‘Do you promise me that, Ned?’
‘Oh, I do, Elizabeth, I do promise you he’ll soon be as right as rain.’
Elizabeth let her body relax against his, comforted by his presence, his warmth and his love. When it came to his children’s welfare she trusted him implicitly. Also, Ned’s self-assurance, his confidence in himself, his belief that he could control everyone and everything had always made her feel safe. Some thought these characteristics reflected his arrogance. She knew otherwise; and no one knew him better than she did.
THREE
‘Mr Deravenel wishes me to take you upstairs straight away, sir,’ Jessup explained to the doctor, after putting his hat and coat in the hall cupboard. ‘If you’ll come this way, please.’
‘Thank you, Jessup,’ Peter Leighton answered, and followed swiftly on the heels of the butler, crossing the Long Hall to the grand staircase.
Before they had reached the nursery floor, Edward, who had heard their voices, was standing at the top of the stairs, impatiently waiting for them.
‘Good morning, Dr Leighton,’ he exclaimed at the sight of the doctor, and added, ‘Thank you, Jessup.’ With a brief nod Edward dismissed the butler, who hurried off down the stairs.
As the doctor stepped onto the landing, he thrust out his hand and shook Edward’s. ‘Good morning, Mr Deravenel. So, Young Edward’s poorly, is he?’
‘Yes. My wife thinks it’s Spanish flu. He’s got a fever, a hacking cough. Earlier, there were flecks of blood in his handkerchief, my wife tells me. As you can imagine, we’re extremely worried. I can only add that we are very glad you happen to be staying with the Dunbars this weekend, so close to us.’
‘Very fortuitous indeed,’ Dr Leighton answered, then asked, ‘How are the other children? Are they showing any signs of infection?’
‘No, they’re not, but I would like you to see them, once you’ve seen Young Edward.’
‘Of course, of course, that’s understood, Mr Deravenel.’ Dr Leighton gave Edward a smile of encouragement and continued, ‘I’m afraid Spanish flu is extremely virulent, as no doubt you know from the newspapers and the radio, but it hasn’t been striking down children or the elderly, as flu usually does. This new strain appears to infect young adults mainly. Mostly young men between twenty and thirty. As I parked my car in the stable yard just now, I noticed your brother, and I should point out that he could be a candidate for this particular virus. I think I ought to take a look at him also before I leave.’ Then the doctor finished, almost under his breath, ‘Unfortunately there seems to be no remedy for Spanish flu. No one knows how to treat it.’
Observing the look of apprehension crossing Edward’s face, the doctor took his arm and murmured, ‘Look here, there’s no point in my beating about the bush, Mr Deravenel, you have to know the facts. But let us hope your little son has not contracted this terrible illness and that he either has a very bad cold or bronchitis. They’re bad enough, I know, but at least they are treatable. And curable.’
‘I understand, and please don’t apologize for telling me the truth. However unpalatable the truth might be, I prefer to hear the worst, so that I know what I’m dealing with. I hate surprises. Let’s go to Young Edward’s room shall we? You can examine him and then check on the rest of the brood.’
When they entered the bedroom a moment later, Elizabeth and Cecily turned around, politely greeted the doctor and then stepped away from the bedside.
‘I shall go along and look in on the other children,’ Cecily announced. ‘Give you a little breathing space in here, Dr Leighton.’
The doctor nodded, offered her a grateful smile as Cecily slipped out; Elizabeth moved closer to her husband, who was standing near the door of the bedroom, took hold of his arm, leaned into him.
Elizabeth explained to the doctor, ‘The coughing seems to have abated, Dr Leighton, since my mother-in-law managed to spoon down a raspberry vinegar mixture.’
Peter Leighton glanced at her and nodded. ‘It’s often those old-fashioned remedies that work the best, you know.’ As he spoke he took a stethoscope out of his medical bag, bent over Young Edward, noting at once that the boy was feverish and had a glazed look. He listened to his chest, then put a thermometer in his mouth, held it there for a few seconds.
After reading the thermometer, he said, ‘His temperature is a bit high, but that’s to be expected. I’m going to turn him over, Mrs Deravenel. I want to check his lungs.’
‘Do you need my help, Doctor?’ she asked, her eyes pinned on the doctor, a worried expression on her face.
‘No, no, there’s no problem.’ Dr Leighton laid the little boy on his side, lifted his pyjama top and put the stethoscope on his back, listening acutely. A moment or two later he repositioned the child, and covered him with the bedclothes. After opening his mouth gently, the doctor used a wooden tongue depressor to look down Young Edward’s throat.
Finally straightening, and turning to Edward and Elizabeth, Dr Leighton said, with some relief, ‘He has bronchitis. It’s not Spanish flu.’
Elizabeth put a trembling hand to her mouth and swallowed back a sob. She looked up at Edward, sudden tears of relief glistening on her blonde lashes, and attempted to smile at him without much success.
‘You’re certain?’ Edward said softly.
‘I am, Mr Deravenel. He has all the symptoms. Let me explain. Bronchitis causes obstruction to the flow of air in and out of the lungs, and interferes with the exchange of oxygen between the lungs and the blood, hence the hacking cough. The airways are continuously inflamed and diseased, and are filled with mucus. And sometimes, after a fit of coughing, flecks of blood appear in the mucus, from the strain of coughing. I’m going to telephone the chemist in Scarborough and prescribe an excellent cough mixture, as well as an expectorant and a fever powder which will help bring down the fever. The chemist will send his son up to Ravenscar with the medications. In the meantime, you can continue to give him the raspberry vinegar mixture until you have the cough syrup.’
‘Thank you, Dr Leighton. Now, what else should we do for him?’ Elizabeth asked.
‘Keep him warm, but not hot. Aim for an even temperature, and let him rest quietly. Give him plenty of liquids, particularly beef tea and chicken broth – warm liquids are best,’ the doctor explained.
Edward cleared his throat, looked over at the doctor and said, ‘What about food? What should we feed him?’
‘I don’t think he’s going to feel very hungry, Mr Deravenel, but if he is, you should give him very light things … fruit jellies, rice pudding, sago pudding, blancmange, custard, calf’s foot jelly, soft boiled eggs, or scrambled eggs, things like that which are easily digested. And easily swallowed, obviously, since his throat is somewhat inflamed.’ After glancing again at Young Edward, the doctor picked up his medical bag and led the Deravenels out of the room.
‘I think someone should stay with the boy in order to tend to his needs,’ Dr Leighton now informed them. ‘I know you would prefer to be there yourself, Mrs Deravenel, but frankly you are extremely pale and appear over-tired to me. You need a rest, you know, we can’t be having you getting sick. What about Ada, the young woman who assists Nanny? She has always seemed rather efficient to me.’
‘Ada is good, but Nanny can manage on her own, I’m sure of that.’ Elizabeth smiled for the first time that day as she added, ‘And nine-year-old Bess has become quite the mother hen these days, so she can keep an eye on her little sisters. Also, the maternity nurse is still with us, looking after the new baby. We are well covered, Dr Leighton.’
‘Excellent. Now, why don’t we go along to the nursery, Mrs Deravenel? So that I can examine the other children.’
FOUR
Cecily Watkins Deravenel sat alone in the library. She had positioned herself on one of the large, comfortable, overstuffed sofas near the fireplace, and was enjoying a cup of coffee, thinking about her little grandson. Everyone called him Young Edward, in order to differentiate between him and his father,
but in her mind he would forever be Neddie. That was how she had always thought of him since he was born. He was the spitting image of his father when Ned had been a little boy.
He was such a beautiful child, her little Neddie … a Botticelli angel, with his red-gold curls and blue eyes, so bright and sparkling and full of laughter. He was a happy little scamp, but he had been rather late in arriving, this heir to the Deravenel empire, the fourth child after his three sisters, Bess, Mary, and Cecily (who had been named for her).
He was only five years old, having celebrated his birthday in early November, but there were times when he expressed himself so well she often thought she was talking to a much older child.
Cecily was filled with relief that he was not suffering from the dreaded Spanish flu. Bronchitis was bad enough; on the other hand, she had never heard of anyone dying of that disease. Yet people were dropping like flies all over the world, once they became stricken with this new strain of the flu virus. The newspapers were now saying that more people were dying of the flu than had been killed in the War.
At this moment the doctor was upstairs examining the other children; but she was certain none of them was ill. She had just spent the last twenty minutes with them in the nursery playroom, and they were boisterous, happy, and laughing, as they played with their toys. Yes, they were all very well indeed, including Richard, who was two years old, and Anne, the baby, born a few months ago. The latest arrival.
Her son might not find his wife Elizabeth a true soulmate, or even a companionable woman to be with – God knows, he spent as little time as possible with her – but he was obviously still attracted to her physically. Elizabeth seemingly held a tremendous allure for him when it came to their marital bed. Six children already, and Cecily felt sure there would be more to come in the not-too-distant future.
Although Cecily Deravenel had never liked her daughter-in-law, she had always acknowledged her great beauty. Some said Elizabeth was the most beautiful woman in all of England, with her silver-gilt hair that fell half-way down her back to her waist, her crystal clear, sky-blue eyes and that incomparable pink-and-white complexion which was without blemish.
She was thirty-eight now, and yet Elizabeth did not show her age: there was no sagging chin; no wrinkles; no crow’s feet around her eyes. Furthermore, her figure was still perfect, had hardly changed in the eleven years she had been married to Edward. Everyone wondered how she did it, including Cecily herself.
The problem with Elizabeth Wyland Deravenel was her character. Right from the beginning Cecily had understood that her daughter-in-law was ambitious for herself and her family – and there were scores of them, as Cecily knew only too well. There was an arrogance inherent in her personality, and she was a snob. Cecily was well aware that her eldest son knew she had never believed Elizabeth Wyland was good enough for him. As Richard had once said, with great acerbity, ‘She’s not good enough to lick Ned’s boots, Mother.’ Richard was far too intelligent for the likes of Elizabeth. He had seen right through her from the start, and had detected her jealousy of him instantly. Richard knew she thoroughly resented his relationship with his eldest brother, was eaten up because he was Edward’s favourite and his most trusted ally.
It was true, her daughter-in-law did have an extraordinarily jealous nature, and was constantly confronting Edward with rather vile and vulgar gossip about him, announcing that she knew all about his affairs with other women.
Cecily sighed to herself. Being nobody’s fool, she had long ago acknowledged that her son adored women. At the same time, he was not the unmitigated womanizer his wife made him out to be. Not these days. In fact, as far as Cecily knew, and she was well-informed about everyone in the family, Edward only had one woman friend at the moment. This was Jane Shaw, a divorcee, who had been part of his life for a long time. Cecily understood that Edward was the kind of man who genuinely needed companionship from a woman, and Jane supplied this.
Will Hasling, Edward’s best friend and a particular favourite of hers, knew Jane well, and he had always spoken kindly about her to Cecily, had convinced her that Jane was not ambitious, nor angling for marriage with Edward, that she was perfectly content to be his friend. And friends they were, apparently, enjoying a shared love of music, the theatre and art.
If Elizabeth were smarter, she would keep her mouth shut and stop berating Edward about non-existent affairs, Cecily suddenly thought. Knowing men the way she did, being unjustly accused generally pushed an innocent man into the arms of the first available woman. She’s such a fool …
Letting her thoughts drift off, Cecily turned around at the sound of footsteps, and stood up when Peter Leighton came into the library, followed by Edward and Richard.
‘I’m assuming that all of my other grandchildren are perfectly all right,’ Cecily exclaimed, smiling at the young doctor.
‘Indeed they are, Mrs Deravenel. I would even go so far as to say they are in blooming health. And, I must add, they are the most beautiful children I’ve ever seen.’
‘Thank you, Doctor,’ she responded.
Richard, moving forward, hurrying towards his mother, announced, ‘Dr Leighton says I’m very fit, in great health.’
‘I’m glad to hear it,’ Cecily answered warmly.
Edward murmured, ‘Elizabeth won’t be coming down to lunch, Mother. She’s exhausted herself, mostly with worry, I think. Anyway, Dr Leighton insisted she went to bed.’
‘I quite understand, Ned.’ Glancing at the clock on the mantelpiece, Cecily addressed Peter Leighton. ‘I don’t suppose I can coax you into staying for lunch, since I know you’re house-guesting with the Dunbars. But perhaps you will partake of something – coffee or tea? Perhaps sherry?’
‘You’re so kind, Mrs Deravenel, but I won’t, thank you very much. I must be getting along. The roads were icy this morning, and what is normally a fifteen-minute run in my motorcar took me forty minutes. So I’m sure you do understand that I must be setting off if I’m to arrive at The Lodge in time for lunch.’
‘Yes, I do, Dr Leighton, and thank you so much for coming so promptly.’
‘I shall return tomorrow, to check on Young Edward. In the meantime, Thomas Sloane, the chemist in Scarborough, is preparing the medicines, and as I just told Mr Deravenel you should receive them soon. He’s sending his son Albert in the van. But do use the raspberry vinegar mixture if the boy is coughing excessively.’
‘I will, and thank you again, Dr Leighton.’
Cecily shook his hand, as did Richard, and then Edward escorted him out into the Long Hall.
Richard sat down opposite his mother, and explained, ‘Dr Leighton only gave me an examination because he was worried –’
‘You look very well to me, Richard,’ Cecily cut in with a frown.
‘Yes, I know, and I am perfectly well. Seemingly young men between the ages of twenty and thirty are those most likely to catch Spanish flu. He thought I could easily be a candidate because of my age, that’s all it was about.’
Cecily peered across at Richard. ‘You don’t have any symptoms, do you?’
‘No, I don’t. The doctor was merely being his usual efficient self.’
‘I understand. I really do like Peter Leighton, and I was delighted when he took over Dr Rayne’s practice. He’s young and intelligent and caring. His methods are very modern, and he’s most up-to-date with the latest advances. I approve of his approach.’
Edward walked in, a broad smile on his face. ‘I was so glad to hear the clatter of pots and pans in the kitchen a moment ago. Earlier this morning, when I came back from my ride, the house was ghastly, so quiet, and the total silence rather eerie. In fact, Jessup just told me that Cook was most upset about Young Edward, hence the gloomy atmosphere in her domain. According to Jessup, none of the other staff were allowed to speak.’
‘I know she can be quite a tartar at times,’ Cecily murmured.
Walking across to the drinks tray which stood on a chest-of-drawers, Edward poured himsel
f a glass of pale Amontillado sherry. Then went and stood in front of the French doors, staring out at the gardens and the sea beyond, lost in thought.
His mother said, ‘Ned?’
‘Yes, Mother, what is it?’ He swung around to face her, his blond brows arching.
‘It’s the fourteenth of December today. Only ten days left until Christmas. I do think we ought to consider cancelling the festivities we’ve planned. Bronchitis lasts several weeks, even longer –’
‘I’m not going to consider cancelling. I’ve already decided to cancel. Immediately. It must be done today. That will give the guests we were expecting some time to make other plans … well, hopefully. After lunch, I’ll telephone Will, also Vicky and Stephen. They’re like family and will understand. I’d better have a word with George, also.’
‘George!’ Richard exclaimed, gaping at his brother. He was thunderstruck. ‘You didn’t tell me you’d invited George, Ned. How could you?’
‘I didn’t. George invited himself and you know what our brother is like. And he also said that he was bringing Isabel and the children.’
‘Why didn’t you tell him he couldn’t come for Christmas?’ Richard cried irately, his pale face unexpectedly flushed.
Edward was totally silent.
‘You know how upset I’ve been with him, and so has Anne. The way he treated her and blocked our engagement was appalling!’ Richard shook his head. ‘I don’t want to see him. Or Isabel, for that matter. She plays along with him.’
‘She’s weak,’ Ned muttered. ‘She dare not oppose him in anything.’
‘It was my idea,’ Cecily interjected very softly, staring at Richard.
‘Why?’ Richard demanded, his voice rising. ‘In God’s name why? George has treated me most abominably these last few years.’