Page 17 of The Importance of Being Emma
‘I see.’
And I did; the man I believed Churchill to be would always choose fame over family. He’d never yet been to England to see his father and it wasn’t for lack of funds. When his mother died giving birth to him, her sister Stella, a Sydney-based property tycoon with more money than sense, adopted him and brought him up. Tom was obliged to go along with this arrangement; he had never married Flynn’s mother and his career in the Merchant Navy wasn’t conducive to childrearing. He visited Flynn whenever Stella allowed, which wasn’t often, and kept in contact by phone and email; which meant he’d been able to give detailed and regular updates about his son to everyone in Highbury for the last twenty odd years. I’d always suspected these glowing accounts were wildly exaggerated, but I seemed to be in the minority.
Kate seemed to think I needed convincing. ‘He’s quite a celebrity over there, you know. Has his own TV series, Flynn’s Cook-in.’
‘I didn’t realise cooking was one of his many talents.’
‘Neither did I, but apparently he’s amazing at it. And anyway, being a TV chef is as much about personality as skill, isn’t it? Each week he has to turn up unexpectedly at someone’s house, with the TV crew obviously, and make a three-course meal out of whatever they’ve got in their kitchen. Can you imagine what it takes to do that?’ She paused to sip her tea.
‘Sheer balls or crass stupidity,’ I thought. ‘If not both.’
She went on, ‘And it’s been such a huge success that he’s hoping he can repeat the same formula over here. He was due to have a meeting about it at the BBC last week. He’s talking of re-arranging it for next month, but Tom and I daren’t get our hopes up.’
As I had little interest in Flynn Churchill, and even less patience with his cavalier attitude towards his father, I steered the conversation back to Emma.
‘But you know Emma and her obsessions. When something — or someone — new comes along, she’ll drop Harriet like a hot brick. Except it’ll be problematic, because the poor girl works for her.’
‘I think you’re being a bit harsh.’
‘Really?’ I raised one eyebrow. ‘Remember when she was thirteen, she was going to read all the classics? She made a list, and a work of art it was too, I got it framed for her as a joke. How many did she read?’
‘She started three, but—’
‘—didn’t finish any of them,’ I put in. ‘She just won’t stick at anything that requires discipline. And what about that bloody piano? She pestered Henry for lessons until he gave in, then never practised from one week to the next.’
‘All right, I give up,’ Kate said, laughing. ‘But, according to Emma, Harriet isn’t very clever, so maybe she won’t notice if she’s dropped.’
‘Whereas Emma’s too clever for her own good,’ I said, with a frown. ‘She’s been running rings round Henry and Izzy ever since Sophia died. She’s an expert at making everyone do what she wants, usually without them even realising it.’
‘Except for you, you never used to let her get away with anything.’
‘Someone needed to keep her under control. But I’ve been away a long time . . .’ I gave a rueful smile. ‘Henry obviously still has faith in me, he’s asked me to mentor her. That’s why I’m here, it’s our first meeting.’ Kate eyed me over the rim of herteacup. ‘You might have a battle on your hands, she’s not a little girl any more.’
‘I had noticed.’
‘Every time I see her, I think she looks more stunning than last time.’
‘She’s certainly prettier than she used to be,’ I said, getting up and walking to the French windows.
‘Pretty?’ Kate sounded outraged. ‘I’d call someone like Harriet pretty, but Emma’s absolutely gorgeous, she could easily have been a model.’
‘Too curvy,’ I said, staring out at the garden.
‘Nonsense, look at Sophie Dahl. And Emma’s one of those lucky women who don’t need make-up, such a beautiful complexion, Tom says she’d make a fortune promoting vitamin tablets.’ She paused. ‘You must see a huge change in her after eight years, surely?’
Henry had asked me the same question; this time, Emma wasn’t around to hear my answer. I watched a robin hop onto the edge of the bird bath, its vivid red breast a reminder that winter was on its way; and when winter was over, I’d be going back to India.
I took a deep breath and let down my guard. ‘I do see a big change, I hardly recognised her at first. As you say, she’s gorgeous. And she doesn’t seem to realise how attractive she is. She’s never been vain, at least not about her looks—’
I jerked round as the door burst open and Emma came in, looking extremely pleased with herself. ‘Harriet’s had to go, but we’ve had a great time.’
Kate stood up and turned to me. ‘Told you it would do her good,’ she said, under her breath.
Emma’s face fell. ‘No need for you to go too, Kate. Mark and I want to hear all about Tenerife.’
‘Mark and you need to have your meeting, I’ll tell you about Tenerife tomorrow when you and Henry come for lunch. Don’t worry, I’ll see myself out.’
And then it was just Emma and I, at last.
