Rough Cut- Diamonds to Die For, page 27
part #1 of Charlie Robertson Series
“I do hope you like it. It’s been a few weeks since I last saw it, and I know it’s been empty for about two months. I’ll feel terrible if you don’t like it. I told Charlie he should come over to see it for himself, but he said that he trusted me and to just buy it, but now I’m responsible if he doesn’t like it.”
“Don’t worry. My son-in-law trusts you, so I trust you.”
They went up to the top floor and finally came to the apartment door where Catherine pulled out a substantial Chubb key and opened it. The apartment was bare as all the furniture and fittings had been removed making the rooms look even bigger than their already substantial dimensions. Sandra had never been in such a large apartment before in her life, and although she had imagined what it might look like, the reality far exceeded any preconceptions she might have had. The lounge room alone must have been at least 30-feet long and 20-feet wide. The whole place was light and airy with high ceilings and an enfilade of tall windows looking out over the Thames.
Catherine was looking expectantly at Sandra, waiting to get some reaction from her. After looking in the huge lounge room, she explored all four bedrooms with the master bedroom also having its own ensuite, the dining room big enough to seat twelve, the near new gourmet kitchen with its granite benchtops, the main bathroom, and the hallway with its guest toilet and four large linen cupboards. When she had finished exploring she turned to Catherine and gushed,
“I absolutely love it!” much to Catherine’s great relief.
They spent the next week going over the apartment with the interior design company the Hotel used for its own work. The only significant building work required was to modernise the two bathrooms and the additional guest toilet.
By Friday 3rd December 1982, all the renovations and redecorating were finished, with the new furniture, curtains, and light fittings installed the following week. Over the weekend Sandra, Jim, and Sarah moved from the Savoy Hotel into their newly decorated Savoy Court apartment. They couldn’t wait to show their son-in-law and grandson the new place.
The apartment looked sensational, and even the interior designer who’d helped them, was so impressed with the end result, he wanted to take photos for his work portfolio, gushing,
“It’s just divine my love, just divine.”
Sandra just hoped Charlie would think the same when he saw the bill.
‘Sandra. Jim. Andrew. Sarah. Dear Sarah, what are you doing while I’m in here? Are you all okay? Please God, nothing has happened to you? Watch out for the bastards that did this to me. Jack will be protecting you, won’t he?
And Catherine. She’s probably off the scene by now. She won’t want anything to do with a near dead cripple. She’s long gone old son, probably with some rich American from the Savoy.’
Susan Harrison could see and hear a deep sigh, and then there was an agonisingly long pause before he took another breath, almost as if he didn’t want to continue breathing. She could see his heart rate slowing dramatically from the monitors, and then tears began to form under the closed eyelids before running down both cheeks. She wiped them away then started to massage his right hand hoping that he might become aware of the physical contact.
“Don’t be sad Charlie. You’re getting better. Dr Sutcliffe says you’ll wake up soon. Then we can say hello.”
Chapter Thirty Eight
Charlie & Andrew in London
Diamond Needle:
A thin inclusion of variable length inside a diamond.
When the Qantas flight touched down at Heathrow early on the morning of Sunday 12th December 1982, Charlie and Andrew were full of expectation. They were keen to see their family after being apart for so long, and keen to see the new apartment, but it seemed to take an interminable amount of time to get from the airport into the city. After fighting their way through west London along the M4 and then the A4, they managed to get a clear run along Chelsea embankment and then through to Millbank but hit gridlock again at Westminster. Eventually, the taxi dropped them outside the Savoy in the Strand.
Charlie paid the taxi driver then walked into the Hotel Lobby hoping to meet Catherine, only to be told that it was her day off, and, ‘could someone else assist them?’ He asked for directions to the apartment, and a bellboy took their cases on a trolley and led the way. When they reached the apartment, Charlie tipped the bellboy, took their cases and knocked on the door. He could hear Sarah running along the corridor inside and opening the lock, and when he finally saw her, he swept her up in his arms and kissed her. Andrew did the same, as his Dad moved on to hug and kiss Sandra and then hug Jim.
They were still standing just inside the front door of the apartment, and hadn’t really seen any of it yet, but the high ceilings and long strips of light ash wood flooring leading down the corridor to the lounge room, already had them excited and they had a similar reaction to Sandra’s when she first walked into the apartment. It was much larger than either of them had imagined, and it looked spectacular. Charlie gave Sandra a special hug and kiss to thank her for all her hard work organising the renovations and the new furniture. She told him that he also needed to thank Catherine, because she had done at least as much as she had, but proudly showed Charlie and Andrew their handiwork as she took them on a tour of the whole apartment. She had put Charlie in the master bedroom despite his protests, and Andrew in his own bedroom all made up and ready for them. Sarah also had her own bedroom with Jim and Sandra in the 4th bedroom. Sandra had also stocked the large fridge, but up until now had hardly used the gourmet kitchen. She was looking forward to doing so tonight by cooking a family dinner.
Charlie couldn’t help but wonder where Catherine was and had hoped to see her downstairs in the Hotel Lobby when they first arrived, but Sandra reminded him that it was Sunday, and Catherine’s day off when she usually went to have lunch with her mother. He was surprised that Sandra already knew these personal details about Catherine and was hoping above all else that his in-laws and his daughter liked her.
“And um, how did you… err … find Catherine?”
Sandra knew exactly what Charlie meant but playfully replied,
“We didn’t find Catherine. She found us walking across the Hotel Lobby when we first arrived.”
“I… err… meant how did you get on...did you like her?” but he really didn’t want to know the answer if it was negative. Jim spoke up,
“Stop teasing him, Sandra. We don’t like her Charlie, we love her!” Sarah spoke up,
“Catherine’s got us all tickets to see Cats!”
Charlie smiled, it was a great relief. Andrew, already reading his Dad’s mind said,
“Well it seems I’m the only one not to meet this mysterious woman, but based on what you’ve all said, I’m sure she’s wonderful Dad.”
“Thanks, son.”
“Now why don’t you boys unpack, get cleaned up, and we’ll go out for lunch, then back here later for a family dinner,” Sandra said, having everything planned and organised.
Charlie threw his suitcase onto the king-sized bed and quickly started unpacking. He didn’t want to waste a moment. After a quick shower and shave, he dressed in fresh casual clothes and walked out into the lounge room. Andrew came out of his room only a few minutes later.
“Since Andrew hasn’t been to London before, I thought we could go for a short walk down the Strand to Trafalgar Square to see the famous sights. It’s fairly cold outside, so I’ve booked a table for lunch at the Portrait Restaurant at the top of the National Portrait Gallery, which I’m told has some spectacular views over London. There’s also a Rembrandt exhibition there if we fancy that after lunch or if the weather turns bad,” Sandra suggested.
“Sounds good to me,” Charlie said and went back into his bedroom to grab a coat.
After an hour and a half walking, talking, taking photographs of pigeons, and standing next to the massive stone lions guarding Nelson’s column, Sandra chased them all up because they were due at the restaurant. They took the lift up to the Portrait Restaurant with Sandra leading the way. Charlie looked out through the large glass windows at the panoramic view across the rooftops of London as he approached their table. Maybe he was tired from the long trip, but his usual antennae weren’t working.
The maître d’ had directed them to a table set for seven, at the far end of the restaurant near a window where two women were already sitting with their backs to them. It was only when Charlie was almost there that he noticed the two women, one of whom was in a wheelchair, and he initially thought he must be at the wrong table. One of the women, still with her back to him, stood up and he noticed her long auburn hair and elegant clothes. His mouth unconsciously fell open as he became mesmerised by the sight of her. He’d forgotten how beautiful she was. She turned, in what seemed to be in slow motion to face him, and said in her unmistakable voice,
“Hello Charlie. Miss me?”
‘Jesus Christ!’, he was going to have a heart attack he was sure of it. Charlie instantly knew how Humphrey Bogart must have felt when Lauren Bacall told him he just had to ‘whistle’. He couldn’t whistle. He couldn’t even move. He didn’t know whether to shake her hand, or hug her, or kiss her, but fortunately, she relieved his paralysis by taking a step forward and kissing him on the cheek, and only then was he able to whisper,
“I’ve missed you like crazy, and I’m so sorry I’ve taken so long to come back.”
“I’ve missed you too,” then raising her voice slightly said, “May I introduce my mother, Barbara Walker. Mum, this is Charlie Robertson, the man I told you about.”
Charlie took a step around the wheelchair, so her mother didn’t have to strain to look behind her. She put out her hand and said,
“Hello Mr Robertson. I’ve heard a lot about you. Your name sounds familiar to me, but I can’t remember from where…” she paused as she was trying to remember, but gave up and continued, “I understand you like my daughter.”
She was probably in her early seventies, with silver hair and a frail handshake, but Charlie could see where Catherine got her looks from.
“Yes, I like your daughter very much Mrs Walker, and please call me Charlie.”
“You don’t sound Australian. I thought you were from Australia?” Barbara queried.
“Mum, I told you Charlie was born in London, close to where you were, so he’s a Cockney, but he was sent out to Australia during the war.”
“Oh yes, I remember. I’m sorry Charlie I get forgetful these days.”
Before Charlie could say any more Catherine continued with the introductions.
“And this is Charlie’s family, mum. Sandra and Jim, Charlie’s in-laws, and this is Sarah, Charlie’s daughter, and this handsome young man must be Andrew, Charlie’s son,” and hesitated before saying,
“Hello Andrew.” She extended her hand and directed her clear blue eyes straight towards him.
Andrew thought he might have a heart attack as well, not knowing that his Dad had felt exactly the same only a few seconds earlier, and just gently shook her smooth hand with its long warm fingers. He could see why his Dad was attracted to her. She looked like a movie star. ‘Go Dad!’ he thought, ‘Lucky bugger’. But he just smiled and said,
“Hello Catherine, nice to meet you at long last.”
Sandra and Catherine had planned the surprise lunchtime meeting of course. They settled down for a long leisurely lunch as the rain started to fall and run down the glass outside, but it didn’t dampen their enthusiasm or their conversation. Sandra and Catherine talked in detail about refurbishing the apartment, top of their list. Jim and Sarah described all the sightseeing they had done in London, with Sarah saying,
“Dad, you just have to go to the Science Museum, it’s brilliant,” reassuring Charlie that this trip wouldn’t stop her learning. Andrew told them about Sydney and how his mining and economics degrees were going.
When there was a natural break in the conversation, and Charlie was about to give them the latest news about Robertson Mining, Barbara, sitting opposite him, leaned over and said,
“You know I was born in 1910 and London has changed a lot since then. We could never afford to go out to fancy places like this.”
“I’ll bet. Times were much harder then,” was all Charlie could politely think to say.
“I was born just off the Walworth Road in Camberwell, but you wouldn’t know where that is I’m sure,” she continued.
Charlie sat upright as if he had just been hit by a bolt of lightning.
“So was I.” It turned out they’d lived only a few streets away from each other. Then Barbara asked,
“What was your mother’s name?”
“Ethel Robertson and her husband’s name was Frank,” Charlie told her, being careful not to say that Frank was his father because now he knew that he wasn’t.
“Now let me think. Did you mother have an older sister, Henrietta?” Barbara persisted. Charlie was stunned.
“Yes,” he replied.
“Then I remember your mother, a very attractive girl. She was older than me, and she was always very kind to me when I was growing up. But her husband, Frank, was a pig. He used to hit her. I’m sorry Charlie, I shouldn’t be saying this.”
“No, Mrs Walker it’s fine. I know her husband was a bad man and made my mother’s life miserable, but he’s gone now,” Charlie reassured her, so she carried on.
“I always liked your mother, but we drifted apart when she got married because her husband didn’t like her to have any friends of her own. Years later, after the war, when he was in a mental hospital, we met a few times when she came up to London and we had tea together. She always spoke about you Charlie, that’s why your name is so familiar to me. I went down to visit her once in Hampshire where she lived with her sister, Henrietta. When I got there, Henrietta told me she’d died two days earlier. It was so sad. Her sister said it was from a broken heart, and she gave me this keepsake to remember her by,” and Barbara opened a small round pendant hanging from a silver chain around her neck, and inside was an old black and white photograph of a beautiful, smiling young woman staring at the camera.
“That’s how I like to remember your mother. She was my friend,” Barbara said, and then looked up to see Charlie with a tear silently running down his cheek.
All the others who had been busy with their own conversations suddenly sensed a change in mood at Charlie’s end of the table and looked over. Sarah, forever protective of her Dad said,
“What’s wrong Dad?”
“Ah… I just had something in my eye,” he said, but that didn’t fool anyone.
“Mum, what did you say?” now Catherine was defending him, but it was unnecessary.
“No everything’s fine, it was just something a bit sad. Your lovely mother knew my mother, and it turns out that they were friends. That photo around her neck is of my mother,” Charlie explained.
They were now all interested in Barbara’s past, and the conversation continued over lunch before they finally had to leave. Charlie invited Barbara and Catherine for Christmas dinner, and he promised to invite his Aunt Hett up from Hampshire to join them as well. Barbara tried to protest, but Charlie was insistent and wouldn’t take no for an answer. As they were leaving Catherine moved close to him and said,
“Well, it seems that you’re a hit with my mother.”
“I like her, she’s a lovely lady who’s seen a lot,” he replied seriously.
Then to lighten Charlie’s mood she joked,
“I’d better watch out for the competition.”
“Absolutely. I think I’ll trade you in for the more mature model.”
She playfully punched him on the arm,
“You can’t trade me in until we’ve actually been out together, and you still owe me a date, Charlie Robertson.”
“Well, how about tomorrow night then? Just you and me for dinner?”
“That’s the worst pick-up line I’ve ever heard, but yes dinner would be great. Let’s go to the George Inn on the southern side of London Bridge. It’s an old coaching inn and has plenty of atmosphere. I’ll meet you there about 7.30 if that sounds okay?”
“It’s a date!” and they both left the restaurant smiling and happy, looking forward to their first real dinner date tomorrow night.
“See that’s a faint smile, no question,” Susan Harrison said pointing to Charlie’s face.
“Well, I think you may be right.” Dr Sutcliffe replied looking closely at Charlie as he held his wrist checking his pulse.
“What does it mean?”
“Medically, I’m not sure, but he’s obviously dreaming, and it indicates his brain activity is high. I suspect the damaged synapses in his brain are reconnecting.”
Chapter Thirty Nine
The George Inn
Oval Cut:
The Oval Cut is a modified Brilliant Cut, and it possesses
similar fire and brilliance. Oval diamonds have the advantage of an
elongated shape which can create the illusion of greater size along with
its slender shape making the finger of the wearer appear longer and slimmer.
Catherine had been looking forward to her first real date with Charlie all day. She’d arranged to take the afternoon off by swapping shifts and then spent all afternoon at the hairdressers. She rushed back to her flat in Kennington, dressed in black jeans, white polo jumper, and black calf length leather boots. When she looked at herself in the full-length wardrobe mirror, she was pleased with the end result and was certain that Charlie would be too, that is if he was male and had a pulse. She giggled to herself at her own silly thoughts, then put on a long stylish Italian leather coat to complete the outfit and left her flat just after six forty-five.
