Rejection Runs Deep (The Canleigh Series, book 1: A chilling psychological family drama), Carole Williams [ebook reader 8 inch .TXT] 📗

“Don’t mind me,” said Delia, as they all looked aghast at her appearance and she kicked off her boots in the entrance hall.  “I don’t want to keep you all waiting while I change so let’s get on with it.”  She turned and strode into the library in her socks.

There were no surprises in the will.  A few small bequests to members of staff, a handsome gift to the Radcliffe Infirmary and a considerable sum to Vicky.  But the majority of Richard’s wealth was to go to Delia, although before Rathbone left Canleigh he drew Delia aside and made it quite plain she wouldn’t receive a penny of her inheritance unless she was vindicated at the trial.  Until then it would be frozen.

The atmosphere in the house the following day bordered on the explosive.  Ruth did her utmost to avoid Delia, she and Vicky resorting to eating meals in Ruth’s sitting room.  Vicky knew she was going to have to return to London at some point but was reluctant to face Barrie and didn’t want to leave Ruth and Stephen alone with Delia until they could get away to Blairness.  When Delia wasn’t out with Demon, she was drinking too much, either in her room or in the library and if her path crossed that of Vicky and Ruth, they received nothing but sinister smiles.

Then Ruth finally received the news she had been waiting for.  Charles was well enough to leave hospital and could travel, albeit at a leisurely pace.  Plans were immediately set in place to journey up to Scotland, cases were packed, and phone calls made to the staff at Blairness to prepare for their arrival.  Ruth was going to drive Charles, Stephen and Tina in the Rolls with much of their luggage being sent up by rail.  Taking a baby anywhere, Ruth discovered, entailed an awful lot of extra baggage.  She was grateful Tina had decided to accompany them and would stay with them throughout most of December, returning to her family for Christmas and New Year and then re-join them at Blairness in January.  A trial date for Delia had been set in March so it wouldn’t be too long before they could all return to Canleigh because Delia would be sent to prison, Ruth was sure of that.

Delia was nowhere to be seen on the morning of their departure from Canleigh.  No doubt she was out riding again and had no wish to say goodbye.  Vicky and Ruth were relieved.  They didn’t want to speak to her if they could possibly help it.

Vicky departed Canleigh for her return to London an hour before Ruth was due to leave and collect Charles from the hospital.  She looked extremely tired and worried but tried hard to mask her misery as the two women said farewell.

“If it gets too bad, please come up to Blairness and stay with us,” Ruth urged.  “You don’t have to stay in an unhappy marriage, Vicky.”

“I know.  Thank you.  But I must go back and find out exactly what’s been going on.  I’ll never get a straight answer from Delia and doubt whether I will from Barrie but I have to face it sometime and the sooner the better.”

Ruth watched Vicky get into her treasured little sports car and waved as she drove away down the drive.  Ruth was going to miss her terribly.  Vicky had been a marvellous support during the family crisis and it was a wrench to see her go, looking lost and lonely and having to tackle her errant husband over his familiarity with Delia.  How could he do that to Vicky?  She was so kind and lovely.  She didn’t deserve a rat like Barrie.

Ruth turned as Hardy drove the Rolls up from the garage and pulled up on the gravel beside her.  He jumped out smartly.

“Perkins has given it a thoroughly good going over, Your Grace.  You won’t have any problems with it.”

Ruth smiled.  “Thank you, Hardy.  Well, we had better get going then.  I’ll go and fetch Tina and Stephen.”

An hour later with Tina and Stephen safely tucked up on the back seat, Ruth turned to the Hardy’s standing on the front steps.

“Don’t hesitate to call me if there are any problems,” she said, knowing they were well aware she was referring to Delia.

“We’ll manage, Your Grace.  Don’t forget we’ve known and looked after Lady Delia for many years.  You just concentrate on getting His Grace well and we’ll look forward to welcoming you all home again,” replied Hardy graciously.

Ruth smiled and shook their hands.  She had become very fond of the Hardy’s but they weren’t getting any younger.  Hardy was beginning to suffer from arthritis in his spine and Betty’s eyes were playing her up.  Ruth hoped Delia wouldn’t give them a hard time.

The traffic was busy that morning and it took Ruth nearly three-quarters of an hour to thread her way through the Leeds traffic in order to park near the entrance to the hospital.  She enjoyed driving the Rolls, having practised a bit around the estate over the last few days but parking wasn’t her forte and without Tina to guide her into a space, she might have been much longer about it.

When Ruth entered Charles’s room, he was sitting in the chair by his bed dressed in his favourite brown corduroy trousers and bottle green angora sweater with his tweed jacket laid across his lap.

“I’m so pleased to see you, darling,” he said, his eyes twinkling merrily.  “And even more pleased to be leaving here.”

“Now, Your Grace.  I can’t think what you mean,” grinned Sister Albright, following Ruth.  “You will really miss our care.  You know you will.”

Charles grinned back.  “Yes, you’re probably right, Sister.  You’ve all been pretty marvellous and I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done