AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Look, I know what you’re thinking: why did he tell me first and not you?’
Abigail nodded.
‘He wanted to find out first why he’d been given the cottage by a complete stranger. He felt something wasn’t right. It was a mystery, you know. He thought it must be a case of mistaken identity, but the solicitor assured him it was legit. Before he told you, he wanted to find out why.’
‘Okay,’ Abigail said, even though she still wished he’d had this conversation with her. ‘Why didn’t you bring it up at the funeral – about the cottage?’
‘I’m sorry, it must have looked as though I was avoiding you.’
It didn’t just look like that,thought Abigail.It was obvious.
Clarissa sighed. ‘It was because of Mum and Dad. Toby and I had found out things. Under the circumstances, I couldn’t … I just couldn’t confront them over it – not then, not at his funeral.’
Abigail stared at her. ‘What did you find out?’
Clarissa’s dog nudged her hand, and she threw the ball she was holding. They both stood for a moment, watching the shaggy-haired St. Bernard ambling after it along the sand, his big frame not built for speed.
Clarissa turned to Abigail. ‘Toby thought he must have a connection with the Somervilles. It must have crossed your mind, too. Why did Lord Somerville’s sister want him to have her cottage?’
‘Yes, that’s the question, isn’t it?’ They fell in step, walking along the shoreline. Up ahead the St. Bernard was looking for his ball.
‘Toby told me he wondered if he was adopted. You hear about it all the time, people discovering their parents weren’t their actual parents.’
Abigail nodded. ‘Yes, that’s what I guessed he thought, and why he joined the AncestryDNA website and bought a test. The thing is, I was chatting with a friend …’ Abigail was thinking of her conversation with Ray. She knew that Toby having taken a test himself would only have established a possible relationship to somebody else who was already on the database. If he’d suspected he was adopted and couldn’t or wouldn’t talk to Joyce, there was another way to find out if Joyce wasn’t his mother. It was blindingly obvious – his half-sister, Clarissa.
Abigail had to ask, ‘Did Toby ask you to take a DNA test to establish if you were siblings?’
Clarissa halted. She was about to say something when her dog bounded up to her, looking all pleased with himself. He had the ball. He dropped it at her feet, wagged his tail, and sat on his rump. He sat there, panting, looking up at her expectantly for another game of fetch.
Abigail frowned at the dog. St. Bernards were known for being loyal, loving and friendly, but right now all she could think was how annoying he was for interrupting their conversation. She assumed Clarissa would throw the ball again. Instead, she sat down on the sand. Her dog lay down on the sand beside her, head on paws, eyes closing.
Abigail shrugged and joined her, sitting crossed-legged on the sand beside her.
Clarissa stared out to sea. ‘It’s a lovely sunset, isn’t it?’
The Suffolk Coast was renowned for its stunning sunrises, which was why it was often called the Sunrise Coast,but Abigail remembered the sunsets here on Shingle Cove which she could see, and sometimes photographed from her bedroom window in the guesthouse. They could be amazing. Today Abigail wasn’t bothered about the sunset. She just wanted Clarissa to answer her question – and stop stalling.
Clarissa turned to her. ‘Yes, Toby asked me to take one.’
‘And?’
‘I told him no.’
Abigail’s shoulders sagged, although she wasn’t all that surprised. If her brother had asked her to do one, would she have agreed if it meant the outcome might be that they weren’t brother and sister? Would she rather not know than have her world turned upside down like that?
‘It’s alright, Clarissa, I understand.’
‘But then I put myself in his shoes, Abigail, thinking, what if I was in his position and I wanted to know the truth? If we’re not related, then it means Joyce wasn’t his mother – and she lied to him.’ Clarissa lifted a hand and stroked her dog. She said in a small voice, ‘She lied to all of us.’
Abigail looked at her. ‘You took the test – didn’t you?’
‘Of course I did. He’s my brother. I’d do anything for Toby.’
‘Except he wasn’t your brother, was he?’ Abigail said softly.
Clarissa shook her head. ‘I thought … I assumed it was all a big mistake – the cottage, Toby thinking he was adopted. I thought, he can’t be adopted, there has to be another explanation. So I took the test. But I didn’t think …’
Abigail saw tears rolling down Clarissa’s cheeks. She reached out and put an arm around her shoulders. ‘I am so sorry.’
