Family Secrets (15 page)

“Yes,
please but, actually, I’d like you to have it.”

Mary
beamed with delight at Rhianna’s gesture. After they’d had some supper, Rhianna was shown into an attractive bedroom and fell asleep almost as soon as her head touched the pillow.

The following morning, breakfast was a leisurely affair. Everyone helped to clear away and wash up, but then Mary banished Rhianna and Lawrence from the kitchen.

“Take
Rhianna to see the sights. Lunch is at one thirty, your father will lend a hand if need be, won’t you, dear?”

Ralph
looked up from his newspaper, nodded and winked at them.

“The
sights!” Lawrence said, with a rueful grin, as he closed the front door. “That means a brisk walk round the houses, the shopping precinct and a stroll through the park. No time for a drive if we’re to be back in time for lunch!”

Rhianna
smiled. She didn’t care where she went, as long as it was with Lawrence. She tucked her arm through his and they set off.

“You
can see why I prefer Brookhurst - this place is so residential.”

“It’s
quiet and very pleasant though,” she commented, looking around her at the rows of neat houses set in a landscaped environment.

They
walked past the shops until they reached the small park. It was still too cold to sit about. The borders were full of daffodils that would shortly be replaced by tulips. One or two trees were already opening out into delicate pink and white blossom.

“You
and I never did have that conversation,” Lawrence said suddenly.

She
pretended she didn’t know what he was alluding to.

“What
conversation would that be?”

“Whatever
it was that upset you so badly that night at the
Silver
-
Lake
Hotel
.”

“Oh,
that - I’ve got a feeling you know, as well as I do, what it was about.”

He
squeezed her arm. “Why don’t you just run it past me?”

She
took a deep breath and didn’t look at him. “Your friend, Sheila, mistook me for Tina! Is that why you are going out with me, Laurie, because I remind you of Tina?”

There,
she’d said it now. He stood stock-still in the middle of the path and stared at her, as if he couldn’t believe his ears.

“You
think that I - Rhia are you telling me that you believe…No, you’re mistaken! Oh Rhia, how could you think such a thing?”

He
wrapped his arms about her, oblivious of the cold and passers-by, and kissed her as if he never meant to stop.

“There,
have I convinced you?” he asked at last.

She
buried her head against his shoulder, reached up and entwined her fingers in his chestnut hair. She loved the smell of him, the spicy tang of his cologne.

“Mmm,”
she breathed, rubbing his cheek with the back of her hand. “I think you might have done - just for the time-being.”

He
clasped her hand in his, and they walked briskly back through the park stopping to admire a small fountain.

“So
was that it?” he asked, looking at her with his unusual jade-green eyes.

She
shook her head. “No, but it’s connected. It’s difficult for me to put it into words, but I suppose I’m going to have to.”

They’d
reached the precinct again and stopped outside of a small café.

“Let’s
go and have a hot drink to warm ourselves up,” he suggested.

It was a clean little café with metal tables and chairs. He ordered two hot chocolates and a couple of flapjacks.

“Come
on; let’s hear the rest of this. I think you’ve been keeping it to yourself for far too long and that we need to discuss it before we go to Brookhurst again.”

Their
drinks arrived and, for a moment, she warmed her hands on the glass and then she said in a rush, “Whatever caused my father to leave Brookhurst must have been very serious. Obviously, the resemblance between me and Christina is strong enough to get me mistaken for her. I truly don’t want to believe this, Laurie, but, what if Tina is related to me? Both Anna Soames and my father were fair and had blue eyes.”

He
nodded. “The thought had crossed my mind and I know Letitia has wondered herself, but perhaps it would be best to leave well alone.”

“That’s
what Tina said but, no, I need to know the truth, Laurie. At least Letitia owes it to me, to tell me what she knows.”

He
looked serious. “And supposing you don’t like what she has to tell you?”

“Well,
whatever it is won’t change the fact that no-one seems to know for sure who Tina’s father is.”

He
nodded. “Let’s go to Brookhurst next week-end - have another chat with Letitia. And, Rhia…”

She
looked at him, her blue eyes moist.

“Whatever
happened in the past is not going to make any difference to us, I promise.”

“That’s all right then because I couldn’t bear it if it did. Thanks for listening, Laurie, I feel better now it’s out in the open.”

“Thank
you for sharing it with me. I realise it can’t have been easy for you, but these things happen in families - just remember that. In the past, it was so much more difficult. Nowadays, folk are far more accepting of situations.”

Rhianna
knew he was right, but somehow it didn’t make the knowledge any easier for her to bear. Presently, they walked back to Lawrence’s home. Mary had cooked a wonderful roast dinner and the family atmosphere helped Rhianna to take her mind off things.

*

It was mid-afternoon when Lawrence drove Rhianna back to Hertfordshire. She suddenly felt a bit of an anti-climax, after the euphoria of the previous day.

“I
really like your parents, Laurie. You’re so lucky.”

“Yes,
I appreciate that. I’m glad you stayed. It was good that you all got to know each other.”

She
wondered how Mary and Ralph Lorimer had got on with Tina and if they saw any similarity between the two of them.

When
they arrived at her home, Lawrence took her bag in, but before either of them could say anything, his mobile rang. Rhianna realised from the tone of the conversation that it was something serious.

“What’s
wrong?” she asked anxiously, as soon as he’d finished the call.

Lawrence’s
expression was sombre. “A very good friend of mine has been involved in a motorbike accident. That was his wife ringing from the hospital. She sounded frantic… Rhia, I’m so sorry, I’ll have to go. Their family live away. They’re going to need my support.”

“Yes,
of course. Would you like a hot drink or I could get you a flask.”

He
shook his head, kissed her swiftly and made for the door. “I’ll be in touch as soon as I can,” he called over his shoulder. “Take care. It’s been a lovely week-end - sorry it had to end this way.”

Chapter Fourteen

It was Monday lunchtime before Lawrence got back to her, and then it was just a brief call to say his friend had come through the worst, but had broken his leg and had other injuries. Lawrence hoped he wouldn’t need to postpone the visit to Brookhurst, and would phone again later in the week.

“He’s
such a considerate chap, isn’t he?” Fiona remarked. “What a wretched thing to have happened. Will you go on your own - if he can’t make it?”

“I’m
not sure,” Rhianna told her. “I want to see my grandmother again, but I’d rather have gone with Laurie… Now, have we got enough materials for the Art and Craft class on Friday?”

Fiona
had already left when the gallery phone rang. Rhianna recognised the voice at once. It was Tina Soames.

“Hallo
Rhianna - I was wondering if you’d had any more thoughts about handing back my mother’s portrait,” she said without preamble.

“Not
really. I’m afraid I’ve been too busy in other directions. There’s no rush, is there?” Rhianna asked, playing for time.

“I
would appreciate it if you’d let me take a look at it. I could come to the gallery.”

“I’m
afraid that isn’t convenient this week,” Rhianna said firmly. “I’ll let you know when would be a good time, if you’ll give me your number.”

“Oh,
that won’t be necessary, I’ll keep in touch or you can give Laurie a message for me. We had such a lovely evening last Thursday, did he mention it? It was my birthday and he took me out to dinner.”

Before
Rhianna could reply the phone went dead and she was left feeling utterly confused and miserable.

*

“Of course you can come and stay,” Letitia told Rhianna when she phoned her later that evening. “Is Laurie coming too?”

“No,
I shouldn’t think so,” Rhianna said dully.

“That
sounded rather definite, dear - any particular reason?”

“Two,”
Rhianna told her, realising she couldn’t keep anything from her grandmother.

She
told her about Lawrence’s friend’s accident. Letitia sympathised.

“And
the second reason? I suspect that has something to do with you, Rhianna.”

“I
told Lawrence I wasn’t prepared to be in a relationship with three in it! I really thought his affair with Tina was over, but he took her out to dinner last week.”

“Ah,
it was her birthday,” Letitia said. “Did he tell you?”

“No,
she
did. It’s obvious he’s still got feelings for her.”

Letitia
sighed. “Have you challenged him about it?”

“No.
I’m finding the whole thing humiliating. We’d had such a lovely week-end, too.”

“Well, if I were you dear, I’d wait until you’ve spoken to Laurie. There could be a perfectly innocent explanation. I’m afraid Tina can be very persuasive. She can also be melodramatic. Perhaps Laurie thought she was at low ebb. I think she’s been finding this situation with you and me a bit difficult.”

“But
she was the one who left all the information lying in the drawer for you to find,” Rhianna pointed out.

“Yes,
but I’m beginning to think that was a mistake. She did leave in rather a hurry. Anyway, you come to me for the week-end and we’ll have a nice time and try to forget all this. I’m sure Laurie wouldn’t intentionally hurt you. He’s far too nice a person for that.”

Putting
the phone down, Rhianna sat with her head in her hands for several minutes. That was the problem, wasn’t it? Lawrence was nice to everyone, including Tina. Why couldn’t he have told her he’d taken Tina out to dinner on her birthday? Why let Rhianna believe his relationship with his ex-fiancée was over?

*

The rest of the week passed without incident. The first Art and Craft class on Friday was great fun, although the standard was varied. They had ten students. Some worked with Fiona, trying their hand at sculpture; whilst those who were with Rhianna, used pastels to produce still life pictures.

That
evening, Rhianna received a short e-mail from Lawrence, saying he thought he might have to postpone the trip.

Rhianna was getting used to the journey to Brookhurst now and arrived before lunch on Saturday. In the boot of her car was Anna Soames’ portrait.

She
was sitting drinking tea with Letitia when the doorbell rang. She opened it to find Lawrence standing on the step.

“Sorry,
I haven’t phoned, but I honestly didn’t know if I’d make it or not - so I decided to surprise the pair of you.”

Rhianna
fixed him with a cold stare. “You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?”

Lawrence
had been primed by Letitia and knew that he had a delicate situation to sort out yet again.

“There
are things I urgently need to explain. But, before I do, we need to sort out this business about Anna Soames once and for all, don’t you think?”

Seeing
her expression he added. “Yes, I’ve spoken with Tish. Told her if I didn’t get here by three o’clock, I wouldn’t be able to make it today. It’s now a quarter past, so she must have given me up.”

Rhianna’s
blue eyes flashed with anger. “Right - and did you also tell her you’d been wining and dining Tina?”

He
swallowed. “You’d already told her that. Look, I know I should have told you, but last week-end was so special that I didn’t want to spoil it. I know I need to explain but, please Rhia, can we put it on hold, for just a little while longer?”

She
capitulated. “OK, I’m prepared to put our differences aside for Letitia’s sake.”

They
went into the sitting-room. Rhianna thought her grandmother looked relieved to see him, and wondered what had been said on the phone.

After Lawrence had polished off several sandwiches and drunk two cups of tea, Letitia set Tansy on the carpet and said, “My dears, I think it’s high time I told you what happened between Reg and Joe all those years ago. The misunderstandings that have arisen, due to all this, have been unbearable. I’ve tried to protect Tina, but only seem to have made matters worse.”

Rhianna
clasped her hands. “This is to do with the identity of Tina’s father, isn’t it? You said you didn’t know who he was. Were you just continuing to be economical with the truth?”

“No,
Rhianna. I genuinely don’t know but, as you’ve surmised, it’s what the falling out was about and it was a very great falling out.”

“Take
your time, Tish. Don’t distress yourself,” Lawrence urged.

Letitia
suddenly looked very small and frail. “You need to know, Rhianna, that before he met your mother; your father was engaged to Anna Soames.”

Rhianna
gasped. This was unexpected.

“And,
I suppose my grandfather disapproved?”

“Oh,
yes and so did I. They were both so young - but then, when we realised how serious they were, we came round to the idea.”

“And
then…?” Rhianna prompted gently.

“Anna
asked Reg to paint her portrait, as a wedding gift for Joe.”

Suddenly
Rhianna had a premonition of what was coming next. Letitia was twisting her paper napkin round and round in her lap. She said in a rush, “Anna was a very lovely woman. Unfortunately, she was also very flighty. Reg was - was besotted with her and I’m afraid temptation got the better of him.”

Rhianna
clapped her hand to her mouth as her suspicions were confirmed.

“Are you telling me that my grandfather and Anna…?”

Letitia
lowered her eyes. “Yes, they had a brief affair. Joe was away, working in London at that time. When Anna became pregnant, he was convinced that the baby wasn’t his - couldn’t have been. And then, somehow, he found out that she and your grandfather had been lovers.”

Rhianna
was appalled. “And that’s what the row was about? No wonder my father left - that’s perfectly horrid!”

Letitia
nodded. “Yes, he had every right to be furious with your grandfather. Eventually, when it was too late, Anna confessed to her mother that Joe wasn’t the child’s father. She gave her word to Reg that she wouldn’t give him away, but she also told him that she didn’t believe either he or Joe was the father of her child. Anna went to her grave without divulging the name. At that time, I couldn’t track Joe down, although I tried - believe you me.”

“So
you and Reg tried to make amends by bringing up Tina when her grandparents had both died?” Lawrence said.

Letitia
nodded. There was silence for a few moments and then she said, just as if they’d been discussing the weather, “Well, all this talking has made me thirsty. Let’s have some more tea and, this time, I’ve actually managed to cook a cake myself. Irene helped me get it in and out of the oven.”

Stunned
by what she’d just heard, Rhianna followed Lawrence into the kitchen.

“That’s
a bit of a turn out for the books, as Dad would say,” Lawrence remarked as he filled the kettle.

“It’s
all so very sad. Why would Anna fling everything away like that - just for a sordid affair?”

Lawrence
picked up a plate. “Maybe it was just that she was so young and wasn’t ready for marriage. I’m afraid we’ll never know… Where’s this cake - ah, hiding under that cloth.”

“Wow
that looks good…Laurie, I’ve brought the portrait with me of
The
Woman
in
Blue
.”

He
stared at her. “You’ve brought it here? But I thought we’d all agreed that you’d hang on to it.”

“I
know but after Tina phoned me, I thought it might be best. She wanted to come to the gallery in the week to see the portrait. I told her,
no
. She seems to be getting a bit obsessive.”

“Yes,
I don’t disagree there.”

He carried the loaded tea-tray into the sitting-room. They lightened the conversation by telling Letitia more about the wedding the previous week-end and, then, Lawrence told them how his friend was progressing after his accident.

“Rhia
and Fiona have consented to me renting some space at the gallery to do some painting; although there are a few things I need to put right with Rhia first or she might decide to withdraw her offer.”

“Such
as why you took Tina out to dinner on her birthday?” Letitia suggested, giving him an old fashioned look. “That wasn’t exactly one of your better ideas, was it, Laurie?”

“Actually,
it wasn’t my idea,” Lawrence said. “It was a fait accompli. Anyway, enough of that for the moment…This cake is absolutely delicious.”

“I
think that means he wants another slice,” Letitia teased.

After
a while, Rhianna went to fetch the portrait, refusing Lawrence’s offer of help. She felt a great sense of relief, now that she’d learnt her father wasn’t Christina Soames’ father, too. But, she couldn’t help feeling disloyal to his memory - knowing she ought never to have doubted him in the first place.

She
lugged the portrait into the sitting room and whipped off the cloth that was covering it. Letitia’s eyes widened.

“My
goodness. I’d forgotten how big it was. She was certainly a looker, wasn’t she? You’ve got to admit that.”

“I
suppose so,” Rhianna said ungraciously. “We’ve both looked at this over and over and can’t find anything special about it. I’m not sure quite what Tina expects, but I honestly think she should have the wretched thing, if she’s so passionate about it.”

Letitia
was fingering the frame. “Tina is convinced that somehow this portrait holds the clue as to who her father was - and more besides. It was something her grandmother said to her. Of course, we’d no idea if your father still had it in his possession.”

Lawrence
picked up the portrait. “As Rhia says, we’ve examined it thoroughly and can’t find anything other than that one set of initials which are just here - look.”

Letitia
peered closely. “Oh, yes, Reg certainly hid them well, didn’t he?”

She
looked thoughtful and suddenly clicked her fingers.

“I
suppose - have either of you attempted to remove the frame?”

Rhianna
stared at her. “No, although, perhaps my father did. I mean it isn’t the right frame for the picture, is it? I wonder where it came from?”

“I
know the answer to that one, but let’s take a look first.”

“It’s
going to make a bit of a mess,” Lawrence told her, laying the portrait on the floor.