Page 70 of Spare Heir
My mum’s still an attractive woman and suits her role of Rochester matriarch. She narrows her mossy green eyes as she casts her mind back. ‘Oh yes. You mean that dreadful bully who used to steal from the other kids, and you and Damian kept getting into fights with him and his crowd?’
I tell her I bumped into him recently and give her an extremely potted version of events. It would only worry her if she knew how close I came to punching him and reverting to the violent encounters we used to have at boarding school.
She asks if he’s improved as an adult, and I assure her he has not. ‘Nathalie volunteers at a children’s centre, and it turns out he’s the founder. He was trying to lure her away from working for me and get her on full time in his office.’
‘Nathalie seems like a lovely young woman. She was such a help with the annual ball. I was sorry not to meet her in person. I thought she might accompany you this weekend. But then Grandfather was hoping you would bring Lizzy, so I wasn’t sure who to expect.’
I feel her eyes on me, appraising me in that omniscient way mothers have. She falls silent and waits for me to continue.
‘Ah yes, Lizzy. She couldn’t make it, but Grandfather has his heart set on her,’ I say, my voice flat despite my efforts to sound upbeat. I redirect the conversation swiftly back to Nathalie before she can ask me any more about Lizzy. ‘Daisy absolutely adores her,’ I say carefully.
My mother nods and tells me Daisy talked her ears off about Nathalie and that was one thing that made her realise she needs to spend more time with her granddaughter. ‘Nannies come and go, but grandmas are in it for the long haul, and I realised I’m not seeing her enough. I’m happy Daisy’s settled, but be careful about letting her get too attached. It’s so difficult when nannies leave, and they always do at some point.’
If she knew how attached I am, she’d have an even more severe warning for me.
My heart rampages at the mere suggestion of Nathalie leaving, and I’m straining to keep my emotions caged. The last thing I need is my mother knowing I’ve fallen for the nanny. I’m concerned about Lizzy and Nathalie, and am more uptight than usual.
Grandfather grilled me earlier about Lizzy and was most disappointed I didn’t bring her this weekend. I made up some story about her being too busy at work, and I don’t know if he bought it, but it bought me some time to get my act together. When I left the library, I rested against the door for a breather before entering the sibling fray. If anyone is going to fire tough questions at me, and catch me off guard, it’s that lot, so I’m wary.
Marian is seated on my other side and whispers, ‘What do you make of Isabella?’
Caspian surprised us all when he said he’d be bringing his girlfriend for the weekend, and we’ve all been covertly observing them together.
‘She’s lovely,’ I reply, my voice low. ‘You?’
‘Yes, I like her,’ she says. ‘She seems like a lot of fun. They’ve been friends for years, apparently, since they were at uni together. Caspian is a dark horse. Have you met her before?’
I tell her I don’t think so, but he had so many girls at uni that it’s no surprise I don’t remember her. We gossip a bit about how unusual it is to see Caspian with a girlfriend, and then she deftly changes the subject to me before I see it coming. Marian is an expert at wringing information out of people, so I must be alert, or she’ll wheedle information out of me before I’ve even had a chance to think about what I reveal.
She begins innocently enough, ‘What about you? How’s it all going?’
I take a breath and reply, ‘Business is good. The Cannes hotel opening went very well.’
There’s a lull in the conversation and my words resound around the long table in the elegant dining room where we eat when we all get together. Grandfather catches my eye. ‘The Cannes hotel opening went extremely well. You handled it beautifully, Sebastian. And Damian, the media coverage was excellent. What a joy to open the newspapers and read positive press about at least one of my grandchildren.’
Damian scowls because he’s the one who gets reams of bad press. I stifle a laugh. We’re close, but there’s a tinge of sibling rivalry that grandfather seems to encourage. He’s old school, and I think he likes us fighting for the top spot in the Rochester hierarchy, which is ridiculous really because as the eldest, Damian is the primary heir and will succeed Grandfather’s position as head of the family, whatever I do. But he likes to keep us on our toes, so we try to outdo each other as much to please him as to compete with one another. That’s my theory anyway, so I may as well make the most of having done something right in his book.
My league table scores fell dramatically after the divorce. Grandfather is not a fan of divorce and would much rather we did whatever we had to do to stick with the marriage. Like I say, he’s old school. Sometimes it irritates me because my grandparents had a wonderful, loving marriage right to my grandmother’s death and he idolised her. It begs the question, what does he know about sticking with a failing marriage?
Most of the time, I focus on my work in the hotel division and never let Rochester politics tangle with my good humour. It’s difficult to rattle me as I’m naturally optimistic. My priority is Daisy, and as long as she’s thriving, I can handle anything life throws at me. But now I find myself in an unfamiliar spot and must play my cards with care. It’s not helped because how things play out with Nathalie directly impacts Daisy’s wellbeing and life.
Grandfather raises his glass and toasts me for the success of the Cannes hotel opening. ‘Sebastian is doing a fine job as CEO of Rochester Hotels. Congratulations, my boy,’ he says. Everyone joins in—even Damian. ‘I’m hoping that soon we’ll have another reason to toast him.’
I roll my eyes at his unwavering commitment to marry me off to Lizzy. Bessie’s home baked apple crumble is served with ice cream and I’m thankful for the distraction from my personal life, as we all dig in. My mother oversees the menus, and the food is always top-notch at Greystone, so I relax, grateful that the worst of the interrogation is over and there will be no more talk of Lizzy or Nathalie tonight.
But how wrong can I be?
After a few spoonfuls of delicious melt-in-the-mouth crumble,Marian resumes the conversation where we left off and asks if it’s true that I agreed to marry Lizzy Archer. Before I can reply, she adds, ‘I knew her quite well when we were kids, you know. We’re the same age and went to the same birthday parties.’
The crumble sticks in my gullet. Coughing, I reach for my glass of red wine and take a big gulp.
‘You alright?’ Marian asks, concern etched on her face, her eyes crinkling at the sides.
I nod. ‘Where did you hear I’m marrying Lizzy Archer?’ I ask, trying to sound casual, but knowing nothing gets past my sister.
‘You’re the talk of the town, dear brother. Don’t you know your relationship with Lizzy Archer is headlines in all the celebrity magazines? You’re one of the most eligible bachelors in London, if not the world.’
I snort. ‘Is the term bachelor still a thing? Either way, I can’t be a bachelor because I’m divorced. You, on the other hand, dear sister, will most definitely be classed as a spinster if you don’t find some unsuspecting man to make an honest woman out of you.’