The Ravenscar Dynasty by Barbara Taylor Bradford Read Free Book Online Page B

swiftly asked, frowning.

    â€˜I can’t give you a proper explanation, I simply know that I have this instinctive feeling of… danger .’
    â€˜I never ignore a woman’s intuition,’ Neville had murmured. ‘It is usually infallible.’
    Cecily had gone on: ‘And you, Ned, will have to go to work at Deravenels, and as soon as possible when you return.’
    Startled, he had literally gaped at her for a split second. ‘Am I not to return to Oxford then?’ he had asked.
    â€˜No, you cannot. Your father is dead. You are, by the rules of primogeniture, his heir. So you must now go to work at Deravenels. That is the family rule…when the heir of a Deravenel is over sixteen or reaches sixteen, he must take his deceased father’s place. Obviously, not in the same capacity, in this instance as the assistant managing director, but somewhere a little way down the ladder. But the heir must go into the company, he has no choice. It has always been that way.’
    â€˜I understand. Now that you’ve mentioned it, I do recall Father explaining about this old family rule several years ago.’
    Neville had then volunteered, ‘And remember what I said earlier, Ned, I will help you any way I can.’
    All he could do was nod. His mother had turned to face Neville. ‘When do you plan to leave Ravenscar?’ she had asked somewhat abruptly.
    â€˜Tomorrow morning. My carriage will take us to York, and we will then proceed to London on the afternoon train.’ His cousin had paused for a moment, taken a swallow of the brandy, and finished, ‘Once in LondonI shall make plans for us to leave for the Continent on Friday or Saturday.’
    â€˜I would appreciate it, Neville, if you would kindly stay in touch with me, and you, too, Edward.’
    They had both promised they would.
    At this juncture his mother had pushed herself to her feet, and they had also jumped up. At the doorway she had swung her hand and said, very quietly, ‘This has been the most horrendous day for everyone, and I must go and make certain that the children are resting quietly…there have been far too many tears today, and so much heartbreak.’
    Left alone he and his cousin had talked for a while longer, mostly about their imminent travel plans, and then they had gone upstairs to retire for the night. Now Edward stared into the flames, thinking about his father’s death.
    Revenge . Edward turned the word over and over in his mind. Neville truly believed that deadly factions within the Deravenel Company had hired someone to get rid of his father. However, Edward knew that Neville had nothing concrete to go on, no hard evidence; it was pure supposition on his part, a supposition tied to what Neville called his gut instinct.
    Edward was well aware that his father had been complaining and grumbling about the way the company was run for a number of years, and of late his voice had become louder, more strident and insistent. His father’s chief target was Henry Deravenel Grant, who had descended down the Lancashire line of the House of Deravenel. Henry was chairman of the board, and his father’s cousin. ‘An absentee landlord,’ his fatherhad called him disparagingly, along with a number of other choice names.
    But would Henry’s colleagues resort to foul play? Edward wondered. They could have quite easily rendered Richard Deravenel useless by restricting his power in the company. Or they could have forced him into retirement.
    Sitting back in the chair, closing his eyes, Edward pondered on these matters for a long time, but he did not have any answers for himself. None at all. What’s more, additional questions flew into his head, and again all of them were unanswerable. One question, in particular, stood out… why had his father gone to Italy to look into problems at the marble quarries in Carrara? Surely that was a job for Aubrey Masters, head of the