A Mother's Love(32)
“Blood is thicker than water,” added Rosamunde, standing by her sister like a loyal hound.
Antoinette turned to Julius. “I’d like to meet as soon as possible to read the will, Mr. Beecher.”
“At your convenience, Lady Frampton,” he replied. “I shall call you when I’m back in my office on Monday and arrange a meeting. I will now leave you in peace. I’m glad you have decided to accept Phaedra as your stepdaughter.”
Margaret gave a disapproving sniff. “I’m afraid I’m going to take a little longer to convince. It’s more than I can absorb in one day. Burying my son has been quite enough, thank you very much. I’m going home. We’ll talk about it tomorrow, when I’m feeling stronger. David, escort me to my car.”
David did as he was told and accompanied his grandmother down the corridor and into the hall. Guests parted to let her through. Harris helped her with her stole, and she leaned on David as she descended the steps to where Lord Frampton’s chauffeur waited to drive her to the pretty Queen Anne dower house positioned at the other end of the estate. “Do you know what distresses me the most?” she said, hesitating at the open door. “That my son felt he couldn’t confide in me.”
“He didn’t confide in anyone,” David reassured her.
“But I’m his mother.”
“I think mothers are often the last to know.”
“Well, George and I were very close. I can’t understand why he didn’t tell me. How long had he known this girl?”
“Eighteen months.”
“Eighteen months! How could he have kept something so important from me for that long? I mean, I would have been surprised, certainly, but I wouldn’t have thought any less of him.”
“He was probably biding his time, waiting for the right moment.”
“Of course he was. He could not have predicted this!”
David watched the car disappear down the drive and turn left up the farm track that cut through the estate. It irritated his mother that Margaret lived so close and visited so often. Fairfield House punctuated her daily walk through the park with Basil, her Yorkshire terrier. Being a woman ill at ease in her own company, she appeared unannounced most days, and Antoinette felt compelled to entertain her while Bertie and Wooster chased Basil up and down the corridors. After all, the house had once belonged to her, before she and her late husband, Arthur, had moved out to accommodate their son and his growing family. Antoinette could hardly turn her away.
David did not want to go back inside. The sun now shone brightly and the damp grass glittered, beckoning him to walk over it. The countryside looked resplendent, as if the mist had given it a good polishing. He was still reeling from the disappointment of discovering that the first girl he had taken a shine to in years had turned out to be his half sister. It was as if life had played a horrid practical joke at his expense.
He decided to wander around the gardens. Bertie and Wooster pricked their ears and watched him disappear through the gate in the hedge. Then they bounded down the steps to join him, eagerly expecting a long walk. He had to smile at their exuberance, although now he no longer felt like smiling at all. His soul was once more plunged into darkness, and his heart felt heavy again, like a sack of ash.
His father had been such a dominant presence in his life; it was unimaginable that he would no longer be around. He gazed at the towering trees and gently undulating lawn, and remembered that nothing was forever. Not even the earth he was standing on. Eventually, everything would pass away.
Life was quiet in the countryside. His father had advised him to settle down young, as he had, but David had failed to find the right girl. He had had relationships, but love had always eluded him. He had watched Joshua marry Roberta and knew that he didn’t want a joyless marriage like theirs. He didn’t want the rootless life that Tom had, either. A different girl every night so that in the end they all blurred into one soulless encounter.
He had really liked the look of Phaedra. In retrospect, perhaps it had been their common blood that had attracted him to her. Perhaps he had sensed a bond, subconsciously. Whatever it was, the attraction was fruitless. When he saw her again, he’d have to suppress it.
She had been brave to come today, he thought, although misguided. His mother was understandably upset about the whole situation. He wasn’t upset as much as surprised—suddenly to discover a half sibling at twenty-nine was a very big surprise. He couldn’t care less about his father changing his will. If he had wanted to include his daughter, that was his business. Tom wouldn’t mind, either. He wasn’t avaricious, just extravagant with what he had. Joshua and Roberta were a different matter altogether. He wondered how they would take the news. Not well, he concluded. If anyone was going to make a fuss about money, it was Roberta.