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‘What happened next?’ Rory was literally at the edge of his seat, perched on the stainless-steel counter.
‘That’s all there is.’ Carrie showed Rory the empty pages that followed the last entry. ‘There were two other books, but I looked at those already and one just contained Maud’s post office records. The other one was from when she was much younger. There were some sweet notes in it about her friends at school, but nothing about William and the baby.’
‘So, Great-Aunt Maud got pregnant from her affair with William?’ Rory steepled his fingers together. ‘Did you know that? Did she have the baby?’
‘Maud never had children. Not that I was aware of, anyway.’
‘So, what? She miscarried, maybe. Or even had an abortion? Was that a thing then?’
‘Not really. I think you could go to an illegal abortionist, but that would have been fraught with danger. Maybe she had the baby in secret somehow. That seems more likely,’ Carrie mused.
Rory looked as though he was going to say something more when Carrie’s phone buzzed. She looked at the screen.
Hi, Carrie. Wondered if you wanted to talk. I know you hate me, but Claire would have wanted us to be friends.I miss her like hell and I know it must be even worse for you. Give me a call if you want. Graham.
Carrie stared at the message for a while, and then deleted it without answering. ‘Nope,’ she muttered under her breath. She wasn’t ready to be friends with Graham yet. She still didn’t have the bandwidth to empathise with someone else; she was still finding her way through her grief. Graham would have to wait.
‘Anything important?’ Rory nodded at her phone.
‘What? Oh, no. Just family stuff,’ Carrie said, vaguely. She didn’t want to talk about it because thinking about Graham unlocked other things in her mind that she didn’t want to think about at all. As long as she could keep that particular cupboard locked, then all was well.
It won’t stay locked forever,Claire’s voice said, suddenly, in a warning tone.You need to deal with what’s in there. Don’t kid yourself.
Carrie ignored her sister’s warning. She couldn’t think about that now.
‘So, this is quite the mystery, huh? You must be so intrigued. A whole story about your family I’m guessing you never knew.’ Rory jumped off the counter and took both of their bowls and spoons to the sink.
‘Hmm. I know. I could have a relative somewhere in Loch Cameron still.’ The thought dawned on Carrie, and she felt somehow vulnerable at its arrival.
‘You could ask Dotty. She got you the diaries in the first place, right? She knows everyone and everything.’
‘Right…’ Carrie was thoughtful. ‘I mean, it’s weird that if Maud had a child, she never mentioned it to us.’ She held the book in her hand, as if weighing its importance.
‘But you were kids. Your mum and dad might have known.’ Rory returned from the sink, wiping his hands on a cloth. ‘Didn’t you say that your aunt passed when you were still quite young? Adults don’t talk about this kind of stuff with children.’
‘That’s true. I wonder if Mum knew,’ Carrie mused. ‘She might have.’
‘And your mum also… passed?’
Rory came to stand next to her; she was suddenly and almost painfully aware of his physical presence. It was as if he exuded some kind of manly sexual aura that made her body react to him: all she wanted to do, in that moment, was melt into his body.
Instead, she cleared her throat and sat up straighter, as if signalling how clearly shewasn’taffected by Rory’s presence. ‘Yes. I was quite young.’
‘Sorry. That’s awful.’ His hand grazed hers.
She looked up into his deep brown eyes. ‘Thanks,’ she breathed.
There was a moment of pause between them, where their eyes seemed to say everything they weren’t saying with words. Rory’s gaze on hers was intense, and Carrie felt as though she was dissolving.
Without saying anything, he reached up to her mouth and stroked the edge of her lip. ‘You had some cream there,’ he explained, his fingertip resting for a moment just above her chin, before he took it away.
‘Oh.’ Carrie was unable to think of any other reply. Rory’s touch was electric and unexpected: it resonated deliciously on her skin.
‘Taken care of,’ he added, his arm returning to his side.
He retained eye contact with her, and they stood there, staring at each other. Carrie felt slightly breathless. When she tried to think of anything to say, she drew a blank.
Great.
