Page 68 of The Sun Sister

‘Well, you’ve got to leave bright and early, so how about we pack your trunk this afternoon? Then you can have a little rest before the party. Want me to style your hair again for tonight?’

‘Why not?’ Cecily smiled, desperate for the maid to leave the room so her mind could fully dissect the note Julius had left her. ‘Thank you, Doris. I’ll be down for breakfast shortly.’

‘All right, miss. Ring if you need me.’ Bobbing a curtsey, Doris left the room.

Cecily reread the note the minute the door had clicked shut. She couldn’t work out the sentiments behind it – or why on earth Julius hadn’t told her he was leaving for London this morning. Perhaps he had been in a rush – yes, that could account for the coolness that seemed to permeate his written words. It was such a contrast to what he had said to her last night.

He said he hoped to get back in time to say goodbye in person,she told herself as she sipped her tea.Perhaps this was just a note in case he didn’t...

Feeling very alone – Julius had been her playmate for most of the time she’d been here – Cecily then went for a walk in the park to clear her head. She had a sinking feeling in her stomach as she went over and over the words in his letter. People often wrote far more formally than they spoke, but on the other hand, Julius was a poet...

That afternoon, Cecily paced the bedroom while Doris folded her clothes neatly and stowed them away in the trunk; the maid talked so much that all Cecily needed to do was to add the odd ‘yes’, ‘no’, or ‘really?’ until Doris finally closed the lid.

‘There, all done, miss. Now you can relax and enjoy the party.’

‘Do you know if Julius is attending tonight?’

‘Don’t ask me, miss, he’s a law unto himself that one.’ Doris rolled her eyes to exaggerate her point. ‘He often stays overnight in London. That’s where his fiancée lives, see.’

‘His fiancée?’

‘Yes, Veronica she’s called. Real society girl – I’m always seeing her in the pages of some magazine or another. Gawd knows how she’ll cope when they’re married and she ’as to live ’ere in the middle of nowhere.’

Cecily sat down on the bed abruptly, wondering whether she would faint clean away with shock.

‘I see. I...How long have they been’ – Cecily swallowed hard – ‘engaged?’

‘Oh, just over six months, I’d reckon. The wedding’s all set for the summer.’

‘Lady Woodhead’s never mentioned it to me.’

‘No, well, maybe she wouldn’t, because I know she don’t approve. ’Er Ladyship thinks Veronica’s “fast” and not suitable to be the next lady of the ’ouse. Well, we’re only young once, ain’t we, miss, and I’m sure she’ll calm down when she’s married. Besides, I reckon she’s got ’er work cut out, being his wife, if you know what I mean.’

‘I’m afraid I don’t,’ Cecily replied hoarsely. ‘Please explain.’

‘I’ve more than an inkling he sees other women, and so have the rest of the maids here. I know for certain there was a girl in the village he was after; me and Ellen are sure we saw her running from the ’ouse one morning a couple of months back when we was up at dawn lighting the fires. Men, eh? Sometimes I think I’d be better off spending me life on me own rather than trusting ’em. Right, I’ll leave you to have a little rest and I’ll be up to run your bath at five.’

Doris left, and Cecily sat where she was, hands folded in her lap, staring out of the window. She could still feel his presence inside her, the soreness at her core a physical reminder of how she had been duped. She had previously thought how very dumb some women were to believe the sweet nothings of a man when he wanted his way, yet now she had almost certainly joined their ranks.

Never once had he mentioned Veronica, or his forthcoming marriage...

Unless of course he was planning to call it off tonight and that’s why he’d gone to London...

‘No, Cecily,’ she whispered, hanging her head and moving it rhythmically from side to side. ‘Don’t be so naive, you know he’s doing nothing of the sort.’

A tear left one of her eyes but she brushed it away harshly. She wouldn’t allow any self-indulgence. This situation was of her own making. She had been so very stupid, despite all her supposed cleverness. Sostupidthat she deserved not one iota of sympathy.

After a while, she stood up, walked over to her trunk, turned the brass keys to lock it then sat down on the top.

All she knew for certain was that she would never trust any man ever again.

‘Welcome to Mundui House, darling girl!’ Kiki said as she jumped down from the passenger seat of the white Bugatti that had brought them on the three-hour journey from Nairobi, and which was now covered in a thick layer of reddish-brown dirt. Cecily had kept her eyes closed for most of the drive, partly due to the dust that had coiled up around the car like the smoke from Aladdin’s lamp and made them itch, but mostly because she was so completely and utterly exhausted that it was too much effort to keep them open.

‘Oh!’ said Kiki, raising her arms up to the heavens. ‘I am so very glad to be home. Come on, I want to show you around. You have to see everything and then we’ll have champagne to celebrate you being here – or maybe we’ll have it before the tour – and then I might call up some friends to come for cocktails later on so they can meet you.’

‘Kiki, I...well, after the journey, I can’t walk another step,’ Cecily said as she managed to haul herself out of the car and blink in the bright sunlight, which felt as if it was boring into her pupils. She closed her eyes against the solar onslaught, staggered a little and caught hold of the car door.

‘Of course. You poor thing.’ Kiki was by her side in seconds, steadying her. ‘Aleeki!’ she called. ‘Come help Miss Cecily into the house, she’s fit to drop. Put her in the Rose suite at the other end of the hallway to me – the one where Winston stayed.’