Declan began by asking, “Where’s Will?”
My mother looked at all of us, one by one. “He’s not coming back. We’re annulling the marriage.”
“Oh really?” I asked. “You’ve been together for a while now. He has some legal rights, I suppose.”
She nodded. “As I’ve just been reminded by his lawyer.”
“Will’s already sent a legal rep?” Savanah’s surprise matched my own, casting a shadow over a man I’d thought to be trustworthy and loyal.
“Tell us about our half-sister,” Declan said, cutting to the chase. “And is she really that?”
My mother rose from the large oval table and walked to the windowed doors that looked out to the shimmering pool. With a storm coming, the darkened sky itself seemed to droop as if weighed down by this sudden tension gripping our family.
She turned and scanned our faces before returning her attention downwards. Her hands trembled slightly. I’d never seen her so hesitant and downcast.
“I had a daughter when I was seventeen. That daughter is Bethany, and she’s somehow tracked me down.”
“Tracked you down? You sound like a criminal,” Savanah said with a dark chuckle.
Ignoring Savanah’s weak attempt at levity, my mother took a breath. “I was young. I wasn’t ready to be a mother, so I had her adopted.”
“You didn’t look for her?” Declan asked tightly.
She shook her head. “I wanted to wash my hands of it, to be honest.”
“Is Crisp the father?” I asked.
Savanah’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. “Oh my god, Mum. He’s the father?”
My mother’s face distorted into a look of confusion as though she hadn’t understood.
“Weren’t you an item?” Savanah persisted.
My mother knitted her fingers and nodded ever so slightly. Once again, she couldn’t look us in the eyes, like she was ashamed.
“If it’s Crisp, you can tell us. He’s hitting on Manon, you realise? That’s potential incest,” Savanah said.
My mother turned around abruptly. “What do you mean?” Her face lit up in alarm. I looked at Declan, noticing how pale he looked suddenly.
“He was spotted sleazing onto her. Apparently, Drake pushed him away, and Rey fell on the ground. It was quite the scene. Wish I was there.” Savanah sniffed.
“So Crisp is the father?” Declan’s impatient tone was justified.
“What?” It was like my mother had lost consciousness and had only just realised the question. She shook her head repeatedly. “He isnotthe father.” She grimaced as though we’d suggested she’d had an affair with a devil. A very appropriate analogy, given Reynard Crisp was the subject.
“Then who’s the father?” Declan asked.
“Was,” she replied soberly. “He’s dead, and hopefully rotting in hell.”
Her icy tone sent a chilly shiver through me.
Savanah’s face crumpled into shock. “Did he force you?”
Wringing her hands, my mother nodded slowly as though admitting to a crime.
“Did you report him?” Declan’s voice quivered.
“Out of respect to my foster mother, I didn’t.”