Only Time Will Tell (The Clifton Chronicles 1)

'Well, if you are successful, I can assure you that you'll experience three of the happiest years of your life. That's assuming Herr Hitler isn't foolish enough to insist on a replay of the last war in the vain hope that he'll be able to reverse the result.'

The three of them raised their glasses and Harry took his first sip of brandy. He didn't like the taste and was wondering if it would be thought discourteous if he didn't finish it, when Lord Harvey came to his rescue.

'Perhaps it's time for us to join the ladies,' he said, draining his glass. He put his cigar in an ashtray, rose from his place and marched out of the dining room, not waiting for a second opinion. The two young men followed him across the hall and into the drawing room.

Lord Harvey took the seat next to Elizabeth, while Giles winked at Harry and went across to join his grandmother. Harry sat next to Emma on the sofa.

'How gallant of you to come all this way, Harry,' she said, touching his hand.

'I'm so sorry about what happened after the play. I only hope I wasn't responsible for causing the problem in the first place.'

'How could you possibly be responsible, Harry? You've never done anything that could have caused my father to speak to Mama that way.'

'But it's no secret that your father doesn't think we should be together, even on stage.'

'Let's talk about it tomorrow morning,' Emma whispered. 'We can go for a long walk in the hills and be on our own, with only the Highland cattle to overhear us.'

'I'll look forward to that,' said Harry. He would have liked to hold her hand, but there were too many eyes continually glancing in their direction.

'You two young men must be very tired after such an exhausting journey,' said Lady Harvey. 'Why don't you both go off to bed, and we'll see you at breakfast in the morning.'

Harry didn't want to go to bed; he wanted to stay with Emma and try to find out if she'd discovered why her father was so opposed to them being together. But Giles rose immediately, kissed his grandmother and mother on the cheek and said goodnight, leaving Harry with no choice but to join him. He leaned across and kissed Emma on the cheek, thanked his host for a wonderful evening and followed Giles out of the room.

As they walked down the hall, Harry paused to admire a painting of a bowl of fruit by an artist called Peploe when Emma came dashing out of the drawing room, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him gently on the lips.

Giles continued up the stairs as if he hadn't noticed, while Harry kept his eyes on the drawing-room door. Emma broke away when she heard it opening behind her.

'Good night, good night, parting is such sweet sorrow,' she whispered.

'That I shall say good night till it be morrow,' Harry replied.

'Where are you two off to?' asked Elizabeth Barrington as she came out of the breakfast room.

'We're going to climb Crag Cowen,' said Emma. 'Don't wait up, because you may never see us again.'

Her mother laughed. 'Then make sure you wrap up well, because even the sheep catch cold in the Highlands.' She waited until Harry had closed the door behind them before she added, 'Giles, your grandfather wishes to see us in his study at ten o'clock.' It sounded to Giles more like a command than a request.

'Yes, Mother,' he said, before looking through the window and watching Harry and Emma walking down the path towards Crag Cowen. They'd only gone a few yards before Emma took Harry's hand. Giles smiled as they turned the corner and disappeared behind a row of pines.

When the clock in the hall began to strike, Giles had to walk quickly along the corridor to make sure he reached his grandfather's study before the tenth chime. His grandparents and his mother stopped talking the moment he entered the room. They had clearly been waiting for him.

'Have a seat, dear boy,' said his grandfather.

'Thank you, sir,' Giles replied, and sat down on a chair between his mother and his grandmother.

'I suppose this would best be described as a council of war,' said Lord Harvey, looking up from his high-backed leather chair as if he was addressing a board meeting. 'I'll try to bring everyone up to date before we decide what the best course of action should be.' Giles was flattered that his grandfather now considered him to be a full member of the family board.

'I telephoned Walter last night. He was just as appalled by Hugo's conduct at the play as I was when Elizabeth told me about it, although I had to fill him in on what happened when she returned to the Manor House.' Giles's mother bowed her head, but didn't interrupt. 'I went on to tell him that I'd had a long talk with my daughter, and that we felt there were only two possible courses of action.'

Giles sat back in his chair, but didn't relax.

'I left Walter in no doubt that if Elizabeth were even to consider returning to the Manor House, it would be necessary for Hugo to make several concessions. First, he must apologize unequivocally for his appalling behaviour.'

Giles's grandmother nodded in agreement.

'Second, he will never again, and I repeated, never again, suggest that Emma should be taken out of her school, and he will in future fully support her efforts to gain a place at Oxford. God knows it's hard enough for a young man to make the grade nowadays, but it's damn nigh impossible for a woman.

'My third and most important demand, and on this I was quite adamant, is that he explain to us all why he continues to treat Harry Clifton so appallingly. I suspect it might have something to do with Harry's uncle stealing from Hugo. The sins of the father are one thing, but an uncle ... I refuse to accept, as he has so often claimed to Elizabeth, that he considers Clifton unworthy to mix with his children simply because his father was a docker and his mother is a waitress. Perhaps Hugo has forgotten that my grandfather was a jobbing clerk in a firm of wine merchants, while his own grandfather left school at the age of twelve and started out as a docker like young Clifton's father, and just in case anyone has forgotten, I'm the first Lord Harvey in this family, and you don't get much more nouveau than that.'

Giles wanted to cheer.

'Now, none of us can have failed to notice,' continued Lord Harvey, 'how Emma and Harry feel about each other, which is hardly surprising as they are two exceptional young people. If, in the fullness of time, their relationship blossoms, no one would be more delighted than Victoria and I. On that subject, Walter was in full agreement with me.'

Giles smiled. He liked the idea of Harry becoming a member of the family, even though he didn't believe his father would ever accept it.

'I told Walter,' continued his grandfather, 'that if Hugo felt unable to abide by these terms, Elizabeth would be left with no choice but to institute divorce proceedings immediately. I would also have to resign from the board of Barrington's, and make public my reasons for doing so.'

Giles was saddened by this, as he knew there had never been a divorce in either family.

'Walter kindly agreed to get back to me in the next few days, after he's had a chance to talk things over with his son, but he did tell me that Hugo has already promised to stop drinking, and that he appears to be genuinely contrite. Let me finish by reminding you that this is a family matter and should not in any circumstances be discussed with outsiders. We must hope that this proves to be nothing more than an unfortunate incident that will soon be forgotten.'