This Was a Man (The Clifton Chronicles #7)(59)

‘I’ve had the most enjoyable time renewing my acquaintance with your delightful children,’ she said. She wondered if he knew how little she’d seen of them during the past twenty years, not least because of the late duchess’s attempts to keep them apart.

‘And I’m sure they enjoyed seeing you again,’ said the duke. ‘I hope I will too, and in the not-too-distant future,’ he added, ‘if you have nothing better to do.’

‘Nothing would give me greater pleasure. I’ll wait for you to be in touch,’ she said, as a small queue began to form behind her.

‘My family are only able to be with me for a few more days,’ whispered the duke. ‘Once they’ve all gone their separate ways, may I give you a call?’

‘I’ll look forward to that, Perry,’ a name only the late duchess and the duke’s oldest friends ever used when addressing his grace, the Duke of Hertford.

Once Camilla had seen Virginia depart, she didn’t waste any time before joining her brother.

‘Did I see you talking to that frightful woman, Virginia Fenwick?’

‘You did,’ said Clarence. ‘She seems a nice enough lady, and she promised to keep an eye on Pa while we’re all away.’

‘I’ll bet she did. If anything would stop me going back to New Zealand, it’s the thought of that woman getting her hands on Pa.’

‘But she couldn’t have been more considerate.’

‘Don’t allow that consummate actress to fool you for one moment.’

‘Why are you so set against her, Camilla, when all she wants to do is help?’

‘Because dear Mama always had a good word for everyone, and she had two for the Lady Virginia Fenwick. Scheming bitch.’





‘How long have I got?’ asked Virginia.

‘The Revenue will grant you no more than ninety days before they begin proceedings, my lady,’ replied the bank manager.

‘So how long have I got?’ repeated Virginia.

Mr Leigh turned over several pages of his diary before he responded. ‘The final day for payment, unless you wish to be saddled with extortionate interest, is December twenty-first.’

‘Thank you,’ said Virginia, before leaving the bank manager’s office without another word.

She could only wonder how long it would be before the duke got in touch, because if he didn’t call soon, she would be spending Christmas Day in Buenos Aires.





23


VIRGINIA DIDN’T HAVE TO wait long before the duke called and invited her out on their first date. And that was certainly how she regarded their evening at Mosimann’s. She was coy, flattering and flirtatious, and made him feel twenty years younger, or at least that’s what he told her when he dropped her back at her flat in Chelsea, with a kiss on both cheeks. Appropriate for a first date, thought Virginia. She didn’t invite her paramour in for coffee for several reasons, not least because he couldn’t have failed to notice that there were only hooks where paintings had once hung.

The duke rang the following morning and invited Virginia out on a second date.

‘I’ve got tickets for Noises Off starring Paul Eddington, and I thought we might have supper afterwards.’

‘How sweet of you, Perry. But unfortunately I have to attend a charity gala this evening,’ she said, looking down at an empty page in her diary. ‘But I’m free on Thursday evening.’

After that, her dance card had only one name on it.

Virginia was surprised how much she enjoyed her role as the duke’s companion, confidante and friend, and quickly grew used to a style of life she had always assumed was hers by right. However, she had to accept that the taxman was still demanding his pound of flesh, 185,000 pounds of flesh to be exact, and that if she didn’t pay up, this idyllic existence would stop as abruptly as a train hitting the buffers.

She considered asking Perry for a loan to cover her tax bill, but felt it was a little too soon, and if he thought that was the only reason she’d shown any interest in him, the relationship would surely end as quickly as it had begun.





Over the next few weeks, the duke showered her with gifts of flowers, clothes, even jewellery, and although she considered returning them to some of the more fashionable establishments on Bond Street in exchange for cash, it wouldn’t have even made a dent in the taxman’s demand. In any case, it would only be a matter of time before the duke found out what she had been up to.

However, when the weather changed from a chilly November to a freezing December, Virginia began to despair, and decided that she had no choice but to tell Perry the truth, whatever the consequences.

She selected his seventieth birthday as the day of revelation, during a celebration dinner at Le Gavroche. She was well prepared, having spent most of her monthly allowance on a gift for Perry that she could ill afford. Cartier had crafted a pair of gold cufflinks, engraved with the Hertford crest. She would need to choose the right moment to present them, and then explain why she would be leaving for Buenos Aires early in the New Year.

During the meal, which consisted mostly of vintage champagne, the duke became a little maudlin and began talking about ‘crossing the finishing line’, his euphemism for death.

‘Don’t be silly, Perry,’ Virginia reprimanded him. ‘You have many years ahead of you before you need to think about anything quite so depressing, especially if I’ve got anything to do with it. And don’t forget, I promised the children I’d keep you going.’