Two things were important to James Falconer when it came to his well-being: Sleep and schedules.
As usual both of these imperatives had been drilled into him by his grandmother. “Good sleep is important for your health,” she had explained when he was twelve. “It cures most things that might ail you. So when you go to bed put all your troubles to one side, and just relax. Sleep like a log.”
As far as schedules were concerned, she had told him that it would make his life much easier to handle if on Monday he made a list of things to do for the entire week. And so he had done that.
He still did it, because it made his week manageable. Now he took out the small notebook he kept in his jacket pocket and opened it. He had written Monday on the new page earlier, but had not put anything else down.
Staring at the page, he wrote one line. This coming Sunday. Ascot. He smiled to himself, thinking of his little daughter, Leonie. He visited her every Sunday and spent the day with her and Mrs. Ward … Georgiana, he said under his breath. It was odd, the way he always thought of her as Mrs. Ward.
Of course, it went back to their days in Hull. He sighed. A lot of water under the bridge since then.
He was proud of his child. She was beautiful with her bright blue eyes, his eyes, and she was happy, always laughing. He detected a quickness in her, and intelligence.
Georgiana was a good mother and was bringing Leonie up very well. Leonie was safe in Ascot. And he had her under his eye at all times.
He now wrote: Saturday: Family. He knew his grandparents would be free to have supper with him, his parents, and siblings. Lady Agatha, for whom his grandparents worked, was suffering with arthritis and had gone to the Madeira Islands by ship, seeking warmth in the sun. His grandmother suffered with arthritis in her right hand, and he had promised to get her a special ointment from an apothecary in Chinatown. He would talk to Roger Crawford tonight. Uncle George had invited him to supper with the inspector at Wu Liang in Limehouse. The special Chinese apothecary was not far from the restaurant. They would walk over there after they had eaten.
James made a note in the book about supper with his uncle, and looked across at the door, hearing a knock.
There was another one, and as he called, “Come in,” Natalie’s face appeared and she came into the room, closing the door behind her.
“Sorry I’m late, James,” she said, smiling. “The train was late getting into King’s Cross and traffic is a bit heavy this afternoon.”
“It’s all right, Nat,” he answered, smiling at her, glad to see her back at the London office, after a week in Hull. She was as hardworking and diligent as always, and his right hand in many ways.
Sitting down in the chair opposite, as he was getting up, she said, “William sends his best.”
Walking around his desk, James looked at her with a certain curiosity. “Is this becoming serious?” he asked, his voice low. “You and William?”
“In a way, yes,” Natalie answered. “There are certain issues … but not yet. They might develop, though.”
Returning to his chair, James leaned across his desk and gave her a long, knowing look. “Location,” he murmured. “About you living in London, and he’s in Hull. That’s it, isn’t it?”
“That’s the main problem. It truly hasn’t become an issue. Still, I think it could.” Natalie shook her head and then leaned back in the chair, staring at James, her eyes quizzical.
He was reflective for a few seconds, and smiled. “Leave it alone for the moment. Let things take their course. Life has a way of sorting everything out.”
She nodded. “I would find it hard not to work, and not to be in London part of the time. That most especially. It’s my home.”
“I know. So would I. You’ll never believe who came to see me today.”
“I won’t, I suppose. So please tell me.”
“It was Alexis Malvern,” James said, amusement in his voice.
Natalie was so surprised she was unable to answer for a split second. Then she asked, “Why? What did she want? To say she changed her mind about coming back to work?”
“No, just the opposite, in fact. She came to apologize for being rude to me in the past, for her bad behavior, for neglecting her duty to her father and the company. She was very sincere.”
Natalie’s eyes narrowed. “Was she really?” she asked in a doubtful voice.
“Believe me, I know her, and she meant it. I think she came to her senses recently, and realized she had to get out of Kent.” James sat back in the chair, and finished, “In my opinion, I believe she has been in a long depression about Sebastian Trevalian’s death. Something, or perhaps someone, pulled her out of it.”
“That’s possible, I suppose,” Natalie murmured. “Is she starting on next Monday as planned?”
“She is, and I’ve more or less formulated a plan, a schedule if you like, for her. I can’t teach her about every division since I have to run the entire company. So I will first give her a month with Peter Keller, since she knows a lot about the wine division, has been to Le Havre, knows Armand and those in the Paris office. What do you think?”
“I absolutely agree. Of course that’s the answer. After a month with Keller, you’ll move her on to Goring, so she can learn about the warehouses, correct?” Natalie raised a brow.
“Exactly. A month with each division head, and I’ll spend time with her each week, checking her out.” He laughed lightly. “And the year with her, training her, will pass quickly. I can leave the Malvern company, and properly run Falconer.”
“Can I come with you?” Natalie asked, sounding suddenly sad, looking at him woefully.
“Of course you can, if you really want to—” He broke off, grimaced, and continued, “At this moment I only have that little shop you found in Hull—”
She interrupted him when she said, “I will make things right with William. I know I can. As you just said, life takes care of itself.”
He nodded, and gave her a loving look. “You’re a good woman, Nat, a true friend and a wonderful colleague. I do have a plan to start something down here. And of course you can work at Falconer once I get it going full speed. And we’ll tackle the William issue later.”
“Thank you, James, and listen, I owe you an apology also. I haven’t been entirely honest with you about Irina…” Her voice trailed off when she noticed how he had tensed in his chair, and his expression had changed.
“What are you trying to say?” he asked, sounding more puzzled than annoyed.
“She begged me not to tell you, because she didn’t want you to be upset or distracted, but she also was injured as well as Aunt Olga in the accident with the carriage. Her left leg and her left arm were broken. I’m afraid she’s still recuperating.”
“Oh, Natalie, I’m so sorry to hear this. How terrible for Irina, but I’m happy to know she’s improving. You must send her my best for a speedy recovery. And I will write to her too.”
“I should have spoken the truth, James. I shouldn’t have listened to her. Again, I apologize. I wasn’t fair to you.”
“And I accept your apology, my dear Natalie. I understand you were in a difficult situation. And now you’ve told me.”
“Thank you.” Natalie stared at him intently. “I don’t know when my sister will come back. Perhaps it would be wise for you to move on.”
“I believe so,” James answered, his voice mild, light. “I’ve a lot of work to keep me well occupied. So tell me about Hull.”
“It’s all working extremely well. The arcade is a big hit, no question about it. Mr. Malvern should be grateful to you. I call it a cash cow. It’s one of the biggest money earners in the company.”
“I know, and he is grateful,” James said, and then added, “By the way, Alexis Malvern is coming back to be trained to do my job. So she won’t be bothering you about running the arcades.”
Natalie started to laugh, and then said, “I think I realized that, James. Anyway, I’ve always got you to look out for me, haven’t I?”
“You do indeed. I’ve always got your back.”