seemed to have fallen for her in a special way. It was terribly sudden, but he was being very sensible: not making extravagant vows, but ready to do just about anything to stay with her.
That commitment erased all doubt from her mind. Until now she had not allowed herself to think of a future with Harry, but suddenly she felt completely confident in him. She was going to have everything she wanted: freedom, independence and love.
As soon as the plane leveled out they were invited to help themselves from the breakfast buffet, and Margaret did so with alacrity. They all had strawberries and cream except for Percy, who preferred cornflakes. Father had champagne with his strawberries. Margaret also took hot rolls and butter.
As Margaret was about to return to the compartment, she caught the eye of Nancy Lenehan, who was hovering over the hot porridge. Nancy was as trim and smart as ever, with a navy silk blouse in place of the gray one she had worn yesterday. She beckoned to Margaret and said in a low voice: “I got a very important phone call in Botwood. I’m going to win today. You can take it that you have a job.”
Margaret beamed with pleasure. “Oh, thank you!”
Nancy put a small white business card on Margaret’s bread plate. “Just call me when you’re ready.”
“I will! In just a few days! Thank you!”
Nancy put a finger to her lips and winked.
Margaret returned to her compartment elated. She hoped Father had not seen the business card: she did not want him asking questions. Fortunately, he was too intent on his food to notice anything else.
But as she ate, she realized that he had to be told sooner or later. Mother had begged her to avoid a confrontation, but it could not be done. She had tried to sneak away the last time, and it had not worked. This time she had to announce openly that she was leaving, so that the world would know. There must be no secret about it, no excuse to call the police. She must make it clear to him that she had a place to go and friends to support her.
And this plane was surely the place to confront him. Elizabeth had done it on a train, and that had worked because Father had been obliged to behave himself. Later, in their hotel rooms, he could do anything he liked.
When should she tell him? Sooner rather than later: he would be in his best mood of the day after breakfast, full of champagne and food. Later, as the day wore on and he had a cocktail or two and some wine, he would become more irascible.
Percy stood up and said: “I’m going to get some more cornflakes.”
“Sit down,” Father said. “There’s bacon coming. You’ve had enough of that rubbish.” For some reason he was against cornflakes.
“I’m still hungry,” Percy said; and to Margaret’s astonishment he went out.
Father was dumbfounded. Percy had never openly defied him. Mother just stared. Everyone waited for Percy to return. He came back with a bowl full of cornflakes. They all watched. He sat down and began to eat.
Father said: “I told you not to take more of those.”
Percy said: “It’s not your stomach.” He continued to eat.
Father looked as if he was about to get up, but at that moment Nicky came in from the galley and handed him a plate of sausages, bacon and poached eggs. For a second Margaret thought Father might throw the plate at Percy; but he was too hungry. He picked up the knife and fork and said: “Bring me some English mustard.”
“I’m afraid we don’t carry mustard, sir.”
“No mustard?” Father said furiously. “How can I eat sausages without mustard?”
Nicky looked scared. “I’m sorry, sir—no one has ever asked before. I’ll make sure we have some on the next flight.”
“That’s not much use to me now, is it?”
“I guess not. I’m sorry.”
Father grunted and began to eat. He had taken out his anger on the steward, and Percy had got away with it. Margaret was amazed. This had never happened before.
Nicky brought her bacon and eggs and she tucked in heartily. Could it really be that Father was softening at last? The end of his political hopes, the beginning of the war, his exile, and the rebellion of his elder daughter might have combined to crush his ego and weaken his will.
There would never be a better moment to tell him.
She finished her breakfast, and waited for the others to finish theirs. Then she waited for the steward to
