Heirs of Ravenscar (8 page)

G
race Rose finished wrapping the last of her Christmas presents in gold paper, tying the gauzy gold ribbon into a lavish bow. After adding a small spray of gold-painted holly and a bunch of tiny gold bells, she put it to one side on the table. Then, very neatly, she wrote on the small gift card:
To dearest Bess, with much love from Grace
Rose
. Once she had tied the card onto the ribbon she sat back, regarding her handiwork.

There were nine presents all beautifully wrapped and ready to be sent off to Ravenscar. Six of them were for her half sisters and brothers, and three were for her adult relatives, Aunt Cecily, Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Ned.

Uncle Ned.
Her father
. She loved him the most except for her parents, Vicky and Stephen Forth. They had adopted her, brought her up since she was four years old … fourteen years of love and devotion they had given her, and they had given her a life, one that was truly wonderful, and which she wouldn't have had without them.

In her mind Grace Rose associated Vicky and Stephen with love, for that is what she had received from them, and continued to receive unstintingly. They had never demanded anything in return but she had responded to them with utter devotion, love and obedience.

Within the first few weeks of her arrival in this house the three of them had become as close as any parents and a child could be. And right from the beginning she had fallen into their ways, had adapted easily to their lifestyle, been comfortable in their world of courtesy, good manners, cosseted comfort, and undeniable wealth and privilege.

There were moments, like right now, when she thought about the courage they had shown … they had been so very brave to take her in, make her their daughter.

She
, the urchin child, existing on the streets of Whitechapel, living in an old cart, alone, scared witless and forever hungry. An urchin child dressed in ragged boys' clothes, which were far too big, and covered in grime and dirt. A little girl who had been thrown away without a second thought, until Amos Finnister had found her and taken her to Lady Fenella and Vicky Forth at Haddon House. The three of them, and Stephen as well, had saved her life. She shuddered to think about what would have happened to her if Amos had not gone into that cul-de-sac on that particular night to eat his meat pies. And found
her
. She might not have lived to see the year out.

Rising, Grace Rose stood up and went over to the looking glass which hung above the fireplace in the parlour, staring at her reflection. What she saw quite pleased her, even though she didn't think of herself as being beautiful; she now decided that she looked attractive. She especially liked her red gold hair, which she thought of as her best asset. It fell to her shoulders in curls and waves, and was constantly admired by everyone. Her eyes were unusual,
very, very blue, and she knew – everyone knew – that she looked exactly like Edward Deravenel. Even her slender nose, rounded chin and broad forehead were inherited from him.

Grace Rose had first met him fourteen years ago, in this house, when he had rushed into the library looking for Amos and Neville Watkins. The minute she set eyes on him her heart had done a little leap inside her, and she felt a lovely surge of happiness. It was
him
. Her father, looking just the way her mother had described him to her. Tabitha had told her he was strong and tall like a tree in the forest, with eyes as blue as the sky above, and hair the colour of the autumn leaves. She had recognized him.

She had smiled at him and he had smiled back, and she knew deep down inside herself that she was his, and he was hers, and there would always be something special and unique between them. And it had been so.

Her thoughts swung to Tabitha … her first mother. A little sigh escaped her. She was still perplexed about her mother's fate; Tabitha had gone away one day and never come back, and
she
had gone out into the streets, running as fast as her little legs would carry her. Her need to escape that hovel of a house had propelled her as far away as possible.

Now she knew as much as Vicky and the others knew about Tabitha James. Her first mother had been born Lady Tabitha Brockhaven, the daughter of an Earl; she had fallen in love with her music teacher, Toby James, and had eloped with him. But they had never had any children together.
She
had come along later, fathered by Uncle Ned when he was only a boy, then her mother had moved and had lost touch with Edward Deravenel.

Vicky, her adoptive mother, had told her about her background, given her all the facts that were available when she
was fourteen, at which time Vicky had believed she was old enough to know everything. But even Vicky had admitted rather sadly that it was not very much.

‘It's all right, Mother,' Grace Rose had responded at the time. ‘I'm glad to know who Tabitha really was, but you and Stephen are my parents and that's more than enough for me. And Uncle Ned has always acknowledged that he's my biological father.'

Grace Rose turned her back to the fireplace and stood warming herself for a few minutes, thinking about Edward Deravenel. He had always been honest and straight forward with her. He had taught her so many things over the years, imbued in her a sense of honour and fair play, told her about justice, and taught her to have integrity in all things. ‘And here is something else,' he had said quite recently. ‘Follow your own dreams. Don't put them aside for anyone or anything. Because sometimes people and events will … betray you. Be your own person, Grace Rose, go your own way, and always be true to yourself.' That day last summer she had promised him she would do as he said.

He was coming to the dinner party tonight, and she was excited that he would be one of the guests. He was bringing Mrs Shaw. She liked Jane Shaw, who was a beautiful, gracious, gentle person. And she fully understood why this woman was Uncle Ned's mistress. He needed a woman to be nice to him. She had often noticed, when she was at Ravenscar for holidays in the summer, that Aunt Elizabeth could be mean to him, unkind really. And she shouted at him, which frightened the younger children. Another thing she had noticed was that Aunt Elizabeth paid more attention to the two boys than the little girls. Bess, her very dear friend, had confided that her mother was really only interested in the two boys because they were ‘the heir and the spare'. There were times when Grace thought that Bess
was not particularly attached to her mother, and this saddened her. Having a loving mother was the most wonderful thing.

It seemed to her, all of a sudden, that Elizabeth Deravenel was not well liked in the family; certainly Aunt Cecily disliked her, she had picked up on that ages ago, when she was much younger. Grace Rose loved Cecily Deravenel her grandmother, if unacknowledged as such.

‘Well, there you are, Grace Rose,' Vicky exclaimed, pushing open the door of the parlour. Glancing over at the table she then nodded approvingly. ‘I see you've wrapped a lot of presents, darling. Good girl.'

Grace Rose beamed at Vicky. ‘I have, Mother, all of those which you are sending off to Ravenscar. Is Fuller going to take them to the post office tomorrow?'

‘Actually, he isn't, after all. Uncle Ned just telephoned me about something, and in passing I asked him if he would mind taking them, if we packed them up in a small case, of course, and he said he would be happy to do so. We can do that job after lunch. In the meantime, I have some very good news for you.' Vicky waved the letter she was holding, and continued, ‘My friend Millicent Hanson has written back to say she will be delighted to have you to stay with her next spring and summer. Therefore you will be able to attend some of the courses at Oxford.'

‘Oh, how wonderful! Thank you, Mother, for writing to her. I'm so happy.'

Edward was in a foul mood, and he knew exactly why. He was blazing mad with George, and for some reason he was finding it hard to rid himself of the anger. Usually he managed to toss things off, especially things which had to do with
George's bad behaviour. This mess with the gambling debts was another matter entirely.

In the first place, there was the question of honour. George had been brought up properly, as a gentleman, and ought to know better than to leave debts of this nature unpaid. It was a disaster for his reputation, and also damaging to the family name.

Leaning back in the chair, closing his eyes, he asked himself why George hadn't paid the clubs immediately. Was he short of money? Edward doubted that. He earned a good salary here at Deravenels, received quarterly director's fees, and his wife Isabel had a huge allowance from her mother. Nan Watkins was a millionairess many times over, and had been extremely generous to Isabel and George. Actually, in his opinion, they had money to burn. On the other hand, thirty thousand pounds owed to one club and five thousand each owed to two other clubs were hefty sums. Forty thousand pounds.

Then there was the matter of the drinking. It had startled Edward to hear that George was considered an alcoholic. He hadn't realized it had gone that far. As for the drugs, he wasn't certain about that at all. But who knows, he now thought. Perhaps he is on something addictive, other than the drink.

Edward accepted that George would have to be dealt with very sternly when he returned from Scotland, and he also decided that George was going to pay back the forty thousand pounds
he
had just laid out. He had no intention of funding his brother's bad gambling habits; quite suddenly he wondered if he could have George's memberships to the clubs cancelled. Or perhaps he could have George banned. How he wasn't sure, but it might be worth a try. And he would put the fear of God into George after Christmas. Yes, he was going to deal with a lot of things in the new year, he had made that decision days ago.

Now he must throw off this foul mood. Immediately. He had to push a smile onto his face and go across the street to Rules. He didn't want to put a damper on the lunch he was giving for his special colleagues at Deravenels. It was almost Christmas, the first Christmas they would be able to celebrate properly, because finally they were at peace. There would be a few faces missing at the lunch: Rob Aspen and Christopher Green, who had died in France fighting for their country. They would be remembered fondly by everyone, himself most especially.

Rising, Edward went over to the cupboard where the safe was housed, and opened it. He stood there for a moment, and then he made a decision. He took out two large envelopes, locked the safe, went back to his desk and placed the envelopes in a drawer. This he locked. Pocketing the key, he went to get his overcoat and scarf. It was almost one o'clock. Time to go.

V
icky Forth was an optimist. She had been all her life; even as a child her attitude had been positive. Her glass was always half full, never half empty; tomorrow would be a much better day than today; the future was full of promise and success. Her nature induced her to forge ahead with her projects, undaunted and full of bravery. If any adversity occurred she looked it straight in the eye, and moved right through it, as if it didn't exist.

Her husband Stephen, who loved, adored and encouraged her in her work, said she was a woman warrior out to conquer the world by doing good deeds. And this was true. Vicky had touched many lives. She loved helping others, most especially damaged women down on their luck, in need of care, counselling and encouragement. She wanted to help them have better lives.

Her optimism had served her well over the years, and she suddenly thought of this now as she looked at some of the dresses in her wardrobe, wondering which one to wear tonight.

How right she had been to encourage Grace Rose to be optimistic, to set her sights on Oxford University. Women were not yet admitted to membership of the University, but they could attend lectures and take courses.

Grace Rose would be able to do all of the above, and would be safe, well looked after by her old friend Millicent Hanson, now widowed, who had a lovely old house in Oxford. It had been an inspired idea to write to her.

In the letter Vicky had received today, Millicent had said she would be delighted to have Grace Rose living with her whilst she pursued her studies; Vicky was relieved, happy for her daughter, who was a wonderful student. She hoped to be a historian one day.

Finally, Vicky selected a stylish, dark-rose coloured silk dress with three-quarter length sleeves and a narrow skirt which fell to the ankles. It had a V-shaped insertion of beige lace at the front, and this made for a unique neckline. She had only worn it once before, and she decided it would be perfect for the dinner party tonight. It had style, but it was not overly dressy for a dinner at home, especially since the men were not wearing black tie.

After putting on the dress and stepping into matching rose-coloured silk pumps, Vicky went
back to her dressing table, selected a pair of pearl-and-diamond earrings, and a matching
brooch in the design of a flower. After adding the jewellery, she moved across the floor
with her usual willowy grace, stood staring at herself in the cheval looking-glass in one
corner of the bedroom. Nodding to herself, she decided she liked her appearance. Yes, she
would do.

Now in her mid-forties, Vicky Forth looked like a much younger woman; her dark chestnut hair was glossy and thick, with only a hint of silver threads here and there. The few wrinkles she had around her eyes and mouth were hardly visible, and because she was full of
joie de vivre
there was
an amazing sense of youthfulness about her. Her energy and enthusiasm added to her attractiveness. Both men and women were drawn to her, found her to be a warm, kind and compassionate woman. Edward Deravenel had always said hers was the best shoulder to cry on because she had so much sympathy to give.

Turning around, Vicky hurried towards the door, just as it flew open to admit her husband Stephen.

A smile struck his face when he saw her. ‘How beautiful you look, Vicky!' he exclaimed, coming into the room, closing the door. He paused to kiss her, held her away from him, smiling broadly, nodding his approval.

‘Hello, darling,' she said, smiling back at him.

‘You're dressed rather early, aren't you, my dear?'

Vicky shook her head. ‘Not really, I do have a few things to check with Cook, and Fuller. Also, a short while ago Ned telephoned. He asked to come a bit earlier, before everyone else. He wants to talk to us, so I said it would be all right.'

‘What does he want to talk to us
about
?' Stephen asked curiously.

‘Grace Rose.'

‘What about her?'

‘Apparently some years ago, after he had taken over as head of Deravenels and was making money, he set up a trust for her. It will not be hers until she is twenty-one, but he wishes to bring the relevant documents tonight. He thinks we should now hold them for her until she comes of age.'

‘How odd. Why?'

‘He didn't actually explain everything, Stephen darling, but he did mention that he was putting many of his affairs in order between now and the end of the year.'

‘I see. Well, then, I'd better get a move on, darling, change my shirt and suit, dandy myself up for your dinner party.'

‘Our dinner party, Stephen,' she corrected. ‘Ned said it
would only take fifteen minutes or so. He suggested Grace Rose could entertain Jane whilst we have our discussion in the library.'

‘I know Grace Rose will enjoy that, but will Jane?'

‘What on earth do you mean?' Vicky frowned in puzzlement, staring at her husband questioningly.

‘Grace Rose has become amazingly forthright lately. Whilst she is not in any way rude, in fact she's extremely polite and well-mannered, I do find she really does speak her mind these days. Or hadn't you noticed?'

‘Yes, of course I have,' Vicky responded. ‘On the other hand, she makes her somewhat startling comments so casually and with such panache, such good humour, I'm quite certain no one takes offence.' Hurrying to the door, she added over her shoulder, ‘But I must go down. I have to make sure everything is in order. Don't be too long, will you?' She glanced at the carriage clock on the mantelpiece and pointed out, ‘It's already ten past six, and Ned and Jane will be arriving at six-thirty. The other guests are due at seven.'

‘Who else is coming, by the way?' he asked swiftly. ‘Just refresh my memory again. You never did give me a final list, as you normally do.'

‘Oh sorry, so sorry, Stephen. Yes, well, it's only family, really. There's Ned and Jane, and us, that makes five, plus Fenella, Amos, and my brother.'

‘Isn't Kathleen coming with Will?'

‘No, I'm afraid not. He telephoned me this morning. She's fighting an awful cold apparently, and he said they both thought she ought to stay at home. She doesn't want to spread germs. So I agreed. What else could I do? Anyway, a lovely flower arrangement and a note of apology arrived this afternoon from Kathleen. She's a sweet woman, very thoughtful.'

‘Yes, she is. It's all this blasted rain we're having, if you
want my opinion,' Stephen grumbled. ‘It's been raining cats and dogs for days. No wonder people are catching colds, becoming ill.'

Vicky burst out laughing. ‘Let's not complain about the English weather, my sweet! The war is OVER. That's quite something to be happy about, isn't it? To hell with the weather, I say.'

He chuckled, and headed over to his dressing room. ‘Give me ten minutes and I'll be down,' he muttered as he disappeared through the doorway.

Smiling to herself, thinking how awful her life would have been without him, Vicky closed the bedroom door behind her and went downstairs. She wanted to check on Fuller, to make sure he had taken the champagne to the library; she had selected Krug, knowing it was Ned's preferred brand these days.

Dear Ned. He had always been her favourite and one of her dearest friends. They had known each other for donkey's years, and had become very close as time had passed. He was her brother Will's best friend, and she fully understood why these two had bonded years before.

She had helped Ned to get through his grief and despair after his mistress Lily had been killed in that horrendous accident. Well, she added to herself, that was no accident, it was cold-blooded murder. Margot Grant, Edward's bitter enemy, in his fight for control of Deravenels all those years ago. She had had Lily Overton murdered. And she had gone scot-free, had never been made to pay for it. No, she
had
been made to pay, actually. In the worst way. The Frenchwoman had lost everyone and everything. God's will, no doubt.

A shiver ran through Vicky and goose flesh sprang up on her arms and the back of her neck. She had been in the landau with Lily that fateful day in Hyde Park, had been thrown out with her and could have easily been killed herself.

Lily … her best friend, so beautiful, and far too young to die. And the unborn baby killed, too, Ned's child which she was carrying. Vicky knew she would never forget the sight of Lily laying there on the grass, the pale blue silk of her dress covered in bright red blood. That image was indelibly printed on her mind; it never faded.

Pausing on the staircase, Vicky took a deep breath and endeavoured to throw off these dire memories of that most miserable day, and then she went on down slowly, calming her thoughts before their guests began to arrive.

Almost at once she bumped into Fuller in the downstairs hall. ‘Good evening, Madam,' he said, inclining his head. ‘I'm just about to put the grog in the library.'

‘Thank you,' she answered, noting that he was holding a silver bucket full of ice. ‘Everything else is in hand, isn't it?' she asked. ‘All the fires going?'

‘Oh yes, Madam, all shipshape. We're ready to set sail.'

‘Thank you, Fuller,' she murmured and walked along the corridor towards the kitchen, shaking her head. Before joining them last year Fuller had been head butler in the house of a former admiral in the Royal Navy, now deceased, and he tended to speak in somewhat nautical terms. She and Grace Rose found it amusing, but at times it irritated Stephen: only the other day he had complained that he felt as if he were living on a damned battleship!

Her answer had been to quickly point out that Fuller just happened to be an excellent butler, the best they had had in years.

Opening the kitchen door, Vicky put her head around it and asked, ‘Do you need me for anything, Mrs Johnson?'

The cook turned swiftly, holding a ladle in her hand and it hovered in mid-air for a moment. Putting it down, she said, ‘Evening, mum. No, there're no problems. All's well 'ere, we're shipshape, and on time. Dinner will be ready at
eight bells, as you requested.' Cook compressed her mouth hard, swallowing her sudden laughter. She steadied herself and blurted out, ‘Seems I'm pickin' up Fuller's jargon, mum, sorry, ever so sorry, mum.'

Trying to keep a straight face herself, Vicky answered, ‘Just make sure the mulligatawny soup is very hot. You know Mr Forth likes the soup to be
scalding
.'

‘Yes, mum, and everything else! I knows he prefers his 'ot food 'ot, and so he should, mum.'

Laughing, Vicky made her way to the drawing room and went in. It was her favourite room in the house, and she glanced around, admiring it for a moment. The walls were covered in pale-yellow silk, and yellow-and-cream striped taffeta draperies hung at the windows, billowed out like ball-gowns, the way she liked them to be.

Against the pale-yellow backdrop there was a mélange of bright colours, mainly clear blues and reds in the upholstery fabrics on the various antique French chairs and large comfortable sofas. The fire was blazing, the porcelain lamps shaded in cream silk offered a welcoming glow, and there were bowls of fresh flowers everywhere. Perfect, she thought. The room looks just perfect.

The ringing of the doorbell made Vicky start, and as she hurried across the antique Aubusson carpet she heard Fuller's footsteps echoing in the marble hall. She hoped he wouldn't say welcome aboard, as he had been known to do sometimes. On the other hand, if he did, she knew that Edward would simply chuckle.