‘Come into the house.’ He didn’t return her polite greeting, but bent to pick up her small suitcase. Suddenly he frowned. ‘I had no idea you were so—–young,’ he said bluntly.
Callie held herself back from saying she hadn’t realised he was so old! ‘I’m twenty-two,’ she felt she almost had to defend herself.
‘My dear, in my book that is young.’
Maybe it was to a man of fifty, but plenty of her friends were already married with children of their own. ‘Jeff always said—–’
‘Jeff?’ Sir Charles pounced. ‘Do you mean my brother Jeffrey?’
‘Er—yes. He always said that you’re only as young, or old, as you feel.’
His mouth twisted contemptuously. ‘Looking at you, Jeffrey must have felt very young indeed,’ he drawled.
She didn’t like this man, not his manner towards her, or his derogatory way of talking about Jeff. No matter what their differences, and from Sir Charles’ manner there had to have been a lot, Jeff had never made a single criticism of his brother. Jeff had only ever talked of the good times, of the times when he, Charles, and Cicely were all children.
‘He was always lots of fun,’ she said stiffly, walking through the door the manservant held open for her.
‘Take this upstairs to Miss Day’s room,’ Sir Charles handed her case over as if it had stung him. ‘Come through to the drawing-room, Miss Day, and meet my wife and son.’ He strode forward, pushing open the double oak doors.
So the nephew was here after all. If he was as pompous as his father then this was going to be a really fun weekend!
A woman stood up as they entered the room, or rather, she flowed up, moving with a liquid grace that drew attention to the perfection of her tall figure. She was a beautiful woman, although obviously of middle age, her black hair perfectly coiffured, her beautiful face made up in dark and light shades that gave her an ageless appearance. The grey silk dress she wore looked as if it were real silk. Thank goodness, Callie thought, she had put on something smart herself!
‘My wife Susan,’ Sir Charles introduced needlessly. ‘Susan, this is Miss Day.’
Lady Spencer’s handshake was as fleeting as her husband’s had been, her slender fingers barely touching Callie’s. And had it been her imagination, or had Sir Charles emphasised the ‘this’ in the introduction, almost as if she weren’t what they had been expecting. Maybe they just weren’t used to the lower classes, they didn’t either of them look as if they got off their pedestal very often. No wonder you got away from this lot, Jeff, Callie thought ruefully. They would have suffocated him with their stuffy attitudes and falsely polite manners.
‘Please call me Callie,’ she invited, not one to stand on ceremony, even if they were. ‘Everyone does.’
‘Including—Jeff?’ Sir Charles drawled.
She flushed, although she had no idea why. ‘He never called me anything else.’
‘But your name is Caroline, isn’t it?’ Lady Spencer spoke for the first time, her accent so terribly-terribly English that Callie’s eyes widened. She hadn’t thought anyone really spoke like that.
‘Yes, it’s Caroline. But—–’
‘Then that is what we will call you,’ Lady Spencer said dismissively.
Whether you like it or not, Callie thought resignedly. ‘As you wish,’ she shrugged.
‘Would you care for tea?’ the other woman asked languidly.
‘Oh—er—yes. Tea would be lovely.’
She occupied herself with looking around the room while Lady Spencer rang for the tea, guessing the paintings on the wall to be originals, the antique furniture and ornaments all genuine too. The room was exactly what television and films always portrayed for the English gentry, and to Callie it was all like being in some terrible play, with her as the main character, ignorant of the roles of her fellow-actors.
‘Donald is in the study taking a telephone call,’ Lady Susan said in answer to her husband’s question.
Sir Charles’ face darkened. ‘I’ll go and get him.’
Callie was curious about Donald Spencer, wondering what was so terrible about him that James Seymour disliked him. Maybe he grew his hair too long, that was sure to annoy the balding lawyer.
‘Jeffrey was alone in the car at the time of the accident, I believe,’ Lady Spencer interrupted her thoughts.
Pain flickered across her face before she could control it. ‘Yes, he was alone.’ Fun-loving Jeff, who was never alone, who hated to be alone, had been trapped in his car for over an hour before he died; the rescuers had been unable to get to him in time to save him, and his chest had been crushed so that he drowned in his own blood. Callie shuddered with the horror of it. The way Jeff had died often came back to haunt her in horrific nightmares. ‘All alone,’ she repeated harshly.
‘I—–’
The doors swung open and Sir Charles came in, a younger version of himself at his side. Callie looked at Donald Spencer with interest, seeing the youthful handsomeness that had once been Sir Charles’, the only difference being that Donald’s hair was as fair as her own, and there was perhaps a certain weakness about the chin that wasn’t present in the father.
But neither of these men bore any resemblance to Jeff, Jeff of the laughing blue eyes, the unruly dark hair, denims and a casual shirt his usual attire.
Donald Spencer was dressed as formally as his father, and he looked as if he were never dressed any other way. Did no one ever relax in this family?
‘This is my son Donald,’ Sir Charles told her needlessly.
A frown creased her brow. Why was it she had the feeling there should have been a fanfare attached to that announcement?
Donald was looking at her with stunned eyes. ‘You aren’t what I was expecting,’ he blurted out, and received a scowl from his father, a warning look from his mother, and a ruddy hue coloured his cheeks as he muttered an apology.
So she had been right about the weakness about the chin. Donald Spencer was nowhere near as self-confident as his parents. She instantly felt a sympathy for him. ‘You aren’t what I was expecting either,’ she smiled.
‘Did Uncle Jeffrey talk about us, then?’ he wanted to know.
How could she say never? She had had no idea Jeff even had a nephew, let alone who Charlie was. How Sir Charles must have hated being called that. And how Jeff would have loved to taunt him with it! Jeff had loved to tease, had a warped sense of humour that she shared, a sense of humour she hoped was going to get her through this.
‘Sometimes,’ she compromised.
‘But you never felt impelled to meet any of his family?’ once again it was Lady Spencer who asked the probing question.
Callie sensed reprimand, and bristled resentfully. ‘As you never felt compelled,’ she returned waspishly.
The other woman’s mouth twisted mockingly. ‘You are hardly family, Caroline,’ she drawled insultingly.
Callie blanched, the shaft going home. ‘No, I’m not, am I?’ she said stiffly.
Lady Spencer looked down her haughty nose at her. ‘You see, we feel—–’
‘Tea, my dear,’ Sir Charles interrupted as the maid wheeled in the tea-trolley, almost thankful for the interruption, it appeared to Callie.
‘Please sit down, Miss Day,’ Lady Spencer invited graciously as she took charge of the silver teapot. ‘Cream or lemon?’ she looked up to enquire.
A spark of rebellion entered