by Jack Murray
Chapter 5
Kit and Strangerson walked into a large, elegantly furnished dining room. The table at the centre was large but not dominating and looked like it would seat ten people comfortably. The room was very light thanks to the French windows and light coloured walls. Adorning the walls were a number of small genre and equestrian paintings from the nineteenth century. Cavendish was standing to one side of the table and smiled to the newly-arrived guests.
‘Gentlemen, I trust you are well-rested following your journey.’
‘Yes sir, thank you, and the bedroom is very comfortable with a wonderful view. I’m sure there are beautiful gardens underneath the snow somewhere!’ replied Kit, smiling.
‘Indeed, it’s come down rather heavily this last few hours. I hope our carol singers will be able to make it up to the Hall later.’
‘Carol singers, Capital idea, sir,’ said Strangerson.
‘It is actually. We have a tradition at the Hall. The Vicar and many of the villagers come up to the Hall and we serve mulled wine, mince pies and give out presents to the school children.’
‘Can we join in the festivities, sir?’ asked Kit.
‘Why of course. Traditionally it’s myself and, in the past, my wife and boys who did the honours. This year if you would like to help Mary, Esther and myself, it would be very welcome, Kit.’
‘I should be delighted, sir.’
‘And I also. It sounds like a spiffing idea,’ added Strangerson.
‘Excellent, thank you very much gentlemen. We can set up a few posts as there could be as many as sixty men, women and children from the village to visit us this afternoon.’
Kit walked over to the painting hanging over the fireplace. It showed a horse and a foal. He recognized the artist immediately. ‘This looks like a Stubbs, sir.’
‘It is. My grandfather had an eye for these things. Probably spent a little too much on it in my view but there are many paintings around the house acquired by him over the years. Mostly equestrian, I should add, but some interesting portraits as well. We have a Sargent also. Katherine.’
‘I should like to see her portrait. I remember she was very beautiful.’
‘You should‘ve seen her when I met her,’ smiled Cavendish but there was a melancholy in his eyes.
The dining room door opened. Lady Emily and Henry made their entrance.
‘Emily,’ said Cavendish. He took her hand and brought her over to Strangerson and Kit. ‘Can I introduce you and Henry to our guests for Christmas, Lord Kit Aston and Eric Strangerson.’
Lady Emily held out her hand and they both shook observing the usual introductory pleasantries with them both. Kit could not help but observe the limpness of Henry’s handshake and unwillingness to look him in the eye. He felt sympathetic towards the young man. He clearly lacked self-confidence and was uncertain in company. This could easily be changed with the right mentoring. Cavendish had also noticed this exchange. There was much to do.
‘The idea is we serve food ourselves and allow our staff to make ready for the carol singers and villagers later, so please help yourselves and sit anywhere, we shall try to be as informal as possible,’ said Cavendish.
The gentlemen allowed Lady Emily to pick a few items on her plate and then they followed.’ What a wonderful selection, Lord Cavendish. Your staff has excelled themselves. I hardly know where to begin,’ said Strangerson. His solution was brilliantly simple, he put a generous amount of food on his plate from each of the offerings. Cavendish and Kit glanced at one another as they looked at Strangerson tuck in. Both smiled.
‘I shall make sure to tell Elsie, who prepared this feast.’
‘Please do, sir.’
Neither Emily nor Henry made any comment on the food that had been presented. Then she made a small show of looking around the table, ‘Should we make a start, or do we wait for the girls?’
This was a split second too late for Strangerson who had already begun to eat. He looked up comically and laughed, ‘Oh gosh, I’m afraid my hunger got the better of my manners.’
‘Don’t worry old chap,’ reassured Cavendish, ‘my granddaughters will soon make their dramatic entrance.’
As if on cue, Esther and Mary entered the room, and for Kit, the oxygen left it. Esther was every bit as beautiful as he had been led to believe. She seemed to glide rather than walk. Transfixed for a moment, Kit regained his composure and stood up. Strangerson finished off his mouthful, dabbed his chin with the napkin and rose in a movement that Cavendish found oddly impressive in its economy.
The girls went over to their Aunt Emily first and greetings and kisses were exchanged, rather grandly by Lady Emily thought Kit. Next was Strangerson who acted in a most jovial manner making all the right noises about the beauty of the girls and making a great show of bowing to them and kissing their outstretched hands. Kit held his breath as they came towards him.
‘Lord Aston, we‘re honoured to have you join us this Christmas.’ This was Esther. She held out her hand and he shook it rather than doing as Strangerson had done.
‘I’m the one who is honoured, firstly to have been invited by your grandfather and to be with the daughters, and son, of men I admired greatly.
‘You met our father?’ This was Mary. He looked at Mary, for the first time, as he had barely been able to keep his eyes off Esther. She was slightly shorter than her sister and more slender. Her movement had a different type of grace, but Kit was too entranced to analyse further. He noticed that she wore her hair much shorter than Esther. A Suffragette, he wondered? The blue eyes were those of her sister but where Esther seemed dreamy, inviting you to worship, Mary’s crackled with an electric intensity.
‘Our paths crossed on a number of occasions,’ explained Kit.
‘I should like to know more some time,’ said Mary.
‘Gladly.’
Cavendish, observing all introductions had been made, motioned for his granddaughters to collect their lunch and join the table. He was pleased by the impact Esther, particularly, had made on Kit. The politeness of the meeting between Strangerson and Mary had told its own story. There was little prospect of romance there.
Kit was glad the two girls were sitting across the table from him. It would give him ample opportunity to view them. With some difficulty, he tried to dismiss the thought that this was a deliberate ploy by Esther or Mary. Nevertheless, he couldn’t stop himself hoping.
‘I say, it’s fairly chucking it down outside,’ said Strangerson. Cavendish silently thanked him for starting conversation at the table.
‘We often have a white Christmas here,’ added Cavendish.
‘It’s certainly very beautiful, romantic even,’ said Kit.
‘Are you a romantic, Lord Aston?’ This was Mary, smiling.
Kit laughed and avoided answering the question directly. ‘My friends call me, Kit. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I read Byron every day.’
Mary narrowed her eyes and smiled, Kit could tell she knew he had avoided answering the question. He became aware Lady Emily had spoken, and he turned his attention towards her. His fears about her were quickly being realized. She was a little over-bearing and pompous. Henry seemed utterly disinterested in what she had to say as well as in more general conversation. Kit felt he should try and bring him into the conversation.
‘Tell me Henry, are you at university yet?’
‘No, Lord Aston.’
‘He will go next year,’ interjected Lady Emily, ‘Won’t you my dear.’
Henry did not deign to reply so Kit added, ‘Any thoughts on where you will go and what you would like to read?’
Once again Lady Emily jumped in, ‘We would like him to read the Classics. I think that Greek and Latin provide such a good grounding for the mind and the soul? Don’t you agree Lord Aston?’
‘I read Mathematics and Modern Languages myself. At Cambridge.’
‘I should like to have had the opportunity to go there,’ said Mary.
‘I agree you
should be allowed to go, Lady Mary. There are so many things that need to change with regard to women and society,’ replied Kit.
‘The vote as well, Kit. Good Lord, they’ll be driving next!’ interjected Strangerson. Everyone laughed except Mary and Henry. Suspecting that his joke might offend Mary, he quickly recanted, ‘Of course, I agree with Kit. It’s a bally shame, positively medieval really.’
Mary looked at Strangerson. Kit could not decide if she was warming to him or taking his measure. On balance he suspected the latter. Esther turned to Henry, realising he had not been given the chance to respond to Kit, ‘I’m sorry Henry, but what would you like to do at university.’
Henry turned a deep red as all eyes turned towards him. Esther felt a tinge of regret for him, but her grandfather was very happy. He was very curious to hear what the young man would say.
He turned towards his mother and then looked at the table, ‘Well, my grandfather has mentioned he would love that I read chemistry.’
Lady Emily turned to Cavendish and glared. ‘Really Arthur?’
‘I believe he’s referring to your father, Emily,’ said Cavendish innocently.
‘I see,’ said Emily. Cavendish was highly amused. He had a feeling that Cedric Blythe was going to get a rather severe verbal beating from his daughter. Poor fellow, he thought. It occurred to him that he should invite Blythe to visit soon. It had been too long.
The turn in the conversation appeared to embolden young Henry, ‘In fact I should be rather keen to study Chemistry. Grandpapa and I have talked about it at length. He knows I have an interest and I’ve visited the plant in York a number of times.’
Emily looked like she was chewing wasps and remained silent. The lunch party took this to mean the subject, for the moment, was closed. Kit, however, was very decided on speaking to Henry, away from his mother, on this subject. Both Cavendish and Mary were similarly determined.
‘What languages did you read Lord Aston?’ asked Esther, to fill the silence which had descended like a cloud on the party.
‘German, French and Russian,’ replied Kit.
‘And you did Mathematics also, wherever did you find the time to do all this? You mustn’t have had much of a social life,’ probed Mary.
‘Thankfully I had a pretty good start on all but Russian, I began to study it at university. So, I didn’t have to forego all of the fun to be had in Cambridge during my time there.’
‘Have you been to Russia?’ asked Mary, eyeing him closely.
Kit glanced at Cavendish who briefly shut his eyes and imperceptibly shook his head. The glance to Cavendish did not go unnoticed, however, by Mary who smiled and narrowed her eyes, ‘Or perhaps I shouldn’t ask.’
By way of an answer Kit replied, ‘I’ve spent a little time with Kerensky. He’s in London now. I’ve been able to practice with him.’
The rest of the meal passed off without any further diplomatic incidents. Strangerson proved to be very adept at keeping conversation light and instantly forgettable. Kit was able to enjoy the vista of the Cavendish girls, who presented a fascinating study in polar opposites. He wondered how they got on with one another. They seemed so different and yet, there was no mistaking the facial resemblance, the beautifully modulated voices and also their laughter, which was frequent, sincere and conspiratorial enough to suggest a genuine closeness.
Unquestionably, Esther was the most beautiful girl Kit had ever seen. He knew from the moment she had entered the room. It was a relief to see that her beauty was not just an outward manifestation. There was no artifice about her. Her natural grace was both physical and metaphysical. To be near her was to feel a surge of good feeling for humanity. After the horrors of France, he could imagine no purer experience than to be with her. However, he was acutely aware it would become obvious if he stared at her too much. Instead he tried to ensure he conversed with Lady Emily and Strangerson also. From time to time he engaged Esther but for the most part focused his attention elsewhere.
Curtis brought some coffee in and the lunch party stood to serve themselves. Cavendish joined Emily and Henry while Strangerson went over to the window, to be joined by Kit, Esther and Mary.
‘I have to admit, I wasn’t at my best this morning,’ said Strangerson.
‘Oh, why was that Mr Strangerson?’ asked Esther.
‘Well, at the risk of offending such beautiful and genteel company, I was with some chums last night and we were partaking in some games of chance until quite late. I must confess to imbibing a rather injudicious amount of alcohol. In fact, I think I splashed a bit too much brandy!’ This revelation caused much amusement.
‘I hope you’re feeling better now, Mr Strangerson!’ said Esther.
‘Much better thank you, and how could I not in such lovely company,’ laughed Strangerson in response.
‘How did you get on in your game of chance?’ asked Mary.
‘Got a bit of a rinsing, truth be told. I don’t mind as they’re good chums, but not the sort one introduces to one’s mummy. Anyway, lesson learned. The grape and cards mixeth not.’
‘Did I hear that you had some misfortune at the cards, Strangerson?’ This was Cavendish.
Strangerson laughed and confirmed it was indeed so. Cavendish laughed also and said, ‘I’m glad you’ve learned a lesson. I must admit, in my younger days I learned a similarly expensive lesson. Avoided gambling ever since.’
‘Really Grandpapa?’ said Mary, ‘this is new and very interesting news. I should like to hear more.’ Taking Strangerson by the arm, she steered him over to the side of the room where Cavendish, Emily and Henry were stood.
‘Arthur, is this really is a suitable conversation for Henry to hear,’ said Emily rather stiffly.
Henry rolled his eyes in irritation and even Cavendish raised his eyebrows in surprise. Finally, he said, ‘I think, Emily, Henry will encounter all sorts of people doing many things that both you and I may not approve off. We do him no favour by protecting him from this knowledge. Would it not be better for him to hear of the sad outcomes resulting from such foolish behaviour?’
‘And expensive,’ interjected Strangerson.
‘…and expensive experiences of our friend here?’ added Cavendish, more in amusement than gravity.
‘Well I think it all sounds rather exciting, frankly,’ said Mary. ‘I would love to visit some illicit gambling den or hit the tables at Monte Carlo.’
‘Trust you my dear. Ever the rebel,’ smiled Cavendish.
‘Where did you get involved in such illicit activity grandpapa? We want to hear more of this.’ asked Mary mischievously.
‘I was once young, you know,’ he smiled, ‘as difficult as that may be to believe, young lady. There was a lot of spare time in the army. I had many friends who gambled quite seriously. There were more than a few consequences, if I remember, often not to the benefit of those involved. I might’ve occasionally dabbled but I was never so interested, and certainly had little aptitude.’
Mary smiled up at her grandfather with something akin to a newfound respect, but Emily’s face continued to register disapproval, so Cavendish felt it prudent to change the conversational tack to more commonplace topics.
Meanwhile, Kit and Esther were now alone, beside the window. Kit smiled at her, ‘Was that deliberately stage-managed?’
‘Knowing Mary, I would say yes. My apologies. What it lacked in subtlety was more than made up by the best of intentions.’
‘You seem very different.’
‘We are. But I’d also add we’re the best of friends. I couldn’t wish for a better sister than Mary.’
‘I’m glad to hear it. I have a half-brother whom I don’t see very much of, so missed out on having a sibling rival or friend.’
‘Siblings can certainly be both. I think with Mary and I, it was mostly the latter. She’s always been very competitive but not with me. Probably because I was never very bothered trying to compete with her, or anyone else for that matter, at school or the other things
we enjoy.’
‘Oh, why not?’ probed Kit.
‘It’s different for women. We don’t have your opportunities – I wouldn’t get Mary started on this subject, by the way,’ said Esther smiling. ‘I always knew that, in the end, I would be expected to marry, ideally well, and have a family. Mary has been less accepting of this. I love this about her, but we‘re different in this regard.’
Kit was aware this was something of an understatement. Mary had caused something of a minor scandal in social circles, when she had left Cavendish Hall and volunteered to become a nurse under an assumed name. This had been done without the knowledge or consent of the family. Somehow, she had managed to convince various medical professionals that she was a nurse and ended up in France working near the front line.
‘Where you aware of what Mary intended?
‘Yes, but I swore not to tell. She never told me her assumed name, so it meant grandpapa was unable to track her. To be honest, I don’t think he tried too hard. Not because he didn’t care, I should say. It was hard for him. Losing grandmama and then papa, really took a lot out of him. He worried so about Uncle Robert. When Mary left, I think he felt more pride. Certainly not anger. He admired her spirit.’
‘But I understand you also worked in London over this period.’
‘Yes, but it was really nothing. I oversaw the work of some nurses in Voluntary Aid Detachments and worked on the buses, would you believe. Hardly like Mary.’
‘When I came back from France, I spent some time in hospital. The work of the VAD nurses was marvelous. I think it wonderful you both volunteered to help. You didn’t have to.’
They were silent for a moment, as if realizing the subject was straying too close to things that neither was ready to talk about.
‘Thank you for coming this Christmas. I’m not sure how it would have been with us, Aunt Emily and Henry,’ said Esther sincerely.
Kit smiled. ‘Yes, I think I understand. Your aunt certainly has a strong personality. I hope young Henry will be allowed to make his own decisions.’
