The Cavendon Women. Barbara Bradford Taylor
glanced at the butler, frowning. ‘That’s a strange word to use, Hanson … partial.’
‘What I meant, m’lady, is that she likes them, but then we all do. Now, if you’ll please excuse me, I’ll have tea brought up immediately.’
‘Thank you, Hanson,’ Daphne answered, and watched him rush downstairs to marshal his troops. She herself went back to the yellow drawing room, and purposely avoided looking at Lavinia, who had been so snobbish and oddly belligerent.
Daphne was glad to hear the cheerful buzz of conversation as the family chatted with each other. She took her seat on the sofa next to Hugo. He was her rock – and everyone’s rock these days. He was wonderful at keeping everyone’s spirits up, and he did a lot to help her father hold Cavendon steady. Her father had recovered from his heart attack, but there were times when she thought he wasn’t quite as strong as he looked.
Taking hold of her hand, squeezing it, Hugo said, sotto voce, ‘That was a rather ugly performance from Lavinia. I was appalled at her attitude, and she spoke so rudely to Charles, who has always been so good to her. I’m happy Charlotte wasn’t present.’
‘So am I, darling. But Cecily’s here, and although her face has remained inscrutable, I’m sure she was a bit hurt. And nobody can blame her for that. Don’t forget, my father put her and Miles in place because he didn’t want to cope with any problems or trouble. He believes Miles and Cecily can handle anything, keep everything on an even keel.’
‘I’m well aware of that, and together they can be extremely tough. Unfortunately your father did get a bit of a shock a few minutes ago. Lavinia was mean-spirited, and really out of step with the times.’
‘She was ghastly. Still, she’s not been very nice to anyone since Uncle Jack died. Grieving for him, I suppose.’
‘I doubt that. I don’t think there was much love lost there. Jack adored her, and all he got in return was unhappiness. Buckets of it, according to Miles.’
‘Miles?’
‘Yes, Miles. They were rather close. He was Jack’s favourite – surely you can’t have forgotten that, Daphne? He treated Miles like the son he never had. That’s why Jack set up a trust for him in his will. It was small, though.’
‘How stupid I am, Hugo. Of course, I remember now. Papa told me Lavinia wasn’t too happy about that trust, but it was rock-solid legally. Lavinia couldn’t do a thing.’
Daphne turned, glanced at the door as it opened. There was a sudden flurry of activity as Hanson swept into the yellow drawing room, leading his team.
Right behind him was Gordon Lane, now the senior footman, accompanied by Ian Melrose, the second footman, and Jessie Phelps, the head housemaid. The three of them were pushing tea trolleys laden with finger sandwiches, scones, strawberry jam and clotted cream, and all the usual fancy buns and cakes.
‘A sight for sore eyes,’ Hugo murmured. ‘I’ve been so busy today I’ve worked up quite an appetite.’
‘I know, so have I. But mostly I just want a good cup of tea,’ Daphne said.
Miles, who had been talking to Lady Gwendolyn, now walked over to join Diedre, who was sitting with Cecily. ‘I’m sorry about that, Ceci,’ he said quietly. ‘I hope you didn’t get upset.’
‘No, I didn’t. But what your aunt did do was alert me, and I hope you, too. We’ll have to make sure she doesn’t do anything to upset Charlotte and your father at the dinner tomorrow – or, even worse, create some sort of scene in the church on Sunday.’
‘You’re right on target. We’ll keep a sharp eye on her.’
Diedre said, ‘She’s preposterous, not to mention stupid. What in God’s name did she think she could achieve by making those awful comments?’
‘Let’s just dismiss it now, and put it down to dim-wittedness,’ Miles said. ‘She’s always been somewhat stupid, in my opinion.’
‘That’s right,’ Diedre agreed, and rose. ‘I’m going to sit with Great-Aunt Gwendolyn. I want to speak to her about something, if you will excuse me.’
Once they were alone, Miles took hold of Cecily’s hand; to his surprise and pleasure, she didn’t pull it away. She simply looked at him, her eyes questioning.
‘There’s something I need to ask you,’ he said, and paused, looking uncertain about continuing.
Cecily remained silent, hoping he wasn’t going to talk about something personal … about them and their relationship.
After a moment, Miles plunged in. ‘Look, DeLacy really wants the two of you to become friends again. She’s genuinely missed you over the years, Ceci. And she’s ready to apologize.’
Cecily didn’t answer at first, and then finally she said: ‘We can be friends again, of course. It’s silly to hold grudges, and of course I’ll accept her apology. But there is just one thing, Miles … I do work. Very hard and long hours. Just so long as she understands this, and that I won’t always be available.’
‘I’m sure she will. I’ll make sure she does.’ He squeezed her hand, and then let go of it. She had a sudden look of discomfort on her face, and he realized that it wasn’t going to be easy, winning Ceci back into his arms.
A moment later, Dulcie came and flopped down in the chair next to the sofa. She grimaced. ‘If Aunt Lavinia dares to make another rotten comment, I promise you I’m going to grab the first cream bun I see and shove it in her mouth. If that doesn’t shut her up, I don’t know what will.’
Cecily began to laugh and so did Miles. Glancing at Cecily he said, ‘Don’t think Dulcie’s joking, because she isn’t.’
‘Of course I’m not joking,’ Dulcie assured them, frowning, wondering why anyone would think that. She always did what she said she was going to do. She was an Ingham, after all. And Ingham women, especially, always stood up to be counted.
The house was still. So quiet that Cecily was alarmed. She stood in the small entrance foyer, her head cocked, listening for sounds of life.
Nothing stirred. This worried her. Her aunt had not looked well earlier; rather tired, worn out, actually. She hoped Charlotte had not collapsed, taken to her bed.
Cecily had come over to her house to help her try on the last of the clothes she had brought from London. That was an exhausting exercise, fitting frocks and outfits, and she hoped Charlotte was up to it.
Cecily walked towards the sitting room when she heard noises on the floor above and stopped. ‘Are you up there, Aunt Charlotte?’ she called, and immediately began to climb the stairs.
Charlotte appeared on the landing, looking down at her great-niece.
‘Cecily! I didn’t expect you until later.’
They hugged when Cecily stepped out onto the landing, and then they went into Charlotte’s bedroom together.
Cecily noticed the photograph in the silver frame at once. It was of David Ingham, the 5th Earl, for whom Charlotte had worked from the age of seventeen until his death. She had been his personal assistant.
Over the years their relationship had grown much more personal, although they had been so discreet that nobody knew for certain if they had been lovers or not. Except for the Swanns, who were aware of everything that went on at Cavendon.
The frame on the bed was next to a number of leather-bound notebooks and a pile of legal documents. And instantly Charlotte noticed a peculiar look on Cecily’s face, and followed the direction of her gaze. She asked, ‘Why are you so interested in David’s photograph?’
‘I was wondering