Nobody’s Darling

  In that moment, Luke was also reliving the same memories. And because his father was making his humiliation known to strangers, his hatred for Oliver knew no bounds. When all attention was turned now to him, he was outwardly calm and smiling. Inside, though, he was seething. However, his father’s next words made him stiffen with excitement.

  ‘On the day of his marriage to the lovely Cicely, I intend to take a back seat and hand over a greater proportion of the business into Luke’s hands. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if he didn’t find himself in sole charge before his first wedding anniversary. I think I’m about ready to hand over the reins.’ He had been standing proud and uptight, but now his whole body seemed to sag as he relaxed; Oliver had been feeling his age for some time now, and with the announcement that he was about to relinquish a deal of responsibility, it was as though the weight of the world had fallen from his shoulders. ‘Of course, if Luke had not made the announcement with regard to his forthcoming marriage, I would not be making this announcement either,’ he confessed. ‘He is still young yet, but, when a man takes on the responsibility of a wife he shows himself to be mature.’

  Teresa addressed her father then, goading him as always. ‘What you’re saying is… no marriage, no directorship?’ An awkward silence settled over the party.

  ‘Yes.’ Oliver was wise to her. ‘That is precisely what I’m saying my dear.

  ‘And what about me?’ She laughed lightly, but her dark eyes glittered. ‘Do I have a share?’

  ‘You’re a woman,’ he replied. He too was smiling. It was like a game being played out. ‘Besides, why would you want to bother your pretty little head about such things when you have a husband to care for you?’

  Impatient to assert his manhood, Tony spoke out. ‘Quite right, sir, he acknowledged. Addressing Teresa, he told her, ‘While I’m alive, and even if I were to die tomorrow, you and our son will always be well cared for, my darling.’

  She gave no reply, but glared at him. Later she would have her say, and he would regret putting her down in that way in front of everyone.

  Teresa nursed her bitterness until it was time for the guests to leave. While Oliver and Jeffrey led the way into the hall, with Cicely and Luke trailing behind – Luke inwardly sickened when Cicely clung to him like a limpet – Teresa drew the affable Tony to one side where, out of earshot of the others, she laid into him with a vicious tongue.

  ‘Goodnight then, Oliver.’

  The maid held out his coat and Jeffrey Banks shrugged his thick shoulders into it. Then, extending a hand in farewell, he informed his host, ‘It’s been a fascinating and enjoyable evening.’ Behind him, Luke dutifully saw to it that Cicely was wrapped against the night air. When she raised her face for a kiss he cringed inside. By making this marriage a condition of his being given greater authority, his father had made him a prisoner and Luke blamed Cicely for it.

  ‘I’ll walk you to your carriage,’ Oliver told his guests. ‘It’s been a pleasant evening all round, I think,’ he added benevolently. The atmosphere was altogether congenial. The two men sauntered through the open doorway and out to the waiting carriage. Cicely and Luke followed at a discreet distance. ‘I’m proud that your son and my daughter are to be man and wife,’ Oliver confessed. ‘There was a time when I thought we might be bitter enemies, you and I.’

  Jeffrey reflected on that and knew how true it was. ‘Ah, but fate has a way of intervening,’ he said profoundly. Oliver nodded in agreement and they proceeded in silence.

  In no time at all, Cicely and her father were seated in the carriage and being driven away at a sedate pace. From the back window Cicely waved, her shining eyes focused on the figure of her future husband. Instead of returning her wave he turned away, thankful that the awful episode was over.

  ‘Good night, son. I’m a little weary so I’ll go straight to my bed.’ Oliver went up the wide staircase and was soon lost to sight. Luke went into the drawing-room where he poured himself a stiff brandy. He drank it down in one gulp, shaking his head and gasping when it burned his throat. Tonight had been an ordeal. ‘Thank God that’s over!’ he murmured. Yet he knew there would be many more ordeals like that, and he dreaded them.

  ‘Poor little brother!’ Teresa’s voice emanated from a high-backed chair, startling Luke out of his wits. She had seen him come in, and had watched while he threw the drink down his throat. She had heard his comment, and it pleased her immensely.

  ‘What the devil are you playing at?’ he demanded, his face drained white. She merely continued to gaze at him, a half empty glass of gin in her hand and her eyes glazed over. It was obvious she was drunk.

  ‘He’s got you, hasn’t he?’ She laughed, a wicked sound that made him want to strangle her. ‘Father has you pinned to the ground at last.’

  What are you talking about?’ He looked at her with disgust. ‘You’re drunk.’

  Shaking her head, she assured him, ‘No, I’m not drunk, brother dear.’

  He recalled her bitter words at the table. It made him smile. ‘You’re jealous, aren’t you?’ he demanded.

  Inflamed by his manner, she sat bolt upright in the chair. ‘Yes, I’m jealous, and rightly so!’

  ‘Don’t be silly, Teresa. You’re well looked after. Your husband’s a wealthy man. Besides, I’m the only son.’ He enjoyed watching her squirm. ‘Whatever comes to me, will be mine by right.’

  She stared at him for a long moment, then said in a crafty voice, ‘Suppose I were to tell him a few things? He might not be so trusting then, or so generous.’

  Taking a threatening step towards her, he asked, ‘What things? There is nothing you could say that would turn him against me.’ He was bluffing. He still wasn’t certain how much she knew.

  What would he do, I wonder, if he knew how much you hated him? And don’t you think he would lose faith in you altogether if he was to find out that you mean to use the gullible Cicely only so as to lay your hands on her father’s business, then use that to get back at Father? Once you had that kind of money and power, you wouldn’t stop until you had everything he owned. You would even take the shirt off his back, and see him out on the street beggared. Isn’t that so?’ She lay back in the chair, keeping her eyes fixed on his shocked face. ‘As a dutiful daughter, I should warn him against you, don’t you think?’

  ‘You stupid little fool!’ Luke had no doubts now. She did know enough to ruin all of his plans. ‘Why would I want to do all that? You heard him say that he intends to turn more and more over to me. In time I’ll have it all. Doesn’t that make a nonsense of your vicious lies?’

  She laughed out loud. ‘Really! You must think I was born yesterday.’ Her dark handsome eyes flashed a warning. ‘You know as well as I do that Father won’t turn everything over to you. It will be a long time before he steps out of the picture altogether. And besides, even the greater responsibility he might put on you will be subject to your marrying Cicely.’ She curled up, hugging herself and laughing at his misfortune. ‘That’s what I meant when I said he’s got you where he wants you,’ she reminded him. ‘You heard me ask him was it no marriage, no directorship, and you heard his answer. The plain truth is, dear brother, if you don’t wed your little mouse, you won’t get any part of Father’s business.’

  She could see how her every word cut him deep, and she revelled in his pain. ‘You’re stuck with her, aren’t you? What a great pity… to be stuck with someone you hate almost as much as you hate Father.’

  ‘What makes you say I hate Cicely?’ He was trembling now. ‘I’m marrying her, aren’t I?’ At least she knew nothing of his plan to use Cicely as bait in order to have the lovely Ruby.

  ‘Huh! You haven’t got any choice now, have you? Besides, you forget how drink loosens the tongue. You yourself told me that you love someone else. But whoever she is, she doesn’t want you, does she? You told me that too.’ She struggled from the depths of the chair and sat unsteadily on its edge. ‘Wise woman,’ she laughed, staring up at him with evil eyes
. ‘You shouldn’t have told me all these things, Luke. You know what a wicked bastard I can be.’ Taunting him further, she wanted to know: ‘This woman who appears to have stolen your wicked heart… who is she?’

  ‘A better woman than you. That’s all you need to know.’

  ‘Father would get it out of you.’

  ‘Breathe a word to him, and I’ll kill you!’

  She regarded him in a different light then, her gaze going from his head to his toes. ‘I believe you would,’ she said presently. ‘Especially if I were to tell him of my suspicions regarding the other matter.’

  His heart was pounding. For God’s sake! How much had he told her that night when he was drunk? ‘What the hell are you talking about now?’

  ‘You,’ she replied carefully. ‘I’m talking about you and the responsibility he’s already foolishly given you.’ She paused, making him wait. She wasn’t as sure of her facts as she would have him believe. So far, all she had were suspicions. She tutted and shook her head, making him think she knew a great deal more than she actually did.

  ‘You’re such a deceitful young man, aren’t you? I mean, here you are, being trusted with a very important task, and you can’t even do that without robbing him blind.’ She grew excited when Luke went a pale shade of grey. So! She was nearer the truth than she’d first realised. ‘Wouldn’t Father be outraged if he thought you weren’t carrying out his instructions to the letter? You’re playing a dangerous game, Luke.’ She might have said more but wasn’t sure of the facts, although she was now convinced that he was up to something.

  ‘What dangerous game?’ He began to sense that she was fishing, and he had to call her bluff.

  ‘What does it matter?’ she asked evasively. ‘All that really matters is that I’m duty bound to relate all of this to Father.’

  ‘Do that.’ He put on his boldest front. ‘And while we’re at it, I’ll tell him a few home truths about you.’

  ‘Such as?’

  ‘Such as the fact that his grandson is a bastard.’

  It was her turn to suffer. ‘LIAR!’ She sprang from the chair to confront him. In her haste she spilled her drink. ‘You’ve no right to say such a thing! Tony is the boy’s father, and you can’t prove otherwise.’

  ‘Don’t deny it,’ he told her, adding cautiously, ‘Tony is not the father. You know it, and I know it.’ He bent forward and smiled into her face, saying cunningly, ‘Whose is it, I wonder?’ Feigning surprise, he asked in a whisper, ‘Could it be that Johnny Ackroyd is the father?’ He gave a long low whistle. ‘Wouldn’t that make juicy gossip now? Oliver Arnold’s daughter being bedded by a groom, and passing the bastard off as the respectable Tony Hargreaves’s?’ He widened his eyes until they were round and astonished. ‘What! If that was to get about, your devoted husband would turn his back on you like you were so much dirt. And if he was foolish enough to let you wrap him round your little finger, old Mr Hargreaves would pauper the pair of you.’

  She was frantic. ‘It’s not true!’ she yelled, thumping at his chest with clenched fists. ‘Tony is the father.’

  ‘Really?’ He grabbed her wrists, squeezing them so hard that she actually cried out. ‘I suppose that was what you told Father?’

  ‘Because it’s true.’ She was struggling but he wouldn’t let go.

  Suddenly, contemptuously, he threw her backwards into the chair. In a moment he had departed the room, leaving her with the threat: ‘Open your mouth with one bad word against me, and I promise your name will be sullied from one end of Lancashire to the other. You’ll have nothing by the time I’ve finished with you.’

  ‘Bastard!’ she muttered. But his secrets were safe for the while, because she knew he meant every word. If he set his mind to ruining her, he would do it without the slightest compunction.

  Hurrying to the door, she slammed it shut and leaned against it, regaining her composure and letting his threat turn over in her mind. Suddenly, she began laughing. Crossing the room on unsteady footsteps, she went to the dresser where she poured herself a large measure of spirit.

  ‘Cheers, you bastard!’ she said, raising her glass to the door. A second drink, then another, before she slumped in the chair. Dark vengeful thoughts pervaded her mind. Laughter turned to tears. Not because of the shocking scene which had happened here, nor of the awful exchange that had passed between herself and Luke, whom she secretly admired. She was crying for that which she had lost: her freedom, her secret need of a real man. And that man was Johnny.

  Every minute of every day and night he was on her mind. He was on her mind now. And he was in her dreams when her anxious husband came down the stairs to look for her.

  ‘Oh, sweetheart,’ he moaned, taking her sleeping form in his arms and helping her gently to their room. ‘When will I ever understand you?’

  Chapter Eleven

  Cicely swept into the room. ‘It’s a lovely day outside,’ she told Ruby. ‘Oh, I do hope the sun is shining when Luke and I are married.’ She ran to the window and looked out across the lawns to the horizon. It was a warm and glorious day. The sun was high in the heavens, the blue sky was clear, and just outside the windows a robin could be heard trilling a delightful melody. It was 6 June and the day of her wedding was almost upon them.

  ‘It’s going to be all right, Ruby,’ she said, swinging round to stare at the figure bent to her sewing. ‘Luke and I are going to be so happy, I know it.’ Her face grew serious. ‘I really can’t understand why you don’t like him, Ruby,’ she remarked sadly. ‘He’s a fine man, and I love him.’

  ‘He’s devious.’ Ruby kept her gaze on her work. Even when she sensed Cicely’s horror at her words, and even though her mistress was already making her way across the room towards her, she still did not look up.

  All these weeks, ever since Cicely had revealed the date of the wedding, Ruby had tried to dissuade her. She had lost count of the number of times Cicely had threatened her with dismissal, and she was sent from the room in disgrace on more than one occasion. As a punishment, Ruby had been returned below stairs for two days where Cook took great delight in making her suffer. ‘Outta favour, are you?’ she taunted. ‘Serves you right, you little madam!’ It seemed to infuriate her when, far from rising to the cruel jibes, Ruby merely set about her work with new determination. ‘Mark my words, you’ll come unstuck,’ the envious woman predicted with glee. ‘It ain’t natural for a servant to be so friendly with the mistress. Tears’ll come after the laughter, and it’s only a matter o’ time before she sends you on your way.’

  ‘One more word, Ruby, and you’ll drive me to do something I might regret,’ Cicely warned now.

  Her answer was to concentrate intently on her sewing, not even flinching when the needle jabbed her thumb and brought blood. Like her mam had so often said: ‘Know when ter keep yer mouth shut.’ Ruby tried to follow that good advice, but it was hard.

  Lately she had been greatly tempted to betray Luke’s real nature to the love-blinded Cicely. The awful truth had trembled on the tip of her tongue: of how Luke had not denied that Cicely was only the means to an end, and of how he’d deliberately waylaid Ruby in that dark alley. To this day she was convinced that if the dogs had not been there to distract him, he would have forced himself on her. She was under no illusion about what might have happened then; however much she detested him, and even though she would have fought him with all of her strength, she was no match for a man like Luke.

  All of these things she was tempted to tell Cicely, yet she was also deeply reluctant, not least because her mistress would be shocked and hurt to discover the truth. It was a dilemma. If she spoke up, Cicely’s heart would be broken, and if she said nothing, and the wedding went ahead, her heart would no doubt be broken soon enough. Ruby had hoped and prayed that somehow, Cicely might somehow discover these things for herself, and the wedding would be called off. She even entertained ideas that Luke himself might call it off. It was only now, in these final days before the ceremony, that Ruby knew
it would go ahead exactly as he had planned. And she was frantic.

  ‘You’re not to say things like that about him!’ Cicely was trembling with anger. ‘Luke and I are to be married shortly, and I will not have you defaming his character.’ She was standing over Ruby, her small fists clenched by her sides. ‘Why are you so set against him?’ she demanded. ‘Are you jealous? Is that it?’

  Shocked to the core by Cicely’s accusation, Ruby looked up. ‘Jealous?’ she asked incredulously. Placing her sewing on the chair arm, she forced herself to remain calm. ‘Oh, Cicely, you don’t know what you’re saying,’ she murmured fondly. ‘It’s you I’m concerned about. He means to hurt you, I know he does.’ She stood up, her dark blue eyes beseeching as she asked, ‘Please, Cicely. Think hard before you go through with it. He’s using you, and you can’t see it.’

  ‘Oh?’ She gave a small wry laugh. ‘Using me now, is he?’ Her vivid blue eyes were piercing, but as she spoke they were bright with tears. ‘Well, go on then!’ she snapped. ‘You’ve been trying to tell me something these many weeks. You’ve already warned me he’s all kinds of a scoundrel, that he’s bad.’ She demanded in a sarcastic voice that grew louder with every word, ‘So, please, don’t stop there. Tell me the worst. What are these dreadful things he’s supposed to have done? Why is he bad? What makes you say he’s using me? Has he told you that? HAS HE?’

  She paused, seeming surprised by her own wild emotions. She made a sound like a sob, but then she straightened her shoulders and blinked the tears away. When she spoke again, it was in an uncertain voice and her eyes were softer, almost like those of a wounded animal. ‘No, don’t say anything,’ she pleaded. ‘Because, whatever you tell me, it won’t make a scrap of difference to how I feel about him.’ Her gaze momentarily faltered. ‘I love him, do you see?’ Holding her head high, she announced in a proud voice. ‘Luke and I will be married in eight days’ time, and there isn’t a thing you can say that will stop it.’ There was dull pain in her eyes now. She was too proud. Too certain. And somehow too afraid.