Page 48 of Secrets and Seashells at Rainbow Bay
‘Clara Chesterford? She was the wife of one of the Earls here in the early 1900s – apparently, she was quite the rebel.’
‘Yes, I’ve heard of her. There’s a huge portrait of her in the Ladies’ Chamber – it’s a secret little room off the Great Hall.’
‘Oh really?’ Benji says, his eyebrows raised. ‘I had no idea we had secret rooms here.’
‘It’s hardly a secret – everyone here seems to know about it. Arthur told me all about Clara when he showed me around. She was quite the party girl.’
‘I know; I’ve been reading all about her this morning – would you like me to forward the pages to you in case it’s stuff you don’t already know?’
‘Sure, why not? I quite like her, from what I’ve heard so far. She sounds like she had spirit.’
Benji nods. ‘A bit like you.’
‘Me?’
‘Uh-huh, and that’s not the only thing you have in common – she inherited the house through birth too.’
‘How do you mean? I thought it only went to males?’
‘Not in this case. Clara was actually the previous Earl’s daughter – the Earl she was married to became an Earl because he married Clara, not because he inherited it through his family.’
‘But I thought that couldn’t happen?’
‘It’s rare, but it did happen. Apparently, both of Clara’s younger brothers died without leaving any children, and there was a clause in her father’s will that stated on no terms should the family estate be passed down through his cousin’s line – he didn’t have any brothers either, so as long as Clara was married then she could inherit the estate – well, her husband could and so she would be allowed to live there.’
‘Her husband inherited her family estate, even though it was Clara’s by birth? That’s shocking.’
‘Yes, but not in the way you think. The clause in her father’s will was very forward thinking for the time: even if it did mean Clara’s husband was the benefactor, it meant she didn’t have to give up her family home. Otherwise it would indeed have gone to a distant cousin, and let me tell you, if it had, you wouldn’t be here now.’
‘I wouldn’t?’
Benji shakes his head. ‘Your side of the family descends from Clara’s lineage – even if it is a bit distant now. If it had gone to her father’s cousin you wouldn’t have got a look-in, I’m afraid. I’d have been tracing a very different line of Chesterfords.’
Good old Clara – well, Clara’s father. Seems like we have something else in common – not just our debt problems.
‘Funny how life turns out,’ I say, thinking out loud. ‘Just think, we might never have met – then where would you have written your book?’ I take a bite of my own sandwich, which is just starting to crisp a little as it’s been sitting untouched on my plate in the sun for so long.
‘Not in the grand surroundings of a castle – that’s for sure. Thank you, Amelia, I’m really enjoying being here.’
‘And we’re enjoying having you stay. It’s quite the little family we’ve got going on here now. I like it.’
‘So do I. It was good to see you eating dinner with the others last night. It made you seem more like part of that family.’
‘Didn’t I before then?’ I ask, a little shocked to hear this.
Benji shrugs. ‘Eating on your own with Charlie does make you seem a little remote.’
I put down my sandwich. ‘The last thing I want is to create a divide. I’ve been trying my hardest since I got here to do anything but that.’
‘I know. That’s why I thought I should say.’
‘Perhaps we should eat dinner with you all every night, then?’
‘Maybe not every night. I think it’s important for you and Charlie to have some time together too.’
I nod in agreement.
‘What if you arranged with Dorothy which nights you’ll eat with us and which you’ll spend with Charlie, then she won’t be offended if you suddenly don’t appear at dinner.’
