In the Lion’s Den. Barbara Taylor Bradford

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      Just imagine, Esther thought, glancing around her parlour, I was married from this house and I am still here. She smiled as she looked at the small photograph of her husband with their sons and grandchildren and remembered the boy she had fallen in love with all those years ago.

      We met, looked at each other and just clicked. Lucky. Indeed, I was. And so was he, she thought.

      Pushing back her chair, Esther got up and went out into the corridor, walked down to the kitchen, pushed open the door. ‘I’m going upstairs now, Cook, since we’ve settled everything about supper tonight.’

      ‘It’s all in hand, Mrs Falconer,’ Cook answered, and gave her a huge smile. ‘I’m looking forward to cooking a few of your family’s favourite dishes.’

      Esther smiled back and retreated. She climbed the back staircase and crossed the hall, discovered Philip and their grandson sitting together in the conservatory, which opened onto the garden at the back of the house.

      ‘There you are!’ she exclaimed, hurrying across the room. ‘Nattering away like two old codgers.’

      ‘I am an old codger,’ Philip said with an amused laugh.

      ‘That’s not so!’ his wife answered, and went and sat next to James on the sofa.

      ‘I’m so happy we can have our Saturday supper here downstairs in the servants’ dining room, instead of at your house. Easier for your grandfather.’

      James nodded, glanced at Philip. ‘It was nice of the Honourable Mister to let us all come here, wasn’t it?’

      ‘Indeed it was, James,’ Philip replied, and looked down at his left leg encased in plaster of Paris, stretched out and resting on an ottoman. ‘He sent a telegram from Monte Carlo immediately after he received mine. He insisted that you all join us here for our traditional supper. Even told me to choose one of his wines.’

      ‘Wonderful things, these telegrams,’ Esther observed. ‘I can’t imagine how we ever managed without them. The Honourable Mister also insisted your grandfather rest in here as well, to benefit from some light and warmth. Anyway, James, I’m relieved to see you looking well. Your father told me you are working long hours.’ She gave him a hard stare.

      ‘Yes, I am, Grans, but I’m in fine fettle at the moment. And Mr Malvern is such a nice man to work for. We’ve been doing some reorganization of the whole company, and he’s appreciated my help. He says he couldn’t have done it without me.’

      ‘James, whatever happened to Mr Malvern’s daughter? Is she not working alongside her father and you?’ Philip asked.

      James shook his head. ‘No, I’m afraid not.’ He looked from his grandfather to his grandmother, and continued in a solemn voice, ‘It’s rather a sad story, really. Miss Alexis doesn’t seem to have recovered from the death of her fiancé. Just a week before they were to be married. She lives in Kent and hardly ever comes to Malvern House.’

      Esther frowned, said in a low voice, ‘I seem to remember you talking about her. She was a first-class businesswoman, one of only a few in London.’ Esther paused and shook her head. ‘Isn’t she his only child? Mr Malvern’s heir?’ she asked, puzzlement echoing in her voice.

      ‘That’s correct, Grans. But she doesn’t seem to be interested in the business. Or anyone. Not even her father. It’s a shame. So sad to see the pain he’s in. He’s heartbroken, in my opinion.’

      Esther leaned back, shaking her head again, looking nonplussed.

      It was Philip who now spoke up. He glanced at James, a brow lifting quizzically. ‘Is she physically ill in some way?’

      ‘Not that I know of,’ James answered, his forehead puckering. ‘What are you getting at, Grandfather?’

      ‘It sounds to me as if Miss Malvern is mentally disturbed. How long has she been acting this way?’

      ‘It’s over a year since Sebastian Trevalian died.’

      There were a few moments of silence. Glances were exchanged. It was Esther who spoke first. ‘It seems to me that she can’t let him go, that she’s hanging onto his memory. Very sad. I’m sure the sudden loss of the man she was about to marry was a shock. It would leave a terrible sorrow. However, to avoid society for so long appears abnormal, in my opinion. The way she is behaving is odd, to say the least.’

      ‘She went to see a famous doctor in Vienna,’ James volunteered. ‘His name is Doctor Sigmund Freud. Seemingly he examines the mind, not the body.’

      Philip suddenly was sitting up straighter and nodding his head vehemently. ‘I’ve read about him! In one of Lady Agatha’s science magazines. He is called a mind doctor. The patient talks to him, and he does an analysis of the things the patient says. I’m not quite sure how he cures the patient, though. But he is becoming famous.’

      ‘She was treated by him for six months,’ James confided. ‘That is why Mr Malvern offered me a job as his … assistant, I suppose you’d call me. Miss Malvern had gone to Vienna.’

      ‘I remember it now,’ Esther exclaimed. ‘Your father told me the story.’ Esther looked off into the distance, as if she could see something far away. After a moment or two, she said, ‘So what is going to happen, James? Is she ever coming back?’

      ‘I’ve no idea. To be honest, I don’t think Mr Malvern knows either.’

      ‘But what is he going to do without an heir?’ Philip asked.

      Esther stared at Philip. ‘Poor man. And whatever will he do with Malvern’s?’

      James said quietly, ‘He has spoken to me about selling the company, once we’ve got it back into the best shape we can. We’re working on that.’

      ‘Do you think he would sell that old family company?’ Philip asked.

      James did not answer at first. A moment later, he said slowly, but in a firm tone, ‘Yes, I do think he would, if the price is right.’

       THREE

      Esther was delighted when she opened the door and saw the rest of the Falconer family all together, standing on the step at the back.

      ‘Come in, come in!’ she exclaimed, pulling the door further ajar, a huge smile spreading across her face.

      Once they were in the narrow lobby and the door was shut, there were hugs and kisses and greetings exchanged. She couldn’t help thinking how smart her three sons looked, dressed in their best clothes.

      Matthew’s wife, Maude, was elegant in a simple cream linen dress which fell to her ankles, decorated with a black cotton rose on her shoulder.

      Her granddaughter, Rossi, was likewise decked out in a summer frock, made of pale-blue crepe de Chine. Rossi’s younger brother, Eddie, wore his one and only best suit.

      ‘Let’s go and see Dad, shall we?’ Matthew announced, taking charge.

      ‘Yes, come along,’ СКАЧАТЬ