by Dilly Court
‘A justified deception, ma’am. Some of the disgruntled art lovers who were duped by your friends are offering a generous reward for their capture and imprisonment.’
‘How much would it cost to buy your silence, Wegg?’
Nettie shook her head. ‘No, Condesa. You mustn’t give this man a penny.’
Wegg threw back his head and laughed. ‘That’s rich. This woman, who pretends to be Spanish nobility, has hardly got a feather to fly with.’
‘I don’t know what you mean,’ Nettie said slowly.
‘I’ve been making enquiries, Nettie Carroll. The condesa has been selling off the contents of the castle for months. She’s bankrupted herself by her lavish lifestyle and the money she’s squandered on this old ruin.’
‘That can’t be true.’ Nettie gazed at Lisette in horror. ‘He’s lying, isn’t he?’
‘Of course he is,’ Lisette said angrily. ‘I have had some unexpected expenses, and that necessitated selling off a few items, but—’
‘That’s rich.’ Wegg pointed to spaces on the walls where pictures had once hung. ‘There’s the evidence. Ask Dexter, if you don’t believe me. What do you think he’s been doing on his trips into the country? He’s her puppet and now you and your pa are being duped by the pair of them, Miss Carroll.’
‘Mr Dexter has been acting as my agent, it’s true, but that doesn’t make him a criminal, Mr Wegg,’ Lisette said coldly.
‘It don’t make him a saint, neither.’ Wegg took a step towards the Botticelli. ‘I’ll take this instead of payment, shall I?’
‘How dare you come into my home, blackening the names of my guests and making threats? Get out, and don’t let me see you again.’
‘You are harbouring criminals, Condesa. I have only to go to the local police and they will contact their counterparts in London.’
‘Leave now.’ Lisette reached for the tasselled bell pull and yanked it hard so that the peal echoed off the high ceiling, and Diego rushed into the room, confirming Nettie’s suspicions that he had a habit of listening at the keyhole. ‘Escort Mr Wegg from the castle,’ Lisette said firmly. ‘Make sure that the gatekeeper knows he is not welcome here.’
‘You’ll be sorry for this, Condesa.’ Wegg shook off Diego’s restraining hand. ‘I don’t need your help. I’m leaving, but this isn’t the end. It’s just the beginning. Tell your father and Duke that their game is up, Miss Carroll. If they leave this place they’ll be arrested.’ He shot a malevolent glance at Lisette. ‘As for you, Madame High and Mighty, you’ll find yourself back on the streets where you came from. I know all about your history, so don’t think you can fool Samson Wegg.’
‘Take him out of here.’ Lisette’s voice shook with emotion as Diego seized Wegg by the collar and marched him from the room.
‘Was he speaking the truth?’ Nettie asked anxiously. ‘Are you really in financial difficulties, Condesa?’
‘You can stop calling me “Condesa”,’ Lisette said wearily. ‘I was never married to Talavera, not legally, anyway. I took his name, but I am still Lisette Horton. At least my sons were born in wedlock.’
‘What happened to your fortune?’
‘That dreadful little man was right. I spent lavishly, and I sent Percy to the best schools and paid for him to attend Cambridge University. I was so poor when I was young and living in Paris that I ate scraps of food thrown out for the birds. I was close to starvation when Byron’s father found me, and I vowed I would never sink to that level again.’
Nettie listened in silence. She had suffered privations enough at the hands of her thriftless father, and she understood what it was like to go without. Wearing threadbare clothes and going hungry had been a way of life that recurred often enough when times were hard. She could sympathise with Lisette to a certain extent, but the condesa’s extravagant way of living was beyond anything that Robert Carroll could have envisaged.
‘What will you do now?’ Nettie asked cautiously. ‘You could hand the painting over to the police and claim the reward when they arrest Duke and my pa.’
Lisette turned on her, eyes flashing and pink-cheeked. ‘I am not that sort of woman, Nettie. I do not betray my friends, and the Botticelli was bought from a dealer in Madrid. Who knows how many times it had changed hands since Duke commissioned it from your father?’
‘Aren’t you angry with them for the deception?’
‘My dear girl, I lived by my wits before I married Horton, and again after I left him. I’ve done things of which I am not proud, so I can hardly stand in judgement of your father and Duke. As I told Wegg, Duke has been selling off trinkets and small items of value on my behalf.’ Lisette began to pace the room wringing her hands nervously. ‘I know that I should have cut down on my expenditure. I should not have entertained so lavishly – there are so many things that I ought to have done, but did not.’
‘But you still own the castle,’ Nettie said earnestly. ‘Couldn’t you sell it and use the money to pay off your debts? You might live anywhere then, in comfort.’
Lisette threw back her head and laughed. ‘You don’t know the extent of my liabilities, Nettie. It sounds so simple when you put it like that, but the castle doesn’t belong to me. Talavera died without leaving a will, and as we weren’t married the whole estate will go eventually to some distant cousin, who’s been trying to evict me for years. The crippling legal fees have added to my burden.’
‘What about Percy? Isn’t he entitled to the estate?’
‘Percy has no more rights than I have, even though Talavera brought him up as if he were his own child.’
Nettie was silent for a moment, imagining how Percy would feel when he found out.
‘But you allowed Percy to think he would inherit all this,’ she said, shaking her head.
‘I’ve made many mistakes in my life, Nettie, and that was one of them. Now I will have to break it to Percy that he will inherit nothing but debts.’
‘I don’t know what to say.’
‘It’s not your problem, querida. But I think that you and your father had best leave here. Duke can do as he pleases, and as to that girl he married, she will soon forget Percy when she discovers that he hasn’t a penny to his name.’
‘I think you are being very unfair to Constance.’
‘Maybe, but that’s the way I see it.’ Lisette sank down on a chair, staring sadly at the fake Botticelli. ‘I loved this painting. It was going to save Percy and myself from penury. Now I realise that it’s worthless, but still I love it. How sad.’
Nettie opened her mouth to speak, but she realised there was nothing she could say that would comfort Lisette. She left the room quietly and went in search of Byron. He needed to know the truth about his mother’s plight, and then she would break the news to her father. The money they had been counting on for the portrait would not be forthcoming, and Wegg would probably be on his way to report to the authorities at this very moment.
Nettie found Byron in the grounds below the terrace. He was standing very still, looking out to sea and he turned with a start at the sound of her footsteps.
‘I think I could get used to living here,’ he said, smiling. ‘It’s so beautiful and so peaceful.’
Nettie sank down on a rustic seat. Above her the silver-grey stones of the castle wall were barely visible beneath a tumbling cascade of purple bougainvillaea, and scarlet canna lilies stood like sentinels in a narrow bed edged with terracotta tiles, but she was about to shatter the peace and tranquillity of the scene.
‘Come and sit down, Byron. I have something to tell you.’
‘What is it, Nettie? Why so serious on such a lovely day?’
‘I’ve just learned something from your mother that alters everything. There’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll come right out with it. She doesn’t own this place and she’s in serious financial trouble. I’m so sorry, Byron.’
He sat down beside her. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Wegg was here on the pretext of being an art dea
ler. Your mother was so desperate for money that she was trying to sell the Botticelli.’
‘How on earth did he find us?’
‘I don’t know, and I certainly didn’t ask.’
‘He must have realised that the Botticelli was one of the fakes that Duke passed off as the genuine article.’
‘He seemed to be very confident. I think we’ve underestimated him and his hatred for Duke. It’s as if he’s allowed a personal grudge to get the better of him.’
Byron leaned back against the wall, frowning thoughtfully. ‘You said that my mother doesn’t own the castle. I can’t believe it – she seemed so settled here.’
‘I think you need to speak to her, Byron. It’s a matter between you and your mother and Percy. You’re all involved, and to be honest, it doesn’t sound too hopeful.’
‘What haven’t you told me?’
‘Your mother said that Talavera didn’t leave a will, and the castle is entailed to a distant relation who’s been trying to have her evicted for some time. She’s virtually bankrupt and she faces losing her home.’
‘I had no idea. It makes me realise how little I really know of her. Poor Percy, that means he has no claim on the estate.’
‘It’s hard on him if he’s been expecting to inherit all this,’ Nettie said sadly.
‘Our mother has a lot to answer for, Nettie. All this has been much more difficult than I anticipated. I suppose I had some romantic notion that she would be overjoyed to see me, but she’s not an easy person to get to know.’
‘You just need time together,’ Nettie said gently.
Byron rose to his feet. ‘I’m going to look for Percy. I’m going to put him straight and we’ll face our mother together. We need to find out the exact state of her affairs.’
‘I think Percy and Constance went riding, but you could have a word with your mother. She would know best how to break the news to him.’
‘You’re right, as always.’ Byron squeezed her hand. ‘We’ll get through this together, Nettie.’
That evening Nettie was dressing for dinner when Constance rushed into the room without knocking. ‘Is it true? Percy and I have been out riding all day and we’ve only just returned.’
‘Is what true?’ Nettie said guardedly.
‘Diego told us that the police have been here and Duke is about to be arrested.’
‘Servants shouldn’t listen at keyholes, but it’s partly true. Wegg was here this morning and he might well go to the police. He was trying to get his hands on the Botticelli, knowing full well that it’s a fake.’
Constance sank down on the bed. ‘Why would he do that?’
‘You’d better ask your husband,’ Nettie said angrily. ‘It’s his fault that we’re all here, including you, Constance. Wegg isn’t going to give up until he sees Duke behind bars.’
‘Then Duke must leave, but we can stay with Lisette.’
‘That won’t be possible. I’m sure she’ll tell you all this evening, but it looks as though our countess is as much of a fraud as the Botticelli.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘She told me she doesn’t own the castle and she’s virtually bankrupt.’
Constance stared at her in disbelief. ‘But that can’t be. She’s a wealthy woman.’
‘You’ll hear it from her own lips, Constance. We’ll be in serious trouble if we remain here much longer.’
Constance leaped to her feet. ‘How can you be so calm about it?’
‘I’m not, but panicking won’t help. We’ll discuss it when we’re all together at dinner.’
‘I must change into something more suitable.’ Constance hurried to the door. ‘Just as I was beginning to enjoy myself, everything is going to change. It’s all Duke’s fault and I will tell him so.’ She left the door swinging gently on its hinges.
Nettie sighed as she finished doing up the buttons on the evening dress that Lisette had given her. Dinner was going to be an interesting meal.
The dining room was deserted and the table had not been set for the meal. Nettie was standing in the doorway, wondering whether she had mistaken the time, when Diego rushed into the room. He came to a halt and bowed. ‘I am sorry. I didn’t know that you were here.’
‘Where are the other servants, Diego?’
‘Gone.’ He spread his hands in a theatrical gesture of dismay. ‘They learn that there is no money to pay them and they have all gone, except me. The last of the guests also departed.’
‘Does the condesa know about this?’
‘I have told her.’
‘Is there anyone left in the kitchen?’
He shook his head.
‘But there must be some food left, unless they have taken everything.’
‘I would not allow such a thing.’
Nettie could see that she had insulted him and she managed a smile. ‘Of course not. Will you take me to the kitchen? Perhaps I can find something that we can all eat.’
‘You are a lady. You cannot cook.’
‘We’ll see, shall we? Lead on, I’ll follow you.’
The main kitchen, with its high vaulted ceiling, was more like a cathedral than a place where tasty meals were cooked. The great open fireplace still had the ingenious smoke jack used to turn the spit, and a large bread oven, both of which must have been used by cooks from centuries past. The fire had burned down, but Nettie decided that there was enough heat in the embers to cook something simple. A quick exploration of the larder provided a tray of eggs, some herbs and a whole ham.
Diego was hovering nervously behind her. ‘You are a guest in the castle. This is not the place for you.’
‘It’s exactly the right place at this moment.’ Nettie took an apron from a hook and tied it round her waist. ‘If you can find plates and cutlery and set the table with glasses and wine, we will have a reasonable meal. Leave me to get on with it, please.’
Diego backed away, mumbling incoherently, and Nettie rolled up her sleeves. She was at ease in the kitchen, even though every movement she made echoed eerily round the room, as if several cooks were at work. She broke eggs into a large bowl, sliced ham and filled a basket with fresh figs and grapes that she found in the cold room. That done, she waited until Diego came to inform her that everyone was seated, and she quickly fried the ham and made a large omelette.
When everything was served onto a large silver platter she carried it up the winding staircase to the dining room, followed by Diego with the fruit and more wine. Nettie entered the room to a round of applause.
Percy stood up, raising his glass. ‘A toast to Nettie, who has prepared a feast for us.’
Everyone cheered and drank more wine, and Nettie suspected that they were all slightly tipsy as she sat down amidst more enthusiastic clapping.
Lisette helped herself to the food. ‘Let’s eat and enjoy this delicious meal. It could be the last one we share together.’ She passed the salver to Robert, who was seated beside her.
‘Why do you say that?’ he asked anxiously. ‘I know that Wegg paid you a visit, but surely we’re safe here?’
She shook her head. ‘I wish that were true, my dear friend.’
‘Damn Wegg to hell,’ Duke said angrily. ‘I thought we’d shaken him off.’
‘He seems determined to do you harm.’ Lisette sipped her wine. ‘He couldn’t have come at a worse time.’
‘Really, Mama!’ Percy glared at her. ‘Will you please stop being so mysterious. I want to know what’s going on.’
Byron nodded. ‘I agree with Percy. I think you need to be honest with us, Mother.’
‘What I will say, since you are all so eager to hear the worst, is that my position has become untenable. I cannot remain here any longer because the Castillo Talavera belongs to someone else. My financial circumstances are dire and I can no longer offer you my hospitality.’
Duke reached for the carafe of wine and refilled his glass. ‘What happened to the Botticelli? You didn’t let Wegg have it, I hope.’
Percy gulped a mouthful of wine. ‘There must be some mistake, Ma. As Pa’s widow you should be entitled to live here for the rest of your life.’
‘I’ll tell you everything later, Percy. Now we should do justice to the meal that Nettie has prepared for us.’
‘Wegg is a devil,’ Duke said angrily. ‘I’ve had enough of his machinations. I’ll make him regret that he ever met me.’
‘Calm down, Duke.’ Robert laid his hand on Duke’s sleeve. ‘This isn’t the time or place for empty threats. We’re in trouble, largely thanks to you.’
‘You were pleased enough to accept the money for your work,’ Duke snapped. ‘You weren’t so naïve that you thought you were simply making copies of the originals. You knew damn well that it was all a fraud.’
‘I was desperate for money, and I didn’t stop to think why you wanted me to make the copies. You took advantage of me.’
Duke pushed his chair back and stood up. ‘You are a weak-spirited apology for a man, and a second-rate artist, Robert Carroll. I’m done with you and your daughter. You two can find your own way back to London. Don’t ask me for help.’
Constance tugged at his coat-tail. ‘Sit down. You’re drunk and you’re making a fool of yourself.’
He turned on her with a savage snarl. ‘And you are nothing but a silly child. Do you think this is all a game? You’ve had that idiot boy hanging round you like a lapdog, but you’re my wife and you can say goodbye to him and come with me. We’re leaving right away.’
Constance eyed him coldly. ‘You may go where you please, Duke. I don’t wish to be married to a criminal who’s on the run from the police. You married me under false pretences and I intend to get an annulment.’
‘We’ll see about that,’ Duke said through clenched teeth.
‘You can’t stop me.’
‘We’ll discuss this later.’