Dolly looked surprised and not particularly pleased to see him when she opened her door to Nicholas a few days later.
‘Bad penny,’ she said, barring his way into the house. ‘You can get lost, ’less you’ve brought the money.’ She stared him straight in the eye. ‘Have you?’
‘Not all of it,’ he admitted. ‘It’s a lot to find all at once. Bit to keep you going.’
‘How much?’
‘Twenty-five quid.’
‘A pony! You’re not getting nothing for that, I can tell you. Where’s the ’undred you promised?’
‘Coming, Dolly! Coming! I’m getting it.’
‘Well,’ Dolly said, ‘you ain’t even gonna see them marriage lines till I see that money on the table... all of it.’
‘Getting that much money, Doll, takes time, doesn’t it?’
‘I dunno, Nick, do I? Come on,’ she sighed. ‘Better come in. Luke’ll be round for ’is tea in a minute, and I can tell you, he’ll be disappointed, an’ all.’
‘Luke?’
‘Well, he knows what you’re suggesting. He’s my brother, ain’t he?’ No harm, Dolly thought, to let Nicholas know that she wasn’t the only one who knew of his offer. She stood aside to let him in. When she’d fed the three of them and Luke had gone again, Nicholas took her to bed.
Later, as they lay there, Dolly asked, ‘So, when am I gonna to get my money?’
‘Soon as I’ve got it, Doll. I promised, didn’t I?’
‘So why you bothered to come to London without it? All that way from...’ She caught herself in time. Luke had followed Nicholas to Paddington and heard him buy a ticket for Truro, which they had discovered was in Cornwall. ‘From the country, just to tell me you ain’t got it?’
‘And to see you, Dolly,’ said Nicholas, reaching for her again. ‘And to see you.’
*
Nicholas hadn’t seen Sophie since the day of the funeral and she’d been disappointed when she received a note from him, delivered by one of the fisher boys from Port Felec, telling her that he had been called away to London and would be in town for a day or two.
I’ll be back to you as soon as I can, my dearest, he wrote. But I shall be away at least three days. I shall miss you every minute of every day.
She was disappointed that he had not called in person to tell her he was going away, but at least she had the note. She said nothing to anyone else in the house. Since the reading of the will the atmosphere had been strained. Mrs Paxton had enquired whether she should be consulting Mrs Leroy about the housekeeping, or Miss Ross.
Sophie said at once, ‘Mrs Paxton, please do carry on as usual and speak with my aunt. She has the running of the house.’ Though they had a sort of unspoken truce, Louisa still only spoke to Sophie when she absolutely had to. Charles was distantly polite and Matty, after another night in the house, packed up and went home. Sophie was sad that Matty had returned to Treslyn House; she felt in Matty she had some sort of ally.
‘Now, come and visit me,’ Matty said as she gave Sophie a quick hug. ‘Bring the child with you, bring AliceAnne. It’s time she was going out and about.’
‘Yes, Aunt, I will,’ replied Sophie, wondering if Aunt Matty had ever thought of inviting AliceAnne to her house before. ‘We’ll come and see you before the week’s out.’
Sophie resumed the piano lessons she was giving AliceAnne and helped the child with some of her lessons, but still much of the time she felt out of place. The house was hers, but she didn’t feel at home in it and there were times when she longed to be back in the little house in Hammersmith.
After the weekend, Charles rode into Truro and went to see Mr Staunton. The solicitor greeted him. ‘I wish you the compliments of the season, Mr Leroy,’ he said as he led Charles into his office, ‘and every good wish for the New Year.’
Charles replied with the same, thinking, as he said it, that the incoming year could hardly be worse than the last one, but fearing that it might.
Mr Staunton sat down behind his desk, waving Charles to a chair opposite. ‘I’m glad you have come to see me,’ he said without preamble. ‘Whatever you have decided, we have a good deal to discuss.’
‘I have come to a decision, Mr Staunton,’ Charles said. ‘I have given the position I find myself in careful consideration. My grandfather has left us with a very difficult situation.’
‘He was doing his best to protect Miss Ross’s interests.’
‘I realize that,’ replied Charles, ‘but would he not have done better to appoint you as sole trustee?’
‘He could have done so but, as I explained the other day, it is usual to have two trustees and he had great faith in your judgement. I am sure you know that he was hoping that you and Miss Ross might marry, and then there would be no question of the Trust being necessary. What he did not want to happen was for Miss Ross to find herself pursued by fortune-hunters.’
‘I’m not sure how much fortune there is to hunt,’ said Charles wryly. ‘Of course, I haven’t seen the estate finances in detail, Mr Penvarrow kept those to himself, but I know that the income has dropped substantially over the last few years with the closing of the mines.’
‘Indeed it has, but even so, there is a fair amount of money in the funds. The point I am making is that if you are not going to marry Miss Ross yourself, and it would appear that you are not, her inheritance must be protected.’
‘I agree,’ Charles said firmly.
‘And I think as her trustee you would be in the best position to do so. You will be seeing her daily and will be able to judge what she needs herself. She must have an income, and live in comfort. Did your grandfather know that she was engaged to be married? Had he approved the engagement before he died?’
‘No,’ replied Charles. ‘None of us knew of the engagement until after his death. Sophie said they had been going to ask for his blessing after Christmas.’
‘And would he have given it?’
Charles sighed. ‘I doubt it, not at first anyway. Dr Bryan had been attending him for several months, but my grandfather never had as much faith in him as he’d had in old Dr Marshall. Maybe, if Sophie had persisted in her choice, he would have given in eventually.’
‘Did Dr Bryan know Miss Ross was to inherit?’
‘I don’t think so. The perceived wisdom was that I was the heir.’
‘Yes, I realize that,’ said Mr Staunton, ‘but it was Dr Bryan who witnessed Mr Penvarrow’s signature on the will.’
‘But surely he had no sight of the content?’
‘No, indeed, nor even the certainty that it was a will that Mr Penvarrow was signing, but he may well have guessed, and if he did, he may have also guessed the main beneficiary.’
Charles looked troubled at this. ‘And since then,’ he remarked, ‘Dr Bryan has been a constant caller on Miss Ross.’ He told the solicitor of Nicholas’s attendance on Sophie in London, where he had called without the knowledge of any of the family, including Thomas.
‘He asked a pertinent question on Friday,’ Mr Staunton said.
‘On her behalf or on his own?’ wondered Charles. ‘Perhaps he was simply trying to clarify the situation so that he could explain it to Sophie should she not grasp it herself.’
‘If I may speak plainly and without prejudice, Mr Leroy,’ said Mr Staunton, ‘I think you are being too charitable. I think that young man wanted to know exactly what Miss Ross could and could not do without the sanction of her trustees. I think it is exactly for protection from such people that the Trust was set up. Remind me when Miss Ross will come of age.’
‘On the twenty-fifth of March this year,’ replied Charles.
‘Then you have two months to keep watch. After that, with regard to her marriage, she will be her own mistress.’
‘Suppose I simply leave the trusteeship to you?’
‘I should carry it out as necessary, but I hope you will not. Miss Ross may have great need of you.’
‘You believe that Dr Bryan is...’ Charles’s voice trailed off as he tried to find the words.
‘He may be nothing more than a young man who has fallen in love with a beautiful young woman and wishes to marry her,’ said the solicitor. ‘Who am I to judge? But I would treat him with caution. Something tells me he is not quite as he seems.’ Mr Staunton gave Charles a brief smile. ‘With regard to the other clauses of the Trust, it would also be much better and easier all round for you to continue as a trustee.’
Charles nodded. ‘If that is your advice, Mr Staunton, I will take it.’
The solicitor stood and reached his hand across the desk. ‘Thank you, Mr Leroy. I am sure we shall be able to work together most amicably. Now, about the estate itself. Do you think Miss Ross will want to concern herself with that?’
‘We should certainly ask her,’ Charles said.
‘Very well,’ agreed the solicitor, ‘let us discuss ideas and put them to her.’ Pulling a pad towards him, he sat down again and reached for a pen to make notes.
By the time Charles returned to Trescadinnick, dusk had fallen and a chill sea mist was creeping across the cliff. As he approached Trescadinnick he could see the lights of the house, hazy haloes of warmth shining through the mist. It was the only home he remembered and the place where he’d thought he would spend the rest of his life. As he looked across at the house now, he thought again about what the lawyer had said.
‘If Miss Ross does marry her doctor in the near future, perhaps you and your family should be looking for somewhere else to live. I assume Miss Ross will want to live at Trescadinnick, and if asked I would have to agree that was fair enough, but I don’t imagine any of you will be very comfortable living with a newly married couple.’
Charles had already given this consideration and agreed, but he wasn’t looking forward to telling his mother that they should be looking for another home. However, he’d decided he would say nothing on the subject yet; sufficient unto the day. When the time came, he hoped he would have found a suitable house for the three of them, and he could present the move as a change for the better.
How he wished he could turn back the clock to Sophie’s arrival at Trescadinnick, before Thomas had started dictating their future together. He had grown to know Sophie and without noticing, had grown to love her; but now it was too late. Despite their partial reconciliation in London, the harsh things he’d said still stood between them. He’d recognized the proprietary expression on Nicholas’s face as he’d stood beside Sophie in the church and his heart ached as he realized exactly what he had lost.
He left Hector in the safe hands of Ned and walked into the house. Sophie was just coming downstairs and she greeted him with such a smile of welcome, he could feel tears pricking his eyes.
‘Hallo, Charles,’ she said, ‘you’re back. It’s very cold out there, but there’s a fire lit in both the drawing room and the library, so take your pick.’
‘Where are you sitting?’ Charles asked as he shed his coat and hat.
‘Your mother is in the drawing room,’ she replied. ‘I was about to join her.’
‘You’re very brave, Sophie. Mama is not at her best these days.’
‘She’s disappointed for you,’ Sophie said. ‘I’m sure she’ll understand in time.’ She moved towards the drawing-room door and Charles put a hand on her arm to stay her for a moment.
‘I have just been to see Mr Staunton,’ he said. ‘He is anxious the three of us should sit down together and discuss how things will be best arranged with regard to the Trust. Your income, what we should be doing with the estate. I assume you want to learn what goes on and not simply leave it to us.’
‘Indeed I do,’ Sophie answered. ‘I can’t run the estate, that’s men’s business, but I do want to know exactly what our business interests are and to be kept informed and consulted on any major decisions.’
Charles smiled and nodded. ‘Thought so,’ he said. ‘It’s what I told Staunton. We’ll get him to call and discuss everything.’ Then he stood aside and together they went into the drawing room. Louisa was sitting by the fire and looked up as they came in. For the first time in several days she addressed herself to Sophie.
‘Sophie,’ she said, ‘I told Mrs Paxton we’d eat in the morning room this evening. It’s much cosier for just the three of us.’
‘A very good idea, Aunt,’ Sophie said, taking a seat on the opposite side of the fireplace. ‘Perhaps we should take all our meals in there for the time being. The dining room is very cold just now.’
Dinner progressed amicably enough, but after the meal all three of them went their separate ways, Charles to his study, Louisa to her own room and Sophie into the drawing room. She sat down at the piano and after a few scales to loosen the fingers, began to play some of her favourite pieces. As always, the music soothed her, and even as she played she relaxed and let her mind wander over the happenings of the last few days. She was not stupid. She knew why her grandfather had tied up Trescadinnick and its funds, but she was not worried by this. She was certain that once she and Nicholas were married and it was clear to everyone, and to Charles and Mr Staunton in particular, that Nicholas had no designs on her inheritance, they would wind up the Trust, or at least release some of her capital.
She wondered, as she played, why Nicholas had needed to go back to London. He had never explained what had brought him to London the first time, and she, delighted by his visit, hadn’t pressed him. She wondered how his patients were managing without him, people like old Mrs Slater, but she supposed he was only going to be away for three days.
From the study, Charles could hear the music drifting through from the drawing room, and he found himself hoping that AliceAnne would continue with her piano lessons and perhaps learn to play as well as Sophie. He hadn’t noticed the lack of music in the house after Anne had died, but he’d missed Sophie’s playing the minute she’d gone back to London.
Later, when Sophie had gone to her own room and was ready for bed, she reached for the bundle of letters she had brought with her and spread them out on the bed. She picked up and read each one again, and it was then that the name leaped out at her. Nan Slater.
Nan Slater! How could she have missed it before? She could hear Aunt Matty saying, ‘Nan Slater? Is she still alive?’ Aunt Matty had referred to old Mrs Slater as Nan. Could she be the Nan Slater who had helped Jocelyn and Cassie keep in touch? Surely she must be; she would be about the right age, the age that Jocelyn would be if he were still alive. She had known him, certainly, because she had remarked on how like him Sophie was. She had hinted that he had got some girl ‘into trouble’. But was she simply repeating the rumour of the time, or did she actually know? Had she known both the girl and Jocelyn and acted as their go-between?
Mrs Slater had asked Sophie to visit her again and having made this possible connection, Sophie decided that it was exactly what she should do. No one needed her in the house, and so, if the mist cleared and the weather proved fine, in the morning she would ride over to Tremose and talk to the old woman again. She gathered up the letters, tied them back into their bundle and placed them on the top shelf of the wardrobe.