The Fairbairn Girls

by Una-Mary Parker

  Caroline’s small face lit up as if a light inside her had been switched on. ‘Dada’s coming home? Today?’

  Laura nodded, pleased at the welcome Walter would receive when he arrived.

  When they heard the car coming up the drive Caroline flung herself out of the front door, having been sitting waiting at the bottom of the stairs for the past half hour.

  ‘Dada! Dada! I’m going to dance for you. I can do the Highland Fling,’ she boasted. ‘Watch me, Dada! Watch me dance!’

  Standing in the open doorway, Laura watched as Walter jumped out of the back of the car and scooped his little girl up in his arms.

  For a brief flicker of a moment she saw the healthy, good-looking man she’d fallen in love with and married. The man who had swept her off her feet with his enormous charm and wit. The man with a military background: disciplined, brave and with a distinguished army record.

  He caught her eye at that moment and, putting Caroline down, he came towards Laura and placed his hands on her shoulders before kissing her on the cheek. She tried desperately hard to hang on to the momentary vision she’d had but it was no good. Looking into his eyes now she saw his vulnerability, his deep flaws, his shame and his apology. It made her want to weep for the man she’d lost to alcohol but she kissed him back, hoping he’d think she loved him as much as she’d used to.

  ‘I thought we’d have tea in the garden and Caroline is going to show you how beautifully she can dance,’ she said as she turned away so he wouldn’t see her sense of loss, and she led the way across the lawn, where Hobbs had laid the table for tea.

  This is the rest of my life, she reflected as they sat down and talked to and through Caroline, for they no longer had words for each other. Too many links had been broken and there was nothing left between them except their little daughter.

  As soon as they finished their tea and Caroline had danced prettily around the garden, singing as she went, Walter rose to his feet. ‘I’d better go and tackle the post that must have accumulated for me,’ he said. ‘Neil’s coming home tomorrow?’

  ‘Yes. Rowena is bringing him over and she’s staying for luncheon. I’m afraid your desk is rather swamped by post but your affairs have been looked after by John while you were away so I don’t suppose there’s anything urgent. Why don’t you leave it until tomorrow?’

  ‘No, I want to see what’s been happening.’ Walter remained in his study until it was time for dinner and then he announced that he wasn’t hungry. His face was white and he seemed to be very distracted as he paced up and down the room.

  Laura watched him anxiously, filled with dread. She’d never seen him in a state like this before and she wondered if he was finding it difficult to adjust to being at home again.

  ‘You must eat something,’ she protested. ‘Would you like some soup? Or a cup of beef tea?’

  He shook his head. ‘I’m sorry but I’ve got to go out.’

  ‘Out?’ She stared at him, stunned. ‘Where are you going? It’s eight o’clock.’ Her mind flew to pubs and clubs and the bar of an Edinburgh hotel where he’d once been found unconscious.

  He spoke quickly. ‘I’ve got to see John.’

  ‘At this hour? He’ll be dining with his family. Why don’t you use the telephone if you want to have a word with him?’

  Walter wasn’t listening. ‘I’m going to drive over to see him now.’

  ‘What is it?’ Darts of growing alarm shot through her. ‘Shall I come with you?’

  He turned on her angrily. ‘You don’t need to chaperone me, you know.’ Then he slammed the front door and she heard him walking round the house to where the car was parked. A few minutes later she heard the purr of the engine as it slid away. He was gone.

  Hobbs was hovering in the background. ‘Shall I keep the master’s dinner warm, M’Lady?’

  ‘You could do but I’m not sure when he’ll be back.’ Her own appetite had gone too and she felt sick. ‘Will you make my apologies to Cook, please? Tell her my husband has been called away on urgent business and I have rather a headache. I think I’ll go upstairs and lie down.’

  ‘Very good, M’Lady. Is there anything I can get you?’

  ‘No, thank you, Hobbs.’ Her legs felt leaden as she slowly climbed the stairs. A strong sense of dread overwhelmed her and she decided to go to bed even though it was early. What had happened to her careful plans to give Walter a perfect homecoming? Now all she wanted was a few hours of oblivion, for her mind was in turmoil. What in God’s name had made him rush off like that? She got undressed and, slipping into bed, she lay down, closed her eyes and prayed for sleep.

  The cold, grey light of dawn crept through a gap in the curtains and Laura awoke suddenly as if something had disturbed her, but she was alone and Walter’s side of the bed hadn’t been slept in. She got up and hurried into his dressing room where he sometimes slept if one of them was unwell. The single bed hadn’t been touched either.

  With mounting panic she put on her peignoir and ran down the stairs to the telephone. It seemed to take a long time before John Osborne answered and she realized it was very early in the morning and he was probably asleep.

  Then she heard his voice. ‘Hello? John Osborne here. Can I help you?’

  ‘This is Laura speaking. I’m so sorry to telephone you so early but I’m very worried about Walter; did he stay the night at your house?’

  There was a long pause and when he spoke he sounded cagey. ‘He was here until quite late. I imagined he was driving home when he left.’

  ‘Can you tell me why he needed to see you so urgently?’

  There was another long pause. ‘I believe it would be better if you talked to him yourself about it.’

  ‘I’m at my wits’ end, John. Was he drinking again?’

  ‘No. Definitely not. He was absolutely sober. Try not to worry, Laura. I’m sure he’ll turn up. I must go now. Perhaps we can talk later.’

  There was a click as he hung up, leaving Laura more worried than ever. Was he lying in some ditch having had a motor accident?

  Returning to her room to get dressed, fear jolted dark thoughts into the crevices of her mind, bringing back the terrible moment when little Eleanor’s body had been found on the terrace at Lochlee. No matter how often she persuaded herself that Walter would breeze into the room at any moment and scold her laughingly and say he stupidly ran out of petrol, she couldn’t quell her apprehension.

  There was a knock on her bedroom door. It was Hobbs. ‘I’m afraid it’s bad news, M’Lady. The master has been taken to the local hospital because he was found sitting in the motor. He was unconscious and they’ve taken him in for observation.’

  Laura reached for her coat. ‘Get me a carriage, please, Hobbs. And send Gordon to fetch the car, wherever it is, and bring it back here. I don’t know how long I’ll be so tell Nanny what’s happened but say I don’t want Caroline to know.’

  ‘Very well, M’Lady.’

  In a daze she put on her black fur toque, buttoned up her coat, grabbed her gloves and handbag and hurried out of the room.

  The local hospital was small and the rooms were dark and pokey. There was also the strong smell of disinfectant pervading the atmosphere. A nurse standing behind the reception desk looked up and smiled in recognition when Laura appeared. This was not the first time she’d been on duty when Mr Leighton-Harvey had been admitted.

  ‘I was expecting you, Lady Laura,’ she said cheerfully. ‘You’ll have heard about your husband?’

  Laura nodded. ‘How is he?’

  ‘Not too bad. Considering.’

  ‘Was he very drunk when they brought him here?’ Her voice was strained and she still found it humiliating to acknowledge that William was an alcoholic.

  The nurse looked down at the notes before her. ‘I’m afraid he was very intoxicated. At least he’d had the sense to stop driving and pull up by the side of the road. It’s possible he felt ill because the doctor thinks he may have had a slight stroke as well.’
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  A feeling of utter despair swept through Laura. ‘He’s only just come out of Saint Saviour’s hospital in Edinburgh,’ she said in a low voice. ‘They treated him for five months to help him after his last binge.’ She looked up and her eyes were filled with anger. ‘How can he be so stupid? He’s been warned that if he drank again it would kill him.’

  ‘He’s in his fifties, isn’t he? It’s not unusual for someone of his age to have a stroke,’ the nurse said in an attempt to console Laura. ‘The alcohol didn’t necessarily bring it on. Would you like to see him?’

  Laura rose wearily to her feet. ‘Yes, please.’

  She was led down a narrow corridor and shown into a bleak room where Walter was lying on his back, looking as if he’d fallen asleep. His face was grey and he looked like an old man. Laura dragged over a hard wooden chair from the corner and, placing it beside his bed, sat down and took his hand.

  ‘Walter?’ she said.

  He didn’t respond. He was still unconscious and only his shallow breathing told her he was still alive. Where had he got the alcohol from in the first place? He couldn’t have got it at home, and John had sworn he hadn’t offered it to him. Pubs would have been closed by the time he’d left the Osbornes’ house so the only possible answer was that he’d gone to a pub on his way to see John and hidden the drink in the boot of the car. But why? Why had he gone dashing off to see John in the first place? Why had he made sure he had alcohol to drink after he’d left John?

  Laura began to feel guilty that she’d placed all his mail neatly on his desk while he’d been away; it must have contained something that had obviously upset him deeply. Why hadn’t she put it to one side until he’d settled at home again? How could she have been so stupid?

  Worried about his future and what could have caused this lapse, Laura stayed at the hospital for several hours but Walter didn’t regain consciousness and the doctor in charge told her she should go home.

  ‘You look tired, Lady Laura. This has been a great shock for you and I recommend an early night. Don’t worry about your husband. We’re doing everything we can and should it be necessary we’ll have him transferred back to Saint Saviour’s again.’

  The moment Laura stepped out of the hired carriage she knew something was wrong. There was a deathly silence, almost as if Lasswade Hall had been abandoned by its occupants. Hurrying up the front steps, she noticed the front door was wide open.

  ‘Hobbs?’ she called out nervously.

  There was no response. The empty silence unnerved her.

  ‘Hobbs?’ she shouted shrilly.

  At that moment the green baize door that separated the kitchen and servants’ quarters from the rest of the house opened and John Osborne appeared, looking grim.

  Stunned, Laura exclaimed, ‘What on earth are you doing here?’

  ‘Let’s go and sit down somewhere, Laura. I’m afraid I’ve got bad news for you.’

  ‘What is it? And where is everyone? Is Caroline all right?’

  ‘Yes. Caroline is fine. I asked her nanny to take her out for the day and I’m hoping it’ll be all over by the time they get back.’

  ‘What will be all over? Have you had fresh news from the hospital? Oh, God, has Walter died?’

  John looked blankly at her. ‘No. Hobbs said he’s back in hospital and that you were visiting him. Why? Is he that ill?’

  ‘He’s had a stroke. We think he started drinking after he left you last night and it may have . . .’ She couldn’t continue. Staggering into the drawing room she slumped down on to a sofa and covered her face with her hands.

  John seated himself beside her. ‘I’m so sorry, Laura. I came here to see you because the situation is terribly serious.’

  ‘I know,’ she replied in a small voice.

  ‘I don’t just mean about Walter’s health.’

  Laura looked up at him. ‘What else is there? Where’s Hobbs? Why are you here? What do you want to speak to me about?’

  ‘I hate to have to tell you this, Laura,’ he began and from his expression she could see he was agitated, ‘but Walter is deeply in debt. He owes a variety of people a great deal of money. Not just a manageable amount of debt that could be cleared over time with careful planning, but monumental amounts. It seems he’s been living on credit for a long time. He hasn’t even paid for your motor. He also opened accounts at several shops in Edinburgh, including a Gentleman’s Fitter where he bought a lot of clothes and handmade shoes . . .’ He paused, deciding not to mention the jeweller where Walter had purchased a pearl necklace, gold bracelets and diamond earrings for Laura.

  Her head was in a spin as she tried to take in what John was saying. ‘I don’t understand,’ she exclaimed. ‘He’s always given me the impression he was well off,’ she said in bewilderment. ‘He told me he’d inherited a fortune from his parents along with this house. You’ve got to remember he’s been in hospital for months and couldn’t do anything. Aren’t you supposed to be looking after his affairs when he’s away?’ she asked accusingly.

  John’s mouth tightened. ‘I’ll come to that in a moment.’

  Laura raised her chin. ‘Can’t the bank lend him some money to pay off these bills? Surely he can get an overdraft?’

  ‘I’m afraid Walter already owes the bank a very considerable amount of money by using this house as collateral but they refused and have now foreclosed his account. He found their letter on his desk last night and that was why he wanted to see me so urgently.’

  ‘What do we do now?’ Her voice rose in anguish. ‘They can’t do that. He’s been with them for years.’

  ‘I’m very much afraid they’ve done it.’

  ‘Then we’re going to have to economize. Would it help if we cut down on staff? If you count in the gardener and the chauffeur that means we have to pay the wages of eight people.’ Her mind went back to the days of her youth when her parents had an indoor and outdoor staff of one hundred and seventy-six. Eight, by comparison, seemed to her a very modest number.

  ‘We’ve got past that stage, Laura. There’s been no money to pay their wages for the past six weeks as it is.’

  Her face registered shock and incredulity. ‘That’s terrible. I had no idea. Why didn’t you tell me?’

  ‘I didn’t want to tell you while I worked out how much all his debts came to. I even hoped I could persuade the bank to lend more but unfortunately they’ve refused.’ John got up from his chair and started pacing up and down the room as if he didn’t know how to word what he had to say next.

  Avoiding eye contact, he finally continued: ‘I’ve been paying your staff wages with my own money; they don’t know that and neither should they. But I’m afraid I’m not in a position to carry on so I came here today to give them what was due to them, and told them they must leave immediately and find other employment.’

  ‘You mean they’ve gone?’ White with shock she leaned back in her chair, trying to take in what had happened. Her whole world had collapsed as if wiped out by an earthquake and as it dawned on her more and more with every passing minute the enormity of what Walter had done she became engulfed with anger.

  ‘How could he have been so irresponsible?’ she exclaimed. ‘I’m most terribly sorry you’ve got involved in this mess, John, and it was so good of you to do what you’ve done. I’ll make sure you are repaid before anyone else gets their money.’

  He smiled sadly. ‘With what, Laura? That’s the point. There is no more money. It’s all gone and Walter owes other people a fortune. To pay off your staff was the least I could do as his old friend while he was still in hospital and I didn’t want to worry you. I had hoped the bank would be cooperative but alas there is no way out except bankruptcy.’

  The silence in the room was profound. The word went round and round in Laura’s head as she tried to work out what it would actually mean.

  ‘He must be mad as well as an alcoholic,’ she murmured.

  ‘That’s what an alcoholic is; mad when he’s in the grip of bing
e drinking. He’s very ill, Laura, and it’s a tragedy. When he was a young man he had the world at his feet. His career in the army was auspicious, and then he became a very clever businessman for a while, investing the fortune he’d been left with great skill.’ John sighed deeply. ‘And now this.’

  Laura looked at John and there was sadness in her voice, too. Her eyes were brimming with unshed tears. ‘I’m not blaming you but why did nobody warn me before I married him? My sisters tried to stop me and make me wait, but Rowena could have told me there was a problem, and so could you. If I’d realized I’d probably still have married him because I loved him but I’d have insisted on looking after our finances, with your help, of course, and I’d have banned drink in the house and got him into hospital at the first sign of him slipping.’ She shook her head in despair. ‘It could have all been so different.’

  ‘One is loyal to one’s friends,’ he replied simply. ‘Walter is very much in love with you and I could see you bringing great happiness into his life. I had hoped that once you were married he’d decide never to drink again. I warned him, Laura. I told him that he’d lose everything, including you and Caroline, if he continued in this way, but it was no good. His desire for drink was stronger than for any of us.’

  ‘So all the staff have gone . . .?’ She sounded bewildered. ‘What about Nanny?’

  ‘I’m afraid so. She’ll be bringing Caroline back here very shortly. She’s also been paid. I’ve promised them all good references, so don’t worry about that.’

  ‘Oh, God, this is all a terrible mess. What happens next?’

  ‘The house will be repossessed, but that will take time.’

  Laura sat in silence. More hurtful than his drinking and his living beyond his means was the fact that Walter had lied to her about their financial state, encouraging her to spend on things for the house and pretty clothes for herself and Caroline. That she couldn’t forgive.

  As he rose to leave, John took both her hands in his, marvelling at her bravery. Looking into her eyes, he said, ‘For the moment just sit tight while I try to work out something. Don’t discuss it with anyone else.’