“Imagine that,” Lucy murmured.
“Then we are starting from scratch as it were?” Father asked.
“I’m afraid so.” Jack drew a deep breath. “But I do feel some sort of apology is in order. I should have made further inquiries about you. At least as I grew older. Even though you did seem a topic to be avoided, that’s no excuse. I should have made an effort to learn more about you. I was curious but . . . Perhaps if I had asked—”
“Rubbish, my boy.” His father scoffed. “No apology is necessary. At least not from you. Indeed, you were being a thoughtful and considerate son not to bring up a topic that distressed your mother. You are not to blame for any of this.” He cast a pointed look at his wife.
“Oh, for goodness’ sake.” Mother threw up her arms in surrender. “Very well then. I’ll accept the blame. I did what I thought was best, what I thought was right—”
“For whom?” both men said in unison.
“That doesn’t scare me, you know,” Mother said sharply. “The way the two of you have been spouting the same words at the same time. Why, it’s probably to be expected. Runs in the blood and all. I’m not frightened of either of you.”
“Perhaps you should be,” Lucy said helpfully. “After all, you did keep father and son apart for thirty years. One might even say that you stole something from them. Part of their lives, really. It seems to me that some kind of, oh, I don’t know, retribution or punishment is in order. Yes, that’s it—punishment. You should pay for your crime. It seems only fair.”
“And we do want to be fair.” Mother fairly spit the words.
One wouldn’t have thought the evening could get any stranger and yet there was Mother glaring at the young woman she’d always thought of as a daughter. And there was Lucy challenging her at every turn. This was not the ordinary kind of evening Jack had expected when he’d heard Uncle Daniel, Lucy, and her parents were to join him, Grandfather, and Mother for dinner to mark his thirtieth birthday a few days ago. And he had expected it to be extremely ordinary, as such a gathering, even to observe a birthday, usually was. Now, he preferred not to speculate as to what might happen next.
“It’s pointless to look behind us. We must move forward,” Father said firmly.
“And what exactly does moving forward mean?” Caution edged Mother’s voice.
“Perhaps you should sit down,” Father said.
“I don’t want—fine,” Mother snapped and sat on the sofa, as far away from Lucy as possible.
“First, you should know about your family, Jackson,” Father began.
“He does know about his family,” Mother said under her breath.
Father ignored her and continued. “There are Channings all over England, mostly distant relations and you needn’t be overly concerned with them.”
“Although it is nice to know they exist,” Lucy said.
“Exactly.” Father nodded. “And I daresay you’ll meet them all eventually.”
“I really don’t see—” Mother began.
“Quiet, Mother.” Jack nodded at his father. “Go on.”
“For the most part, they’re not especially important although admittedly some of them are most amusing. Eccentric is probably the kindest description.” The colonel lowered his voice in a confidential manner. “There is Cousin Wilfred on my father’s side. He was quite convinced he could fly. He couldn’t, of course. Pity, as it turned out.” Father shook his head in a regretful manner. “But as I was saying, you needn’t bother concerning yourself with anyone aside from the immediate family. At least for now.”
“The immediate family?” Jack said.
“You, my boy, have an uncle, my twin brother, Nigel, and an aunt, his wife, Bernadette. They have three daughters, charming girls, all of them. They’ve grown up quite nicely, all things considered. Oddly enough, I am not the only brother whose wife preferred to let his offspring believe he was dead.”
Lucy stared.
“Although in Nigel’s case, he did rather deserve it. But that’s neither here nor there at the moment.” Father’s brow furrowed thoughtfully. “Let me think. The eldest girls are older than you and are twins. One is married, the other a widow and about to be married again. The youngest, Delilah, is also a widow. So you can see how the revelation that I have a son changes, well, everything. Especially the future. The family’s and yours.”
“Basil.” A warning sounded in Mother’s voice. “This is not how I wanted—”
“It no longer matters what you want, Elizabeth. You’ve had what you wanted for far too long.” Father cast her a hard look.
“I’m not certain I understand,” Jack said slowly. “I know I am as shocked by your existence as you are by mine. And this does change a lot, for any number of reasons. But while it certainly is significant, in a personal sense, I fail to see what effect my having a living father, and you having a son has on your future or mine. Not that I don’t like the idea, mind you,” he added quickly. “It would be different if we were having this, oh, reunion I suppose is the only word for it, when I was ten years old or even twenty. But I am an adult. I have a position of responsibility at the bank and a sound, solid career ahead of me there. My future is well planned out.”
“Exactly,” Mother said under her breath.
“It might well have been planned out yesterday or this morning or even a few hours ago but now . . .” His father’s gaze met his. “Now, your future is entirely different.”
Jack drew his brows together. “I still don’t see—”
“My brother is the Earl of Briston.” Father paused to allow the others to grasp the significance of his pronouncement.
“Jackson, your uncle is an earl,” Lucy said with delight. “How very interesting.”
“It’s more than merely interesting, my dear girl,” Father said. “I know it’s not the same in your country—”
“We don’t have earls for one thing.” Mother sniffed.
“But in my country”—he met Jack’s gaze—“your country as well, titles and property are often tied together in what is called an entailment. Are you familiar with it?”
“Vaguely.” Jack nodded. “We deal on occasion with English financial institutions and I’ve seen reference to it in correspondence. It has to do with inheritance, doesn’t it?”
“Exactly.” His father studied him closely. “A title is tied to a family’s property, they are passed on together. In our case, Millworth Manor, the estate that has been in our family for generations, as well as some other properties, are tied to the title. The title can only be inherited by the closest male relative. If my brother died, I would be next in line to be the Earl of Briston. If I died . . .”
Lucy gasped.
Mother sighed.
Jack stared. “Are you saying that I would be the next earl?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” Father nodded. “And thank God, too. We were all afraid Millworth and the title would eventually go to Wilfred’s son.” He shuddered. “And believe me no one wanted that.”
For the second time tonight, Jack was at a loss for words. The idea of being an English earl was interesting but not something that had ever before crossed his mind. Why would it? He was, after all, an American. He wasn’t sure he’d like being an earl, not that he had any idea what that might involve. Regardless that his surname was Channing, what he knew was how to be a Graham and follow in his grandfather Graham’s footsteps and the footsteps of the Grahams before him. It was part and parcel of his responsibility to his family. It was who he was. Banking was in his blood.
Although it did now appear banking was not all that was in his blood.
“Jackson,” his mother began. “You don’t—”
“Did you know about this?” He met his mother’s gaze directly. “Is this something else that slipped your mind?”
“I really haven’t given it much thought. I’m sure it will come as a surprise to both you and your father but I have not spent the last thirty years plot
ting as to how to keep the two of you apart. The entire question rarely crossed my mind.” She heaved a long-suffering sigh. “But yes, I will admit that I was aware that your father’s brother had a title and that he had no male heirs.”
“Ah-ha!” Triumph rang in Father’s voice. “Then you did know that I was alive and where to find me.”
Mother sighed in surrender. “Of course I knew you were alive. I hadn’t heard that you were dead and it did seem, well, prudent, to make inquiries on occasion to see if you had remarried. I would have felt compelled to contact you if that had happened.”
“Ha!” Father’s eyes narrowed. “To have me jailed for bigamy no doubt.”
“I hadn’t thought of that.” Mother smiled in a decidedly wicked manner. “But it’s a pleasant idea.”
“You’re admitting that you knew how to contact me.”
“I’m admitting no such thing.” Mother’s gaze locked with her husband’s. “Yes, I knew you continued to draw breath. No, I did not know where you were at any given time. You are—as Lucinda so enthusiastically put it—an adventurer. You have never stayed long in one place, Basil. You simply roam from country to country, from one adventure to the next. One would think you were running away from something. Or trying to hide.”
“I had nothing to hide from nor did I have anything or anyone to run from.” Father narrowed his eyes. “However both running away and hiding can certainly be done without taking so much as a single step.”
“There are any number of things that I am guilty of but hiding from you is not one of them.” She glared at her husband. “You knew exactly where I was these past thirty years.”
The colonel stared at his wife. “So to punish me for not seeking you out, you kept my son from me?”
“Don’t be absurd. That never occurred to me.” She paused. “But you certainly could have made some sort of overture through the years, aside from a handful of letters in the beginning, that is.”
“Of course I could have but you, and your parents, made it clear that such a gesture on my part would be both foolish and futile.” Father drew a calming breath. “Regardless, this is not the time to debate who should have done what, who was more at fault—”
“Not a doubt in my mind,” Lucy murmured.
“As I said, that’s in the past. Jackson.” He turned to his son. “Unfortunately, this is to be the briefest of trips. I took the first ship here as soon as I learned about you, thanks to a chance conversation with a new acquaintance in London. It seemed to me we had lost enough time and I didn’t want to lose any more.”
Jack nodded.
“I only arrived today but I have to return to England at once. My niece, your cousin, is to be wed next week. She would never forgive me if I failed to appear.” Father paused. “A wedding is an excellent way to meet a large number of members of a family. I have booked passage on a ship leaving tomorrow.” His gaze met his son’s. “Actually, I have booked two passages.”
“You’re asking me to go with you?” Jack said slowly.
“Don’t be absurd.” Mother scoffed. “He can’t simply leave without a moment’s notice. He is a vice-president of the bank. It’s an extremely responsible position. Vice-presidents simply don’t go off to foreign countries without so much as a by your leave.”
She was right. The very idea was absurd.
“I’m not asking you to stay forever, to take up permanent residence. Nor am I asking you for a decision as to your future. Not at the moment. You might not even like England after all.” His father’s tone was matter-of-fact, as if he didn’t care if Jack decided to accompany him or not. But the look in his eyes told an entirely different story. “However, it does seem that this is the perfect opportunity to meet my—your—family.”
“Perhaps another time.” Mother stood, her posture as always straight and perfect, and clasped her hands in front of her.
Jack wasn’t the type of man to act on impulse. A trip to England would involve planning and a great deal of due consideration. Arrangements would have to be made.
“I would have to take a leave of absence,” Jack said thoughtfully.
“It would also give us the chance to get to know one another. The voyage is nearly a week,” his father added in an offhand manner.
Still, now that he had discovered he had a father, it wouldn’t be at all ill-advised to spend time with him. One might say it would be impolite to do otherwise.
“A week there and a week back,” Mother began. “Why you’d be gone at least a month. And doesn’t that place poor Lucinda in an awkward position.”
“Oh, don’t bother yourselves about me.” Lucy rose to her feet, excitement glittering in her eyes. “I think it’s a splendid idea, simply splendid.”
Mother’s eyes narrowed. “But weren’t you planning on announcing your engagement soon?”
“Don’t be silly, that can wait.” Lucy waved off the objection. “It’s not as if we haven’t put off our engagement before and for far less important reasons than this.”
“You’re not getting any younger, dear,” Mother said pointedly.
Jack raised a brow. “You wouldn’t mind postponing it again?”
“Not at all,” Lucy said staunchly. “I think you should go. I think it would be a mistake for you not to go. One you might well regret.”
“Do you really?”
“Without question.” She nodded. “Goodness, Jackson, it isn’t often that a man discovers his father has come back from the grave.” She leaned toward him in a confidential manner and lowered her voice. “Although I do think you should ask how it happened that your father and his brother were both believed to be dead by their children. It’s a rather startling coincidence, don’t you think?”
Jack glanced at his mother. “Not if my aunt is anything like my mother.”
“There is that.” Lucy stepped closer and rested her hand on his arm. “Don’t forget, Jackson, I know you as well as I know myself. You already feel a certain amount of foolish guilt because you accepted everything your mother and grandfather said, or didn’t say, about your father.” She met his gaze firmly. “Besides, it would be terribly selfish of me to think only of myself. This is the perfect opportunity to meet your family and find out exactly, oh I don’t know, who you are, I suppose. To find the answers to all those questions you’ve had all these years and I think you should take it.”
Certainly the bank could get along without him.
“One thing I should warn you about.” Father chose his words with care. “No one knows of your existence. I should have taken the time to inform my brother but it did seem to me that time was of the essence.” He shrugged. “I was eager to get here, you see. For all I knew, you had no interest in meeting me. But I had to find out.”
Jack smiled. “I’m glad you did.”
“As am I.” The older man chuckled. “This is going to be quite a surprise for the rest of the family. I suspect Nigel will be quite pleased but I have no idea what the girls will think. The women in our family can be most headstrong and stubborn.”
“Then Jackson will feel right at home,” Lucy said under her breath.
“I can’t believe you’re even considering this.” Shock sounded in Mother’s voice. “At some point perhaps but now, well, it’s ridiculous and I absolutely forbid it.”
Lucy winced.
Jack stared at his mother. He couldn’t recall ever having been at odds with her before. They were usually in agreement over important matters, of one mind as it were.
In that moment, his entire life, all thirty years, came into focus with crystal clarity. Without warning it struck him that he had spent his life trying to make up for the fact that his father wasn’t around, trying to make his mother’s life better, out of some sort of misplaced sense of guilt. As if it was his responsibility. As if his father’s absence was somehow his fault. It was silly of course, as he had believed his father was dead.
The anger that had simmered within him from the moment he re
alized his mother had lied to him his entire life, indeed that much of his life was little more than a lie, blazed into flames.
“Do you?” Jack said coolly.
“Forbid might be the wrong word,” Mother said quickly. “But you haven’t thought this through.”
“Didn’t you say that I was more than capable of making my own decisions about my life?”
“Yes, of course, but this particular decision is . . . well . . .” Mother squared her shoulders. “It’s ill-advised, Jackson. That’s what it is. I have never known you to make poor decisions before. Obviously, it’s his influence.” She aimed a furious look at her husband who grinned back at her.
“Perhaps then I should stay here.” Jack’s gaze narrowed and he considered his mother. “As you and I have a great deal to sort out.”
“Well, yes,” she said weakly.
“You should know, Mother, that I have never been as furious with anyone as I am with you. Never imagined I could be.” His gaze bored into his mother’s. “Lucy was right. You have stolen something from me and from my father as well. The idea of putting an ocean between us has a great deal of appeal especially since, at the moment, I don’t know that I can forgive you.”
“Regardless.” She pulled a deep breath. “I don’t think you should go.”
Lucy raised her chin in a defiant manner. “And I think you should.”
“As do I.” His grandfather stepped into the library and closed the doors behind him.
“Do you?” Jack’s tone was harsher than he had intended but he didn’t care. “And what part did you play in all this, Grandfather?”
“Channing.” Grandfather nodded at the colonel. “I never thought I’d see you again.”
“No doubt,” Lucy said under her breath.
Mother shot her a sharp look.
“Life is full of surprises, Mr. Graham,” his father said in a clipped tone. “But you haven’t answered my son’s question.”
“It’s not an easy question to answer. Odd, as it used to be.” Grandfather turned toward Jack. “I did what I thought was best at the time.”
“Are you talking about separating my parents or the decision not to tell me my father was very much alive?” Jack asked.
The Shocking Secret of a Guest at the Wedding (Millworth Manor) Page 3