Джеффри Арчер - This Was a Man

Another twenty minutes passed before Cook reappeared and scurried back downstairs. Virginia could only wonder what had taken them so long, unless they’d been discussing the menu for the reception, a responsibility she had rather assumed the duke would leave to her.

Virginia was distracted by a loud knock on the front door, but before she could answer it, Lomax appeared and opened the door.

‘Good afternoon, Dr Ainsley,’ he said. ‘His grace is expecting you.’

As they crossed the hall, Moxton came out of the study, shook hands with Dr Ainsley and quickly left the house. Although he couldn’t have missed Virginia standing in the doorway of the drawing room, he made no attempt to acknowledge her. She would get rid of him as soon as the duke returned to his regiment.

Virginia was pleased to see Alice coming down the stairs and hurried out of the drawing room to join her. ‘Shall we go and see your brother?’ she said, without waiting for a reply. ‘I know he’s been looking forward to seeing you,’ she added as she opened the study door and entered without knocking. Once again both men rose.

‘Alice has just come down and I remembered you wanted to see her immediately.’

‘Of course,’ said Clarence, giving his sister a hug. ‘It’s wonderful to see you, my dear.’

‘I thought we might all have tea together in the drawing room.’

‘That’s very thoughtful of you, Virginia,’ said Clarence, ‘but I’d like a few moments alone with my sister, if you don’t mind.’

Alice looked surprised by her brother’s waspish tone of voice, and Virginia hesitated for a moment before she said, ‘Yes, of course,’ and retreated to the drawing room. This time Montgomery didn’t even raise his head.

Dr Ainsley came out of the study twenty minutes later, and also departed without making any effort to pay his respects to the grieving widow. Virginia waited patiently for the duke to summon her to the study, but no such call came, and when a maid, whose name she could never remember, began to turn on the lights all over the house, she decided it was time to change for dinner. She had just stepped out of the bath when she heard a car coming down the drive. She went over to the window and peered out to see Camilla and her family being greeted by Clarence. She dressed quickly, and when she opened her bedroom door a few minutes later she saw the butler and the two children heading towards the corner suite, which she hadn’t allocated to them.

‘Where is your mother?’ asked Virginia.

The children swung round, but it was Lomax who responded. ‘His grace asked Lady Camilla and her husband to join him in the study and requested that they should not be disturbed.’

Virginia closed the door behind her. She had never known Lomax to address her in that offhand manner. She tried to concentrate on her make-up, but couldn’t help wondering what they were discussing in the duke’s old study. She assumed all would be revealed over dinner.

Half an hour later, Virginia walked slowly down the wide staircase, across the hall and into the drawing room, only to find nobody else was there. She sat and waited, but no one joined her. When the gong was struck at eight o’clock, she made her way through to the dining room, to find the table had been laid for one.

‘Where are the rest of the family?’ she demanded when Lomax appeared carrying a small tureen of soup.

‘His grace, Lady Camilla and Lady Alice are having a light supper in the library,’ he said without further explanation.

Virginia shivered, although the fire was crackling in the hearth. ‘And the children?’

‘They have already eaten, and as they were tired following their long journey they went straight to bed.’

A feeling of foreboding gripped her and she tried to convince herself that there was nothing to worry about, but without a great deal of conviction. She waited until the clock in the hall struck nine before leaving the dining room and making her way slowly upstairs to her room. She undressed and went to bed, but she didn’t sleep. She had never felt more alone.

Virginia was relieved when Clarence and Alice joined her for breakfast the following morning, only to find that the conversation was stilted and formal as if she were a stranger in her own home.

‘I’ve almost completed the order of service,’ volunteered Virginia, ‘and I thought perhaps—’

‘No need to waste any more of your time on that,’ interrupted Clarence. ‘I have an appointment with the bishop at ten this morning, and he told me he agreed all the details of the ceremony with my father some time ago.’

‘And does he agree with me that Thursday—’

‘No,’ said Clarence equally firmly. ‘He recommends Friday, which will be more convenient for my father’s friends who will be travelling up from London.’

Virginia hesitated before saying, ‘And the guest list, would you like to see my recommendations?’

‘We settled on the final list last night,’ said Alice. ‘But if there are one or two names you’d like to be added, do let me know.’

‘Isn’t there anything I can do to help?’ asked Virginia, trying not to sound desperate.

‘No, thank you,’ said Clarence. ‘You’ve done quite enough already.’ He folded his napkin and rose from his place. ‘Please excuse me. I don’t want to be late for the bishop.’ He left without another word.

‘And I ought to be getting on,’ said Alice. ‘I’ve rather a lot to do if everything is to be in place by Friday.’

After breakfast, Virginia took a stroll around the grounds as she tried to fathom what had caused such a sudden change of attitude. She derived some comfort from the fact that she still had the Dower House, five thousand pounds a month, and two Ming vases that Li Wong had confirmed were worth at least a million. Her smile disappeared when she saw Camilla and her husband coming out of the estate manager’s office.

Virginia had lunch on her own, and decided to go into town and buy some new clothes, as she intended to shed her widow’s weeds the moment they had all departed. When she got back to the castle that evening, there was light coming from under the study door, and she thought she could hear Camilla’s strident voice.

Virginia had supper alone in her room, one thought continually returning to her mind. She was beginning to wish Perry was still alive.

St Albans Abbey was already packed by the time Virginia made her entrance. The senior usher accompanied the dowager duchess down the aisle to a place in the second row. She didn’t feel able to protest while a thousand eyes were on her.

As the first chimes of eleven sounded on the cathedral clock, the organ struck up and the congregation rose as one. The coffin, draped in decorations and honours, processed slowly down the aisle, borne on the shoulders of six Coldstream Guards, followed by the immediate family. Once it had been placed on the bier in the chancery, the duke, his two sisters and the grandchildren took their places in the front row. They didn’t look back.

The service was a blur to Virginia, who was still trying to work out why they were sending her to Coventry. During the burial ceremony, held in the grounds of the cathedral, she was only allowed to step forward and cast a spadeful of earth on to the coffin before she got back in line. Once the family and a few close friends had left the graveside, she had to cadge a lift back to the castle with Percy, the duke’s uncle, who accepted her explanation that there must have been an oversight, but then they’ve all been under a great deal of pressure.

During the reception, Virginia mingled with the guests, many of whom were kind and offered words of sympathy, while others turned away the moment she approached them. However, the greatest slight was saved until after the last guest had departed, when Clarence spoke to her for the first time that day.