Tomorrow by Elisabeth Russell Taylor

Author:Elisabeth Russell Taylor [Elisabeth Russell Taylor]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781911547136
Publisher: Daunt Books
Published: 2018-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

An understanding had been arrived at with the Danish Tourist Board that nothing of the fabric or the furnishings and fittings in either the Tuscan Villa or The Tamarisks should be altered; the houses had been complete works of art when they were taken over and were to be respected as such.

Elisabeth had not looked into many of the bedrooms at The Tamarisks – in August they were invariably occupied. She had, however, taken every opportunity minutely to inspect the public rooms – the study, Hall and drawing room. The tapestries were in good repair and intact, so too were the pictures and the collection of Bow. The medieval oak furniture, dark and glowing, was said by Mr Hulsby to look as if it were nourished on stout. One or two books were missing from the study shelves; perhaps guests had simply borrowed them and taken them to their rooms.

The German occupying force on Møn had consisted of a single unit, billeted at Gullshaven. Few German soldiers had penetrated to the far side of the island and none had entered The Tamarisks. It was a relief to know that the house had not been depleted and that it remained uncontaminated. Elisabeth never craved to remove items; to take away anything from The Tamarisks would be, she felt, to disfigure a perfectly beautiful body. The house had an existence of its own, one that would outlive hers. The Tamarisks was imbued with the spirits of Anna and Jurgen, of family life and the consolation of friendship. The enemy had destroyed all flesh, but had not discovered the skeleton of brick and its bedrock of soil. Elisabeth would do nothing to modify the arrangement of anything planned and executed by her parents. Her ritual return to Møn was the response to an undertaking, her visits to the house and the sites a reassurance.

After fifteen years she had come to assume that Daniel had died in Auschwitz. But she had never had confirmation of his death, as she had had of those of his parents and hers. Since he had not come back to Møn he must be dead – there could be no other explanation. Their understanding had been quite clear. It had been initiated by Daniel: every year in August they would return. She would continue to do that, for what was alive of Daniel was their past together and her memories of it; to ignore her pledge, to reject their shared experience, would be to complete the work of the Nazis.

Having reassured herself that, so far as could reasonably be expected, no changes had been made in the house, Elisabeth embarked on a tour of the garden. Gertrude Jekyll had not been available to design the garden at The Tamarisks when Lutyens had been drawing up plans for the house, but she was shown these plans and her advice was sought. She would, she said, keep the pleasure garden chaste. Lutyens had been struck by the emphasis she had placed

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