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Abigail confessed that she’d accidentally tossed Daphne’s movie reels in with Toby’s. ‘I’m watching it right now.’
‘You’re joking.’
‘Uh-uh.’
Ulysses woofed as if in agreement. Abigail put a finger to her lips in a shushing motion, but it was too late. Gerald had heard. ‘Have you got a dog?’
Abigail sighed. ‘Yes.’
‘Well, that’s fantastic.’
Abigail guessed he was pleased that she had something to get up for in the mornings. As she watched the movie reel, she had a question for Gerald. ‘Can I ask you something about the party?’
‘It was a long time ago. But sure, what is it?’
‘There’s another child, a boy, at the party.’ Abigail imagined he was a cousin or something of the Somervilles. The reason she thought that was his strong resemblance to Carys. ‘Out of interest, I just wondered if you knew who the other boy was? He was sitting in between Carys and Oliver.’
Unusually, there was a silence down the phone. That was so unlike her stepfather that she checked he was still there. ‘Gerald?’ She sighed, realising why. ‘It doesn’t matter if you can’t remember.’
‘Abigail, I remember.’
She heard him take a breath down the phone. ‘Don’t you recognise him? You were in the same class, I believe, for a bit before he moved away. It was not long after the party that his mother took him out of school and they moved to London.’
Abigail stared at the third cake, a chocolate cake, being placed in front of the dark-eyed little boy. He smiled shyly before turning away and looking up. There was a woman standing behind him. She knelt down at this point, just like Gerald, and encouraged him to blow out his candles too.
‘Abigail – it’s Toby. He was at the party with his mother.’
She shook her head from side to side, amazed that she hadn’t remembered this. She still had a picture of her class when she was five. Toby was three rows behind her. But she’d never seen this, him at five on a home movie reel. He’d never mentioned he’d been to that party, but then neither had she.
‘He was at the party with his mother.’
‘No, he wasn’t,’ Abigail replied.
‘Yes, he was. I saw her bring him along. We both arrived at the same time, but she left with him early.’
‘No, what I meant was the woman, his mother, wasn’t Toby’s biological mother.’
Gerald sighed down the phone.
‘I want to find his biological parents.’
‘Why?’
Abigail moved a protective hand over her stomach. She knew what Gerald was saying:Why now? What’s the point now he’s dead?She hadn’t wanted to find them before, but now she had a strong reason to. She wanted Toby’s parents to know his child, and she wanted her child to know where he or she was from. And then there were the hereditary health reasons. ‘I just do,’ Abigail replied. It was too early to tell anyone. Abigail frowned, realising she really wasn’t sure how far gone she was. She stared at the home movie, wondering whether, if she had a boy, he would look just like Toby had when he was little. Then the camera panned out, capturing all four children. Abigail leaned forward in her seat and stared at Toby and Carys. Their likeness was remarkable.
What if Lord Somervillehadhad an affair, and the woman had abandoned their son at Daphne’s cottage? And Daphne knew that Toby, and his mother, had been disowned by her brother. It made sense. It made perfect sense. Daphne wanted to look after her illegitimate nephew. There was just one enormous gaping hole in that theory. He couldn’t have had an affair. He was still in love with his dead wife.
‘Abigail – are you still there?’
‘Yes, yes. Gerald, did you say it was soon after the party that Toby and his mum moved away?’
‘Yes, it was.’
She was still watching the movie reel. She could see the way Toby’s mum knelt down, her head next to his, stroking his hair, giving him a reassuring cuddle. There was no denying she loved him, just the way her own stepdad loved her. Abigail watched closely as Lord Somerville, whom she recognised, although he looked much younger, handed out presents to the two boys, and to little Abigail. She couldn’t fail to see the look on Toby’s mum’s face when he approached. She was still kneeling down, holding Toby close, and she appeared afraid of something. Was she afraid the Somervilles might take Toby away?
‘I need to see Toby’s mum.’ Would she know who Toby’s biological parents were? Did Hugh even know that Toby was his illegitimate son? All these questions were going through her mind.
‘Dad, I’ve got to go.’
‘Oh, okay. Does this have something to do with Toby and the movie reels? You know, I’d really love to see them.’
‘You will. I’ll make sure I remember to bring them with me.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes, tomorrow I’m coming home. But there’s something I need to do first.’
