Page 155 of The Christmas Invitation
Henry said, into the stunned silence, ‘George had lied about Nessa being of age and other details on the marriage licence and he told her that made it illegal.’
‘It only occurred to her later to wonder if ithadbeen legal or not,’ Clara said. ‘Of course, it was, as I’m sure George realized, but I expect he thought no one would ever find out. And he never knew about Nessa’s baby.’
‘It’s all true!’ wailed Sybil suddenly. ‘I found the certificate among Daddy’s papers after he died, though something he’d said towards the end made me wonder …’
‘But Piers knew?’ Lex said.
She nodded. ‘He was actually at the wedding and it was his sister’s flat they went to afterwards. And then, when Daddy died, Piers told me he knew, but that he’d keep it a secret for my sake, and for Mark’s.’
‘And then proceeded to blackmail you,’ said Tottie. ‘What a rotter!’
This old-fashioned term seemed to sum Piers up perfectly: rotten to the core.
‘Piers didn’t put it like that. It was more that I’d be helping out Daddy’s old friend, by having him to stay and—’
‘Bleeding you for increasingly large sums of money?’ suggested Lex grimly.
‘How horrible for you, Sybil,’ said Zelda sympathetically. I don’t think she’d quite grasped the implications of this newsyet, but I had begun to, and I could see from his face that Mark had, too.
‘When Meg turned up and we worked out who she was – though of coursewethought her mother was illegitimate – you realized it would give Piers an even bigger lever for his blackmail,’ said Clara.
Tears were now running down Sybil’s face and she was wringing her hands. ‘Yes, because Meg became such a threat to Mark’s inheritance! Since her mother had disappeared years ago I thoughtshewas probably dead, so that just left Meg. And then, I thought—’
She came to an abrupt stop and did that hand-wringing thing again, staring at me from wide, anguished blue eyes. Doome eyes.
‘Yes, we know what you thought, Sybil,’ said Clara. ‘That it would be better if you got rid of Meg. So you tried to push her over the steep drop on the bonfire ledge, on the night of the Solstice.’
‘What on earth do you mean, Clara?’ Mark demanded angrily. ‘Mum couldn’t possibly have—’
He came to a sudden stop as Sybil just looked up and said quietly to Clara, ‘How did you know?’
‘I was certain someone had shoved me,’ I explained, ‘though I’d no idea who. But then, you were wearing that very distinctive perfume again the other night and I realized later that it wasn’t the Gathering it was associated with in my mind, but the moment you tried to kill me.’
‘You mean, you reallydidtry to push Meg off the hill, Mum?’ demanded Mark incredulously, going white.
‘Now, now, Mark, we’re sure it was simply the instantly regretted impulse of the moment,’ said Henry soothingly.
‘I thought I was protecting you, darling. I was confused and didn’t know where to turn,’ pleaded Sybil.
‘You should have told me the truth the moment you found that wedding certificate. Then none of this would have happened,’ Mark told her.
‘I … expect I should.’ Her voice quivered and Tottie put an arm round her shoulders.
‘Steady, Syb!’ she said, as if Sybil was a nervous horse. It seemed to have the right effect, for she sat up straighter.
‘I deeply regret it, Meg. I didn’t really mean to do it, but something desperate came over me. It must have been a moment of madness, for I was totally appalled the second I’d done it.’
But not, I thought, appalled enough to stop and see if I actually had fallen over. But then, I suppose the instinct for self-preservation had kicked in and she’d darted off ahead of the others down the path.
‘Youmusthave been mad, because it would have been a much better idea to try and kill Piers off, instead,’ Clara pointed out. ‘Still, Lex luckily spotted Meg hanging on to that gorse bush for dear life, and came to her rescue.’
‘My hero,’ I said to him, trying to lighten the mood.
‘I didn’t believe anyone had pushed you at first, though, Meg,’ he said. ‘It seemed so incredible.’
Sybil shuddered and said, ‘I went back to Underhill, not knowing what had happened, and it was such a relief when you walked into the Gathering, Meg. And then I thought Mark seemed to be seriously interested in you and that perhaps you’d get married, and then … well, that would make everything all right.’
Mark turned slightly pink and Zelda looked at him quizzically.
