“I don’t know what I mean. I just hope they’re all right.”
Margaret nodded agreement with Diana. “I don’t trust the brother. I think he’s dishonest.”
Mark said: “You may be right, but I guess there’s nothing we can do about it while we’re in midair. Besides —”
“He’s not my concern anymore, I know,” Diana said irritably. “But he was my husband for five years and I’m worried about him.”
“There will probably be a message from him waiting for us when we get to Port Washington,” Mark said soothingly.
“I hope so,” Diana said.
Davy, the steward, touched Margaret’s arm. “Lunch is ready, Lady Margaret, and your family are at table.”
“Thank you.” Margaret had no interest in food. However, these two could tell her no more.
As Margaret stood up to leave, Diana said: “Are you a friend of Mrs. Lenehan’s?”
“She was going to give me a job,” Margaret said bitterly. She turned away, biting her lip.
Her parents and Percy were already seated in the dining room, and the first course was being served: lobster cocktail made with fresh lobsters from Shediac. Margaret sat down and said automatically: “I’m so sorry to be late.” Father just glared at her.
She toyed with her food. She felt like laying her head on the table and bursting into tears. Harry and Nancy had both abandoned her with out warning. She was back at square one, with no way to support herself and no friends to help her. It was so unfair: she had tried to be like Elizabeth and plan everything, but her careful scheme had fallen apart.
The lobster was taken away and replaced by kidney soup. Margaret took one sip, and put down her spoon. She felt tired and irritable. She had a headache and no appetite. The superluxurious Clipper was beginning to feel like a prison. They had now been en route for almost twenty-seven hours, and she had had enough. She wanted to get into a real bed, with a soft mattress and lots of pillows, and go to sleep for a week.
The others were also feeling the strain. Mother was pale and tired. Father was hungover, with bloodshot eyes and bad breath. Percy was unsettled and nervy, like someone who has drunk too much strong coffee, and he kept throwing hostile looks at Father. Margaret had a feeling he. was going to do something outrageous before long.
For the main course they had a choice: fried sole with cardinal sauce, or fillet steak. She did not want either but she chose the fish. It came with potatoes and Brussels sprouts. She asked Nicky for a glass of white wine.
She thought about the dreary days ahead. She would stay with Mother and Father in the Waldorf, but Harry would not sneak into her room: she would lie in bed alone and long for him. She would have to accompany Mother on shopping trips for clothes. Then they would all go on to Connecticut. Without consulting her, they would enroll Margaret in a riding club and a tennis club, and she would be invited to parties. Mother would construct a whole social round for them in no time at all, and before long, there would be “suitable” boys coming for tea or cocktails or bicycle rides. How could she enter into all that when England was at war? The more she thought about it, the more depressed she felt.
For dessert there was apple tart with cream, or ice cream with chocolate sauce. Margaret ordered ice cream and ate it all.
Father asked for brandy with his coffee, then cleared his throat. He was about to make a speech. Could it be that he would apologize for the frightful scene at dinner yesterday? Impossible.
“Your mother and I have been discussing you,” he began.
“As if I were a disobedient parlormaid,” Margaret snapped.
Mother said: “You’re a disobedient child.”
“I’m nineteen years old, and I’ve been menstruating for six years—how could I be a child?”
“Hush!” Mother said, shocked. “The very fact that you can use such words in front of your father shows that you’re not yet adult!”
“I give up,” Margaret said. “I can’t win.”
Father said: “Your foolish attitude just confirms everything we’ve been saying. You can’t yet be trusted to lead a normal social life among people of your own class.”
“Thank heaven for that!”
Percy laughed out loud, and Father glared at him, but spoke to Margaret. “We’ve been trying to think of somewhere to send you, a place where you will have the minimum opportunity to cause trouble.”
“Did you consider a convent?”
He was not used to her cheeking him, but he controlled his anger with an effort. “This kind of talk won’t make things any better for you.”
“Better? How could things be better for me? My loving parents are determining my future, with only my best interests at heart. What more could I want?”
To her surprise, her mother shed a tear. “You’re very cruel, Margaret,” she said, wiping it away.
Margaret was touched. The sight of her mother weeping destroyed her resistance. She became meek again and said quietly: “What do you want me to do, Mother?”
Father answered the question. “You’re going to live with your aunt Clare. She has a place in Vermont. It’s in the mountains, rather remote; there will be nobody nearby for you to embarrass.”
Mother added: “My sister, Clare, is a wonderful woman. She never married. She’s the backbone of the Episcopalian Church in Brattleboro.”
Cold rage gripped Margaret, but, she kept herself under control. “How old is Aunt Clare?” she asked.
“In her fifties.”
“Does she live alone?”
“Apart from the servants, yes.”
Margaret was shaking with anger. “So this is my punishment for trying to live my own life,” she said in an unsteady voice. “I’m exiled to the mountains to live alone with a mad spinster aunt. How long do you expect me to stay there?”
“Until you’ve calmed down,” Father said. “A year, perhaps.”
“A year!” It seemed a lifetime. But they could not make her stay there. “Don’t be so stupid. I shall go mad, kill myself or run away.”
“You’re not to leave without our consent,” Father said. “And if you do ...” He hesitated.
Margaret looked at his face. My God, she thought, even he is ashamed of what he’s about to say. What on earth can it be?
He pressed his lips together in a determined line, then said: “If you run away, we will have you certified insane and committed to a lunatic asylum.”
Margaret gasped. She was speechless with horror. She had not imagined him capable of such cruelty. She looked at her mother, but Mother would not meet her eyes.
Percy stood up and flung down his napkin. “You bloody old fool, you’ve gone off your rocker,” he said, and he walked out.
If Percy had spoken like that a week ago there would have been hell to pay, but now he was ignored.
Margaret looked again at Father. His expression was guilty, defiant and obstinate. He knew he was doing wrong, but he would not change his mind.
At last she found the words to express what she felt in her heart.
“You’ve sentenced me to death,” she said.
Mother started to cry quietly.
Suddenly the engine note changed. Everyone heard it and all conversation stopped. There was a lurch, and the plane began to go down.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
When both port engines cut out at the same time, Eddie’s fate was sealed.
