Chapter 15

Toby waited for two whole days before he telephoned. How he managed it he didn’t know. He paced up and down his room and rehearsed the conversation a dozen times. He knew Amber’s telephone number by heart and picked up the phone and put it back down again so many times that he lost count.

‘She’s somehow like a delicate butterfly,’ he told himself a thousand times, ‘She’s like a puff-ball. If I go at her anything other than really gently I’ll ruin the whole thing, I just know I will.’

Finally he dialled the number that was indelibly etched on his brain. It rang and he realised that he was shaking. Amber answered it herself and that floored him completely. He hadn’t been expecting it. In his rehearsals it had always been picked up by somebody else.

‘Do you like Chinese food?’ he blurted, not even announcing who was calling.

‘I love Chinese food,’ she replied evenly, knowing exactly who it was.

‘Can I take you to dinner tomorrow night?’

‘I’d love to go to dinner tomorrow night.’

‘I’ll pick you up at about seven thirty then.’

‘All right, that would be lovely.’

‘Bye then.’

He replaced the receiver and found that his palms were clammy and his heart was thumping. He thought back over the conversation and marvelled at his gaucheness, his lack of finesse and savoire-faire. Moreover he realised that he hadn’t asked her where she lived. He knew in a general sort of way, but that part of Chelhampton was a bit of a rabbit-warren of narrow lanes and no house ever seemed to have a name up outside it. He sat pondering over the problem and wondering quite what to do when the phone rang, causing him to jump violently. Thinking that it would be Andrew, who had promised to give him a ring to see how he had got on, he picked up the phone.

‘Good evening. Doctor Green’s Home for the Insane, Doctor Green speaking,’ he announced.

‘Hello Doctor Green, now that consultation that you called about earlier,’ said Amber’s voice, ‘Do you actually know where I live?’

They both burst into fits of laughter and when Toby put the phone down for a second time he felt that everything was going to go rather well.

“Hill House”, as its name suggested, turned out to be situated at the top of a sharp incline known as Drake’s Hill. The dwelling was superbly situated with commanding views over the whole Chelhampton valley. As he chugged up the drive in the 1100, Toby wondered how they managed to mow the steep areas of grass on either side and was struck by the thought that it must be a very difficult place to approach through snow and ice in the depths of winter. To the side of the house he saw what looked like a stable block which had obviously been converted into garages. The doors were open and he could see a brand-new E-type Jaguar parked in one, a late 1960’s Jag Mark 2 next to it and beside that a very dusty looking early 1950’s Jaguar Mark 1 with the bonnet up. Beside all of those was Amber’s little Spitfire. The Monies family evidently had interesting taste in cars.

As Toby got out of the car the front door of the house opened and Alan emerged, carrying a box of socket-wrenches in his hand. He was wearing oil-stained jeans, a grimy tee shirt and plimsolls. His hands were covered in grease.

‘Hello there,’ he said cheerfully, ‘Amber’s in the bathroom tarting herself up. She’s been there for hours. Come and have a look at our latest project,’ he nodded towards the garage.

They went in and Alan showed Toby around the Mark 1 Jaguar that he and his father were renovating.

‘It’s coming along pretty well,’ said Alan, ‘The body work was finished a while back. We’re working on the engine at the moment and then we’ve got to put the insides back together.’

As Toby drew close he realised that only the engine block was in place and the interior of the car was stripped out entirely.

‘What a task,’ he murmured admiringly.

‘It keeps us out of mischief,’ grinned Alan, ‘And talking of mischief, good luck with Amber. You’ll need it.’

Toby looked at him uncomprehendingly.

‘I don’t know what it is with her,’ continued Alan, ‘Not many people seem to get past the first date or maybe the second. I hope you can manage to do better.’

‘So do I,’ nodded Toby seriously, ‘Yes, I very much hope so.’

‘You’d better go on in,’ said Alan, ‘If she thinks that I’ve kept you hanging about out here I’ll get into trouble. Go straight through the front door and turn right. You’ll find Mum and Dad in the lounge.’

Toby walked across to the house and opened the front door somewhat nervously. For some unaccountable reason it felt rather like a visit to the dentist. As he went through it he was greeted by the sight of Amber coming downstairs. Very much in the current style she was wearing a tiny pair of vermilion hot-pants and a black long-sleeved lacy blouse with a deep ‘V’ neck which was only loosely tied. The effect was quite breath-taking.

‘Wow Miss Monies, you look absolutely stunning,’ he breathed.

‘Why thank you Doctor Green, how very kind of you to say so,’ she said graciously, coming up to him and extending her hand. He took it and planted a small kiss on the back, bowing courteously as he let go.

‘My, so unusual to find manners like that these days,’ she murmured.

Taking him through into the lounge she introduced her escort to her parents.

‘I like your house very much,’ said Toby, ‘The position is marvellous.’

‘We’re very pleased with it,’ responded Mrs. Monies, ‘Although it has taken a lot of work to get it as it is today.’

‘Not to mention a lot of money,’ grumbled her husband amiably.

‘What’s it like here in the winter?’ asked Toby.

‘Windy,’ laughed Amber.

‘And difficult to get at sometimes,’ said Mr. Monies, ‘I’m thinking of swapping the ‘E’ type for a snow plough next January.’

Toby laughed, ‘What a comedown.’

‘Where are you going this evening?’ asked Mrs. Monies.

‘I thought we’d eat at the “Lotus Garden”,’ replied Toby.

‘Oh yes, it’s very good. Be sure to order the spring rolls.’

‘I always do,’ chuckled Toby, ‘I could make a meal out of them as a matter of fact.’

‘Well, have a nice evening, the both of you,’ said Mr. Monies, ‘If you bring Toby back for coffee, Pussycat, we can talk cars together.’

‘In that case I wouldn’t dream of bringing him back,’ laughed Amber, ‘If I do then you’ll monopolise him for the whole of the rest of the night.’

Stopping briefly in the hall for Amber to pick up her handbag, she and Toby went out to the car. Yet again he held the door open for her, knowing that such small gestures were worth their weight in gold.

‘I like your parents very much,’ he said as they set off down the drive.

‘They seem to have taken to you too.’

‘Your father has an unusual accent. I can’t place it though.’

Amber laughed, ‘The Boston accent is peculiar, isn’t it.’

‘Not Boston, Lincolnshire?’

‘No silly, Boston, Massachusetts.’

‘He’s American.’

‘So am I and so is Alan. I’ll show you my passport if you like.’

Toby chuckled.

‘I should like that. Passport photographs are always good for a giggle. You should see mine. What did you put for ‘special distinguishing marks?’

Amber shot him a very strange look which he did not notice as he had his eyes on the road.

‘Extremely gorgeous and beautiful, I should think,’ he continued.

She relaxed.

‘I really had no idea that you were a bunch of Yanks,’ laughed Toby, ‘Neither you nor Alan have a trace of Boston, Massachusetts though. It’s funny. I keep bumping into secret Americans. I met two of them in Edinburgh not long ago. I reckon you’re all C.I.A. agents and nobody’s supposed to know what you’re up to.’

‘Foolish boy,’ laughed Amber, ‘Daddy’s people are very ‘Beacon Hill’ and we had an English nanny when we lived there. We came to England when Alan was one and of course Mummy is British, so that’s why we sound like we do.’

‘Not being rude, but your mother doesn’t exactly look British, if you know what I mean,’ said Toby.

‘Very true. Mummy has the strangest ancestry. That’s where Alan and I get the funny eyes from of course.’

‘They’re not funny eyes,’ retorted Toby, ‘They’re lovely. They were the first thing that struck me when I first saw you. They remind me of...,’ he hesitated, ‘Your father calls you “Pussycat”.’

‘Yes, that’s why,’ giggled Amber, ‘He’s always called me that. I don’t know how it didn’t go down on my Birth Certificate.’

‘Did you know that they’ve named a Discotheque in Melvesham after you?’ joked Toby with a chuckle.

‘Yes,’ replied Amber simply.

‘We should go there one night. Perhaps they might let us in for free.’

‘Perhaps they might.’

‘Do you like to dance?’

‘I love to dance, Doctor Green.’

‘OK then, that’s tomorrow night sorted out, isn’t it.’

‘Sounds fine to me.’

The “Lotus Garden” was quiet when they arrived. They were quite early and it was always at its busiest when the nearby cinema disgorged its main audience at the end of the evening. They chose the spring rolls to start and Amber decided upon a dish of chicken lychees to follow while Toby went for the duck, which was his particular favourite. He sighed when Amber asked for chop-sticks for them both as he always found them a struggle.

‘I’m an expert,’ she told him, ‘It must be in the blood. You know that we slitty-eyed people don’t understand things like knives and forks.’

‘You are not “slitty-eyed”,’ denied Toby hotly, ‘That’s a truly horrible expression. Kindly stop demeaning yourself. I’ll have you know that I only go out with exceedingly beautiful girls, so you can’t possibly be anything else.’

‘Why Doctor Green, what a charming man you are,’ she replied, smiling at him warmly.

Amber spent almost the entire meal teaching Toby how to use his chop-sticks properly and by the time that he had finished eating he had pretty much got the hang of them. He observed that they would have to return another day so that he would actually have a chance to notice what he was eating, rather than spending his entire time concentrating on the problem of getting it from the plate to his mouth. They were in the restaurant for almost two hours, eating, drinking and talking nineteen to the dozen. Toby marvelled at how easy they found it to communicate despite the fact that they had known each other for such a short time.