Part 14 (1/2)
Hugo sighed to himself. Lady Daphne Ingham was beyond his reach. It would be best if he put her out of his mind, concentrated on buying a fine house and estate in Yorks.h.i.+re, and focused on his business interests. Yes, that would be the thing to do. And money eased the pain.
There was a lot of excitement in the yellow sitting room. When Cecily arrived it was already half full, and antic.i.p.ation was high. Everyone wanted to meet Hugo, either for the first time, or to become reunited with their long-lost cousin.
Cecily was thrilled to have been invited by DeLacy, who had been given permission to ask her by the countess, and Alice had been invited by the earl.
She looked across at her mother, who was seated next to Daphne. The latter looked as lovely as always; this afternoon she was wearing a delphinium-blue silk afternoon dress, made by Alice, and it matched her eyes.
Automatically, Cecily glanced at Lady Gwendolyn, who was staring at her. Great-Aunt Gwendolyn winked, and looked at Daphne, then shook her head.
Cecily had to swallow the laughter rising in her. Lady Gwendolyn was forever chastising the Ingham women for wearing dresses to match their eyes. Cecily thought it was funny, and always had to suppress her laughter when Lady Gwendolyn was on the warpath.
Diedre was sitting with Lady Gwendolyn; DeLacy was standing with Guy and Miles, near the doorway, waiting for Hugo. They had all been anxious to meet him, but he was still absent.
A moment later, the earl entered the yellow sitting room, holding Dulcie's hand, and the countess followed, accompanied by Charlotte Swann. Everyone had arrived. Only Hugo, the guest of honor, was missing.
Suddenly Dulcie broke free of her father's hold, and ran across the room. She came to a standstill in front of Diedre. ”I met Hugo first!” she announced proudly. Although she was afraid of her eldest sister, Dulcie was brave, and could be defiant at times; she was oddly combative for a little girl. Also, she enjoyed making announcements which were challenging.
Diedre merely raised an eyebrow eloquently, murmured off-handedly, ”As if anybody cares.”
Dulcie was instantly offended, and flounced away on her plump little legs, making for Daphne, whom she adored. ”You are the most beautiful of the big sisters,” she exclaimed in a very loud voice.
Daphne reached for Dulcie, her face soft with love for her little sister, and she embraced her. ”And you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen.” Against her hair, she whispered, ”I'm going to give you one of my jewelled tortoisesh.e.l.l hair slides later, and a new lace hankie.”
”Ooooo, thank you, Daphne.” Lowering her voice, Dulcie confided, ”Diedre's angry because I met Hugo first.”
”Oh, don't worry about that, darling. Just because he chose to meet you first is not your fault.”
Dulcie frowned for a second, and then laughed. ”Oh! I must tell Mama that, and-”
The earl reclaimed Dulcie, and said, ”You'd better come with me to say h.e.l.lo to Great-Aunt Gwendolyn. You know she enjoys talking to you.”
”Oh yes, let's do that. I have a present for her, Papa.”
The earl glanced down at Dulcie, frowning. ”Where is it?”
”In my pocket.” She patted the side of her flounced organdy frock, and walked sedately across the room with her father.
”Ah, here you are, Dulcie, and in such a nice party frock, blue, of course,” Lady Gwendolyn said, smiling at her, thinking how lucky Charles and Felicity were ... the four Dees were all lovely, and the two boys were handsome. ”I can understand why everyone says you're like a Botticelli angel,” she added.
”With a will of steel,” Diedre murmured, and got up, went to talk to her mother, who was standing with Charlotte and Cecily near the bay window overlooking the lawns.
The earl, surprised by this comment, raised a brow and glanced at his aunt. He shrugged, shook his head. ”She just can't resist making that kind of nasty remark,” Charles murmured, sounding slightly put out.
”I know what you mean,” his aunt responded, and wondered if Diedre had inherited that trait from her.
Dulcie said, ”She doesn't like me. I'm a nuisance, the little madam, that's what she says.”
Both Charles and Lady Gwendolyn were taken aback by these comments from the child, and simply stared at each other.
Drawing closer to her great-aunt, Dulcie now gave her a huge smile, and announced, ”I have a present for you.”
”Oh how nice, you're such a darling child. I like presents, you know. I suppose everyone does.”
Reaching into her pocket, Dulcie took out a barley-sugar hard sweet, and handed it to her great-aunt.
Lady Gwendolyn took it gingerly, gazing at it curiously for a moment, detecting bits of fluff and lint stuck to it. The candy looked to her as if it had been around for days without its paper wrapper. And who knew where, since it was decidedly grubby. ”How kind of you, Dulcie,” Lady Gwendolyn said at last, and smiled at her. She put the candy in her handbag. ”I'll save it for later,” she explained. ”I don't want it to spoil my afternoon tea.”
”But don't forget the sweetie, will you? I saved it specially for you, Great-Aunt Gwendolyn.”
”I won't. And thank you again. You're very generous.”
Amused, Charles grinned at his aunt, then escorted his youngest child over to her mother, now sitting on the sofa in the bay. He wondered where Hugo was, when he suddenly appeared in the doorway of the yellow sitting room.
”I'm so sorry I'm late!” Hugo exclaimed, glancing around the room, taking in everyone. Some he knew, others he didn't. He went on, ”Well, here I am at last! h.e.l.lo, everyone!”
They answered, ”h.e.l.lo,” in unison, and laughed, and a few clapped as he strolled forward, greeting those he knew with a kiss, or a shake of the hand, and introducing himself to those he didn't know with ease and charm.
He was pleased when he saw Alice Swann, and stopped to speak to her for a few moments. He smiled at Daphne, who was seated next to her, and murmured, ”You look exceptionally beautiful, Daphne.”
She smiled back. ”Thank you, Hugo.”
Hugo felt himself growing hot all over, and he quickly stepped away, headed across the floor to join his aunt. He took charge of himself at once, knowing he must not display any emotions in front of his family, especially if Daphne was present. He had to be calm and collected; the absolute gentleman. Nothing must appear to be improper.
Lady Gwendolyn had a loving smile on her face when he bent down to kiss her cheek, and she squeezed his arm. He sat down on the sofa next to her, and took her hand in his.
There was a tremor of emotion in her voice when she murmured, ”Thank G.o.d you've come home at last. I've worried about you for years, Hugo.”
”Well, here I am, Aunt Gwen, and glad to be back. I've missed you ... missed everybody really. But you most of all, you know.”
She was unable to speak for a moment, and he noticed the glint of tears in her blue eyes.
He said quietly, ”Before we start catching up, I just want you to know I haven't come here to claim Little Skell Manor. I don't want it; you can live there as long as you want, for the rest of your life, Aunt Gwen.”
”I never thought you were going to turf me out, Hugo. You were the kindest of boys, and I didn't think you'd changed. I loved you, and I still love you. You're rather like the son I never had, and I was devastated when you were sent away. It was unconscionable of your mother. She really was mentally unhinged after Peter drowned. Still, there was no reason to blame you.”
She sighed. ”I grieved for you, but your father told me he often saw you ... I knew Ian would never abandon you. He loved you.” She smiled and squeezed his hand. ”Here you are now, and thank you, by the way, for Little Skell Manor. But I never thought you'd want it.”
Hugo was silent for a moment, touched by her words. At last, he said, ”So, tell me everything that's happened since I've been gone.”
Lady Gwendolyn chuckled. ”Not much, darling. I just carry on, potter around, go up to town occasionally, to see friends, have quiet dinners and, of course, I can't do without the theater. So I'm quite sure you have more to tell me. Oh and Hugo, I must offer you my deepest condolences. Charles told me you were widowed a year ago. I am so very, very sorry, my dear.”
”Thank you, Aunt Gwen. I must admit, it has been hard. Unfortunately, Loretta was ill with consumption, which is why we moved to Zurich, for the mountain air, and the good sanatoriums.” He let out a sigh. ”She was too far gone, too ill to get better.”
He s.h.i.+fted slightly on the sofa, and looked off into the distance. ”I realized how lonely I was in Zurich, and one day I just knew I had to live in England again. It was such a strong desire I finally made up my mind to come home ... you see, I yearned for my own people, for all of you, and for this Yorks.h.i.+re land I know so well.”
Later, once the afternoon tea was over, Charlotte, Alice, and Cecily walked back to Little Skell village together, taking the path through the park.