Page 90 of Secrets at the Last House Before the Sea

‘No, but our families had an understanding.’

‘An understanding?’ spluttered Rosie. ‘We’re talking about the late 1980s, not the 1800s.’

‘My family did things differently. They followed a different code and I was brought up to do the right thing within it.’

‘And falling in love with my mum didn’t fit into their plans.’

‘Certainly not. That’s why we kept our relationship as secret as possible. We met clandestinely and planned our future but it all went wrong when Evelyn died in the car accident. My parents were completely destroyed with grief. We all were, and I couldn’t be selfish and add to the damage.’

‘And you viewed being in a relationship with my mother as damage?’

‘I didn’t, but my family would have.’ He closed his eyes briefly. ‘To be brutally honest, your mother was strong enough to cope with the inevitable fall-out but I wasn’t.’

‘Would the inevitable fall-out have included being disinherited? You might have been happy to live at Driftwood House, but only until this place became available to you.’

That was something she hadn’t meant to say and it elicited a sharp intake of breath from Charles.

‘My family affairs are not your business, and you know very well what happened next. I broke off my relationship with your mother.’

‘You broke off your engagement. You’d promised to marry her:“The thought of our wedding day, and spending the rest of my life with you, fills me with joy.” That’s what you said in the letter.’

Charles went pale at that and Rosie was glad. Her mother must have been devastated by her fiancé’s betrayal, and it wasn’t only her mother he’d deceived. ‘When did Cecilia know about my mum?’

‘Not at the time, but I told her later when she needed to understand the agreement regarding Driftwood House.’

‘The house that was my mum’s consolation prize.’

‘It was never that. I cared about your mother and wanted to make sure she always had a roof over her head. I wanted to—’

‘—do the right thing?’ Did that sound sarcastic? Rosie certainly hoped so. No wonder Cecilia was so keen to see Driftwood House reduced to rubble.

‘I wanted to do the right thing, yes. We used to meet on the cliffs and your mother loved that house, so I bought it when it came up for sale. It was going to be a surprise. I imagined the two of us living there, but then Evelyn died and everything changed.’

‘And now you’re taking the house back because Mum is dead and you don’t have to pretend to care any more.’

Charles flinched at that. ‘I’m not proud of my behaviour back then. But I didn’t pretend to care about your mother.’

‘Did you stay in touch?’

‘That wouldn’t have been fair on any of us. Your mother resumed her relationship with your father and married him almost immediately. And Cecilia and I moved to be near her parents in Northumberland after our wedding and only returned to Devon ten years ago when my father died.’

‘When you inherited this amazing house.’

‘That is correct.’ Charles’s mouth drew into a tight line. ‘I think we’ve said all that needs to be said. I truly am sorry about your mother but Cecilia is right that it’s time to draw a line under all of this and proceed with our hotel plan. The link has been broken.’

‘For you, maybe.’

‘What do you mean by that?’

‘I mean…’ Rosie hesitated. Once the words were out she couldn’t take them back, and she wasn’t sure she wanted this cold man in her life.

‘Meaning what exactly?’ repeated Charles.

A clock chimed in the far reaches of the house, its tone deep and melancholic.

‘I think you might be my father.’

It was said. Silence stretched between Rosie and Charles, sticky as treacle. A sudden gust of wind swirled through the potted plants beyond the French windows, and Rosie thought of Liam. What would he think of her being so closely related to this man?

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