The Forgotten Palace, page 1
THE FORGOTTEN PALACE
ALEXANDRA WALSH
To Rosie and Jonathan.
To sleep, perchance to dream. Ay, there’s the rub;
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, HAMLET, III. I
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
WLLIAM SHAKESPEARE, HAMLET, I. V
CONTENTS
Dramatis Personae
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Acknowledgments
The Forgotten Palace – The History
More from Alexandra Walsh
About the Author
About Boldwood Books
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
Present Day Characters
Dr Eloise De’Ath – a medically trained doctor who now works in research
Joshua Winter – Eloise’s late husband, a barrister
Rose Hay – Eloise’s best friend, a barrister
Leon Hay – Rose’s husband, an artist
Sean and Marcus Hay – Rose and Leon’s identical twin sons. Eloise’s godsons
The Four Musketeers – a.k.a. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Claud Willoughby – Josh’s best friend (1)
Davina Lawson – Claud’s long-term partner
Nahjib Virk – Josh’s best friend (2)
Marcella Jones – Nahjib’s girlfriend
Martin Culshaw – Josh’s best friend (3)
The De’Ath Family
Eric De’Ath – Eloise’s father, an undertaker
Marissa De’Ath – Eloise’s mother, a florist
Gareth De’Ath – Eloise’s older brother, works with their father
Jessica Jenkins née De’Ath – Eloise’s sister, works with their mother
Lee Jenkins – Jessica’s husband
Jayden and Bella Jenkins – Jessica and Lee’s children
Nadine Woodford – Gareth’s wife
Ivy De’Ath – Gareth and Nadine’s daughter
The Winter Family
Quinn Winter (deceased) – Josh’s father
Ethelwyn Winter – Josh’s mother
Gladys Draye – Josh’s aunt who lives with Ethelwyn, separated from her husband
Other Characters
Faye Mostin (Auntie Faye) – Claud’s godmother
Reuben Mostin (Uncle Reuben) – married to Faye
Steve Lester and John Lowdon – owners of the Brewery Taverna, a restaurant and bar in Crete
Marina and Yiannis Fourakis – friends of Eloise in Crete
Tobias and Thea Fourakis – Marina and Yiannis’s children
Nikos Fourakis – Yiannis’s younger brother
Michaelas and Donna – Marina’s parents
Christos and Nina – Marina’s brother and sister-in-law
Ezio and Selene – work colleagues of Marina
Cosmo – Marina’s assistant at the Heraklion Museum
Victorian Characters
The Webster Family and Friends
Alice Webster –the youngest of four children
Norman Webster – Alice’s father, a wealthy businessman
Adela Webster – Alice’s mother, very progressive for a Victorian woman
Benedict Webster (Ben) – Alice’s eldest brother, married to Anna Miston
Petronella Webster (Petra) – Alice’s sister
Hugo Webster – Alice’s brother, eighteen months older than Alice
Agatha, Lady Hope née Webster – Norman’s younger sister, widow of Sir Barnaby Hope
Andrew and Robert Hope – Agatha’s sons
Juliet Fraser-Price – Alice’s best friend
Sir Jolyon Fraser-Price – Juliet’s father
Lady Fraser-Price – Juliet’s mother
Tybalt Fraser-Price – Juliet’s older brother
Ross Montrose – Hugo’s best friend, heir to the dukedom of Arkaig
Bernadette – a friend of Alice’s from Newnham
Travelling with Lady Hope, Alice, Robert and Andrew
John Wendbury – Lady Hope’s butler
Nancy Eagles – Lady Hope’s lady’s maid
Florence Parker – trainee lady’s maid who attends Alice
Miriam Ipswich – nanny to Robert and Andrew
The Lockwood Family
Ephraim Lockwood – a business associate of Norman Webster
The Earl of Bentree – father of Ephraim
The Countess of Bentree – mother of Ephraim
Ernest Lockwood – Ephraim’s son
Patrick Lockwood – elder son of Lord and Lady Bentree
Flora Lockwood – wife of Patrick
Deuteronomy Pepworth – father of Esther, the Countess of Bentree
The Perrin Family
George Asterion Perrin – travelling to Crete with his parents
Augustus Perrin (Gus) – George’s father
Elaine Perrin – George’s mother
William Perrin – George’s elder brother
Eliza Perrin – William’s wife
Charles and Irene Perrin – William and Eliza’s children
Clara Thorsson née Perrin – George’s younger sister, who is pregnant with Louis
Timothy Thorsson – Clara’s husband
Clementine Thorsson – Clara and Timothy’s daughter
The Knossos Dig
Arthur Evans – Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford and a keen archaeologist
Duncan Mackenzie – Arthur’s assistant
David Hogarth – friend of Arthur Evans and another keen archaeologist
Theodore Fyfe – architect and archaeologist
Harriet Boyd – running a dig in Gournia
Angeliki – Alice’s friend
Maria – Alice’s friend
Mani – Angeliki’s cousin and a friend of Alice and Hugo
Vassilis – Hugo and George’s friend
PROLOGUE
Do not die waiting
Live each day with love
Savour every moment
For each day may be an ending
As each ending is a new beginning
Forget sorrows, allow grief to heal
Hold your head high and do not let fear weaken your resolve
Every step is a complete journey
A moment in time, in truth
Where love is perfect and your heart is strong
Let the purity of the words cleanse you
Leave you washed afresh with each new morning
Close your eyes and allow instinct to be your guide
As you walk your chosen path
Be strong in the moments of darkness
These too will pass
For without the dark, there can be no light
As without evil, there can be no good
Allow the good to flow
And the rewards will be great
But remember, above all, to live each day with love
ALICE WEBSTER, 1900
1
LONDON, PRESENT DAY
‘I love you.’
The words hung in the air between the two women.
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes, they were the last words.’
Rain streaked the windows, the grey sky lowering with each clap of thunder as Eloise De’Ath moved away from her friend, Rose Hay, to take a final glance in the mirror. Her long blonde hair was swept up in a style of old-fashioned elegance, her make-up was subtle, applied with help from Rose. Turning from side to side, she checked nothing marred her appearance.
‘Should I change my shoes?’ she said, looking down at her expensive satin stilettos.
‘We have umbrellas,’ said Rose. ‘You don’t have to walk far. The car will park outside the church.’
The two women stared at their reflections in the mirror.
‘You don’t have to do this, Lo,’ Rose continued, slipping into Eloise’s childhood nickname. ‘If you’ve changed your mind, I can tell your dad. He’ll handle any difficulties.’
Eloise reached for her friend’s hand and squeezed it.
‘It’s come too far—’ Eloise began, but a knock on the door halted the discussion.
‘The cars are here,’ called her father. ‘Are you decent? May I come in?’
Rose gathered her handbag, gloves and coat, opening the door to admit Eric De’Ath.
‘You and Leon are in the third car with Claud, Nah jib and Martin,’ Eric murmured to Rose as she slipped past to hurry down the stairs. ‘Everyone is being shown into the vehicles now.’
Eloise waited for her father’s reaction.
‘My darling, you look beautiful,’ he said, tears welling in his eyes.
‘Thank you, Dad,’ she whispered, fighting the lump in her throat. She reached for her long black cashmere coat, and shrugged on its swirling, enveloping warmth, before easing her leather gloves over the clean white bandage that was wrapped across her right palm. ‘Shall we do this?’
‘Yes, my dear, we can’t leave it much longer. We don’t want to be late.’
Taking her father’s arm, she allowed him to lead her down the wide staircase, draped with swags of white lilies. Extravagant, she thought, but everything about the service had taken on epic proportions.
Her mother, Marissa, waited in the doorway.
‘We’ll see you there, darling,’ she said, her eyes shining with unshed tears.
Marissa’s heels clicked on the mosaic-tiled path as she hurried towards Eloise’s elder brother, Gareth, who helped her into the black limousine. Eloise waited on the pavement with her father, aware that several of her neighbours, people she knew only in passing, were standing at their gates, watching the spectacle. The couple from the house opposite nodded their respects and Eloise wondered whether she had ever known their names. Mr and Mrs 29 was how she had always thought of them.
‘In here, lovey,’ her father said, opening the door of the car immediately behind the hearse.
‘Hurry up, do,’ came a sharp voice from the gloomy interior, ‘the weather is against us and it would be a disaster if Gladys catches a cold.’
Lowering herself into the seat beside the two old women, Eloise did not respond. Her father closed the door and, after a brief word with the driver, hurried to the car behind, joining Marissa, Gareth and Eloise’s sister, Jessica. A moment later, the driver clicked his indicator and the funeral cortège of Joshua Winter, Eloise’s husband, pulled away from the kerb and made its slow way through the rain to the church where, four years earlier, Eloise and Josh had been married.
‘Are her shoes red?’
Eloise felt her mouth twitch in irritation as Aunt Gladys’s whisper filled the car.
‘Scarlet,’ muttered Josh’s mother, Ethelwyn Winter. ‘Shameless hussy.’
‘Red shoes, no knickers,’ countered Aunt Gladys.
‘I am here,’ said Eloise, turning for the first time to observe her mother-in-law and aunt-by-marriage. ‘I can hear you.’
‘You should be ashamed of yourself,’ snapped Ethelwyn, ‘wearing those shoes.’
‘They were the last present Josh gave me,’ Eloise replied, watching the older woman’s pale complexion tinge pink.
‘Expensive, were they?’ asked Gladys.
‘Yes.’
‘My son was always generous, with excellent taste,’ said Ethelwyn.
Eloise turned away, feeling no pang at having lied. Josh had not bought the shoes; they were her choice. Glancing down, she noticed the rain had left a small tear-drop-shaped, darker red stain on the satin. Blood red, she thought, and the words I love you danced before her eyes as though painted on the cream panel dividing the passenger seats of the car from the driver.
‘Her father has done Joshua proud,’ the muttered conversation beside her continued. ‘Four cars, including the hearse.’
‘We always thought it would be useful to have an undertaker in the family,’ Gladys muttered, rummaging in her handbag for a tin of mint humbugs, which she offered to her sister before taking one herself.
Eloise knew the sweets would not be passed to her and she did not care. Another hour and this would be over. Her gaze returned to the mark on her shoe. She wondered if it would fade away when it dried, or whether the shoes were indelibly stained, scarred by the funeral, never to be perfect again. The cortège paused at a red traffic light and, as Ethelwyn and Gladys compared the extravagance of this funeral with others they had attended, Eloise’s mind wandered.
Four cars, including the hearse, was a sign of prestige to Ethelwyn; a royal procession for her little prince. Joshua led, his coffin – tasteful, expensive, provided free of charge by De’Ath’s Fine Funeral Services – was adorned with a vast flower arrangement prepared by Eloise’s mother and sister, who owned the florist beside her father’s funeral parlour. White lilies, orange crocosmia Lucifer, also known as Falling Stars, a row of strelitzia, the extravagant Birds of Paradise standing proud in the centre, while tiny begonias and white, orange and the palest of peach roses were woven with shiny rhododendron leaves, ivy and delicate ferns, reminding Eloise of a tapestry.
The car behind the hearse was theirs, the three women in Joshua’s life: his wife – widow, Eloise corrected herself – his mother and his aunt. Joshua’s father, Quinn Winter, had died eighteen months ago. There were no other Winter family members to mourn Joshua. Leon, Rose’s husband, had suggested Rose ride with Eloise for moral support but Ethelwyn and Gladys had objected.
‘Family are in the first car,’ Ethelwyn had spluttered when it was suggested at a dinner given at Eloise’s parents’ house when the funeral arrangements were being made.
Eloise had wondered for a moment if she was going to suggest Eloise ride in a separate car. Perhaps if her parents were not paying for the funeral, Ethelwyn would have suggested this physical split, another manoeuvre in her silently waged war against her daughter-in-law. Throughout her relationship with Josh, the older woman had pitched every battle, while Eloise parried, defended and attempted peace talks.
Travelling in the car behind them were Eloise’s parents, accompanied by her brother and sister and their spouses. For a moment, her mind flitted to her unpredictable brother-in-law, Lee, the love of her sister’s life, and she wondered how he would behave at the wake. The last funeral they had attended had been of a family friend and Lee had tried to organise an impromptu karaoke before Jessica removed the pint from his hand and led him away.
Rose and Leon had laughed when, earlier in the week, Eloise had informed them that Lee would be taking a day off work in order to honour them with his presence at Josh’s funeral.
‘He’s always such fun,’ Leon had grinned, topping up their wine glasses. ‘Remember the Christmas when he climbed on the dining-room table and started to strip…’
‘Or the year he peed in the kitchen sink because he was too drunk to climb the stairs…’ Rose had added.
‘Or the time he farted the National Anthem?’
‘Oh, happy days,’ Eloise had sighed, but now, with a sideways glance at Ethelwyn and Gladys, a small part of her hoped for Lee to misbehave on a grand scale.
In the final car with Rose and Leon were Josh’s three best friends, Claud Willoughby, Nahjib Virk and Martin Culshaw. Eloise wondered how Rose and Leon were coping in such close confinement with these men. She recalled the night she had been introduced to Josh’s three bosom buddies when the four men had explained they liked to style themselves ‘The Four Musketeers’, a name Eloise and Rose had changed to ‘The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse’ after a New Year spent in a castle in Scotland with them. Eloise remembered standing outside as the New Year was rung in, toasting everyone with the ice-cold Champagne, and Josh dragging Claud’s girlfriend, Davina, under the mistletoe.
