It was when she opened the bill and saw the figure £18.50, that the idea first crossed her mind. But could she risk it? She had to admit such a gift-wrapped opportunity was unlikely to present itself again. She waited for the sommelier to pour him a second glass of Taylor’s before she declared, ‘The bill’s fine, Perry. Shall I write out a cheque while you enjoy your port?’
‘Good idea, old gal,’ said the duke, taking out his cheque book and handing it to her. ‘Be sure to add a generous tip,’ he said as he drained his glass. ‘It’s been a memorable evening.’
Virginia wrote out the figure 185,000, having moved the comma and added two noughts. She dated the cheque December 3rd 1982, before placing it in front of him. He signed unsteadily, just below where Virginia’s finger covered the noughts. When he disappeared to ‘spend a penny’, another of his oft-used euphemisms, Virginia deposited the cheque in her handbag, took out her own cheque book and wrote out the correct figure. She handed it to the maître d’ just before Perry returned.
‘It’s the duke’s birthday,’ she explained, ‘so it’s my treat.’
Marco didn’t comment that she’d forgotten to add the generous tip the duke had suggested.
Once they were seated in the back of the duke’s Rolls-Royce, he immediately leant across, took Virginia in his arms and kissed her; the kiss of a man who was hoping for more.
When the car stopped outside the duke’s home in Eaton Square, the chauffeur rushed around to open the back door, giving Virginia enough time to straighten her dress while the duke buttoned up his jacket. The duke led Virginia into the house, where they found the butler waiting for them, as if it was midday, not midnight.
‘Good evening, your grace,’ he said, before taking their coats. ‘Will you require your usual brandy and cigar?’
‘Not tonight, Lomax,’ the duke replied, as he took Virginia by the hand and led her up the sweeping staircase and into a room she’d never entered before. The bedroom was about the same size as her flat, and dominated by an antique oak four-poster, adorned with the family crest Ever Vigilant.
Virginia was about to comment on the Constable hanging above the Adam fireplace, when she felt the zip on the back of her dress being clumsily pulled down. She made no attempt to stop it falling to the floor, and began to unbuckle the duke’s belt as they edged unsteadily towards the bed. She couldn’t remember when she’d last made love, and could only hope that the same was true for the duke.
He was like a schoolboy on a first date, petting and fumbling, clearly needing her to take the lead, which she was happy to do.
‘That’s the best birthday present I could have hoped for,’ he said once his heartbeat had returned to normal.
‘Me too,’ said Virginia, but he didn’t hear her, because he’d fallen asleep.
When Virginia woke the following morning, it took her a few moments to remember where she was. She began to consider the consequences of everything that had taken place the previous evening. She had already decided not to present the cheque for £185,000 until December 23rd, confident that it wouldn’t be cleared before Christmas, possibly even the New Year.
However, there was an outside chance that someone along the line would consider it their duty to alert the duke about such a large withdrawal. There was also the possibility — although it seemed unlikely to Virginia — that the cheque might bounce. If either of these catastrophes occurred, she’d be on her way to Heathrow not Castle Hertford, because it wouldn’t be HM Inspector of Taxes pursuing her but an ever-vigilant duke, and she suspected his daughter Camilla wouldn’t be far behind.
The duke had already invited Virginia to spend Christmas on his estate in Hertford. But she had only accepted when she learned that Camilla and her family wouldn’t be travelling over from New Zealand, as they felt two trips to England within a few months was an unnecessary extravagance.
Virginia had written to Clarence and Alice regularly during the past few weeks, to keep them up to date on everything their father was up to, or at least her version of it. In their replies, both of them made it clear how delighted they were that she would be joining them at Castle Hertford for Christmas. The idea that at the last moment she might have to beat a hasty retreat and spend the New Year in Buenos Aires with a distant cousin wasn’t that appealing.
When the duke finally awoke, he knew exactly where he was. He turned over, delighted to find that Virginia hadn’t already left. He took her in his arms, and spent considerably longer making love a second time. She began to feel confident that this wasn’t going to be a one-night stand.
‘Why don’t you move in with me?’ the duke suggested as Virginia straightened his tie.
‘I’m not sure that would be wise, Perry, especially if the children are staying at the castle over Christmas. Perhaps early in the New Year, once they’ve gone?’
‘Well, at least stay with me until they arrive?’
Virginia happily agreed to his request, but only ever left one change of clothes at Eaton Square, aware that she might be sent packing at a moment’s notice. The morning Clarence landed at Heathrow she reluctantly returned to her little flat in Chelsea, where she soon realized how much she missed not only her new way of life, but also Perry.
Jessica Clifton
1982–1984
24
‘I’m surprised you didn’t see that one coming, Pops,’ said Jessica as she joined her father for breakfast.
‘And of course you did,’ said Sebastian. Jake began tapping a spoon on his high chair to gain attention. ‘And I don’t need your opinion, young man.’
‘He’s just preparing to take over as chairman of Farthings Kaufman.’
‘I was rather hoping I might be the next chairman.’
‘Not if Lady Virginia continues to run circles around you.’
‘You seem to forget, young lady, that Virginia had the inside track. She was regularly visiting Mellor in prison, and we now know she’d not only read the letter he wrote to his daughter, but had been in touch with her long before my plane touched down in Chicago.’
‘But you had a chance to get control of the company for a pound before that, and you turned it down.’
‘At the time, if I remember correctly, you were against me even visiting Mellor in prison, and made your position very clear.’
‘Touché,’ said Samantha, picking up the spoon Jake had cast on the kitchen floor.
‘You should have realized that if there was even a chance of Virginia making some money on the side,’ pressed Jessica, ignoring her mother, ‘she wasn’t to be trusted.’
‘And may I ask when you worked all this out? During one of your O level economics classes, no doubt?’
‘She didn’t have to,’ said Samantha, placing a rack of toast on the table. ‘She’s been eavesdropping on our breakfast conversations for the past six months. It’s nothing more than hindsight, so don’t rise, Seb.’
‘Plus a little female intuition,’ insisted Jessica.
‘Well, in case you didn’t notice, young lady, Thomas Cook did take over Mellor Travel, and their shares continue to rise, despite your misgivings.’
‘But they had to pay far more than you’d originally intended. And what I’d like to know,’ continued Jessica, ‘is how much of the extra money ended up in Virginia’s pocket.’
Sebastian didn’t know, though he suspected it was more than the bank was paid, but he took Samantha’s advice and didn’t rise to the bait.
‘Not a bad return for half a dozen prison visits,’ were Jessica’s parting words, after giving Jake a huge hug.