Page 49 of The Pearl Sister
‘That might be so, but this wedding is important to Mother. So, we shall tell her and Aunt Florence this very evening.’
Kitty nodded, then turned away from him and walked upstairs, knowing her eyes were brimming with tears. When she arrived in her room, she threw herself on the bed and sobbed, because everything she had believed about her father wishing to get rid of her for good had just been proved right.
* * *
On the morning of her wedding to Andrew a month later, Kitty stood in front of the long mirror in her wedding dress. Edith had indeed pulled strings, and she was wearing a white gown fit for a princess. Her waist had been cinched into a whisper of itself, and the high neck set off her auburn hair, which Agnes had piled fetchingly on top of her head. The rich Alengon lace was bedecked in hundreds of small pearls that gleamed and sparkled with the slightest move.
‘Ye look beautiful, Miss Kitty. I’m wanting to cry . . .’ said Agnes as she straightened the tulle veil over Kitty’s shoulders.
‘Good morning, Kitty.’
Kitty saw the reflection of Edith walking into the room behind her.
‘Good morning.’
‘Doesn’t she look a picture, m’um?’ said Agnes, wiping her nose.
‘She does indeed,’ Edith replied stiffly, as if it hurt her to say the words. ‘May I have a word with Katherine alone?’
‘O’ course, m’um.’
Agnes scuttled out of the room.
‘I came to wish you good luck, Katherine,’ said Edith, walking around her daughter-in-law to be, checking the dress was perfect.
‘Thank you.’
‘I once knew your father when I was much younger. I met him at a ball in the Highlands. I believed that he was as smitten with me as I was with him. But then, your father always was a charmer, as I’m sure you’re aware.’
Kitty’s heart began to beat faster. She did not reply, knowing Edith had more to say.
‘Of course, I was wrong. It transpired that he was not only a charmer, but a chancer. A cad who enjoyed seducing women, and once he had done with them, he would move on to the next. To put it bluntly, I was left high and dry by him. I will not go into detail, but along with breaking my heart, he almost ruined my reputation. I . . . well, suffice to say that if it hadn’t been for Stefan arriving from Australia and us meeting by chance in London – and him having no knowledge of any . . . “notoriety” I had acquired – my future prospects would have been ruined.’
Deep breaths,Kitty ordered herself as she felt the heat of both embarrassment and shock prickling on the skin beneath her dress.
‘I can assure you, what I am telling you is true. I hope you can understand why I was less than pleased when my sister wrote to me telling me you were accompanying her and that I had to welcome you into my home. For of course, the truth of the matter was brushed under the carpet and my sister had no idea of what her sainted Ralph had done to me. And now . . .’ Edith came to stand in front of her. ‘You – his daughter – are to marry my eldest son, and we are to be related. The irony is not lost on me, as I’m sure it isn’t on your father.’
Kitty looked down at the yards of white lace pooling about her elegantly slippered feet. ‘Why are you telling me this?’ she whispered.
‘Because you are joining our family and I want no further secrets between us. And also to warn you that if you ever hurt my son the way your father hurt me, I will hunt you down and destroy you. Do you understand?’
‘I do.’
‘Well, that is all I have to say. I can only hope that you have your mother’s nature. My sister tells me she is such a sweet woman and very stoic. In retrospect, I have realised I had a lucky escape, for I am sure that your mother has suffered during her marriage to that man, just as I did.Him!A minister?!’ Edith chuckled hoarsely, but then, seeing Kitty’s obvious distress, regained her composure. ‘Now then, Kitty, we will never mention the subject again.’ Edith moved closer and kissed her tentatively on both cheeks. ‘You look beautiful, my dear. Welcome to the Mercer family.’
CeCe
Phra Nang Beach, Krabi, Thailand
January 2008
Aboriginal symbol
for a honey ant site
11
Ace stretched his arms wide and yawned, dropping the book onto the sofa. I sat up, mulling over the story I had just heard.
