She had been brought up in a limousine and she was waiting in the living room. Her chauffeur sat in the car like a robot turned off and waiting.
"I half expected this," Mama muttered. "As soon as we get inside, say hello and then excuse yourselves and go wait in your rooms or together in Ian's room, Jordan."
I looked at Ian. As usual it was hard for me to tell what he was thinking, but he certainly didn't look as frightened as I felt. My heart was thumping.
We followed Mama in and saw Grandmother Emma sitting in the living room.
Even the rustic chairs looked like thrones when she sat in one. "Hello, Grandmother," Ian said first.
"Hello, Grandmother," I followed.
She looked at us, but mostly at Ian, who still had some swelling around his eye. "What happened to you?"
"Nothing," Ian said.
"Nothing? Who struck you, and don't make up any stories."
"I got into a fight with another boy. It's not important."
"I'm not surprised," she said, even though Ian had never ever been in any sort of trouble at school or otherwise like this.
"You can be sure it was not his fault," Mama said sharply.. "Ian is a good boy."
"Yes," Grandmother Emma said. "I'm here to speak with your mother, children,'" she said.
Ian reached for my hand. "Call us when it's time to speak with us, too," he said, and pulled me gently to follow him to his room.
I felt guilty leaving, Mama behind. When I looked back at her, however, she was smiling.
And it occurred to me that she really did love Ian very much and appreciated his brilliant mind far more than Daddy did or even I did. How lucky we were to have him. I thought, and followed him more quickly.
When we went into his room, he surprised me when he didn't close the door completely. He left it open enough for us to peer out and listen.
"'Grandmother Emma will be angry if she sees us eavesdropping on her," I warned.
"Why? We'd be just like Nancy, her maid," he said. He put his finger to his lips so I would be quiet and we could listen and learn exactly what our fate would be.
15 Grandmother Emma Rearranges Our Lives
. "Did Christopher send you up here to do his dirty work?" Mama asked Grandmother Emma.
"Please, sit down, Caroline," Grandmother Emma replied. "Unlike my husband. I didn't and don't cover up for my son's failings and errors, as you should readily know by now, having lived in my home this long. I have never seen the value in helping someone avoid responsibility for his or her actions. I don't do anyone's dirty work."
"Really?" Mama said. "Refusing to admit to those errors and sins or pretending they don't exist is just as bad, and from what I know, that was your way of life when it came to your own husband."
I could just set Grandmother Emma bristling. Ian glanced at me, a tight smile of satisfaction on his face.
"Making small sacrifices for the greater good is not a bad thing, Caroline. You don't know all there is to know about my marriage and what life was like for me, for Christopher. I do not say I am beyond reproach, or that I didn't make mistakes. Of course I did. I'm human, but I don't dwell on them and wallow in self-pity either.
"Look," she continued, her tone suddenly softer. "I know you and I have not hit it off, as they say, and some fault for that resides with me, but like it or not, we are in a sense in the same boat and it does neither of us any good, especially at this particular moment, to be adversaries. I'm here not to cover up or do my son's dirty work, as you say, but to ensure that you, your children, do not suffer needlessly as a result of Christophes failings. That, indeed, none of us do," she added.
"Ifs too late for this conversation, Emma."
"Oh, of coarse it isn't," Grandmother Emma retorted instantly. "Believe me, I've seen many, many similar situations like this one. Probably ninety percent of the people I've known and socialized with have acme through identical crises. Some let it get the better of them and compounded all the misery for themselves and their families. Most took the sensible route and avoided unnecessary bloodletting.'"
"What is the sensible route in your eyes, Emma? Bury my head in the sand as you did? Pretending to be deaf and dumb when it came to your husband's indiscretions?"
"You don't know me after all, Caroline," Grandmother Emma said. "What the public saw was one thing, but what went on behind our doors, within our walls, was quite different, believe me.