Forgotten Child

by Kitty Neale

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me about Erin?’

  At last Edward found his voice. ‘Your mother would only agree to adopting one of you.’

  ‘Oh, so it’s her fault that you left my sister behind?’

  ‘Yes, it is. I’m afraid I had no choice.’

  ‘It would have been kinder to leave us together. At least then a family might have come along who’d adopt both of us, Erin’s for instance. The woman who adopted her would never have separated us.’

  ‘Jenny tells me that you’re a distant relative,’ said Erin.

  ‘Yes, that’s right,’ Edward said, feeling now as though he was drowning in his own lies.

  ‘Tis strange that she couldn’t find any trace of them.’

  ‘I…I thought they lived in Dray.’

  ‘Yes, and you thought the home you adopted Jenny from was in the Limerick area. Strange too, when according to my mother it was in County Cork.’

  ‘Dad, I think you lied to me, but why?’ Jenny asked.

  Edward shook his head, unable to answer Jenny.

  ‘Please, Dad, both Erin and I deserve the truth.’

  He looked at his daughters, so alike, so beautiful and saw that their eyes were so like their mother’s, a woman he had betrayed. How could he tell them that? Jenny was right though, after all she had been through, she did deserve the truth, but it could mean that he could lose his daughters for ever. After what he had done perhaps it was no more than he deserved, but still he fought to find words to redeem himself if only in some small way. He just hoped he could soften it somehow. ‘Please, both of you sit down. I have something to tell you.’

  They did so in unison, sitting side by side on a sofa. ‘I…I’m more than a distant relative. I…I’m your father.’

  ‘What? You mean our real father?’ This burst of words from Erin, but Jenny remained silent, in total shock.

  ‘I’m not proud of this, but I…well, I had an affair with your mother. When she told me she was pregnant, I panicked, and I’m afraid I abandoned her.’

  ‘But why?’ Erin asked.

  ‘I was married, with a baby already–Robin, my son–but as the months passed I was plagued with guilt about your mother. I went back, intending to at least offer financial support, but I was too late and she wasn’t there. Fortunately she had left me a letter, telling me she had gone back to Ireland, that she was going into a home to have her baby.’

  ‘Yes, one for unmarried mothers,’ Jenny said bitterly, recovering enough now to speak.

  ‘I went there to find her, but couldn’t get any information until I confessed I was the father. It was only then that I was told your mother had died giving birth to you both.’

  ‘Did she know that you were married?’ asked Erin.

  ‘No, she thought I was single.’

  ‘So you lied to her?’

  ‘Yes, I’m afraid so…But, believe me, I’m not proud of what I did.’

  ‘So when you found out that she’d died giving birth, you came back to England and lied to Delia too, fabricated a story about our mother being a distant relative?’

  ‘Yes, but as I said, she would only agree to adopt one of you, leaving me with an agonising choice. You were identical, and it was almost impossible, but in the end a nun picked you up Jenny and the decision was made for me.’

  ‘I can’t believe they agreed to separate us.’

  ‘Well they did,’ he said, unwilling to admit that he’d had to leave a substantial donation to the home before it was made possible.

  Both girls were staring at him, both white-faced. Unable to bear the look on their faces he fled the room, mumbling an excuse that he had to go to the bathroom.

  Jenny was staggered and she could see that Erin was too. As the shock subsided, anger rose, anger at what their father had done. She surged to her feet.

  ‘Erin, I can’t bear to look at him now. I’m going. Are you coming with me?’

  ‘Yes, let’s go.’

  Jenny was still so angry that she slammed the door behind them. She had driven only a short distance before she had to pull up, to find that as she looked across at Erin, her twin had tears in her eyes too.

  ‘I…I just can’t take it in,’ Erin said.

  ‘Nor me.’

  ‘’Tis dreadful to think about what he did to our mother.’

  ‘I know, and I can’t seem to find any excuses for him.’

  ‘Jenny, do you realise that we look a lot like him?’

  ‘Yes, but I always thought it was because we were related, however distantly,’ Jenny said. ‘I wonder now if Delia guessed and that’s why she treated me so badly.’

  ‘She shouldn’t have taken it out on you. ’Twasn’t your fault that he lied to her.’

  ‘Erin, I still can’t take it all in and I’m not sure that I ever want to see our father again.’

  ‘I feel the same at the moment, but he is our Dada, Jenny.’

  ‘Yes, and that means that Robin is our halfbrother.’

  ‘What is he like?’

  ‘He’s nice, you’ll like him. I doubt he knows about this and he’s in for a shock. We’ll have to arrange to meet him.’

  ‘I’d like that, but it’ll have to be soon, Jenny. You know I’m going back to Ireland next week, and though I don’t like my job in a café I can’t afford to take more time off. What about you? What are you going to do and where will you live?’

  ‘I don’t know, but I suppose I should start looking for a flat, and eventually a job,’ Jenny said. ‘For now though, let’s find somewhere to eat and to stay for the night.’

  It was only later, lying in bed in yet another hotel, that Jenny had an idea. Could it work? Yes, perhaps, but it needed a lot more thought before she put it to Erin.

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  When Jenny and Erin met up with Robin, they found out that he already knew the truth.

  ‘I was shocked too when Dad told me. I think he guessed you’d get in touch with me, but he wanted me to hear it from him. I know he’s sorry and that he isn’t proud of what he did, but it’s still a bit hard to swallow. My mother suspected the truth and it’s why she made your life a misery–that and perhaps guilt that she would only agree to adopt one of you.’

  ‘It’s all so awful, Robin.’

  ‘I know, but I think they are both genuinely sorry.’

  ‘I’m not sure I can forgive either of them,’ Jenny said.

  ‘Jenny, but perhaps we should try,’ Erin advised. ‘If we don’t we may become bitter and the past will ruin our future.’

  ‘It seems your twin has a wise head on her shoulders,’ Robin said. ‘Don’t forget that Dad made a fool of my mother, but she’s managed to move on. She’s made a new life for herself and has started a business, one that already looks as if it’s going to be successful.’

  ‘Well, bully for her,’ Jenny snapped.

  ‘See what I mean,’ said Erin.

  At last Jenny smiled. ‘All right, point taken.’

  ‘Robin, you just have to know how to handle her,’ Erin said. ‘Now tell me, how does it feel to have two sisters?’

  ‘I suppose I’ll just have to put up with it,’ Robin said, grinning widely. ‘Now tell me, what are your plans?’

  ‘I have to go back to Ireland soon,’ Erin said.

  ‘How about keeping in touch? We could ring each other or write.’

  ‘Yes, I’d like that.’

  ‘What about you, Jenny?’ Robin asked.

  ‘I’m not sure what I’ll be doing yet, but I’ll let you know.’

  ‘And Dad?’

  ‘I’d like to talk to him again before I go back to Ireland,’ Erin said.

  Jenny pulled a face. ‘I’m not sure that I want to see him again just yet, but you can ring him if you want to. I haven’t got his telephone number, but no doubt Robin can give it to you.’

  He did, and an hour later they parted, hugging and agreeing to keep in touch. ‘He’s nice. I like him,’ Erin said as Jenny drove back to
the hotel that they had stayed in close to Richmond where they had met up with Robin.

  ‘Yes, he is,’ Jenny agreed. Robin had asked her about her plans, but she hadn’t revealed what she had in mind.

  That night, Jenny lay in bed going over her idea again. ‘Erin, are you still awake?’

  ‘Yes, I am. I’ve been laying here dreading the thought of going back to Ireland without you. I’m going to miss you so much.’

  ‘I’ve been feeling the same about you, but I’ve had an idea. I still have quite a bit of money in the bank, and along with the sale of my jewellery, it may be enough for us to start something up a little business together. In Ireland of course.’

  ‘Oh, Jenny, that sounds great, but what sort of business?’

  ‘At first I considered a bookshop, but as I haven’t had any experience in running one, it’s not something I feel confident about. However, we’ve both worked in a cafe so how about something like that, perhaps a nice little tea room.’

  ‘Yes, I like the sound of that.’

  ‘To make a decent profit it would have to be somewhere that’s popular with tourists.’

  Erin sat up, switched her bedside light on, her grin wide. ‘How about in the place that brought us together?’

  Kilkee! Oh, yes, that would be perfect,’ Jenny cried.

  ‘I can’t wait to get started, and as we’ll be together, I’m sure my Mammy won’t mind if I leave home, especially with my Aunt Corinne on the doorstep to keep an eye on me.’

  ‘I’ll be able to see Maeve and her father too, and even better, Nuala when she comes to visit them,’ Jenny enthused.

  ‘In that case it seems to me that Kilkee is going to be the perfect place for us,’ Erin said, then yawning.

  ‘Yes, I think so too, but I think we both need to get some sleep now.’

  ‘All right, but though I’m tired I think I might be too excited to sleep.’

  Jenny felt the same, but as Erin turned off the light, she closed her eyes, at last drifting off to sleep, content in the knowledge that she and Erin were going to remain together. She just hoped it would be for a long, long time.

  Had Jenny been able to see into the future, she would have seen that many, many years of happiness stretched ahead for both her and Erin. The tea room would be successful, and even when they both married, they would continue to run it together, the sisters now that they had found each other, inseparable.

  THE END

  In Conversation with Kitty Neale

  If you were stranded on a desert island, which book would you take with you?

  I’d be hopeless in that situation, so perhaps a book giving tips on how to survive.

  Where does your inspiration come from?

  It usually comes when I imagine a character and a situation they are in, but there have been occasions when the memory of a place triggers off a story, such as Drapers Alley in Family Betrayal.

  Have you always wanted to become a writer?

  With my childhood background and education, it wouldn’t have been mentioned or encouraged so no, I’m afraid not. I loved reading, but it would never have occurred to me that I could become a writer.

  What’s the strangest job you’ve ever had?

  Goodness, now you’ve stumped me. I’ve had a variety of jobs, but I can’t say that any of them were strange. I met some strange people along the way though which has made the journey fascinating.

  When you’re not writing, what are your favourite things to do?

  I love meeting friends for lunch, swimming and lazing by the pool in the summer with a good book, and of course…SHOPPING!

  What is a typical working day like for you? Have you ever had writer’s block? If so, how did you cope with it?

  I start work at around 10am and my first job is to edit the previous day’s writing. I then carry on, and if the story is flowing well I usually lose all sense of time. There have been occasions when my hubby will stick his head in the door to ask if we are eating today. As for writer’s block, if I’m not having a particularly good day, I find it best to stop for what I call thinking time. I take a break, relax for a while, do something else, and then I find the story begins to unfold in my mind again.

  Do you have any secret ambitions?

  I’d love to see one of my books made into a TV drama or into a film, but as most writers probably want the same thing, I don’t suppose it can be called a secret ambition.

  What can’t you live without?

  My family and friends–a bathroom (I’d be no good in a tent)–my computer or at least a typewriter (my handwriting is dreadful and after a few sentences illegible).

  When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

  From the first time I saw one, I wanted to be a ballet dancer.

  Which five people, living or dead, would you invite to a dinner party?

  Billy Connolly Stephen Fry Princess Di Bill Clinton Gloria Hunniford

  About the Author

  FORGOTTEN CHILD

  Kitty Neale was raised in South London and this working-class area became the inspiration for her novels. In the 1980s she moved to Surrey with her husband and two children, but in 1998 there was a catalyst in her life when her son died, aged just 27. After joining other bereaved parents in a support group, Kitty was inspired to take up writing and her books have been Sunday Times bestsellers.

  Kitty now lives in Spain with her husband.

  To find out more about Kitty go to www.kittyneale.co.uk.

  Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.

  By the Same Author:

  Lost Angel

  Nobody’s Girl

  Sins of the Father

  Family Betrayal

  Desperate Measures

  Lost and Found

  Copyright

  This novel is entirely a work of fiction.

  The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

  AVON

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  FIRST EDITION

  First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2010

  Copyright © Kitty Neale 2010

  Kitty Neale asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

  A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

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  EPub Edition © JUNE 2010 ISBN: 978-0-007-39942-0

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