Page 93 of The Bookshop By the Loch

My thoughts rocketed to Naomi and the similar situation she’d found herself in, when she fell pregnant with Tobias. “Oh God, Celeste!” My empathy twisted to burning anger. “Bloody Flora Simmonds! Who the hell did she think she was, taking it upon herself to tell Reece something like that? What a cow!” I shook my head in disgust. “And he needed to grow a pair and stand up for what he wanted. Talk about weak.” I pulled myself up after my rant. “Sorry, Celeste.”

She waved her hand in the air. “There’s no need to apologise. You’re right. He didn’t have the balls to stand up to his parents.”

At Celeste’s mention of balls, one of the carers gave her a mock look of shock as she strode in to collect a couple of magazines from the coffee table and out again.

A memory about Flora’s weird reaction to the mention of the Stafford-Wellses the day I discovered Book Ends was up for sale jumped up and down in my mind. “Oh God. That makes perfect sense!”

Celeste frowned at me. “What does?”

“One of Flora’s associates was talking about Dame Alicia Kilroy, one of my former authors I edited for at Literati. It was the day Book Ends’ closing down sign had been erected.” I eyed Celeste with growing excitement. “This friend of Flora’s commented about how much Dame Alicia’s house looked like the old Stafford-Wells property. She’d seen an interview with Dame Alicia in a magazine and her house had featured in it.”

“And?” pushed Celeste.

“At the mention of the Stafford-Wellses, Flora’s mood changed in a flash. She became irritated and almost bit her friend’s head off.”

Celeste arched a brow. “I bet she did. Probably thinking about how she could have become Lady of the Manor.”

I patted Celeste’s warm hand. We were alone again. I gave her a supportive smile. “Celeste, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, but the baby – what happened?”

Celeste gathered herself. “I had her adopted. The father was a young musician in one of the bands I’d been appearing with at a few of the clubs.” Celeste’s eyes sparkled with regretful tears. “I wanted to keep her, but my parents wouldn’t hear of it. When I told the baby’s father I was expecting, I didn’t see him for dust.”

I grasped her trembling hand tighter, as the branches of the trees outside danced in the light. “Do you know what happened to your baby?”

She nodded her head and gulped. “Yes. I tracked her down about ten years ago now, but I never told anyone.”

I stroked her fingers. “What’s she like?”

Celeste’s face took on a preoccupied look. “She reminded me a lot of Maeve. She was blonde like her, but a bit taller. Sporty-looking, so definitely not like me!” She attempted a smile. “From what I could see, she inherited her dad’s love of the guitar, though.”

Celeste gathered herself. “I discovered she was a musician in a folk band in Glasgow, so I found out when she and her band would be performing and I went to the venue.”

I blinked at Celeste. “Did you speak to her?”

Celeste bit her bottom lip. “No. I wanted to. I remember standing outside that bar, surrounded by the city noise and the lights. I had all these things racing about in my head that I was desperate to say to her, but when the time came I couldn’t do it.” Celeste coloured. “I ended up jumping straight back in a taxi and coming home again.”

Outside the residential home the hedges rustled in the sunshine.

“Well, it’s a big step, isn’t it?”

Celeste gave her head a resigned nod.

I stroked her veined hand. “What’s your daughter’s name?”

“Corinne. Corinne Young. That’s her married name. She was Corinne Harvey. That was the surname of the couple who adopted her.”

My eyes widened. “You’ve done your homework on her.”

“Well, like I said, I can’t take the credit. A very expensive but talented private investigator did that for me,” admitted Celeste. “He was recommended to me by an old showbiz friend of mine who was having issues with her husband’s infidelity. He tracked down Corinne for me.” She linked her fingers together in her lap. “He reported back that she was a professional musician, married with two teenage daughters. Well, the girls will be older now, of course.” She flushed pink. “I’m a grandmother. Imagine that.”

I digested everything Celeste was telling me. “Does Maeve know she has a sister?”

Celeste flashed me an embarrassed look and shook her head. “I have been so, so foolish, Lexie. I should have told her years ago when she was a child, but my late husband wouldn’t hear of it. He said it was in the past and it should stay there.”

My thoughts returned to Tobias. In many ways, it was a similar situation. A family secret that had festered and bubbled away in the background for years, only to explode like a volcanic eruption.

Celeste’s troubled mouth twisted up at one corner. “My husband thought he was doing me a favour by marrying me. The fallen singer. Damaged goods.”

“Well, that’s just ridiculous.”