Chapter Six #2
Thankfully, Mrs Hawley swept Faith into her arms, drying the little girl’s tears and saying comfortably, ‘There, there … Master Peter will be back with us come Christmastime. And we’ll have fun and games until then.
You can help me with cooking, and Jemima will take lessons with Mr Harrington.
Besides, you’ve letters to learn, young miss, if you want to write a letter to Master Peter yourself. ’
Faith looked much happier at this suggestion. ‘Yes, yes!’
‘We really should go,’ William MacGregor told Selina discreetly, opening the passenger door for her. ‘We need to get to Devon and back, and I’d much rather not be driving home in the dark. Not over the moors.’
‘Come along, Peter,’ Selina told her nephew, and guided him gently to the car.
Behind her, the groundsman came out with the heavy school trunk.
‘Yes please, in the boot, Mr Underhill. That’s very good of you.
’ Turning to the two girls, she told them, ‘Be good for Mrs Hawley,’ and gave them both a quick hug.
‘Don’t worry, I’ll be back this evening. ’
Once they had driven away, Peter waving forlornly out of the back window to his sisters, the boy’s mood improved.
He spent the first hour of their drive exclaiming over the ‘spiffing’ interior of the Wolseley, which he declared to be his ‘favourite car in all the world’.
He found a secret cubbyhole beside his seat where he could hide his sweets, and later peered over William’s shoulder, asking curiously about the instruments on the dashboard, and how the Super Six engine worked.
Selina was relieved that he seemed more cheerful now he was finally on his way to school.
Maybe, she thought warily, everything would be fine.
But then she caught a sad, wistful look in the boy’s eyes as he glanced out at the rolling, sunlit moors, and guessed that he was merely putting on a brave face.
Peter’s private school was not as grand as she’d expected, but William assured her it had a solid academic reputation and was worth its hefty fees.
There were boys playing rugby on the school fields as they pulled up the long drive, and the few teachers they saw in the entrance courtyard seemed friendly enough, touching their tasselled caps to her before hurrying on.
Meeting the headmaster in his study, they shook hands and sat to wait while he spoke with Peter about joining the school and asked a few questions about his previous schooling.
Mr Beeton was a smiling, rotund little man with an unfortunate moustache.
But his friendliness seemed genuine enough.
‘Trust me, your nephew will soon be perfectly at home here,’ he told her, with such an air of authority and confidence that her fears were put to rest.
Finally, the time came for them to say goodbye.
Peter was pale and tight-lipped, but gave an abrupt nod, refusing to hug her. ‘I’ll write next week and let you know how I’m getting along, Aunt Selly,’ he muttered, adding with stilted formality, ‘Thank you for driving me here, Mr MacGregor.’
As they drove away, heading back towards Cornwall in the late sunshine, Selina found herself crying. ‘How I hate this.’ She dabbed at her eyes with a hanky. ‘Poor boy … I wish I could have kept him at Thornton Hall forever. But this is what Bella wanted.’
William glanced at her, concern in his eyes.
‘Please don’t feel bad. I went to boarding school myself.
It’s not always wonderful, agreed. But it hardens you up.
Makes you more independent too. That’s what Peter needs right now.
He’s a good-hearted young fellow, but he still behaves like a child at times.
’ His hands tightened on the wheel as he stared at the misty road ahead.
‘Boys his age had to grow up more quickly during the war.’
‘Yes, and thank goodness that’s all over. But you’re right, I’m just being silly. Peter will be fine, I’m sure.’
But she still felt unhappy, imagining the boy alone and friendless in that great big school.
By the time they stopped for a rest at a moorland inn with a roaring fire, dusk had fallen and the autumn air was nippy. William bought her a glass of brandy. ‘Here, this will warm your cockles.’
She wasn’t used to drinking brandy, but accepted thankfully, feeling chilled.
Climbing back into the car, Selina found herself relaxed and a little giggly.
It was good to have a man around, she realised.
She had grown accustomed to mainly female company at the house, with young Peter the only male under the roof.
With another man, she might have felt wary being alone in a car with him, especially after a brandy.
Her first boyfriend Johnny would have taken advantage of the situation, she felt sure.
He had certainly taken advantage of that Frenchwoman he’d been forced to marry, writing to break off their engagement after he got the girl pregnant.
And then there had been Cameron Bourne, her closest neighbour on the moors, whom she’d grown close to after Bella’s death.
Cameron had turned out to be a rotter, a highly duplicitous man indeed, and she felt lucky to have escaped his clutches with nothing more than the memory of a few awkward kisses.
William MacGregor, on the other hand, was a real gentleman and would never pounce on her, however much brandy she’d drunk.
Not that she could ever think of him like that.
He was far older than her, for a start, and had never shown her any untoward attention.
He was a good man, though, and Bella had trusted him with all her affairs.
So Selina felt quite safe in his company.
‘Thank you for doing this, William,’ she told him when they reached Thornton Hall a little after dark, and he got out to open her passenger door in his usual gallant manner. ‘You’re an absolute brick. I’m really very grateful.’
‘There’s no need,’ he said softly.
She studied the lit windows of the hall with relief. ‘No power cut tonight, I see. Though no doubt we’ll have another one soon enough. I do wish the government would get their act together.’ She hesitated. ‘Can I offer you something before you go home? A cup of tea? A hot toddy?’
William shook his head, smiling faintly. ‘I’m bushed, to be honest. But thank you for the offer. I’ll drop in next week, if I may?’
‘Our door is always open to you,’ she said gratefully, and shook his hand. ‘Goodnight.’
Trudging wearily into the entrance hall, Selina was stripping off her gloves and hat when the two girls came thumping down the stairs, both shouting at once, their excitable words making no sense whatsoever.
‘Calm down, you two,’ she told them, laughing as she crouched to give Faith a hug. ‘What on earth is it? What’s happened now?’
‘There’s a lady waiting for you in the parlour,’ Jemima whispered, and Faith nodded urgently, her eyes wide with apprehension.
Puzzled, Selina straightened. ‘I beg your pardon?’
‘She’s been here for hours. Mrs Hawley didn’t know what to do with her. We were beginning to think you’d never come home. But now you’re back, it will all be sorted out, won’t it?’
‘What will be sorted out? I don’t understand.’
‘Well, I never saw her before in my entire life,’ Jemima hissed. ‘But her name’s Nancy, and she claims she’s our cousin.’
Astonished, Selina stalked to the parlour, and sure enough, a young woman perched on the edge of the sofa jumped up at her approach.
She had chestnut hair worn short, a strikingly handsome face, and her scarlet lipstick was a shade too strong for her pale complexion.
Her huge blue eyes studied Selina warily, and then she gave a strained smile.
‘Miss Tiptree?’ The young woman held out a shapely hand marred by nails bitten short, pointing to a nervous disposition.
Or possibly manual labour. Selina’s own nails had only recently grown back since her long years working in the fields as a Land Girl.
‘I’m Nancy Furniss. How do you do?’ She had a breathy voice that matched the uncertainty in her eyes as they shook hands.
‘I’m awfully sorry to impose on you like this, but …
’ Her voice broke off, and she choked, pulling away.
With a growing sense of amazement, Selina realised that the young woman was crying. What on earth …?
Hurriedly, she chased the two fascinated girls out of the room, instructing them to wash their hands and face before supper, and then closed the door.
‘Do sit down again,’ she insisted, pulling on the bell for Mrs Hawley.
‘My niece tells me you’ve been waiting for hours to see me.
I’m sorry I was gone so long, but I had to escort my nephew to his new boarding school in Devon.
’ The girl said nothing but gave a jerky nod, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. ‘Have you eaten?’
‘Yes, your housekeeper was most kind. She brought me tea and biscuits. I don’t want to be any bother.’
‘Nonsense.’ Selina sat next to her on the sofa, studying her tear-stained face. ‘Jemima tells me you may be a cousin of hers. On Sebastian’s side, I assume?’ She had certainly never heard of a Cousin Nancy on her and Bella’s side of the family.
‘That’s right. I was Sebastian’s second cousin, once removed.’
Selina frowned, trying to work that out. ‘I’m sorry, but—’
‘I’m not surprised you’ve never heard of me,’ the girl went on, sniffing.
‘My grandfather was estranged from his own parents, and my mother promised him never to speak to that branch of the family again. Bad blood or something.’ Nancy shrugged, putting away her hanky.
‘If you ask me, I think they argued over money.’
‘I see.’ Selina began to feel suspicious about this unexpected visit. ‘You know that Sebastian’s widow passed away this summer, I take it?’
‘Yes, I’m ever so sorry for your loss,’ Nancy told her earnestly, sitting up straight.
‘In fact, that’s why I’m here. My parents live in Truro, and that’s where we saw her obituary in the newspaper.
Of course, Mother is such a stickler, she refused to come to the funeral.
She promised Grandpapa, you see. But I didn’t make any such promise.
I barely knew my grandfather.’ She lifted her chin, the look in her blue eyes almost mutinous.
‘So I decided to come and pay my poor orphaned cousins a visit. Dear little souls, they’re all alone in the world now.
’ She flushed, seeing Selina’s face harden, and stuttered, ‘Oh no … Please don’t think I’ve come here looking for a handout. ’
‘Haven’t you?’ Selina asked bluntly.
Maybe she was being rude, but she refused to see her nieces taken advantage of by this young woman, for she suspected Nancy of being a poor relation, or at least someone short of money.
Her cream blouse and knee-length brown skirt were decidedly shabby, and there was a run in her nylons.
Yes, maybe she herself had looked just as shabby on her arrival at Thornton Hall, but Bella had invited her there to look after the children.
She hadn’t turned up in the hope of financial support.
‘Goodness, no!’ Nancy chewed on her lip.
‘Though I must admit … I am somewhat down on my luck. During the war, I volunteered as soon as I was old enough, making bandages for wounded soldiers. But now … Well, I worked in Truro Hospital for a short while, training as a nurse. Only that fell through.’ She looked away awkwardly.
There was something the girl wasn’t telling her, Selina guessed, but decided not to probe her explanation further. She didn’t want more tears.
‘And now you’re here.’
‘But not for money,’ Nancy said quickly, and that seemed truthful at least. ‘Though I did see an advertisement in the newspaper last week … That’s what prompted me to come, you see.’ Her gaze searched Selina’s face. ‘Nanny required at Thornton Hall, Bodmin?’
‘I’m sorry, I have no idea what—’ With a shock, Selina stopped. She blinked, and then took a deep breath. ‘Who placed the advertisement? Not a Mr William MacGregor, Solicitor, by any chance?’
‘That’s right.’ Nancy produced a folded scrap of newspaper from her bag and handed it over. ‘I went to his offices in Bodmin, as instructed by the advertisement. But it was closed. So I managed to find a bus that stopped five miles from the house, and walked the rest of the way.’
‘No wonder you look so tired!’ Selina exclaimed, and shook her head. ‘Mr MacGregor means well, but he had no right to advertise for the post of nanny. We don’t need one, I’m afraid. So if you were hoping to find employment here, you’ve had a wasted trip.’
Nancy said nothing, but tears welled up in her eyes again, and she groped for her handkerchief.
‘But,’ Selina carried on quickly, ‘I’m sure the girls will be thrilled to spend some time with you tomorrow.
They have so little family left.’ Mrs Hawley had come into the room and was waiting for her orders, her distrustful gaze fixed on the young woman’s face.
‘Mrs Hawley, this is Cousin Nancy. She’ll be staying for a day or two.
Could you possibly prepare a guest room for her and set an extra place at the dinner table? ’
‘Very good, ma’am,’ the housekeeper said, but as she turned to go, her eyes met Selina’s with a look of disapproval.
‘Thank you, that’s so kind of you,’ Nancy gushed, getting to her feet.
‘Nonsense,’ Selina said briskly. ‘If you were Sebastian’s cousin, that makes us cousins-in-law, doesn’t it?
So, please, sit down again and let’s get to know each other.
’ Selina smiled and patted the sofa, determined to find out more about this mysterious newcomer.
‘You can start by telling me all about yourself.’