Echoes of Grace

by Caragh Bell

  Maggie lit the candles on the enormous cake and beckoned for Aurora to come close.

  ‘Blow ’em out, little un,’ she said, taking Aurora’s hand. ‘Make a big wish.’

  ‘I wish Freddie were here,’ reflected Aurora. ‘It’s such a pity that he couldn’t come.’

  Maggie rubbed her arm. ‘You’ll see Fred tomorrow, little ’un. ’Ee ’as a lovely gift for you, ’ee does.’

  James’ phone started to ring and he glanced at the screen. It was Rosie, ringing from Norfolk. ‘Hey, Rose,’ he said joyfully, walking out of the room. ‘Happy New Year!’

  William nudged Laura. ‘Jeez, Lolly, cheer up. You look like you want to murder us all.’

  Laura scowled and didn’t respond. She couldn’t understand why William was so bloody calm about the whole fiasco. Probably because he was sixteen and only had a couple of years left. She had been worried about falling asleep in that awful room; now she knew she wouldn’t sleep. Fear and panic threatened to engulf her. Plus that wind outside was causing the windows to rattle. She shuddered.

  Over my dead body am I moving here.

  George inhaled his Gauloise deeply and exhaled slowly, the cloudy smoke dissipating in the cool night air. He was sitting in the large gazebo in the garden, enjoying his second consecutive cigarette.

  Henry’s actions had surprised him, he couldn’t deny it. George had always been more adept at hiding his feelings than Seb. His younger brother let his temper take hold and was prone to dramatic outbursts. No, he was the opposite. He thought things through: he planned his actions with precision and intelligence. Their father’s unsuitable marriage would have to be dissolved. It was only a matter of time before the gloss would wear off. It was inevitable. No one could stand that cheap perfume and twangy accent for any length of time.

  They had faced the same problem that time he had married Grace. He could still remember the utter shock when Henry had presented his new bride. She had only been a few years older than him at the time. He and Seb had cornered their father and ordered him to sign over their mother’s fortune to them and them only. They didn’t see why Grace’s brat should be entitled to any of Marcella’s legacy. Henry had agreed but had refused point blank to make them executors of his will. Aurora would inherit his own fortune, along with his sons. He had been quite clear about that.

  He and Sebastian had sought legal advice after Grace’s death. They needed to check if she had family and whether they would be knocking on their door looking for a share someday. Their solicitor had assured them that there was no risk of that. Only if Henry died and left guardianship of Aurora to a sibling of Grace or indeed, her parents.

  Paranoia had taken hold and he had set about finding out all that he could about Aurora’s mother. Grace Molloy, as she had been known, was difficult to trace. There was no birth record available – only evidence of an adoption in 1968, when she was documented as being six months old. A couple named Molloy, of a place called Westport, had raised her as they had no children of their own. George, gratified that there were no siblings, was also delighted to see that Mr. Jack Molloy was a doctor. There was less and less of a chance of any underhand behaviour. Further investigation revealed that both Jack and his wife, Maureen, had died of cancer within six months of each other in 1988, rendering Grace an orphan. It also revealed that Jack, although a kind man, had been a chronic alcoholic and had been bankrupt at the time of his death. This had explained everything to George. That was the reason Grace had pounced on their father; she had been on the make from the beginning. After months of research, he had closed the case. Aurora’s Irish roots were of no threat to the Sinclair fortune.

  Marcella’s nest-egg, which he and Seb had secured as their own, lay untouched in a bank in London. He needed to check if her money was safe, now that his father had married again. Would those awful Dixon children be entitled to a share?

  He blew a perfect smoke ring which was destroyed almost instantly by the cold wind.

  Cressida had signed a pre-nup. There had been no argument. She had never caused any problems.

  Gloria Dixon was another story. She could make things very difficult indeed.

  Chapter Twelve

  Laura entered the kitchen the next morning with shadows under her eyes. As expected, she had tossed and turned all night. A combination of the ghostly atmosphere in her dark bedroom and the whistling wind outside only added to her unrest. As dawn broke, she had her argument all laid out in her head. Aurora and Henry would have to move to London. It was the logical move. They had far less to give up.

  James was drinking coffee and laughing loudly with Maggie. She took a seat at the head of the table and took an apple from the fruit bowl.

  ‘Can I make you a ’ot breakfast?’ offered Maggie, gesturing to the Aga. ‘I ’ave fresh eggs from Conny’s farm, I do.’

  Laura shook her head politely. ‘An apple will do just fine.’

  ‘Did you sleep well?’ asked James, observing the shadows under her eyes and her tousled hair.

  ‘No.’

  Maggie, sensing tension, got to her feet. ‘I’ll just set the fire in the drawing room,’ she informed them, leaving the room.

  ‘Laura!’ chided James. ‘You’ve got to let this go. Wait until you hear what they’ve planned.’

  ‘No!’ She banged the table with her fist. ‘It’s out of order, James. She could have at least consulted us. I’m so angry.’

  ‘I said to wait,’ he repeated. ‘Don’t jump in head first.’

  William appeared through the side door, rubbing his head. ‘Keep the noise down,’ he groaned. ‘My head feels like it’s about to break.’

  ‘Well, you went on a serious bender last night,’ said James matter-of-factly. ‘I’m not surprised.’ He got to his feet and filled a glass with some cool water. ‘Get this down you,’ he advised, handing the liquid to his brother. ‘I’ll ask Maggie for some painkillers when she comes back.’

  ‘It was a good night, yeah?’ William frowned. ‘I can remember some of it at least.’

  ‘Well, you sang “Auld Lang Syne” over and over again with Gordon,’ Laura informed him, grinning. ‘You kept calling him “uncle” and slapping him on the back. Thank God he was just as pissed as you.’ She smiled, momentarily snapped out of her dour mood.

  ‘He’s a right laugh,’ agreed William. ‘I’m pretty sure he let me finish his brandy at some stage.’

  ‘Looks like you mixed every drink available,’ said James laughing. ‘That’ll teach you.’

  ‘Now that we’re all here,’ began Laura seriously. ‘I think we need to have a family meeting pronto. Has anyone seen Gloria today?’

  William shook his head. ‘I’m only up myself. At the rate she was downing champagne, my guess is she’s still asleep.’

  ‘Well, she needs to know what’s what,’ Laura declared firmly. ‘We need to stand together, yeah? We need to veto any plans to move to this place right away.’

  The door opened and a breathless Aurora arrived with Freddie trailing behind her.

  ‘Morning,’ she greeted them, her cheeks pink. ‘I would like you all to meet my best friend, Freddie Thompson.’

  James held out his hand immediately. ‘Good to meet you,’ he said, smiling warmly. ‘I’ve heard a lot about you.’

  Freddie had a guarded look as he shook his hand. Aurora had to practically drag him to the house. He had tried every excuse in the book not to come. He just didn’t want to meet these people. They were everything that he wasn’t. He just couldn’t compete.

  ‘We should all get to know one another as we’ll be living so close,’ continued Aurora, sitting on a chair near William.

  ‘Over my dead body,’ muttered Laura with a dark expression.

  ‘Hi,’ said William, with a half-hearted wave. ‘Overdid it on the booze last night, Freddie, so excuse my deathly state.’

  Freddie grinned and softened slightly. ‘You look pretty sick, you do,’ he agreed.

  James pointed to an empty
chair. ‘Take a seat,’ he suggested. ‘I’ll make some tea or would you prefer a juice?’

  Freddie shook his head. ‘I just ’ad my breakfast.’

  ‘Oh, have some orange juice or something.’ Aurora raised her eyes to heaven. ‘Let’s be sociable.’

  Freddie shrugged. ‘Okay, then.’ He sat down and brushed his sandy hair out of his eyes. James looked just as Aurora had described. He seemed pretty friendly too. William had his head on his arm and looked green. Freddie smiled to himself. He had seen Susan look just as bad after a mad night down the pub. The girl looked sullen, her blue eyes narrowed. There was tension in the air, there was no denying it.

  ‘So, Mr. Henry and your mother are married,’ stated Freddie frankly, accepting a glass of juice from James.

  Aurora clapped her hands in delight. ‘We’re a big family now!’

  Laura snorted. ‘Calm down, for goodness’ sake. We’re no such thing. You can’t just wave a magic wand and expect everything to be hunky dory.’

  ‘Oh.’ Aurora looked deflated. ‘I just thought that …’

  ‘Laura!’ James glared at her. ‘Stop that at once.’

  ‘Why?’ She rounded on him fiercely. ‘Little princess here thinks that we’ll be moving to Cornwall. Not on your nelly.’

  ‘Laura …’ His tone was dangerous.

  ‘No! Stop protecting her, James. I’m sick of it. She’s not some stray dog you picked up. She’s well able to listen to the truth.’

  ‘The truth?’ Aurora’s beautiful face looked worried. ‘What truth?’

  Freddie cleared his throat. ‘I’d better be going,’ he said awkwardly, getting to his feet. ‘Maybe I’ll see you again before you ’ead back up the country.’

  ‘Don’t go!’ pleaded Aurora, looking around wildly. ‘There’s been a misunderstanding, that’s all.’

  ‘I’ll call later, Sinclair.’ Freddie was firm. The blonde girl looked mightily cross about something and he didn’t want to be present when it all kicked off. Maybe the picture of the perfect family that Aurora had been painting was not so perfect after all.

  ‘Adios, Freddie.’ William gave him a thumbs-up. ‘Get out while you’re still alive.’

  The door banged but Laura didn’t notice.

  ‘Aurora,’ she said, turning to her, ‘there is no way that I’m moving here, okay? My life is in London. You and your dad had better talk about this because I’m not changing my mind.’

  ‘Laura, for fuck’s sake!’ James banged his fist on the table. ‘You’re thirteen. You’re not in a position to make a decision like this.’ He turned to Aurora and lowered his voice. ‘Don’t listen to her, Borealis. We must wait until Henry and Mum come down and tell us their plans.’

  ‘What do you mean, plans?’

  ‘You know, what they plan to do now that they’re married.’

  ‘I don’t understand.’ Her big eyes filled with tears. ‘You’ll all move here. It’s a much bigger house and Maggie is here. I mean, Maggie looks after us.’

  ‘Shhh,’ soothed James, pulling her close. ‘Don’t give it a second thought. Everything will be okay.’

  Laura flounced out of the room. How dared they act like it wasn’t the biggest thing in the world? There was only one way to sort it out.

  She climbed the stairs, two at a time, and marched straight up to Henry’s bedroom door. Her face set in a determined line, she knocked three times.

  ‘Yes?’ came her mother’s sleepy voice.

  ‘Please come to the kitchen, Gloria,’ she ordered. ‘We need to have a meeting.’

  There was a slight sound of shuffling and then footsteps. The door opened to reveal a scantily clad Gloria with dark smudges under her eyes and hair that was neither up nor down.

  ‘Whatever’s the matter?’ she asked sternly. ‘How dare you order me downstairs?’

  Laura’s eyes filled with frustrated tears. ‘How dare you get married without telling us! How dare you throw our lives upside down without a second thought.’

  ‘What?’ Gloria stepped outside the bedroom and closed the door behind her. ‘Explain yourself. I thought that you’d be happy for me, Laura. I’ve found joy again. I never thought that it would happen after your father died.’

  ‘I don’t want to move here,’ sobbed Laura, falling into her arms. ‘I hate it here. It’s cold and dark and damp. I don’t like the caves and I’m sure this place is haunted. I want to stay in London, Mum. Please don’t take me away from everything that I know!’

  Gloria rubbed her hair and kissed her forehead. ‘We won’t be moving here, darling. Not at all. Henry had agreed to move to our place. We’re going to build an extension. That way he’ll have an office to work from and a few extra bedrooms.’

  ‘Say again?’ Laura sniffed.

  ‘Henry and Aurora will be living with us,’ she reiterated gently. ‘He’s planning to move in the next few weeks. Christmas was a trial run. When he saw how happy Aurora was with you and your friends, it sealed the deal.’

  ‘Aurora thinks that we’re all moving here.’

  ‘Hmm, I know.’ Her mother looked vexed. ‘We’re gearing up to tell her, to be honest. She’s very attached to Maggie. One thing at a time.’

  ‘Will Maggie not come too?’

  ‘No, sweetheart. She’s close to retirement and she would hate the city. We’ll board up the house and she can continue to live in the cottage by the gate.’

  ‘Oh.’ Laura rubbed her eyes. ‘I’m sorry for shouting.’

  ‘It’s understandable.’ Gloria’s expression softened. ‘I know how self-obsessed teenagers can be.’

  ‘Hey!’ Laura tried and failed to look affronted.

  ‘Now, go downstairs and I’ll be down in a while.’

  Aurora eyed her warily when she re-entered the kitchen.

  ‘Where did you go?’ she asked immediately.

  Laura shrugged. ‘Nowhere.’

  William let out a sigh. ‘Bloody hell, James. I need those pills off Maggie. Please find her, yeah?’

  Aurora got up. ‘I know where she is. I’ll go.’ She headed off in the direction of the drawing room and closed the door behind her.

  ‘Mum has no intention of moving here!’ declared Laura triumphantly. ‘I totally overreacted. This day has just got so much better.’

  ‘Keep your voice down,’ warned James sharply. ‘Aurora will be upset about moving away. Maggie is like a mother to her.’

  ‘She’ll be far better off,’ rubbished Laura. ‘I mean, look at this place.’ She screwed up her nose. ‘We’ll be doing her a favour.’

  ‘Laura!’

  William took a sip of water. ‘How will we all fit?’

  ‘They’re building an extension!’ Laura clapped her hands in excitement. ‘I may get a new bedroom, if I play my cards right. Aurora could move into my old one.’

  James gave her a warning look. ‘I said to cut it out!’ he said. ‘This should not be discussed until Mum and Henry tell us officially.’

  ‘Fine, fine,’ his sister replied. ‘I’ll keep my immeasurable joy to myself for the moment.’ She punched the air. ‘Get in! We’re going home.’

  George woke up to a loud knock on his door.

  ‘Wake up, son!’ came Henry’s voice. ‘Family meeting in the drawing room in ten minutes.’

  George groaned. He had no intention of meeting that family again. Whatever could his father want?

  He debated whether to get dressed but then decided not to bother. His robe would do quite nicely; plus, he planned on going back to bed after hearing whatever his hare-brained father had to say. No doubt it would be something else that would annoy him.

  He eyed the half-empty goblet of whiskey on his bedside locker. He must have fallen asleep before he had finished it.

  You’re slipping, old boy.

  Sebastian knocked on his door. ‘George! Are you coming?’

  ‘I’m on my way.’

  When George entered the drawing room, Gloria was sitting in his mother’s favourite cha
ir. His face tightened immediately. Marcella was worth ten of this interloper. He just couldn’t fathom what his father saw in her.

  Henry was standing regally at the fireplace. ‘Now that George is here, we’ll get started.’

  The whole family was seated, waiting expectantly. Aurora sat next to James on the sofa, her small hand in his. William was perched on the armrest with Laura on his right. Sebastian and Cressida were sitting rigidly on an antique two-seater.

  ‘Last night was a shock for you all,’ Henry began, smiling at Gloria. ‘But we are blissfully happy and we hope that you will be too.’

  George snorted and stared out of the window. Aurora blew a kiss at her father, clearly delighted that he was so happy. James had a pain in his chest. He could sense that she was about to get a real shock. In the long run, he could see that it was the better option: she would have lots of friends her own age, central heating and a hectic social life. She would attend a proper school and have a normal upbringing.

  ‘The thing is, now that we are man and wife, there is the question of where we are going to live.’

  Laura nudged William smugly. She knew what was coming next. She was so glad that she had cornered Gloria earlier. Otherwise, she would have been on tenterhooks.

  ‘We are going to live in London,’ continued Gloria. ‘Henry and Aurora are going to move into our house and we will be a family.’

  ‘London?’ breathed Aurora, going pale. ‘What did you say?’

  ‘London?’ repeated Sebastian in disbelief. ‘But you hate the city.’

  ‘London?’ said George silkily. ‘Whatever will happen to our house?’

  ‘Yes, London,’ affirmed Henry, taking Gloria’s hand. ‘We plan to extend her house to accommodate the extra people. I think it will be a new start for us both.’ He winked at Aurora.

  ‘Us both?’ she echoed. ‘But what about Maggie? She’ll be coming too.’

  Henry glanced at Gloria. ‘Well, actually no, darling. Maggie was planning to retire and it would be too much of an upheaval for her.’