Page 97 of A Good Heart is Hard to Find
‘It’s not your fault. I should have looked over the visitor list instead of leaving it all to you. Duval is the name she’s been working under recently.’
‘Working under?’ I said, realizing that Dante’s hands were still gripping my shoulders somewhat painfully.
‘As a medium – seances, readings, that sort of hocus-pocus. But I’mnot having any of that in my home. In fact, I’m not even having you under my roof, whatever you want to call yourself, so you can just turn around and go back where you came from.’
Monsieur Duval trotted up the steps carrying two bags like a very small packhorse.
‘Where do you want these, luv?’ he said to his wife, in accents more Liverpudlian than French.
‘Inside,’ she snapped.
‘No,’ Dantesaid flatly. ‘I won’t have you in my house, I’ve just said. Rosetta will ring for a taxi.’
‘I’m booked for three nights, and three nights I will stay,’ she declared vehemently. ‘If you deny me entrance, I will merely camp here on the terrace. I will not be denied! There must be one last chance to call back the spirit of my poor child … my one reason for living, my little … my little … Emma!’
Under our horrified gaze she began to turn an interesting if deathly shade of mauve and put one hand to her huge and palpitating bosom.
Dante thrust me aside and grabbed her as she began to crumple. She tried weakly to fend him off: ‘Leave me – don’t you dare to lay hands on me! Killer! Murderer!’
Her husband dropped the bags and, wresting a small bottle from one pocket, unscrewed the lid andwaved it under her nose.
‘Not that – the pill, for underneath her tongue!’ Dante snapped, and the little man, looking panic-stricken, opened her capacious handbag, rummaged about and came up with a small bottle.
Dante grabbed it, glanced at the label, then shook out a tiny pill and shoved it into Madame’s mouth like someone worming a particularly recalcitrant cat.
It was ruthlessly efficient,and it worked. After only a few minutes she had straightened and her colour was normal enough for Rosetta to lead her inside, with one apologetic look at Dante, who stared after them looking particularly dark and inscrutable, like Mr Rochester with a bad attitude (and a bad hair day).
I sincerely hoped there wasn’t a madwoman in his attic, for although Pa confidently expected me to burn, I hopedto delay the experience for as long as possible.
‘Sorry about that, lad,’ Mr Duval said apologetically. ‘We’ve only been married a couple of months – a whirlwind romance, it was – so I’m not too nippy when poor Louie gets these funny turns. You must be Dante Chase?’
‘Yes, and without wishing to appear rude, I would like you and your wife out of my house as soon as she’s sufficiently recovered.’
‘Yes, but it takes it out of her, this sort of thing, poor luv,’ he said. ‘You can’t send her off like that or maybeherdeath will be on your head too … though the way she explains about poor Emma, it doesn’t seem to me you could help the poor girl dying!’
‘No, but the aneurysm might not have killed her if she hadn’t been pregnant, and she was only pregnant because she thought it would bringus back together – and I don’t know why I’m standing on my own doorstep discussing my personal history with a complete stranger!’
‘Almost your dad-in-law,’ he said, with a natural cheeriness that was bound to become very, very irritating exceedingly quickly.
Rosetta came back out looking worried. ‘She’s gone upstairs with Eddie – she said he had a lovely aura.’
‘They all say that,’ I commented.
‘Dante, she’ll have to stay now: I can’t put her out. Perhaps she’ll be too unwell to do or say anything particularly awful?’
‘I doubt it, these attacks have never stopped her before. Rosetta, this is her new husband.’
‘Reg Bangs.’
‘Does he?’ I said without thinking.
Dante gave me an evil look. ‘You’ll have to excuse the hired help.’
‘Ha! ha!’ laughed Reg. ‘I get that one all the time! Butmy Louie, she likes to be called Madame Duval for professional reasons. I was Rupert Swayle myself when I was on the stage, but you can call me Reg. Now don’t you worry,’ he said to Dante and Rosetta, ‘I’ll keep Louie in line.’
‘I don’t see what she hopes to gain by coming here and hounding me like this,’ Dante said. ‘I let her hold her damnseances after Emma died because I’d promised to doit and I wasn’t going back on my word, but I’m certainly not having any of that here.’
‘I’ll tell her.’
