LITMIR.BIZ

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Cecily suddenly thought, all twined up together, interwoven like a fine fabric, thinking and saying the same things.

      A small sigh escaped her and she closed her eyes, unexpectedly remembering their terrible quarrel. They had not spoken for several years. It was Miles who had been able to bring about a reconciliation, which Lacy had begged for, and Cecily had agreed to forgive and forget, and she had done that with all her heart. When they had come back together, were friends again, it was so easy, so natural, as if they had never been apart. In an instant, they had become one again.

      To Cecily, DeLacy had always been the most beautiful of the four Ingham sisters, even though Lady Daphne had been singled out as the beauty of the family by their father.

      Her husband’s sisters were all blonde with sky-blue eyes. Diedre, Daphne, DeLacy and Dulcie, each with their own honorary title of Lady, as the daughters of an earl. Her sisters-in-law, her friends. Daphne’s words earlier had hurt Cecily very deeply.

      There had never been a serious rift between the Inghams and the Swanns until after the war. It was then that the fabric of the family had suddenly and unexpectedly been ripped. All because of the need for money for new government taxes and the proper running of the estate. Miles fully understood he was the guardian of an ancient line, one of the most important earldoms in England. Still, his birthright was a heavy burden to carry, Cecily knew that. Many of the ancient estates had been put up for sale over the years since the First World War, and now the Second World War had made it harder still. An old world order had ended for ever: a world in which the big houses were full of servants and the money flowed had disappeared.

      Aunt Charlotte had told her as they had parted earlier that it was the first time in living memory there had been issues between the two families. And she ought to know. Aunt Charlotte had been the keeper of the Swann record books all of her adult life. They had been written since Cavendon was built, started at the time of the 1st Earl by James Swann. In those books were all the secrets of the Swanns and the Inghams; they were absolutely private and for Swann eyes only.

      The Inghams had never been allowed to read those books. Now they were in her hands, and Cecily would keep the records, write in them, and they would not pass to another Swann until the day she died.

      Cecily focused on Aunt Charlotte. She held a unique position in the two families, as the matriarch of the Swanns and, as the Dowager Countess of Mowbray, matriarch of the Inghams. Aunt Charlotte’s work for Miles’s grandfather, David Ingham, the 5th Earl, long before she married the 6th Earl, Charles, late in her life, meant there wasn’t much she didn’t know about the two families. How lucky for them that she had now remembered that the two houses, Little Skell Manor and Skelldale House, belonged to the 7th Earl, and not the different women who had lived in them over the years.

      She hoped Miles wouldn’t be silly and get on his high horse, and say his sisters must continue to live rent free.

      Daphne lived rent free, come to think of it. She and Hugo and their children had occupied the South Wing of Cavendon for all of their married lives. Did they pay rent? Had they ever? Should they now start? She had no answer to that.

      Cecily felt a sudden rush of resentment. Daphne blamed her for the visitors who intruded on Daphne’s private haven, and she had to admit she was hurt, considering the efforts she had made over these many years. She had saved Cavendon from disaster time and again, shoring it up with money from her own fashion business.

      Unexpectedly, tears again began to leak out of the corner of her eyes and trickled down her cheeks. She was weeping for the loss of her darling DeLacy, but also because of the accusations Daphne had levelled at her, words that had been most unfair.

      She remained seated by the grave for a short while longer, pulling herself together, taking control of her emotions. On her way back to the house Cecily saw her mother hurrying along the path from Little Skell village. They spotted each other at the same moment, waving. A few seconds later they were embracing. Alice Swann said, ‘I was coming to look for you, Ceci. Your father told me that Lady Daphne and Mr Hugo have gone off to Zurich, and that she didn’t even attend the family meeting.’

      ‘Oh gosh, the Swann network does move fast,’ Cecily shot back, but there was humour in her tone. ‘I suppose you also know that she blames me for the commercialization of Cavendon, opening it to the public and all that stuff.’

      ‘I do,’ Alice replied. ‘When I think of all the money you have given to the family to maintain Cavendon, my blood boils. Thousands. Even when Swann Couture was starting to take off you chipped in, and later you bought that pile of Ingham jewellery and then gave to the Earl annual cheques from your collection of copies.’ Alice shook her head and let out a long sigh. ‘Poor Daphne, she’s not well, in my opinion. Or perhaps she’s just overtired. I know deep down she loves you dearly, Cecily. You look as if you’ve been crying. Not about Daphne, I hope?’

      ‘No. Missing DeLacy. Anyway, I’m a bit hurt at the moment, but it will pass.’ Quickly she changed the subject and said, ‘Aunt Dottie is looking forward to seeing you and Dad, Mam.’

      Alice smiled. ‘And I can’t wait. She’s always so cheerful and loving.’

      Miles swung around and jumped up when he saw Cecily coming into his study. ‘There you are, darling!’ he exclaimed, his engaging smile filling his face with love. ‘I’ve been wondering where you were.’

      Taking hold of her, he led her over to the sofa.

      ‘There was no meeting,’ she began. ‘Daphne—’

      ‘Daphne’s been here to see me,’ he cut in. ‘With Hugo in tow. He indicated they would be living in Zurich for quite a few months. A short while later, Aunt Charlotte showed up and told me all about her little scheme. Not so little, actually.’ He paused, reached out and gently wiped a damp cheek with his fingertips. ‘You’ve been crying. Not about Daphne, I hope?’

      ‘No. I went to sit with Lacy for a few minutes. Missing her.’ As she spoke, Cecily swept both hands across her face, sat up and offered her husband her brightest smile.

      Miles studied her. She was forty-eight and still beautiful, with her luxuriant, russet-brown hair, those unusual lavender-tinted eyes and a clear complexion. If there were a few wrinkles around her eyes, he hardly noticed them, and neither did anyone else. She was his woman, his wife, his partner, his soulmate, and his saviour in so many ways. Without her he would be lost.

      He was fifty, but he had worn quite well. There were many grey hairs now, and frequently bags under his eyes, and sometimes he was ready to collapse from exhaustion. On the other hand, fifty was fifty, after all. Certainly he made sure nobody knew how tired he felt half the time, although he suspected this woman he had loved all his life knew this. Cecily Swann. The girl he had loved from childhood. Now Cecily Ingham. His. There had only ever been her. His brief marriage to Clarissa, a forced marriage at that, had been a sham. Thank God he had his Cecily by his side, loving and loyal.

      Miles leaned closer and kissed her forehead. ‘I won’t permit anyone to blame you for turning Cavendon into a commercial enterprise. We all supported that. And we had to do it in order to survive, to save all this.’ He paused, waved his hand towards the window, indicating the entire estate.

      ‘Did Aunt Charlotte tell you Daphne does blame me?’

      ‘She did. And Daphne more than likely blames Dulcie for opening her art gallery; Harry for creating gorgeous gardens that lure the public here; her son Charlie for writing a bestselling history about us that titillates everyone and brings more visitors; Paloma for producing a coffee-table book about Harry’s gardens that sells so well for us. And I am positive that the greatest blame goes to me. Her brother, the Seventh Earl, who has allowed all this horrific stuff to happen.’ He smiled gently, shaking his head. ‘Please don’t take her words to heart. You’ve saved us, not ruined us. And we’ve all aided and abetted you.’

      ‘Oh Miles, you do make me feel better. I was a bit down in the dumps earlier. I’m afraid Daphne’s attitude has been troubling me for the past year. She and Hugo have been … well, grumblers, to say the

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