Page 53 of The Fortunes of Ashmore Castle

‘As long as I won’t be expected to take her on, along with the title,’ Cordwell said.

Giles felt a little offended. ‘She’s my sister’s child,’ he said. ‘Of course I will take care of her.’

Cordwell gave a curt nod of satisfaction. ‘As long as that’s understood.’

Sam was hovering near Giles’s bedroom door. ‘My lord,’ he said, in an urgent undertone, his eyes frantic with appeal, ‘Lord Cordwell doesn’t have any blacks with him, nor a silk hat, and I don’t know what to do.’

When Giles had come back for his father’s funeral, he hadn’t owned a mourning suit either, and Crooks had taken in a coat of his father’s and stuffed the lining of one of the late earl’s hats for him.

But the case now was rather different. He didn’t feel they owed anything in particular to the new Lord Cordwell.

‘I don’t see that you can do anything,’ Giles said. ‘He knew he was coming to a funeral, and if he didn’t care to bring the appropriate clothing, he must go as he is.’

Sam bit his lips in anxiety. ‘In a lounge suit , my lord? And a soft hat!’

‘You’ll put a black band around it – you can do that, can’t you? And a black band on his sleeve.’

‘Um – yes, my lord, I think I can manage that.’

Afton appeared during the last exchange.

‘Off you go, Sam,’ he said firmly, and the footman hurried away, still looking anxious.

‘He thinks he’s going to get into trouble if his lordship appears in public improperly dressed,’ Afton said, following Giles into his room.

Seeing Giles’s amused quirk of the lips, he went on, ‘Poor Sam! He came to me last night when you’d all gone in to dinner to say that Lord Cordwell wouldn’t let him dress him.

He kept taking the things out of his hands and putting them on himself. ’

‘Shocking!’ Giles said, and exchanged a grin with his manservant.

Alice travelled to the church in the second carriage with Arabella and Miss Kettel.

Arabella held her hand, and unexpectedly fell asleep on the short journey with her head on Alice’s shoulder.

In her other hand she clutched the felt pig, Pepper.

Her face showed new planes, making her look older than her years – twelve or thirteen, past the first stage of childhood – and the black dress did nothing for her.

Alice wondered what would happen to her in the coming years, a penniless girl without a title.

Miss Kettel leaned forward and spoke to Alice over the sleeping child’s head.

‘They blame me, you know,’ she whispered.

Alice was startled to be confided in. ‘And I blame myself,’ Miss Kettel went on.

‘I should have taken better care of him. I’ll never forgive myself.

I don’t know why they’ve kept me on. I expected to be dismissed straight away. ’

‘But Arabella needs you,’ Alice said.

The carriage stopped outside St Peter’s Church, and the child woke, sat up and looked bewildered. ‘Is it over?’ she asked.

‘No, it hasn’t started yet,’ Alice answered her.

Arabella looked at her with dread. ‘I don’t have to see him, do I? They won’t make me look at him?’

‘No,’ said Alice, kindly. ‘He’s asleep in his nice cosy box now.’

‘Like a dormouse,’ said Arabella. ‘He always wanted a pet mouse.’

The door was opened and the step let down. ‘Come along,’ said Miss Kettel, briskly. ‘Mustn’t keep people waiting.’

Arabella climbed out obediently, and took Alice’s hand again. ‘Can we go riding this afternoon?’ she asked.

‘Not this afternoon. Tomorrow, perhaps.’

‘I never let him ride Biscuit,’ she said. ‘I wish I had now.’

‘He was better off on Goosebumps. Biscuit would have had him off,’ Alice reassured her.

Arabella sighed. ‘I suppose it doesn’t matter now.’

Lord Cordwell excused himself straight after luncheon. ‘If you’ll forgive me I’ll go up and pack. And would you be kind enough to order the carriage for me, to take me to the station?’

‘But – you’ll stay the night, surely?’ Kitty said.

He bowed slightly to her. ‘I don’t see any purpose. We come from such different worlds – I don’t think any of us enjoyed dinner last night, and to repeat the experiment would be folly. I’d like to get back home tonight if possible. I have clients to see tomorrow.’

‘You’re a busy man,’ Richard said, with faint irony.

Cordwell looked at him seriously. ‘I am. And I don’t see how this title with no estate attached to it changes anything. So I must be about my business. Thank you for your hospitality, Lady Stainton. I don’t suppose we will meet again.’

Richard waited until he was well out of earshot before laughing. ‘One can’t fault his logic – but oh dear! “Thank you for your hospitality,” in a tone that said, as clear as day, “This whole visit was a waste of my valuable time.”’

‘I suppose it was,’ Giles said. ‘We could have had the funeral without him. It was only courtesy to include him.’

‘And to think I told him to call us Cousin Richard and Cousin Giles!’ Richard chortled.

Giles gave an unwilling half-smile. ‘I did think at the time you were rather going overboard.’

When Kitty and Alice arrived back at Aunt Caroline’s house, they were met by Rachel in a state of agitation. ‘A letter’s come from Mama,’ she said. ‘Linda wants Arabella to go to Usingen. Miss Kettel’s to take her.’

‘It’s proper that she should want to see her,’ Kitty said, almost in relief. It troubled her to think of anyone having so little care for their children.

‘Yes, but you don’t understand. Mama says that since Miss Kettel will be going, she can chaperone us on the journey as well. She’s ordered Alice and me to go. She wants us to stay all summer.’

‘I don’t want to go,’ Alice said. ‘I don’t want to miss school.’

‘It’s worse for me,’ Rachel said wildly. ‘She’ll try to stop me marrying Angus, I know she will.’

‘She’s given her permission,’ Kitty said. ‘She’s allowed you to become engaged.’

‘But it wasn’t announced anywhere, so she can change her mind,’ Rachel said. ‘I’ll bet she’s got someone else lined up for me – some dreadful old relation of the prince’s that she’ll try to force me to marry.’

‘You only have to stick it out,’ Alice said.

‘You needn’t sound so smug,’ Rachel said, irritated. ‘If she’s asked for you to go, it’s because she’s found someone for you as well.’

Alice paled. ‘You don’t really think so?’

‘You are heartless girls,’ Aunt Caroline said. ‘This is your mother you’re talking about. She wants to see you, that’s all. She wants to spend some time with you.’

Two pairs of eyes turned on her. ‘She’s never wanted to spend time with us before,’ Alice said frankly.

‘You’re grown-up now, you’re able to be proper company,’ Aunt Caroline said. ‘And she’s having a baby, so she won’t have been able to visit or have visitors for some time.’

‘That’s true,’ said Kitty. ‘She must be terribly bored. Having you there will cheer her up.’

‘Besides,’ said Aunt Caroline, ‘I’m closing up the house at the end of next week.’

‘Are you going to Usingen?’ Kitty asked.

‘The South of France first, to stay with Vicky and Bobo. But I expect we’ll all go to Usingen after the baby’s born.

One ought to pay one’s respects,’ she added, with a vague look.

It was hard to think of her older sister being involved in childbirth again, at her advanced age, with her youngest children on the brink of adulthood.

The whole thing smacked of the bizarre – and Aunt Caroline had a dislike of anything outré .

‘I wish I could go with you,’ Angus said, ‘but I can’t possibly leave the office for that long. You ought to have a man to look after you on the journey. It isn’t right for ladies to travel alone, especially abroad.’

‘I wish you were going too,’ Rachel said. ‘Then you could stand up to Mama if she tries to separate us.’

‘I can’t believe she’d go back on her word. Why would she, after all this time?’

‘You don’t know her. If she wants to do something, she does it. But Kitty and Aunt Caroline both say we must go. I thought Kitty would be on my side, but she says it’s the proper thing to do.’

‘I suppose it is,’ Angus said. ‘Perhaps you’ll enjoy it when you get there.’

‘I don’t suppose they’ll be having any parties until the baby is born, so it will be deadly dull.

’ She brightened slightly. ‘It will be nice to see Aunt Vicky again, though, if she comes. She took me about when I was over there before my come-out. Parties every day, and balls, and hunting, and military reviews. Aunt Vicky makes such fun! She’s not a bit like Mama.

And Uncle Bobo’s terribly nice, too. He bought me the prettiest coral set for my birthday.

It will be my birthday again while we’re there,’ she added, with a thoughtful look.

‘They might take Alice and me away with them after the baby’s born, to the summer palace, or the South of France. You meet everyone there.’

‘I hope you do have a nice time,’ Angus said, ‘but don’t get carried away, will you? All this talk of balls and parties . . .’

‘I know,’ Rachel said impatiently. ‘There won’t be any after we’re married. You said so.’

‘I didn’t say there won’t be any . But we won’t be mixing with dukes and princes. And you ought to take the opportunity of studying how a house is run in Germany. They might do things differently, and it would be interesting to compare and see which way is better.’

Rachel looked astonished at his idea of what was interesting, and said quickly, ‘Oh, I don’t think Mama would like me to question the prince’s housekeeper. I’m sure it wouldn’t be proper at all.’

Angus opened his mouth and closed it again. It wasn’t in his nature to nag, but if Rachel had been less absorbed with her own thoughts she’d have seen that he was worried.