Page 5 of The Gathering Storm (Morland Dynasty #36)

He realised then that it was Dean she was crying for, not Leslie Howard – which was a relief of sorts. ‘I expect he did love you, honey. After all, he could have married anyone, but he chose you.’

‘Because we’d worked together on Falcon .’ She accepted his handkerchief and blew her nose. ‘I guess when you act being in love day after day, you can start thinking you really are.’

‘If you’ve learned that, you’ve learned something important,’ Lennie said.

‘But we really liked each other,’ she mourned. ‘I just didn’t know about – you know what. I’d never even heard about that sort of thing. How does it work, anyway? I don’t understand.’

‘You don’t need to know. What we have to do now is sort out the mess.’

‘I suppose Dean and I will have to split up,’ she said, in a small voice.

‘Don’t you want to? Are you still in love with him?’

‘No, but—’ She thought a bit. ‘It’s sort of like a failure. Like I’m not good enough.’

‘You are never to think that,’ Lennie said sternly. ‘This was all Dean’s fault.’

‘I don’t want to get him into trouble. Estelle says the studios hate that kind of thing. And if it gets in the papers, they might drop him and ruin his career.’

‘In the end, it might come down to his career or yours,’ Lennie said. He saw steel come into her drawn face.

‘Okay. If it’s him or me, then the hell with him, pardon my French.’

‘Good girl. That’s the spirit. Estelle will sort it all out. And it may not come to sacrificing Dean, if some arrangement can be arrived at – I don’t suppose he wants publicity of that sort.’

‘How—?’

‘Leave that to us. I’m going to talk to Al Feinstein. If we can work out something he can sell to the press, I think I can talk him round. After all, I’ve put a lot of money into his productions, and if he wants to keep dipping into my pocket …’

Rose sighed again, and said, in a low voice, ‘I miss my mother. If only she’d stayed here she’d never have got pneumonia and died. I feel so bad that she went back east because of me.’

Lennie said, ‘Your mother was the strongest-minded woman I ever knew. She went back east because she wanted to. But you’ve raised a subject that has to be addressed: you can’t live on your own, not after this. Everything has got to look ultra-respectable.’

‘I don’t know what to do.’ Tears began to leak again. ‘My mother’s dead. Dean’s a wash-out. Everyone just uses me to make money. Nobody cares what happens to me .’

‘I care,’ said Lennie.

‘I wish you were my father. If I didn’t have you, I don’t know what I’d do. What’s going to happen to me? I can’t live at Roselands any more. It will always remind me of Dean.’

Inwardly Lennie sighed, but he wasn’t surprised to hear himself say, ‘Would you like to come and live with me, until all this blows over?’

‘Really? Oh, yes!’ she cried at once.

‘You can bring your people with you – we’ve plenty of room. Wilma will make you comfortable.’

‘Oh, I love Wilma,’ she said. ‘Can I really come?’

‘Yes, but there’s to be no shenanigans. No drinking, definitely no drugs, no running around with men, no wild parties.’

‘I’ll behave like a nun, I promise, if only you take care of me. You won’t leave me, will you?’ For all her fame and fortune, she looked just then very young and very lost.

‘No, I won’t leave you,’ he said. ‘As long as you behave yourself.’

Her eyes widened. ‘I’ve just remembered, you’re going to England, aren’t you?’

‘I’ll put it off. Don’t worry. I said I’d take care of you.’

‘You’re always so good to me,’ she said, smiling at last.

Lennie smiled too, but underneath he could have wept. He thought of Polly, and Morland Place, and felt as lonely as he had ever felt in his life.

‘I’d better send a cable,’ he said, more to himself than to Rose.

When Polly got back to Morland Place she met James just coming out into the yard, wrapped up to the chin in a thick wool coat, wearing the special hat – deerskin lined with fleece, and earflaps that tied under the chin – that dated from his trip to Bear Island.

His Elghund, Helmy, came bouncing past him eagerly.

With his thick grey coat, he didn’t mind the cold.

‘Ha!’ said Polly. ‘The only dog willing to leave the fireside.’

James looked up at her, resting a hand on Zephyr’s neck. ‘Are you referring to me or Helmy?’

‘Both,’ she said. He was tall and handsome, her brother, easy-going and good-natured, affectionate to her, good with animals, idolised by her son, five-year-old Alec.

He would have made a fine Master of Morland Place in good times: he was indolent, and not bookish, but he understood the land.

And the tenants would have adored him: Polly they viewed with suspicion, though they were getting used to her now, seeing that she had gone four and a half years without ruining the place.

But James had been born to the position, and would have reigned over his kingdom with easy grace.

Death duties had put paid to that, and after a period of severe anguish – he simply was not used to having to worry about anything, and the experience frightened him – he had yielded up the estate to Polly with nothing but relief.

There was still a part of Polly that felt like an impostor, that James was the true king.

But she believed Papa would have approved of her, if he could see her now.

‘What are you going after?’ she asked, eyeing the gun under his arm. ‘Deer?’

‘Not with Helmy,’ he said. ‘I thought I might try for some pigeons. Could you fancy pigeon pie?’

‘You get ’em, I’ll eat ’em. You seem very jolly. Has something happened?’

‘It has. I had a telephone call from Charlie. Typical of him: “Where are you, James? Why aren’t you here, James?” As if I should have known by instinct that he wanted me back.’

‘Where’s “here”?’

‘London, but he’s going back to Paris soon. He says he’s got a big adventure planned for the spring, but he won’t tell me what it is yet.’

‘How exciting.’

‘Well, I expect it will be, knowing Charlie. Oh, and he’s having a series of dinners in London at the moment and wants me to help him with them. So I shall be heading off tomorrow.’

‘So soon? Oh dear, I shall miss you.’

‘I’ll miss you too.’

‘Well, we’ve got tonight. I’ll have them bring up a good bottle of wine.’

He grinned. ‘Already thought of that.’ Zephyr, fidgeting, butted him in the chest. ‘Better get this nag in out of the cold. I’ll see you later.’ He passed on, but immediately stopped and turned back to say, ‘Oh, and you had a cable while you were out.’

‘From Lennie?’ she said eagerly.

‘I don’t know, I didn’t read it,’ he said, and was gone.

In the great hall, Barlow, the butler, Fand, her dog, and Alec all found her at the same moment.

Fand tried to knock her over, Barlow gave her the cable, and Alec wound himself round her waist and begged her to come and see what he’d been doing.

She patted the dog, promised Alec she would come, and tore open the cable.

It would be details of Lennie’s sailing, she supposed.

She began to hatch a plan to drive down and meet him at Southampton. It would be fun to surprise—

VERY MUCH REGRET WILL HAVE TO POSTPONE VISIT + FAMILY PROBLEMS WILL KEEP ME HERE SOME MONTHS + HEARTFELT APOLOGIES + LETTER FOLLOWS + LOVE LENNIE ++

It was, Polly thought, enough to make you cry.