Page 92 of The Secret Christmas Library
Bonnie shook her head, and the other two looked stricken. ‘She died. Years ago. Breast cancer,’ said Bonnie, shortly.
‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ said Theo.
‘Your grandfather was very good to us,’ said Bonnie. ‘Left us the cottage. Left the trust for me. It’s why I still work here.’
They looked at her.
‘His room,’ said Mirren suddenly. ‘His lovely room. Fire, and pictures, and cosiness, and no dust or anything. You made it lovely.’
Bonnie smiled sadly. ‘I wanted to.’
Jamie looked confused.
‘The night – the one night I went out,’ said Bonnie, going white suddenly. ‘That was the worst night of my life. Apartfrom when I lost my gran. You don’t know. None of you really knew him. He was the best, kindest man I ever met in my life.’
Theo looked confused.
‘So how could we . . . what does he mean? Did he know she died?’
‘Of course,’ said Bonnie. ‘He was never the same after that. Not that anybody asked, or cared. He started hoarding, piling stuff up. He was obviously grieving, obviously deeply sad.’
Mirren looked at Jamie, who had come to exactly the same thought at the same point. He nodded, and rooted in the box by the side of the table. He pulled out one of the letters from the bedroom and held it up.
‘Bonnie,’ he said gently, ‘is this your grandmother’s handwriting?’
Bonnie looked at the letter and grew very pink.
‘Of course,’ she said. ‘And I don’t think you should be reading them.’
‘How old was she when your mother was born?’ said Esme, trying to soften her demanding tone.
‘None of your fucking business,’ said Bonnie. And with this, she disappeared back into the scullery.
‘Bloody hell,’ said Theo.
‘Run towards Joy?’ said Jamie. ‘He must mean . . . I wonder. Bonnie took the smaller cottage after Mrs Airdrie died . . . we thought it was being kept for other staff. Who never came, of course.’
‘Hang on,’ said Theo. ‘You know what this implies.’
‘If she was . . . I mean, Bonnie’s mum wouldn’t have had to work as a skivvy, would she, if she was the laird’s daughter?’ said Mirren. ‘That would be really . . . I mean. That wouldn’t happen. Would it?’
Esme and Jamie looked at her.
‘Bloody hell,’ said Jamie.
‘What?’
‘Bonnie’s mumdidn’twork here. She was sent away to school; we never knew how or why. She got a great job in Aberdeen. It was always a surprise that Bonnie loved being back here so much – that she ended up spending all her holidays and most of her childhood with her grandmother. Nobody was more surprised than us when she applied for the job when her grandmother retired . . . ’ His voice tailed off. ‘We grew up together.’
‘You behave as if you used to date sometimes,’ said Mirren.
‘Do we?’ He looked confused.
‘Or . . . like family?’
Jamie laughed ruefully. ‘Oh, my God,’ he said.
‘And nobody knew?’
