Just as she was settling down to her toast and tea, her phone rang. She didn't even have to look at it to know it was Jasper, and she carried on buttering her toast. She would ignore him for now.
What the hell was a matter with her? Why wasn't Ellie answering her phone? Jasper pushed his hand through his hair. He would have to be careful how he handled this and managed to get back into his wife's good books. He would text her.
'Hey, darling, where are you?'
Jasper poured his coffee from the silver pot on the sideboard and took it back to the table. He'd just sat down when his mother came in. He stood up to greet her.
"Good morning darling," she said, "Did you sleep well?"
"Morning, yes, I sl
Marjorie Fox was cross. Ellie should have been here to greet them, and It was bad form, she thought as Francis took their cases up. She ignored Bill and Francis chatting about cars. She wanted to have a word with her daughter before Gareth and Gracie arrived."Marjorie, Bill, how lovely to see you. Merry Christmas," Rosslyn touched cheeks with them both as they entered the drawing-room. "Come and sit down and get warm. It's suddenly turned freezing today. I'm sure Francis will send tea soon.""Where's Ellie and Jasper? I thought they would be there to greet us." Marjorie sniffed as she sat next to the fire. Although this house was lovely, it was so frigid in the corridors."Yes, I'm sorry they are not here as planned," Rosslyn would protect Ellie. She wouldn't tell them about the lover's tiff because she knew Marjorie wouldn't let it drop. "They just had to run down to the village. I think Mary forgot something. She's getting on a bit and rather forgetful
"Oh Ellie, you would get a migraine now," Marjorie groaned, "always gets them when she's stressed out,"Ellie began to breathe more easily once she was out of the dining room. "I'm sorry for spoiling lunch," she murmured into Jasper's shoulder."Shh, it's ok, why don't you go and rest? I can handle the children's party. I'll take your mother with me, and she can stand in for you," he half chuckled. He wanted to have a chat with Marjorie. He was getting a bit fed up with her always getting on at Ellie. His darling wife was doing her best, and this Christmas had been a shambles from start to finish, especially today. Ellie had put up with a lot today.Ellie clung to him, and she so wanted to tell him about the baby. She was desperate to see his face when he realised, and she sighed with frustration. They would exchange one gift this evening, something silly, she could tell him then, and then tomorrow they could say to the rest of them. It wasn't something
Charlotte ran hell for leather to her car. She threw open the door and threw her overnight bag, and dived into her vehicle after it. She clutched the steering wheel, her hands shaking, tears rolling down her face. What was she thinking? How could she even think of doing something like that? Was she out of her mind? The tears turned to laughter at how stupid she was, at how ridiculous that she could walk into Ellie's bedroom and somehow get her out of the room so she could do her harm. What a dreadful thing to even think of doing! Next time she would plan ahead, there would be no second chances for Ellie Neyve next time.Ellie looked at the clock, almost four-thirty. It was black outside. Jasper would be home in a few minutes, and she really couldn't be bothered to go and find Charlotte. Whatever it was could wait. If it was that important, she could go and find Francis and tell him. She put another log on the fire. It was so lovely to watch the fire, especia
Disreputable Adjective: Not respectable in character or appearance. "This is BBC Radio 4 and here is the news read by Chris Aldridge." "The artist son of The Duke of Shettleham, Jasper Neyve, who is the Marquis Prybourn was photographed by the press early this morning rescuing a runaway horse at the gates of Hyde Park. It seemed that the rescue happened on the spur of the moment as Marquis Prybourn was naked except for a pair of women's red silk and lace underwear. He ran across the road and jumped on the back of the horse to stop it, running into traffic. When asked about his attire, the Marquess said that he jumped out of bed and his girlfriend's pants were the first thing he picked up. He said the safety of the horse and keeping it away from the traffic was paramount. The Prime Minister flew to Brussels last night…" It was a slow news day. Edwin Neyve closed his eyes in fury and despair. He forced his breathing to be even and slow, his bone-white knuckles as he clenched his f
AudacityNoun: Rude or disrespectful behaviour.
Inside, the whitewashed church of St James was cold, and the glare of the sun against the walls was excruciating for Jasper, who had forgotten to bring dark glasses. As funerals go, it was going well enough. Jasper slumped in the family pew of the village church, breathing slowly and trying to keep nausea at bay. He spent most of the service with his eyes closed until his mother elbowed him in the ribs to tell him that it was his turn to do the reading.Jasper stood up and sightly staggering because the sun shining through the stained glass window hit right in his eye, or so he told himself. He walked towards the ancient and straightforward pulpit. He was so tired his eyes were half-closed, which is why he half tripped up the steps to the pulpit. The silence was broken by coughs which spread across the church and muffled giggles at the back of the church.In the pulpit, Jasper's eyes narrowed sharply, and he glared towards the sound of the giggl
Jasper watched the girl as she looked around his studio. He was furious that she was late but relieved that she had turned up. He stared at her, what the fuck was she wearing? The cheap and poorly fitting navy business suit seemed odd for her to wear. His life models came dressed in more bohemian and usually very sexy clothing, depending on their age.He stood quietly, waiting for her to notice him. She'd not heard him come through the door from the roof garden, probably due to Mick Jagger belting out 'Start Me Up' which must have covered the sound of his footsteps.He studied her again she might look as if she had dressed in a skip, but she was beautiful, classically beautiful. Jasper was Grace Kelly but with rich conker coloured hair, which unfortunately was scraped back into a precise bun. He wanted her hair down the curls cascading over her shoulders. Jasper couldn't see much of her figure; it was lost in that awful suit. She was slim though, and of average h
During that first week, Ellie settled in quickly and true to his word Jasper stayed mainly in the studio painting while Ellie familiarized herself with the house and the other people who worked there. Mrs Blakeney, or Betty, was the head of the cleaning staff at the London house. Betty was a fierce cockney who refused to hear a bad word about Jasper."Don't you take any notice of what it says in the papers." She grumbled one morning after she had seen a report in the Daily Mail of all the women who had been in his life."'Neyve of Hearts' indeed, he's just a boy doing what boys should at his age," she scoffed. "He just hasn't found the right one yet, and I know" she lowered her voice "that he doesn't believe in divorce." Betty marched out of the kitchen, "How dare they say undignified things about Jasper." she muttered as she went back up the stairs.Ellie glanced at the paper. There was nearly a full page of headshots of women. Some were members of the aristocr
Charlotte ran hell for leather to her car. She threw open the door and threw her overnight bag, and dived into her vehicle after it. She clutched the steering wheel, her hands shaking, tears rolling down her face. What was she thinking? How could she even think of doing something like that? Was she out of her mind? The tears turned to laughter at how stupid she was, at how ridiculous that she could walk into Ellie's bedroom and somehow get her out of the room so she could do her harm. What a dreadful thing to even think of doing! Next time she would plan ahead, there would be no second chances for Ellie Neyve next time.Ellie looked at the clock, almost four-thirty. It was black outside. Jasper would be home in a few minutes, and she really couldn't be bothered to go and find Charlotte. Whatever it was could wait. If it was that important, she could go and find Francis and tell him. She put another log on the fire. It was so lovely to watch the fire, especia
"Oh Ellie, you would get a migraine now," Marjorie groaned, "always gets them when she's stressed out,"Ellie began to breathe more easily once she was out of the dining room. "I'm sorry for spoiling lunch," she murmured into Jasper's shoulder."Shh, it's ok, why don't you go and rest? I can handle the children's party. I'll take your mother with me, and she can stand in for you," he half chuckled. He wanted to have a chat with Marjorie. He was getting a bit fed up with her always getting on at Ellie. His darling wife was doing her best, and this Christmas had been a shambles from start to finish, especially today. Ellie had put up with a lot today.Ellie clung to him, and she so wanted to tell him about the baby. She was desperate to see his face when he realised, and she sighed with frustration. They would exchange one gift this evening, something silly, she could tell him then, and then tomorrow they could say to the rest of them. It wasn't something
Marjorie Fox was cross. Ellie should have been here to greet them, and It was bad form, she thought as Francis took their cases up. She ignored Bill and Francis chatting about cars. She wanted to have a word with her daughter before Gareth and Gracie arrived."Marjorie, Bill, how lovely to see you. Merry Christmas," Rosslyn touched cheeks with them both as they entered the drawing-room. "Come and sit down and get warm. It's suddenly turned freezing today. I'm sure Francis will send tea soon.""Where's Ellie and Jasper? I thought they would be there to greet us." Marjorie sniffed as she sat next to the fire. Although this house was lovely, it was so frigid in the corridors."Yes, I'm sorry they are not here as planned," Rosslyn would protect Ellie. She wouldn't tell them about the lover's tiff because she knew Marjorie wouldn't let it drop. "They just had to run down to the village. I think Mary forgot something. She's getting on a bit and rather forgetful
Just as she was settling down to her toast and tea, her phone rang. She didn't even have to look at it to know it was Jasper, and she carried on buttering her toast. She would ignore him for now.What the hell was a matter with her? Why wasn't Ellie answering her phone? Jasper pushed his hand through his hair. He would have to be careful how he handled this and managed to get back into his wife's good books. He would text her.'Hey, darling, where are you?'Jasper poured his coffee from the silver pot on the sideboard and took it back to the table. He'd just sat down when his mother came in. He stood up to greet her."Good morning darling," she said, "Did you sleep well?""Morning, yes, I sl
"Ellie, for God's sake, Ellie, let me in!" Jasper banged on the bathroom door. "Come on, Ellie, it's not what you think!" Jasper waited for her reply, and he put his ear against the door listening for her response."I shouldn't have to think anything because you should be in bed in our bedroom and not with that slapper in her room!" Ellie yelled back."Please let me explain, Ellie." Jasper rested his forehead against the door. This was all he needed today, especially as they had just made friends again. If only he hadn't been desperate for a pee, this would never have happened. Charlotte had come out of her room at the same time in floods of tears. What the hell was he supposed to do? He couldn't just ignore her, could he? For Christ's sake, maybe he should have if this was the result!"Ellie sat on the loo, tearing tissue into tiny pieces. How could he, just how could he? She wanted to shout and scream at him, but she knew it wouldn't make any differenc
Before Jasper could reply, Francis jumped in. "Maybe you should introduce your new wife and duchess to your committee's. I think only the mayor was invited to the wedding, so making a special point of taking Ellie, it would be a treat for them, get them on your side too, I dare say." Francis smiled, "I'm sure even Mrs Troutbridge would get the idea that you are very happy newly-weds if you turned up together.""Oh, what a good idea, kill two birds with one stone." Rosslyn said meaningfully, "Now who wants pudding?"Ellie watched Lotte purse her lips together in annoyance. She would thank Francis later for his timely intervention."I'll help Mary with the clearing up," Ellie said as the rest of them went back up to the drawing-room with their coffee.Lottie looked cheerful at having Jasper to herself for a while, "Where are all the staff? I remember when there were lots of staff here.""We still have lots of staff, but they are allowed time off, espec
Charlotte Ganderton looked around. The family had modernised the kitchen since she had last been here when she was a child. Mary was stirring a casserole, Good God, why hadn't they pensioned her off? She must be getting on for eighty! Lottie remembered Mary from when she was a child. She remembered that nothing got past that woman. It seemed she had eyes in the back of her head.She had adored Jasper when she was a child, and he'd been her hero. They had raced their ponies through the grounds jumping over fallen tree trunks, and they had sat by the river in a bower of Queen Anne's Lace, pulling the flower heads off and throwing them in the river to race them and eating chocolate and planning their lives. She dreamed of marrying him and being his duchess. They would have two children, a boy and a girl, and they would live happily at the Manor, which was a far more impressive house than the Rectory whe
"Ellie, come and get warm," Rosslyn said, getting up to greet her. She put her arms around her daughter in law and gave her a hug, "Goodness, you're frozen. Come and sit here next to the fire. Jasper, be love and make some more tea. I think Mary has gone for her afternoon nap, and Francis is sorting something out for me."Jasper glanced at Ellie. He knew she'd been crying. Why the hell did she think he didn't want her? She was the one who had disappeared from their bed, not him. He went down to the kitchen to make the tea and was determined to get this sorted out before bedtime.Jasper could hear the landline phone ringing just as he got to the drawing-room door with the tray of tea, and as he opened the door, he listened to his mother talking sympathetically."Of course you must come. You certainly can't stay in a frozen and darkened house over Christmas. No, of course, he won't mind. I'm sure he would love to see you." Rosslyn listened for a few moments. "
It was the day before Christmas Eve, and the past two weeks had been the worst of Ellie's life. She and Jasper had said only about a dozen words to each other since their friends had been to see them on that fateful afternoon. The only good thing about this dreadful performance was that Jasper was sleeping in his dressing room, which meant that she could at least get up and be sick if she felt like it without hiding it from him. However, Ellie was sure he would be more impressed if she were pregnant with a herd of elephants rather than with his child. He was furious that she had gone behind his back and sent that text to Ronnie, but this was her family, and she cared a great deal about Gareth.They had not shared a bed for almost two weeks, and this so hurt Ellie. It had only come about by accident, and now neither of them would give in to the other. They were just as stubborn as each other.