The House (Armstrong House Series Book 1)

by A. O'Connor

  “Oh dear. I have told you so often – in my experience the worst marriages are the ones where love is involved. Clara, all that’s left of the Armstrongs is a huge crumbling house, a small farm, a cold man and an odd sister!”

  “Pierce isn’t cold. He’s just reserved,” defended Clara. “And we don’t know his sister Prudence, so it’s unkind to speak of her in that way.”

  “But Clara, have you thought this through?” pleaded her mother. “You’ll be leaving London. Leaving your family and all your many friends to go and live in the countryside of Ireland. There will be no stores, no theatres, no restaurants, no Claridge’s!”

  “From what I hear the house is beautiful, the countryside breathtaking and the local town Castlewest will provide everything I need. And Dublin isn’t that far away, and you’ve always said it’s a fine city, the second city of the empire.”

  “Second city of the empire for now, but for how long!” interjected her father. “Darling Clara, the situation in Ireland is unstable to say least. It looks like they will get their own parliament in Dublin. But this might cause a war with the northerners who don’t want it. You haven’t thought this through. Ireland is changing rapidly, and the Armstrongs’ days of being a powerful family could be numbered. You would be in a vulnerable position.”

  “Nonsense, if Dublin gets its parliament, it will be a peaceful parliament and run by families just like the Armstrongs. Families like the Armstrongs have always run Ireland and they always will, that’s what Pierce says.”

  “He would say that, of course, being part of the gentry,” dismissed her father.

  “There’s no talking to her,” sighed her grandmother. “She’s made her mind up. I suppose at least she’s gets the title. Lady Armstrong,” she sighed.

  45

  The wedding was to be in the Dorchester, and Clara, her mother and grandmother set about its organisation with military precision.

  “There are really only six hundred families in society in London, so concentrate on having as many representatives from those as possible,” advised her grandmother one afternoon in the drawing room with Clara and her mother.

  Pierce was there as well, sitting in an armchair in the corner reading the newspaper.

  “Whether we know them or not?” queried her mother.

  “Well, if we don’t, it will be an excellent opportunity to get to know them!” said Louisa.

  Clara was sitting at a desk making lists of names.

  “But that will be too many,” she said. “There are all our relatives as well, not to mention Pierce’s Irish set.”

  “Your father has insisted that no expense is spared, Clara, so don’t fret about numbers,” said her mother.

  Pierce gently looked up, his interest piqued.

  “And then there are all my friends,” said Clara.

  Milly looked at Pierce. “Though you have many relatives, Pierce, your immediate family is just your sister, am I correct?”

  “That is correct, Mrs Charter.”

  “And when will she be coming over?” asked Clara. “The week before?”

  “I imagine she’ll arrive the morning of the wedding,” said Pierce.

  “The morning!” Clara was shocked.

  “Well, I imagine she can only spare a day or two away from the farm. Who’s going to look after it in her absence?”

  Her grandmother stared at Pierce. “This sister assists in running your farm? Most extraordinary!”

  “I can’t wait to meet her,” smiled Clara, who returned to making her list of names. She suddenly looked up. “I wonder – I wonder, Pierce . . . ?”

  “What is it Clara? Spit it out,” said Pierce irritably.

  “I’d like to invite Cosmo, Pierce. Would that be intolerable for you?”

  Pierce smirked at her. “Not in the least. In fact, I insist on his being at our wedding.”

  Finally the wedding day arrived, and with nothing left to chance by the Charter family it passed off smoothly. It was only when Clara was at the top of the church and heard Pierce say “I do” that she felt her breathing return to normal. It was as if over the past months she was terrified he would break off the engagement, have second thoughts, maybe even not show up on the day. For although they were committed to each other, and her whole being was wrapped around him, she had the strangest feeling that she’d never really had him. She felt she never really had his attention. He seemed distracted. And that almost made her panic. So as she walked down the aisle on his arm, she felt incredible relief and was the happiest girl in the world.

  Then, as she smiled broadly and kissed the swarms of guests congratulating her on the steps of the church, Pierce suddenly presented a woman to her.

  “Clara, this is my sister Prudence.”

  Clara felt a shock at seeing the woman in front of her. She had expected Pierce’s sister to be a raving beauty, a female mirror of Pierce’s looks. Prudence looked nothing like her brother. She looked much older than him, strong-looking and dressed in a slightly dowdy fashion.

  “I’m so glad to meet you!” She embraced Prudence and kissed her on the cheek. “Pierce has told me all about you!” This wasn’t true, as Pierce had barely mentioned her. “I just know we’re going to be the best of friends.”

  “Of course,” Prudence smiled back.

  The day seemed to last an eternity, and there were so many people for Clara to talk to and greet at the Dorchester.

  “Has anyone seen Pierce?” her father asked.

  Clara had been so distracted by everyone she’d hardly noticed that Pierce was missing. He had disappeared after dinner and she hadn’t seen him since.

  “He’s mingling and there are so many people here, it’s hard to spot him,” said Clara as her eyes scanned the room, searching for him.

  She sought out Cosmo and found him sitting in a corner. She sat down beside him.

  “Poor Cosmo!” She pushed the hair back from his forehead. “Can you ever forgive me?”

  He managed a smile at her. “I could never be angry with you, Clara. I just hope you’ve made the right decision.”

  “I have.”

  “Look after yourself, Clara, over there, with him . . . If you ever need somebody, I’ll always be here for you.”

  She smiled at him, reached forward and kissed his cheek.

  46

  The train hugged the coastline as it chuffed along the Riviera. Clara was sitting opposite Pierce in their compartment.

  “I think the seating at the wedding was perfect,” said Clara. “All that work paid off. Even my grandmother said it went off without a hitch.”

  “Hmmm.” Pierce continued to gaze out at the blue sea through the window.

  “I must write to the Dorchester immediately and compliment them on the service.”

  “Indeed.”

  “And the flowers! They were so –”

  “Clara!” interrupted Pierce, turning his eyes from the window to his wife. “Are you going to prattle on about that wedding for the whole honeymoon? I can’t enjoy the scenery from the constant commentary. If you insist on continuing, I’ll have to go into the next compartment.”

  Clara sat back and smiled, embarrassed. “I’m sorry, Pierce. I’m going on about it a bit. I’m just very happy it went as well as it did.”

  “I think we have well and truly established that fact. Now could we move on?” And he returned to gazing out the window.

  “I’m sorry, of course . . . A full week in Monte Carlo to relax. I’m going to enjoy it.”

  “You might as well – after all, your father is paying for it.”

  Clara and Pierce were staying at the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo. They booked in and were shown to their suite.

  Clara looked out the window towards the sea. “Oh, I can’t wait to explore!” she said. “Will we go for a walk along the sea and up to the palace?”

  Pierce was in the bathroom inspecting the hot water flowing from the taps.

  “Pierce?”

&nbs
p; “We were hoping to get new plumbing into the house as good as this,” said Pierce. He sighed and turned off the taps. “Not much chance of that now.”

  “Why?” asked Clara.

  Pierce ignored her question as he came out of the bathroom, put on his jacket and headed to the door.

  “Wait a minute, Pierce, I want to change my clothes before we set off!”

  “Set off where?”

  “Walking to the palace, as I was saying.”

  “You can set off walking to the palace if you wish. I am going to the casino.”

  “The casino? But why?”

  “To gamble, of course, what else is there to do in Monaco? I’ll see you for dinner this evening.” Pierce walked out of the room, closing the door after him.

  Clara spent the rest of the day strolling along the seafront by herself.

  That evening they ate at the restaurant in the Hotel de Paris.

  “Did you enjoy the casino?” questioned Clara.

  “Amazing building. Had a good game of roulette.”

  “Did you win?”

  “Of course.”

  “What would you like to do tomorrow?” she asked, not wanting to push him in to doing something he might not enjoy.

  “I haven’t decided yet,” said Pierce.

  After breakfast the following morning, they returned to their room.

  “I’m just going out for a stroll. Shouldn’t be too long,” said Pierce as he headed towards the door.

  “Wait – I’ll come with you.”

  He yawned. “No need, I’m going for a brisk walk and you’ll only slow me down. We’ll do something when I get back.” He left the room.

  Clara sat down on the couch in the room. She had hoped he would be a little more excited about the start of married life with her. A little more inclusive of her. But he was the opposite of her. He didn’t get excited about things. He remained cool and in control. And she had been twittering on about the wedding non-stop from London. No wonder he was bored listening to it by now.

  By nine o’clock that night she stood at the window of their room looking out at Monte Carlo twinkling under the night sky. Pierce had not returned and she was beginning to feel worried. When he hadn’t returned by afternoon, she went out walking by herself. There was no sign of him on her return to their suite.

  She left the room and took the lift down to the ground floor. She walked through the marbled foyer and into the bar to see if he was there, and then on to the restaurant. But there was still no sign of him.

  She went to the reception.

  “Good evening, Lady Armstrong, can I be of assistance?” asked the receptionist.

  “Yes – has Lord Armstrong left a message for me here?”

  “One moment, and I will check,” he said.

  Clara waited anxiously.

  “No message from Lord Armstrong,” he said on his return.

  “I see, thank you.” She turned and walked across the hall slowly to return to their room and wait for Pierce.

  She sat at the open window waiting nervously until midnight came and went. Finally, at three in the morning, exhausted, she lay on the bed and drifted off to sleep immediately.

  When she woke the next morning, she fully expected to find Pierce there, with some excuse that would make sense of his disappearance. But as she checked the suite, it was apparent he had not returned all night. Full of anxiety, she quickly bathed and dressed and hurried downstairs, praying she would find him in the foyer or restaurant.

  But he was nowhere to be found in the hotel.

  Monte Carlo was small and so it would surely to be easy to find him, she reasoned.

  She walked across the square outside the Hotel de Paris and up the steps into the casino. She walked across the giant hallway and, after checking through the massive building for him, made enquiries at the reception.

  “Lord Armstrong was here the day before last, but has not returned,” said the manager.

  Clara spent the rest of the day visiting every restaurant, bar, hotel and the hospital searching for her husband but in vain.

  As she returned to the hotel that evening, panic set in.

  She could hardly sleep that night from worry. She didn’t know what to do.

  She couldn’t ring home and ask her family for help. They would be horrified that the groom had gone missing on his honeymoon. She couldn’t contact any of her friends as it would cause a scandal.

  Pierce couldn’t have had an accident because the place was so small she would have been notified immediately. Unless he had taken a boat and gone out sailing, and had a sailing accident, she suddenly thought, causing her to have a blind panic.

  The following morning she dashed down to the harbour and checked with all the boat-hire companies. But no man of his description had rented a boat, and none of the boats was missing. As she wearily returned to the hotel, she felt completely vulnerable and alone.

  She hurried to the suite, hope rising again in her breast. But Pierce had not returned. She braced herself and lifted the phone. Her whole life had been one of protection and comfort, she had never had a moment’s discomfort, let alone the sheer terror she was now experiencing. She imagined the headlines in the British papers: Earl Missing on Riviera Honeymoon.

  She dialled reception and her voice was shaking as she spoke. “Could you fetch the police for me, please?”

  Clara sat on the couch in her room as the police viewed her suspiciously.

  “So what you are saying, Lady Armstrong, is that your husband went for walk in the morning three days ago, and you have not seen him since?”

  “That’s right.”

  “And why did you not contact us before?”

  “I – I didn’t want to anger him if he showed up.”

  “Anger him? So you had an argument?”

  “No, of course not. We’d gone out to the dinner the previous night –”

  “The first night of your honeymoon?”

  “Yes.”

  “And he went missing the next day?”

  “Well, that’s why I think he’s had an accident, went climbing, perhaps fallen –”

  “Did he say he was going climbing?”

  “No.”

  “Was he dressed to go climbing?”

  “No – but – I’m just trying to think of every possibility.” Clara stood up and started to pace frantically.

  At that moment the door opened and Pierce walked in, looking causal and nonchalant.

  Pierce looked at the two policemen. “Hello there – is there a problem?”

  Clara stared at him in disbelief then sat down quickly, a sudden migraine overcoming her.

  Clara was lying on the bed in the hotel room. She could hear Pierce’s voice in the distance as he talked to the policemen.

  “It’s all just a silly misunderstanding. I decided to hire a car and go for a drive into Italy. I was distracted by the scenery and ended up going much further than I intended. I got completely lost in an isolated hilly area. Next thing the car breaks down and I’m stranded in this backwater village with no phone, no transport, no nothing. It took them all this time to find a mechanic and fix the damned car.”

  “Perhaps it’s not advisable to go off without telling your wife for the rest of your stay here,” said one of the policemen.

  “Perhaps you’re right,” agreed Pierce and gave a little laugh. “So, sorry for wasting your time.”

  He showed them to the door and then turned to look at Clara who was stretched out on the bed.

  He came and sat down beside her.

  She sat up and hugged him tightly, crying. “I was so worried! I thought you were dead!”

  “No, alive and well, I’m delighted to say. There was nothing I could do – stranded, you see.”

  She pulled back and glared at him accusingly. “But you should have told me you were driving into Italy.”

  “Hindsight is a great thing. I thought you’d be all right.” He smiled at her. “I didn’t reali
se you were such a worrier. I’m used to dealing with women like my sister Prudence, you see. The world could come crashing down and it wouldn’t knock a feather off good old Pru – she would still manage to have her gin and tonic at the normal time.”

  She hugged him tightly. “I’m just glad you’re back.”

  47

  From the train window Clara studied the beautiful landscapes of her new country, getting more excited with every mile as they neared her new home.

  “Are you excited about arriving home?” she asked.

  “Not particularly,” answered Pierce.

  It was a lovely May morning as the train pulled into the station in Castlewest.

  “Here we are,” said Pierce, standing up and taking hold of their hand-luggage. They climbed down onto the platform.