‘Shall I take you out in the car once it’s been cleaned?’ Selina glanced up at the skies, which were gloomy, but not threatening rain. ‘We could take a quick run into the village and back.’
Jemima jumped up and down with excitement. ‘Yes, please. Can Faith come too?’
‘I suppose so. Though only if she agrees to sit still on the back seat and behave herself.’ Selina sucked in a breath as the girl dashed away to tell her younger sister, calling after her, ‘Careful, don’t run! You might have an accident.’
As usual, Jemima paid no attention, shouting for her sister as she raced up the stairs. Still, it was nice to see her eldest niece happy and enjoying life. Her brother Peter had been gone several weeks now, safely installed in his boarding school in Devon, and both girls had been pining for him ever since. But it seemed the arrival of Selina’s sleek Hillman Minx had bucked Jemima’s spirits up at least.
Selina went back inside to fetch her gloves and hat. But excited shrieking and the sound of running feet on the floor above made her stop.
With a sigh, she hurried upstairs to remonstrate with the girls, fearful of them slipping on the polished wooden flooring. But everything had gone strangely silent by the time she approached the room designated as Jemima’s ‘schoolroom’. The tutor had been there earlier, teaching Jemima some elementary French, and helping Faith write out the alphabet. But he’d left at lunchtime, as this was his half-day.
Peering around the schoolroom door, she was astonishedto find Jemima seated quietly at her desk, head bent over a book. At her own, far smaller desk, Faith was diligently tracing letters with a pencil, her tongue sticking out as she concentrated fiercely on the task.
Amazed, Selina soon spotted the reason for this good behaviour. The girls’ cousin Nancy was in the room with them. She was sitting neatly in the chair that their tutor, Mr Harrington, usually occupied. She too was reading, though her reading material was a ladies’ fashion magazine.
‘Hullo,’ Selina said, raising her brows. ‘I didn’t expect to find you in here.’
Nancy looked up with a start, her cheeks turning pink. ‘Oh, hullo,’ she replied awkwardly, setting aside her magazine, ‘I hope you don’t mind … Jemima said you were planning to take the girls out in your car. But I could see from the window that it’s still being washed. So I thought it might be better if they did some quiet work in here while they waited, rather than running about the house like a couple of banshees.’
‘No, that was good thinking,’ Selina said, smiling. ‘Thank you.’
Initially, she had only intended Nancy to be their guest at the hall for a few days. But it had soon become apparent that the young woman had nowhere else to go. There’d been a falling out with her parents, it transpired, and although Nancy had been tearful and incoherent when questioned about this, it was plain that she didn’t feel able to return to the family home.
Rather than turn the poor creature out onto the street, Selina had made a strategic decision to allow her to stay for the time being. She had not engaged her as a nanny, however,not knowing the first thing about her character yet, and had taken William MacGregor to task for having advertised the position without consulting her first.
He had apologised, withdrawing the advertisement for a nanny immediately. ‘I only did it to help you,’ he’d told her, looking embarrassed. ‘You always seem rushed off your feet these days.’ She had told him in return that she still wished to be a mother to the girls, and pointed out that this should be easier now that Peter was away at school, as the girls were far less likely to get into mischief with their older brother absent.
Yet she couldn’t deny that Nancy was a soothing presence in the house. And, indeed, here were the girls now, sitting quietly side by side as they worked, apparent paragons of virtue, and Selina had not even needed to raise her voice to achieve this miracle.
‘Since you’re both occupied with your studies now,’ Selina said, hiding her smile, ‘I’d better go down and speak to Mrs Hawley about our dinner tonight. But don’t worry. As soon as the car’s ready, I’ll give you a shout and you can all come out with me on a drive.’ She hesitated, glancing at Nancy uncertainly. ‘You’re welcome to come too, Nancy, if you’d like. There’s room for one more.’
Nancy looked pleased. ‘How kind of you. Thank you, I’d love to come.’
As Selina descended the staircase, she heard the telephone ringing. Selina had made a few calls using the hall telephone during Bella’s illness and in the aftermath of her sister’s death, but since then had avoided it, except to take a few calls from William. There had never been a telephone at the farm, and besides, she found speaking on the telephone awkward. Who on earth could be calling?
In the hall, Mrs Hawley came hurrying towards her, biting her lip and looking apprehensive.
‘Oh, Miss,’ she said breathlessly, ‘there’s a telephone call for you. It’s from Master Peter’s school.’
Selina felt the blood drain from her face, her body rigid. ‘From his school? Are you sure?’
‘It’s the headmaster himself on the telephone. Says he needs to speak to you urgently.’
‘Thank you.’ Terrified, Selina picked up the telephone, her voice shaking as she said, ‘Hello? Miss Tiptree speaking.’
‘This is Mr Beeton,’ the headmaster said. ‘No need to be alarmed, Miss Tiptree. Your nephew is quite well.’
‘Oh thank goodness.’
‘I’m sorry to be calling you like this. But I’m afraid you need to come and collect Peter from the school.’ Mr Beeton sounded severe and lofty, almost as though accusing her of something. ‘Unfortunately, I’ve been obliged to expel him.’
Selina sagged against the wall, holding the receiver against her ear in disbelief. ‘Expel him? But he’s barely been at the school a month.’
‘I’m sorry to say this of any boy,’ the headmaster began, ‘but Peter March is never going to fit in at this school. Nor at any school, I would suggest, until such time as his wild behaviour can be curbed. Though, frankly, I’m not sure it ever can be.’
‘Wild behaviour?’ Selina repeated, blinking. ‘What exactly has he done wrong?’
‘We can discuss that when you come to remove him,’ Mr Beeton told her flatly. ‘I have a Board of Governors meeting in five minutes, and this conversation will take considerably longer than that. Will you be able to fetch him today?’
