The American Heiress (50 page)

The Prince of Wales was the first to cycle down the gravel path. His balance was unsteady but he managed to round the first corner without incident. No one dared smile at the portly figure as he wobbled off, he was so sensitive about his weight that anyone who hoped to remain in his favour had to pretend to see the slim young man that the Prince still imagined himself to be. The Prince’s equerry Colonel Ferrers rode off next at a pace calculated not to challenge his royal master. Sybil and Reggie followed, Reggie riding close to Sybil, ostensibly in case of accidents. Cora and Teddy were the last in the party as the older ladies had declined to risk their dignity, Charlotte Beauchamp had not yet appeared and Ivo claimed that he had business on the estate.

Cora pushed off quickly. She could see that Teddy wanted to talk to her about last night and she was reluctant to do so. She could still feel Ivo’s arm round her when she had greeted her guests that morning, which had allowed her to keep her smile radiant when confronted by so many curious faces. She had ignored all their unspoken questions and had outlined the day’s plans as if nothing had happened. Her mother had nodded at her approvingly and even the Double Duchess had given her a gracious incline of the head. But Cora knew that her self-command was fragile, she could not afford to look down. She saw that Teddy was struggling to contain his emotions and she tried to head him off with her best Duchess manner.

‘It is such a treat to see you again, Teddy. I am so glad that you are going to be Guy’s godfather, I don’t want him to be completely British. Don’t worry about the ceremony, it will be very simple. The Catholic ritual is pretty much the same as the Episcopalian one.’

Teddy did not reply for a moment and then he said, ‘It’s not the ceremony I am worried about.’

Cora speeded up a little and pebbles flew out from under her wheels.

Teddy kept pace with her.

At last she said in irritation, the Duchess manner abandoned, ‘You only made it worse last night, hitting Odo Beauchamp. I know you meant well, but can’t you see that it makes things…awkward?’ Teddy noticed that Cora was beginning to pick up a British accent. ‘I know that inviting Odo was a mistake but I did want Charlotte to be here. She is my particular friend, you see.’ Cora slowed down a little, she did not want to get too close to the others.

‘Really? What if I were to tell you that she is the last person who deserves your friendship?’

Cora pumped her brakes and stopped with a skid of gravel. She looked at him seriously. ‘I would ignore you. Charlotte has not been fortunate in her choice of husband but that doesn’t mean that she shouldn’t have friends.’

Teddy was annoyed by Cora’s composure. This was not the scene he had imagined. He had thought that Cora would be heartbroken by last night’s revelations, distraught over her husband’s betrayal, but instead she seemed to be blaming
him
for causing a scene. Had she really become part of this British world which seemed to him like a smooth sea on an unlit night, the calm surface concealing the strong currents beneath. He decided to plunge, and putting one hand on Cora’s wrist he said, ‘Are you just going to ignore the fact that your husband is Charlotte Beauchamp’s lover?’

Cora took her hand away and replied boldly, ‘And how would you know that, Teddy? You have known my husband and Charlotte Beauchamp for less than a day. If I choose to believe there is nothing between them, how can you possibly say otherwise?’

The sun came out from behind a cloud and Cora had to squint to see him properly. Teddy had never seen her look so plain, her eyes screwed up and her face mottled with anger, her figure hidden in those ridiculous cycling bloomers; but he found this sudden ugliness more endearing than the perfectly dressed woman he had seen last night.

‘I have no
right
to say anything. Except for the fact that I care for you and I cannot bear to see you deceived.’

They were both silent for a moment. Cora took a deep breath and resumed her Duchess manner. ‘The Prince will be at the picnic tent by now, we should catch up with him, otherwise Mother will be arranging a royal visit to Newport.’ She made a show of getting on her bicycle. But Teddy pulled her round to face him. Cora tried to evade him but he held on to her so that she had to listen to him.

‘No, Cora, I can’t let you pretend that nothing has happened. You are not a girl who can live in the shadows. You deserve to be surrounded by truth and light. Your husband and Lady Beauchamp have lied to you all along. I
saw
them together at Euston Station before he came over for your wedding. I didn’t know who they were then, of course, but it made such an impression on me that when I saw Lady Beauchamp last night, I recognised her at once.’

Cora was shaking her hands in front of her in a gesture he remembered. It was as if she was trying to bat away unpleasantness. ‘I don’t understand you. Why are you doing this?’ And he could see that she was blinking fast.

‘Because I love you, Cora.’ He said it quietly and for a moment he thought she hadn’t heard him. ‘I
know
you and I love you. I came here ready to be your friend and nothing more but now I see your true situation, the way you have been deceived – all these…these vultures hovering around you wanting your money – I have to speak out. This isn’t the life you should have, Cora, pandering to princes and worrying whether one raddled old duchess should walk in front of another. None of them
do
anything, except shoot things and gossip. Of course the houses are beautiful and everyone has perfect manners, but how can you live like this in a world built on lies?’

Cora had turned her head away from him but he knew she was listening. He thought briefly of his mother and how disappointed she would be by this squandering of emotion, he felt a flicker of regret for the respectable career he might have as a painter in New York, but with Cora in front of him he had no choice but to press on.

‘Cora, come away with me. I love
you
, not your money or anything else. We could have a life with no lies, no subterfuge, where we could be open and honest with each other. We could live in France or Italy among people who don’t care about duchesses and rules. You used to care for me once, Cora; I can’t believe all that feeling has gone.’

At last she turned her head to look at him. ‘Feeling? I wanted to marry you, Teddy, but you were scared. And now it’s too late.’

He began to protest but her face was fierce.

‘No more, please!’ But he was pleased to see that there was a tear escaping from the corner of one eye. She had heard him, he thought.

Then she shook her head and said, ‘We must catch up with the Prince. He does not like to be kept waiting.’

And she pedalled away from him, her front wheel jerking from side to side as if she were not quite able to balance. Teddy followed behind her.

Lunch had been laid out in the shade of two beech trees. The white tablecloth was overlaid with the lacy shadows of the leaves. The meal was to be served in a tented pavilion which Cora had ordered from London. She knew that the Prince would not consider dining al fresco, an excuse for inferior food. In the tent there was a barrel of oysters in ice, lobsters, caviar, tureens of vichyssoise, lark tongues in aspic, game pies, salmagundi, a variety of ice creams and a spirit stove for making soufflé omelettes; and to drink there was champagne, hock, claret, sauternes and brandy as well as iced tea and lemon barley water. Cora hoped that there was sufficient ice; in Newport the sun had been so strong in the summer that meals like these would always end up lukewarm in a pool of water. At least the weather here was more temperate. She found that if she concentrated very hard on the details of the meal, trying to remember exactly what she had ordered, she could keep out the other thoughts that were trying to push in. Teddy might dismiss this life as trivial but right now all she wanted was to get through this day, she wanted there to be enough ice and no silences. This lunch, after all, was under her control.

The Prince was already sitting down with Lady Tavistock. Her mother, to Cora’s relief, was being expertly charmed by the Prince’s equerry. Duchess Fanny was flirting with her father, although the odd flick of her eyes suggested that she was keeping the Prince under surveillance. Reggie was giving Sybil some cycling ‘tuition’ which involved running alongside while she pedalled, his arm firmly round her waist. Father Oliver was sitting back in his chair, his eyes half closed, although Cora suspected that he was listening intently to the conversations around him. She saw Teddy pull up a chair close to him.

Ivo must be on his way. She tried to make out the tiny jewelled hands of her wrist watch: it was nearly one o’clock. When he had left her this morning he had promised he would be here in good time. ‘Don’t worry, Duchess Cora, I will be present and correct.’ She didn’t like it usually when he called her Duchess Cora with that ironic glint in his eye, she suspected that he was comparing her to his mother, but that morning she had not minded the connection so much. She peered across the green swell of the park for him; she hoped no one could see her screwing up her nose so that her short-sighted eyes could focus. She thought she could see something moving in the middle distance but she didn’t dare stand there for much longer with her face twisted up like a gargoyle. Bugler was standing a few feet away and she waved him over.

‘Is that the Duke coming down from the house?’

Bugler nodded and then said, ‘He has a lady with him, Your Grace. I can’t be certain at this distance but I would say it was Lady Beauchamp.’ He permitted himself a flicker of a smile. ‘I will make sure there is another place set.’

Cora stared at the figures approaching across the green turf. As they came into focus she could see that Charlotte was wearing white and was carrying a pink parasol in one hand, the other was resting on Ivo’s arm. Cora could not see their faces but she fancied they were not talking. She knew she should move but she found their progress towards her mesmerising. It was so deliberate, so steady.

She heard a cough behind her. It was Colonel Ferrers.

‘I believe, Duchess, that the Prince is getting hungry.’

Cora started. ‘Of course, how thoughtless of me.’ She signalled to Bugler to start serving and approached the Prince.

‘Forgive me, sir, for keeping you waiting. I would curtsy in apology but I think I would look very comical doing so in this costume. As you can see, the Duke and Lady Beauchamp are on their way over here, but we shall punish them for their tardiness by starting immediately.’ She started to direct the company around the table, placing her mother next to the Prince and Teddy next to Sybil. She sat at the head of the table with the Prince on one side and Reggie on the other. Reggie needed no attention and the Prince would be in thrall to her mother; Cora wanted to be able to observe the table without having to talk. She felt numb. This morning she had felt quite sure of Ivo and now he was testing her faith again.

Ivo made a little bow to the table when he arrived. ‘What a wonderful sight. I feel as if I have stumbled upon an oasis in the desert. As I have had nothing to do with this, I can say that this is quite magnificent. I always thought that eating outside involved sand and midges. Cora, it never ceases to amaze me how comfortable you Americans insist life should be.’

Cora tilted her head towards her mother. She did not quite trust herself to speak.

‘Well, it’s true that in my country we see no reason to suffer,’ Mrs Cash said, delighted to have a conversational opening. ‘In my view there is no excuse for inconvenience if a little thought and planning is exercised ahead of time. At home I ensure that all the picnics and bicycle parties are as well appointed as if they were taking place at Sans Souci. There really is no reason for anyone to be too cold or too hot or uncomfortable in any way. I am quite a martinet in these matters, I daresay, but my guests are always grateful.’ She smiled warmly at the Prince. ‘I hope we can tempt you back to the United States before too long, Your Highness. We have entertained quite a few members of European royalty. The Grand Duke Alexander of Russia, and the Crown Prince of Prussia among them. I think if Your Highness were to come we could guarantee your comfort.’

The Prince took a large helping of caviar before replying. ‘I have no doubt of that, Mrs Cash. I have always thought that Amerrricans were the most hospitable people, at home and abroad. Indeed I think that Amerrrican hostesses like your daughter have done so much to lift the spirits of society. I know when I go to a party given by an Amerrrican hostess that the food will be delicious, the atmosphere warm, the women will be the last word in fashion and the caviar plentiful.’ He smiled greedily, his small blue eyes taking in both Mrs Cash’s pleasure and the Double Duchess’s rage at this speech. ‘But sadly, I won’t be able to visit Amerrrica in the foreseeable future. The Queen is, thank God, in good health, but I am aware that I may be called upon at any time.’ The Prince looked solemn and Ferrers, sensing a change in the royal mood, asked Mrs Cash if she knew anything of the new electric motor cars.