Perfection Comes at a Price, page 8
He calculated that his prey was in the bag. Well and truly to be expected was that her father, once in the know, would speak vehemently against Eric. He would surely go through Eric’s life history with a fine toothcomb and what he would find would not impress the man. However, Eric felt certain that in the end Sir Philip would have to buckle under to his daughter’s pressure. Surely he would not want his only child to end up as a sour spinster? Would he not care for the possibility of grandchildren? Surely he would appreciate a husband with a career? As for Eric’s roots, Sir Philip would end up in hiding that past as effectively as he did himself.
The time had come for a dinner invitation.
“Philippa, at what time would you like me to come to pick you up? I’ve booked a table for seven fifteen.”
“That’s not necessary. I’ll meet you at the restaurant.”
“But I would pick you up in a taxi.”
“No, no. I shall be coming from my dressmakers,” Philippa lied.
It amused Eric to see how she avoided her parents from knowing him. It told him that she wanted to be sure of him before she did so. He really mattered to her, otherwise it would not have mattered whether her parents knew anything at all. He needed to act fast but not to make it seem so.
Eric was well in time at the restaurant. He rose when he saw Philippa.
“How lovely to see you. Let me help you with your coat. I’ll see that it’s put into the cloakroom.”
“Thank you Eric.”
“Let me escort you to our table. I have chosen one towards the alcove, I think it’s cosy, but if you would prefer to sit elsewhere, just say so.”
“It looks just perfect.”
As they lifted their menus to read, Eric said,
“Would you like an aperitif? A sherry perhaps?”
“No, thank you, Eric. But I may like a digestif.”
“Would you like a hot first course or a cold one?”
“A cold one. In fact, I’d like some salad.”
“For the main course, would you like meat, fish or poultry? That will determine the wine.”
“I would like some fish, please. I am fond of a filet of Dover sole.”
Eric did the ordering. He looked admiringly at the elegant woman in front of him. Philippa knew how to dress and how to apply make-up, a little touch here and there gave a splendid result. A light foundation took away the sallowness of her skin and a bit of greenish eyeshadow accentuated her light-brown eyes. Her lipstick was a soft coral colour. She did not use nail varnish. Thank goodness. Eric hated claws with varnish, they reminded him of his mother.
“Philippa, you look lovely. I’m so lucky that you agreed to come to dine with me. I’ve been wanting to get to know you better.”
“It makes me very happy that you sometimes partner me at bridge.”
“I cannot hog all your attention. I’m only a humble diplomatic seedling.”
“I’m not sure you’re using the correct language here. It’s well known that to get into the Diplomatic Service is a big hurdle. Not many actually make it.”
“Thank you for those nice words. It is true that I have worked hard. I am now at the stage where I would like to start to consider the serious sides of life.”
“Like what?”
“A woman in my life. But I tend to be a little shy and slightly frightened.”
“You don’t need to be frightened of me, Eric. Is there a woman in your life?”
“You know full well that there is. Have you not noticed that I have feelings towards you? I just haven’t dared to say anything.”
Philippa took Eric’s hand.
“I have noticed, but I too am a little shy. And I return your sentiments.”
“Philippa, I am falling in love with you. I really want you. For me you are the most wonderful woman in the world. No, don’t shake your head. It is what I think that matters. The opinions of others are totally unimportant. You fulfil what I want in a woman.”
“Oh, Eric. I love you.” She blurted out.
“And I love you too. I am the luckiest chap alive! Philippa, that you should love me is an intoxicating thought. Let’s get intoxicated with some champagne. This needs to be feted. Darling, my darling, how happy I am.”
Eric took both her hands and kissed them with meaning. His eyes bored into hers. He also stroked her hands. Philippa was in bliss. The unbelievable had happened. Eric wanted her. Her.
The champagne arrived and they sipped it.
“To our future,” said Eric.
Philippa was head over heels in love with Eric. He took his time before he kissed her properly. He knew that she was waiting for it on tenterhooks and on many occasions he had made it seem as if he was going to do so, only to pull back at the last minute and leave her with a peck. His technique had the desired effect. Philippa was on fire. When at last he did kiss her, he knew that she was ready to eat out of his hand. He made no attempts to bed her – she would only have her cake upon marriage. He gave her passionate looks and made poetic love declarations but kept all decorous. It was driving Philippa mad!
Oh my God! At last there was a man in her life. And a clever and handsome one at that. Did she dare to hope? She was frightened by her passion for him. Did he feel the same? She did not feel that he loved her only intellectually as had been the case with Hermann, after whom she had panted for four years in her mid-twenties. He had bedded her at her insistence but never with any enthusiasm. She had always had to instigate anything. Worse, she had been reduced to having to ask as to whether their relationship was leading towards marriage.
“Good heavens. This is sudden. We are still far too young for such a serious step. Your father would under no circumstances approve. He does not approve of me anyway. It is such early days. Why spoil the moment with something too serious? Matrimony is to be considered at length and many aspects weighed up carefully. Time is needed for discussions. This is all too sudden.”
It had been nothing but pure verbiage. The answer had been crystal clear: he had no intention whatsoever to marry her.
“I get it. You have never had any intentions whatsoever! I see no point in continuing this relationship.”
“You are so right. I shall get my stuff immediately and hurry out of your life.”
It was a terrible humiliation for Philippa to see how Hermann had sighed with relief and had hurtled out in a hurry. Grim.
She had raged and cried torrents in her father’s arms.
“For four years he has led me on. He has behaved disgracefully.”
“That is not quite right. It has always seemed to me that you were the one taking any lead at all.”
“That’s what I mean. He never suggested anything, and if I had not insisted, we would never have had a relationship.”
“Perhaps you should have taken some cue from him. There has to be at least some effort from both parties. Hermann had no go in him at all.”
“I did try to put some backbone into him, but I failed. I did all I could.”
“What a terrible statement. Do you realise what you have just said? ‘I did what I could.’ Please, Philippa, do not ever use those words again. And you did not fail. In the case of that individual there was nowhere to go. A wet, boring type if ever. Not worthy of you in any way. I did try to indicate to you that your hunt was hopeless and definitely not worth the time, but you steadfastly refused to listen to me. Because you had all that passion, you assumed that Hermann felt the same way.”
“I have been told that love has to be worked at. Oh Daddy, I so hoped that I would succeed. You know full well that as I am not particularly pretty, I have not had many takers. And I don’t want you to buy me a man.”
“No, darling. I did not think that you would want one to be bought. You are only thirty-two, you are young. The right man will come along.”
“If only. I know that mother and grandmother keep lighting candles to Our Lady with that hope in their minds.”
Her father had seen it all coming. His poor daughter. What a pity that she had inherited plain looks. She should have been a Spanish beauty, as were her mother Estefania and her grandmother Conchita from his side. She was a clever girl and had a responsible job at a research laboratory. If only her love-life had been in order! That dreadful Hermann, around whose neck she had hung for so long, had been a wimp. And boring wimp at that. A typical dry accountant. What his daughter had seen in the man escaped Sir Philip. All he knew was that the wretched girl had pursued him relentlessly. On the two occasions when Hermann had been trotted in front of his own eyes, Sir Philip had glared at the man like an enraged bull. As he was a large man with a ferocious temper, Hermann had been terrified of him.
Sir Philip had sighed with relief when the affair with Hermann was finally over. However, it had been heart breaking to see how disappointed Philippa had been. Before Hermann there had been only one boyfriend of note, and that had ended in ridicule. Philippa had pursued the young man for nearly two years, using all her ruses, till finally he had had to tell her that he was otherwise inclined. Philippa had felt idiotic. Her romance had been reduced to a farce! At least then there had not been those torrents of tears which followed the Hermann debacle. His daughter had the knack of choosing the wrong man.
For the past three years, as far as Sir Philip knew, there had been nobody in Philippa’s life. Now, however, since a few months, it had seemed to him that she might be seeing someone. There was a glow about her, and she did not say where she had been.
One Saturday, Sir Philip had been in a taxi going past the V&A when he had spotted his daughter in front of the museum in the company of an elegant, handsome man with blond hair, obviously younger than her. The expression in her eyes had been pure bliss. The protective fatherly instincts of Sir Philip were immediately roused. He would start to observe his daughter more closely in order to see where this might be leading.
“Steffi,” Sir Philip called as soon as he got home, “I think our daughter has found a new man.”
“Madre de Dios! Gracias! Oh Philip, if only this time it would hold. How do you know this?”
“Coming home in a taxi, I saw her by the V&A with a handsome fellow.”
“We must keep our fingers crossed, Philip.”
“Keep lighting those candles, my love.”
Sir Philip was correct in his surmise that his daughter had fallen in love again. This time Philippa said nothing to her parents about Eric’s courtship. She would only tell them if something came of it. She did not want to advertise that yet again somebody had dropped her.
At last that wonderful frosty January Saturday had come. Eric had taken her for a walk in Chiswick House gardens and then had asked her to tea in his little den. She had been delighted that at last she would see where he lived. The block of flats was not smart, but when Eric opened the door, Philippa had gasped in surprise. His place was wonderful. Tasteful and elegant. Her trained eye could see at once that all items of furniture were quality antiques.
Eric served tea and cakes at the table and when they had finished, he escorted her to one of the armchairs. Then in an old-fashioned way he bent one knee and proposed.
“Philippa, my darling. I love you. Will you marry me?”
“Yes, Eric, I will. I am the happiest girl alive.”
“And I the happiest man.”
Eric kissed her and cuddled her for a long time.
“Beloved Philippa, you are my one and only. I knew it from the start.”
More kisses and cuddles. Philippa was beside herself with happiness. She could but whisper “Oh Eric” over and over again with tears of joy in her eyes. He let her sob against his shoulder for a bit and then gave her a clean white handkerchief with an embroidered little E.
“Now, darling, calm down. We are going to be married. I must get you an engagement ring. What particular stone would you like? That’s better. A nice smile. I must also ask your father for his approval. If I get his approval, when would you like to get married?”
“As soon as possible. As soon as it can be mustered. A big wedding, that is. I want a real celebration and I know that my parents would want one too. As for the ring, I like classical. A square cut white diamond would be lovely. Oh, you have made me the happiest of all women. Of course you’ll get father’s approval. My parents will be delighted. And I’m dying to meet yours.”
“All in good time. Your father might not approve. I come from a very humble background. It has taken me enormous efforts to get to where I have.”
“Your background can be anything, as far as I am concerned. For all I care, your father can be a wandering gypsy. I am not marrying your family, I am marrying you.”
“Well, darling, families do sort of loom large when it comes to matters of marriage. And they are right to do so. A marriage is the union of two family lines. All parents are most anxious about future members. We will cross our bridges when we need to. I must also tell you that I do not have very much money so I won’t be able to keep you yet in the style you are accustomed to. I will work to give you the best I can. I do have a career in front of me and as I advance, all will be well.”
“Look, dearest, don’t worry about the money side. Let me deal with it,” said Philippa, deciding then and there that her father would prop them up for a proper start in life. Her parents were rich, they had from what to give. What else would they be keeping their money for?
Eric sensed that Philippa would badger her parents into submission and obtain the necessary financial assistance needed for a brilliant future.
Chapter 14
Philippa hurried to her parents’ house in Knightsbridge.
“Mother. Father. I’m engaged to be married.”
“This is very sudden,” said her father, “do we know him?”
“No, you don’t, but soon you will. His name is Eric Flint and he is a young diplomat at the Foreign Office. He has asked if he may come to see you, father, in order to obtain your approval.”
“Has he indeed! Of course he may come to see me. Whether he obtains my approval depends on what I see.”
“Eric is tall, handsome, blond…”
“It is not his looks that interest me,” said Sir Philip, thinking back to that day when he had seen his daughter with a tall, handsome, blond man.
“He has a career to look forward to. I might yet become a Lady,” purred Philippa.
“Good heavens, you are going fast,” said her mother, “Are you marrying him in order to become a Lady?”
“Mother! Of course not. Eric is the man of my dreams. I am so incredibly lucky to have met him. He is a gentleman through and through.”
“I should hope so. But what do you mean?” said her mother.
“He has behaved correctly and not tried to seduce me. More’s the pity. He believes in a proper order of events. The way to his bedroom leads through a well-lit church,” laughed Philippa, quoting Empress Eugenie.
It was arranged that Eric come to meet Philippa’s parents that coming week on Thursday evening. He could have his talk with Sir Philip first, and then they would have dinner. This was of course assuming that all went well.
Eric arrived punctually at seven with a dozen pink roses for Lady Saunders and a box of chocolates for Philippa. He was indeed a singularly elegant and handsome man, even better close up than from a distance thought Sir Philip. The man had a charming manner. He was the type to melt most women’s hearts concluded Sir Philip. Dear me, would he turn out to be skirt-chaser? What had attracted him to Philippa? Money had to be the answer.
Once the two men got into Sir Philip’s study, Eric got to the point at once. He had been blessed with the ability to read people’s characters, and he had seen that complete and brutal truth was necessary if he was to get on with Sir Philip.
“Sir Philip. I come from the gutter. I am a back-street boy, well and truly one of them. I grew up in some tenement flats in Southall. My parents are working class of the gutter level. My father is a postman and my mother a cleaning woman. Violence and swearing and cruelty are what was meted out to me. I am lucky that I live in this century, otherwise my parents would have put me to work for some fishmongers at the age of six or seven. They had no education, just enough to be able to read and add up, and they wanted none either. They were proud of being in their gutter. Shall I continue?”
“Please do.”
“They were not interested in the fact that I was the best pupil the school had had for a very long time. They never came to the teacher and parent meetings. They never turned up for any prize giving, though it was I who was getting the first prize regularly. “Don’t give yourself any airs and graces,” they said, “you are working class, and working class you’ll stay”. However, I was made of a different metal from them.”
“You must have been. Otherwise you would not be where you are now. I am astonished at what you are telling me.”
“Already by nine I had begun to see what a quagmire I was in. A burning wish to get out of it was born inside me. It burns to this day. It is that fire that is pushing me forward to realise my full capabilities. I will let nothing stop me. I would like to forget my background entirely, but that is impossible. It will always haunt me somewhere in the back of my mind, but I will not let it ruin my life. By the way, Sir Philip, Philippa knows nothing of this.”
“That is very wise of you. My girl is only full of happiness.”
“That is how I want it to stay. But to continue. At school there was a “guardian angel” for me, a Mr Hargreaves. He helped me over various hurdles and guided me into more and more interest in my surroundings and raised an intellectual curiosity to learn and gather knowledge. Bless that man, I am eternally grateful to him. Thus I educated myself into knowing first and foremost the Bible, then the museums and art galleries, classical music, literature, and so on. I changed my style, my surroundings, my accent, my all.”
“How did you manage it? Moneywise, that is. Even bus fares must be paid for.”
“I took on, from about the age of seven, a paper-round, did some shopping for old ladies, helped out anywhere in small jobs. And then saved. Had to hide it all from my parents, of course. At the age of seventeen I had the great luck of getting a portering job at a hospital for Sunday afternoons. That was a God send. I still have it.”
