The Second Son Read online

  Before his father moved toward the reception desk area, Grenville asked, “I won’t be in Stephan’s house, will I father?” This was Grenville’s worst fear about attending school.

  Smiling down at him, his father said, “No Grenville, siblings are never put in the same houses.”

  Grenville smiled and stayed with his mother. Eventually his father returned and handed Grenville a white envelope; printed on the front was “Grenville Hampton, Walpole House.”

  Eventually Mr Yates the Headmaster said, “Parents, if you could finish off your goodbyes.” His father and mother stooped down and both embraced Grenville; his mother especially had tears in her eyes, and Grenville was trying hard but failing miserably not to cry as well.

  His father said, “You are following in a proud family tradition, Grenville, make us proud.” Grenville just nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

  His mother looked him in the eyes and said, “See you soon, my darling, and don’t forget to write.” Once again Grenville nodded. Eventually a bell sounded and parents made their final farewells and departed. Grenville watched the departing backs of his parents, and found he was standing in a crowd of sad looking boys, but he never felt so alone in his whole short life.

  Eventually someone shouted, “Boys for Walpole House this way.” Grenville looked over to see where the shout had come from, and saw a tall smartly dressed boy waving a blue hanky.

  Grenville moved towards the waving boy, and as he approached another boy asked him his name, Grenville replied, and the boy told him to stand with the other five boys already there. As Grenville approached, one of the boys smiled and said, “Hi I am Jonathan Spencer,” holding out his hand.

  Grenville took the offered hand, and said, “Grenville Hampton, pleased to meet you,” and smiled for the first time since his arrival. Another boy introduced himself as Hugo Thorpe, and the three started to chat while they waited. Eventually there were eight boys standing in the huddle.

  The boy with the blue hanky said, “follow me to the Walpole House, where we will meet Mr Raymond, the Walpole House Master.”

  Turning, the boy smartly took off followed by the eight boys. Eventually they arrived at Walpole House, and were told to take a seat in the common room and wait for Mr Raymond. Mr Raymond eventually stepped into the middle of the common room and looked about at the eight boys and said, “Welcome to Walpole House, this will be your house and home whilst you are at Raleigh School, until you leave for future endeavours. I am Mr Raymond, the House Master of Walpole House. I am your first point of contact, if you have any problems or concerns whilst you are at Raleigh School or Walpole House, do not hesitate to contact me or if you require my assistance anytime night or day, my house is next door, please do not hesitate to knock. If I am not about, my wife Margret will know where I am at all times.” Smiling, Mr Raymond asked if there were any questions, all eight heads nodded in unison. Mr Raymond went on, “I know for most of you this is the first time you have ever been away from home and all this seems very daunting to you, but I know in a few days this place will seem like home as well.

  “In your white envelopes that you are all clutching are the School and House Rules, plus your timetables for your days, evenings and weekends. We at Raleigh School and especially Walpole House expect great things from you freshman boys and I no doubt have the greatest faith in all your abilities to make Rayleigh School and Walpole House proud. That is all for now, I will get Graves here to take you to your new dormitory where your luggage has been delivered, so you can unpack and settle in for the night. I shall meet you all back in here tomorrow morning after breakfast. Graves will be with you in the morning to escort you to the Walpole Dining Hall for breakfast and give you a quick tour of Walpole House, so I will see you all tomorrow morning. Any questions?” And before anyone had a chance to answer, Mr Raymond strolled out of the common room.

  Graves stood and said, “Follow me.” Leading the boys up three flights of stairs to the top floor, he opened a door onto eight beds with eight lockers; four on each side of the room. At the bottom was a washroom. “Find a bed and I will see you all at seven in the morning for breakfast,” said Graves before he closed the door on them.

  Grenville took the last bed on the right near the washroom; Jonathan took the one next to him and Hugo the one opposite. The room was totally silent as the boys located their luggage from the assembled pile in the middle of the room. Eventually they all started to unpack and placed all their belongings into the lockers and small bedside cabinets. After a time, Grenville lay on his bed and thought of home and his grandfather, but before he had time to wallow, Hugo had come over and said, “Grenville, my dear chap, got any scoff, I am bloody well starving.”

  Grenville started to laugh, and that seemed to break the tension in the room and before long, on the table in the middle of the room, a feast had been laid out of all the food the boys had brought with them, and they were all chatting and getting to know each other.

  The first year went so fast, Grenville did not even have time to miss home or even ponder on life before school. Hugo, Jonathan and Grenville became the best of friends and were always found in each other’s company. The three friends were so different, Grenville was getting tall with blond hair, and a natural born leader; Jonathan was slight with dark hair, but a natural statesman, he could negotiate or talk his way out of most situations – on many occasion his oration skills had saved their bacon in a delicate situation made by Grenville. Hugo was the brightest of the three, a natural scholar, and the most sensible of them, for he had a natural ability to think through a problem and come up with the answer. Together they made a force to be reckoned with, and most in the House and school left them alone; others quickly found out if you picked on one of them, then you picked on all three, and so they were left alone. Out of the friendship, Hugo was the enigma of the three, where the other two were extroverts Hugo was an introvert, but the three were always found in each other’s company. Never did it occur to them their friendship seemed strange to some, one a Duke’s son, one a barrister’s son and the other a banker’s son.

  Summer break was looming, which signified the end of their first year at Rayleigh, and all three friends were sitting in the common room one evening after dinner discussing the forthcoming school break. “So, what you two chaps up to?” asked Grenville.

  “Family holiday time for me,” said Hugo.

  “Not sure,” said Jonathan.

  “What about you, Grenville?” asked Hugo.

  “Not sure,” Grenville replied.

  “Well, I hope we all have a smashing time, going to miss you chaps,” said Hugo, which made them both nod and agree with Hugo.

  The summer break finally arrived and the common room was a hive of excitement. The car park was beginning to fill up with cars. Grenville looked out of the window and spotted his brother striding towards the entrance. Grenville went out to meet his brother.

  “Greetings brother,” said Grenville.

  His brother did not even acknowledge him but said, “Newton has arrived, and is ready to depart. Gather your things and let’s be off.”

  “Give me five minutes,” said Grenville to his brother’s back as he walked away.

  Grenville went back inside, gathered his things, and went to say goodbye to Hugo and Jonathan. All three hugged and wished each other a fun-packed holiday. Grenville left to find Newton, the family chauffeur.

  When Grenville found Newton, he was standing next to the family Rolls Royce with the boot open ready for Grenville’s things. Newton saluted and smiled at Grenville as he approached and said, “Nice to see you again Master Grenville.”

  “And you Newton, everything OK at the ranch?” asked Grenville, which made Newton laugh.

  “Fine, master Grenville, looking forward to seeing you.”

  From the back seat, Stephan said, “When you two have quite finished, I would like to get home before it gets dark.”

  Grenville poked his tongue out and Newt
on rolled his eyes; both then started to laugh, which brought a further tut from the car. All the way down to Hampton Hall Stephan and Grenville did not speak. Grenville tried a few times to engage his brother, but gave up when he realised his brother was just not interested in conversation.

  As they pulled up at the Hall, the family and servants were there to greet them. Stephan sat until Newton opened the car door for him; once Stephan had exited the car, he first kissed his mother on the cheek then shook hands with his father and grandfather, and ignoring the servants went into the hall. Before Newton had time to go around and open the car door for Grenville, he had run to his mother’s embrace, and kissed her, shaking his father’s and grandfather’s hands. He then ran to the servants and said he hoped they were all well, and how pleased he was to be home and over the next few weeks, would catch up with all of them all for the local gossip. This made them all laugh, and as they returned to work, they all agreed having Master Grenville back home would certainly liven the old place up.

  The summer break came and went, and as promised every day Grenville could be found with a member of staff, in the house or out in the garden helping, much to the annoyance of his brother.

  His mother scolded her eldest son one day, and said, “Stephan, you should be more engaged like your brother Grenville,” to which Stephan replied, “Mother, one does not socialise with the lower classes,” which left his mother speechless.

  Grenville could not wait to get back to school to see Hugo and Jonathan again, but knew he would miss everyone at home, especially his grandfather. Grenville was first back in the room and was unpacking when Jonathan came in.

  “Grenville, how the devil are you,” said Jonathan, rushing over to hug Grenville.

  “Jonathan, my dear chap,” said Grenville as they hugged.

  Hugo rushed in out of breath as usual. “Hello Grenville, Jonathan, hope you are well,” said Hugo. This made the other two laugh, as they went to embrace their friend.

  It was during a double period of Latin that Grenville was bored as usual; his thinking was, a dead language should remain dead, but he would dare not voice his opinion to Mr Stark the Latin teacher, who Grenville was sure would have a coronary on the spot if he did. There was a knock on the door and a boy passed Mr Stark a note. Not even pausing, Mr Stark gave a quick glance at the note whilst he carried on with the translation of Pliny the Younger’s account of the destruction of Pompeii. Mr Stark wandered up to Grenville and handed him the note and said, “Praepetibus pennis permissum vos rapiunt “.” Let swift wings carry you off”.

  Grenville read the note:

  Grenville Hampton is to report to Walpole House Common Room, without delay

  The first thing Grenville thought was, what had he recently done that could warrant him a visit to Walpole House Common Room during lesson times? Then he realised if it had been trouble then surely, he would have been summoned to the Headmaster’s study for retribution, and surely both Jonathan and Hugo would also have been summoned.

  Grenville stood. Jonathan and Hugo looked at Grenville; both looked concerned, but Grenville shrugged and smiled as he left the Latin class. On the way, back to the Common Room, Grenville thought hard on why he would be summoned, especially out of a lesson. As he crossed the car park, he spotted Newton standing next to the family Rolls Royce. Newton raised his hand; this made Grenville run as fast as he could toward Walpole House. Grenville was out of breath by the time he reached Walpole House. As he entered the Common Room, Grenville saw Mr Raymond and his mother were sitting chatting over a cup of tea. As Grenville entered, they both stood. Grenville knew it was bad news, especially since his mother had decided to break the news herself.

  Grenville went to his mother’s embrace; Mr Raymond made his excuses and left them alone. His mother placed him at arm’s length, and was surprised he was nearly as tall as she was. “I have some bad news for you Grenville. I am afraid to tell you your grandfather has passed away,” said his mother with tears in her eyes.

  “When, how?” Grenville asked quietly.

  “Yesterday tea time, I found him in the library, he looked so peaceful as if he had just fallen asleep.”

  Grenville smiled. “I think that’s the way he would have wanted to go.”

  “Yes, I am sure you are right,” said his mother, smiling.

  “Have you told Stephan yet?” asked Grenville.

  “Your father is with him now,” replied his mother.

  “When is the funeral?” asked Grenville.

  “Next Tuesday,” said his mother, “but your father has decided not to take you out of school to attend.”

  “But mother…” Grenville started to say, but his mother took his face in her hands, and with tears in her eyes, said, “It’s your father’s decision, please respect it.” Grenville nodded, his eyes full of tears, and said, “Of course, mother, I will.”

  His mother took a white envelope from her pocket, and passed it to Grenville. “We found this envelope addressed to you in your grandfather’s effects,” said his mother.

  Grenville took the envelope but, not opening it, placed it in his pocket. There was a light knock on the door, and Mr Raymond poked his head round the door.

  “Everything alright?” he asked.

  “Yes, thank you, Mr Raymond,” replied Grenville’s mother.

  Grenville was looking out of the window and saw his father striding toward the house. Not wanting to speak or see his father, Grenville asked his mother’s and Mr Raymond’s permission to be alone for a time. Grenville embraced his mother and after saying goodbye, ran from the Common Room towards his room.

  Alone in his room, Grenville sat on his bed and sobbed. He was going to miss his grandfather so much, he was his mentor and when at home his playmate. Remembering the letter his mother had given him, Grenville looked at the front of the envelope and in his grandfather’s neat copperplate handwriting was written “Grenville.”

  Grenville opened the envelope and taking out the letter he read:

  My dearest Grenville

  If you are reading this, I know you have a heavy heart, as you have just been informed I have departed this mortal realm. Please try and not feel too sad at my passing, my time has ended, as all things in life must end and reach their timely conclusion, my time is now. I want you to know that in my ageing years you were my brightest joy, in future when you think of me only think of the happy time we spent together. You were the reason some days for me to carry on, you remind me so much of how I was at your age, so let me partake in some words of wisdom to you, as my grandfather did to me, on this road you are about to embark on.

  Although you might not inherit the title or estate, always remember who you are: you are a Hampton, and have a proud family history to uphold, so always hold your head up high and be proud to be a Hampton. I have always been proud to call you my grandson, and I know you will always make me and the family proud.

  Your ever-loving grandfather Julian

  Grenville read the letter, repeatedly, until the words were emblazoned on his heart, Grenville lay back on his bed and closed his eyes, and sobbed until he fell asleep.

  Jonathan and Hugo found him later that day fast asleep on his bed, still clutching the letter. Jonathan and Hugo gently woke Grenville, and on opening his eyes, Grenville smiled at them, sat up and said, “Read this,” passing the letter so both could read it.

  Afterwards Jonathan and Hugo both said, “Sorry for your loss, old bean, if you need us shout,” as they both left the dormitory to leave Grenville alone once more.

  A few months later, Grenville, Jonathan and Hugo were walking towards the school library when they spotted walking toward them his brother Stephan and his odious friend Dexter Simon-Smyth. Once close, Stephan and Dexter stopped and waited for the three to join them. As they approached, Grenville said, “Hello Stephan,” to his brother, but it was Dexter who replied, “It is now My Lord, as your brother is now the eleventh Earl of Eastleigh, so show some respect, spare,” which m
ade Stephan and Dexter laugh.

  Dexter went on, “Another step closer to the title, Stephan.”

  “Absolutely,” said Stephan, speaking for the first time.

  “Show some respect,” said Grenville. “Grandfather was a great man, and I will miss him.”

  “Well, I am the Earl of Eastleigh now and some day will inherit, so I will not,” said Stephan, which made Dexter and he laugh again.

  Grenville stared at his brother and watched him laughing. Grenville felt the blood rise and his anger boil over, and after years of pent up frustration at his brother, all he wanted to do was smash his brother’s smug laughing face. He rushed his brother, and with swinging arms landed a lucky punch that made Stephan sit down heavily.

  “Why, you little wretch,” said Dexter, reaching for Grenville and getting him into a head lock.

  “Hey, leave him alone you oaf,” said Hugo, who lunged at Dexter, wrapping his arms around Dexter’s neck, pulling him to the ground. Stephan looked stunned, sitting on the ground touching his mouth and seeing blood on his hand. The commotion brought others running across to the fighting boys, and two Masters finally parted them all, without any serious injury.

  “All of you off to the Headmaster’s study. Fighting will not be tolerated under any circumstance in school grounds,” said one of the Masters.

  As the five stood outside the Headmaster’s study, it was a few minutes before the two Masters came out of the study, leaving the door open.

  “Come,” said a deep voice from within. Mr Yates the Headmaster stood in front of the five boys and said, “So what caused boys from my school to publicly humiliate themselves by fighting like ruffians in a manner unbecoming of the high standards of Rayleigh School?”

  Stephan spoke first. “I am the injured party, Headmaster,” he said, pointing to his split lip that was still seeping blood.