The Fairbairn Girls Read Online Free Page B

window, along with their younger sisters, so they could hear better.
    ‘If you come here again,’ the Earl was raging, ‘I’ll personally see you are flogged with a horsewhip, damn you! Do you understand? Keep away from here if you know what’s good for you!’
    Then they heard another man’s voice, this time low and menacing. ‘As the Rowan tree is my witness, I curse the Fairbairn family from here until eternity.’
    ‘Go and be damned!’ yelled their father in response. ‘Get out of here or I’ll set the dogs on you.’
    There was a skirmish of horses’ hooves followed by the clip-clop of someone riding away down the drive. Then they heard Lord Rothbury speak again in a calmer voice to the ghillie. ‘Linton, that man is not to be allowed on my land again. Call the police if you see him and have him arrested at once for trespass. On no account must he be allowed to come anywhere near me or my family. Now take Megara back to the stables. I won’t be going out again today.’
    ‘Yes, M’Lord.’ Linton sounded utterly quenched and unlike himself.
    A moment later they heard their father cursing loudly as he stomped up the stone steps of the castle and into the great hall. ‘That
bastard
! I’d like to kill him.’
    ‘I’m going to find out what’s happening,’ said Laura.
    Lizzie looked perturbed. ‘Do you think you should?’
    ‘I’m not afraid of Papa.’ Opening the library door, she stepped into the hall. ‘Papa? What’s the matter? Who was that you were shouting at?’ she asked calmly.
    He shot her a furtive glance. ‘Mind your own damn business.’ Then he brushed roughly past her, almost knocking her down.
    At dinner that night Lord Rothbury sat at the head of the long table, drinking heavily and refusing to speak. Only his wife’s ceaseless prattle broke the heavy silence and, as usual when there was trouble, she appeared as if she was unaware of it – that was her armour.
    ‘You haven’t forgotten, girls, that Mrs Armitage is arriving tomorrow?’ she asked brightly.
    The sisters all perked up immediately and started talking at once.
    ‘What time is she arriving?’
    ‘How long is she staying for?’
    ‘Mama, I need a new coat . . .’
    ‘Two winter skirts . . .’
    ‘A smart day dress and . . .’
    ‘She can make my wedding dress, can’t she?’ Laura’s voice was the loudest. ‘And my going-away suit. I want a sapphire-blue velvet skirt with a matching jacket with satin revers.’
    Lady Rothbury threw up her hands with a girlish gesture. ‘Goodness me! You’ll work the poor woman to death. She’s only staying for three months. May I also remind you that before she does anything else she has to make
my
winter wardrobe.’
    Georgie immediately looked rebellious. ‘We can plan what we want, though, can’t we?’ she asked defiantly.
    ‘You’re way down the pecking order,’ Lizzie observed bossily. ‘I’m the first who needs new clothes, then Laura and then Beattie. Anyway, you’re not going anywhere special.’
    ‘Then when do I get new things?’ Diana wailed. ‘I want to have a new jacket.’
    Suddenly Lord Rothbury rose to his feet; his face ruddy and bloated, his height and breadth dominating the room and making Diana cower back nervously. He raised his crystal wine goblet in his hand and then with great force threw it down into the fireplace. There was an explosion of glass splintering as it hit the old bricks, causing the dogs to jump to their feet with fright.
    ‘Let me remind you,’ he boomed above the din of screeching daughters and yelping dogs, ‘that “I want” doesn’t mean “I get”.’ With that he turned and stormed out of the room with Megan at his heels, her tail between her legs.
    Little Eleanor couldn’t get to sleep that night. Something strange was happening below her bedroom window, where an ancient and rather magnificent Rowan tree grew. She’d always loved its scarlet leaves and the bright red berries that hung in the autumn like