Barbara Taylor Bradford - In the Lion’s Den

‘I can’t imagine Sebastian on a ladder with a hammer or a paintbrush. He was far too elegant,’ Connie said. ‘Mind you he was full of surprises, often doing the unexpected.’

As Reggie listened to this brief discussion between Sebastian’s eldest daughter and her husband about Goldenhurst, the relaxed farmhouse that Sebastian had loved so much, it came to him. Reggie suddenly knew what to do, what would shock Alexis to the core. But not yet. The timing had to be right.

He felt himself relaxing, some of the tension of earlier dissipating. Both he and Jane worried about Alexis. What troubled them most was this change in her personality. Once full of charm, she was now often cantankerous.

That had certainly risen to the surface with Falconer. Perhaps it wasn’t hatred for him at all. Two sides to a coin, his grandmother Carpenter often said, pointing out that love and hate went together.

The thought lingered in Reggie’s head all through supper, knowing Alexis the way he did. If she was attracted to Falconer, she would also feel guilty because she had loved Sebastian so much. But Sebastian had now been dead for over a year, and he of all people would have wanted her to start a new life.

We shall see, we shall see, Reggie thought as he sipped the red wine, one of Sebastian’s best. The first thing was to see if Alexis would give up this self-imposed isolation from society and immersion in her grief. It might have suited Queen Victoria, but it was quite the wrong course for a woman like Alexis.

‘Well, that’s that,’ Henry Malvern said, looking across at James. ‘She’s not coming back.’ He held the letter in his hand for a moment longer and then threw it in the grate.

The two men were sitting in front of a blazing fire in the library of Henry Malvern’s house early on Saturday evening. The roads from Kent had been empty and Bolland had made it in excellent time.

It was James who broke the silence when he said, ‘Does she mean never? Or maybe in a few months?’

‘The latter, as ever,’ Henry responded quietly, and then shook his head. ‘But I’m beginning to think she will never come back … that she’s stringing me along. How say you, Falconer?’

‘It’s hard to answer that question, sir. Deep down inside, I believe she will realize she has a responsibility to you. And I know she thinks of Malvern’s as her company. Also, I have a feeling she might eventually get bored sitting in the depths of the Kentish countryside. And as the months pass she might start looking to the future, finally leaving the grief behind.’

‘I hope so, for her sake. What kind of life is it, longing for a dead man?’ He sighed deeply. ‘I thought she had started to recover after her spell in Vienna, that when she visited France with you on my behalf she was ready to return to the company. No one expected her to vanish again. When I wrote today, urgently needing her approval on the Hull plans and her signature, I thought I’d told her enough about the plans for the future, the things we were doing in order to encourage her, to excite her, to push her into coming back … but apparently not.’ Throwing James another questioning glance, he asked, ‘How was Alexis anyway? Did she look well? Was she dowdy or glamorous? Was she alone or did she have guests?’

‘Yes, she did have guests, Mr Malvern. Lord and Lady Carpenter were there and she was expecting Mr and Mrs Glendenning. She didn’t look dowdy, but she certainly wasn’t what I’d call glamorous in her appearance. She had been riding and was dressed in the appropriate habit, still in mourning colours, of course. However, she appeared to be well …’ James paused for a moment, wondering how truthful to be. He decided he was going to tell Mr Malvern exactly what happened.

James announced, ‘I’m afraid she wasn’t particularly happy to see me. She was a bit rude, actually. I let it float over my head, so to speak, and gave her your letter. I waited for her reply and she was glad to see the back of me, I do know that, sir.’

‘I’m sorry she was rude, Falconer. You didn’t deserve such treatment, since you were there at my request. But I’ve noticed those angry moods when she has been here in London. Not like her at all … not as she used to be, I mean.’

‘It’s surprising to me she wasn’t excited about the idea of a new arcade in Hull,’ James volunteered. ‘Building something is always a great venture, even an adventure. I can’t wait for next year, when we start the construction.’

‘Once we’ve found the site,’ Henry reminded him. ‘I hope we’re ready for the trip up there next week, since your cousin William now has a few good sites for us to view.’

‘I’ll write to him, sir, and tell him to expect us next Tuesday or Wednesday. Which day do you prefer?’

‘Tuesday, and if we have to stay on we will, and come back later in the week.’ Henry sighed again and sadness slipped into his eyes. After a moment or two staring into the fire, he said, ‘If Alexis doesn’t want the company, doesn’t want to come and supervise the running of it, even while we’re in Hull, if she can’t do that herself …’ He stopped, seemed to choke up. But he shrugged and finished, ‘I suppose I should think of selling it.’

‘Don’t sell it, Mr Malvern. I feel certain Alexis will come to her senses, be back here sooner than you believe.’

Henry rose and walked across to the drinks table, poured cognac into two balloons and carried them back to the fireside. ‘Here you are, Falconer, a bit of good old Napoleon. I want to make a toast to the new arcade in Hull.’

James was not a big drinker, but he took the brandy balloon and clinked his glass to Mr Malvern’s. ‘To the new Malvern arcade.’

‘In the City of Gaiety,’ Henry added, and took a swallow of the brandy. ‘And to all of our other projects,’ he added.

James smiled, took a sip of the drink and felt a slight burning in the back of his throat. ‘I suppose you are going to spend what’s left of tonight with your parents,’ Henry murmured, cutting into James’s thoughts.

‘Yes, I am, sir, when I leave here. I enjoy being at home with my family.’

A fleeting smile crossed Henry’s face and was gone. ‘I wish I could say the same,’ he said in a wistful voice. ‘Anyway, Bolland will drive you to Camden Town.’

Paying attention to him and listening to him carefully, James felt a sudden twinge of sadness for Henry Malvern, who was undoubtedly rather lonely. And then it turned into a surge of genuine anger about Alexis, who was being unkind to her father, strange in her behaviour towards him. It was as if she were unaware of his existence these days.

Finally he said, ‘Thank you for offering the carriage, sir. I’m grateful for your kindness.’

Although he arrived late, Rossi was so happy to see her brother, she hugged him tightly for a good few minutes, before standing away and staring at him. ‘You get better and better,’ she said, laughing, holding onto his arm. ‘You look like … a shiny new penny, James Lionel Falconer, and I’m proud to be your sister.’