Dubious Legacy (33 page)

In the drawing room there was dissension as Eliza and Katie fought over a studio portrait of a young woman. His lover, who had dozed in his chair, woke with a jerk as Eliza, who had gained possession, pushed the photograph under his nose. ‘It’s
my
mummy, isn’t it?’ she squeaked, as he blearily put on his glasses. ‘Katie says it’s
hers.’

Katie snatched at the photograph and, holding it out of Eliza’s reach, thrust it at John, crying, ‘You tell her, John. That’s
my
mother, it’s
my
mother, not hers, tell Eliza.’

The old man took the photograph from the child and turned it over. He said, ‘This was taken in 1930, darling, before your mothers were thought of. That’s Henry’s mother.’ Then, as his eyes met his lover’s over the children’s heads, he said, clearing his throat, ‘Of course, there’s a look—’

Some time in the early hours the rain stopped. Henry stirred and tried to say something.

Hilaria held a feeding cup to his lips. He sipped and whispered, ‘Air.’

Clio went to the window, pulled back the curtains and opened it wide. Together Hilaria and Clio heaved the old man up, plumped his pillows and laid him gently back.

In chairs once occupied by generations of dogs, Clio’s and Hilaria’s daughters who, creeping in in the night, had not been turned away, slept.

Henry whispered, ‘Don’t wake them.’

The young women stood on either side of the bed and held Henry’s cold hands as they grew colder.

Presently Henry said quite clearly, ‘Is it light?’

Hilaria said, ‘Nearly.’

A blackbird began to sing in the garden, but Henry Tillotson had died a moment before.

Mary Wesley (1912—2002) was an English novelist. After she published her first novel at age seventy, her books sold more than three million copies, many of them becoming bestsellers. Her beloved books include
Jumping the Queue
,
The Camomile Lawn
,
Harnessing Peacocks
,
The Vacillations of Poppy Carew
,
Not That Sort of Girl
,
Second Fiddle
,
A Sensible Life
,
A Dubious Legacy
,
An Imaginative Experience
, and
Part of the Furniture
, as well as a memoir,
Part of the Scenery
.

All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 1992 by Mary Wesley

Cover design by Linda McCarthy

978-1-4804-5062-2

This edition published in 2013 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

345 Hudson Street

New York, NY 10014

www.openroadmedia.com