Page 50 of A Family Affair
It seemed that Tristan had called to confirm arrangements, however, Chuck had other plans.
‘Well thank you kindly for the invitation Mr H but I’ve been asked to take an English afternoon tea with Miss Jennifer tomorrow and anyways, I’m not sure I’d be any use with a golf club, and Cookie is making me her special vegetarian suet pudding. I ain’t got any clues to what it is but I’ll give it a go.’
Clarissa smiled as she listened to Chuck listening to Tristan and then, ‘Yes, it’s going well, and Miss Clarissa has made me mighty welcome here… No, no there ain’t no need in going over anything… yes, I know. You made it all plain as the hand in front of me.’
What. What did he know, and why did Chuck sound slightly peeved? The answer came shortly after.
‘Well that’s as may be, but I can’t help feeling you’re being kinda previous here, Mr T, because there ain’t nothing agreed yet. And anyways, I don’t feel comfortable talking like this while Miss Clarissa is fine and dandy and being a very nice hostess so if you don’t mind, I’ll be getting off. I wish you a very good day.’
And that was that. Next thing Clarissa heard was Chuck clip-clopping in the direction of the kitchen no doubt to sweet-talk Cookie into making him a pre-dinner snack. That man had a huge appetite!
Clarissa was perturbed by what she’d heard, and placed her book on her lap, then rested her eyes. Gazing into the flames she recalled another conversation with Chuck where certain facts had come to her attention. It was during their impromptu sojourn around the garden on Chuck’s first visit.
* * *
The information had been given freely once Clarissa asked the right questions, following her instincts and relying on the observations she’d stored during lunch. Hence her suggestion they took a little walk together.
It had turned overcast, and the temperature had dropped, so while she had been bundled up like a newborn, Chuck was exposed to the elements as they trundled along, he pushing her wheelchair, she pointing to this and that. ‘Are you warm enough, Chuck? Maybe I should have asked Jennifer to find you a Barbour. There must be some that will fit you in the boot-room.’
‘I’m fine, thank you ma’am, apart from this darned shirt that Mr Tristan bought for me.’
Unseen by Chuck, Clarissa gave a wry smile. She had noticed how uncomfortable he’d looked during lunch. Pulling at the collar of his smart shirt with the monogram on the cuff that screamed Cheshire set; and as for the jacket, well, the poor man looked as though he’d jumped out of a window display on the rows on Chester high street. It was clear as day that Tristan had dressed poor Chuck for lunch, even down to his perma-pressed slacks and very shiny new shoes.
The man was from the heartlands of Kentucky, via New York. And from what she’d gleaned from their conversation over roast beef and Yorkshires – or in his case lots of veg and minus the meat – Chuck was a thoroughbred cowboy, or at least he’d like to be.
No way on this earth had he brought the glaringly smart-casual middleclass outfit with him and, no way was she going to be taken for a fool.
‘Why on earth didn’t you just wear your own clothes, Chuck? We don’t stand on ceremony here and I would’ve preferred you to feel comfortable and be yourself.’
At this Chuck laughed. ‘Well I don’t think Mr T wants me to be myself. Don’t get me wrong, the hotel he put me up in is very swanky and so was the plane… jeez, I ain’t never seen nothin’ like it, but it ain’t really me.’
Again, the warning bells sounded. ‘So you travelled first class?’
‘Yes-sir-ee. Sure did. He even sent a limousine to take me to the airport and then I waited in a fancy lounge. Felt like I’d hit the jackpot, that’s the truth of it.’
Hmm,thought Clarissa,I bet you did, and then made a note to self to check the invoice when it next came from Henderson’s. As much as she’d agreed to Tristan’s suggestion that they bring Chuck to the UK, a first-class celebrity-style package was not necessary. So why all the fuss?
‘So, enlighten me. What has dear Mr Henderson Junior explained, about the reason for your visit?’ Clarissa thought it best to be direct no matter how unsavoury the subject. ‘Has he hinted that I’m after naming an heir to the estate and you’re in the running and wants to make sure you don’t mess up?’
She indicated to a bench set into an arched stone arbour, a place she’d hidden herself away many times to read or rage, depending on the circumstance. The resting place looked onto the sloping plains: the land she owned was green and fertile, two things she had once been. The first a curse, the second a waste and a regret.
Chuck sat beside her wheelchair on the carved stone bench and Clarissa suddenly felt bad. She’d put him on the spot, reacting to what she suspected could be a conspiracy; a betrayal by someone she’d trusted with her affairs and another who she’d hoped to forge a bond with.
Whatever the outcome, she would bet her horses on being correct in her assumption about Tristan.
‘I’m sorry if I’ve made you feel uncomfortable and it was very rude of me to put you on the spot like that, so please forgive me. You don’t have to answer that question because I agreed you should come here and it’s not a secret that I’m going to die without an heir, so you would’ve put two and two together eventually.’
‘Hey, it’s okay. I get it.’ Chuck paused a while then asked, ‘Can I be honest with you?’
This eased Clarissa’s heart immediately. The prospect of a truthful exchange. ‘Of course.’
‘Mr Tristan has explained about your family and circumstances and yes, he has hinted that if we get on well, then there’s the possibility that you could leave this mighty fine place to me. But that’s not the real reason I came here.’
Clarissa angled her body so she could watch him more carefully. ‘Oh, really. What was it, then?’
Chuck dipped his head and twiddled his thumbs, one circling the other until he looked up and when he did, Clarissa spotting something she recognised immediately. Not a family resemblance because there was none, she’d already scrutinised him for that. What she saw, was sadness.
CHAPTER38
