The Ravenscar Dynasty (56 page)

Rising, Edward walked across the room with his brandy balloon, and sat down in one of the big armchairs near the fire. After a few swallows of the Napoleon he put the glass down, reached into a trouser pocket and took out the note delivered to him at the office that afternoon.

He read it again:
I am now free
. That was all it said.

Leaning forward, he threw it into the fire and watched it curling into black shreds.

He had left his office immediately and gone directly to South Audley Street. Jane Shaw was waiting for him in her drawing room. She had known he would come at once, and had sent her staff out on various errands, given the housekeeper the afternoon off. He had sat with her in that room which he had always liked when he had owned the house, and sipped a cup of tea, and she had told him that she was now divorced at last from Bryan Shaw.

‘I am not asking anything from you,' she had told him, ‘except to go back to the way we were the first year we met. If you still want to. I don't expect you to change your life in any way. I just wanted you to know that I am free now, Ned.'

‘No, you're not,' he had murmured, going and sitting next to her on the sofa. ‘You're mine now, Jane, just as I am yours. For as long as you'll put up with me.'

‘For as long as
you
want to be with
me
,' she had answered, and smiling softly she had said in a low, sincere voice, ‘You know I will be discreet, never cause you a moment's embarrassment, nor make any demands. So, do we have a bargain?'

‘We do indeed have a bargain,' he had replied. And
they sealed their bargain by going upstairs to his old bedroom, now hers, where they had made love, filled with relief that they were finally back together. Their separation had been painful.

Edward closed his eyes and thought of Lily, his darling Lily.

She would approve of Jane, I know she would. Just
as I've always known Lily would not like Elizabeth. My
wife is too cold, calculating and greedy for the kind of
woman Lily was. Jane is so like her. I thought that from
the moment we collided in Paris in 1908. She is affectionate
and filled with warmth, kind and considerate,
makes few demands of me, other than wanting my love.
And I do love Jane. I gave her up because I loved her.
She was so afraid of a scandal, I ended our affair in
1909. Then we resumed it in 1910 for a short while.
Finally I went away because she became ill with anxiety,
worry and guilt. But her marriage to Bryan Shaw had
never been happy. It was sexless, and when she had
discovered he had a mistress she came to me, asked me
what she should do, and I told her to get a divorce, said
that I would look after her financially, although that has
not been necessary. Shaw was generous with her since
he was the guilty party, and he wanted to end his
marriage. And in the time we have been apart I have
been faithful, have had no women other than my wife
.

Elizabeth is difficult. But I care for her in my own
way. She is still the most beautiful of women, and she
has great taste in clothes, and immense style, and I love
her glamour. She has, under my tutelage, learned to run
this rather grand house, and the lovely old manor I
bought in Kent a few years ago, on the
Romney
Marshes
.

She is the mother of my daughters, and she is carrying
my third child. And she will be the mother of my heir,
if not this time, then the next. There can be no divorce.
Jane understands that. She knows I must have sons,
and she cannot have children. That had been one of
the problems in her marriage to Shaw
.

As my mother said tonight, Elizabeth is an excellent
hostess, gracious and skilled at entertaining, and everything
runs smoothly at our homes. Life seems to be on
an even keel
.

My mother knows deep down that I am not happy
with my wife. I'm quite sure she realizes I have compromised,
made an accommodation, as indeed I have.
Elizabeth and I have nothing in common except our
children, and our routine family life. Yes, we are compatible
in bed, and she is passionate sexually. But we have
nothing much to say to each other. She's basically a dull
woman in many ways, although she can be entertaining
when she discusses friends, gossips to me about the
people we know. She does occasionally like to go with
me to the theatre, which she realizes I enjoy, and to
concerts, although she knows nothing about music. And
I've hardly ever seen her read a book
.

I can only be glad that I have my work. I love
Deravenels with a passion and in the last few years I
have made the company stronger than ever. And I
enjoy every minute I'm at the office. But sometimes a
man needs a woman to talk to, to share things with.
Jane and I share a love of art; she has taught me so
much about it. She is the one who found me the
Sisley
,
and two years ago she spotted the Renoir which now
hangs in my bedroom. She has a wonderful eye when
it comes to paintings, and she loves books as much as
I do
.

So…I have a mistress again
.

I made a bargain. I aim to keep it
.

Sitting up in the chair, Edward lifted the brandy balloon to his lips and took a swallow, put the glass down, and stared into the blazing fire, thinking about his cousin Neville.

I don't trust him anymore. He's up to something. I
know it. Will senses it, too. It's never been the same
really since I married Elizabeth. He's always resented
that I acted on my own. Tonight I wanted to see him,
to test the waters. It was just an excuse, my questions
about his attitude towards my wife. He was clever in
his answers, he always is somewhat foxy. Still, things
are now very different. I challenged his authority when
I picked a wife for myself and he's not the kind of man
to be thwarted. Will has warned me that he is becoming
ever closer to George. Well, they're cousins, but George
is ambitious, envious, and I know he is jealous of my
relationship with my Little Fish. He always has been.
Meg constantly sided with George, he has long been her
favourite. She's not here to defend him these days, though.
Yes, I must keep an eye on George
…

As for Neville, he does play the game, keeps on
working at my side, but there's a gap between us now.
I almost laughed out loud tonight when he said people
think of me as his protégé…no one has thought such
a thing for years. They've all come to understand I'm
not his puppet, that I never have been
…

‘Papa! Papa!'

Edward instantly turned around and saw a miniature
replica of himself standing there in the doorway of the library, his little daughter Bess in her white nightgown. Her burnished red hair was tumbling down over her shoulders, and her vivid blue eyes were focused intently on him.

He jumped up and went to her, picked her up in his arms and carried her back to the fireplace. Sitting down in the chair, cradling her, he looked into her face, and asked, ‘Sweetheart, what are you doing down here in the middle of the night?'

‘I woke up and it was dark and I was afraid. I went looking for
you
, Papa.'

‘But what happened to your night light?'

‘It went out…I went to your bedroom, Papa, and Mama's room.' She shook her head. ‘I just wanted to find you. I was afraid.'

He kissed her cheek, hugged her to him. ‘I'm here, I'll always be here to look after you. I love you, Bess.'

‘Will you love me when the boy comes…the heir? Mama says she's giving you the boy…the heir…'

‘Now how could I ever stop loving you, my darling! You are my first born, Bess, and so you are very, very special to me.'

She smiled up at him, and a most beautiful smile filled her face with radiance.

At the age of nineteen George Deravenel was a strapping young man with light blond hair and unusual smokey-green eyes. He had inherited the superior good looks of the Deravenel family, and was somewhat vain.
He thought he gave his brother Edward competition. But this was not true at all. He did not have Edward's unique height, nor beauty of face, and he certainly did not possess Edward's charisma and presence.

Because he did not know this he had developed a sort of swagger, and a confident manner that sometimes could border on the belligerent if he was crossed. He walked with a spring in his step, a regal tilt to his head, and of course women were attracted to him. However, George was only interested in one woman. Isabel Watkins. He had always hankered after her since childhood, and he aimed to have her. Neville was all for it; Ned objected. But Ned was going to be overruled. By Neville.

Now as he stood waiting for his cousin, looking out of the window into the Haymarket, he wondered what news Neville had for him this morning. He had been summoned to Neville's office urgently.

‘Sorry to keep you,' Neville said as he came striding into the boardroom. ‘How are you, George, my boy?'

‘In fine fettle, Cousin,' George said, shaking Neville's hand.

‘Let's sit down, have a chat for a few minutes. I know you're anxious to know what this is about.'

‘Yes, I am.'

‘How do you feel about taking over the top job at Deravenels?'

Startled, George sat up straighter in the chair. He frowned. ‘How can I do that? Ned has the top job.'

‘I put him in that seat. And I can take him out of it.'

George leaned closer, intrigued. A wide smile spread
across his face. ‘Unseat Ned? Never. You couldn't do that.'

‘Oh but I can. I have so much dirt on him I can twist his arm if necessary.'

‘If you mean about women, don't even bother. Elizabeth knows about his extramarital activities, and if she cares she tries not to show it. She wants the money and the position. She'll turn a blind eye.'

‘Not if she knows that he's about to buy his current mistress a house, and that he lavishes thousands and thousands on her. Elizabeth won't stand for that.'

‘Well, you do have a good point. So, you'll twist his arm and put me in his place. Is that what you are getting at?'

‘I am indeed.'

‘Why?'

‘Because Ned won't take Deravenels higher, as I've recommended. He's making a mistake. I want us to buy all of the holdings of Louis Charpentier. Deravenels will become the biggest in the world.

‘I thought we already were.'

‘Yes, But what about even
bigger
.'

‘Does Charpentier want to sell…I thought that all died with Edward's marriage to Elizabeth.'

‘It did for a while, but I've revived it. Naturally Deravenels will have to pay more now, because Blanche has married someone. Nevertheless, it will be a good deal.'

‘I don't know whether I can run the company, Neville,' George began, but stopped when Neville held up his hand.

‘I will be there to guide you, I will be your mentor as I was Ned's mentor.' Neville said.

‘I see.' George nodded.

‘And you will have help from John Summers.'

‘Why John Summers? He's the enemy!'

‘No, not necessarily. You see, the Grants do own a massive amount of shares in the company, and they should, by rights, be represented by someone. And there is no one better than John. Also he knows how to handle Deravenels on the inside. He would work with you.'

There was a knock on the door, and Neville rose, went to open it. ‘Oh John, do come in, we've been waiting for you,' he said, and led John Summers into the boardroom.

George stood, and the two men shook hands. Then the three of them sat down at the table, and began to talk Deravenel business. At the end of half an hour, John Summers rose, and said, ‘Thank you, Neville, for explaining. Everything is now perfectly clear to me. I look forward to our meetings in Paris with Louis Charpentier.'

John looked at George and gave him the benefit of a warm smile. ‘And I certainly look forward to working with you at Deravenels.'