Chapter 8

As Mrs Cross drew a sharp breath, Bob gave a laugh, saying, "Don't listen to her, Georgina. She loves trying to shock people. She shocked me one night, and that led to us marrying eventually, but I shall say no more about it, or Mary will be the one to get embarrassed." He glared at Mary, but a smile belied his words. "I love her, just as I love my other wives. They are all marvellous women, the best thing that ever happened to me. I hope Amelia will find the same love on a permanent basis."

"How nice of you to say that, Governor. I am a bit anxious about meeting Amelia for the first time in years since the ... difficulty ... at home."

Mary patted her on the knee. "Don't worry about it dear. It will be all right, if you approach it in a spirit of reconciliation. Amelia will be so happy, having just concluded her wedding, that meeting you will not be a chore. I hope it will be a delight. Just tell her how happy you are for her."

There came a banging at the front door. Bob got up and went to let the children in. They were on the doorstep, while Prudence Templeton was still ambling up the path from the street. "Come in, children. Go to the living room and say hello to our visitor. Hi Prudence. Thanks for bring the kids home. Do join us in the living room."

He returned to the living room, where Mrs Cross was staring at three children: Robert, Tessa, and Usgar. She was having trouble equating them as a group. Bob decided to help out.

"Children, this is our visitor from Earth. Her name is Mrs Cross. She has come for the wedding tomorrow. Mrs Cross, this young man is my son Robert. Diane is his mother. This young lady is my daughter Tessa. Ruth is her mother. And this young man is Usgar. He is a Malan boy, born on Earth and living on Rehome. He has three siblings. Why are you here alone, Usgar? Where are Tuchgar, Amech and Nargo?"

Usgar replied, "They didn't fancy coming here to play. They are still a bit shy around Human adults, and prefer to play at home. Can I say How do you do? To Mrs Cross?"

"Yes, you may do so, my boy. If she would like to, you may shake hands with her." Mrs Cross nodded wordlessly, so the young alien boy offered his hand, saying "How do you do, Mrs Cross. I am pleased to meet you. Do you have any children on Rehome?"

She took his small hand and shook it gently. Her throat throbbed as she gulped and answered, "Yes, Usgar. My daughter lives here. She is getting married tomorrow."

Usgar gave her a big smile. "How nice! That will be fun. I don't think children will be allowed there, but I hope you enjoy your day, madam."

A delighted Mrs Cross said to him, "Thank you very much, young man. You are very well spoken, for such a young boy."

"If I wasn't, Mrs Cross, Mother Narech would wallop me when she heard about it!"

Bob decided to end the conversation. "Now, children, run along to the nursery and play until Mother Narech comes to take Usgar home." He shooed them out of the room. He explained to Mrs Cross, "Georgina, just so as you know: Mother Narech is a Personalia mechanoid, made to look like a Malan adult. The four Malan children are the only Malans in the universe today."

Georgina had got over her surprise. "Well, he seemed like a nice Earth boy to me, if an unusual colour. You can tell that to Mother Narech from me." Mary touched her on the arm, "Mrs Cross, do have another canapé before our other visitors arrive."

She was too late with her offer.

There was a knock at the outside door. Mary went to answer it. At the door was Trevor and his Montford girls, along with an older couple. Mary recognised Daddy Montford, so worked out who was the lady with him. "Mrs Montford! You came; how wonderful! I am Mary Kempe, one of the Governor's wives. Come in here and meet another lady I just know you are going to be friends with." She turned back to the others on the doorstep, "Come on in, you lot. You know where everything is." She turned back to shout: "Bob! You have guests at the door."

She ushered Mrs Montford inside, and dragged her through to the sitting room, while Bob appeared in the vestibule to welcome the others. He peered around, looking for Amelia. Trevor noticed, and explained. "Amelia stayed behind, to tidy up before we got back, Bob. I persuaded her that we were just taking the Montfords to their digs for the night."

Bob relaxed at this. "Excellent. SHE is here, so well done. Come in and meet another future mother-in-law."

The sisters had dragged their father through to the living room, where they found the two mothers, now seated side by side on the sofa. Mrs Montford looked up, and spoke to her husband.

"George – come and meet Mrs Cross, Amelia's mother, who she hasn't seen in years. It is to be a surprise tomorrow, so don't say a word. Got it?" He replied in a subservient way, "Yes, dear."

Mrs Montford turned back to Mrs Cross. "Georgina, dear, this is my long-suffering husband, George. He is nice once you get to know him. George, Amelia's father died in a car crash, so she is all alone, poor soul."

George came over and formally shook hands with Mrs Cross. "Pleased to meet you, Mrs Cross. I never expected Amelia's Mum to be so young." Georgina's face lit up at the compliment. "Why, thank you, George. My name is Georgina, so we have something in common, our names being so alike. I have probably improved since Amelia's father died. He was an abusive man, and I was happy when he killed himself."

George looked uncomfortable. "I see. I hope the improvement continues, Georgina. You deserve some good things to happen in your life."

Mrs Montford approved, "I agree. George, you say such nice things at times, only I wish it was to me, instead of to other women!" She laughed at his horrified face., and said to Georgina, "I am just teasing him, dear. I enjoy doing that. He is a good man, a nice husband and father. How he is going to cope with one son-in-law instead of three, I don't know."

"You are happy about all your girls marrying the one man?"

"I admit it was a bit of a shock when I first heard of it, but having met the young man, I think he will be fine. All of them are pregnant, too, so it is a bit late to object to their choice. Another good thing about him: he is insisting that Dinah and Tracy complete their schooling after getting married. He was a teacher, and values education. The poor boy was orphaned a few years back, my girls tell me. His parents were the innocent victims in a car crash while he was at university, so he has had to mature pretty fast. He appears to know how to treat a woman, and if he continues that way, I shall be happy for my girls. Isn't that right, George?"

"It is, dear."

She continued talking, "And how did you take it, Georgina, your daughter and three other girls all marrying the one man? Did it upset you?"

"Well, no. I was just relieved to find her and know that she was okay. I had not heard from her since she left home at sixteen, so as long as she is happy, that is all that matters to me."

"You haven't been in touch for years? How awful for you, losing touch. It was not a nice thing for her to do that, not telling her mother where she was!"

George noticed Mrs Cross starting to break down, and tried to shush his wife. "Mother, I think you should..." but got nowhere, as she had not been looking at Mrs Cross as she ranted. She continued, "Shush, George! I shall give that girl a piece of my mind, I can tell you!"

At which point Mrs Cross burst into tears. "No! You mustn't! It wasn't her fault."

George looked at his wife in disgust, "Now you've done it! Why didn't you listen to me?"

Mrs Montford was horrified at what she had done. She pulled Mrs Cross into her arms, blurting out, "I am so sorry, Georgina. Please forgive me. I tend to jump in without thinking. I didn't know it was a sore point. Please, please forgive me, my dear, for the stupidity of ignorance!"

Gradually Mrs Cross's tears stopped. She said quietly. "You were not to know, dear. If we are to be relatives by marriage, I suppose you had better know."

"Know what, dear? I am not prying for secrets, I assure you. I just have a big mouth, haven't I, George?" He replied, "Yes, dear."

"No, you must know, for the future's sake. Amelia was raped by her father while he was in a drunken rage. I couldn't stop it, much that I wanted to. I wasn't strong enough, inside. I failed my daughter, completely."

Mrs Montford's hand flew to her mouth. "Oh. To have that bottled up all this time, how terrible for you. No wonder Amelia never got in touch. Does she know her father is dead?"

Georgina looked at her, "How could she? I had no idea where she was, so I couldn't tell her. I didn't even know if she would speak to me ever again."

"I sincerely apologise again for my crassness, Georgina. What can I do to make amends? You need support at this time, so you must sit with us during the ceremony, don't you agree, George?" He answered, "Yes, dear." She continued without a break, "I shall sit beside you, and hold your hand if you get weepy. Would that be appropriate, do you think, my dear girl?"

Georgina responded, "Yes, that would be nice, I think. I may get emotional, but I shall be very happy for Amelia."

Mrs Montford made up her mind. "Georgina, I think it is time you and I went to visit the powder room, don't you?" Georgina glanced at her face, read something there, and agreed, so the pair of them got up and went off to find the room they wanted. George looked surprised, but said nothing.

They were gone for about twenty minutes, and when they returned, both had smiles on their faces. George examined what he was seeing, and commented, "I take it everything is fine, now?"

His wife smiled sweetly at him and said, "It is, George; perfectly fine. Amelia is Georgina's only child. She has not had the joy of three daughters and a son, or even a truly loving husband. Thank you for that, George." George had another amazed look on his face, then shrugged. "You deserved everything, dear." His wife beamed at him.

Eventually Diane and Ruth got back from their work, and added their welcomes to the guests, the parents of the brides. They engaged in small talk for a while, broken only the arrival of Mother Narech to collect Usgar and take him home. The guests were introduced to Mother Narech, who correctly and politely welcomed them to Rehome, and hoped that they would enjoy their stay, before breaking off apologetically to collect Usgar and remove him from the scene, as he was due to have his tea before bathtime, and then a story before bed.

The adults were then taken through to the dining room, where a glass of wine preceded the dinner. The sat down at the beautifully laid table, and chatted while Mary organised the first course, a cold soup, then the main course – several choices on offer – and finally a sweet course of chocolate cake and cream, finished off with freshly made coffee, or tea if preferred. Mrs Montford accepted a cup of Earl Grey – she appreciated the bergamot - while her husband had the coffee.

The conversation continued at the table long after the food was consumed, and the coffee cups were refilled; and Mrs Montford got a refill of her specialist tea. Mr Montford commented to Mrs Cross who was sitting next to him, "The lack of television here forces people to enjoy the art of conversation, Georgina. It is a reversion which I do enjoy. One can learn so much about other people's personalities; their interests, hopes and dreams: impossible to do with a television blaring away all the time."

"You are so right, George. Living alone, one has the choice of TV or silence, as a rule. Conversation is so much fun in comparison. I had no idea that you were such an interesting gentleman. I also did not know that your wife's first name is Marina."

"You didn't?"

"No. Everyone calls her Mrs Montford, Momma, or Mother. I had to ask her when we went to the powder room. She is an interesting lady as well. Much more than just the talkative lady she seems. That talk is just camouflage."

"It is?" said George.

"Certainly. She loves it when you finally order her around. Her bossiness is her trying to provoke you in to taking charge. You love her so much that you fail to see that, and just agree with her; and she loves you so much she is afraid to ask you to take charge."

"Really?" George was amazed at what he was being told.

"Yes, really. You are a perfect couple, but don't know how you should treat each other. Try taking charge, George."

George looked at her thoughtfully, then turned to look his wife. She looked over at him, and their eyes met. It was like seeing her for the first time. He smiled at her, then turned to Mrs Cross and kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you, Georgina."

He got up and moved round to Bob Kempe. "Governor, you were going to show us our bedroom. Could you do that now, please?"

"Of course, Daddy Montford."

"George, please, Governor."

"Of course, George, let me lead the way."

"Marina! The Governor is going show us where our bedroom is. We had better join him."

"In a minute, George, I was saying..."

"Now, Marina! The Governor is waiting."

She now looked startled. "Yes, George. If you insist, dear."

"I insist."

"Oh, very well. Excuse me folks. My husband beckons."

Bob led them upstairs to a door, saying "This room is yours, and it has an en-suite bathroom for your convenience. I hope you will find it comfortable. One of my wives will have taken your bags here. Georgina – Mrs Cross – will be in this room to the left, in case you feel the need for a chat about your daughters."