The Fairbairn Girls (16 page)

‘So all the staff have gone . . .?’ She sounded bewildered. ‘What about Nanny?’

‘I’m afraid so. She’ll be bringing Caroline back here very shortly. She’s also been paid. I’ve promised them all good references, so don’t worry about that.’

‘Oh, God, this is all a terrible mess. What happens next?’

‘The house will be repossessed, but that will take time.’

Laura sat in silence. More hurtful than his drinking and his living beyond his means was the fact that Walter had lied to her about their financial state, encouraging her to spend on things for the house and pretty clothes for herself and Caroline. That she couldn’t forgive.

As he rose to leave, John took both her hands in his, marvelling at her bravery. Looking into her eyes, he said, ‘For the moment just sit tight while I try to work out something. Don’t discuss it with anyone else.’

That night Caroline slept with Laura in her big bed, which she was told was a sort of game.

When they awoke the next morning, Laura told Caroline, ‘Everyone has gone away so it’s up to you and me to keep house.’ She struggled to sound bright and cheerful when she felt physically sick with worry. ‘We’re going to have to make the bed and cook our own breakfast and pick some vegetables in the garden for luncheon . . .’ Her voice broke and she looked away quickly. ‘You get dressed, darling, while I put up my hair.’

‘Where is Dada?’

‘He’s away on business.’

‘Will he be back soon, Muzzie?’

Laura ground her teeth in anguish. ‘I’m not sure, darling. Now hurry up and get dressed.’

While Caroline went up to the nursery, Laura sat at her dressing table, wishing she could go back to bed and shut her eyes because she didn’t want to face the coming day. Wishing for complete oblivion. And peace of mind. Dressing swiftly in one of her long black skirts and a cream silk blouse, she added the gold chains and pearls she always wore. Then she was struck by a terrible thought: she did not have any money in the house. Supposing she needed to go to the village to buy food? Opening her handbag she found several shillings – her change from the hired carriage from the hospital the previous day. Instead of putting it back in the bag she slipped it into a small purse which she tucked for safekeeping into her corsets.

‘Come along, Caroline!’ she shouted as she started down the stairs to the kitchen. ‘Let’s see what we can find for breakfast!’

At that moment there was a thunderous banging on the front door. It took her a moment to move the bolts and turn the lock with the big key. The banging started again, impatiently and even louder this time.

Pulling the heavy door open she looked up in alarm at a tall, powerful-looking man with a red face, angry eyes and a mean little mouth. He flapped the papers he was holding in her face.

‘What do you want?’ Her manner was imperious but inside she suddenly felt afraid.

He pushed past her into the hall and then she realized there were several rough-looking men standing on the doorstep about to follow him in.

‘You can’t come in here! This is private property,’ Laura protested vigorously. Her heart was thudding in her chest and she knew she was in a vulnerable position.

The man leered at her and flapped the papers in her face again. ‘Court order,’ he snapped. ‘I’m the county bailiff. We’ve come to clear the contents of the house.’

She froze and for a moment the hall seemed to whirl around her head in a shower of black spots. She thought she was going to faint. ‘No one told me you were coming,’ she managed to say.

‘That’s the point! We don’t want people like you running off with all the stuff.’ He turned to the men, who she realized were furniture removers. ‘Get to it, lads. It looks like it’s going to take all day. Start at the top and work down. Pack the china and glass in boxes and also all the silver. Don’t damage the paintings – they’ll lose their value. Don’t forget the attic!’

‘Yes, sir,’ they all chorused.

Through the open front door Laura could see a very large removal van.

The bailiff was watching her. ‘I’ll have that stuff off you now,’ he said unpleasantly, eyeing the gold chains and pearls that hung from her neck and the diamond and sapphire ring on her finger.

‘This is my personal jewellery. You can’t take that. It comes from my family and has nothing to do with my husband’s debts,’ she pointed out, aghast.

‘I don’t care where it comes from; you’re bound by law to hand over all your possessions.’ He stuck out his large hand, palm up. ‘Hurry up,’ he snapped. ‘I haven’t got all day.’

With enormous reluctance Laura handed over her chains and her engagement ring.

‘And the other!’ he ordered.

‘Other what?’ she asked, finding it hard to believe this was happening.

He clicked his tongue impatiently. ‘Your wedding ring. Nice bit of gold that.’

She shook her head. ‘No. Not my wedding ring.’

He came closer, towering over her menacingly. ‘Give it to me.’

As she reluctantly took it off her finger, he asked, ‘Now where’s the safe?’

‘We don’t have one,’ she replied.

‘Where’s the rest of your jewellery, then?’

She sank down on to a nearby chair. ‘In my jewel case,’ she replied faintly as tears stung her eyes. ‘My little girl will be down in a moment and I don’t want her frightened.’

‘If I were you I’d stay with her in the kitchen all day. We’ll clear it last of all.’

He wandered up the stairs, presumably to find her jewel case, and Laura hurried over to the telephone. It took a minute for the operator to get John’s number and then he was on the line.

‘How are you this morning, Laura?’ he asked immediately.

‘Oh, thank God you’re there! The bailiff has arrived with a bunch of removal men. How can I stop them clearing the house? He says they’re going to strip everything out and he’s already taken the jewellery I was wearing. Is there anything you can do, John?’

There was a long silence and for a dreadful moment Laura thought he’d hung up. Then he spoke. ‘I’m so dreadfully sorry, Laura. I had no idea they’d act this quickly. I thought it would take several weeks for the Court Order to go through. I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do. It’s in legal hands now.’

Laura thanked him and hung up. It was impossible to take in the calamity that had befallen her without warning.

‘What am I going to do?’ she muttered aloud, covering her face with her hands. How was she going to explain this to Caroline and where were they going to live now?

The bailiff came back into the hall whilst scribbling on a pad.

Laura looked at him beseechingly. ‘You’re not going to take all our clothes, are you?’

He stuck out his bottom lip again. ‘Even second-hand clothes have a value. They’ll fetch a few pence.’

‘Muzzie!’ Caroline came running down the stairs. ‘What are these men doing?’

With huge effort, Laura braced herself. ‘Let’s go to the kitchen and have breakfast and I’ll tell you all about it.’ Taking Caroline’s hand she led the way, feeling as if her legs might give way at any minute. The enormity of what was happening seemed to be draining away her will to live.

Somehow she managed to rake out the ashes of the stove and see if there was coal so she could light a fire and at least make toast and hot drinks.

‘What are those men doing, Muzzie?’ Caroline asked again.

Laura sat at the kitchen table and drew her little girl on to her lap. ‘Dada is not very well so we’re putting all our things in storage for a while,’ she lied, ‘because I think we need a much smaller house.’

‘Are my toys going in storage too?’ the child asked anxiously.

At that moment Laura wished with all her heart that she had the money to pay off Walter’s debts so that her child would be spared the pain of what was happening. ‘Yes, because we haven’t found a new home yet, have we?’ God forgive me for these lies, she thought, but will Caroline forgive me when she knows the truth?

‘Will it have a garden? Our new house?’

‘Maybe. The kettle’s boiling and we must have some breakfast so come along. Sit in that chair and I’ll make you some toast.’

‘Will the garden have a swing like Dada made me?’

Laura gazed at the child, envying her the smallness of her world and her trusting acceptance of what she’d been told. At the same time she wanted to scream at the persistent questioning.

‘We’re going to spend the day here so we don’t get in the way of the busy men.’ She went to the window, from where she could see the open doors at the back of the van. At that moment she caught sight of the furniture at the far end, already neatly stacked. There was Caroline’s doll’s house, rocking horse and her dressing table. Then they piled in her favourite bedroom chair and a table on which they flung an armful of clothes, including her beautiful sable fur coat.

It was unbearable to watch. It was like seeing her past being carted off bit by bit to God knows where and lost to her for ever. She turned swiftly away, biting her lower lip, consumed with anguish and anger in equal measure.

At five o’clock the bailiff strode into the kitchen. ‘They need to clear everything in here, then we’ll be done,’ he announced without preamble. ‘You’ll want to lock up the house before you leave,’ he added curtly, and with that he walked out again.

‘Where are we going, Muzzie?’

Laura had been thinking of nothing else all day. She was thankful that some dreadful premonition had prompted her to keep some money tucked in her corsets, though it wouldn’t get them far.

At last the bailiff and his removal men left, leaving the house an empty shell – the rooms bare, the atmosphere deserted. As Laura went from room to room blinded by tears as she checked window locks and closed doors she knew she was saying goodbye to what had been her beautiful home, her marriage and her standing in the world as a respectable wife and mother. She was the wife of a bankrupt alcoholic and a pauper now, with only the clothes she stood up in and a few shillings in her hand. The dreadful day had come to an end and it was Walter’s fault.

Dry-eyed now and in deep shock, she took Caroline’s hand as they walked through the front door and away down the road for the very last time.

Beattie lounged back in her chair with her hands clasped behind her head, gazing up at the ornate ceiling in the library. ‘The irony of it staggers me,’ she said, half laughing. ‘I always thought I’d be next to get married but no; it’s not me who’s sailing up the aisle next week. It sadly isn’t you either, Laura. It isn’t even Georgie! It’s the youngest of the five of us, Diana. And she’s only nineteen, for goodness sake.’

Laura smiled and nodded. ‘I know. What a good marriage she’s making.’

Beattie grinned. ‘This time next week she’ll be the wife of the very rich Lord Kelso of Cranley Court.’

‘He’s so nice, too,’ Laura enthused, genuinely happy for her sister. ‘Good looking, intelligent and madly in love with Di. He’s everything she ever wanted.’

‘I’m happy for her but I must admit I’m also green with envy. When are the rest of us going to meet a man who has everything? That’s what worries me.’

Laura didn’t answer. She’d been introduced to a lot of very nice young men at various parties and she’d enjoyed flirting with them as they danced with her and conversed over a glass of fruit cup, but none of them had made her catch her breath and none of them had touched her heart. To her Rory had been a man in a lifetime and there was unlikely to be another.

‘Is her wedding dress gorgeous?’ Beattie asked, breaking into Laura’s thoughts. She was dying to know what it was like but Laura and Diana were keeping it a secret from everyone until the very last moment.

‘I’ve done my best and Diana is going to look like a princess. It’s a pity we don’t have a tiara in the family any more but I think what we’ve planned will work just as well.’

Beattie stretched her arms above her head. ‘Oh, well! At least I’m the matron of honour and I love the dress you’ve made me. What would we have done if you hadn’t been able to make all our clothes? Mrs Armitage would have charged an absolute fortune and Mama says we must be careful with money in future. She’s terrified of us being really poor now.’

They sat in silence for a minute, thinking deeply about their change in fortune and their standing in Argyllshire. The death duties due on the Lochlee estate had forced them to sell almost all their land. Grouse moors and woodland where they’d shot pheasant and partridge had been sold, as had the river where they’d caught salmon and tickled for trout. All sold along with the home farm and cottages. The magnificent stags that roamed the mountains like proud kings no longer belonged to them either. Nothing was left except a beautiful view that stretched for miles and to which they no longer had a claim.

That autumn the leaves of the Rowan tree which still stood near the castle had turned a stronger shade of crimson than in previous years.

‘With the blood of my family,’ Lady Rothbury claimed bitterly. She’d come to believe her late husband had been right all along. Their family had been cursed and she knew who had cursed them because William had told her as he lay dying. It was a secret she’d borne alone ever since, for fear it would bring worse luck if the family knew the truth. She had another reason for remaining silent; she didn’t want her children to know what their father had done.

She remembered how William had spoken with anguish about ‘the sins of the fathers . . .’ she knew what came next, ‘. . . shall be visited upon the sons a thousand times.’

Those words haunted her now. There had been no news of Freddie since he’d killed the stable boy and then run off with the family jewels four years ago. Torn between maternal feelings of grief at losing her eldest son and fury and disappointment that he could have behaved so outrageously, she half longed to hear from him and yet dreaded doing so.

Freddie had shamed the family and Lady Rothbury was sure that was why Laura, Beattie and Georgie had failed to find suitable husbands. Diana’s fiancée, Robert Kelso, came from Aberdeen on the east side of Scotland, whilst Lochlee was in Argyllshire, so the worst of the scandal might not have reached him, for he never mentioned Freddie and she comforted herself with the thought that perhaps he didn’t realize what had happened.