The Granville Affaire

by Una-Mary Parker

  London had changed overnight, and there was nothing for her here any more. The giddy débutante who had gone to five parties a night had gone.

  In her place was a pregnant woman with a husband and a lover; a woman who had allowed herself to conceive a baby by Daniel, but had not considered the consequences. Supposing she did have a son? Would it be right to pass him off as Cameron’s heir? Could the baby, half Jewish by birth, become the next Duke of Kincardine?

  She’d told Daniel in her letter that she’d be going down to Hartley the next day, and she’d given him the telephone number. All she could do now was wait and pray.

  * * *

  ‘Granny, that was Juliet on the telephone,’ Rosie informed Lady Anne, who was feeding Tinker, Brandy and Whisky in the pantry. ‘She’s travelling down with Daddy, this evening. They’ll be here in time for dinner.’

  In recent weeks, Rosie had moved back to Hartley, where Nanny could look after Sophia and Jonathan, while she helped in the house, as the only staff left now were Mrs Dobbs, Warwick, the old butler whose feet caused him great suffering, and Spence, the gardener, who’d been turned down by the armed forces because he had asthma.

  ‘Juliet? Down here again?’ Lady Anne’s surprise veiled a certain concern. Weren’t her trips south rather too frequent for a supposedly happily married woman? ‘How lovely. Is she well?’

  ‘She seems fine; no doubt spending another small fortune on clothes,’ Rosie added tartly. She scooped Jonathan up in her arms as he started crawling towards the cupboard where Warwick kept the china.

  ‘Not that way, my precious,’ she cooed, nuzzling his neck. ‘We can’t have you breaking the Wedgewood.’ Jonathan gave a rich milky giggle, and grabbed the string of pearls around her neck.

  Lady Anne watched them, an indulgent smile on her face.

  Rosie looked so much better these days. She’d put on weight, her skin was glowing and her eyes were bright again. For the first time in ages she seemed content, once more ensconced at Hartley and surrounded by the family.

  Juliet arrived looking rather gaunt and tired. ‘Are there any telephone messages for me?’ she asked immediately.

  ‘Not that I know of,’ Rosie replied. ‘Now that Parsons has joined up there’s no one to take proper messages.’

  ‘Are you sure no one has called me?’ Juliet persisted, edgily.

  ‘No one has rung for you, darling,’ said Liza, coming out of the drawing room to greet her. ‘Who are you expecting? Cameron knows you’re here, doesn’t he?’

  ‘Of course he does,’ Juliet snapped, taking off her sable coat and discarding it on a hall chair.

  ‘It’s lovely to see you,’ Louise said shyly, giving Juliet a kiss. ‘What a gorgeous coat!’

  ‘What sort of fur is it?’ little Charlotte asked, stroking the glistening pelts.

  Amanda eyed it critically. ‘It must have cost a lot of money.’

  ‘Pounds and pounds,’ Juliet retorted lightly.

  Henry put his arm around her shoulders. ‘Juliet has something to tell us all.’ He sounded proud and pleased.

  There was an expectant silence. Then Liza eyed her daughter searchingly. ‘You’re…?’

  ‘I’m having a baby,’ Juliet admitted, smiling.

  Amid shrieks of delight, she found herself being kissed by everyone, even Rosie.

  ‘When did you find out?’ Liza asked, jealous that Henry had been the first to know. It was always the same with Juliet; she told Henry everything first.

  ‘Give me a chance,’ Juliet laughed. ‘I only knew myself a few days ago.’

  ‘So when is it due?’

  Juliet had already done some calculations, to make sure it seemed like Cameron’s child. ‘Around April,’ she replied vaguely.

  ‘A spring baby,’ Lady Anne said fondly. ‘Darling Juliet, I couldn’t be more thrilled for you.’ Seeing Rosie looking miffed, she added hastily, ‘That will bring the number of my great-grandchildren up to three! Won’t that be fun for Sophia and Jonathan, Rosie? They’ll be great playmates for each other.’

  Mollified that she was back in the picture, Rosie smiled.

  ‘I think this calls for champagne,’ Henry announced, leaving the room to help Warwick.

  ‘Come and sit down and tell me all about it,’ Liza coaxed Juliet, patting the place beside her on the sofa. ‘Is Cameron thrilled? He must be so delighted…’ she prattled on, but Juliet’s thoughts were miles away; in a small cottage in Chelsea, with the man she loved and so badly wanted to be with at this time.

  * * *

  Liza insisted on giving a Sunday luncheon party to celebrate her daughter’s pregnancy, although it was the last thing Juliet wanted.

  Mrs Dobbs grumbled, too. The only help she had now was a girl from the village and even she was about to join the Women’s Land Army.

  ‘So inconsiderate!’ Liza lamented. ‘What are we supposed to do without staff?’

  ‘Let’s keep the luncheon simple,’ Lady Anne warned.

  Liza gave her mother-in-law a withering look. ‘Not too simple, Mama. We’ll manage somehow. Warwick can lay the table, and I’m sure Mrs Dobbs can roast a side of beef, with lots of lovely vegetables, and one of her splendid puddings. Henry can look after the drinks.’ It was not known what she would do – except look pretty.

  Candida, with her children, Marina and Sebastian, were the first to arrive, followed by Dr Musgrove and his wife, the Reverend William Temple and Mrs Temple, and James and Audrey Bethell, who were Lady Anne’s generation, and great friends of hers.

  Juliet was the centre of attention, as usual.

  Candida was effusive in her congratulations. ‘Good for you, old girl!’ she said, slapping Juliet on the back as if she’d been one of her mares, ‘when are you expecting to drop it?’

  Juliet laughed for the first time in days, and Henry thought it was hilarious, but Liza looked po-faced. Such talk, she felt, was ‘not nice’.

  It was half-way through a convivial lunch when everyone was conversing animatedly that Warwick hobbled over to Lady Anne and said something quietly in her ear.

  She looked non-plussed. ‘Who?’ she queried. ‘Do we know him?’

  ‘What is it, Mother?’ Henry asked.

  Juliet’s heart lurched in her rib-cage; perhaps Daniel had come down to Hartley to see her. She half rose in her chair, trembling with excitement, when her grandmother spoke.

  ‘Liza, did you invite a Monsieur Gaston St John de Brevelay to lunch? He’s in the hall.’

  With a shriek Candida jumped to her feet, while Juliet sank back into her seat, quenched with disappointment.

  Louise flushed so deep a shade of red, her eyes brimmed with tears. Then she caught Juliet’s eye. Her sister pursed her lips, indicating she should remain silent.

  ‘I’ll deal with this,’ Candida almost shouted, rushing out of the dining room and into the hall.

  Louise sat paralysed with misery as Henry rose to go after his sister. She was longing to stop him, prevent him from the shock that awaited him, but what could she do?

  ‘What’s going on?’ Liza asked. ‘Louise? What’s the matter? Do you know who this man is?’

  ‘No, Mummy. At least, well, he… he travelled home with us from St Malo. Aunt Candida asked him to stay.’

  ‘Then we must ask him to join for us lunch. Warwick, could you lay another place for our unexpected guest…?’ In spite of the lack of proper staff, Liza slipped into her hostess performance without missing a beat.

  From the hall they could hear an angry roar of abuse in a man’s voice, followed by an even angrier and louder roar of filthy expletives in French, as Candida told him exactly what she thought of him.

  Warwick hovered uncertainly, while everyone sat spellbound, straining to listen while shifting their food around their plates.

  ‘I had no idea,’ Lady Anne remarked mildly, ‘that Candida spoke such fluent French.’

  The loud clamour of voices receded and then they heard the study door slam, and the sou
nds became muffled.

  Liza, who didn’t understand much French, was still eyeing Louise suspiciously, desperately curious to know what was going on. She couldn’t press the matter, though. Not in front of the local clergyman and doctor.

  * * *

  ‘How dare you follow me here!’ Candida told Gaston, her fists clenched.

  Henry, gazing grimly at his double, was as white as candle wax. ‘You must leave before my mother sees you,’ he told the younger man, his voice cold with fury. ‘What is it you want? Money?’

  ‘I am part of this family,’ Gaston raged arrogantly. ‘We are brothers. I want to be accepted. I want to take my rightful place in the family.’

  ‘Over my dead body.’ Henry growled, horrified. ‘It would kill my mother to know about you.’ Henry turned to Candida. ‘What in God’s name made you take him in in the first place? You should have abandoned him at the docks.’

  Candida thrust out her ample chest. ‘Don’t be silly, Henry. The poor bugger had never been to England. It was only supposed to be for a couple of nights, anyway. His mother told me he had enough money. Don’t worry, Henry. I’ll get him out of here. Come along, Gaston.’ She dropped a heavy hand on his shoulder and man-handled him towards the door, as if she were pushing a horse into its stable.

  Henry unlocked a drawer in his desk and pulled out a wad of five-pound notes. ‘Take this and get lost,’ he commanded roughly, thrusting the money into Gaston’s hand. ‘And never, ever, come back here again. D’you hear me?’

  By the time Henry resumed his seat at the table, they heard the thunderous revving of an engine as Candida started her car; it sounded like an aircraft about to take off.

  ‘Sorry about that, everyone,’ Henry said lightly, and with forced joviality. ‘It was just some wretched French refugee who Candida unwisely befriended.’

  They all made polite acquiescent noises, except for Louise and her grandmother, Louise hung her head, her appetite gone, while Lady Anne looked greatly aged as she sipped her wine and remained silent, guessing exactly why Gaston had come to the house.

  After the guests had left, and Warwick had cleared the coffee cups from the drawing room, Lady Anne turned to Liza, Henry and Juliet, the others having gone for a walk. Her voice was quiet and calm.

  ‘That was Frederick’s son, wasn’t it?’

  Liza gave a sharp little shriek of shock.

  Henry spoke reluctantly. ‘Yes, Mother. I’m sorry, but I’m afraid it was.’

  ‘Papa’s son?’ Liza exclaimed incredulously. She’d been very fond of her late father-in-law; saw him as a sweet old English duffer, kind, harmless and really rather dull, but an absolute gentleman.

  ‘Frederick had an affair over forty years ago,’ Lady Anne continued, without rancour. ‘She was a French girl called Margaux. I found out at the time that she was pregnant. I know Frederick offered her money. She returned to France and that was the end of that. We never spoke of it again.’

  ‘I’m so sorry, Mother,’ Henry said again, in distress. She was too old for a shock like this. He felt badly shaken himself, so he couldn’t imagine what she must be feeling.

  Lady Anne smiled wanly, her hand fiddling with the ropes of pearls around her neck. ‘It was such a long time ago, Henry. And I forgave him. Everyone is allowed to make a mistake, and providing it never happens again, it is stupid to make too much fuss about it.’

  Juliet gazed thoughtfully out of the window; her pregnancy hadn’t been ‘a mistake’ but a deliberate effort to have Daniel’s baby; would Cameron be so philosophical if he ever found out?

  Candida came blundering back at that moment, looking mortified. She shot Henry a hunted look.

  ‘Mother already knew about Pa’s affair,’ he said briefly.

  ‘Oh, Mother darling,’ Candida exclaimed, going to Lady Anne’s side, flinging an arm around her mother’s shoulders, almost crushing her. ‘I’m so, so sorry. I wouldn’t have had this happen for the world. We booked into this hotel and I got friendly with the owner…’

  ‘Margaux?’ Lady Anne cut in. She was looking at her daughter as if she felt sorry for her, for finding out what had happened so many years ago.

  Candida looked stunned. ‘You knew her? We got talking…’ – she decided to omit the occasion years ago when Margaux had joined her and her father for lunch – ‘and then it all came out when I told her my maiden name,’ she added quickly, to make her story sound more plausible. ‘I got a terrible shock when he turned up at the hotel and she insisted I take him with us back to England. But what could I do? He’d have been killed or interned when the Germans invade France. I only intended to put him up for a couple of nights, until he got his bearings. Then it turned out he didn’t have a penny on him.’

  ‘Dear girl, there was nothing else you could have done,’ Lady Anne said gently, and without emotion. ‘I’d have been ashamed of you if you hadn’t taken him under your wing. None of this is his fault. Have you taken him back to your house now?’

  ‘No, I put him on a train to London,’ Candida retorted stoutly. ‘I’m sure he can find a job there.’

  Lady Anne looked anxious. ‘But has he any money?’

  Henry spoke. ‘I gave him plenty of money, so he’ll be all right.’

  ‘I wouldn’t have had this happen for the world, Mother,’ Candida said, her usual ebullience gone. ‘I wish we’d never gone to Brittany, now.’

  Liza looked around, thankful the three youngest children were out. This was a family secret that, thank heavens, could be contained. The last thing they wanted was this scandal known to the outside world.

  * * *

  ‘Telephone for you, Juliet,’ Rosie shouted from the hall. ‘Some man, said he was the treasurer of something or other. Why does the telephone always have to go when I’m near it? I’m sick of answering it.’

  But Juliet wasn’t listening to Rosie’s grumbles. Her heart had jumped up to her throat, nearly choking her, as she ran down the stairs to take the call.

  ‘Hello?’ She didn’t even recognize her own clipped and cool voice.

  ‘Juliet.’ Daniel said her name warmly and intimately, as if they’d just made love. ‘I found your note, darling.’

  ‘So what’s going on?’ she asked, suddenly angry, wishing to God the only instrument in the house wasn’t in the main hall. ‘We haven’t had a meeting for weeks. How am I supposed to help this charity, unless it gives me support?’ she added, as her mother emerged from the drawing room to place some letters on the hall table, for Warwick to post.

  He gave an amused chuckle. ‘I gather you’re not alone?’

  She was so relieved to hear from him she felt like exploding with fury. ‘You’re right. I’m not, but that doesn’t alter the fact that you haven’t been in touch. Not a word. What am I supposed to think after nearly a month?’

  How dare he play fast and loose with me, she fumed inwardly, causing so much pain and misery? If he thought she’d come running…!

  ‘You could have telephoned,’ Juliet whispered, becoming overwrought, ‘or even sent me…’ – Rosie walked past her from the kitchen, and went up the stairs – ‘… even sent me the charity’s accounts.’ Her voice wobbling dangerously.

  ‘Listen, Juliet,’ Daniel said calmly, ‘There’s a war on. I’ve had to move my family from Kent to Devon, because of the threat of an invasion. They were in a very vulnerable position. I have to take care of them,’ he added sternly.

  ‘So your wife and children are safe, but I could be in the middle of a battlefield for all you care,’ she hissed, enraged.

  There was a long silence on the line, before he spoke again. ‘Juliet, why are you behaving like this?’ His deep voice, grating with anger, sent a shiver through her; half-thrilling her with his dominance, half-scaring her with his lack of feeling towards her.

  ‘You know perfectly well why,’ Juliet retorted. ‘I’ve tried and tried to get hold of you; couldn’t you at least have let me know what was happening? Why didn’t you contact me? Or is
that asking too much?’

  ‘It was impossible. What with my work and the family I haven’t had a moment to myself since I last saw you. Anyway, you were up in Scotland with your husband,’ he growled indignantly. ‘What are you complaining about?’

  ‘It’s obvious you don’t care what the hell happens to me,’ she said accusingly, her hand cupping the mouthpiece as she spoke. ‘I needed to see you. You’re never there when I need you.’

  Juliet was beside herself with jealousy and frustration now. She’d waited for what had seemed an eternity to see him again, so she could tell him the exciting news, and now he was spoiling it all.

  ‘Juliet,’ she heard him say, clearly and slowly, as if he was talking to child, ‘we are talking about the safety of a three-year-old boy, and two girls aged five and seven. I knew you’d be perfectly safe, so why are you behaving like a spoilt brat?’

  ‘You can’t talk to me like that,’ she gasped, shocked.

  ‘I’ll talk to you like that if you insist on getting hysterical,’ Daniel retorted. ‘What’s this all about? I found your note when I got back to Bywater Street, saying you needed to see me urgently. That’s why I’m phoning you now. Is there someone in the room with you, or can you tell me what this is all about?’

  The moment she’d so looked forward to had been ruined; spoiled by his attitude and nastiness.

  ‘Why should I bother?’ she stormed, tears of vexation blinding her eyes. ‘It’s obvious you have, and always have had, pressing family matters that exclude me… so get on with it. Go back to your family and leave me alone.’

  ‘You don’t mean that.’

  ‘Yes, I do,’ she said wildly.

  ‘I cannot believe how selfish you’re being, and childish.’ His anger was ice cold now, his tone patronizing. ‘If you object to my caring about what happens to my children, then we are finished. You’re too used to getting your own way, you know.’

  ‘Go to hell, you bastard…!’ Juliet crashed the receiver back on its cradle as sobs wrenched her throat and she became overwhelmed with grief. Rushing up to her bedroom, she slammed the door, and she flung herself on the bed, crying until she felt physically sick.