The Fairbairn Fortunes

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The Fairbairn Fortunes Page 15

by Una-Mary Parker


  She laughed teasingly. ‘My! You’re being very serious. Let’s dance; I love this music.’

  The band were playing a tango and she moved with a sensual grace, coming close to him one minute then swaying away the next. When Richard suggested they go back to his flat for coffee she willingly agreed. The champagne had gone to her head and she felt delightfully reckless.

  Once in his flat she kicked off her high-heeled shoes and settled herself on the large sofa while Richard went into his small kitchen to make the coffee. When he returned he found her fast asleep, curled up like a small child. Her sweetness overwhelmed him and, fetching a blanket from his bedroom, he placed it gently over her, making sure her feet were tucked in. Smiling to himself, he turned off the lights and got ready for bed, thinking all the while that he was the luckiest man in the world.

  A cold dawn was seeping through a gap in the blue velvet curtains of Laura’s drawing room when she awoke with a start.

  ‘Caroline?’ she called out sharply as she sat up in the sofa bed.

  ‘Hush! You’ll wake up Dada,’ her daughter whispered angrily, ‘and before you start I went back to Daisy’s house with some of the other girls after the party and I was so tired I fell asleep on her sofa. I want to get another few hours’ sleep so don’t let anyone disturb me.’

  Before Laura could say anything Caroline had disappeared in the direction of her bedroom.

  Laura lay down again, admitting to herself that she had lost control of her daughter. She was a young woman now, with a career, earning money and with a life of her own. She could be guided and advised but never again controlled. Her baby had flown the nest.

  Walter appeared at that moment, wearing a tartan dressing gown over his pyjamas.

  ‘I heard Caroline coming in and I imagine she’s gone to bed.’

  Laura nodded silently.

  ‘Shall I make us cups of tea?’ he offered.

  ‘I’ll do it.’ Laura moved as if to climb out of bed.

  ‘No, my dear. I’ll do it. Let me spoil you for a change. I’m not helpless, you know, though Rowena seems to think I’m both hopeless and helpless.’

  Laura burst out laughing. Walter had always been an amusing man with a great sense of humour and there was no doubting that his sister tried to belittle him in the eyes of others.

  ‘Go on then. I’d love a cup of tea. No one has made me a cup of tea to have in the morning since …’ She paused, knowing what came next.

  ‘Before I hit the bottle too hard for the last time,’ he said harshly. ‘I know, Laura. I remember slipping down to the kitchen very early when we were first married to make us tea and I’m happy to be doing it again.’

  Laura smiled. ‘You don’t have to rush back to Scotland tomorrow, do you?’

  ‘I think I should. Rowena isn’t at all well.’

  Twelve

  London, 1923

  The smart invitation fell through a hundred letter boxes announcing the christening of Philip Martin Andrew Drinkwater at St Pauls Church, Knightsbridge, on 28 January followed by a reception at their Belgrave Square house. A separate stiff card also invited nearly four hundred guests to a cocktail party that evening at the Hyde Park Hotel.

  Beattie had made a speedy recovery after her ordeal, fuelled by happiness that they’d had a boy. He was a beautiful baby too, with blue eyes and blond hair.

  Henry, Kathleen and Camilla were fascinated by their little brother and Nanny Drinkwater had to put her foot down from time to time because she believed in strict routines.

  ‘I think he’s going to be fearfully spoilt,’ Beattie laughingly told Laura as they had tea in the elegant drawing room which had two French windows leading on to a balcony overlooking the gardens of Belgrave Square.

  Laura smiled at Beattie fondly, still feeling shaken by how near she’d come to dying. ‘The most important thing is to see you so well again,’ she said. ‘No one deserves happiness more than you, dearest, and you’ve had a very tough couple of years.’

  Beattie leaned forward and spoke in a low voice so they wouldn’t be overheard. ‘Life is strange though, isn’t it? If Miss Cooper – and I shall always think of her as “Miss Cooper” – if she hadn’t died and the baby boy hadn’t died too, I’d be sitting here, a divorced woman, trying to bring up three daughters on my own.’

  Laura nodded. ‘I knew something was terribly wrong the night you were taken to hospital. I get these feelings but I never know what they mean.’

  ‘Have you spoken to a fortune teller?’ Beattie asked.

  ‘I haven’t told anyone outside the family. When it happens I think I’m going down with influenza or something. I actually feel shivery but the strange thing is the moment I know what has actually happened I feel all right.’

  Beattie looked mystified. ‘That must be horrible. Did you feel like that when Catriona killed herself?’ she whispered.

  Laura closed her eyes for a moment as if lost in pain. ‘When it happens I can feel felt quite ill and I can’t think why. I’m filled with fear and sure a disaster has happened close to me, like thinking perhaps that something has happened to Caroline. London can be such a dangerous place.’

  ‘Not when you get used to it,’ Beattie pointed out. ‘When I was first married I wished we lived in Scotland but now I love living here. There is so much to see and do. I hope all our friends can come to the christening. Diana and Robert are staying with us but I’m not sure about Alice and Flora.’

  ‘I still miss being at Lochlee Castle,’ Laura admitted. ‘Those were the days, weren’t they? What fun we had when we were young,’ she added nostalgically.

  ‘Will you go back when Caroline gets married?’ Beattie asked.

  Laura blinked, startled. ‘Goodness, I’ve no idea. That’s years away.’

  Beattie smiled knowingly. ‘I hear she’s very close to Richard Montgomery.’

  ‘Who told you that?’

  ‘Some friends of ours saw them at the Savoy on the opening night of Rainbows. Apparently they were dancing cheek to cheek for half the night,’ Beattie said lightly as if it was of no importance.

  Laura’s mouth tightened. ‘A whole lot of them went out to celebrate after the show, so maybe Richard joined them,’ she replied. So Caroline had lied to her. What other lies had she told? Hurt as well as perturbed, she decided to change the topic of conversation.

  ‘What are you going to wear for the christening, Beattie?’

  Her sister’s eyes sparkled. ‘Pale blue, of course. I love the new fashion of slim-line dresses with dropped waists and thank goodness I’ve got my figure back. I’ve got a matching coat and a pale blue cloche hat with blue roses on the side.’ She extended her left hand and Lizzie saw a new ring beside her platinum wedding ring; it was a large sapphire surrounded by diamonds.

  ‘That’s beautiful,’ Laura exclaimed.

  Beattie smiled. ‘Andrew bought two rings to be on the safe side. The other one is set with a ruby and diamond in case I had another daughter,’ she added with satisfaction. ‘He said I can keep it too.’

  Laura had never been able to replace any of her jewellery which had been seized by the bailiffs, but she had bought herself a gold wedding ring in a pawn shop so that no one would think she was an unmarried mother.

  ‘Darling, you must have almost as much jewellery as Queen Alexandra,’ Laura joked.

  Beattie laughed. ‘Andrew is very generous, I must say. Sometimes I feel he’s bought me. Would I have stayed with him if he’d been poor? It’s an uncomfortable thought to have to admit. I really like the good things in life and I’ll put up with the bad things because a big diamond here or a sable coat there would shut me up.’

  ‘I think the real test is would you have married him if he’d been poor?’

  Beattie didn’t answer immediately and then she said in a small voice, ‘No, probably not.’

  It was a bright, crisp day for Philip Martin Andrew’s christening and the high society of the day gathered at the church to see and be seen
. Photographers and gossip columnists clustered on the pavement ready to note and take pictures of this society event. It was the world of the aristocracy that Andrew had cultivated and loved. The very fact that his wife was titled and the daughter of an earl never ceased to thrill him. It gave him an entrée into royal circles and he was determined to expand his charitable work so in due course the King would grant him a knighthood.

  Members of the Fairbairn family gathered around the font. Caroline was in her element because they all wanted to know how Rainbows was going. From being the poorest member of the family she now felt like a star. Her young cousins looked at her with awe because the reviews described her dancing as ‘exquisite’. The poor cousin who only had hand-me-downs was famous, much to their amazement.

  Diana’s children, Archie and Emily, couldn’t believe that this was their little girl cousin, now a beautifully dressed celebrity. She’d been so awkward and chippy when they were young. Beattie’s three daughters had seen Caroline dance when their mother had taken them to a matinee performance and they were amazed to see her dance so skilfully when she’d been such a clumsy child.

  Then Lizzie and Humphrey climbed out of their car with Margaret, Isabel, Rose and Emma.

  Laura looked on nervously. Caroline, who looked radiant in a cream coat and little matching cloche, was talking to Archie before entering the church. He was laughing at what she’d said, and then he patted her back affectionately.

  Margaret had seen the exchange between the cousins and, white-faced, she looked at Caroline with pure hatred.

  Laura glanced at Lizzie who, aware of Margaret’s feelings, had taken her arm with a comforting gesture as she led her into the church. Throughout the service and at the reception afterwards Laura noticed that Lizzie was pointedly ignoring both her and Caroline.

  Diana noticed the bad atmosphere between her sisters, something that had never happened among any of them since they’d grown up.

  ‘I’ll have a word with Lizzie,’ she said quietly. At that moment they heard a commotion followed by a cry of shock from Caroline. Everyone turned to look at her as Margaret fled out of the room in tears. Caroline’s beautiful cream coat had been splashed with hot tea, and some had dripped on to her cream suede shoes.

  Laura stepped forward and calmly helped her to take off the stained garment, saying briskly, ‘If it’s sponged down it will be fine.’

  Then she handed it to one of Beattie’s maids, who looked deeply concerned. ‘I’ll get a damp cloth for the shoes,’ she murmured, taking the coat with her.

  Caroline caught her mother’s eye and realized the most dignified way to handle the situation was to pass it off as a silly accident. ‘That will teach me to wear pastel-coloured clothes,’ she exclaimed laughingly, although in reality she was furious. She’d done nothing to warrant Margaret’s chagrin except to glow with happiness. Then she’d heard Margaret say ‘Happy now?’ as she threw the contents of her cup over her.

  ‘That girl is out for blood,’ Diana whispered to Laura. ‘I must say I feel terribly sorry for her because she’s been going out with Richard for some time and we all thought he’d marry her. When Robert and I saw them dining at the Ritz I guessed it was over for Margaret.’

  Laura looked at her sister sharply. ‘You didn’t say you were going to the Ritz?’

  Diana realized her blunder. ‘At the last minute Robert insisted we spend the night at the hotel before setting off for Paris. I meant to tell you but I forgot.’

  ‘Other people seem to know what my daughter is doing more than I do.’ Laura sounded annoyed. ‘It’s hardly her fault if young men fall for her.’

  Diana smiled. ‘It’s just rather unfortunate that it was Margaret’s young man.’

  Laura was about to snap back but Lizzie came rushing up, her face flushed and her eyes flashing angrily.

  ‘Margaret is terribly upset,’ she said breathlessly. ‘She’s crying her eyes out. I’ll have to take her home. What did Caroline say to her? She won’t tell me.’

  By now Laura was also angry. ‘Perhaps that’s because she didn’t say anything,’ she retorted. ‘Why are you blaming Caroline for everything?’

  ‘Because she’s a scheming little minx,’ Lizzie said with frankness. ‘From the moment she saw Richard Montgomery she set out to catch him.’

  Laura looked at her blankly. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. She’s been working far too hard to chase anyone. When she comes home late at night she’s utterly exhausted.’

  Lizzie looked directly at her. ‘I wonder why?’ she asked drily as she walked away, leaving Laura looking perplexed.

  Beattie came over to them at that moment in her pale blue outfit and a river of long ropes of pearls around her neck. ‘This is Philip’s christening,’ she pointed out. ‘What’s going on? I’ve never seen you having a disagreement before. People are looking at you and apparently Margaret has left in tears.’

  ‘It’s nothing,’ Diana said quietly. She looked at Laura and Lizzie. ‘Perhaps we should mingle with the other guests.’

  Laura felt deeply hurt that the sisters she’d always been closest to were blaming Caroline for everything. The truth was her daughter was prettier and more vivacious than Margaret, and that was not her fault. She’d also worked hard and was on the cusp of being a prima ballerina, while Margaret was just sitting and waiting for a rich young man who would make a suitable husband. A rush of maternal love for her only child threatened to overwhelm her and her eyes brimmed with tears. How dare they criticize Caroline when they all knew she’d dedicated her life to making sure her daughter had everything she wanted?

  Humphrey came up to her, good, kind and dependable Humphrey. He could tell she was upset.

  ‘I’m terribly sorry about Margaret’s behaviour,’ he said, taking her arm and leading her out on to the drawing-room balcony. ‘I’ll make sure, my dear, that Margaret writes letters of apology to both you and Caroline. What she did was utterly uncalled for and unforgiveable.’

  She looked at him earnestly, grateful for his comforting remarks. ‘You needn’t do that, Humphrey. It’s just that Lizzie and Diana act as if Caroline was to blame for breaking up Margaret and Richard’s romance.’

  He smiled and nodded. ‘We all know what young men are like,’ he said with a chuckle. ‘It’s better Richard chucks her now, not when they were engaged or married.’

  Laura smiled, loving him for his realistic attitude. ‘I have done my best to bring her up,’ she began, her voice quivering.

  He looked into her face. ‘You’ve done a magnificent job, my dear. No one could have done better and you should be enormously proud of her. I’m aware of the struggle you’ve had what with the lack of money and being on your own, but you should be congratulated for doing a marvellous job.’

  His words were like a warm, comforting balm to her battered emotions, and as he led her back into the crowded room he said, ‘Now let me get you a fresh cup of tea.’

  There was no sign of Caroline and Laura remembered she’d told her she’d have to slip away early from the reception because the choreographer of Rainbows wanted to make some changes and he’d told her she was needed for a rehearsal before the curtains went up.

  Richard was waiting in his flat when Caroline arrived. ‘You got away nice and early,’ he said, taking her in his arms.

  ‘Mind out, I’m soaking down my front,’ she exclaimed.

  He stood back and looked at her coat. ‘It’s slightly damp,’ he corrected her. ‘Did you spill something?’

  ‘No, Margaret threw a cup of boiling hot tea over me. It could have scalded me.’ She took off her coat and threw it on a chair. ‘It ruined my afternoon.’

  Richard backed away, looking worried. ‘Is she all right?’

  Caroline stared at him. ‘What do you mean? She could have burned my legs and I’m on stage in two-and-a-half hours. She’s ruined my day. She could have scalded my feet. Don’t you understand?’

  ‘If she really attacked you in fron
t of everyone she must be upset about you and I being together.’

  Caroline shrugged. ‘It’s not my fault, though.’

  He held her close. ‘No, it’s my fault. It’s you I love and you I want, my darling.’ Kissing her passionately, he started to undo the little buttons down the back of her silk dress.

  Walter sounded anxious when he telephoned Laura the following week. ‘Rowena really is unwell,’ he explained. ‘The doctor has been again and he’s prescribed something stronger to ease the pain just under her ribs,’ he explained.

  ‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ Laura replied. ‘It sounds like a stomach ulcer.’

  ‘I think it’s more serious than that. She’s lost a lot of weight and she’s so weak she can hardly get out of bed.’

  ‘Perhaps she should be admitted to hospital.’

  ‘You know what she’s like. Stubborn as a mule,’ he replied.

  Laura and Rowena had never been friends, and when Walter’s first wife had died she’d wanted him to come and live with her because, having been widowed and without children, she was desperately lonely. Nevertheless, Laura was grateful that thanks to Rowena and a wonderful doctor, Walter hadn’t touched alcohol for nearly fifteen years.

  ‘Is there anything I can do?’ Laura asked. ‘I can’t leave Caroline alone in London. Beattie has her hands full with the new baby and I fear Lizzie will never speak to Caroline again.’ Then she told him about the tea-throwing incident.

  Walter chuckled. ‘I’m surprised Caroline didn’t chuck a very large jug of water over Margaret’s head in retaliation.’

  ‘In fact, Caroline behaved beautifully. You’d have been proud of her.’

  ‘I always am,’ he said quietly. ‘How much longer is Rainbows on for? Perhaps you can both come and stay for a few days.’ There was a note of longing in his voice.

  ‘Of course,’ Laura agreed stoutly, ‘and I hope Rowena is better soon.’

  She noticed Walter didn’t reply. He just said, ‘Goodbye, my dear.’

 

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