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‘I didn’t realise you were up already.’
Clarissa smiled. ‘I had to walk the dog. Didn’t want him to have an accident in the room.’
Emily looked at Donut. ‘You wouldn’t do that, would you?’ She was aware he was still a young dog, and accidents did sometimes happen.
‘Clarissa, I’ve got some news.’ Emily got out her mobile phone.
‘What is it? Have you and Joss …?’
‘Oh, no nothing like that.’ Although she was hoping they might go out on a date very soon and that he would tell her more about his life back in London, working as a lawyer. Would he go back to London, and his career in law? That she had yet to find out.
‘Look.’ Emily showed her the AncestryDNA website. ‘I’ve found a relation.’
Clarissa stared at her. ‘Wow, that was fast.’
‘I know!’
‘To be honest, I didn’t think you would. I mean who knows when or even if someone from your aunt’s side of the family in America would join that site – if it is a cousin, that is.’
‘What do you meanif it is a cousin? Who else would it be?’
‘I don’t know.’
Emily thought of the disclaimer she’d seen when she’d joined the website; it almost read as a warning about what you might unearth in pursuit of long-lost relatives or researching family trees. In other words, you might not like what you found.
‘So, are you going to ring the number and find out who is on the other end?’ Clarissa asked.
Emily had been surprised that the person had given out their contact phone number, although she had been feeling a little reticent as there was no profile photo or details of who she would be calling. Despite that, Emily had still been mostly enthusiastic about making that call, until she’d spoken to Clarissa. She thought of her mum’s estrangement from her sister and wondered again what it had all been about. It was something her mother refused to talk about. She did want to find her aunt. However, she looked at the phone number, thought of the AncestryDNA’s disclaimer, and began to have second thoughts.
‘Those questions you have about your aunt in America, and cousins that you might have over there, could all be answered by that one phone call.’
Emily bit her lower lip and frowned.
‘What’s the matter?’
‘But what if this … this person isn’t—’
‘Who you thought they were, namely your aunt, or a relative in America?’
Emily nodded. ‘I’ve always felt that my parents have harboured a secret. As though there was something they’ve kept from me all these years.’
‘What do you mean?’
Emily scratched her head. ‘I don’t know.’
‘Then why don’t you phone that number and find out who they are?’
‘But what if, well, I don’t like what I find out?’
Clarissa sighed heavily. ‘I can’t answer that, Emily. All I know is that you’ve opened Pandora’s Box, and try as you might, you’re going to find it very hard not to look inside.’
Emily looked at her phone. ‘It’s only going to be about two or three in the morning in America.’
Clarissa stared at her. ‘You’re not phoning someone in America. Look, the area code is +44. That’s a British mobile phone.’
Emily bit her bottom lip and stared at her phone. ‘I’ll phone later.’ She glanced at Clarissa. ‘You think I should contact them now, don’t you?’
Clarissa shrugged. ‘Why leave it until later? Once the other guests come down for breakfast, I imagine you won’t have time. Make the call, if for no other reason than I’m dying to know who it is.’ Clarissa grinned. ‘You know what I’m like – nosy as hell.’
