Page 44 of The Devil’s Lair

“You already have,” he replies cryptically. Rising from his chair, he comes around to my side of the desk. “Take a walk with me.”

“But you have a meeting.”

“I’ll ask Bea to reschedule.”

After collecting Isla, the three of us head downstairs and emerge into the fresh air. The weather is crisp and chilly, but there’s a dazzling blue sky and barely a breeze. Isla skips ahead, happy, as my mother used to say, as a pig in muck. She’s blossoming here. We both are. My soul, so tired and broken from years of abuse, is healing, one act of kindness at a time. Tomorrow, Isla has her first appointment with a therapist who specializes in child trauma, and the day after, it’s my turn. I’m nervous, but, as much as I hate to admit, it’s for the best.

We walk in silence for a while, though it isn’t heavy or uncomfortable. It never is with Tobias. Being with him is calming, a soothing balm on a burn I didn’t realize had seared through to the bone.

As we crest the top of a hill, a middle-aged woman approaches us. The protector in me immediately calls to Isla, who is closer to the woman than we are.

“It’s okay,” Tobias says. “It’s my aunt Alice.” He raises a hand in greeting. Isla, spotting the stranger, comes racing to my side.

“Tobias.” Alice breaks into a smile, slides her gaze to me, then back to Tobias, one eyebrow lifting.

“How are you, Alice? This is Rebecca, my fiancée, and her daughter Isla.”

The shock at hearing him describe me as such, even if accurate, must register on my face. Alice chuckles.

“Takes a little getting used to, I bet. Lovely to meet you, my dear. When is the announcement being made?”

“Soon,” Tobias says.

Alice bends down to Isla’s level. “Hello, beautiful,” she says. “I love your hat.”

Isla burrows closer to me. “She’s shy,” I explain. “She’ll come around when she gets to know you better.”

“I live on the other side of the hill.” Alice gestures behind her. “If you’re out this way, do pop in for tea and some cake.”

“I’d like that.”

“Me, too. Well, I must get going. Charles is expecting me.”

“What does Dad want?” Tobias asks.

“I don’t know. I’m hoping it’s about George. I want to see him.”

Who’s George? I haven’t heard that name mentioned since I arrived at Oakleigh.

“Why the fu—why would you want to do that?”

I frown at the sharpness in Tobias’s tone and the way he glowers in a way I’ve never seen before. Alice winces.

“He’s still my husband, Tobias. We’ve been married for a long time. Whatever he’s done doesn’t negate that.”

His jaw tightens, and his eyes marginally narrow. “If you say so. We won’t keep you, Alice.” He walks on, and I follow, a hundred questions whirring through my mind. If this was a real relationship, I’d voice them. As it isn’t, I stay quiet. If Tobias wants to tell me, he will.

Now it’s just us again, Isla runs on ahead, pigtails flying.

“It’s timely that we met Alice,” Tobias says, his gaze on the horizon. “There’s something you need to know about this family that I haven’t told you yet.”

“You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to. We mentioned honesty, but also that our privacy is important.”

“I know, but this is something I shouldn’t keep a secret.” He’s silent for a moment, as though he’s gathering his thoughts. “Remember I told you my sister was murdered and my mum killed herself?”

I wince. “Yes.”

“Well, what I omitted to tell you is that Annabel and Xan were the product of rape, and the rapist… my dear fucking uncle George, Dad’s brother.”