Love at the Tower (5 page)

‘Perhaps if I ride around the perimeter, then I can gauge just how far the Castle has deteriorated.'

It did not take her very long to reach the copse that overlooked the estate. It was on top of a hill and afforded her a panoramic view over the Castle.

‘Goodness!' she gasped, upon seeing that the top of the Tower had crumbled out and its castellated battlements were no more. ‘It's worse than I had suspected.'

She recalled how, as a child, she and Robert would play
King Arthur
in the Tower – she would be Guinevere and he, Arthur. Ellis always wanted to be Lancelot and she remembered recoiling at such a prospect, as she had read in
Morte d'Arthur
that they were lovers and that meant that he might have to kiss her!

Ellis.

Were there ever brothers so incredibly unlike each other in just about every way? Ellis's hair was as black as pitch with brown eyes, whereas Robert's hair was golden brown and his eyes were startlingly blue.

Even as a boy there had been something unappealing about Ellis.

Whilst Robert had always been slender and long of limb, Ellis was squat with a stunted look about him.

Ellis was the kind of little boy who enjoyed pulling legs off spiders and could never be trusted with an animal due to his spitefulness.

He had shown no interest in horses like his brother and, instead, preferred to lounge around the Castle staring into space or sleeping.

In adolescence he had been something of a problem to his family. Once his brother had left for Sandhurst, he had thrown up any notion of education and had decamped to his father's flat in Mayfair, refusing to come home.

The old Earl, however, was inclined to indulge his younger son and considered it amusing that Ellis showed an aptitude for cards and had some luck at the races.

Thus Ellis had been spoilt and set upon the road to loose living.

Robina recalled eavesdropping on her father discussing Ellis with one of his friends before the death of her mother.

She had been in the library to pass the time and had been delighted to find a shelf of books she had never seen before. She guessed by their titles that they belonged to her mother, as she could not imagine her father reading
East Lynne
by Mrs. Henry Wood.

Crouching down she had become immersed in the tale of murder and illicit love and oblivious to anything else.

When her father had come in with Sir George Aird, she had not liked to get up – she always felt as if the library was special and that she must ask permission to be there.

So she hid thinking that they would not linger.

But they had.

“Yes, the boy has become a bit of a problem,” she heard her father saying. “Since his father died, he has not grasped the nettle of his responsibilities and with the new Earl in India I am deeply concerned that his conduct is not being corrected.”

“I would imagine you have heard about his exploits in a certain theatre?” replied Sir George.

“I have and it is a shame I am not closer to him or I would take matters into my own hands and persuade him to see the error of his ways.”

“This could be a huge scandal – a son of the House of Hampton cavorting with a Gaiety girl!”

Robina's ears had pricked up at this point.

Although she knew she was not supposed to know about them, she had heard all about the notorious chorus girls who paraded on stage at the
Gaiety Theatre
wearing daring costumes!

“Rumour has it that it was Constance Collier,” said Sir George with a note of envy in his voice at the thought of the beautiful dancer spending time with the feckless young man.

“He will bring great shame upon the good name of Hampton at this rate. Spending money as if it was water and frequenting common public houses.”

“I heard that his brother has frozen his allowance,” added Sir George.

“If he has any sense, that is precisely what he should do and the sooner the better. However, my worry is for the estate. The old Earl did not leave it in good order and Ellis is supposed to be running it on behalf of his brother.”

“A spell in the Army would not go amiss,” muttered Sir George darkly. “It has made a man of his brother.”

The two men had then left the library together, so Robina had emerged from her hiding place.

“Well,” she had exclaimed. “I am very shocked. Ellis Hampton – a dissolute rake!”

And so, as she now stood on the edge of the copse, she thought long and hard about the Castle.

‘Ellis must have spent all the money on high living in London,' she thought, as she squinted at several broken windows in the West wing. ‘The gardens look bedraggled, even from this distance. They were always so beautiful – '

Suddenly she saw two figures at the bottom of the Tower and she hurriedly re-mounted Firefly and rode him deep into the trees.

‘The last thing I want is for the Earl or his awful brother to see me lurking around,' she said to herself as she turned Firefly around towards the main road.

The sun was at its height in the sky as she returned to Trentham House and the feeling in her stomach told her that it must be time for luncheon.

‘I do hope that my Stepmama has gone out. I wish I could have luncheon with Papa alone.'

She ran upstairs to change and as she was buttoning up the nice clean linen blouse Nanny had left out for her, she heard the gong sound for luncheon.

As she descended the stairs, her stepmother walked towards her with a face like fury.

“Where have you been all morning, Robina? We did not know whether or not to expect you to eat with us.”

“It is of no consequence,” replied Robina calmly, “Mrs. Bailey would have provided me with a morsel to eat had I not returned in time.”

The expression upon her stepmother's face showed her utter disapproval.

Through tight lips she answered,

“Mrs. Bailey is not here to be at your beck and call. She gets very upset if people are not present for meals.”

‘That is not my experience of her,' thought Robina, although she wisely held her tongue.

“It is common courtesy to let us know whether you intend to eat with us,” continued her stepmother, fuming. “Your father has faced enough problems with staff leaving and we certainly don't want someone as precious as Mrs. Bailey packing her bags just because you have been selfish and inconsiderate!”

Robina decided not to argue but, nevertheless, she was disappointed that she would obviously not be lunching alone with her father.

‘My best form of defence is passive muteness,' she told herself, as her stepmother continued to berate her for her ‘conduct'.

She simply cast her eyes down and appeared to be listening, all the while not taking in a single word.

In the dining room her father was waiting for them. His eyes lit up when he saw them arrive together.

“I am delighted to see that you are getting to know each other,” he beamed.

Robina sat down and a plate of salmon was placed in front of her along with some boiled new potatoes.

She ate in silence as the pact between her father and stepmother made her feel as if she should not be there.

“I saw Lord Hampton today,” she remarked at last. “He was saying that he has great plans for the Castle.”

“Really?” enquired her father. “I had heard he was back, but I must confess that I have not had the time to pay him a call. How is he?”

“He is well. His brother is causing him problems, however.”

“That ne'er-do-well! Is he still spending the family inheritance?”

Robina laughed as she wondered if perhaps he had indeed noticed her crouched behind the sofa in the library that day!

“I believe he is attempting to, but the Earl is quite determined to renovate the Castle. He has asked me to visit him to see what I think of his plans for the decor.”

“Really?” interrupted Laura. “If it is advice about decoration that he seeks, then he should ask
me
– I am an expert – everyone who visits Trentham House remarks on my good taste.”

Robina smiled and made no comment. The changes her stepmother had wrought were certainly not to her taste.

“Robina, there is one other matter I would discuss with you,” continued Laura.

“Yes, Stepmama?”

“Your room is far too large for you and I intend to move you up to the blue bedroom on the top floor so that I can turn your room into a guest suite.”

Robina looked up from her food in horror.

“But I have been in my room since I left the nursery and where should I bathe if I am in the blue room? There is no bathroom attached it.”

“You will have a washstand and you can use the bathroom along the hall.”

“But that is for the servants!”

“Then the servants shall have to use the washstands in their rooms and only use the bathroom once a week.”

“Papa – ” began Robina entreatingly.

But he was not looking at her.

He stared resolutely down at his meal before speaking,

“You will do as your stepmother asks, Robina. We intend to entertain important guests in the autumn and we cannot make them use the blue room and the other rooms will not be remodelled in time.”

Robina wanted to cry. She had been in her room with its lovely views of the gardens since she was three.

She put down her fork, unable to eat any more. The topic of conversation had quite made her lose her appetite.

“May I be excused,” she whispered, trying hard to prevent tears from welling up in her eyes.

“Very well,” agreed her father.

She was aware of her stepmother's glare as she left the dining room.

‘Just how dare she!' she fumed, as she made for the garden, ‘she will not be content until she has chased me out of the house!'

Robina noticed that a new fountain sparkled in the centre of the flower beds. This was one of the few renovations of her stepmother's that she approved of, as she loved fountains.

It was an exact copy of a fountain in the grounds of Osborne House, Queen Victoria's holiday residence on the Isle of Wight, featuring a young boy entwined with a swan with jets of water that sprang up around them.

Robina sat on the narrow ledge and dipped her hand into the cool water and it soothed her immensely.

‘I shall suggest to the Earl that a water feature in his garden would be most beneficial,' she mused.

As she sat there, she forgot about her troubles with her stepmother as her thoughts dwelled on the Earl.

‘I don't think I would have recognised him if I had met him in the street. He has grown so tall and so handsome.'

But romance was not something that concerned her – she had vowed to remain above such a notion in France and she did not see any good reason to cast that vow aside now that she was back in England.

She told herself that her interest in the Earl of Hampton was strictly that of an old friend. In addition she felt that he would understand her grief, having lost both of his parents.

‘It grieves me to say it, but it is as if I have lost my Papa as well. He has changed so much since Mama died. I still cannot believe that he has married again so soon after her death – it is not right. I don't care what Nanny says about men being unable to be on their own – he is strong willed and self-sufficient and this woman must have just inveigled herself into his affections!'

She was disturbed in her reveries by the sound of a cough and looked up to see Newman standing there.

“Excuse me, miss, we have been instructed to begin removing your belongings to the blue bedroom. Would you care to supervise the proceedings?”

Robina smiled at the faithful servant.

She had the impression that he did not care for his new Mistress either!

“Thank you, Newman, that is very thoughtful of you. I am quite happy for Nanny to supervise the move.”

“Very well, miss.”

He turned around and walked purposefully back to the house and Robina resumed her musings.

‘So I am to be moved like so much luggage in spite of expressing a desire to remain in my old room.'

She stayed by the fountain for a time before going back to the house.

As she entered she noticed that her stepmother was departing in the newly refurbished phaeton.

‘Perfect. Perhaps I can speak with Papa on his own at last.'

She hurried inside and made her way to the library, hoping he would be able to spare her a while to talk.

Her heart was beating as she approached the library door.

She knocked and after a few seconds, she heard her father's deep voice exhorting her to enter.

“Ah, Robina. This is an unexpected pleasure.”

“Papa, we have not had any time alone since I came home and I wish to speak with you.”

“I am rather busy this afternoon, my dear, can it not wait?”

Her face fell. Did he really no longer care for her?

He saw her expression and relented at once.

Laying down his pen he smiled at her indulgently.

“But yes, come, you are right that we have not been together since your return. Please stay for a while.”

She felt as if she wanted to run to him and embrace him, but there was something in his demeanour to suggest that she should not.

It seemed that he had quite a cold and unapproachable air about him – so unlike his old self.

“Papa,” she began, “I am resigned to the fact that I shall have to move to the blue bedroom and I want you to know I shall not complain about the new arrangements.”

“That is good, I am glad that you have seen sense,” he replied delightedly. “Laura has put a tremendous effort into turning Trentham House into a modern residence. I don't want you to think I am doing it to erase all memory of your mother. No, that could never happen.”

For a second he gazed off into the far distance and she felt that he did, indeed, still love her Mama very much. It heartened her to see his softened expression.