As I watched Lori reconnect with Sophie and Richard I suddenly realised that if Sophie was now her mother, then in some indefinable but very real way she was mine too; if Lori felt that she had Mother back, then maybe she did, which meant I did too; the idea stunned me. I finally got it, now it all made sense; now, with a sudden cognitive flash of insight I saw what Lori had been seeing and feeling all along. Now I knew who we were, who this was family that we had become, and where we were going.
Jimmy appeared and loaded their luggage onto a pair of trolleys, and he pushed one while I pushed the other down to the car park. Sophie raised an eyebrow at the limousine, but said nothing while we loaded the luggage, saving it for when we were on the road. Once we were underway, Jimmy rolled up the privacy screen, sensing that there was family-stuff coming, and he didn’t need to hear it. Once the screen was up, Sophie raised that eyebrow again.
“A chauffeur, David? Really? I thought you were above such things!”
Lori glanced up from where she was huddled between Richard and Sophie, with Sophie’s arm wrapped possessively around her.
“It’s not like that, mo… Aunt Sophie, we had a little trouble in London, and Jimmy took care of it, so David gave him a job looking after me when he’s not around, and the car came with him. He’s a lovely man, Rosie’s completely smitten with him, and Jimmy’s fallen for Rosie in a big way; ask him if you don’t believe me.”
Sophie caught the change as Lori so very nearly called her “mom”, her eyes shining again as she looked fondly down at her.
“All right, darling girl, I know I’m probably going to regret this, but what exactly happened that you should need a bodyguard?”
Lori told her the story about that idiot in the restaurant, and the fracas outside, and how he’d been a minor TV celebrity, which hadn’t stopped Jimmy from shredding him with a well-aimed head-butt and a kick in the plums that still made mine twinge whenever I thought about it. Of course, the resultant press furore had forced us to do a runner and hole up a long way from civilisation, in Denham Hall, far from any press intrusion. Sophie grimaced at that, her look disapproving.
“You took this poor girl, in her condition, to that dreadful place? David, only jet lag and good manners prevents me from giving you such a slap right now! The very idea!”
Richard was grinning at me behind his hand, and I had to look away to bite down my own grin as Lori winked at me, stuck out her tongue, and snuggled even closer to her protector. I could see a long and deep involvement with my aunt and uncle looming, and something told me I’d better start learning about roses, it looked like Richard and I were going to be spending a lot of time in each other’s company…
Sophie leaned across and pressed the privacy button, and waited until the screen lowered before speaking to Jimmy.
“Young man, I understand I have you to thank for rescuing this lovely girl from some TV vermin. Loretta tells me you work for her, and that you’re doing a good job, and also that you seem to be forming an attachment with my niece, Rosamund. I hope you’re a serious-minded young man?”
Jimmy gulped and nodded; Sophie was a formidable lady, and I was quite tickled at the sight of a man who’d charged sniper nests in Sarajevo and infiltrated gun emplacements in Iraq actually sweating at her slightly raised eyebrow. Richard eventually took pity on him.
“What my wife is trying to say, in her own inimitable way, is that Rosie is one of her favourites, and she’s curious to know what your intentions are. Speak up, young feller, it’s all family here.”
Jimmy looked sideways at me, straightened-up at my wink, but kept his eyes firmly on the road ahead as he drove.
“Rosie… Rosamund and me, we have an, an understanding. I respect her, and would like to take things further, when she’s ready, and I’m able to support a wife and … and family. I fully intend to one day ask her to be my wife, when the time is right!”
He flicked a glance at the rear-view mirror, to see Sophie smiling slightly.
“Good answer, a very good answer, you may be just what she needs! I think under the circumstances we can dispense with the formalities; Rosamund calls my husband and I Uncle Richard and Aunt Sophie, if you are to join this family, I would expect you to do the same.”
Now Jimmy looked really alarmed.
“Yes of course, Mrs… I mean Aunt… I mean…!” he stuttered, completely unnerved by Sophie, who looked across at me and grinned, suddenly looking more like Lori than ever.
I reached over and patted his shoulder.
“Relax Jimmy, you passed! Aunt Sybil likes you, Aunt Sophie likes you, I doubt you care what Maude or Bella think of you, and best of all, Rosie likes you, you’re in!”
Jimmy didn’t say another word all the way back, but he looked a lot less terrified under the sheen of perspiration on his face. When we arrived at the house, Richard, and Hugo were waiting at the gate to greet their parents, both of them with their arms around a smiling Rosie. Once the kisses and hugs had been exchanged, Sophie took Lori and Rosie by the arm and piloted them into the house, while Jimmy, the boys, and I unloaded the luggage and trundled it into the house.
Sophie and the girls were closeted in the drawing room, so Richard, Hugo, and I sat and had a cold beer, while Jimmy had a coke as he was driving. We chatted about my work at St. Giles, the boys discussed the progress of their plan to hook themselves “an American stunner, just like yours, Davey, plans are afoot, old chap!”, and ribbed Jimmy about his romance with Rosie, roaring with laughter at his discomfort when Sophie had turned her blowtorch on him in the car.
“I tried to warn you, I did, really! Mother is an absolute terror when she forgets she’s a doting parent, better check to see if she didn’t bite your leg off when you weren’t looking!” grinned Hugo, “Of course, it’s your turn next, Davey; right now they’re in there plotting and planning, sealing your fate, blocking all exits, and setting dozens of little ankle-traps for the unwary; you had your chance, Davey, now she’s got hold of both of you, the moment of doom approacheth!”
“Stop frightening the lads,” grinned Uncle Richard from the doorway, dressed in casual clothes now and looking less like a senior diplomat and more like a dad. He poured himself a scotch, and came and sat with us, looking intently at me.
“David, the boys are only joking, but there’s an element of truth here; your aunt is meticulous, detail-oriented, and really quite… forceful once she gets the bit between her teeth,” he grinned at his understatement, as did I, once again marvelling at how much like my Grandfather he looked, and how much he reminded me of my father, what I remembered of him, anyway. He held his scotch up to the light for a moment, then took a sip as he collected his thoughts.
“You told me once how busy you were going to be getting back into training at your hospital, but woe betide you if your schedule interferes with Sophie’s arrangements. She won’t say anything, but Sophie can do more damage with a carefully aimed eyebrow than most people can do with a wild left-hook, so make sure you leave enough flexibility in your schedule to accommodate hers. She and Lori are very close now, as close as mother and daughter, so if you do anything that she perceives as a slight to that lovely girl, you’ll have her on you like an avenging angel. Be warned, and watch out for the danger signals; you’ll soon learn what they are…”
At that point, the door opened and the ladies came in from their plotting session in the Drawing Room, Lori looking radiant, Rosie smiling widely, and Sophie looking very pleased with herself.
As we all stood, waiting for the ladies to be seated, Rosie slipped up to Jimmy’s side and whispered something to him. He looked startled, but took her hand and allowed her to lead him outside. I grinned at the little by-play, and at Sophie and Lori’s smug looks.
“Mother, what have you done?” grinned Hugo, while Richard leaned back and saluted her with his beer.
“Mother, you’ve got that “look” again, the one you get when you set me up with some friend’s daughter; what have you done now?”
Sophie looked positively angelic.
“I? Nothing, nothing at all, just mentioned to Rosie what she needs to tell that young man of hers, and before you start accusing me of meddling, she was already going to do it, so unruffle yourselves! Now, I have important things to arrange, dears, so make yourselves useful, or make yourselves scarce, go on, shoo.”
Richard and Hugo tipped back their beers, as did I, and I made to follow them into the garden, to be stopped by my aunt.
“Not you, young man, this is your wedding too, so pay attention!”
Uncle Richard grinned at me behind her back, tipped his scotch in salute at me, and slipped out into the garden after the boys. Sophie took my arm, and slipped her arm through Lori’s, and the three of us stepped into the garden through the French double-doors.
Sophie looked around appreciatively at the garden.
“I did so love coming back here whenever we could, I always loved this garden, it will be nice to live here permanently; England in the summer, what a heavenly thought!”
I grinned as she strolled arm in arm with us along the patio, watching Uncle Richard and his sons examine the state of the rosebushes. Sophie stopped in front of a bower, smiling at her memories.