Alice looked surprised by her brother’s waspish tone of voice, and Virginia hesitated for a moment before she said, ‘Yes, of course,’ and retreated to the drawing room. This time Montgomery didn’t even raise his head.
Dr Ainsley came out of the study twenty minutes later, and also departed without making any effort to pay his respects to the grieving widow. Virginia waited patiently for the duke to summon her to the study, but no such call came, and when a maid, whose name she could never remember, began to turn on the lights all over the house, she decided it was time to change for dinner. She had just stepped out of the bath when she heard a car coming down the drive. She went over to the window and peered out to see Camilla and her family being greeted by Clarence. She dressed quickly, and when she opened her bedroom door a few minutes later she saw the butler and the two children heading towards the corner suite, which she hadn’t allocated to them.
‘Where is your mother?’ asked Virginia.
The children swung round, but it was Lomax who responded. ‘His grace asked Lady Camilla and her husband to join him in the study and requested that they should not be disturbed.’
Virginia closed the door behind her. She had never known Lomax to address her in that offhand manner. She tried to concentrate on her make-up, but couldn’t help wondering what they were discussing in the duke’s old study. She assumed all would be revealed over dinner.
Half an hour later, Virginia walked slowly down the wide staircase, across the hall and into the drawing room, only to find nobody else was there. She sat and waited, but no one joined her. When the gong was struck at eight o’clock, she made her way through to the dining room, to find the table had been laid for one.
‘Where are the rest of the family?’ she demanded when Lomax appeared carrying a small tureen of soup.
‘His grace, Lady Camilla and Lady Alice are having a light supper in the library,’ he said without further explanation.
Virginia shivered, although the fire was crackling in the hearth. ‘And the children?’
‘They have already eaten, and as they were tired following their long journey they went straight to bed.’
A feeling of foreboding gripped her and she tried to convince herself that there was nothing to worry about, but without a great deal of conviction. She waited until the clock in the hall struck nine before leaving the dining room and making her way slowly upstairs to her room. She undressed and went to bed, but she didn’t sleep. She had never felt more alone.
Virginia was relieved when Clarence and Alice joined her for breakfast the following morning, only to find that the conversation was stilted and formal as if she were a stranger in her own home.
‘I’ve almost completed the order of service,’ volunteered Virginia, ‘and I thought perhaps—’
‘No need to waste any more of your time on that,’ interrupted Clarence. ‘I have an appointment with the bishop at ten this morning, and he told me he agreed all the details of the ceremony with my father some time ago.’
‘And does he agree with me that Thursday—’
‘No,’ said Clarence equally firmly. ‘He recommends Friday, which will be more convenient for my father’s friends who will be travelling up from London.’
Virginia hesitated before saying, ‘And the guest list, would you like to see my recommendations?’
‘We settled on the final list last night,’ said Alice. ‘But if there are one or two names you’d like to be added, do let me know.’
‘Isn’t there anything I can do to help?’ asked Virginia, trying not to sound desperate.
‘No, thank you,’ said Clarence. ‘You’ve done quite enough already.’ He folded his napkin and rose from his place. ‘Please excuse me. I don’t want to be late for the bishop.’ He left without another word.
‘And I ought to be getting on,’ said Alice. ‘I’ve rather a lot to do if everything is to be in place by Friday.’
After breakfast, Virginia took a stroll around the grounds as she tried to fathom what had caused such a sudden change of attitude. She derived some comfort from the fact that she still had the Dower House, five thousand pounds a month, and two Ming vases that Li Wong had confirmed were worth at least a million. Her smile disappeared when she saw Camilla and her husband coming out of the estate manager’s office.
Virginia had lunch on her own, and decided to go into town and buy some new clothes, as she intended to shed her widow’s weeds the moment they had all departed. When she got back to the castle that evening, there was light coming from under the study door, and she thought she could hear Camilla’s strident voice.
Virginia had supper alone in her room, one thought continually returning to her mind. She was beginning to wish Perry was still alive.