The Mistletoe Seller

by Dilly Court

  ‘Hector. I …’ she swallowed convulsively. ‘What a lovely surprise.’

  The tension in the room eased and suddenly everyone was talking at once. Hector pulled up a chair. ‘Sit down, Angel. You really do look done in.’ He turned to Lil, who had picked up the kettle and was filling the teapot. ‘A tot of brandy might help.’

  Baines rose to his feet. ‘I’ll fetch the bottle, Captain.’ He disappeared into the scullery.

  ‘Crafty old devil,’ Cook said crossly. ‘He hides it in a different place every time he takes a nip. You’d think he didn’t trust us.’

  ‘I don’t, and that’s the truth.’ Baines emerged from the scullery with a bottle clutched in his fist. ‘I mark the level so I know if anyone’s been tippling. I paid for this meself, so don’t look daggers at me, Eudora Jones. You might have been queen of the Grantley kitchen, but you’re a guest here, and don’t forget it.’ He drew out the cork and placed the brandy on the table. ‘You can help yourself, of course, Captain.’

  Recovering from her shock, Angel smiled. ‘Nothing changes, but it is good to have you home, Hector. How did you know we were here and not at Grantley?’

  ‘I disembarked from the troop ship this morning, and I stopped off to leave Uncle Dolph’s campaign trunk with Baines.’ He poured a measure of brandy and handed it to him. ‘The colonel was buried with full military honours.’

  ‘I wouldn’t expect anything less, Captain.’ Baines raised his glass in a toast before tossing back his drink. ‘It’s getting late so I’ll take the dogs out, if you’ll excuse me, Captain.’ He stood up and the dogs raised themselves from the floor, eyeing him expectantly. At a single command they followed him out of the room.

  ‘So you understand the reasons for our being here,’ Angel said slowly. ‘You know, of course, that we’re in real danger of losing Grantley.’

  Hector nodded. ‘I would have come home sooner had it been possible, but I’m here now and things are going to change.’

  ‘Galloway is an even bigger crook than we thought, Hector,’ Angel said urgently. ‘You’ll hardly believe it when I tell you the full extent of his wickedness, and it was his intention to ruin my life.’

  ‘I hope they hang the old bastard.’ Lil shot a wary look in Cook’s direction. ‘And I ain’t apologising for me language.’

  Cook tossed her head. ‘I don’t normally condone the use of bad words, but in this case I think you may be forgiven.’

  Hector’s lips twitched as he exchanged amused glances with Angel. ‘I think we all share your dislike of the man, Miss Heavitree.’

  ‘If you could bring yourself to call me Lil, it would please me greatly, Captain.’ Lil gazed at him expectantly. ‘It really would.’

  ‘Well then, Lil, it would be my pleasure. I know how important you are to Angel.’ Hector turned to Cook with an apologetic smile. ‘You, too, Cook. But then you’ve been part of the family ever since I can remember.’

  ‘You used to love my chocolate cake, Captain. If I can get to grips with this old-fashioned lump of rust that Baines uses to heat his food, I’ll make one especially for you.’

  ‘I look forward to it,’ Hector said, smiling. ‘We will get Grantley back, I promise, and tomorrow I’m going to visit Quelch, who was my father’s solicitor and senior partner in the firm until he retired. He would be furious if he knew what Galloway had been doing since he took over, but he won’t get away with it for much longer. I’m home now and I can’t wait to get my hands on that gentleman.’ He added a dash of brandy to Angel’s tea and passed it to her. ‘This should help. You can tell me everything when you’re rested.’

  ‘That’s all very well, Captain, but I want to know where she’s been all day,’ Lil said firmly. ‘Anything could have happened to you, my girl.’

  ‘There’ll be time for explanations in the morning.’ Hector laid his hand on Angel’s shoulder. ‘A good night’s sleep is what you need, and then you can tell me everything.’

  His kindness and understanding brought tears to Angel’s eyes and her delight at seeing him again, combined with the effects of the brandy, was making it difficult to maintain her composure. ‘You don’t have to worry about Galloway – he’s been arrested.’ The words came flooding out before she could stop herself.

  ‘Why?’ Hector demanded. ‘How did that happen?’

  ‘It’s a long story. I’ll explain in the morning, but I can tell you that he’ll be up before Sir Eugene tomorrow, and then he’ll be sent to the Assizes, that’s what Danny said.’

  ‘Danny?’ Hector’s slanting eyebrows snapped together over the bridge of his aquiline nose. ‘Who is Danny?’

  Angel sighed. She was not feeling up to a cross-examination. ‘You know who Danny is. His father, Joe Wicks, helped me when I was living on the streets. You’ve heard me talk about them many times in the past.’

  ‘Are you still seeing that fellow?’ Hector said sharply. ‘I thought you’d grown out of your fascination with market traders.’

  Stung by the unfairness of his comment and the harsh tone of his voice, Angel stood up, swaying unsteadily on her feet. ‘I was one of them, Hector, or have you forgotten? I am a common flower seller, as your mother and Susannah never fail to remind me.’ She could have chosen that moment to tell him that she was a Montgomerie, and their pedigree was equal to, or even more illustrious than that of the Devanes, but she had her pride.

  ‘I’m sorry, Angel,’ Hector reached out to take her hand, but she snatched it away.

  ‘So you should be. We were raised as brother and sister, and you knew everything about my past, so why throw it in my face now?’

  Lil and Cook exchanged worried glances. ‘You’re overtired, love,’ Lil said hurriedly. ‘I’ll fill a stone bottle with hot water and bring it up to your room. Why don’t you go to bed and get some rest? Captain Hector will be here in the morning.’

  ‘I’m not a baby, Lil. Thank you, but I don’t need cosseting, but I am tired so I’ll say good night.’ Angel nodded in Hector’s direction and hurried from the room, managing to hold back the tears until she had closed the door and turned the key in the lock.

  She was awakened by the sound of someone tapping gently on her door. At first she thought it was part of the dream she had been having, but then the urgency increased and she sat up in bed, brushing her tumbled curls back from her forehead. ‘Come in.’

  The door opened and to her horror it was Hector who strode into the room. ‘I’m sorry if I woke you, Angel, but I have to go out and I wanted to speak to you in private.’

  She pulled the coverlet up to her chin. ‘What is so important that it can’t wait until I’m up and dressed? And why are you in uniform?’

  ‘We got off on the wrong foot last evening. It was my fault and I apologise for being boorish, but I was tired and shocked to see you looking so ill. Am I forgiven?’

  ‘I suppose so. I’d had a very bad day, and I was surprised to see you.’

  Hector perched on the edge of the bed. ‘You look like you did when you first came to Grantley,’ he said, smiling. ‘You were ready to take on anybody who challenged your right to be there, and you looked daggers at me, just as you’re looking now.’

  His smile disarmed her completely and the anger she had felt the previous evening disappeared like morning mist. ‘You were very unfair to Danny. He went out of his way to help me.’ She shuddered at the memory of Galloway’s leering face. ‘You have no idea what I went through yesterday.’

  ‘No, but Lil told me that Galloway had been making a nuisance of himself.’

  ‘You could say that, but he really overstepped the mark yesterday.’

  ‘Then tell me, Angel. Tell me everything and then I’ll give you my news.’

  She leaned forward, modesty forgotten as the bedcovers slipped to reveal her white cambric nightgown, trimmed with broderie anglaise. ‘You first. You can’t leave me in suspense.’

  ‘All right, you win, as always.’ He reached out to clasp her hand. ‘When Uncle
Dolph was on his deathbed he wrote a will that cancels out the one held by his solicitor. He left Grantley to me in its entirety, but he bequeathed this house to you.’

  Angel snatched her hand away. ‘Are you serious?’

  ‘Never more so. He was very fond of you, and I think he saw more of what went on at home than he let on. He wanted you to be independent and that’s why he bequeathed this house to you and you alone.’

  ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘I have the will in my pocket and I’ll make certain it goes to probate as soon as possible.’

  ‘The family will contest it,’ Angel said guardedly. ‘They won’t be happy.’

  ‘Mama and Susannah always have something to say about everything, but they’ll come round eventually. As to my brothers, they wouldn’t want to be saddled with this old place. They both love the country and I’m sure they would be happy to spend the rest of their lives at Grantley.’

  ‘But, Hector, you’re in very real danger of losing your home. I thought you understood that. Unless you can pay off Uncle Dolph’s creditors, you’ll lose Grantley for ever.’

  ‘I do know that, and that’s why my second mission this morning is to go to the solicitors and find out exactly what has gone wrong. I want to know why Galloway was allowed to rob his clients, and I’m going to put a stop to his antics for ever. I’ll do whatever I have to do, Angel, but Grantley stays in the family.’

  ‘I hope you’re right, but at least Galloway is under lock and key. That must make things easier. But what is your first mission? It’s nothing good, judging by the look on your face.’

  ‘I’m going to The London Hospital to visit Rupert. He was thrown from his horse and badly injured. It’s doubtful if he’ll ever walk again.’

  ‘Oh, no. How awful. Is Dolly with him?’

  ‘We all came home on the Orontes. Dolly nursed him devotedly during the voyage, and she’s with him now. I want to make sure they’re both being looked after and have everything they need.’

  Forgetting everything other than the desire to help and support her friends, Angel threw back the covers and swung her legs over the side of the bed. ‘Go downstairs and wait for me, Hector. I’ll be ready in two shakes of a lamb’s tail. I’m coming with you.’

  He took one look at her set expression and rose to his feet. ‘All right, I’m going. But be quick. I have a lot to accomplish today, and then I’m going to Grantley to open up the house. We’re not finished yet, and you still haven’t told me everything.’

  Angel pushed him towards the door. ‘I’ll tell you in the cab on the way to the hospital. Now go, please, and let me get dressed.’

  Rupert was in a side ward with Dolly seated at his bedside. Her ashen face flushed with colour at the sight of Angel and she leaped to her feet.

  ‘You came, Angel. I knew you would.’

  Angel hugged her fondly. ‘It’s good to see you again, Dolly.’ She turned to Rupert, who was pale beneath his tan with dark shadows etched below his eyes. ‘I am so sorry.’

  ‘But at least I’m alive,’ Rupert said grimly. ‘That’s what everyone tells me, but I’ve heard it a million times. They’re wrong, though – if I can’t walk again I might as well be dead. What use is a cripple?’

  ‘Don’t say things like that,’ Dolly cried passionately.

  ‘You’ll feel better when you’re at home.’ Hector glanced round the sterile room with a wry smile. ‘Hospitals are depressing places at the best of times.’

  ‘That’s right,’ Dolly said hastily. ‘Good food and country air will work wonders, Rupert.’

  He turned his head away. ‘You know better than anyone why we wouldn’t be welcome at home. Father might have a new wife, but that won’t alter the fact that he disapproved of our marriage. I can’t put you through that, my darling. Especially now.’

  ‘I’m in the family way,’ Dolly said, blushing. ‘It’s wonderful, but we haven’t told anyone else. I don’t know what we’ll do or where we’ll go.’

  ‘Everyone loves babies.’ Angel spoke with more conviction that she was feeling. She might speak for herself, but somehow she could not imagine Eloise in the role of grandmother. Unless, of course, Susannah married well; then it would be a different matter.

  ‘A child needs a proper father.’ Rupert raised his arm to cover his face. ‘I’m finished, Hector. I’m a bloody useless mess.’

  ‘I never had you down as a coward,’ Hector said angrily.

  ‘Don’t say things like that to him.’ Dolly’s pretty mouth drooped at the corners and her eyes filled with tears. ‘Can’t you see how he suffers?’

  ‘Of course we can.’ Angel put her arm around Dolly’s shoulders. ‘But giving in isn’t going to help.’ She turned to Rupert, facing him angrily. ‘Hector’s right. You’re a brave man, you have a loving wife and soon you’ll be a father. Of course you’re needed, and giving up isn’t going to help anyone, least of all the people who truly love you.’

  ‘I can’t go home like this,’ Rupert murmured. ‘I don’t want to be an object of pity.’

  Dolly threw herself down onto the chair and laid her head beside his on the pillow, and their tears mingled.

  Hector drew Angel aside. ‘I’d take them to Grantley, but I daren’t chance that until this business is settled. I think I have the answer, but I don’t want to say anything yet.’ He looked down at the husband and wife united in grief. ‘Rupert obviously needs to be here for a while, but she’s the one I worry about.’

  ‘I agree.’ Angel leaned over to stroke Dolly’s hair back from her forehead. ‘You must come home with me. I need your help to make the house in Naked Boy Court beautiful.’

  Dolly raised her head. ‘I – I can’t leave Rupert on his own.’

  ‘He’s in good hands,’ Hector said firmly. ‘He’ll have the best treatment that money can buy.’ He glanced at Angel, shrugging. ‘Sir Eugene has a bottomless purse and I’ll make sure he does the right thing.’

  ‘There, you heard what Hector said, and you must think of your child.’ Angel helped Dolly to her feet. ‘You need looking after just as much as Rupert, and you’ll have Lil and Cook as well as me, and there’s Baines, too. When Rupert is well enough to leave hospital Baines can be his batman. He’s an army man through and through, and nothing would suit him better than to have another officer to care for.’

  Dolly managed a watery smile. ‘You’ve got it all worked out.’

  ‘You looked after me when I was in need. We stuck together in the old days, Dolly, and that’s what we’re going to do now.’ She patted her on the cheek. ‘You can visit Rupert as often as you please.’

  ‘Are you happy with this arrangement, Rupert?’ Hector leaned over the bed, lowering his voice. ‘You want what is best for your wife and child, don’t you?’

  Rupert nodded. ‘Of course. Do as they say, Dolly. Hector’s right – I’m in good hands here, and you must take care of yourself and my son.’

  ‘Good man.’ Hector stood aside as the door opened and a nurse entered the room, giving them a disapproving look. ‘I know the drill, Sister. We’re just leaving.’

  Outside the hospital Hector tried to hail a cab. ‘Take Dolly home, Angel. I have business in the City and then I’m going to Westwood Hall to have a word with Sir Eugene. I’ll stay the night at Grantley.’

  ‘How will you manage without any staff?’

  A smile curved his generous lips. ‘I’m a soldier, used to bivouacking anywhere. I’m sure I can manage in my own home.’

  ‘You will let me know what happens with the solicitor, won’t you?’

  ‘Don’t worry. I’ll keep you informed of my every move.’ He succeeded in attracting the attention of a cabby and stepped forward to help Dolly into the hansom, but when it came to Angel’s turn Hector’s fingers curled around hers and he held her hand for longer than was strictly necessary. ‘You’ve held my family together, Angel. I couldn’t have had a better sister, and I can never thank you enough for what you tried to do.’

>   She climbed into the cab and settled down beside Dolly, but she could still hear Hector’s voice, thanking her for what she had done out of love for her home and adopted family, and she could feel the warmth of his grasp as he had held her hand.

  ‘I don’t like leaving Rupert on his own in hospital.’ Dolly’s voice intruded on Angel’s thoughts, bringing her rapidly back to the jolting, stale-smelling interior of the hansom cab.

  ‘He’ll be well cared for,’ Angel said automatically. ‘You can visit him every day, but more importantly we must look after you and your son and heir.’

  ‘It might be a girl.’ Dolly leaned back against the shabby leather squabs, a dreamy expression on her face. ‘It would be lovely to have a daughter, but I don’t mind either way.’ Her smile faded and she sat forward, clutching Angel’s hand. ‘What’s to become of us? Rupert might never walk again, and how will we live if Sir Eugene won’t take us in, or if he stops Rupert’s allowance? We could have managed nicely on his army pay, but that’s stopped now and I can’t support us by selling flowers. It might mean the workhouse.’

  ‘Stop it, Dolly. I’m sure that Sir Eugene will come round eventually, and until then you will always have a home with me in Naked Boy Court. Uncle Dolph left me the house in his will. I still can’t believe it, but it’s true and it’s large enough for all of us. It just needs somebody to love it and make it into a proper home.’

  ‘Do you really mean it, Angel?’

  ‘You and I might not be related, but I love you like a sister.’ A sudden vision of Belinda’s face brought Angel back to the real world. ‘I have such a lot to tell you, Dolly. I’ve discovered who I really am.’

  Dolly shrank back into the corner of the seat, eyeing Angel with genuine concern. ‘Does that mean you’ll be different from now on? Who are you?’

  ‘I’m just the same person I ever was, you noodle. It was Galloway, the crooked solicitor, who told me the tale. Just wait until I tell you everything that’s happened since you went away.’

  ‘You make everything sound so exciting. I have missed you, Angel. The other army wives were nice enough but I had a feeling that the officers’ ladies looked down on me, and the camp followers scared me to death. They were even tougher than Lil, and that’s saying something.’