Promise Made (34 page)

‘I hate you,' Amelia said. ‘I wish you had never come here.'

‘It doesn't have to be like this,' Emily said. ‘We could still be friends, Amelia. You could live here exactly as before.'

‘I don't want to be your friend,' Amelia said bitterly. ‘You took everything I ever wanted. I couldn't give Vane a son, but he wouldn't let me adopt, even though he knew how much I wanted a child – and yet he loved your bastard. I'm leaving and I never want to see you again. And I shall tell Alan the truth . . .'

‘Do that and I will ruin you,' Emily said. ‘I'll stand up in court and lie so convincingly that you won't have a penny left . . .'

‘Damn you to hell!'

Amelia turned and ran up the stairs, leaving Emily staring after her. She stood where she was for a moment, feeling sick and ill. Amelia must be half out of her mind with grief and hate to say such things to her. It wasn't as if Emily had turned her out. She was only too willing to carry on the way they had been, letting Amelia play the lady of the manor while she looked after the convalescent home. But that wouldn't do for Amelia. It was because Vane had loved Emily that Amelia had turned against her. Nothing she could have said or done would have made any difference. It wasn't really this house or the estate, though that had been the bitter coating on the pill.

Emily went up to the nursery. Nanny was giving Robert his tea. Emily sat and watched them for a few minutes, soothed by the normality of the scene. She had lost so much, but she still had her beloved son.

‘Lady Vane is very upset,' she told Nanny. ‘I want you to stay with Robert this evening please. Do not leave him at all – and he is not to go anywhere with Lady Vane.'

‘Yes, madam,' Nanny said. ‘I understand perfectly.'

‘Thank you. I was sure you would,' Emily said. ‘Excuse me. I have things to do.'

‘You may rest your mind concerning Lord Vane,' Nanny said. ‘I shall watch over him every minute.'

‘Lord Vane . . .' Emily stared at her and then shook her head. ‘I think we shall just stick to Robert, Nanny. He is too young for anything like that just yet.'

‘Yes, madam, just as you please.'

Emily was thoughtful as she went out. She wasn't sure what she ought to do about the situation. Clearly Vane had protected Robert by the terms of his will. The money was left to her son – not to his grandson, not even to Robert Vane. He must have thought it out very carefully and with the intent of making certain Robert could not be disinherited because he was not of Vane's blood.

Vane had made his wishes quite clear to her. He had wanted her to stay on as the chatelaine of his estate until Robert was of an age to take it over. He had done it because he loved her – because he wanted Robert to be his whether he carried Simon's blood or not. By doing so he had obliged Emily to carry on here in the traditions he upheld. It was a binding promise, unspoken but understood.

She was thoughtful as she went downstairs to find Frances. Vane had given her everything, but he had virtually made her a prisoner here. She could never walk away from the promise she had made him.

Frances looked up as Emily came into the room, seeing the expression in her eyes and understanding that something was wrong. She got up and went to greet her sister.

‘What is wrong, Emily? Vane didn't turn you out, did he?'

‘No, of course not. He left the estate and half the money to Robert. I have the trust he had already set up for me – and sole control of the estate and the money until Robert is old enough to look after things himself.'

‘Then why do you look as if you'd found sixpence and lost a shilling?'

Emily shook her head. ‘Amelia isn't very happy. She threatened to tell Alan Leicester that Robert is a bastard – and I hit her. She says she hates me and she is leaving at once.'

‘Oh, Emily,' Frances stared at her in horror. ‘You shouldn't have hit her.'

‘You didn't see the look in her eyes. No one calls my son by that name!' Emily's expression was hard and determined, so unlike her that Frances was shocked. ‘I would have let Amelia carry on here as if nothing had happened – but that isn't enough for her.' Emily lifted her head proudly. ‘I didn't ask for this. I'm not sure I even want it – but it was Vane's wish.'

Frances was silent. Robert was a bastard by her sister's own admission, but she could see that Emily was upset and kept her thoughts to herself.

‘You will be better off without Amelia.'

‘Shall I?' Emily sighed. ‘She knows all about the way the estate runs, Frances. I would rather have tried to rub along together than lose her.'

‘Well, if it gets too much for you, you can always sell the place and invest the money.'

‘No, I couldn't do that,' Emily said. ‘Vane left it to me to manage because he knew I wouldn't let him down. I promised that I would keep things the way they are for as long as I could.'

Frances pulled a face. ‘I was going to ask if you would come and look at a guesthouse I've seen for sale in Margate. It looks quite big – rooms for nine or ten guests, which is as much as I can manage. I thought you might want to come with me?' Emily shook her head. ‘No, obviously you've got too much on your plate here.'

‘Why don't you speak to Mary?' Emily asked. ‘She wrote to me recently, told me she didn't know what she was going to do once Rosalind Danby's house was sold – which apparently it is very nearly. She needs money, Frances, and she wouldn't turn up her nose at helping to run the kind of place you're talking about. In fact I think she would love it – and she would be company for you.'

‘Mary?' Frances was thoughtful for a moment. ‘Yes, I might do that, Emily. I hadn't given Mary a thought, but we always got on well. Both her sons are due to leave school at Christmas, and it will take me that time to get sorted out and moved in.'

‘Why don't you go down and see her – and Daniel? You could sort out the haulage business at the same time.'

‘I thought you would need me for a while?' Frances looked at her sister. ‘You'll find it a bit lonely on your own here, won't you?'

‘I shall have Nanny and Robert – and the rest of the staff,' Emily said. ‘And I still have the home to run. I've made a lot of friends here, Frances. I expect to be too busy to be lonely. Besides, you'll need somewhere to live until your money comes through. Go and see Daniel and Mary – and then come back.'

‘Yes, I shall – if you are sure?' Frances looked at her uncertainly. ‘You've done so much for me, Emily. I don't want to desert you if you need me.'

‘Come back when you are ready,' Emily said. ‘I shall still be here.'

There was something odd about the way that Emily said those words that made Frances wonder, but she sensed that whatever was on her sister's mind was private.

‘Yes, I shall,' she said. ‘I'll be gone a few days, and then I'll come and stay with you until I get myself sorted out.'

Afterword

Emily stood staring out at the park. Three days had passed since Vane's funeral, and Frances was on a train heading for London, where she planned to meet Rosalind Danby before going on to Daniel's home. Emily was alone in her favourite room – a room she no longer needed to share with Amelia. She had often wanted to change the furnishings in here, and now she could. She could do anything she wanted except leave.

‘Oh, Vane,' she said on a sigh. ‘You never meant to let me go, did you?'

‘You made me a promise, Emily,' she seemed to hear his voice saying. ‘I have given you everything, but I expect something in return.'

‘I owe you so much,' Emily said. ‘Everything I am, I am because of you. You made me whole again when I felt there was nothing to live for – and I did lie to you.'

‘But I knew you lied. If you want to go I can't stop you . . .'

‘Stop this!' Emily knew that what she was hearing was in her own mind. She was conjuring up Vane's voice because she wanted to hear it. ‘I'm going to ring Paul . . .'

She went out into the hall and dialled the number Paul had given her when they first met. A woman's voice answered.

‘May I speak to Paul Renton please?' Emily asked

‘May I ask who is calling?'

‘Mrs Emily Vane. I am a friend of Paul's.'

‘Ah yes. Mr Renton no longer lives here, Mrs Vane. He left for Southampton yesterday, but he said that if you rang I was to give you the address at which he will be staying until the end of the week. It is a hotel, I believe – and I have the telephone number here.'

‘Thank you. I have a pencil.' Emily took down the phone number and then rang off. She looked at the number she had jotted down and then picked up the receiver once more. It took a few minutes and a brief conversation with the receptionist before she finally heard Paul's voice.

‘It's Emily. I thought I might have missed you. The receptionist said you might have checked out already.'

‘I was leaving this morning but I decided to stay until tomorrow. My ship leaves the day after and I want to be nearer the embarkation point . . .'

‘You are leaving so soon?' Emily felt a sinking sensation. She wasn't sure why she was ringing him, but something had driven her to it. Somehow she hadn't expected him to be leaving almost immediately.

‘I saw no reason to wait and they are pretty desperate to get me there. Their last doctor died of yellow fever . . .'

‘I see . . . Well, good luck. I hope you have a good trip and that everything goes as you want . . .'

‘Emily . . . come with me,' he said, suddenly urgent. ‘I have a double cabin. I'm sure I could swing it, especially if we got married . . . or we could find another ship.'

‘Come with you?' For a moment Emily's pulses raced. She was tempted to say yes, but it was all too swift, too rushed. ‘I can't, Paul. I'm sorry. There are things I have to do. I was hoping you might not have taken the job. You might have found something here . . .'

‘I thought you weren't interested so I told them I would take it,' Paul said. ‘I can't let them down. It's important, Emily.'

‘And I can't leave here just like that . . .' She sighed. ‘I shouldn't have rung you. It is the wrong time and the wrong place . . .'

‘You could come if you wanted,' Paul said. ‘If you loved me you would be willing to leave that house.'

‘It isn't just the house,' Emily said. ‘It's Robert and . . . lots of things.'

‘Then there is nothing else to say is there?'

Emily stared at the receiver as it went dead. How could he just put the phone down on her like that? He said that she should abandon her life if she cared for him, but he could have waited – he could have given her time. They hardly knew one another. She was turning away when the telephone shrilled. She snatched it up breathlessly.

‘Yes. It's Emily . . .'

‘Mrs Vane?' a voice she vaguely recognized came over the line. ‘It is the Reverend Bright here. I was just ringing to ask about the Christmas bazaar. Lady Vane always let us hold it at Vanbrough. I was wondering if you would continue the tradition – and there is the orphan's party. Lord Vane always sponsored the Christmas treat we hold at the church hall for the children's home. Perhaps it isn't a good time but we usually start planning these things early and I wasn't sure . . .' He hesitated. ‘I am sorry if I picked a bad moment?'

‘No, of course not.' Emily had recovered her breath and her composure. ‘I am sure Vane would wish to continue all the traditional events. You must let me know, Mr Bright. If I forget something . . .'

‘Ah, I thought you wouldn't let us down, Mrs Vane. I'll go ahead and plan the schedule as usual – and I'll send you a copy, shall I?'

‘Yes, please do,' Emily said. ‘It might be as well if you and your committee came to lunch soon so that we can talk about the future. I will check my diary and let you know.'

‘That is very generous of you, Mrs Vane,' he said. ‘If there is anything I can do for you, please do not hesitate to ask.'

‘I shall be in touch soon,' Emily said.

She replaced the receiver and went into Vane's study. He had worked at his desk whenever he had anything important to do and Emily supposed that she would find the things she needed to know in the drawers. Amelia had promised to leave her journals behind, but she had neglected to do so and it was going to take a bit of sorting out if Emily wanted to avoid disappointing people who had relied on Vane for various sponsorships.

She sat down in his chair, feeling a little tingle at her nape as she opened the top right-hand drawer. Lying on the top was a large brown envelope addressed to her. She took it out, a rueful smile on her lips. She might have known that Vane would leave nothing to chance.

Opening the seal, she took out the bundle of papers. One of them was a single sheet of Vane's special notepaper. She saw that it was a letter to her.