Echoes of Grace

by Caragh Bell

  ‘Boo!’ came a deep voice from behind her and she let out a bloodcurdling scream.

  James grabbed her arm and laughed. ‘Calm down, Laura. Bloody hell.’

  ‘Oh, James,’ she gasped, falling back against him. ‘You nearly gave me a heart attack.’ She turned and collapsed into his arms, stifling a sob. ‘I don’t like it in here – it’s scary. Please take me back out.’

  James nearly pinched himself. He had never seen his sister behave this way. Laura was always cool and confident. She mocked weakness and could handle any situation.

  ‘Okay, come on,’ he said. ‘Lean on me.’

  He guided her gently into the daylight, stalling her fall as she tripped on a rock.

  ‘Are you all right?’ he queried in concern when they were safely outside.

  Her face was pale and her lower lip was quivering. ‘I don’t know what happened,’ she said in a shaky voice. ‘I just panicked. I don’t know why, but it felt like death in there.’

  James shook her gently. ‘Blimey, Laura, that’s a bit morbid. It’s only a cave.’

  ‘No,’ she shook her head obstinately. ‘I hated it – it was awful.’ She exhaled slowly. ‘I never want to go in there again.’

  James rubbed her back. ‘Hey, you’ll be fine. I’ll call the others and we should get back.’

  Laura nodded numbly and wrapped her arms around her upper body protectively. She couldn’t explain what had happened. Was she claustrophobic? Maybe the enclosed space had caused her to panic. The rational side of her brain kicked in and she felt her cheeks redden. Thank God it was James who had found her and not William. James would never broadcast her meltdown. William, however, would tell everyone at school.

  James reappeared with Aurora and William in tow. They seemed unperturbed. In fact, the little girl looked exhilarated. This only added to Laura’s mortification.

  ‘That was so cool,’ exclaimed William with flushed cheeks. ‘It was so spooky.’

  ‘I love it in there,’ said Aurora.

  ‘We should get back,’ suggested James, winking at his sister. ‘I’d love another cup of tea.’

  ‘Yes, let’s,’ agreed Laura. ‘The sun has almost disappeared anyway. I don’t fancy being down here in the dark.’

  ‘Let me show you my room,’ suggested Aurora when they were back at the big house.

  Sebastian had disappeared, as had Henry and Gloria.

  William took a seat on the armchair closest to the blazing fire.

  ‘I’ll just wait here,’ he said, holding his hands over the flames. ‘No offense, Aurora, but I hate Barbies.’

  Aurora pulled Laura’s arm. ‘Come on, you have to meet Princess Grace.’

  ‘Who?’ the older girl asked reluctantly.

  ‘My favourite doll.’

  Laura raised her eyes to heaven and James grinned. ‘Give my regards to the princess,’ he said gravely.

  Aurora nodded and skipped out of the room.

  ‘Do I have to?’ muttered Laura, making a face.

  James nodded and waved her away.

  She emerged out into the hall and shivered. Without the heat of the fire, the cold air of the main hallway was sharp and hit her immediately. Sighing, she followed the younger girl up the old staircase. The carpet was worn and pinned into place by large brass rods along the length of each step. She trudged up and tried not to notice how dark and gloomy it was. It was the opposite to her own home which was warm and cheerful. The sombre dark oil paintings of Sinclair ancestors loomed over her and their eyes seemed to follow her everywhere. She shivered again.

  ‘Down here!’ called Aurora, beckoning from the end of the corridor.

  Laura trudged down and turned into a large bedroom. A four-poster bed dominated the right side, covered in a lace bedspread. A fire burned in the grate and a large doll’s house stood in the corner. Bookshelves lined a wall.

  ‘So, do you like it?’ Aurora beamed.

  Laura forced a smile. ‘It’s lovely,’ she lied.

  ‘Let me show you my favourite doll.’ Aurora pointed to her Barbie doll who was sitting at the miniature dining-room table. ‘Her name is Grace.’ Then she pointed to the doll she had received at Christmas. ‘And that’s Juliet. You must remember her from London.’

  Laura dutifully ‘oohed’ and ‘aahed’ at the wardrobe full of small gowns and the rows of plastic shoes designed for dolls’ feet.

  ‘Your room is right next door,’ Aurora informed her. ‘Our rooms are connected, look!’ She bounded over to an old oak door and yanked it open to reveal a room almost exactly identical to her own. Laura’s leopard-print suitcase was already at the foot of the bed. A fire blazed in the small grate.

  Laura shivered. She didn’t know why, but this house gave her the creeps. It had a darkness about it: an eerie aura that assaulted her senses and made her tremble. It was similar to how she felt in the cave: uncomfortable and frightened. Gloria planned to stay for two days and initially she had welcomed the idea, deeming it an adventure. Now, she couldn’t wait to go back to her own house and her own room, to listen to her CDs and paint her nails. It was no wonder that Aurora seemed like a child from another time.

  ‘Would you like to play?’ the little girl asked, holding up her new brunette doll.

  ‘Why not?’ said Laura, closing the connecting door with a bang.

  Anything to distract her from the creeping darkness that was threatening to engulf her.

  Later that afternoon, Aurora was sitting at the kitchen table, drinking juice as Maggie put the finishing touches to her birthday cake.

  ‘Do you like it, my lovely?’ asked the old lady, swirling the last of the chocolate icing on top. It was to be sprinkled with Smarties: Aurora’s favourite.

  ‘It’s wonderful, Maggie. I can’t wait to have at least three slices.’

  ‘You’ll be sick, little ’un.’

  ‘Not at all. Everyone knows that you can eat as much cake as you like on your birthday.’ She sipped her juice. ‘I wonder what Daddy got me as a present? I’m really hoping for a new Ken doll for Juliet.’

  Maggie regarded her for a moment and licked her thumb which was covered with chocolate buttercream. ‘As it ’appens, I ’ave a present for you,’ she said after a moment. ‘I think you’re old enough now.’

  ‘Can I open it now?’ The little girl clapped her hands in delight.

  Maggie nodded and disappeared into the pantry. ‘It’s only small but I think you’ll like it.’

  She reappeared and held out something on her palm. Aurora gasped. It was a pendant with a silver flower on the end.

  ‘Oh, it’s so pretty!’ she said in wonder, lifting it gently from Maggie’s outstretched hand. The flower pendant was an unusual shape, the petals like a ballerina dress and the multiple stamen looking like tiny legs.

  ‘It’s a fuchsia,’ said Maggie. ‘Grace wore it constantly. I kept it after she died until you had come of age.’

  ‘Grace? My mother?’

  ‘Yes, it was hers.’

  ‘Did Daddy buy it for her?’

  Maggie’s face was impassive. ‘I’m not rightly sure. I think she ’ad it before she met ’im.’ She opened the clasp and put the chain around Aurora’s neck.

  Aurora admired the pretty flower pendant. She didn’t have much jewellery, just a gold cross from her Communion and pearl earrings from Aunt Helena when she was born.

  ‘I love it!’ said the little girl. ‘I’ll wear it all the time, just like Mummy.’

  ‘You do that,’ said Maggie wistfully. ‘She’d like that.’ Her lined old face looked sad and she turned away. Resting her hands on the edge of the sink, she hung her head for a moment.

  ‘Are you quite all right, Maggie?’ asked Aurora in her clear voice.

  ‘Of course, little ’un. Of course.’

  Freddie kicked a stone and it hit the old wall behind the servants’ entrance of the big house. He was debating whether to knock on the door or not. He knew Maggie was inside in the big kitchen, preparing
food for the party that evening.

  The day before, Aurora had asked him to come, saying that it was her birthday and that she wanted her best friend there. He had nodded, vaguely saying yes, but now he didn’t want to go at all. Her horrible brothers would be there for a start and those incomers were around too.

  Freddie frowned. Those Londoners made him uneasy. Aurora spoke about them constantly and when she did her face shone. She had arrived back after Christmas on a strange high, relating tales of a world he didn’t understand or feel part of. He couldn’t compete with this new exciting life that she was experiencing and this made him anxious. He had heard his mother talking to his father about Mr. Henry and this new woman. He got the gist: a wedding was expected and then they might move away.

  He traced his finger along the old stones that were slotted together so artfully so as to form a steady wall. Pieces of moss grew between the cracks and offered a soft silky texture amongst the rough granite.

  He didn’t want Aurora to leave.

  She would move to the big city and forget all about him. How could his tales of smugglers and pirates compete with Madame Tussauds and Starbucks?

  He took a deep breath. He had come to tell her that he wouldn’t make it to the party. He would suggest a walk to the village in a few days where they could go for hot chocolate. He knocked on the door.

  ‘Come in!’ called Maggie.

  He pushed open the heavy oak door and stepped into the big kitchen. The air smelt of cinnamon and cloves. There was a pot bubbling on the hob and a large cake on the sideboard. Maggie was alone and up to her elbows in flour. Expertly, she rolled out some pastry into a circular shape.

  ‘I’m makin’ a lemon tart, I am,’ she announced, swatting her hair out of her face. ‘Mr. ’Enry wants a few different types of puddin’ to choose from.’

  Freddie took a seat at the old scrubbed table. ‘Will there be a big crowd?’ he asked, peeling the label off a jar of honey. ‘Aurora said that there’ll be the whole family plus those incomers.’

  Maggie nodded. ‘They’re nice people, my lovely. Especially that James. Right good and ordinary, they are. No airs and graces like other people.’ She threw her eyes to heaven.

  Freddie knew that she was referring to Aurora’s brothers and Cressida, who were snobby and more often than not treated his aunt terribly. Maggie had been with the Sinclair family all her life and was certainly not just a servant. She had become part of the family and had earned their respect.

  ‘Aurora asked me to come tonight as it’s her birthday,’ he began reluctantly. ‘But . . .’

  ‘You won’t come,’ she finished. She stopped her work and regarded him thoughtfully. ‘Why not, Fred? You’re ’er best friend, you are.’

  He shrugged. ‘I won’t know anyone and I don’t like all the posh food and grown-up conversation. I don’t like her brothers neither.’

  ‘Is that all?’ Her eyes were shrewd.

  ‘Yep,’ he answered, not meeting her eyes.

  Maggie knew exactly why her nephew was reluctant to go to the party. He felt out of the loop and unsure of how to behave. He was intimidated by these incomers and slightly jealous to boot. She could sense a change coming and she knew that he did too.

  ‘Just explain to the little ’un,’ she advised, resuming her rolling. ‘Maybe you two could do something special when everything has calmed down.’

  Freddie nodded with a faraway look on his face.

  He wasn’t sure that things would ever calm down again.

  Chapter Eleven

  ‘Thank you all for joining us on this special night!’ Henry raised his champagne flute and nodded at the occupants of the table who raised their glasses in response.

  The party was in full swing. The long banquet table was covered with a white lace cloth and Maggie had unearthed the crystal claret glasses. Silver cutlery gleamed and a large flower arrangement stood in the centre.

  Laura shivered in her silver party dress. The air was cold despite the roaring fire. William was uncharacteristically smart in a shirt and tie by her side. He had a Gameboy surreptitiously hidden beneath the tablecloth and was biting his lip in concentration as he played. James sat by Aurora on the other side, wearing a dark-grey suit with a white shirt open at the neck.

  Gloria glanced at him and was jolted by how much he looked like his late father. She was seated at the head of the table, to Henry’s right side. Her blonde hair was wound up into a chignon and her bracelets sparkled on her wrists as she moved. She had chosen her dress very carefully. She wanted classy and demure and so had splashed out on a dark-blue silk mid-length dress with a golden trim. Laura had applied her make-up and she smelt of Chanel.

  ‘That duck was superb,’ said Gordon, taking a swig of wine. ‘Henry, you must allow me to poach that chef of yours.’

  Henry’s face creased into a smile. ‘Maggie is worth her weight in gold,’ he agreed. ‘Sorry, old chap, but I’m keeping her here.’

  Gordon snorted. ‘I’ll pay her double,’ he argued. ‘That orange sauce was just wonderful.’

  Gordon resembled his nephew George in looks. He was slightly rotund with a balding head and a large nose. Marcella, Henry’s first wife, had been his older sister. However, he didn’t share his sister’s personality. Marcella had been haughty and cold, whereas Gordon was warm and kind. He loved two things: hunting and his wife Helena. After Marcella’s death, he and Henry had remained friends and socialised together a lot. He had supported him through Grace’s death and the ensuing heartbreak. He had treated Aurora like one of his own.

  Helena was a tall woman with dark hair streaked with grey. She had borne Gordon three sons, all of whom lived abroad. Her broad frame was dressed handsomely in a dark-green dress and draped on her shoulders was a mink stole. She was polite and rarely expressed an opinion. Henry’s guests had caused speculation, but she was not one to gossip.

  Cressida had appeared for the meal, wearing a clingy black dress and silver Jimmy Choo sandals. It didn’t take a genius to work out that she hated her husband’s childhood home. She picked at her duck and sipped her wine delicately. Sebastian barely spoke to her, preferring to pontificate loudly about the state of the stock exchange. George wore a suit and a scowl. He hated evenings like this: ones where he had to engage with dull people that he had no interest in.

  Narrowing his eyes, he focused in on Gloria. She was just so gauche. His father certainly seemed smitten; Sebastian had been quite right about that. Things were more serious than they had originally thought. She was here with her brood, sitting in his mother’s chair with her hand on his father’s arm.

  His face tightened.

  She would have to go.

  ‘Why didn’t Freddie come?’ enquired James, eating a large slice of lemon tart. ‘You invited him, didn’t you?’

  Aurora licked her spoon, making sure to rid it of all the ice cream that coated it.

  ‘He didn’t want to come. He hates dressing up and it was all grown-ups.’

  ‘You two are pretty close, then?’

  She nodded. ‘Oh yes. We’re best friends.’ Her large brown eyes softened. ‘He makes me laugh all the time. We’re always going on adventures. He knows everything about the coast.’

  ‘I must meet him,’ said James thoughtfully. ‘He sounds like a good guy to know.’

  ‘Oh, he is,’ she agreed. ‘He definitely is.’

  Laura refused lemon tart and opted for coffee instead.

  ‘Coffee?’ said Gloria with a disapproving look. ‘You’re only thirteen.’

  ‘Oh, chill out,’ her daughter retorted. ‘It’s better than whiskey or brandy.’

  William had abandoned his Gameboy and was laughing uproariously at something Gordon had said.

  Cressida sighed and shook her head when Maggie offered her some dessert.

  George caught Sebastian’s eye and jerked his head in Henry’s direction. They needed to get their father alone. He needed to be told what was what: there was no way they were condon
ing another unsuitable marriage.

  Henry tapped his glass with his bread knife. ‘If everyone would quieten down,’ he said, smiling. ‘Gloria and I have something we would like to say.’

  Sebastian looked at George in alarm. Surely there wouldn’t be an announcement? Surely not?

  James stared at his mother. She was flushed and excited, her chest heaving and her face radiant.

  ‘Well, we would like to get some news out of the way before Aurora turns ten. We shan’t steal my beautiful daughter’s limelight.’ Henry took Gloria’s hand in his and held it to his chest. ‘This woman has made my life so happy. I thought I had lost my way and now I’m writing again, filled with inspiration and hope.’

  Gloria beamed up at him.

  ‘So, we decided to make things official.’

  Cressida looked up from her espresso and frowned. Surely not. This would make Seb even crankier than normal.

  ‘Meet the new Mrs. Sinclair.’ Henry kissed Gloria tenderly on the lips. ‘We got married a month ago in secret.’

  Sebastian spat out his wine and coughed loudly.

  George didn’t move, only a muscle flickering in his cheek. ‘You did what?’ he said softly and dangerously.

  ‘We got married!’ repeated Gloria in delight. ‘We decided to do it in secret so as not to create a fuss. We didn’t want a big thing at our age.’

  ‘Been there, done that,’ added Henry.

  The Dixon children stared at their mother in shock. James was stunned. His mother and he were very close; she told him everything. Or so he had thought.

  Only Aurora clapped her hands in delight. Her wish had come true. She had a family. A part of her was disappointed that she didn’t get to see the big white dress or throw confetti, but the reality was that now she had instant brothers and sisters. Not just any siblings: cool siblings who listened to modern music and knew about bonking.

  Gordon and Helena stood up and went over to shake hands. ‘Congratulations,’ they said in unison, masking their surprise well.