A Conspiracy of Ravens (28 page)

At that moment Trevor remembered he had promised his father that he would show his mother his new suit. He left the room at once and asked the maid about Lady Darby’s whereabouts.

“She’s in the small parlour with Lady Leona, sir.”

He made his way to the parlour, and when he entered he found his mother and Lady Leona sewing beside the fire. His mother looked up and smiled. “Well, aren’t you the handsome thing!”

Leona was evidently having one of her better days. Her eyes were bright, and she smiled at Trevor. “Yes, he is. He reminds me so much of the first time you brought Edward to see me.”

“I remember that. It was after the ball at the Hopes’.”

“Yes.”

“He brought me home; the rain was so bad.”

“I never thought you’d get him, Heather.” Leona laughed, and her eyes sparkled. “There were so many young ladies out to catch Edward, and, of course, the mamas would have given their right arms to have their daughters marry Lord Darby, but somehow you managed to capture his heart. I never thought you’d be able to get him for a husband.”

“I didn’t think so either.” Heather smiled. She stood up and came over to stand beside Trevor. She touched his arm almost hesitantly. “And there’ll be many young ladies and their mamas after this one, too, Leona.”

Trevor had no idea about how to carry on a conversation with two titled ladies, but he sat down in front of the fire on a chair and told them about his trip to London with his father. He made it as splendid a story as he could, for he saw his mother was glowing as he spoke of how he and his father had gotten along.

Trevor had almost forgotten the older woman when suddenly he heard her say, “I must go. Leslie will be home soon.”

Trevor got to his feet as the old woman rose and left the room. He noticed her eyes were dull, and as soon as she left, he asked, “Who is Leslie?”

“He was your grandfather. He married twice. You can see the genealogy. I’ll show it to you later. Leslie married Edith Carrington in 1800. They had three children—Edward, Rupert, and Leah—but Edith died, and a few years later Leslie married Leona. Her name was Leona Moore. She was Edith’s cousin. He had known her for a long time, and, of course, their only child was Arthur.”

“But why does she say she’s going to see Leslie?”

The question seemed to disturb his mother, he saw. “Well, her mind is not really clear. You’ll have to be very patient with her. Sometimes her mind is sharp, but other times it’s not. She may call you Leslie or even Edward. When she’s in these spells, she gets confused.”

“That’s so sad, Mother.”

Heather was touched. This was the first time he had called her Mother, and she felt a warm glow as she looked at the young man. “Well, you must pay some attention to her, smile at her, and talk to her. She lives in the past most of the time.” Then, as if anxious to get away from that subject, she said, “Now, sit down and tell me more about your trip to London.”

He had already told her almost everything, but he managed to find a few more tidbits. Finally, he pulled the billfold out and said, “Look, Father gave me this wallet and all this money. I ’ated to take it.”

Her eyes went moist for a moment. “He’s such a generous man. I know it’s embarrassing to take things, but sometimes it’s more blessed to receive than it is to give.”

Trevor suddenly laughed. “That’s sort of backward from what I’ve heard.”

“I know, but there’s an art in receiving things gracefully, and I hope you’ll let us spoil you a little bit, Son. We have lots of time to make up for.”

In that instant Trevor felt a warm affection for this woman. He had known no mother except Meg, who had been no mother at all. And the women he had met had been crude, for the most part, and greedy. There was a gentleness and a goodness in this woman that his quick mind seized upon, and because he knew it pleased her, he said, “I’ll do my best to be a good son to you, Mother.”

While Heather and Trevor were having a pleasant meeting, Edward was having a very difficult one in his study. He had been reading when Rupert had come in with Leah. At once he saw that he was in for an unpleasant time, for both of them had dissatisfaction and even anger written on their features.

“We’ve got to talk to you,” Rupert said abruptly. His face was red, and his lips were drawn together in a tight line. “This nonsense with the boy has got to stop.”

Leah spoke at once, not so harshly as Rupert, but forcefully. “I think Rupert is right, Edward. You’re making a terrible mistake by accepting this boy and giving him everything.”

Edward put the book down and for a moment searched his mind, trying to find a way to make peace. Even as he struggled for such an answer, he knew there was none. He had never deceived himself about Rupert. The man was hungry for power, and it saddened Edward to realize that his death was the thing Rupert had been waiting for all these years. That would signal that Rupert would become the Earl of Darby and would rule Silverthorn. He glanced at Leah, and if he hoped to see more gentleness in her, he was disappointed. He knew she was a strong-willed woman also, and that she lived for her son, Bramwell. Edward had already done much for Bramwell, indeed had spoiled him, but Leah had high ambitions for her son. He could not blame her for this, but yet still he knew they would never be pacified with a choice that, in any way, cut them out of the estate and the title.

“I promise you,” he said carefully, “that you will be well taken care of. We have time to mold Trevor to make a good, honest man out of him, and I have it written in my will that you two, and Arthur, of course, will be provided for. When I die, you will continue, Rupert, in your same way. You will be the manager of Silverthorn just as you are now, and I’ve expressed my gratitude at how well you have run the place.”

“That’s not enough, Edward. It’s not fair. It’s not just! I’ve worked all my life, and now this boy wanders in and reaps the harvest.”

Edward said carefully, “We must work together on this, Rupert and Leah. The boy’s had a terrible life. He needs you both, and I’m asking both of you to support him.”

He had little hope that his words would find lodging and good ground, and for the next twenty minutes, he listened, never losing his temper. But at the same time he was grieved and saddened by their demands for more. When they finally left, he knew that there would be no easy way to settle this problem. In spite of all the joy he had known in finding Trevor, he knew the young man was driving a wedge between him and his brother and sister, but there was no other way.

St. John had stepped into the small dining room and was headed for the adjoining kitchen when he bumped into his mother and Rupert. He took one look at their faces and demanded, “What’s the matter?”

“It’s Edward. We’ve been talking to him about Trevor.”

“I could have told you you’d be wasting your breath.” St. John shrugged. He looked at them and then shook his head firmly. “You won’t change his mind. He and Aunt Heather are besotted with the creature. We may as well make the best of it.”

Rupert was furious. His voice lifted in anger. “It would be better if Edward died,” he spat out and then walked away, shoving the door open.

“He shouldn’t say things like that,” Leah said.

“No, he shouldn’t. He’s wrong about Uncle Edward dying. Things would be worse, not better.”

“What do you mean, Son?”

“Well, don’t forget. If my uncle died, that guttersnipe would be our lord and master.” His lip curled, and bitterness touched his eyes and turned the corners of his mouth down. “How much consideration, Mother, do you think we’d get from Trevor?”

Leah stared at him, and he saw that the thought had occurred to her. “We’ve got to do something, St. John.”

“Do what? The only thing that would help us is if Edward, Rupert, and that upstart all died, which isn’t likely. Even if he did, Arthur would take the title.”

Silence fell between the two, and then St. John laughed. “We can always handle Arthur. He’s a fool, and he would drink himself to death. All I’d have to do is marry Gervase.”

“Would you do that?”

“I’d do anything to keep our place here, and so would you, wouldn’t you, Mother?”

Leah stared at her son and saw written the impulses that were in her own heart on his face. “Yes, I would,” she said. “We’ll not speak of this now.”

The two left the small dining room, and in a few moments a small girl of fifteen, the new tweeny, the youngest of the servants, peeked out from behind the kitchen door. Her name was Mary, and her eyes were wide. She was a quiet little thing, having only served for two weeks on the staff. Now there was fear in her eyes, and her lips trembled as she thought of what terrible things she had heard. Quickly she moved through the room and tried to block the scene out of her mind.

As Trevor came down the stairs, he was greeted by Gervase.

“Well, hello, Cousin.”

“’Ello, Cousin Gervase. Where are you going?”

Her eyes smiled at him. “I’m going to make snow cream. Dylan showed me how to do it.”

“Wot in the world is that?”

“Come along and I’ll show you.”

Trevor accompanied the girl to the kitchen where she commandeered a large bowl from the cook along with sugar, cream, vanilla, and two large spoons.

He followed her out the back door, and she said, “Over there. The snow’s untouched. Isn’t it beautiful?”

“I never liked snow much. I nearly froze to death once.”

“Oh, it can be uncomfortable, but just look how pretty it is.”

He did not answer, and finally she stopped, saying, “Here, take this spoon and fill the bowl up.” He obeyed with a smile, and when it was filled, she began to add the cream and the sugar and the vanilla. From time to time she would add a little bit more snow, and finally she looked at him and said, “There. Snow cream. Taste some.”

Trevor got a heaping spoonful and tasted it, and his eyes opened wide. “Why, that ’as to be the best snow cream ever!”

“It is good, isn’t it? Probably makes us fat as pigs.”

“No, we’ll both be slender, good-looking people, Gervase.”

“You’re not very modest.” She laughed at him, and then the two ate. When they had eaten all they could hold, she said, “Now we’ll fill the bowl up and make another batch, then we’ll leave it out here in the snow. That’ll keep it cold. When we come back we’ll have some more.”

He watched as she placed the bowl into the drift and said, “Wot’s to stop a dog or a cat from coming along and eating it?”

“Nothing, but then we’ll just make some more. Where are you going?”

“Nowheres. I just got back from London.”

“I noticed your new clothes. You look nice.”

“Well, I thank you. I don’t know wot to do with myself though. I feel useless.”

“What would you be doing if you were back where you came from?”

Trevor’s lips twisted, and he shook his head abruptly. “Nothin’ you’d want to ’ear about.”

“Yes, I would.”

“No, you wouldn’t.”

“All right. Have you ever gone for a sleigh ride?”

“A sleigh ride? No, never.”

“Well, it’s one of my favourite things. Come along.”