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Harrison but ignoring Todd completely and very
pointedly.
Elizabeth sighed as Harrison left Alexandra and
Frances and followed Daniel out into the hall.
"Daniel, I didn't realise Todd knew, he'd said
nothing to me about it. Nothing at all."
At the sound of Harrison's voice, the butler came
out of the dining-room. "Sir?"
"May I have my coat, please?" requested Daniel,
before Harrison could reply.
"Of course, sir."
"Daniel?" It would have been foolish for Harrison
to pretend that he did not know what had upset his
friend; Todd's behaviour over dinner had been that
of an insufferable boor, a man who could tolerate
the existence of no point of view other than his own.
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Harrison was aware that this was not an accurate
picture of his brother, but he was at a loss to know
how to correct it - and, meanwhile, Daniel had been
obliged to suffer because of his brother's
ungentlemanly conduct. "I can only apologise & "
he began helplessly, but Daniel stopped him in his
tracks.
"I appreciate your help, Harrison," said Daniel,
calmly, "and your mother is one of the most gracious
women I have ever met, but it's very clear to me
that I simply don't belong here. Todd has been very
honest about that, at least, whatever else I may
think about him."
"As my friend, Daniel, you will always be
welcome here." But it was nothing like enough,
somehow.
Daniel shook his head. "Given the
circumstances, I'm afraid I don't think that the two
of us can properly remain friends," he said, in a tone
of great reluctance.
Harrison was appalled. "Surely you don't mean
that!" he protested.
Grainger had brought Daniel's coat, and now
helped him into it.
"You're wrong," insisted Harrison, a rising tide of
panic rushing through him.
"Thank you." Daniel accepted his hat and gloves
from the butler, who retired discreetly to the far end
of the hallway. "I'm sorry, Harry, I think it's for the
best."
Harrison wanted to grab hold of Daniel, to keep
him there by force, to argue him out of his
preposterous ideas, to appeal unashamedly to the
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warmth of their relationship, and knew
unequivocally that he could do none of those
things; Grainger was waiting to open the door to let
Daniel out, and his mother's guests were waiting for
him to return.
"I'll see you before Christmas, though?" he
countered helplessly.
"Of course. Joseph is relying on it."
And that was it. When Daniel had gone,
Harrison stood in the hallway for a moment to
compose his thoughts. He refused to believe that
the two of them could not be friends, whatever Todd
might say - or even Daniel himself - and he was
determined not to let the matter rest where it was.
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CHAPTER 11
A tall Christmas tree stood in the window bay of
the drawing-room, the curtains still open behind it
although it was almost dark. Tinsel and glass
ornaments sparkled as they caught flickers of the
lamp and firelight, the occasional crackle of the fire
a contrast to the measured tick of the mantelpiece
clock.
A Christmas Carol lay open but forgotten on
Harrison's knee while he gazed into the flames. He
had no idea what he should do about the situation
between himself and Daniel; at the office Daniel
had been formal and distant since the dinner party,
but then he was always formal and distant at work.
Harrison's mother had received a note of thanks
after the dinner party, but there had been no other
communication. He had wanted to call in at the
Duke Street rooms, but there had literally been no
time to do so in the week before Christmas.
"You're very quiet," his mother remarked.
Harrison looked across to Elizabeth, who had
put down her crochet work. "I'm still recovering
from Mrs Grainger's excellent lunch," he replied.
Elizabeth, however, was not to be put off. "Is
everything all right between you and Daniel?" she
asked.
"To be honest, I don't quite know. Perhaps
inviting him to dinner wasn't such a good idea after
all."
"Nonsense. Daniel Harper was the equal of
anybody in that room. I wasn't born with a silver
spoon in my mouth, and neither was your father; we
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worked hard and took risks to acquire our place in
society." She took a deep breath. "Todd is going to
make a very good marriage and I'm happy for him,
but I sometimes think he'd like to forget that his
great-grandfather kept a ships' chandlers."
Harrison smiled warmly at her agitation.
"Smooth down your feathers," he suggested. "It's a
good thing he's not here."
Elizabeth picked up her work again, seeming to
pay no attention to the darting hook catching the
fine thread to produce a growing web of lace. "It
was good of him to take Alex with him to the
Seward house for tea," she observed.
"He didn't have much choice, the way she
badgered him."
Elizabeth smiled at the memory, then sobered. "I
hope she isn't expecting too much."
"From Stephen, do you mean?"
She nodded. "He could do far better for himself
than an Indian Army orphan, and I'm sure he
knows it."
"Stephen seems sensible and kind, though; I
don't think he would allow her to have any
expectations which he wasn't prepared to meet."
"Well, it does no good at all to worry about it,"
responded Elizabeth, sensibly. "Why don't you go
down to visit Daniel?" she asked.
"Today?"
"Yes. Why not?"
"Two reasons," he replied, smiling. "One, I
wouldn't leave you on your own on Christmas Day."
He ignored his mother's snort of indignation, and
continued. "Two, he and Joseph are spending part
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of the day at the shelter." He glanced at the clock.
"Although they may well be home by now."
"Tomorrow, then?"
"We'll all be at the Jessops' tomorrow, remember?
It's Boxing Day."
"I'd forgotten that," she admitted, with a sigh.
"It won't be that bad, surely, as long as Henry
doesn't sing?"
Under the circumstances, Elizabeth was willing
to let this slur on her cousin's musical ability go
unchallenged. "What about Sunday then?"
"Yes, I'll probably go on Sunday," he conceded,
almost reluctantly.
Rolling up her work, Elizabeth put it to one side.
"How would you like me to make some toast?" she
suggested brightly.
Harrison chuckled. "We haven't had toast on
Christmas Day for years," he said.
"Well, it's nearly tea time and this fire would be
quite perfect for making toast. You see to the
curtains and pull the small table closer to the fire,
I'll go and raid Mrs Grainger's kitchen."
"Just don't get caught," her son warned her, with
a mischievous grin.
"It's my kitchen, too," she protested, although
they both knew that this was a matter of some
debate in the household.
Pulling the brocade drapes across to keep out
the cold Harrison took the opportunity to glance out
into the darkness, remembering the evening when
Daniel had waited for him in the square. He and
Daniel would sort everything out eventually, he felt
sure, although it could well take some time; their
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friendship was the most important relationship he
had outside the family, however, and he was not
prepared to let it go without putting up a fight.
On Sunday, Harrison went to the eight o'clock
service with his mother. She preferred its quiet
simplicity to the high ritual and fashionable
congregation of the later morning service; Todd and
Alex would attend that, the one because he would
have a chance to see his business associates, and
the other because she did not enjoy getting up
early, especially in the winter darkness.
The church was cold; not even summer could
ever warm it up. After the service they exchanged
greetings with the vicar, then set off back up the hill
to breakfast and a warm fire. The first flakes of
snow were beginning to fall as they left.
"I'm going down to see Daniel after breakfast,"
Harrison informed his mother as they walked.
"I'm glad about that. I wouldn't want him to feel [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]