Page 1 of The Fortunes of Ashmore Castle

CHAPTER ONE

December 1904

Hospitality was one of the duties of an earl, but Giles, Earl of Stainton, felt that the arrival of two unexpected guests on Christmas Eve was asking rather much of his forbearance.

Uncle Fergus, his mother’s younger brother, had frequently stayed at the Castle, though never before without warning. He liked his comfort, so he preferred his hosts to have plenty of notice before he descended on them. But what young Angus Tullamore, merely a second or third cousin, was doing there was a mystery. Before Giles could even begin to interrogate Tullamore, his uncle, who had never surprised anyone in his life, stunned the company by announcing that he was going to be married.

Warming his tail at the fire he said, ‘Miss Lombardi – Giulia – has consented to be my wife. I’m for ever indebted to you, Giles: if you hadn’t invited her to Rachel’s ball, I should never have met her! It took me an age, I can tell you, to pluck up the courage to ask. I never in the world thought she would say yes. But as soon as I saw her, I knew there could never be any other woman for me.’

Giles was still grasping after the right words to respond. His sister Linda got in first. ‘But there never has been any other woman for you!’ she cried in outrage. ‘You’ve never shown the slightest interest in females. It’s ridiculous to start now! Married, at your age? It’s – it’s unseemly!’

‘Linda!’ Giles blenched at her rudeness.

Linda was unabashed. ‘Oh, don’t pretend you’re not thinking the same!’ she snapped. ‘He’s been caught, that’s what it is! An adventuress after his money. Really, Uncle, some painted trollop has only to flatter you and—’

‘Now, now! Come, come!’ Fergus interrupted her, more surprised than offended. ‘No need for that sort of language. I’m not so hideous, am I, that no decent female would have me? I’ve had my share of admirers over the years, I can tell you. Fact of the matter is, I could have married a dozen times by now if I’d wanted.’

‘But you never have wanted!’ Linda raged. ‘That’s the whole point! You’ve been perfectly happy being single, and at your age you ought to be settled in your ways, not making a fool of yourself over some—’

‘Linda, that’s enough,’ Giles admonished sharply.

She rounded on him. ‘You’re not going to side with him? It’s bad enough with Mother’s burlesque marriage, without another member of the family bringing ridicule on us.’

Their widowed mother was even then on her honeymoon with the German prince who had unexpectedly taken a fancy to her.

Fergus was looking wounded now, and Giles had to put an end to it. He took Linda’s arm in a grip that was intended to hurt, and said quietly, but forcefully, ‘Stop this, or leave the room.’

She opened her mouth, then closed it again, seeing he meant business. Uncle Sebastian had oozed up beside her, and caught Giles’s eye with a nod that said, I’ll deal with her if she starts again.

Now Kitty, the countess, from her position by the Christmas tree where she was preventing her younger son, Alexander, from pulling off the baubles, said in just the right sort of warm, interested voice, ‘We’re so pleased for you, Uncle. Do tell us all about it.’

The slight cloud cleared from Fergus’s face. He was a man of very little conceit: he liked most people, so he assumed most people liked him, and rarely took umbrage at anything. ‘Oh, from the moment I saw her, it was like being struck by lightning,’ he said, beaming again. ‘She’s so beautiful – and clever, too. I never thought she’d favour me, but when I went and called on her and her parents in Florence, they received me so kindly I started to hope.’

‘Is that why you went to look at your house in Venice?’ Kitty asked.

‘Yes, exactly. And I’ve spent months having it put to rights, because, you know, I had to have something to offer if I was to ask for her hand.’

‘You have three houses in this country,’ Richard reminded him drily. ‘But I expect the Ca’ Scozzesi tipped the balance.’

‘Well, I didn’t like the idea of tearing her entirely from her native land,’ said Fergus.

‘And who doesn’t like Venice?’ Richard said.

‘I am a very ordinary fellow,’ Fergus said, ‘but I’m glad I do at least have the wherewithal to make her comfortable, if that counts for anything.’

Linda could be silent no longer. ‘For God’s sake, it counts for everything! Your estate, your fortune and your title? That’s the whole point! Don’t you see—’ The sentence broke off with a sort of squeak, and Giles guessed that Sebastian had pinched her, hard.

‘It’s wonderful news, Uncle, and calls for champagne,’ Giles said. He could do no less, though the announcement had disconcerted him as much as Linda, though for different reasons.

Afton was just coming in, with footmen William and Sam behind him. He had anticipated, as a good butler should, that champagne would be wanted, and had brought it, and glasses, and plates of the little savoury biscuits, moulinets, that Mrs Terry made down in the kitchen, having begged the recipe from the earl’s grandmother’s French cook. They went very well with champagne.

There was a pleasant little bustle of pouring and serving. While that was going on, Richard said, ‘So, Uncle Fergus, when is the wedding to be? And where is it to be? Are we invited?’

‘The thing of it is, you see,’ said Fergus, ‘that a young woman marries from her own home. That’s the rule, ain’t it? And also, there’s the question of . . .’ He cleared his throat, looking slightly awkward. ‘Naturally enough, they are Roman Catholics. Italy, you know – pretty much home of it, what? So the wedding has to be in one of their churches. We’re going to tie the knot in Florence.’

‘Don’t you have to be a Roman Catholic as well?’ Giles’s youngest sister Alice asked.

‘Ah! Nail on the head, my dear. That’s partly what I’ve been doing over there all these months. Getting m’self accepted into their Church.’