had raged and jeered, and he had reduced her to tears, but he had not changed her mind: she was still going to leave.
Nonetheless, he had succeeded in fostering a doubt. She had already been worried that she might not have the courage to go through with her plans, might be paralyzed with anxiety at the last minute. He had inflamed that doubt with his mockery and derision. She had never done anything courageous in her entire life: could she manage it now? Yes, I will, she thought. I’m not too soft, and I’ll prove it.
He had discouraged her, but he had failed to make her change course. However, he might not have given up yet. She looked over Harry’s shoulder. Father was staring out of the window with a malevolent face. Elizabeth had defied him, but he had banished her, and she might never see her family again.
What awful revenge was he planning for Margaret?
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Diana Lovesey was thinking mournfully that true love did not last long.
When Mervyn first fell for her, he had delighted in catering to her every desire, the more capricious the better. At a moment’s notice he was ready to drive to Blackpool for a stick of rock candy, take an afternoon off and go to the cinema, or drop everything and fly to Paris. He was happy to visit every shop in Manchester looking for a cashmere scarf in just the right shade of blue-green, leave a concert halfway through because she was bored, or get up at five in the morning and go for breakfast at a workingmen’s cafe. But this attitude had not lasted long after the wedding. He rarely denied her anything, but he soon ceased to take pleasure in gratifying her whims. Delight turned to tolerance and then impatience and sometimes, toward the end, contempt.
Now she was wondering whether her relationship with Mark would follow the same pattern.
All summer he had been her slave, but now, within days of their running away together, they had had a row. On the second night of their elopement they had been so mad at each other that they had slept apart! In the middle of the night, when the storm broke and the plane bucked and tossed like a wild horse, Diana had been so frightened that she almost swallowed her pride and went to Mark’s bunk; but that would have been too humiliating, so she had just lain still, thinking she was going to die. She had hoped he would come to her, but he had been just as proud as she, and that had made her madder still.
This morning they had hardly spoken. She had woken up just as the plane was coming down at Botwood, and when she got up, Mark had already gone ashore. Now they sat opposite one another in the aisle seats of number 4 compartment, pretending to eat breakfast: Diana toyed with some strawberries and Mark was breaking up a roll without eating it.
She was no longer sure why it had made her so angry to learn that Mervyn was sharing the honeymoon suite with Nancy Lenehan. She just thought Mark should have sympathized with her and supported her. Instead he had questioned her right to feel that way and implied that she must still be in love with Mervyn. How could Mark say that, when she had given up everything to run away with him!
She looked around. On her right, Princess Lavinia and Lulu Bell were carrying on a desultory conversation. Neither had slept at all because of the storm, and both looked exhausted. To her left, across the aisle, the F.B.I, man, Ollis Field, and his prisoner, Frankie Gordino, ate in silence. Gordino’s foot was handcuffed to his seat. Everyone seemed tired and rather grumpy. It had been a long night.
Davy, the steward, came in and took away the breakfast plates. Princess Lavinia complained that her poached eggs had been too soft and her bacon overdone. Davy offered coffee. Diana did not take any.
She caught Mark’s eye and tried a smile. He glared at her. She said: “You haven’t spoken to me all morning.”
“Because you seem to be more interested in Mervyn than me!” he said.
Suddenly she felt contrite. Maybe he had a right to feel jealous. “I’m sorry, Mark,” she blurted out: “You’re the only man I’m interested in, truly.”
He reached out and took her hand. “Do you mean it?”
“Yes, I do. I feel such a fool. I’ve behaved so badly.”
He stroked the back of her hand. “You see ...” He looked into her eyes, and to her surprise she saw that he was close to tears. “You see, I’m terrified you’ll leave me.”
She had not been expecting that. She was quite shocked. It had never occurred to her that he was frightened of losing her.
He went on. “You’re so lovely, so desirable, you could have any man, and it’s hard to believe you want me. I’m scared you’ll realize your mistake and change your mind.”
She was touched. “You’re the most lovable man in the world—that’s why I fell for you.”
“You really don’t care for Mervyn?”
She hesitated, only for a moment, but it was enough.
Mark’s face changed again, and he said bitterly: “You do care for him.”
How could she explain? She was no longer in love with Mervyn, but he still had some kind of power over her. “It’s not what you think,” she said desperately.
Mark withdrew his hand. “Then set me straight. Tell me how it is.”
At that moment Mervyn entered the compartment.
He looked around, located Diana and said: “There you are.”
She immediately felt nervous. What did he want? Was he angry? She hoped he would not make a scene.
She looked at Mark. His face was pale and tense. He took a deep breath and said: “Look here, Lovesey—we don’t want another row, so maybe you should just get out of here.”
Mervyn ignored him and spoke to Diana. “We’ve got to talk about this.”
She studied him warily. His idea of a conversation could be one-sided: a “talk” sometimes turned out to be a harangue. However, he did not look aggressive. He was trying to keep his face expressionless, but she had a notion he was feeling sheepish. That made her curious. Cautiously she said: “I don’t want any fuss.”
“No fuss, I promise.”
“All right, then.”
Mervyn sat down beside her. Looking at Mark, he said: “Would you mind leaving us alone for a few minutes?”
“Hell, yes!” Mark said vociferously.
They both looked at her, and she realized she would have to decide. On balance she would have liked to be alone with Mervyn, but if she said that, she would hurt Mark. She hesitated, afraid to side with one or the other. Finally she thought: I’ve left Mervyn, and I’m with Mark; I should take his side. With her heart pounding, she said: “Say your piece, Mervyn. If you can’t say it in front of Mark, I don’t want to hear it.”
He looked shocked. “All right, all right,” he said irritably; then he composed himself and became mild again. “I’ve been thinking about some of the things you said. About me. How I became cold toward you. How miserable you’ve been.”
He paused. Diana said nothing. This was not like Mervyn. What was coming?
“I want to say that I’m really sorry.”
She was astonished. He meant it, she could tell. What had brought about this change?
He went on. “I wanted to make you happy. When we were first together, that was all I wanted to do. I never wanted you to be miserable. It’s wrong that you should be unhappy. You deserve happiness because you give it. You make people smile just by walking into a room.”
Tears came to her eyes. She knew it was true; people did love to look at her.
“It’s a sin to make you sad,” Mervyn said. “I shan’t do it anymore.”
Was he going to promise to be good? she wondered with a sudden stab of fear. Would he beg her to come back to him? She did not want him even to ask. “I’m not coming back to you,” she said anxiously.
He took no notice of that. “Does Mark make you happy?” he said.
She nodded.
“Will he be good to you?”
