A Discarded Son by Lorna Peel

Author:Lorna Peel [Peel, Lorna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-08-07T05:00:00+00:00

Five minutes later, Isobel returned to the drawing room and fought to hide a grimace as Mrs Ellison looked at her expectantly.

“Mother, when we leave for Dublin in the morning, there is a high probability you will not come back here,” she began at once.

“Until…” Mrs Ellison tailed off, unable to put her father’s impending death into words.

“No,” she said softly but firmly. “Unless the Land League is no longer active in this locality, you cannot return here to be with Grandfather when he dies nor attend his funeral. You must not draw attention to the estate and make matters even more difficult for, not just its servants, but everyone who lives or works on it. Tomorrow, you will need to say goodbye to him for the last time.”

“No.” It came out in a squeak. “We have just been reunited – I refuse to completely abandon him now.”

“Mother, you must not come back here with matters the way they are.”

“We should never have come here.”

“No, we shouldn’t have but we are here and we must deal with the consequences. I am sorry,” she said, sitting down beside her on the sofa and holding her hands as her mother cried. “I was always curious about the house you were born and grew up in and, despite the circumstances, I am glad I have now seen it.”

“I called it my prison.” Her mother gave her a wobbly smile, pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve and dried her eyes. “But I was happy here, despite being cut off from the rest of the world. I was ten years old when the Great Famine began and I was utterly oblivious to the people dying of starvation, being evicted from their homes and land, leaving the estate forever – just beyond those trees.” She made a vague gesture towards the front of the house. “Just as I was utterly oblivious to the fact that my brother – my twin – was alive and locked away in a hospital for the insane. Little wonder I ran away to marry the very first man who turned my head.”

“But now you are married to James and he loves you very much.”

“Yes, he does, but he was so angry today, Isobel.”

“So was Will. So was I. We were wet and cold and we were – and are – worried about the children and about Miles.”

“You have extremely competent nursery maids.”

But I should be in the nursery now, Isobel raged silently, feeding my babies and kissing young John goodnight.

“Yes, we do,” she managed to reply calmly. “We’re very lucky. And Will was very fortunate to find Nurse Barton. She will provide your father with exemplary care but tomorrow morning you must say goodbye to him.”

“He is my father… we lost so much time… I wanted him to tell you about his parents and Mother’s parents… Now, he never will. Look up there on the mantelpiece.”

Isobel got up and stood on the hearth rug. On the mantelpiece were three photographs. The

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