Chapter 6: Stapleford Grange

A visit to Stapleford Grange was a matter that Elinor considered for some time before she wrote to the Countess of Bargoed explaining that she had recently discovered that the Emir of Kobekistan was her father, and asking the Countess's permission to telephone her. About noon the next day the telephone rang and a woman's voice asked, cautiously, to speak to Miss Bollington.

"Speaking," said Elinor.

"I have the Countess of Bargoed for you, please hold the line."

Some moments later an older woman's voice said, "Good morning. I am the Countess of Bargoed. You wrote to me yesterday. What makes you think that I am your grandmother, and who is your mother?"

Elinor was a little put out at the bluntness of this approach, but she took a deep breath and said, "The Kobekistani Ambassador in London said that I am the daughter of the Emir. My mother was Pauline, his Oxford girlfriend. The Emir has been kind enough to give me a lot of money and the use of the Emerald Palace. I thought that as I knew nothing of this until after my mother died a few weeks ago, I might start by contacting you."

The Countess's voice softened, "Thank you, my dear Princess Elaheh. Please accept my condolences on the death of your mother; I liked her a lot. You will understand that I knew nothing of your existence until I got your letter this morning. I have spoken briefly to my son and he told me much the same as you have said. I think we should meet. Would the day after tomorrow be a suitable time for you to come here?"

"Thank you, I would like that very much," said Elinor, "I am still very bewildered by all this and I hope you can help me to sort things out in my own mind."

"Come for lunch then, about twelve?"

"I will be there. And thank you for seeing me, Countess."

Elinor packed a few things in a weekend case, just enough to be able to stay overnight in a hotel near the Grange if she wanted to after seeing the Countess, and asked the driver to take her to Stapleford Grange.

When she started to explain where that was, the driver said, "I know where the Stapleford Grange is, Mistress. I have taken His Magnificence, may he live for ever, to that place before. At what hour must we arrive, Mistress?"

"About twelve, the Countess said."

As they turned into the drive to Stapleford Grange a few minutes before noon, Elinor said, "Stop here."

The house in front of her was an impressive old rectangular block with square towers at each corner, its blunt ruggedness emphasised by the numerous many-mullioned rectangular windows. The decoration was completely classical, with superimposed pilasters, round-arched niches, and classical balustrades. The pilasters and half columns had raised bands across their middles, and the gables crowning the corner towers were decorated to suggest leather straps. It was set on a hillside in Nottinghamshire, looking out over fields and water meadows across a small river to a village opposite with a church on a small hill to her right. The vista was very much the English countryside of nostalgic oil paintings.

When they arrived at the Grange there were two people waiting for her on the steps up to the front door. Elinor judged the woman to be in her sixties and the man a little older. As she stepped out of the car, the man came forward and greeted her.

"Welcome to Stapleford Grange, I am the Earl of Bargoed and this is Zubeydeh, my wife."

"Welcome to my home," said the Countess.

Elinor tried to curtsey to them but the Earl immediately said, "Let us not stand on ceremony, Princess. You will call us Earl, and grandmamma, and we will call you Elaheh. Do come in."

They went in through an impressive square hall and up a large staircase to a comfortable small sitting-room on the first floor.

"I will leave you two together," said the Earl, "You have much to talk about."

Drinks were served by a young Arab woman who did not speak except to ask Elinor what she would like. Elinor accepted a sherry, since the Countess was having that.

"You may leave us," said the Countess, and Elinor was amazed that the young woman fell to her knees and pressed her forehead to the floor before leaving the room.

"You seem surprised that Jaida makes obeisance to us?" asked the Countess.

"The Ambassador did the same in London," said Elinor, "What does it mean?"

"It means that she is a slave and that I am her owner," said the Countess, "His behaviour meant that you are a Royal Princess as far as the Ambassador is concerned. You had better get used to that if you are to visit your father. Everyone in Kobekistan will do that when they enter or leave your presence."

Elinor just stared at her.

"My son has no doubt that you are his daughter, and that means he has had proof by DNA tests of the fact of his paternity; therefore I also believe it. It came as a shock to learn that Pauline must have been pregnant when I last saw her, over twenty years ago, but I must accept that she had her reasons for concealing it from my son."

"And did my father propose to her?"

"Not exactly. He told me to propose on his behalf, which I did. Much as I liked her, I was sure that your mother would not have made a good wife for the ruler of a country like Kobekistan, but it was certainly his wish to marry her, and he too had no idea that she was expecting his child."

She paused for a moment and then continued, "You see my first husband was the old Emir's fourth son and neither he nor my son were ever meant to be the Emir. David, the present Emir, was a postgraduate student of mathematics at Oxford and your mother was his girlfriend. He was her first, and only man at the time. Then some odd accidents happened and the old Emir, David's grandfather, died after the heir apparent, the Crown Prince, and because of their unusual inheritance laws, and that meant that suddenly David succeeded to the throne. Pauline came to visit him in Kobekistan some weeks later, but went back to Oxford and married the Professor."

"So what happens now?" asked Elinor.

"Why don't you stay here for a few days and we will talk about Kobekistan and then you can decide whether you want to visit your father, and possibly even live there. If you don't want that, then you can live in England and carry on your life as though nothing had happened, except that you will never need to earn a penny, and a chauffeur and Rolls will be yours to use whenever you wish. You cannot find that a terrible burden, surely?"