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“I HOPE YOU DON’T MIND, Lek Shawcross gave me your address.” Georgina’s tone was as casual as if she’d just come round the corner on a whim.
Edward stepped aside and she came in. And stopped, obviously awaiting instructions.
“Have you come here from Thailand?” he said. “Yes, yes, obviously you have. What I mean is, have you been in the country long? It’s rather late. Would you like a cup of coffee? Come in and sit down. I’ll just find myself some clothes.”
She sat down in the Living Room.
“Coffee?” he said.
“That would be nice.”
He forgot about changing into his clothes. He made two cups of coffee, brought them in and sat down beside her.
“Sorry to wake you up,” she said. “I know it’s two o’clock in the morning.”
“Where are you staying?”
“Nowhere yet. I’ve only just arrived.”
“Stay here.”
“Thank you. Aren’t you going to ask me why I’m here?”
“I didn’t want to appear rude. And I’m still getting over the surprise, if I’m honest.”
“It’s about Charles and Noonie.”
“Mr and Mrs Charles Swinter.”
“Quite. He left her behind in Thailand, three days or so after they were married. Since then, he’s made no attempt to contact her, nothing.”
“I see. Has she tried to contact him?”
“Several times. And so have I.”
“And?”
“And there’s no reply.”
Edward raised his eyebrows. “What do you want me to do about it? I mean, that came out wrongly. ‘How can I help’, is what I meant to say.”
“Edward, what sort of a man is this Charles Swinter? Is he even above board?”
“You mean, you’ve flown all the way from Phuket to ask me that? Couldn’t you have phoned me?”
“I need answers and I can’t afford to wait. Noonie will be arriving shortly then it’ll be too late for me to reassure myself. I want to look into your eyes as you answer my questions. In the last resort, I’ll go round and see Charles Swinter myself and wring his neck if need be.”
“Bit drastic.”
“So answer my question. Is he above board?”
“I’ve known him for a long time. He can be a bit abrasive but he’s essentially honourable. For the record, I’m not happy that he’s married someone of Noonie’s age: I think it was a bad idea for both of them. But well, if they’re both going into it with their eyes open, who am I to interfere? He won’t hurt her by design, not if I know him. But I haven’t seen him myself for a while. I have to confess, I’ve been too wrapped up in the house-move to bother. I should have gone round and seen him. But it was ... painful.”
“Are you in love with her?”
He brandished an estate agent’s flyer. “I’m doing everything I can to remedy the fact. Why? Has Lek said anything?”
She smiled.
“I can’t imagine Charles would deliberately neglect her,” he said. “He must be ill. It’s only to be expected when one reaches his age.”
She scoffed. “I’d appreciate you keeping that sort of view to yourself, thank you. He’s twenty-five years younger than me and I’m still going strong.”
The air crackled. They both felt it and sat up.
“How old do you think Charles is?” he said.
“How old is he?”
“How old are you?”
“I’m eighty.”
“He’s the same age as you.”
Georgina crossed her hands on her mouth, then used them to cover her temples. “No, he isn’t. He – he’s fifty-five. Isn’t he?”
“Fifty-five? No, he’s eighty. He told you he was - fifty-five?”
Georgina nodded.
“And – and that’s what Noonie thinks?”
She nodded again. “So he’s ‘essentially honourable’, is he? ‘He won’t hurt her by design’, won’t he? – is that right? That was what you said, wasn’t it?”
“Clearly I was wrong.”
“Clearly.”
“Come to think of it,” he said, “he did make a joke about being fifty-five when I was with him. Oh my God, I thought it was a joke – and he was – and I - ”
They sat in shock for a few moments.
“So now what?” he said.
“We tell Noonie, of course. What else?”
“She married him. She must love him. What does it matter if he’s eighty? He’s still the same person.”
“How can you say that?”
“You’re right, I’m not thinking straight.”
“Damn right you’re not. She thought she was marrying someone honest. Also, someone who could provide her with children and long-term companionship. She’s been duped.”
“I can’t believe it. Why would Charles lie?”
“Because he’s a coward. He can’t face the truth about himself.”
“I don’t follow.”
“He needs young flesh.”
“Yes, yes: ... I still don’t know what you mean. Let’s move on.”
“Agreed. Edward, I can’t say I thought there was something odd about Noonie’s marriage from the first. It was Lek that converted me to that notion. Lek noticed something about you - ”
“Me? How do I fit into all this?”
“After you’d discovered that Noonie was engaged you went to see Charles alone at the Brunton Taylorforth hotel – do you remember?”
“Only too well.”
“Lek said you seemed ‘haunted’.”
“He swore me to secrecy, because he’d been sworn to secrecy himself, by his marriage-broker. I can’t remember the name of the marriage-broker.”
“David Blameworth. On whose account, Lek and I are paying for a Private Detective. You might as well spill Charles’s little secret now. We’re going to find it out anyway and we’re going to be finding out for Noonie’s sake. Lek and I aren’t getting anything out of it except diminishing bank balances.”
“Let me pay for it, then.”
“No. We went in with our eyes open. I wasn’t fishing.”
“I insist, Georgina. I can afford it and I don’t want money to be an obstacle. The Shawcrosses aren’t rich and, with respect, I don’t suppose you are. And it’s not about us. It’s about Noonie.”
“Can you honestly afford it?”
He dipped into the letter rack and gave her an old bank statement. “Absolutely. And I refuse to let you out of the house till you’ve agreed.”
She looked at it and whistled. “But I don’t understand. Why do you live here? You could live anywhere.”
“It’s a house. How much house does a person need?”
“Done, then. And thank you. In the meantime: your conversation with Charles.”
He passed his hands through his hair. “Two things upset me, really. Firstly, the way he spoke about Noonie. It was as if he couldn’t see the difference between having a wife and having a maidservant. But then I was told what she was getting out of it. The ‘dowry’, I believe it’s called. A cool three hundred thousand pounds. With that much money on the table, I don’t suppose either of them would have been happy to listen to me in my capacity as the talking-you-out-of-your-stupid-decision guy. At the time it just seemed so sordid. But after a while, it also seemed so ... mysterious. She didn’t seem to be like that.”
“Three hundred thousand pounds, you say? Surely you mean Bahts?”
“No, he was quite specific. Either way, it’s peanuts to him.”
“It’s a lot more than the Kitkailart family ever got wind of.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, David Blameworth told them that Charles was offering the equivalent of twenty thousand pounds. He advised them to hold out for thirty. Out of that, they had to pay back an earlier loan to David Blameworth plus his ten per cent. They probably didn’t end up with very much, relatively speaking. Although still a lot by Thai standards. Of course, the two hundred and seventy odd thousand that David Blameworth pocketed is also a lot.”
“Good God.”
“Didn’t it occur to you that three hundred thousand pounds is a hell of a lot to pay for a dowry?”
“I don’t know anything about dowries. Why should I?”
“No, of course you don’t. And you’re in love with her so you would probably have thought it was quite reasonable, anyway.”
“Not exactly. I thought she was fleecing him.”
“But now ...?”
“Now I wish I’d gone to David Blameworth and offered him a cool half million. Not that it would have been any use. Charles could have outbid me whatever I’d put on the table. He doesn’t take kindly to the idea of being pipped.”
“I think if you’d have put anything on the table, she’d have picked you. I’ll ask you again what I asked you earlier. Are you in love with her?”
“Yes. I am.”
“Because things might be about to move quickly. Right now, Noonie thinks Charles has got cold feet, that he’s wishing he’d never married her and hoping she’ll go away. Sadly, I also think that’s the theory most consistent with the evidence. In that case, she’ll most likely go back to Thailand and try to pick up where she left off. But she’ll be crushed. Under those circumstances, you might be able to win her but only if you’re prepared to wait a long time. And you’d probably have to move to Thailand. I mean, permanently.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“You said you love her. You need to know what you’re up against.”
“I could do those things. Happily. But ... we’re talking pie in the sky. There’s a simple explanation, I know there is. Charles isn’t like that. I mean, apart from anything else, if he thought he’d made a mistake, he wouldn’t keep his head down and wait for it to sort itself out. That’s not his way. The phrase ‘brutally honest’ was made for him. He’d be honest ...”
“And brutal. Yes, I get the picture.”
“I know there’s a simple explanation. There must be.”
“Listen, this is what we’re going to do. I’m going to stay here tonight, then I’ll be off early tomorrow morning. Noonie’s arriving tomorrow night. You’re going to visit her and see what’s happened to Charles. I need you to keep an eye on her, of course. She mustn’t know I’ve been here. She told me in no uncertain terms not to follow her. Once I’m back in Phuket, I’m going to say nothing to David Blameworth. At the moment, we’ve just enough evidence to bring him to book for fraud, but unfortunately, I couldn’t resist warning him that we’re after him, which means he’ll probably have covered his tracks to a certain extent. We need to keep our Private Detective - Prakong Yanphaisarn, he’s called – on the case. And we need to keep in constant communication with one another. Do you do e-mail?”
He raised his eyebrows. “Who doesn’t?”
“Me, until recently.”
“More coffee?”
“Here’s my address,” she said, taking out a card. “Send me yours. Now look, Edward. I’m holding you personally responsible for her while she’s over here, do you understand? She’s in your care. I want you to keep the closest of close eyes on her and make sure she comes to no harm. For your sake as much as mine.”
“For my sake?”
“Come on, think. Even if it’s all a silly misunderstanding and Charles Swinter’s waiting for her at the airport with a bouquet of flowers and a stretch limo: he’s eighty. He probably isn’t going to last much longer. You were always the one. I knew it as soon as I met you. Even she knows it now - and she knows I know it too, although she’s giving nothing away. I’ve never had that feeling about any man before – that she’d be entirely happy with him. Oh, she’s complicated, I accept that. There are lots of layers to her. But somehow ... I can’t explain it: I just know. It’s you.”
“I can’t help feeling you’re being over-optimistic. But at least I can put the house-move on hold while we get her sorted. Don’t worry: yes, I’ll look after her.”
