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“It’s Lady Virginia, Lomax. I wondered if I might speak to—”
The knocking at the door continued.
“I’m afraid his grace is not at home, my lady,” said the butler.
“Do you know when he’ll be back?”
“No, my lady. He left in a hurry this morning, and gave no instructions. Would you like me to let him know you called?”
“No thank you,” said Virginia, putting down the phone. The knocking persisted like the hammering of a rent collector who knew you were inside.
She walked to the door in a daze, imagining Perry must have left for the country without her, for the first time in over a year. She needed time to think, but first she must get rid of whoever it was at the door.
She opened it and was about to let loose on the intruder, only to find Perry, down on one knee. “Don’t tell me I’m too late, old gal,” he said, looking up at her forlornly.
“Of course you’re not, Perry, but do get up.”
“Not until you say you’ll marry me.”
“Of course I will, my darling. I’ve already told Bofie you’re the only man in my life, but he won’t take no for an answer,” she said as she helped the duke back onto his feet.
“I don’t want to hang about, old gal,” he said. “I can see the finishing line, so we’d better get on with it.”
“I understand exactly how you feel,” said Virginia, “but don’t you think you should talk it over with your children before you make such an important decision?”
“Certainly not. Fathers don’t ask their children’s permission to marry. In any case, I’m sure they’ll be delighted.”
Three weeks later, thanks to a tip from a family friend, Nigel Dempster printed an exclusive photograph of the Duke and Duchess of Hertford leaving Chelsea Register Office in the pouring rain. And the happy couple, wrote Dempster, will be enjoying their honeymoon on the duke’s estate near Cortona, and plan to return to Castle Hertford to spend Christmas with the family.
31
CHRISTMAS WITH THE HERTFORDS was frosty inside as well as outside the castle. Even Clarence and Alice were clearly dismayed that their father had married without informing them, while Camilla left no one—family or staff—in any doubt as to how she felt about the usurper.
Whenever Virginia entered a room, Camilla would leave with her husband and their two children trailing behind her. However, Virginia still had an advantage over the rest of the family: there was one room none of them could enter, and where she had complete domain for eight hours in every twenty-four.
While Virginia worked on her husband by night, she concentrated on Clarence and Alice by day, accepting that Camilla was not for turning, although she hadn’t altogether given up on her husband and children.
Virginia made sure that whenever any member of the family saw her with the duke, she appeared to be caring, solicitous, and genuinely devoted to him, taking care of his every need. By the end of the first week some of the frost had begun to thaw, and to her delight, on Christmas Eve Clarence and Alice accompanied them on their morning walk around the grounds. They were surprised to discover what an interest Virginia was taking in the upkeep of the estate.
“After all,” she told Clarence, “when you eventually leave the army, we must make sure you take over a flourishing enterprise, and not a moribund estate.”
“Then I’ll need to find a wife as conscientious as you, Virginia,” he replied.
One down, two to go.
Alice was the next to fall in line. When she opened her Christmas present to find the latest Graham Greene novel, The Tenth Man, she asked, “How did you know he’s my favorite author?”
“Mine too,” said Virginia, who had quickly read three of Greene’s novels after she’d spotted a well-thumbed paperback on Alice’s bedside table. “I’m not surprised to find we have that in common, and although The End of the Affair is quite excellent, Brighton Rock is still my favorite.”
“That’s hardly surprising,” said Camilla. “After all, you and Pinkie Brown have so much in common.”
Alice frowned, although it was clear that the duke had no idea what they were talking about. Two down, one to go.
When the grandchildren opened their Christmas presents, they yelped with joy. A Star Trek watch for Tristan, and a Barbie doll for Kitty, which Virginia had purchased soon after she discovered that Camilla had refused to consider them in favor of a Shorter Oxford Dictionary and a sewing kit.
Camilla’s gift had been the most difficult of all to decide on, until Virginia came across a photograph of her playing the flute in her school orchestra, and Cook told her that she’d heard her ladyship was thinking of taking up the instrument again. After all, you have quite a lot of spare time when the nearest town is over a hundred miles away.
When Camilla opened her present and saw the gleaming instrument, she was speechless. Virginia considered her monthly allowance had been well spent. This was confirmed when Tristan walked over to her and said, “Thank you, Grandmama,” and gave her a kiss.
