A Mother's Secret by Dilly Court

Author:Dilly Court
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Sagas, Fiction
ISBN: 9780099538837
Publisher: Random House UK
Published: 2011-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Cassy made to follow her, but Belinda caught her by the arm. ‘Let her go, Cassy. Give her time to get over the shock.’

‘Yes,’ Eli said, nodding. ‘This has come as a surprise, but not an unpleasant one. I must congratulate you on your daughter, my lady. Cassy is a good girl and she deserves to be happy.’

Belinda encompassed him with her radiant smile. ‘I am the most fortunate one, Mr Solomon. It’s a long story, but I was forced to give up my child when she was just a baby, which is something I will regret for the rest of my life.’

‘I understand, my lady. Only a parent could appreciate the pain that must have caused you.’

‘Poppycock,’ Flora said angrily. ‘This sentimental drivel is getting us nowhere. If you can’t bring yourself to tell him the truth, Belle, then I will.’

‘I should go after Lottie,’ Cassy said urgently. ‘I need to speak to her.’

Belinda swayed on her feet and Eli rushed to pull up a chair. ‘Please sit down, ma’am. I can see that this is very distressing for you.’ He turned to Cassy. ‘Fetch a glass of beer for your mother, my dear.’

‘Beer!’ Flora almost spat the word. ‘My sister-in-law doesn’t drink beer, sir.’

Fanning Belinda vigorously with his hands, Eli’s mouth twisted into a grim smile. ‘She will have to drink ale while she’s in this part of London, ma’am. The water is putrid and would kill her as easily as a dose of arsenic.’

‘Then give her brandy. For heaven’s sake, use your head, man. Can’t you see that Belinda is a lady and used to better things?’

‘I’ll get the beer,’ Cassy said hastily.

‘No need,’ Belinda said, rallying a little. ‘It was just a dizzy spell. I’m quite all right now, and I think we ought to leave. Coming here was a mistake and an imposition on Mr Solomon.’ She looked up at Eli with an apologetic smile trembling on her lips. ‘I am sorry if we’ve upset you and your daughter. It wasn’t our intention to cause trouble.’

Cassy hesitated, longing to go after Lottie, but unwilling to leave her mother in this delicate state. She could see that Eli had fallen under her mother’s spell, but that only seemed to make matters worse. She twisted her hands behind her back, wishing that there was something she could say or do that would help matters, but Flora was obviously not in a mood for using tact and diplomacy. She took a lace handkerchief from her reticule and made a point of dusting off the seat of a chair kept for valued customers before sitting down. ‘A woman’s touch would make this apology for a business premises much more profitable,’ she said, arranging her skirts around her. ‘What no one seems prepared to admit is that we are destitute, or very nearly. For reasons which don’t concern you, Mr Solomon, we are homeless and virtually penniless. We need to find a property that is cheap to rent until our fortunes are restored.

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