Barbara Cleverly - The Blood Royal

He was pleased with the startled look he’d provoked. He enjoyed startling the constable.

‘Joe! At last. We’d almost given up on you. And you bring us your colleague. Boys! Come and meet the young lady I’ve been telling you about, the one who’s helping Joe with our problems.’

Sandilands walked into the sitting room, tugging Lily along with him. He released her in order to go and have his hands squeezed by Cassandra Dedham, who rustled over in pearl grey silk, clinking jet and a waft of Mitsouko to kiss him on each cheek in the continental fashion. An anxious appraisal told him that the widow was looking surprisingly bobbish.

The two boys looked on for a moment, tender and amused. Then, the older one in the lead, they advanced on Lily.

‘We’ll introduce ourselves, miss,’ he said. ‘Once Mama gets Commander Sandilands in her sights she loses track of mere mortals like us! We shall have to entertain ourselves. I’m John and may I present my brother William, though we call him Billy.’

‘No, we jolly well don’t! Not now I’m fourteen!’ came the mock rebuke.

Joe listened until he heard Lily making sociable noises and beginning to chatter with the boys and he decided it was safe to come off watch. His assistant had been struck by a fit of unaccustomed shyness as they entered the room and had nearly bolted. But, now, smiling with these two, she appeared calm again. And she was in safe hands. They had impeccable manners, the pair of them. And, in their different ways, they were thoroughly nice chaps. A credit to Cassandra’s upbringing. The admiral seemed never to have quite managed to ruin their lives, thanks largely to his prolonged absences at sea, Joe reckoned. Out of the corner of his eye, he was pleased to see them reacting in a coltish way to the easy laugh and big eyes of a pretty girl.

And why not? With her yellow frock and shock of yellow hair, Lily looked like a sunflower in the gloomy room, he thought. She raised the spirits. John, serious and competent at seventeen, was a good head taller than Lily, Billy on eye level. Joe checked covertly for signs of distress in the sons and saw none. In fact Billy, he would have said, was a little over-excited for a Sunday teatime, and so soon after his father’s death. He was talking loudly, even laughing with Lily.

Cassandra caught his concern. ‘Goodness. The little ones will be asking permission to play with their marbles on the carpet next,’ she said indulgently. ‘I’ve just sent Sebastian to organize a pot of fresh tea. On Sundays we mostly do our own fetching and carrying. There’s only Eva left scurrying around. Darjeeling suit?’ Cassandra broke off to perform her duties. ‘There are still lots of sandwiches left and we haven’t set about the cake yet. I sent out for your favourite, Joe — a Fuller’s walnut. Ah, here’s the tea.’

The door was opened by a flustered Eva who stepped aside to make way for a gentleman dressed in mourning and carrying a heavy tray.

‘Company,’ the stranger said cheerily. ‘Thank you, Eva. Now do stand clear and don’t fuss me. That’ll be all, my dear. We’ll wait on ourselves now — you and Cook can put your feet up,’ he said.

Eva smiled, cast him a shy glance and bobbed her way out.

Joe froze as Sebastian Marland ran an assessing eye over the distance to the nearest table, made his calculation, and set off across the Afghan rug. Always a tricky decision: whether to dash forward and snatch the tray from his hands or studiously ignore the disability. Taking his cue from Cassandra, who was nonchalantly busying herself clearing a space, Joe stayed put.

Sebastian Marland touched down safely and turned to greet Sandilands. ‘Commander. Good to see you again. Though I could wish it were in different circumstances.’

Joe nodded and smiled with equal pleasure. ‘Captain. Gloomy time for you all … May I-’

‘No need for all that. Commiserations taken as understood.’

Sandilands began to relax into the familiar exchange of military brevity. You knew where you were with Marland.

Open and brisk, the young host came straight to the point. ‘And thank you for all you’ve done, Commander. Cassandra’s a lucky woman to have you in her corner — and I’ve said as much. But I see you bring an accomplice?’ An enquiring eye sought out Lily.

‘You’ve found exactly the right word.’ Joe smiled. ‘Miss Wentworth is, indeed, my partner in crime. Let me introduce you to her. Lily, this is Sebastian Marland, Admiral Dedham’s nephew.’

Marland shook Lily’s hand and murmured a welcome. Joe was intrigued to witness the instant effect of warm eyes and a sincere voice. He observed flirtatious smiles and batting of eyelashes. And Wentworth didn’t appear unmoved either. Joe grinned. But Marland’s attention was quickly drawn back to Cassandra, who was beginning to fuss and call everyone to the table. ‘No, no. Sit down, my dear, and I’ll pour out. That full pot’s a sight too heavy,’ he said. ‘John, come and make yourself useful. Grab a cutlass and section up this cake, will you? And don’t mangle the walnuts.’

‘Sebastian is rather more than nephew now, Joe,’ Cassandra began quietly, watching the steady hands at work with the tea things. ‘When Oliver’s will was read, we discovered that-’

‘Oh, come now, Cassandra, Sandilands knows the contents. If he’s any good at his job, he’ll have known before we did!’ A disarming grin was directed at the commander. ‘But Miss Wentworth may be unaware? The thing is, Lily … I may call you Lily? … I was appointed joint guardian of the boys until their majority, along with their mother, of course. With immediate effect.’

Joe nodded his understanding and approval of the situation. Sebastian was far too young to exert paternal authority but he was a man any boy could look up to and he had a sound head on his shoulders.

‘And, being a working man — a businessman of sorts — I shall interest myself in the family’s affairs in an active way,’ Marland went on. ‘A few changes to be made-’

‘And one of them made already!’ Billy sang out happily. ‘I’m going to tell the commander my good news. Sir! Cousin Seb says I needn’t go back to that frightful hole when term starts. He’s sending in my papers or whatever nonsense you have to do to break out of there. He can do it! He just has to sign something. I’ve served my last day at naval college!’

Cassandra exclaimed and pressed a handkerchief over her mouth. Huge eyes appealed to Joe for understanding.

‘I say, steady on, old man! It’s surely a bit premature to be thinking about unpicking the admiral’s arrangements …’ Joe began to murmur, but was firmly interrupted by Marland.

‘ Au contraire! Not a moment too soon. One more term of bullying and beatings and they risk breaking the boy’s spirit. They’ve already broken his hide. The lad’s cut raw by the last effort to make him like the Navy. It won’t do. He has his mother’s sensitive nature. And he’s not a born sailor like his brother.’

Everyone in the room turned to look at the born sailor. John, blushing at the attention, defiantly put an arm along his brother’s shoulder. ‘We can’t all be a Nelson. I’m not, never will be. But I love the Navy.’ He spoke in sharp phrases, clearly embarrassed by William’s outburst and directing his remarks to Joe. ‘It’s a tough system, sir, but I agree with Cousin Seb — I must survive it and try to change the things I don’t like. And I can survive because I love the life. Billy can’t because he doesn’t. Could never … I mean …’

Cassandra, sniffing and exclaiming, hurried across the room to clasp both of her boys to her bosom. They stood, arms at their sides, enduring the show of affection for a count of ten.