The Light Within Us: A Heart-Wrenching Historical Family Saga Set in Cornwall by Charlotte Betts

Author:Charlotte Betts
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Sagas, Fiction, Historical, General
ISBN: 9780349422985
Publisher: Piatkus
Published: 2020-03-04T22:00:00+00:00

Dora rang the convent bell and Clarissa shivered as they waited on the doorstep. Eventually a nun opened the door and indicated they were to follow her down a corridor. Their shoes squeaked as they walked over the highly polished floors. They were shown into a room containing only a table and chairs and asked to wait.

‘It’s all very clean,’ said Dora.

A small fire burned in the grate but it wasn’t enough to make Clarissa warm. Her stomach roiled and blood pounded in her temples. She wondered if she looked as whey-faced as Dora. Thankfully, Lily slept peacefully in her arms and Clarissa gazed at her, fixing the tiny face forever in her memory.

Footsteps approached and Clarissa tensed. There was the sound of hearty male voices, interspersed with a woman’s nervous laughter. The door opened and admitted the Mother Superior, two middle-aged men and an expensively dressed woman.

Mother Superior introduced Mr and Mrs Coates and Mr Galton, their lawyer.

Mrs Coates, her black hair curling out from under her hat, came straight over to Clarissa but she had eyes only for the baby. Diamonds sparkled on her fingers as she moved Lily’s shawl aside to reveal her face. ‘Thank goodness!’ she said. ‘Look, John. She’s pretty.’

Mr Coates nodded in approval. His complexion was swarthy and his eyes as dark as his wife’s. He wore a beautifully tailored suit and a heavy gold watch chain across his waistcoat.

‘Let me have her,’ said Mrs Coates, reaching out for Lily.

Unable to speak, Clarissa clutched the baby to her breast.

Mr Galton glanced at her and pulled some papers out of his briefcase. ‘We’ll finish the formalities first,’ he said. He began to read the paperwork aloud but there was such a commotion in her head that Clarissa couldn’t catch the words. She was deathly cold. Dora touched her arm and she started. ‘Sorry?’

Mr Galton placed the papers in front of her and indicated a pen and inkwell. ‘Mr and Mrs Coates have already signed, as you see. All you need do is to sign on the line below.’

Clarissa’s fingers trembled as she dipped the pen in the ink. She signed her name but as she wrote the last letter, the nib crossed and splattered a blot.

‘Never mind,’ said Mr Galton, snatching the papers from her, ‘it’s still legal.’

‘My daughter is to be called Adelaide Margaret now,’ said Mrs Coates. ‘Give her to me, please.’

Clarissa kissed the flaxen down on Lily’s head. Her baby was going to a new family where she wouldn’t look like any of them. She’d always be the odd one out. A sob rose up in her throat. Dora touched her hand and Clarissa looked up and saw the question in her eyes.

The uproar in her head suddenly quieted and she clutched Lily protectively in her arms. ‘My daughter’s name is Lily,’ she said in clear tones. ‘And she’s coming home again with me.’

‘No!’ whispered Mrs Coates.

Dora reared to her feet and plucked the signed papers from Mr Galton’s fingers. Ripping them in half, she threw them on the fire.

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