The Granville Sisters (21 page)

‘It’ll be much better for the baby.’ Rosie tried to sound superior, grown-up. ‘Fresh air is what a baby needs. And a garden to play in.’

Juliet still looked dumbfounded. ‘So you’re going to live among the ruins, in Cumbria? With Charles’s mother and sister?’

‘Of course not! How could Charles travel to the city every day from there? Granny is looking around Shere for us, to see if there are any pretty cottages on the market.’

‘What’s that Granny’s doing?’ Liza said brightly, coming up to greet Rosie at that moment.

Juliet slid away. It was a conversation she didn’t want to hear. Her mother was going to be fearfully disappointed that Rosie was opting out of London to bury herself in the wilds of Surrey.

‘How are you, Juliet?’ Cameron greeted her, when he saw her.

‘Very well, thank you. How’s the house-hunting going?’

His dark eyes lit up. ‘I think I’ve found a perfect place. It’s about three minutes walk from here, in Park Lane.’ He sounded like a child with a new toy.

Juliet smiled, amused by his obvious pleasure. ‘Welcome to the delights of the neighbourhood,’ she said drily.

‘Thank you,’ he replied seriously. ‘It’s got to be redecorated. It faces Hyde Park, but I’m sure I’ll get used to the noise of the traffic in time.’

‘What are you going to do with yourself when you’re down here?’

‘Oh … go to the theatre, I suppose. Concerts, exhibitions … and I’ll probably do some entertaining.’

‘How exciting.’

He looked at her quizzically, not sure whether she was being sardonic or not.

‘Are those the sort of things you like doing?’ he asked hopefully.

She played with her long rope of pearls. ‘I like going to restaurants, cocktail bars, nightclubs. Then there’s the cinema in the afternoons, and shopping, of course …’ She pretended to sound exhausted by her round of activity. ‘One just never
stops
!’ she drawled, wondering how far she could push him.

Cameron looked at her earnestly. ‘What … you and a group of friends, I suppose?’

Juliet nodded. ‘Close friends.’

His dark eyes scrutinized her face almost analytically for a long moment, and she had the uncomfortable feeling that she was a specimen, being examined under a microscope.

‘I see.’ His voice was expressionless. Then he reached for his glass, and drank his champagne as if he was actually thirsty.

‘So
he’s
the reason for this dinner party.’ Rosie cornered Juliet in her bedroom when she’d rushed up after dinner to touch up her make-up.

‘Who?’ Juliet unfolded a square of pink chiffon, to the centre of which a swansdown powder puff was stitched. Gazing at her reflection in the mirror, she calmly patted her nose and chin with it.

‘
Who
?’ Rosie echoed crossly. ‘Who do you think? The Duke of What’s-his-name! God, you and Mummy are so unsubtle. You get asked to his cocktail party, and the next thing, Mummy is cultivating him as a suitable husband for you.’

‘It’s not quite like that.’ Juliet renewed her scarlet lipstick, which made her mouth fuller and more voluptuous than ever. ‘I’ve heard he’s actually looking for a wife.’

Rosie dropped heavily on to the side of Juliet’s bed. Her face was taut with barely controlled rage. ‘So of course you instantly imagined that you’re the only girl in London he will look at.’

Juliet turned to look at her sister mockingly. ‘What’s it to you? You’re already married to a titled man, fulfilling all Mummy’s wildest dreams; it’s my turn now. You surely can’t begrudge me that?’

‘To hell with Mummy’s dreams,’ Rosie said bitterly. ‘Is he rich?’

Juliet nodded. ‘Yes, definitely. He owns a quarter of Scotland from what I’ve heard. The family seat is Glenmally Castle, and now he’s buying one of those houses in Park Lane.’

‘And, knowing you, you’ll marry him, whether you care tuppence for him or not, I suppose.’

Juliet frowned, and looked more closely at her sister. Rosie looked awful. Her skin had a greenish tinge, and her soft mouth seemed to have vanished into a thin line. Pregnancy did not suit it. ‘What’s the matter, Rosie? You’ve
got
everything, why do you resent my wanting a good position in life?’

‘Everything?’ Rosie scoffed, her voice harsh. ‘Oh yes, I’ve got everything, all right.’ Then she heaved herself off the bed, and stumbled out of the room.

When Juliet rejoined the ladies for coffee in the drawing room, there was no sign of Rosie.

‘Where is she?’ Juliet whispered to her mother.

‘Feeling ill,’ Liza murmured with a beaming smile, so the guests wouldn’t know anything was wrong.

When the men came up from the dining room, smelling of cigar smoke and fortified by port, Cameron came straight over to where Juliet was sitting.

They started talking and, to Juliet’s surprise, their conversation was easy and relaxed. Thanks to her father, she always read the newspapers, so her general knowledge of current affairs was up to date on a range of subjects.

Cameron looked delighted by her responses, something he had not expected in so young a girl.

Suddenly Juliet realized she was no longer flirting with Cameron. No longer flaunting her looks or her ability to charm coquettishly.

This was because she was beginning to see him as a friend more than anything else. It was almost as if Cameron was becoming the brother she’d longed for, and never had.

‘M
y God, you’d think this was 1837, not 1937!’ Juliet exclaimed, drawing deeply on her cigarette.

Cameron was closeted in the study with Henry, while Juliet and her mother waited in the drawing room.

‘I didn’t think arranged marriages happened any more, except in the royal family,’ Juliet added.

‘This isn’t an arranged marriage, Cameron adores you,’ Liza protested. She was a nervous wreck but at the same time, terribly excited. The decision had already been made. The rituals were merely being observed now. Henry was not going to put up any objections.

‘It’s not what I’d call a love match either,’ Juliet observed pragmatically. ‘Cameron and I have become good friends in the past three months. We get on well. I don’t think either of us is in love, though.’ She certainly knew she wasn’t. Her feelings for Cameron bore no resemblence to the way she still felt about Daniel. There were no sleepless nights spent fantasizing, no palpitations when she saw him, no breathless desire to be in his arms, giving herself to him, body and soul.

On the other hand, she was getting exactly what she’d set out to achieve, and she felt a certain satisfaction at having reached her goal.

As the Duchess of Kincardine, wife of an extremely rich Scottish landowner, with a house in Park Lane, she was made. No matter what happened, nothing could diminish this moment, or deprive her of having succeeded in attaining her ambitions.

At last she would have her mother’s approval. At last she was doing the Right Thing. Yet she was desperately missing the chase and the challenge of falling in love. Of being pursued romantically, thrillingly, then of surrender, whispered promises, and finally total commitment.

Her forthcoming engagement to Cameron held all the excitement of opening a new bank account.

Liza spoke. ‘Friendship is the best basis for marriage. Look at Daddy and me. We’re the best of friends.’

‘But you told me you were madly in love when you first met,’ Juliet pointed out, not daring to ponder on how marvellous that must be; to actually marry the person you were in love with.

Liza smiled coyly. ‘Well … yes, we were,’ she admitted, ‘but good friends, too. It’s talking the same language that matters. Having things in common. Cameron has even let you help him with the decorating at his house round the corner.’

At that, Juliet’s eyes did sparkle. When he’d asked for her advice, he hadn’t mentioned marriage, because there was really no need. They both knew they were heading towards a future as predictable as the setting sun. And knowing all along that the house would one day be hers, she’d insisted on the latest art deco furniture and fittings, in rooms almost exclusively decorated black, white and silver … She’d even persuaded him to buy a large silver bed with a canopy, which had been designed for a maharaja.

‘Yes, I think he was a bit bemused by my taste,’ Juliet agreed, smiling. ‘But as Glenmally is all tartan hangings, floral carpets and the heads of dead beasts stuck on the walls, I told him we needed something different down here.’

Remembering when she and her parents had been invited to stay at Glenmally a few weeks ago, she cast her eyes up in horror, knowing she’d never be allowed to change a thing, because his mother still lived there, and it was she who had done it up forty years ago.

‘Wasn’t it ghastly?’ she remarked.

But Liza looked alarmed. ‘For heaven’s sake, don’t tell him that! Men hate it if you try to change their ancestral homes.’ There was a pause. ‘That’s why I’ve never so much as changed a cushion at Hartley. Especially while Granny’s still alive.’

‘I’m sure Granny wouldn’t mind.’

‘I still wouldn’t like to tread on her toes. You’ll have no trouble with the duchess, though. She’s sweet and she adores you already.’

Juliet’s fine pencil-line eyebrows shot up. ‘How sweet is a viper?’ she retorted. ‘Wandering around in long robes clutching a posy of herbs and listening outside doors. She’s so possessive of her only son, I’m surprised she doesn’t want to marry him herself,’ she added acidly.

Liza frowned. Juliet had never talked like this about Iona before. ‘Don’t get on the wrong side of her, whatever you do,’ she warned.

‘Don’t worry. Once we’re married, I don’t intend to spend much time in Scotland. That’s why I’m encouraging Cameron to take to the joys of living in London. I want to entertain on a grand scale, and I want our house to become a talking point; the most fashionably decorated house in town.’

A few minutes later, Henry came into the room. He was smiling but his blue eyes held a glint of sadness.

‘Where’s Cameron?’ Juliet asked.

‘Is everything all right?’ demanded Liza, nervously fiddling with her pearls.

Henry went over to Juliet and, putting his arms around her, kissed her on the cheek. ‘Cameron and I have spoken; if this is what you want, darling, then I’ll give you both my blessing. I am going to miss you though, when you leave home.’

‘Then it’s all settled!’ Liza exclaimed, laughing and crying with relief.

‘I still have to accept him formally,’ Juliet pointed out, scarlet mouth teasing. ‘When he proposes, I might say no.’

Liza drew in her breath sharply. ‘You wouldn’t …!’

Juliet laughed. ‘No, Mummy. Don’t worry. I shall enjoy being the Duchess of Kincardine, and all that goes with it.’ Her tone was brittle, and Henry spotted a hardness in her expression he hadn’t seen before.

‘Juliet …? Are you sure?’ he asked suddenly, looking at her intently. ‘For God’s sake, if you’ve got the slightest reservation …’

She flung her arms around his neck, as she’d done as a small child, and pressed her cheek against his. ‘Daddy, you’re the best man in the world, but as you’re married to Mummy, I’ll have to make do with someone else,’ she teased.

Henry looked tenderly into her eyes, knowing he shouldn’t, but unable to stop himself loving her the most, while Liza breathed a sigh of relief.

‘So when …?’ she began, but Henry was still looking at his daughter closely.

‘You’re sure you love him? This is not a game, Juliet. This is a lifetime commitment. If you have any doubts, you mustn’t go ahead with it.’

‘I have no doubts, Daddy. This is what I want.’
And I’m not lying
, she thought. I can never have Daniel; so I’m going to enjoy what I can have.

Henry looked relieved. ‘Then so be it. Cameron is taking you out to dinner tonight. He said he’ll pick you up at eight o’clock.’

Juliet turned to take a cigarette out of the silver box on the table. This is all so strange, she thought, knowing she must keep these feelings to herself. Cameron hadn’t even kissed her properly, yet. It was not a bit like how she imagined getting engaged would be. There should be rejoicing, excitement, the pop of champagne corks, everyone hugging and kissing; like it was when Rosie got engaged.

But then Rosie had been intoxicated with love, dizzy with blind passion, and so, it had seemed, had Charles been. But Juliet felt flat, and a chilly sense of disappointment swept through her, leaving her with a stomach-ache and a feeling of anxiety. Was she really doing the right thing? Almost immediately a voice in her head told her that of course she was; everything would be fine as soon as she saw Cameron tonight. She’d get things into perspective and realize how happy she really was. He would surely tell her now how much he cared for her, cared enough to want to marry her … but it wouldn’t be like Daniel telling her that, would it?

But then no man, she realized, would ever make her feel like that again.

They dined at the Savoy Grill, the only young couple in a restaurant filled with elderly businessmen, foreign potentates and public figures. Earlier, when Cameron had arrived at Green Street, he’d presented her with a corsage of slipper orchids, before producing a ring set with a large square emerald, surrounded by diamonds.

‘I hope you’ll accept this,’ he said awkardly, his face red, as if he was finding it difficult to express himself, ‘as a token of my … erm … esteem, and that … erm … that you’ll agree to our getting married.’

The last three words came tumbling out in a rush, like the last flush of wine from a bottle.

‘I’d love to,’ she replied simply, looking into his eyes. He showed no visible sign of emotion, except perhaps slight relief.

‘I’m so glad,’ he replied. Then he leaned forward and kissed her on the lips, a dry puckered kiss that left her totally unmoved.

It was the most clinical moment in any relationship Juliet had ever experienced, and she realized Cameron was hopelessly shy and unused to dealing with women. The thought of showing him, of being perhaps the first woman he’d ever had, excited her for a moment. Maybe she could do for him what Daniel had done for her? Guide him to finding out how simply marvellous sex was; and give him the biggest thrill of his life?