Chapter 19
NINETEEN
Orla drops me off at Bancroft Manor the next day, along with Eejit, who simply hopped into the back of her car and curled up in a ball.
‘It’s fierce weather we’re having,’ Orla says, glancing at him. ‘I’m glad someone’s finally won his heart, poor thing. I always hated the thought of him out in the cold.’
I’m glad, too – but beneath that I am also worried about what will happen to him when I leave. When I go home, will he stray again? Or will he latch on to someone else? I really hope so, because he’s a great dog. I wonder about taking him back with me, and lose a few minutes imagining all the technicalities involved. Pet passports, long haul flights – it all seems a bit daunting, but I’ll look into it.
I wave goodbye to Orla, and hope I’ve left it late enough to avoid Leonora. No such luck, I soon realise. I can hear her dulcet tones from outside.
The front door is open, and Jasper the Second is running around the grass. He has one of the Christmas tree decorations in his mouth, and is delighted with himself. Eejit prowls over to him, standing perfectly still as the giddy puppy licks him and jumps all over him. He lets out a low yip, which clearly translates as ‘back off, buddy’, and Jasper immediately rolls onto his back with his legs in the air. I rub his furry belly, grab the now-discarded robin-on-a-string, and make my way inside.
The raised voices are coming from the Blue Room, and I consider simply skipping off to another part of the house. The dogs have other ideas, though, and I have to follow them through.
Georgie is sitting on the couch, legs tucked tightly beneath her, chewing on her nails. Jasper jumps up next to her, and she cuddles him close. Allegra is waving a fireplace poker in the air, and Roberts has a restraining hand on her shoulder. At the centre of it all is Leonora, which I suspect is exactly where she wants to be. Some women just aren’t happy unless they’re causing drama.
‘You okay?’ I say to Georgie, walking to sit beside her.
‘I will be,’ she whispers, giving me a forced smile. ‘When the crazy ladies shut up. It’s been going on for a while now. It’d be quite an amusing performance if not for the fact that I’m genetically related to them.’
‘Where’s your father?’
‘Doing something horribly grown up like talking to his accountant. I hope he’s in a soundproofed room.’
I meet Roberts’s eyes and raise my brows in a question. He shakes his head, and I stay where I am. This has nothing to do with me, and any intervention I make will probably only add fuel to the fire.
I’m not sure what the last sentence was, it was being yelled as I arrived, but Leonora’s response is an angry: ‘Why should I care what you think? You didn’t even know who I was when I turned up last night!’
‘I may be losing my marbles,’ Allegra shouts back, waving her poker, ‘but I still know a tramp when I see one!’
‘Better a tramp than a stuck-up old cow like you!’
‘Get out of my house before I skewer you, you whore!’
My eyes widen at the language coming from their mouths. These are both very aristocratic ladies who probably went to the best schools in the land, but they sound like a pair of angry fishwives.
Allegra breaks free from Roberts and actually makes a run at her nemesis, brandishing her weapon. Leonora screams, and has the good sense to flee. Eejit chases her out of the room, eager to join in the game, and Jasper follows. I hear her running up the stairs, both dogs barking, and don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Allegra turns her angry violet eyes on me, and I see her confusion. She’s already held me at gunpoint, so I don’t take the threat lightly.
‘Who are you?’ she asks, obviously not ready to give up her fury. ‘Why are you here?’
‘I’m Cassie,’ I say calmly. ‘I’m visiting from the United States.’
Her eyelids flutter, and I see her processing what I’ve said. It takes a few moments, but she nods. ‘Ah yes. Your accent. I remember you now. Sorry. I promise not to poke you. That dreadful woman just gets my back up.’
Roberts gently prises the poker from her hands, puts his arm around her shoulders and gives her a comforting hug. I’m sure that she has never been a violent person, but I know from seeing some of Nanna Nora’s friends decline that Alzheimer’s is a tricky disease. She’s scared and confused, and that makes her angry. Now, though, she simply looks distressed, especially when she notices Georgie on the couch.
‘I’m sorry, sweetheart,’ she says quietly. ‘I shouldn’t have lost my rag like that. Please forgive me.’
‘Nothing to forgive, Granny,’ Georgie says, jumping up to give her a quick cuddle. ‘She started it. She’s my mum and I love her, but I’m not an idiot – I know she causes trouble. But this time, at least she brought us a dog!’
Jasper is back in the room, and she scoops him up into her arms and holds him towards her grandmother. She accepts the lively bundle of fur, and buries her face in his ears.
‘Yes. He’s adorable. I love the smell of wet dog – they should make a perfume from it!’
I’m not totally sure that would be a big seller, but having Jasper near to her seems to cast a magic spell. She suddenly looks happy, more in control. Leonora might be a nightmare, but she’s got one thing right. Two, actually, I think, looking at Georgie. What a family – they make mine look like the Waltons.
Charles walks into the room, looking stressed, and says: ‘What happened?’
‘Nothing to worry about,’ Roberts assures him. ‘The ladies were just blowing off a bit of steam. Now we’re all going to take Jasper and Eejit for a walk in the grounds – would you care to join us?’
Charles glances over in my direction, and says: ‘I suspect that I am destined to be Cassie’s slave for the day. There are, of course, far worse fates. Where would you like to start?’
We make our farewells to the others, and walk through the house to the ballroom. I’ve borrowed a laser measurer from Ryan, and tell Charles that it’s a good first step to get all the different room dimensions noted down. From that, I can work on the rest.
As we move around the room, me enjoying playing with my new toy and Charles making notes, I ask him: ‘Will Leonora actually leave today, like she said? Because, no offence, but she seems a little unstable.’
‘No offence taken – she’s totally bonkers. But she will leave today, yes, because she feels guilty when she’s here. Guilty about the way she treated me, and guilty about the fact that she didn’t take Georgina with her.’
‘Why didn’t she? It’s unusual, for a mom to do that.’
‘Well, she is quite an unusual woman…’
He pauses in his note-taking, looks a little wistful, and adds: ‘The thing about Leonora is that she was raised by wolves. Yes, they had money, they had titles, they had the house and the cars. But what they didn’t have was a single ounce of compassion or empathy. Truly awful people, cold as ice, even towards their own children, both of whom were farmed out to nannies and boarding schools as soon as possible. I suspect Leonora simply learned early on that the only way she could get their attention was to behave badly, and unfortunately it’s a habit that stuck. In my calmer moments, I almost feel sorry for her.’
‘You sound like you still have feelings for her, Charles?’
‘Oh, I do – none of them positive! We were a poor match from the start, and I could never give her the constant attention she needed. Nobody could. She can do terrible things, and she’s an expert at pushing all of our buttons, but… well, she’s Georgie’s mother, so I must at least thank her for that blessing. As for why she didn’t take her, well, that’s what we agreed – even Leonora could see there was no way she could provide a stable environment for a child. She can’t even provide one for herself.’
Everything he says makes sense, but I can’t help pondering how all of that made Georgie feel, especially on top of her aunt’s accident. No wonder the poor girl has issues.
‘I’m so sorry, Charles, it all sounds like a nightmare.’
‘That about sums it up, I’m afraid. But there’s no use obsessing about the past, I need to focus on the future. I thought it went very well last night, and I woke up this morning feeling quite excited about everything – until I heard the screaming match downstairs. Anyway. Cassie, tell me, once we have all of the pictures and the video and the like, how do you suggest I use it?’
‘Okay, well, that’s up to you – but once we have everything, I’d suggest you get a brochure written, designed and printed. I know everything is digital these days, but people still like to have something to hold in their hands. That’s one of the places you shouldn’t scrimp – find a good creative, and pay for high-quality paper and finishes. You don’t need to print many initially, if it’s just to give out to investors, but you could adapt it to send out to potential clients later on.’
‘Excellent suggestion. I’ll start looking into it today. Anything else?’
‘Well, you need to re-do your presentation. Combine the financial projections with the history and all of our various ideas, and intersperse it with the hopefully breathtaking visuals that will prove to them that they should give you their money. Get copies of the presentation for them to take with them as well – if you really want to be fancy, get a Bancroft Manor logo designed, because you’ll need one at some point. You could get it printed onto thumb drives loaded with the presentation, so they don’t forget you.’
‘You really are a fountain of wisdom, aren’t you?’
‘Far from it – I’m just recycling tricks that have worked on me! I’m a sucker for a logo on a thumb drive, I have a whole bowl full of them back home! But you could also get some destination cards printed up. So, they’re like postcards, with a picture of the place on one side, and the specifications on the back. Like, a gorgeous shot of this ballroom, along with information on how many it seats, how many can stand, and what event facilities you offer.’
‘At the moment, that’s a teenager playing jazz piano, and a Spaniel puppy that pees in the house!’
‘Well,’ I say, laughing at the image, ‘those are both good things in their own way, but I’d suggest you embellish the truth for now. Say you can provide a DJ, live bands, full catering, luxury overnight suites.’
‘Luxury suites!’ he says, snorting in amusement. ‘We’d better get rid of the mice first, I suppose!’
‘Yeah, that might be a good idea. Wouldn’t get your Tripadvisor rating off to a good start!’
We carry on companionably, focusing mainly on the task at hand, but eventually my nosy side kicks in again.
‘What about you, though, Charles?’ I say, as we emerge back into the lobby. I notice that several Christmas decorations have been dislodged from the lower branches, and lie mauled and moist on the carpet. The joys of a puppy, right there.
‘What about me?’ he says, picking them up and smiling.
‘Leonora has a new boyfriend, I gather from what she said. You’re still young, you’re eligible, haven’t you considered getting back out there, meeting someone?’
He considers this, then gestures around him.
‘There’s a lot to deal with already,’ he answers. ‘The estate, Georgie, my mother, the impending financial doom. I’m not sure how eligible any of that makes me – my life is really rather messy. Plus, after Leonora, I don’t know if I’d have the energy – she ruined me for other women!’
He looks at me for a beat, his green eyes on mine, and adds: ‘At least, I used to think she had…’
I have no idea if he means what I think he means, and I’m scared to ask. Is this going to result in him offering me more dance classes, or am I imagining that this moment feels kind of significant? And if I’m not imagining it, how do I feel about it?
Before I get a chance to stutter out a reply, a whirlwind of women arrives, streaming through the front door. They’re led by Mary Catherine, who has recruited a small squadron of women from the village. There are around ten of them, all wearing Christmas sweaters, all bearing feather dusters, cloths and cleaning products.
Charles grins at me, looking slightly wicked as he does so, and says: ‘To be continued?’ before he goes to greet them.
‘Thought we’d start off proceedings with a good old-fashioned spring clean, even though it is winter!’ Mary Catherine announces as they all troop through and admire the Christmas tree. ‘Come on now, girls, up and at ’em! Let’s get this place sparkling!’