Silver (13 page)

             
“Thank you Mr. Leech. Gentlemen,” he added more loudly as the murmurs rose. He waited for silence before continuing, his attention back on me. “Thank you Mrs. Bancroft. I can see the toll that this,” he paused to find a neutral word, “this affair is having on you and I must confess, I am a little in need of a break myself. Gentlemen we will break for lunch and reconvene in an hour to go over the remaining evidence. Thank you again Mr. and Mrs. Bancroft, Mr. Leech, you are free to leave.”

       
And that was it. There was murmuring as the jurors gathered their jackets or notes and filed slowly out of the room. I was aware that Geoffrey and John had come to my side to escort me from the room but when I tried to take my feet, I found all my reserves had been drained and I slipped sidelong to the floor. The last thing I saw, as my eyes rolled upwards and I slipped into darkness, was the flaking stucco ceiling painted in a scene from Genesis. There was a blue cloaked figure painted centrally, shrouded by a yellow aura of light; around him there were stars and planets as the heavens burst across a virgin sky.

       
In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light”: and there was light.

It would be a good few days before Avery could leave the house again. He had indeed met with his father that morning who had proffered what he had hoped would be good news. The widow Fearncott and he had plans to marry.  Toby Silver was not surprised by his daughter’s lack of jubilation at the news. Since his wife’s death, his guilt had manifested itself as an over protective streak which kept the girl from gaining independence. As a result, he was left with a daughter who, so far as he knew, had no friends and only left the house to drop in on the needy or to visit the museums and who would, no doubt, remain a spinster under his care until his death. He had accepted this as his burden and only wished that she would find some joy in this new episode of his life.

“
I don’t expect that this is totally unexpected news and I hope that you will spend the remaining few months before we are to marry, to get to know Mrs. Fearncott a little better.” Toby brushed a stray wisp of hair from his brow.

       
Avery observed his father neutrally, wondering how this turn of events could be factored in to his own fast changing plans for his future.

“
I am sure your choice of bride is none of my concern father, how the two of you do together is...”

“
For God’s sake Alice don’t be so damned sterile about this. Mrs. Fearncott is to be family. She is to be my wife and, if you allow it, she could become a close second to Mother.”

       
He let the words hang in the air for a few moments before chasing them down, in another attempt to persuade his daughter of the benefits on offer to them both.

             
“Georgina is a charming woman Alice and she informs me that you are not too old to take your own place in society, hmm?”       

       
The old man eyed his daughter hopefully but was met with a look of disgust on Avery’s face. As the words fell from the air, the frost lingered. This had already been a topic of discussion. Toby had tried to press upon his daughter, the importance of her prominence on the society scene, in order to secure a husband, but had been met with such anger that he had failed to force the matter beyond an awkward conversation.  Avery’s silence was an improvement on the normal hostility with which such a suggestion was met and, foolishly, Toby was cheered a little.

             
“There now you see, perhaps you would like to attend the ballet with us one evening?”

       
Toby had already begun to bury himself in to the newspaper and was oblivious to Avery’s contemptuous look.

       
Of course, Avery was far from pleased with the news and was dreading the fact that the Widow Fearncott wanted to get to know him better. Thus far, Mrs. Fearncott had not been a regular visitor to the Silver house. Evidently, it was more convenient for Toby Silver to visit her in her own home. According to Kate, they were also to be seen together most frequently at dinner, the ballet or the opera and Mr. Silver had spent a small fortune on the woman. Most of the social circuit upon which the two flitted would not be surprised about their marriage and many, Avery acknowledged, would also be hoping a woman’s impression upon the household would bring changes to Avery’s future. A lunch had been planned for the following day and Toby had insisted that his daughter be suitably presented for an introduction to his future wife. As the time of Georgina’s arrival approached, Avery showed little sign of getting ready and had sullenly taken to his room. He was beginning to grow concerned that if this woman took too much of an interest in the way he was living his life, she could jeopardise the fragile plans which he was busy forming.

       
Kate too seemed concerned, but not about the future. The young maid dealt mainly in the present and she had looked at Avery that morning as if trying to appraise him as the Widow would later do. By the look upon her face she had seen much to disapprove of. Kate had therefore taken it upon herself to select an outfit that would neither impress the widow nor ‘let the side down’.

“
You’d best not draw too much attention to yourself’” she had argued. “You don’t want her thinking you can’t look after yourself, do you? If she thinks that grey thing is the best thing in your cupboard then she might want to take you shopping for new clothes.”

       
As her voice became muffled from within the huge mahogany cabinet, Avery suspected that Kate enjoyed busying herself with his clothes. The dresses, that caused him discomfort and forced him into facing the world as the woman he was not, were a source of great joy to her.

             
“Ah! Here we go. This one is perfect.” She pulled out a navy blue dress, it was simple as all Avery’s female clothes were but he knew Kate thought it an elegant outfit and he often caught her admiring it. He stood wincing as she helped him dress, prickling visibly as if the fabric cut into his skin where it constricted his body. Kate said nothing but just busied herself, affixing a hairpiece to adapt his unruly hair.

             
“Does she have any children of her own?” Kate asked.

       
This had not occurred to Avery and he was suddenly filled with a horror that the acquisition of a stepmother might also herald an extended family all of whom would, no doubt, busy themselves with his welfare and future prospects. The thought was a dire one and his growing sense of unease was all at once evident to Kate. She tried to make it okay again by answering her own question

             
“I don’t think she does actually. Now that I think of it, I’m quite sure she hasn’t. We would have heard already if she had.”

       
She finished brushing through his hair and stepped back to appraise the job. Her face was unreadable but Avery sensed her forming a question.

             
“What is it Kate?”

       
She shook her head and turned away.

             
“It’s nothing. Honestly...It’s just…”

             
“Just what Kate??

“
This won’t change anything, will it?”

       
It was a clumsy question but Avery loved her for asking it. Just as he had begun to feel alone again with his concerns, she assured him that he was not. In reply he turned to face her.

“
Everything is changing Kate.”

       
The girl’s face clouded with a confused look and to save himself from any further discussion, he swept out of the room to meet his father downstairs to greet Georgina Fearncott.

       
It was a mixture of a formal and informal greeting. Avery’s father was barely recognisable as the dour, quiet man that Avery knew. He positively beamed with delight when introducing Mrs. Fearncott and he waited expectantly for his fiancé’s approval of his daughter. The daughter he barely knew.

             
“Georgina my dearest, this is my daughter, Alice.”

             
“Alice,” he hesitated as if to add an affectionate term but did not, “this is Mrs. Georgina Fearncott. Your mother to be,” he added in a boyish tone, delighted with his own wit. It was as if he had brought home a prize. He was obviously pleased with himself. He waited for Avery’s expression to mirror his own delight. It did not come. Though Avery was genuinely moved by his father’s delight it merely marked out his own unhappiness more acutely.

             
“A pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Fearncott. I would like to say that I have heard much about you but I am afraid my father has kept you rather a secret. If only I knew you a
little
better it should be an improvement.”

       
Georgina Fearncott’s eyes glittered with disapproval. She had taken in Avery’s appearance from the moment she entered the room and now, at close quarters, she was able to study Avery more exactly. She was quick to respond to his cool greeting as warmly as she could, simply to placate Toby.

             
“Darling Toby, you never told me Alice was so,” she made a short play of searching for the right word, “tall.” She selected after a moment.

       
Toby glowered at Avery as if it were his daughter’s fault that nothing appealing could be found to say. This was not starting off as Toby had expected. The three of them were saved from any immediate conversation as the arrival of Jamieson, to serve drinks, presented a welcome intrusion.

             
“I must say Toby, your home is quite beautiful. These sketches are very impressive.” Georgina had wandered to the small bureau that had been Toby’s wife’s and had picked up some drawings. “Are these yours, Alice?” she did not look around.

             
“Sadly not Mrs. Fearncott. I do not draw.”

             
“Indeed?” The older woman turned slightly and raised an eyebrow towards Toby before replacing the sketches and continuing her tour of the room.

             
“What is exactly that you do on your father’s good will, Alice?” she still failed to meet Avery eye to eye. Avery was beginning to get the measure of how this woman’s opinion was already being formed of him and he was not overly keen to dispel this immediately. Until he was able to more fully form his plan, he could not afford to waste his energy on turf wars with Georgina Fearncott.

“
Oh, Mrs. Fearncott! There are a good many ways in which someone in search of self-improvement may usefully be employed in this city other than simply drawing! I could show you some of the charitable works I have been researching in some of the more deprived areas of our great capital?”

       
Mrs. Fearncott’s slightly curled lip was reply enough for the time being to assure Avery that the woman had no intention of being friends.

             
“But of course. This will no doubt prove very useful to your future husband how?” she countered.

       
Toby waded in at this point, not to spare Avery any awkward questions but rather because his stomach indicated that food was being served in the dining room.

             
“Georgina darling? Shall we?” he offered his arm and led his fiancée through to the dining room.

       
Avery followed behind watching his father’s neck flush red as Georgina leant close to him and whispered upwards in to his ear. He glanced behind him at Avery as they walked and nodded in approval to the widow. Although quite unaware of exactly what had been said, Avery was not expecting it to be good news.

       
After the first course had been served, the widow continued with her cross examination.

             
“Your father tells me you don’t yet enjoy the finer entertainments that our beautiful city has to offer?”

       
Avery considered the most recent entertainments of which he had partaken and wondered what Mrs. Fearncott would have made of Bateman and Goodwin’s idea of fun.

             
“If by finer entertainments you mean the ballet or the theatre then no Mrs. Fearncott, I am more inclined to reading.”

             
“Really? What do you read?”

       
The last time Avery had read a suitable book which he could discuss with his father’s fiancée, had been at least six years ago, being Gulliver’s Travels. Avery had been expecting just this and was pleased not to have been caught unaware.

             
“I am reading a fetching story by Elizabeth Gaskell at the moment, perhaps you have heard of it? Lois the Witch?” a faint smile played across Avery’s lips.

       
His choice of reading material evidently did not meet with approval and was met with a cold stare.

             
“I am not familiar with her work.”

             
“Why don’t you tell Alice about your summer plans darling?” Toby started to help himself from the open tureen of sliced pork.

       
For a moment, Mrs. Fearncott considered Avery as if judging how best to frame the opportunity.

             
“Well, as your father may have already told you, I very rarely spend summer in the city. I find the heat in town quite oppressive,” she flapped her hands around her face as if to illustrate the predicament she wished to escape. “Since your father has a lot of business between now and November, I had intended to go to my family home in Chalfont St Giles to spend some time in final preparation for the wedding.” She made an attempt to look conspiratorially at Avery but the gesture lost a little something in translation.  “I have invited my niece to come along with me for a break. You are about the same age. I am sure you would find plenty in common with one another.”

“
Georgina wanted to spend a little time getting to know you, Alice.” her father interjected.

             
“Amersham has a fine, if small, society scene and I am positive your presence would be met with a good deal of ...interest.”

             
“I am sure my father would rather I stay to help him here with any arrangements.”