Читать книгу The Cavendon Women - Barbara Bradford Taylor - Страница 19

‘You’re getting married!’ Lavinia exclaimed, her incredulity apparent as she stared at her brother.

‘I am, yes,’ Charles answered, sitting back in his chair.

‘To whom?’ Lavinia asked, ‘And when?’

‘I’m marrying Charlotte, of course, and then—’

‘Thank heavens for that!’ Great-Aunt Gwendolyn instantly cut in, detecting a critical nuance in Lavinia’s voice, wishing to avert any unpleasantness. ‘And it’s about time, too. I, for one, am thrilled to welcome Charlotte to this family.’

‘So am I, Charles,’ his youngest sister, Vanessa, announced, smiling at him. Looking pointedly at her great-aunt, she then added, ‘But, actually, Charlotte’s been a part of this family since we were all children, growing up together.’

‘There might well be gossip, you know,’ Lavinia interjected, focusing on her brother. ‘You’re marrying out of your class, for one thing, and you’re fifty-seven, Charles. Why get married at all? Why not just continue in the same situation? I think your actions might seem inappropriate to many people, especially your friends. You know how you loathe scandal touching the family.’

The yellow drawing room went unusually quiet.

There wasn’t a sound. Not one person said a word. No one moved, not even slightly. The stillness was overwhelming.

Miles glanced across at his father and saw at once how stunned Charles looked. He was about to get up, but Dulcie beat him to it. His sister sprang to her feet, flew across the room and stood behind her father’s chair, one hand on his shoulder.

She said in a cutting voice, ‘With all due respect, Aunt Lavinia, I don’t believe Papa was seeking your approval. What he chooses to do is none of your business … nobody’s business, in fact. He was actually being courteous. He wished to tell us he was getting married to Charlotte, and discuss the weekend events—’

‘And I’m in charge of those!’ Miles exclaimed, also jumping up, taking over from Dulcie, seizing his chance to change the direction of the conversation. He said in a strong, determined voice, ‘Cecily has been helping me plan things. So let me proceed. Tonight it will be the usual quiet family dinner, just Inghams present. But tomorrow evening will be a different thing altogether, an engagement party – a gala, in a sense, as engagement dinners usually are. Harry, Cecily, Mrs Alice and Walter will be joining Papa and Charlotte, and also—’

Cutting across Miles in the rudest manner, Lavinia addressed her brother. ‘I assume you haven’t invited any of your friends, Charles. And perhaps that’s for the best.’

‘Actually, Charlotte and I have kept it to a minimum. We wanted a small family wedding, with just a few close friends. But we will be giving a party when we return from our honeymoon,’ he finished, his blue eyes icy. Turning away from his sister, Charles said in a softer tone to Miles, ‘Please continue, Miles. Sorry you were interrupted.’

‘Thank you, Papa. On Sunday morning, Charlotte and Papa will be married in the church on the estate. After the service, Cecily and I will host a luncheon. This will be in a buffet style, as we favoured for the cotillions in the past. In the afternoon, the bride and groom will leave for their honeymoon. Of course, all of the Swanns are invited, as well as the Inghams.’

Dulcie said, ‘The four Dees and Alicia are going to be bridesmaids. Well, three of us. Naturally, Daphne will be the matron-of-honour.’

Daphne, relieved that Miles and Dulcie had stopped Lavinia’s idiotic chatter, stood and walked across the room. She said to Charles, ‘I think I should tell Hanson we are now ready for tea, Papa.’

‘What a good idea,’ Charles replied. He was proud of his children for taking over, and so expertly squashing Lavinia, who had been unusually rude. She had overstepped the mark, and he would put her in her place later.

Reaching the door, Daphne jerked it open, much to the surprise of Hanson, who was standing guard outside. ‘Goodness me, Lady Daphne, you really made me jump.’

‘I’m so sorry, Hanson. And you can stand down now. His Lordship has broken the news to his sisters and Lady Gwendolyn.’

‘How did they take it, Lady Daphne?’

‘I must admit, Aunt Lavinia seemed utterly taken aback, but not Aunt Vanessa, who was lovely about it. As for Lady Gwendolyn, she seemed positively elated.’

‘Oh yes, she would be, m’lady. She admires Charlotte. Mind you, she’s always been on the side of the Swanns, very partial to them.’

Daphne 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.