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‘Liz. Please.’ There was a sudden, desperate tone in his voice that made her look up in surprise. ‘I mean…’ He looked away from her, down at his hands holding the glass. ‘I could do with some distraction. I’m okay. Please, stay.’
‘Well, it’s really fine, but… all right.’ Liz had mixed feelings, but she had come in to tell Ben about Evelyn, and it was better to tell him sooner rather than later. ‘Is it work-related? The call.’
‘No,’ he said, shortly. ‘Personal.’
‘Oh.’ He clearly wasn’t going to say any more, and Liz wasn’t going to press him. She took a deep breath. ‘All right, then. I had a chat to Grenville recently, and he told me something about Evelyn McCallister I thought you should know.’
‘What?’
‘Well, there’s no easy way to say it. But, if you recall, she was Tommy McCallister’s daughter, and she took on the role of Master Distiller for a few years. Unofficially, by the way, she probably did it for about fifteen years.’
‘Right. I remember.’
‘Yeah. And if you recall, in the diary she says basically that she’s fallen pregnant?’
‘I remember.’
‘Agh. I really hate to tell you this, but if what Grenville told me is true, then it was John Douglas – that’s your ancestor – who was the father of the baby she had.’
‘What?’ Ben frowned.
‘He says it’s true. Apparently his mother told him. It’s something they kept within the family. He never told you because he didn’t want it to come between you as friends. But I guess with us making a big focus on Evelyn now, he had to say something.’
‘But he told you and not me.’ Ben got up again and started pacing around.
‘I know. But that was because I read the diary and went to speak with him about it. He did say that there was information in there he thought you’d be interested in. I just thought he meant general history of the distillery. But this is what he meant, I think.’
‘This is kind of a bombshell.’ Ben swore under his breath. ‘Sorry. It’s just…’ He shook his head.
‘I know. I’m sorry.’ Liz watched him as he circled the office.
‘So you’re saying… they were having an affair?’ Ben frowned, sitting on the edge of his desk and facing her.
‘Not exactly. Well, we can’t know. But Grenville says that Evelyn told her sister – that was his mother – that it wasn’t a consensual relationship.’ Liz bit her lip, hoping that she didn’t have to explain further.
‘Not consensual? What does that mean?’
‘You know what that means, Ben.’ Liz gave him a resigned look.
‘Oh, god.’ Ben put his hand over his mouth, his eyes wide. ‘You mean he—’
‘It seems that way, yes,’ Liz said, interrupting him so that he didn’t have to say the words.
‘Oh, no.’ Ben looked shocked. ‘So…’
‘So, she had the baby, but it was adopted,’ Liz said. ‘That does mean that, somewhere, there’s someone else who has some claim on the Douglas estate. But they probably have no idea that they do.’
‘Jeez. This is a lot to take in.’ Ben stared at her. ‘So, that would be, like… I’d have a half aunt or uncle somewhere? Kind of?’
‘Kind of, yes. Your ancestor’s illegitimate son or daughter. They might not be alive anymore, of course. But they might also have had children. And you’d be related to them still.’
‘Wow. That’s intense.’
‘Yeah.’ Liz nodded. ‘I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but as soon as Grenville told me, I had to tell you.’
‘Of course. I’m glad you did.’ Ben took in a deep breath and let it go. ‘It’s more troubling to think about what happened to Evelyn at that man’s hands, though, to be honest. That poor girl.’
‘I know. It’s terribly sad. But Grenville says that he remembers her as a fantastic aunt to him.’
