All I Have to Give (30 page)

Lord Mellor struck Jay’s shoulder with his glove, bringing his attention to him. ‘What? Don’t you dare, young man!’

Before he had time to answer, Jay felt Lady Eloise grasp his arm. Turning towards him, she kept her face to him as she made her angry retort to her father. ‘Father! Compose yourself. You
should have acted before now. But at least you can take Uncle Christopher and the boys to one side and tell them, before we all gather to hear this formally from the solicitor. Jay has plans that
will make this all a lot less painful than you imagine. It is time to give him the respect he should be afforded. He is mortified it has happened like it has. But we need you to deal with it with
as much dignity as you can muster. Getting angry with Jay is not going to do any good, and is undeserved.’

By the look on her own face and her father’s, Jay surmised that Lady Eloise had never spoken to her father in this manner before. Something in him recognized that she had put her duty to
him above her respect for her father – something that, he hoped, wasn’t all down to duty, but due to a much deeper feeling she might have for him.

These thoughts didn’t stop the fear he felt, as Lord Mellor looked angrier than Jay had ever seen him. However, what Lord Mellor said belied what he must be feeling, as his words told of a
calmness. ‘Get into the car, Eloise. Jay, make your way to the Hall, but have the kindness to give me time to deal with the situation as best I can before you arrive. Nothing formal will be
done until you do so. And I hope to God you are going to deal with this with compassion. I apologize for not having acted when Eloise told me of your rightful claim, but I—’

‘Please don’t apologize, sir. You have always been good to me, and I appreciate that. I – I hope you believe that I would never have taken anything from Lady Muriel, and that I
intend to make sure things don’t change too much for my family. It will take them time to get used to everything, but once they see that I am not going to lord it over them and leave them
penniless, I am sure it will help. None of us are equipped to deal with such a situation. Mistakes have been made, but we couldn’t know they were mistakes until we had the hindsight to see
what has happened. Lady Muriel’s sudden death has brought everything to a head.’

‘Thank you, Jay. It doesn’t excuse my behaviour, but it does help that you understand. Now we must get going, as they will all be worried about us. We will see you back at Hastleford
Hall. And may God help us all through the next few hours.’

As he watched them leave, Jay reflected on how his feelings had changed. At first, when Lady Andrina had died, his inheritance was no longer of any importance to him. Loving her, or at least
thinking himself in love with her, had made him want to be accepted in her society.

But since he’d begun to know Lady Eloise, he had known what real love is. Every minute of his waking day he pined for her. That hadn’t happened with Lady Andrina. What he felt then
was excitement as a result of his burgeoning sexual feelings, though he would never have let it materialize in that way. He’d had a love and respect for Lady Andrina, and her death had
affected him greatly. But Lady Eloise was part of his being. She was in his soul. If he was ever to ask for her hand, he had to pursue his rightful heritage.

By the time he was called into the house Jay thought that he would freeze solid. He couldn’t believe that, after learning who he really was, Lord and Lady Mellor had still shut him out to
wait, as they would one of the servants. They had even left instructions for him to wait in the kitchen, but his pride had not let him do that, and so he had stood by the front door and waited.

When Woodacre opened the door, his words grated on Jay. ‘What do you think you’re doing, standing here at the front door, young Jay? You should have waited in the kitchen. Go round
there now, and they will let you in and bring you through.’

‘No, I would prefer to be let in through the front door, as is my right. You and the others will learn why very shortly, Mr Woodacre.’

Woodacre’s mouth dropped open, showing his toothless gums, but he opened the door and, without a word, showed Jay through the huge hall to the room where the family were assembled. As he
went to open the door he said, ‘Well, I never thought this day would come. Good luck!’

Jay stared into Woodacre’s blue-rimmed hazel eyes. ‘You knew?’

The old man nodded. ‘What does it matter now?’

Anger made Jay want to shake him, but the door was open and Woodacre was announcing his name.

For a moment he stood with all eyes on him – even those of Lady Eloise, whom he had not expected to be there, thinking that maybe only the male members of the family would be in
attendance. He was glad that she was.

Douglas and Christian stood together, stiff and tall, every inch the soldiers they were. Their expressions told him of their devastation. Mr Ramsey, the solicitor, was there too.

‘I’m sorry, but I think we should all begin with the knowledge that I couldn’t help what your grandfather – my father – did,’ Jay said.

Douglas said something to the solicitor.

‘Please look at me when you speak, even if you’re not addressing me. You all know that is the only way I can hear.’

‘I apologize, Jay,’ Douglas responded. ‘I said, “This is preposterous!” There must be a mistake, or some rule of possession or something. I am the new lord, and I
will not allow you to take that away from me.’

‘I am not taking it. It is rightfully mine. I expect you know that I would never have done anything whilst your mother – my half-sister – was alive, may God rest her soul. But
now I must.’

‘Why
must
you? I will appeal against this. I will fight you in the courts. There must be something I can do.’

It was Ramsey who answered him, and again Jay had to ask him to look at him as he did so. ‘As I see it, there is nothing that can be done. Mr Tattumby is the new lord. As a male-line
successor, before your grandfather died, he has precedence over you. Your mother should never have inherited. I have spoken to all those who are still alive whom I could contact, and who witnessed
Mr Tattumby’s true identity, and I have their written testimony.’

‘IT CAN’T HAPPEN!’

‘Douglas, my dear, please. Please try to accept it, and hear Jay out. It is not as bad as you think.’

‘It is worse than I think, Eloise. Nothing can make it better. We – Christian, Edith and me – and Father . . . we will be penniless, and homeless!’

‘Please tell me what Douglas said, Lady Eloise.’

After she had finished telling him, Jay walked over to where the solicitor stood. ‘From here, I can see what you are all saying.’ His eye caught the figure of a broken man, that of
Sir Christopher sitting in the corner. ‘Listen to me. You’re my family. Douglas and Christian, I am your uncle; and I am your brother-in-law, Sir Christopher. As such, I will never see
you penniless, or homeless. I don’t know the size of my fortune, but I am hoping that my plans are well within my means.’ As he outlined how they would be gifted this house and the one
in London, and how he would build a new mansion for himself and his family, they began to look at him with interest, rather than disdain. ‘I will settle a sum on you all – a generous
one. The title is nothing. Your friends will hear that an unknown heir came to light, as is indeed the truth. It will be up to you how little, or how much, you tell them. They will see that your
status has not diminished, so there will be no talk that would harm your name.’

When Jay finished speaking, no one moved. After a minute Douglas flopped into the nearest chair, and Sir Christopher sat up straight and looked at him with an unreadable expression, before
standing up. ‘You were wronged by my wife’s father. For that I apologize. And I would like to thank you, Lord Daverly – because that is your true name.’

‘Thank you. I appreciate you saying that, but no fault lies with you, or any of you. My status has come as a deep shock to you all. I only hope we can go forward in a manner that will
unite us, and not divide us.’ Turning towards the solicitor, Jay asked, ‘Please can you tell me if what I propose is within my means?’

‘It is, Lord Daverly, you are an extremely wealthy man.’

An excitement that he hoped did not show clenched in Jay’s stomach.
Me, rich!
He tried to maintain his composure. ‘I’ll leave you now. You have a lot to come to terms
with, not least the reason you are gathered together today. Your guests must be wondering where you are.’

Then the most surprising thing happened. Douglas came over to him and shook Jay’s hand, saying as he did so, ‘I can’t pretend that I’m not bitterly disappointed and hurt,
and that it’s not painful to see my plans for the future of the estate rendered worthless, but I accept that this was not your fault. I want to thank you for your generosity.’

‘None of your plans will be wasted. I would like you to work alongside me to manage the estate. I can’t do it on my own. We could form a partnership.’

‘Good God, man. I am trying to hate you, but I can’t. Of course I accept your offer, for this estate is all I know. Christian has his scientific studies; and Edith – poor Edith
– has her medicine. But as for me, well, this estate is in my blood.’

‘Yes, you are right. It is in your blood as it is in mine, for we are of the same line.’

Sir Christopher came over to Jay and placed his hand on his shoulder, getting his attention. ‘Your father’s family were bankers and politicians, Jay. And I would say you have the
latter in you, as you also have my late wife Lady Muriel’s kindness, and that of your niece, Eloise.’

‘Lady Eloise is my niece? I – I thought . . . I mean, how are we related?’ Looking over at her, he saw Eloise blush. He’d let his guard down, and they must all know how
he felt, or maybe thought he was determined to have one of the sisters and, as Lady Andrina had gone . . . Oh God, why had he shown such surprise and disappointment?

‘I’m not your real niece, so you needn’t worry. I am only a niece-in-law. And you needn’t look so horrified at being related to me. I am still your boss, Jay Tattumby, I
– I mean Lord Daverly! You have to give me notice before I release you from that shackle.’

Everyone laughed and the tension broke. It was funny how they could laugh when they were there for such a sad occasion, but Jay knew that often happened at a wake. There was always more laughter
than tears.

Christian, who hadn’t spoken until now, came over. ‘I echo my brother’s words, Jay. Thank you for your generosity.’ And then he said to his father, ‘Father, Jay is
about the same size as me. I propose that he changes into something of mine and we introduce him right now as the heir. What do you think, Douglas? Could you cope with that?’

‘Yes, better sooner than later. What do you think, Father?’

‘I agree.’

They all still stood around him and, as they had addressed each other, Jay had been able to turn his head to look at the speaker of the moment. His own concerns now came to the fore.

‘But what shall we say about me – where I came from? I wouldn’t want to start a scandal for you all.’

Looking from one to the other, he saw that it was Douglas who spoke. ‘We will just have to tell the truth. After all, it will come out eventually: the villagers all know you, the staff all
know who you are. Besides, sometimes just coming out with the truth stems any scandal.’

‘Won’t they think me a ruffian?’

‘Not at all. I know you cannot hear yourself, but although you have a flat tone to your voice, due to your deafness, you speak like an educated man otherwise. How you have learned to speak
so, I can’t imagine; it must have come naturally to you. Your mother . . . I mean—’

‘No, it is all right. Mrs Tattumby will always hold the rank of my mother, and I know you were going to say that she did a good job. She did, and she has devoted her life to me. And I
suppose, as she knew who I really was, she made it her duty to make me speak properly: the King’s English, she called it. Thank you, Douglas. You’ve given me confidence to meet the
people I will be mixing with.’

Lady Eloise came up to him and touched his arm. ‘Would you be so good as to take me into dinner when you are ready, Lord Daverly?’

‘I’d be delighted to, Lady Eloise.’

Again a chuckle went around the room. Then a serious note overcame the company. Jay felt confused.

‘It is my uncle,’ Eloise told him. ‘He said that he is dreading the dinner. Poor soul. Convention can cause a great deal of pain at times. Why can’t it be that just the
family are together at such moments?’

Looking around, Jay saw Sir Christopher being comforted by his brother, and his heart went out to him. As he watched, Douglas and Christian took over from Lord Mellor and supported their father,
and Lord Mellor came over to him. ‘Well done, Jay. I take everything back, and apologize for my outburst earlier. If you will excuse me, I need to go and inform Lady Felicity of what has
happened. Come along, Eloise. We will wait in the drawing room until all the family is gathered together and then go into to dinner as one, with Jay heading us.’

A little squeeze of his arm from Lady Eloise gave him encouragement – something he needed, along with courage, to face the room full of aristocrats and dignitaries. But he would have her
by his side, and that is how he hoped it would be for the rest of his life.

London, first week of May 1917
Only hell awaits

‘Edith, I still can’t believe you’re home. Has it really been a week since you arrived? Are you feeling a little better, darling? I have so much to tell
you.’

Tell her
. My God, hadn’t she been told enough already? Andrina, her lovely cousin, and her own dearest mother were dead!

‘I’m sorry, Eloise, but I can’t cope. Please leave me alone for a while. I know you are doing your best, but this situation is too much for me at the moment.’

‘I won’t leave you, Edith, but I will stay quiet. I will just sit with you until you’re ready to talk.’

Would she ever be ready to talk? Could she ever tell Eloise about all that was tearing her apart inside? The premature birth of her darling twin girls had drained her. Leaving them had wrenched
her soul from her.