Page 51 of Old Girls Behaving Badly

‘Caroline didn’t want a tacky disco, as she put it, after the wedding breakfast. She wanted to disappear off with her new husband on their honeymoon before everyone got incredibly drunk and disorderly. Apparently, Lavinia had reminded her that some guests had come an awfully long way and were staying overnight. And what were they supposed to do with their evening when the meal would most likely be over by five-thirty? She said the rest of us would have already had a week’s worth of fun and would probably be glad of an early finish, but the guests might feel short-changed.’

‘That does make some sense,’ Gina said.

‘Well, Caroline arranged with Leonard that the guests would be invited a day early for an afternoon and evening of fun. That way they could be as drunk as they liked and it wouldn’t spoil her day. She’s also booked most of the rooms in a large hotel in Norwich for the two nights and arranged for the guests to take over the bar once they get back on the Saturday. Leonard suggested a garden party for today and he’s organised the coaches for the two days. Between them they have thought of everything.’

‘Are you going to be well enough for a garden party?’ Gina asked her.

‘I’ll be fine if I can sit quietly in the shade.’

Gina turned back to the window to watch what was going on down below, but Dorothy pretended to be busy with her crossword as she hadn’t quite got the energy yet to get out of bed and join her.

‘This whole week is quite surreal,’ Gina said, turning back to Dorothy. ‘Do you know what I mean?’

‘I do, when time begins to have no meaning. It feels like we’ve been here for weeks already, not days.’

‘When I was fifteen I was hit by a car when I was crossing the road. It was entirely my own fault as I’d been reading a book at the time and not concentrating, something my mother later ripped shreds off me about, but that was after she had smothered me in love at the hospital. My leg had been seriously injured in the impact and I needed several pins to bring the bones back together. It wasn’t a great start to us returning to the UK. I was in hospital for three weeks in the end and time had stopped making any sense. You know what it’s like, all that bleeping and buzzing, a constant noise, day and night, and alongside the pain, deep sleep had been impossible. That was a surreal experience too.’

Dorothy thought back to those surreal and painful days in hospital with Philip and her new reality caught up with her again, as it often did. It still felt surreal, not having her husband with her.

‘I’m sorry to hear that your week here is similar to three weeks in hospital in crippling pain,’ Dorothy said, and Gina laughed.

‘I didn’t really mean it like that,’ she said, but Dorothy understood.

‘So tell me exactly what happened after you got back from talking to Peter,’ Dorothy probed, as Gina sat in one of her chairs.

Gina relayed her conversation with the vicar, not that any of it came as much of a surprise to Dorothy. He’d just confirmed what she’d known for a while. But no matter what he said about art being scattered across his estate, Dorothy remained convinced that her painting would be in this house.

‘Well, Juliet and I then went to the attic room – she insisted she’d go alone if I didn’t go with her. There was an odd collection of stuff up there. Then we went to his sitting room and I found a tapestry that I’m sure the police would be interested in. Most importantly we found a secret doorway in the oak panelling and inside was his Aladdin’s cave. That Vanitas painting in the oval room is almost a record of his stolen items. He hides them in that secret room and gets someone to paint them in plain sight. You are so right about this. I’m afraid not your painting, though.’

Dorothy had been sitting forward in anticipation, but now slumped back against her pillows. Although, she knew that if Gina had found it, she would have already told her.

‘Why is it so bloody hard to find that painting? All the stolen items in the world won’t help me. He might go to prison for his theft, but not for the one he should be inside for.’

She reached for her tea and Gina stepped forward to help her when she saw that Dorothy’s hand was shaking. Once Dorothy had taken a sip, Gina placed the cup back onto the table and continued.

‘Then Harry found us.’

‘Oh God! What happened?’ Dorothy was leaning forward in anticipation once more.

‘It’s okay. He was ready to talk about his involvement with Leonard. Here, Juliet recorded it.’

Gina handed Dorothy her phone and pressed play on the voice recording. They both listened in silence as the conversation unfolded for the second time.

‘So, we could just go to the police with this, I think,’ Gina said. ‘What do you suggest? It could all be over with a proper search warrant.’

Dorothy shook her head. ‘Leonard is a slippery snake and will find a way to wriggle out of this, leaving me with nothing and possibly with family who wouldn’t talk to me. Like I said before, I want to find the painting first. Let’s see if Harry does. Now he knows about it, he might realise he has seen it before and does know where it is.’

‘But he said there was stuff in the stables, the roof of the temple and goodness knows where else. We can’t look in all those places and I don’t think Harry has any intention of hanging around after the wedding. It’s not like he’s going to work out his notice.’

‘No,’ Dorothy agreed, ‘I very much doubt he’ll do that. Let’s just see though. Let’s get through the wedding and then see.’

Although Dorothy could very well see that Gina wasn’t convinced.

‘So what, then? Go and chat to the guests, enjoy the wedding and let whatever is going to happen, happen?’ Gina asked.

‘I think that now Harry knows what we’ve been doing, that might be the best idea. He might still just tell Leonard what we’ve been up to. He doesn’t owe us anything, after all.’

‘You might be right, Dorothy,’ Gina said. ‘But you know I do have some confidence in him – possibly misguided. Oh, and Juliet recorded a brief conversation between Rufus and his mum.’