Читать книгу The Cavendon Women - Barbara Bradford Taylor - Страница 11

‘Welcome back, darling,’ Daphne said, as Dulcie rushed across the conservatory, and flung her arms around her favourite sister. ‘I’ve missed you,’ she added, and then held Dulcie away, staring at her intently. ‘More beautiful than ever,’ she pronounced.

‘No, no, no, you’re the renowned beauty of this family,’ Dulcie exclaimed, and went on swiftly, ‘I couldn’t get here quickly enough, I’ve so much to tell you. And mostly about Felicity.’

Daphne nodded, and guided Dulcie over to the wicker loveseat, where they sat down. Ever since their mother had left Cavendon, Dulcie only ever referred to her as Felicity, never Mama. Sometimes she even referred to her as ‘that woman who abandoned me’, and had a string of ridiculous and rather nasty nicknames for her.

Daphne understood why. Felicity had been too preoccupied with her sister’s fatal illness, and her own personal problems, to pay too much attention to Dulcie when she was little, and the child had never forgiven her. Now that she was a young woman, that animosity still lingered.

Settling herself on the loveseat, Daphne said, ‘So, tell me everything, I’m all ears.’

‘I’ve been informed that Felicity is going to throw out Lawrence Pierce, that knife-wielding maniacal quack – and, by the way, that’s not the only thing he wields. From what I understand, he’s quite the womanizer, wielding his manhood everywhere.’

Dulcie sat back next to her sister and waited for a reaction, her eyes fixed on Daphne’s face.

Daphne burst out laughing, as always genuinely amused by Dulcie’s extraordinary use of language. Their father constantly said she had a unique way with words and should have been a writer, and Daphne thought the same thing.

‘Who told you this?’

‘Margaret Atholl’s mother,’ Dulcie answered. ‘Lady Dunham. She also said there’s a rumour that the marriage is unhappy, and Felicity is planning to return to Cavendon. She won’t come back, will she, Daphers? I couldn’t bear to have that greedy, man-hungry creature here. Papa wouldn’t fall for her again, would he?’

Shaking her head, the laughter bubbling inside her, Daphne answered, ‘She won’t even attempt it. And certainly Father is not interested in her one iota. This is just idle gossip you’ve heard. However, perhaps she is going to throw the surgeon out. I, too, have heard stories about his behaviour.’

‘A flagrant and very experienced adulterer, who thinks he’s the Don Juan of all Don Juans, impossible to resist. And very conceited about his … hidden charms, shall we say?’

Daphne couldn’t help laughing again, and then she finally managed to say, ‘All surgeons think they’re God, according to Diedre. Because they save lives, I suppose.’

‘Or ruin them,’ Dulcie shot back. There was a moment of silence, and then Dulcie moved closer, confided, ‘I think Aunt Vanessa might marry her artist friend. He’s awfully nice, by the way, and he’s from the very proper Barnard family, and well connected. He was very kind to me, helping me with my art history course.’

Daphne was taken by surprise and gave Dulcie a penetrating look. ‘Are you sure there’s an engagement in the wind?’

‘I’m not absolutely certain, but it looks like it to me. He practically lives at her house, and they’re never apart. They sort of … drool over each other.’

‘Papa doesn’t know. He would have told me. But then Aunt Vanessa doesn’t have to report to him, since she’s in her forties and can do whatever she wants.’

‘Gosh, I wouldn’t want to wait so long to get married! Is that too old to have babies, do you think, Daphers?’

‘Perhaps,’ Daphne answered.

Dulcie, who was facing the door, jumped up when she saw her father standing there. He looked furious, and she wondered if he was angry with her. Because she hadn’t gone to see him first.

Daphne also caught sight of him at the entrance to the conservatory, and instantly knew something had happened. The angry stance told her that. What had upset him? He was usually easy-going, genial. She cringed inside, prayed it wasn’t anything to do with the events planned for the next two days.

‘Hello, Papa,’ Dulcie said as soon as their father came to a stop next to them. ‘I just arrived,’ she explained swiftly. ‘I was about to come and say hello to you, Papa.’

A smile flitted across Charles Ingham’s face, and disappeared at once. He brought his youngest daughter into his arms, kissed her cheek. ‘Welcome home, darling. Glad to have you back, and also that you’re early.’ He paused, released her and asked, ‘Have any of your sisters arrived yet?’

‘Not that I know of, I think I’m the first. I wanted to get here in time for afternoon tea.’

He nodded, and then turned his attention to Daphne, who had risen from the loveseat. ‘I need to speak to you about something. Privately. And it is rather urgent.’ He glanced at Dulcie. ‘Would you excuse us, Dulcie, please?’

‘Yes, of course, Papa. I must go up to my room. I left Layton unpacking my suitcases.’

Once they were alone, Daphne gave her father a questioning look. ‘Papa, whatever’s wrong? I can see you’re angry.’ She felt taut, anxious, though she tried to conceal this.

‘I’m angry, upset – and totally baffled. I went down to the lower vaults to get something from one of the safes, and I discovered there are pieces of jewellery missing.’

Daphne couldn’t hide her shock. ‘But how can that be? Only you have the key!’

‘That’s true, and it was in its designated place. I took it, opened the main vault, went to a safe, took out a case, and found a pair of earrings missing. Diamond earrings. I looked in several other cases, and they were empty. I was in shock, Daphne. I couldn’t believe my eyes.’

‘Please, Papa, let’s go down there at once. And we had better check all the jewel cases. Don’t you agree?’

‘I do indeed. I was so upset I just rushed up here without doing that.’

‘Do you think somebody knew where the key was? Took it, went down there – let’s say during the night – and made off with those pieces?’

‘How can I say? Who would know where the main key is kept?’

‘Have you mentioned this to Hanson?’

The Earl shook his head. ‘I came straight up here, looking for you. Let’s go, Daphne, and bring a piece of paper and a pencil with you. We’d better make a list of everything that’s missing. How unfortunate I discovered this now, with all the things we have going on these next few days.’

Although there was a silver vault on the kitchen floor, which contained the pieces used all the time, there were other, older vaults, on the floor below in the lower cellars. These vaults had been built by Humphrey Ingham, the 1st Earl of Mowbray. He had planned them with the architects, when the house was being built in the 1700s. They were cavernous, and not only housed a huge collection of jewellery, but also all the most important and valuable pieces of silver made by the great master silversmiths of the eighteenth century.

As they hurried down the lower staircase, Daphne asked, ‘When was the last time you were in the jewellery vaults, Papa?’

‘Not recently, that’s a certainty. We haven’t been having parties, so no one thought of taking jewels out to wear. I’m puzzled, I truly am, but we must solve this mystery and reclaim the pieces. My father, my grandfather and my great-grandfather always called these vaults our safety net. The pieces were bought for investment purposes, as well as to be worn and shown off. A lot were bought by the 1st Earl when he was a trader in the West Indies and in India. He purchased diamonds from the famous Golconda mines, and those pieces are unique.’

When they arrived at the iron door, Charles unlocked it and stepped inside the huge vault, turning on the light. ‘It’s a good thing my father put electricity in down here, otherwise where would we be today?’

‘Putting it in ourselves,’ Daphne muttered, and followed her father over to one of the larger safes; it sat against a wall at the far end of the vault.

Charles opened the safe and lifted out a worn, red leather case. ‘There were diamond earrings in this. From Cartier. As you can see, it’s empty. This other one held a single strand of diamonds, also from Cartier.’

Daphne nodded, and reached into the safe herself. Her fingers curled around a blue leather box, stamped with gold edging, and as she took it out she said, ‘This is the brooch I wore at my wedding, Papa.’

‘I’m afraid not, darling, that one is empty, too.’

‘I can’t believe it!’ she cried, and lifted the lid. ‘It is empty, and it was one of my favourite pieces. I wore it on my wedding dress, and then later Mama wore it at the dinner we had in January 1914, after Alicia was born—’ Daphne cut herself off, swung to face her father, and cried, ‘I know who took the jewels.’

Charles stared at her, frowning. ‘Are you about to point a finger at your mother?’

‘I most certainly am, Papa! She was the last person seen wearing the diamond bow brooch.’ Placing the empty jewel case on the table that stood in the middle of the room, Daphne looked in the safe again and pulled out two more cases. ‘In here should be a small diamond and ruby tiara, and in this one a matching diamond and ruby bracelet.’

When she opened them, she nodded. ‘Papa, she took these pieces, I know she did. They were her favourites, and so were the Marmaduke pearls. They’re in the other safe, aren’t they?’

‘Yes, they are. We’d best investigate, ascertain what’s missing from there.’

The pearls, dating back to the eighteenth century, were highly valuable, and had been treasured by the Inghams over many years. They were large, had been carefully matched, and were of opera length, long and elegant. The single string was so precious it was hard to evaluate. Daphne had come to believe the pearls, if auctioned, would go for a lot of money.

The box was heavy, and she knew at once the pearls were safe, that they were inside. When she lifted the lid, she nodded, smiled in relief. ‘At least she didn’t grab these, Papa.’

‘I was sure they were here. Pearls have to be taken out from time to time to, sort of … well, be allowed to breathe. And I’ve taken the box upstairs quite frequently for that reason,’ Charles explained.

‘I just know Mama took the other jewels. She knew where the key was, nobody else did, except for me and Miles. And we didn’t steal them. She did it. Your former wife and my mother, and I am going to get every single piece back from her. She’s met her match in me. I won’t rest until the Ingham jewels are back in their rightful place.’

‘How are you going to do that, Daphne? And how are you going to prove she has the jewels? Your mother will never admit she took something she shouldn’t have from Cavendon.’

Daphne was silent for a moment or two, and then she confided, ‘I have an ally. Someone who will help me. I know that for an absolute certainty, Papa.’

He frowned, and a sudden look of concern settled in his blue eyes. ‘And who is that? Who is going to help you?’

‘I’m afraid I can’t tell you, Papa. It’s not that I don’t trust you, because obviously I do. Nonetheless, I simply can’t tell you. At least not now. When I’ve done it, and given the jewels back to you, I will explain everything.’

Charles let out a deep sigh. ‘When are you planning to confront Felicity?’

‘In the next few weeks, when you are away. And I shall force her to hand them over. Obviously we cannot take any steps right now. Nevertheless, I have no worries. She can’t possibly sell them, not ever.’

‘That’s right. We would know immediately if they went on the market.’

‘So, let’s lock these safes, and the vaults, and forget about the missing jewels for the next few days. And I will make the list next week and check every box in all the safes, I promise.’

‘It is a little worrisome,’ Charles murmured, and closed the safe door.

‘I know it is, Papa, but we must not let this problem affect the … family reunion. It wouldn’t be fair, would it?’

‘No, it wouldn’t. As usual, you are making perfect sense, Daphne. Whatever would I do without you?’