Davenport House 3: A Mother's Love by Marie Silk

Author:Marie Silk [Silk, Marie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Marie Silk Publishing
Published: 2016-05-12T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

Clara was not at breakfast the next morning. Mary decided to make an announcement to Mrs. Price and Abigail. “I have decided that I will tell Clara today. It does not seem right to keep such a secret from her. I am doing my best to come to terms with it, myself. Although I do think this is a subject that we should only keep within the family.”

Mrs. Price nodded in agreement. “I believe it is wise to do so.”

“I plan to go for a ride today,” Mary stated. “What do you say, Abigail? It has been so long since we took the horses out. They must worry that we forgot about them.”

Abigail smiled when she thought about seeing Ethan. “I would like that very much,” she answered.

Clara arrived in Yorktown at the office of the trustee who used to manage Mr. Davenport’s affairs. It was he who distributed the estate to Mary after Mr. Davenport passed away. The trustee’s secretary led Clara down the short hallway to Mr. Morgan’s office. “Miss Clara Davenport to see you, Sir,” announced the secretary.

Mr. Morgan raised his eyebrows. “Good morning, Miss. Do we have an appointment?”

“I am sorry that I did not make an appointment in advance, Mr. Morgan. I only have some documents to show you. It involves the estate of the recently deceased Mr. Davenport. You see, I am his daughter.”

“You are a daughter of James Davenport?” Mr. Morgan asked in surprise. “I have already closed the estate after settling distribution on Miss Mary Davenport.”

“I understand that, Mr. Morgan,” Clara persisted. “But I have here a letter from his widow and an affidavit that explains how Mary was never their natural born daughter.”

Mr. Morgan looked puzzled as he read the affidavit. “How peculiar. Mrs. Davenport never said a word of this when I represented the estate. Why did she not mention you at the time? Are you not her daughter also?”

“I am not, Sir. My mother—she was the housekeeper. She was engaged to my father long before Margaret Davenport.”

“Was your mother ever married to your father?” asked Mr. Morgan.

Clara frowned. “They were never married, Sir.”

“I see. Miss Davenport, I will need to look into my records to learn how to move forward. It may not be today, but I will send you a post when I have an answer for your claim,” explained Mr. Morgan.

“You need not send a post. Davenport House has a telephone now. Let me tell you the number.”

Mary and Abigail felt a renewed sense of strength as they rode over the fields with Ethan alongside them. The three of them wondered why they had not been riding sooner. They leisurely made their way back to the stable. Throughout the ride, Mary was gathering the courage to speak with John Smith for the first time since reading the letter. Mary explained that she would do so while Ethan put the horses away. She disappeared up the staircase behind the stable to see if John was in the apartment.

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