The Fairbairn Fortunes

by Una-Mary Parker

  ‘I wish I could stay all night with you,’ Caroline sighed as she slid out of Richard’s bed. It was Sunday and she’d told her mother she was spending the day with Violet, one of the dancers whose birthday it was.

  ‘I think her parents are giving a big luncheon party,’ she’d added vaguely. She had told her mother so many lies in the past few weeks that she had to be careful not to get caught out. If only Richard would propose then she wouldn’t have to lie at all.

  ‘Where would you like to have luncheon?’ he asked.

  ‘Nowhere smart,’ she said quickly. ‘I can’t risk being recognized. We were seen at the Ritz and at the Savoy. My mother will kill me if she finds out I’m seeing you.’

  Richard smiled. ‘Why don’t we drive to the country and have lunch in a pub?’

  It flashed through her mind that Aunt Georgie and Uncle Shane owned several pubs. Supposing they went to one of theirs? ‘I don’t think so,’ she said firmly. ‘I’d like to go to a small restaurant in London, but not in Kensington or Belgravia.’

  Richard burst out laughing. ‘Why are you so afraid of being seen with me? Am I that dreadful?’

  There was silence and Caroline’s face reddened. ‘My mother doesn’t know I’m seeing you.’

  Richard looked disappointed. ‘You mean she doesn’t even know we’re just seeing each other innocently? I never went to bed with Margaret, you know.’

  Caroline’s dark eyes widened. ‘Why not?’ she asked bluntly.

  Richard shrugged. ‘I suppose I wasn’t in love with her in the way I’m in love with you.’

  She grabbed her clothes and started to get dressed again. ‘You mean she wasn’t that sort of girl?’ Her voice was shrill with anger. ‘It shows you respected her but you’ve no respect for me!’

  ‘Hey! Where did all this come from?’ He looked dumbfounded.

  ‘My mother was right! Oh, God! I wish I’d never met you. Now you’ll tell your friends I’m an “easy girl”. Isn’t that what they’re called?’ She was crying now and her face was blotchy.

  ‘Listen to me, Caroline, and stop being ridiculous.’ His voice was commanding. ‘I love you and respect you from the bottom of my heart. I told you I didn’t sleep with Margaret because I thought you’d be pleased. It means you are the one I truly love and I want to be with.’

  She’d quietened down but she gave a little sob, reminding him of a child. ‘Come here,’ he said, going towards her with open arms.

  ‘I was afraid …’ she began.

  ‘I know, my darling. You need never be afraid again. I’ll always be here for you.’ He was holding her close, his cheek pressed against her cheek.

  ‘You promise?’ she whispered.

  ‘I promise.’

  Thirteen

  Dalkeith House, 1923

  ‘Is that you, Dada?’

  Walter recognized her voice on the telephone and she sounded excited.

  ‘Hello, my darling. How are you?’ he asked.

  ‘Wonderfully well,’ Caroline replied enthusiastically. ‘Something wonderful has happened. You know Rainbows closed in March? Well, I went to an audition last week and guess what?’

  He chuckled. ‘You got yourself another job?’

  ‘Not just a job, Dada. I got the leading role of principle ballerina in The Fairy Queen. It’s being produced at Drury Lane which is the most famous theatre in London and I’m going to be the Fairy Queen!’

  ‘Well done, sweetheart! That’s marvellous news. Your mother must be pleased. After all her hard work to send you to ballet school she must be very proud of you,’ he said warmly.

  ‘It’s me who has done the hard work,’ Caroline protested crossly. ‘Some nights my toenails are bleeding! You will come to the first night, won’t you?’

  There was a pause before he answered. ‘I may not be able to,’ he said carefully.

  ‘Why not?’ she demanded.

  ‘Your Aunt Rowena isn’t at all well. In fact, I’m very worried about her.’

  ‘But you can’t miss my first appearance at Drury Lane! To be performing at Drury Lane! Aunt Rowena has got servants, hasn’t she? Why should you miss my performance because of her?’

  Walter’s mouth tightened. ‘Because she’s looked after me for years, and because she needs me to support her, which I’m more than willing to do. Caroline, you are not the only pebble on the beach, you know,’ he added firmly.

  ‘But Dada …’

  ‘There are no “buts” where human kindness comes first. You’re letting success go to your head, my dear.’

  He heard a click and then silence. Caroline had hung up. Sighing, he felt a deep sense of disappointment. His daughter was showing all the signs of a spoilt brat. She’d been such a lovely little girl and she could still be charming, but only if she got her own way.

  Tapping on his sister’s bedroom door a few minutes later, he heard her say, ‘Come in’ in a frail voice. The local doctor had arranged for a nurse to come to the house every morning to give her a blanket bath and make sure she was comfortable for the day.

  Rowena was sitting up in bed, ashen-faced and gaunt.

  ‘That was Caroline on the telephone,’ he said, doing his best to sound cheerful. ‘She’s got another job and they’ve given her the leading role.’

  ‘That’s good. You must go down to London to see her.’ Even though suffering great pain, Rowena struggled to be polite.

  ‘I’m not going anywhere until you’re better.’

  She gave a wan smile. ‘That’s never going to happen, and you know it.’

  The silence in the room was oppressive. Then he spoke. ‘If that’s the case I won’t be going anywhere. You’ve supported me for God knows how long and I’m going to support you now.’

  She reached for his hand. ‘Thank you. You’ve always been a good brother to me.’

  Cranley Court, 1923

  ‘I’ve been thinking.’ Diana announced as she and Robert sat down to luncheon in their formal and elegant dining room.

  ‘Steady on, old girl,’ he teased.

  Diana laughed. ‘Seriously, I think we should rent a big house in London, just for the season. We’re missing a lot of fun by staying here all the time, lovely though it is.’

  ‘May I ask why you think London is such fun?’ he inquired.

  ‘As we’ve only got one daughter I think Emily should become a debutante and do the season properly. Lizzie tells me she’s bringing out Isabel in a big way so Margaret has another shot at finding a husband. Beattie and Andrew are very sociable too. They’re always having interesting people to dinner and I feel like a country bumpkin beside them.’

  Robert looked out of the window at the manicured lawns surrounding Crawley Manor and forest and the mountains beyond. It was obvious he loved the beauty of the Scottish countryside.

  ‘Did your mother bring out all eight of you and your sisters?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes, but then we had Lochlee Castle and she entertained all year round. High society came up to us. We didn’t go to London to meet everyone.’

  ‘I remember,’ Robert said with a grin. ‘I stayed for a shoot and fell in love with you.’

  Diana smiled, remembering how well Robert had danced the reels and how handsome he’d been in his kilt and a sapphire-blue velvet doublet. How young they’d been in those days and how innocent she’d been! She’d even had to go to Lizzie, who was already married, to ask what actually happened on her wedding night.

  ‘Now that Queen Victoria is dead I believe the parties at Buckingham Palace are good fun for the first time in fifty years,’ she added laughingly. ‘Do let’s go to London, just for May, June and July. That will give us plenty of time to get ready for the twelfth of August.’

  Robert looked thoughtful. ‘I’ll agree on one condition.’

  ‘What’s that?’ she asked cautiously.

  He leaned forward so no one would hear him. ‘The condition is I can take you to Paris again for another naughty weekend.’

  ‘Oh
, yes, please,’ she responded with a knowing smile.

  London, 1923

  ‘I’ll be away for the weekend,’ Caroline announced casually as she and Laura had breakfast. ‘Sally has invited me to stay with her and her parents on Saturday at their home in Sussex and I’ll be back on Sunday afternoon. You don’t mind, do you?’ she added with unusual politeness.

  ‘Do I know Sally? Where do they live in Sussex?’ Laura asked. Caroline was always trotting out the names of different girls and she seemed suddenly to have acquired a lot of girl- friends since they’d come to London. She hated feeling as if she didn’t entirely trust her daughter but what was she to do? There had been no mention of Richard Montgomery for weeks now but that didn’t mean anything. The last time she’d asked about him Caroline had exploded with anger and accused her of being a jailor.

  ‘Sally is another dancer and her parents live near a place called Hazelmere.’

  ‘Why don’t you invite some of your friends here? We could do a buffet supper one evening before you start rehearsing for The Fairy Queen. Wouldn’t that be a good idea, and pay back some of the hospitality you’ve received.’

  ‘It’s a ghastly idea. This flat is far too small for a party. I must go or I’ll be late.’ A moment later the front door crashed shut.

  For the first time in her life, Laura felt helpless. Caroline was a grown woman, wilful and selfish, who didn’t care about anybody but herself. Over and over again she wondered if she’d been too lenient a mother? Or had she been too strict? Was that why Caroline was rebelling now? Normally she’d have talked to Lizzie, who with four daughters had a lot of experience, but Lizzie was chilly towards her these days.

  Sitting in her lovely drawing room, Laura felt more alone than she’d ever done. Beattie was busy with little Philip and Diana was far away in Scotland, as were Alice and Flora. Georgie now had five children and from what Laura could gather she had no control over any of them. In the past she’d enjoyed it when her clients came for fittings or to choose designs and fabric with her. Now she couldn’t help feeling very lonely.

  At that moment the telephone rang. Glad for the distraction, she went into the hall to answer it.

  ‘Laura? It’s Walter.’ He sounded very down and she immediately asked if he was all right.

  ‘I’ve been better,’ he admitted. ‘I’m phoning to tell you that Rowena died a little while ago. I was with her and she just faded peacefully away.’

  ‘I’m terribly sorry to hear that,’ she replied with concern. ‘You must be heartbroken. Are you all right, Walter?’

  ‘Yes. I’ve been expecting it for some time but it’s always a shock when it happens.’

  ‘What are you going to do now?’

  ‘I’ve been making a lot of plans, Laura. I can’t talk now but I’ll get in touch again in a few days’ time.’

  ‘I’ll come to her funeral, if you’d like that.’

  ‘There’s no need. She told me she didn’t want any fuss and said she wanted to be cremated.’

  ‘But who is going to look after you?’ she asked anxiously.

  ‘I can look after myself,’ he retorted. ‘Don’t worry. I’m not about to seek solace in drink ever again. I’m not a child and nor am I infirm,’ he added almost impatiently.

  She’d forgotten what a proud man he’d been in his youth.

  ‘I know that but if you need anything just let me know,’ Laura replied.

  After they’d said goodbye she worried that in spite of his protestations he’d turn to drink once again. The sensible side of her nature told her he was no longer her problem but her emotions told her that at some point he’d need the companionship of someone close to him, but who now that his sister was dead?

  What had he meant when he said he’d been making a lot of plans? And why didn’t he want her to accompany him to Rowena’s funeral? At that moment she was struck by a possibility that to her surprise made her extremely jealous.

  Richard kissed her neck with tenderness as they lay on the bed after making love. ‘You’re so beautiful,’ he whispered, stroking her shoulder. Caroline looked up at him, her dark eyes filled with adoration. He was everything to her in every way. Nothing could spoil her happiness now, she told herself as she lay in his arms.

  After a while they rose to get dressed and he said casually, ‘I wish I wasn’t being sent to New York.’

  ‘New York in America?’ she asked stupidly.

  ‘It was in the USA the last time I worked there,’ he replied flippantly as he tied the laces of his polished black shoes.

  Caroline felt sick with dismay, her lovely world of having someone in her life who loved her and looked after her by taking her to expensive restaurants slowly crumbling.

  ‘Why?’ she asked as tears welled up in her eyes.

  ‘I meant to tell you,’ he said, blushing crimson. ‘The company I work for wants me to set up an office in Wall Street and I’ll only be away for three months while you’ll be busy entertaining ecstatic audiences at Drury Lane.’

  ‘Three months,’ she repeated, turning pale. ‘You’re dumping me, aren’t you? This is your way of doing it because you haven’t the courage to tell me to my face that you’re bored with me.’ She was hysterical now and the tears were pouring down her cheeks. ‘You bastard!’ she shrieked. ‘You’re dumping me like you dumped Margaret.’

  Caroline sat down on the bed.

  Richard turned on her angrily. ‘What on earth are you talking about? Of course I love you and I don’t want to be away for three months. This is the work that I do, like the work you do as a dancer. I bet you’ll have to tour all over Britain with The Fairy Queen and I’ll miss you dreadfully but I’d never accuse you of trying to dump me. You must believe that, darling.’

  Caroline sank back on the bed, exhausted by her outburst.

  Richard sat down beside her, looking concerned. ‘I’ll write to you every week, although compared to you my news won’t be very exciting,’ he assured her. ‘I’ll be stuck in an office from dawn to dusk and all the time I’ll be missing you.’

  ‘If you really loved me you’d refuse to go,’ she pointed out.

  ‘Now you are being silly. I have a job to do and so do you. If I do well it will lead to promotion and I’ll be earning a lot more when I return. I’m thinking of buying a house in Knightsbridge.’

  ‘That would be nice,’ she remarked, brightening.

  ‘You can help me do it up.’

  ‘When do you go?’

  ‘In two days’ time.’

  ‘So soon?’ she exclaimed.

  ‘The sooner I go the sooner I’ll be back,’ he said cheerfully. ‘You’ve got your mother and a big family to support you on your first night.’

  ‘I told you she doesn’t know I’ve been seeing you,’ Caroline said in a small voice.

  Richard looked at her in astonishment. ‘Still? Then who does she think you are spending so much time with?’

  ‘Just friends from the ballet world. Aunt Lizzie blames me for stealing you away from Margaret. My mother is very protective and she’s terrified I’ll get into trouble, so it’s easier to let her think I’ve got lots of girlfriends.’

  He looked perturbed. ‘So you’ve been lying to her?’

  Caroline shrugged. ‘It was easier. She’s very strict.’

  He rose and looked down at her. ‘We have no future if you’re frightened to tell her we have been seeing each other,’ he pointed out.

  ‘All right. I’ll tell her but she’ll be terribly angry that I’ve lied to her. I think I’ll wait until you return and we can tell her together.’

  Richard looked surprised and rather disconcerted. ‘As you wish,’ he replied coolly.

  ‘Did you know that Richard has gone to America?’ Lizzie asked Margaret as they sat in the morning room going through first the letters that had been delivered and also the Court Circular of The Times and the Telegraph to see who had been ‘Hatched, Matched and Dispatched’.

  ‘So he’s dumped
Caroline too, has he?’ her daughter asked, her face lighting up at the news.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Lizzie replied, ‘but I suppose he must have. I believe he’s gone for several months.’

  ‘How did you find out?’

  ‘I saw his mother at a luncheon party and she told me. We were great friends until recently and I think she feels rather guilty that he led you up the garden path.’

  Margaret sighed. ‘Lady Montgomery would have been a lovely mother-in-law.’

  ‘She was very fond of you, too. She was also talking to another friend about the season. There are going to be balls almost every night and I’ll make sure you get asked to most of them. Aunt Diana is going to bring out Emily and we’ve decided to give a joint coming-out ball for Isabel and Emily. That will be fun, won’t it?’

  Margaret perked up. ‘It’s a great idea, and I can get to know a few more young men,’ she replied with alacrity.

  Lizzie looked delighted. ‘That’s settled then. We must start making plans. I have a feeling it’s going to be a very good season.’

  Rehearsals for The Fairy Queen started at ten o’clock in the morning and sometimes lasted the whole day.

  Depressed and missing Richard, Caroline felt drained of energy and at times so tired she wanted to curl up in a quiet corner and sleep. Back again at the same rehearsal rooms at Baron’s Court, she realized that even her enthusiasm for ballet had waned in spite of the fact she was the prima ballerina. She’d struggled for years to reach this position so why was she reluctant to get out of bed in the morning? A few days later she was sick after her mother had made her scrambled eggs for breakfast.

  Laura turned pale as Caroline came stumbling out of the bathroom.

  ‘You’re pregnant, aren’t you?’ she asked in a shocked voice.

  ‘Of course I’m not,’ Caroline snapped, but Laura saw the terror in her dark eyes.

  ‘My God, you are pregnant.’ Laura was filled with anguish. ‘You’ve slept with that young man, haven’t you? You stupid, stupid girl! This will ruin your career! How can you perform when you’re pregnant? How did you think you could hide your pregnancy, for God’s sake?’ Laura was so shocked and disappointed she couldn’t even think straight.