Page 3 of Brix

“He’s working on it, babe. He’s working on it.”

CHAPTER TWO

Daphne Patricia Bishop didn’t really understand what was happening in the courtroom. She was only five, and her sister, Cassandra, was four. They held hands tightly, hoping that someone would tell them why they were there. She had fleeting memories before this, but they seemed jumbled together, cloudy and strange.

“Daphne, Cassandra, would you step forward, please?” asked the man in the black dress.

“Yes, sir.” Their voices echoed in the room.

“Dears, Lord and Lady Bishop would like to adopt you both and raise you in their very fine estate in the country. Would you like that?”

“Does this mean our parents aren’t coming back for us?” asked Daphne.

“No, my darling. They can’t come back,” said the man with a sad face.

Daphne kind of knew that. They’d been told that their parents died in a boating accident. Daphne didn’t know what that meant, but she knew the word ‘died.’ They weren’t coming home.

“Will Lord and Lady Bishop be kind to us?” asked Cassandra.

“Yes, my darling girl. They will be exceptionally kind to you. Lord Bishop is a very prosperous man. You’ll have a fine home, fine clothing, and go to the best schools. You’ll have every advantage.”

“Alright,” said Daphne.

She didn’t know what would happen if she had said ‘no thank you,’ but she knew that this would be better than staying in the girls’ side of the orphans’ home. Lord and Lady Bishop were black. That didn’t bother Daphne or Cassandra. Their parents taught them to respect all people, no matter their color, country, religion, or politics.

Neither girl really knew what that meant, but they knew they were to be kind to everyone.

It was a day that changed their lives forever. Exactly what they’d been told came true. They were given luxury living conditions, clothing that every little girl dreams of, the best schools, and so much more.

Lord and Lady Bishop were unable to have children of their own and had prayed for the opportunity to adopt children. This was their opportunity.

The family vacationed in the south of France, shopped at Harrods, and visited the shops on King’s Road and Bond Street. The girls were even told that although they would get college educations, they didn’t have to work. They would have enormous trust funds, they would live in homes just like their own, and they would marry one of England’s most eligible men.

Their only objective was to provide heirs for their parents.

When Cassandra started to frequently get sick, then became critically ill at just sixteen, they all thought it could easily be cured with antibiotics or other treatments. It was just not to be. A disease that couldn’t be named, an unknown virus, was attacking her body. It came in swiftly and, just as swiftly, took her life.

Her father was in London more and more on business, her mother called him every day to give updates on Cassandra’s condition. In the end, it didn’t matter. She was gone.

It was devastating for their family and changed Daphne’s life forever. Not just because she lost her sister, but because now she was the sole hope for continuing on the Bishop family name.

Her parents, especially her mother, never let her forget it.

“I was able to see some spectacular pieces at the auction house today,” she smiled, taking a bite of the lamb at dinner. “Mrs. Ferguson has offered me a full-time position when I finish my exams at university.”

“You won’t need that, Daphne,” smiled her mother.

“Yes, I will,” she said, looking at her parents. “I plan to have a career and live somewhere in London. I’ll come home every weekend, I promise. But I want a life of my own, a career of my own. I don’t just want to be a trophy wife for some man I barely know.”

“Daphne, you know what is required of you,” said her father. “We’ve never asked anything of you except this. What will happen to all of this if you don’t provide an heir for us?”

Daphne didn’t know why his statement gutted her, but it did. She knew the expectation, and she didn’t want to disappoint them, but she also wanted a life of her own. It was only three weeks later that her parents threw a party on the pretense of celebrating her graduation from university.

It was all a lie.

Men, young and old, were paraded by her with formal introductions. It wasn’t until the tenth or eleventh one that she knew.

“You’re introducing me to potential husbands,” she whispered to her mother.

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