A Flight To Heaven (5 page)

But the sun was shining on this bright February day and Chiara knew that spring would be coming soon.

“The postmark is Norfolk,” Elizabeth said, as she handed Chiara the envelope.

“It will be from Mama.”

Lady Fairfax had written a short note to her every week of the month that she had been away, sending her love and hoping that Chiara was enjoying herself in Ely.

As she unfolded the letter, Chiara was expecting to read a similar message to those her mother had already sent and she ran her eyes over the familiar elegant handwriting.

“My darling daughter,” she read,

“
I hope that this letter finds you well and happy. I understand that you have been a great help to Elizabeth, as her Mama wrote to me last week and told me how hard you have been working to help her get ready for her wedding and what a joy it is to have you to stay with them
.

As soon as I read her words, I realised how much I have missed my lovely daughter all through these sad and painful weeks
.

It was very hard to send you away, but I knew that I would not be good company for you, my darling, and I so wanted you to have fun and not to dwell upon the sadness that hangs over our home
.

I should love to have you home again, Chiara, if you can bear to leave the endless excitement of Elizabeth’s engagement
.

I am feeling very much better and people have been so very kind and thoughtful – not a day goes past without many callers coming to Rensham Hall. I have not yet received any of them, but I am quite inundated with their calling cards
.

The time has come, I think, for me to face the world again. Don’t you think it would be a good idea if we gave some dinner parties for these kind people?

And of course, I will need my lovely daughter at my side if I am going to start entertaining once more
.”

Chiara read no further, for her head was spinning with shock. Her Mama wanted her to go home!

She had been at Ely now for almost a month and she had become quite used to spending each and every day in Elizabeth’s company, shopping and sewing, taking tea and going for long walks.

The Dean and his wife had treated her so kindly, almost as if she was a second daughter to them.

“What is it?” Elizabeth asked.

“Mama wants me to go back to Rensham Hall.”

Elizabeth bit her lip.

“I am glad, but I shall miss you quite dreadfully.”

“I do wish you could come with me,” Chiara said, thinking how much fun it would be if the two of them were both able to attend the dinner parties her Mama mentioned.

“I really cannot.” Elizabeth shook her head. “Not when I have so much to do before the wedding, but Chiara, – will you be my bridesmaid? Promise?”

“Of course!” Chiara said and gave her friend a hug.

*

The next day, as Chiara climbed into the chaise to begin her journey to Norfolk, Elizabeth pressed a brown paper parcel into her hands.

“Thank you for everything,” she said. “Papa told me to choose a special present for you and this is it. Don’t open it until you get home, will you?”

And then the chaise was soon rattling away over the cobblestones and Chiara turned back to wave at her friend, who stood on the steps as she had done on that first day, only now there were no black clouds in the sky and the spring sun was shining down on her glowing red hair.

This time, as she travelled up the drive to her home, Chiara did not look up at Rensham Hall. She could not bear to remember the last time she had arrived here.

When her mother came running down the stairs of Rensham Hall to greet her, Chiara’s heart stopped beating for a moment. What if her Mama should trip on the stairs and fall at Chiara’s feet, just like her father had done.

But Lady Fairfax did not stumble, she descended the staircase swiftly and gracefully, looking tall and elegant in a black mourning gown.

She was rather thinner than Chiara remembered and her face was very pale, but she seemed to have recovered much of her spirit.

“Oh, my darling! It’s so good to see you,” she said and flung her arms around Chiara. “Now you are here we can start to live again!”

“You look beautiful, Mama,” Chiara sighed, gazing into Lady Fairfax’s brown eyes and seeing that they were glowing with vitality once again.

“So do you, my Chiara. Why, the Fenland air must agree with you, you have such lovely roses in your cheeks. And you seem, I don’t know, quite grown up!”

Chiara felt suddenly shy.

She had been only been away for a month, but she felt as if she had not seen her Mama for a very long time.

And she
did
feel grown up, after spending so much time with Elizabeth and planning for the wedding. Her days of being a carefree schoolgirl were now long past.

“But darling, just look at all these.”

Lady Fairfax pointed to the silver tray that lay on the hall table, which was piled high with cards.

“Half of these people I don’t even know,” Lady Fairfax continued, picking up a handful of the cards. “Mr. Hunter? Who is he? I don’t remember your Papa having an acquaintance of that name and here is a Lord Darley – I have certainly never met this person.”

“It’s very kind of everybody to call and offer their condolences, Mama.”

“Indeed it is and we must repay that kindness. Now you are home, we must give dinner parties. First we must invite close friends and neighbours. Then we should extend our hospitality to some of these others we don’t know. It might be fun to make some new acquaintances.”

She turned to Chiara with a bright smile.

“I am quite looking forward to a little excitement,” she said. “But now, my darling, you must go up to your room and settle yourself in.”

But Lady Fairfax’s social schedule did not work out quite as she had planned, as the first visitors to Rensham Hall were neither neighbours nor friends.

After breakfast the morning after her return home, Chiara took herself to the stables with a handful of sugar lumps for her old white pony, Erebus.

But before she could pass under the arch of the clock tower, which led into the stable yard, she heard the clatter of hooves behind her and turned, expecting to see one of the grooms bringing a pair of horses back from their morning exercise.

But the two handsome gentlemen who rode towards her on sleek thoroughbreds were complete strangers.

“It’s her! Isn’t it?” she heard the younger of the two say in a loud whisper. He had curly black hair and a round cheerful face.

“I hardly think so,” the other gentleman replied. He was taller with a long tanned face and short brown hair that was turning grey at the sides.

The younger man put his hand up to his mouth and spoke behind it, but Chiara still heard him say,

“It has to be, she’s pretty enough and look at her dark hair! Did they not say that Lady Fairfax came from Italy before she married?”

“Look again, my Lord,” the other man whispered. “She’s far too young to be a widow. This one is hardly out of school.”

And then he smiled and raised his hat to Chiara.

“Good morning!” he called across to her. “Forgive us, we were not expecting to see a young lady out so bright and early. Mervyn Hunter at your service.”

His teeth looked very white in his tanned face and his eyes were pale and sharp under his thin brows.

Chiara felt herself blushing. Before she could say anything, the younger man spoke,

“Lord Thomas Darley! Delighted to meet you,” he said, sweeping his hat from his head. “We have been staying with Lord and Lady Duckett for the shooting.”

“Good morning, my Lord,” Chiara replied. “I hope your stay has been enjoyable.”

“Absolutely!” Lord Darley said. “We’ve had great sport and now the season is over we thought we would stay on a while and have some gallops over your wonderful flat countryside.”

He slapped his big brown horse on the shoulder and it tossed its head as if it was impatient to be off.

“But who are you?” he continued. “We have come past Rensham Hall several times to pay our respects to her Ladyship, but she never seems to be at home.”

“I am her daughter. My name is Chiara.”

“Oh, how very charming!” Lord Darley gave a little bow. “An Italian name, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

Chiara felt rather uncomfortable as she stood by the archway, looking up at the two gentlemen. They seemed a long way above her as they sat on their tall thoroughbreds gazing down at her.

She did not know what she should do.

It seemed impolite not to invite them into The Hall for some refreshment, yet she was not sure how her Mama might feel about that.

Mervyn Hunter must have noticed that she was ill at ease, as he swung out of the saddle and dismounted.

“Do give our condolences to your dear mother,” he said, pulling a calling card from out of his pocket. “Such a tragedy to lose her husband in that way.”

Chiara wanted to back away from him, as he was standing very close, his pale eyes fixed on hers.

“Come on, Mervyn,” Lord Darley urged, as his tall horse spun round. “Moonraker needs to stretch his legs.”

Then to Chiara’s relief, Mervyn Hunter leapt onto his mount and the two of them cantered away, their horses’ hooves throwing up the gravel from the drive.

She made her way into the stable yard and found Erebus’s white head peering over one of the stable doors.

She gave him his sugar and he pushed at her hand with his velvet nose, rolling his soft brown eyes, as if to tell her that he was pleased she had come back.

“He’s missed you, Lady Chiara,” a lilting Norfolk voice spoke. It was Jonah, the young groom who looked after Erebus. “Will you be ridin’ out this mornin’?”

“Oh, I should love to, Jonah. But I must go in and tell Mama that we have had visitors.”

Jonah looked at her, his blue eyes anxious under his thatch of thick fair hair.

“Those two, my Lady, they come a-ridin’ by almost every day. What be they after?”

“They are staying with our friends, Lord and Lady Duckett,” Chiara explained, “and they wished to pay their respects to Mama.”

“Then why be they always a-snoopin’ around the stable yard?” Jonah asked. “They’ve no business here and I’ve offered to put up their horses for ’em, but they always tell me they have just come to leave their cards and will be gone. So what do they mean by lookin’ about the place?”

“I don’t know, Jonah. Perhaps they like to see the horses.”

Jonah shook his head.

“Neither of ’em cares one little bit for horseflesh,” he said, “as they thinks nothin’ of ridin’ their beasts into the ground, just for the sake of speed.”

“Well – don’t you worry,” Chiara said. “I will tell Mama about them and I am sure all will be well.”

Jonah was clearly worried by the behaviour of these two gentlemen and Chiara too felt a little uneasy when she recalled the way that Mervyn Hunter had looked at her.

His lean face was indeed handsome enough, but he had stared at her so intently that she did not feel quite comfortable under his cold gaze.

She wished that her Papa was still alive as he would know exactly how to handle the situation, but he was not and no amount of wishing would bring him back.

Chiara promised Jonah that she would ride the next day and, with a swift kiss for Erebus on his soft nose, she ran back to The Hall.

“So that is a mystery solved!” Lady Fairfax cried, when Chiara told her about the visitors. “Those two very handsome gentlemen I spied from the window are Lord Darley and Mr. Hunter, who have left their cards for us.”

“Mama – did you see them?”

“I did indeed,” Lady Fairfax replied and a pretty dimple appeared in her cheek as she smiled. “I was about to come out and meet them, but then I saw that you were there first and I did not want to spoil your fun!”

“Oh, Mama! You should have come.”

“Not at all, my darling. The tall distinguished one Lord Darley, I presume, has quite fallen for you, I think – I saw him leap from the saddle to speak to you.”

Chiara explained that this was Mr. Hunter and that his companion was in fact Lord Darley.

“Is that so?” Lady Fairfax’s eyes were now shining. “Well, my darling, then it’s Mr. Hunter who is smitten with you and what a striking man! Though Lord Darley is very good-looking too. I am going straight to my writing desk to compose an invitation to dinner. Let’s have Lord and Lady Duckett and their very handsome guests to dine with us at the first possible opportunity.”

Chiara could not remember seeing her Mama so excited and happy before and she found herself wondering if sometimes she had found being married to a man much older than herself a little dull, even though she loved him very much.

At the same time the thought was a rather upsetting one and Chiara pushed it into the back of her mind as she went up to her bedroom to wash and tidy her hair.

The first thing she noticed, as she entered the room, was a brown paper parcel lying on the sofa.

“Elizabeth’s present! How could I have forgotten it?”

Somehow in the excitement of arriving at Rensham Hall last night, it had completely slipped Chiara’s mind. Her maid must have found the parcel among her things and laid it on the sofa for her to open.

She picked it up and weighed it in her hands. It felt light and soft. When she tore open the brown paper, Chiara caught her breath in delight. Inside was the white dress with the blue sash she had tried on in the shop in Ely.

Elizabeth must have gone back and bought it for her. Tears of joy and gratitude sprang into Chiara’s eyes.

‘It’s the loveliest dress ever,’ she sighed to herself. ‘Now all I need is a ball to go to!’

And then she tenderly folded the cloudy white silk, touching the filmy lace of the neckline and the sleeves and took it to hang up in her wardrobe.

A note had come with the parcel and she picked it up to read,

“
Dearest Chiara
,

I will never forget how lovely you looked when you tried this dress in that shop – so here it is! I told Papa about it and he completely agreed that you should have it. Which is quite something from dear Papa, who normally does not bother about things like that
.