by Joanna Neil
Amber breathed in deeply. She had no idea what had been going on in Martyn’s mind, but it was obvious that Ethan still had doubts as to his motives. She could only hope that the reading of the will would make everything clear, and that the uncertainty could be cleared up once and for all.
CHAPTER TEN
‘NOW we come to the main bequests,’ the solicitor said, addressing the people who were gathered together in the reception room. He had been talking for over an hour already, dealing mainly with issues concerning the continued running of the plantation, the various overseas assets and the gifts and legacies that Martyn had bequeathed to distant family members. Molly and Ben had each inherited a good-sized sum of money and one of the bungalows on the estate. Amber’s name had not been mentioned so far, and she was beginning to wonder if Ethan had made a mistake when he had asked her to be there.
Perhaps he simply wanted her to support him through this final ordeal. Hearing Martyn’s wishes laid out this way had been difficult, because it was as though he was still speaking to them, letting them know how much he cherished each and every one of them.
Ethan learned that he was to inherit a large chunk of the business, along with a sizeable fortune and the house that they were sitting in at this moment. It meant that he was the main shareholder, owning around sixty-five per cent of the whole.
Amber was startled by that information. Why would Martyn have left Ethan the house? Shouldn’t it have gone to Caitlin? Perhaps it was because of the land that went with it…as a member of the Brookes family, and half-owner of the plantation, maybe it was his true inheritance.
Caitlin was to have another portion of the business, amounting to some seventeen and a half per cent. She, too, was given a sizeable fortune, and her trust fund was to be opened up so that she would have an amount to live on each year. There were also various properties left to her.
‘Last, but not least, Mr Wyndham Brookes has made provision for Amber Shaw,’ the solicitor said. ‘Miss Shaw, for you there is the remaining seventeen and a half per cent of the business, and the bungalow in which you are living at present. There is also a sum of money.’
Amber was already struggling to take in what the solicitor was saying. When he mentioned the amount of money that was to be hers, the colour drained from her face and she thought that she was going to faint. She sucked in a shaky breath. Surely the solicitor had it all wrong? It was someone else who had inherited this fortune, not her.
Caitlin had gasped as the last part of the will was being read out. Amber saw the shock on her face, and when she looked towards Ethan, she saw that he, too, was stunned. His jaw was set in a rigid line, as though he couldn’t quite take it in.
The solicitor was still speaking. ‘There is a letter for you, Dr Shaw. Mr Wyndham Brookes suggested that you might want to read it in private.’
‘There has to be some mistake,’ Amber said. ‘Why would Martyn leave me anything at all? Perhaps there’s been a mix-up over the name?’
He shook his head and gave a brief smile. ‘There is no mistake. I believe you will find that everything is explained in the letter.’
The solicitor looked towards Caitlin and Ethan. ‘There are letters for both of you, as well. Mr Wyndham Brookes felt that you should know something of the reasoning behind these legacies.’
Amber was shaking as she accepted the envelope from the solicitor. All about her the meeting was breaking up as people went to help themselves to more coffee or stood about in small groups, talking to one another.
‘If there is anything you want to ask, or you need any help at all, please get in touch with me,’ the solicitor said. He handed her an embossed card. ‘My number…You can reach me during office hours with that, but my mobile number is on the card, as well, in case you have a problem at any other time.’
‘Thank you.’
She got to her feet and straightened up. Caitlin was wearing a bemused expression, and Amber felt she needed to go over to her. She had to let her know that she had no idea what Martyn had intended.
‘Caitlin, this has all come as a huge shock to me. I didn’t know this was in his mind. I can’t explain it.’
Caitlin nodded. ‘I’m not really concerned about the inheritance, or the money side of things but, as you say, it has come as a shock to all of us.’
Amber looked at Ethan. ‘Perhaps you should read this letter with me. I’ve nothing to hide. I can’t begin to imagine what it says.’
He shook his head. ‘He said it would be best if you went somewhere to read it in private. You should do that, and maybe we can talk later. We’ve all had a lot to take in this afternoon.’ He glanced at Caitlin. ‘Are you all right? I know this has been difficult for you.’
Caitlin gave him a watery smile. ‘I think I need to go and walk outside for a while with James. I feel as though my father’s presence is all around, and I still can’t get used to the fact that he isn’t coming back.’
Ethan nodded, and watched her leave the room with James at her side. He turned back to Amber. ‘I have to go and talk to the rest of the family. Perhaps you and I could meet up in an hour or so and talk things through?’
‘Yes, that sounds like a good idea. I’ll go back to the bungalow. Like Caitlin said, it’s all a bit overwhelming here right now.’
She left the house and walked along the path to the bungalow. It was inconceivable that Martyn would have left it to her. What had he been thinking?
She went into her sitting-room and sat down on the sofa, staring down at the envelope that was still clutched in her fingers. Would the letter tell her everything she wanted to know? What had been going through Martyn’s mind when he’d made that extraordinary bequest?
She carefully tore open the envelope and drew out the sheet of paper inside. Martyn’s bold, black handwriting filled the page.
My dear Amber, you’re probably very puzzled right now, and wondering what this inheritance is all about.
I’ll try to explain. The truth of the matter goes back many years, to when I lived in London and our offices were near what is now the Docklands area. We needed the services of an advertising company, and your mother came along to do a presentation for us. I was completely knocked out by her. She was stunning, and I fell for her, hook, line and sinker. We had only known each other for a short time when I was called back to Hawaii to take over the running of the plantation. I wanted your mother to come with me, but she wasn’t ready to take that step.
Anyway, we parted company, and I missed her. I wrote to her for a while, but then it became obvious that the distance between us was a huge barrier, and the letters petered out.
I didn’t have any more communication with her until after you and I met just a few months ago. I was very curious as to what had happened to her in the intervening years. In retrospect, I’m pleased that she married soon after I left for Hawaii all those years ago. I trust she’s had a happy marriage, and she must surely be proud that she has produced such a beautiful, intelligent and caring daughter.
I think it best if I leave it to your mother to explain the rest to you. Take this legacy I have given you and enjoy it. I’m so pleased to have met you, and come to know you, even though it has been for such a short time.
If you need help with anything in the future, you should look to Ethan. He has been like a son to me, and I know he is the one you should turn to for whatever you might need.
Take care of yourself, and have a happy future. Martyn
Amber read the letter over and over again. He had said so much, and yet so little. Why was he leaving it to her mother to tell her the rest? What more was there to tell?
She began to pace the room. It was astonishing to learn that he and her mother had fallen for one another all those years ago. But perhaps her mother had not had quite the same depth of feeling for Martyn, or maybe the thought of leaving home and travelling halfway across the world with him had been too much for her.
There was a soft tapping at her door, and Amber
pulled herself together and went to answer it.
Ethan stood there, looking at her guardedly, and she knew he must wonder what her letter contained.
‘Come into the sitting-room,’ she said. ‘I’ve opened the glass doors to let the ocean breeze into the house. It’s beautiful at this time of the day as the sun’s going down. I love looking out over the water.’
His gaze travelled over her. ‘Are you going to tell me what my uncle had to say? You don’t have to, of course, if you’d rather keep it private.’
‘Didn’t he explain things in his letter to you?’
He shook his head. ‘He simply said that he wanted us to treat you as part of the family. He asked Caitlin to think of you as a sister. For my part, he offered advice as to the best course of action for the future.’
She frowned. ‘What would that be?’
He gave a rueful smile. ‘Perhaps we should find out what’s actually going on here before we start looking into that. Are you going to tell me what he said, or is it something you need to keep secret?’
‘It isn’t a secret…but it isn’t anything I really understand, either.’ She handed him the letter.
He read it carefully, and then looked up, frowning as he studied her features. ‘He told me that you look very much like your mother did when she was your age,’ he said in a quiet voice.
‘Yes. That’s true, and maybe I reminded him of her. But why has he left so much to be guessed at? Why does he want me to talk to my mother about it?’
‘You don’t know?’
She gave a shuddery sigh. ‘I can guess…but the answer turns my world upside down, and I can’t believe that it could be true. Why hasn’t he said what he means in the letter?’
Ethan’s mouth made a wry shape. ‘I’d say that was typical of my uncle. He doesn’t want anyone to be hurt and so he’s leaving it to the one person who has most to lose to tell you the truth. That way it’s up to her as to how much anyone needs to know.’
Amber pressed her lips together. ‘So you think I’m actually his daughter? Where does that leave my father…the man I’ve always called my father? I don’t believe he has any idea about this, or surely he would have said something?’
She stared at Ethan, her eyes filling with tears. ‘What am I supposed to do? How can this possibly be true?’
Ethan handed her the phone. ‘There’s only one way to find out,’ he said. ‘Talk to your mother.’
She stared at the phone. Everything she had ever believed had been turned on its head. In just a few short hours the world, as she knew it, had changed. If her mother confirmed what Martyn had been hinting at, then she was truly his daughter. It meant that Caitlin was her half-sister. And Ethan, what did it mean for her and Ethan? Was Ethan her cousin?
A wave of nausea swamped her. She handed the phone back to him. ‘No, I can’t. I don’t want to know,’ she said. ‘I can’t handle this. Everything was going along reasonably well, and now it’s all gone wrong. It’s chaos. I don’t know who I am any more.’ She paced the room once more. ‘Besides, it must be early morning back home. I can’t ring, out of the blue, and disturb everyone.’
‘I expect it will be breakfast-time,’ he said, thrusting the phone back into her hand once more. ‘Didn’t you tell me your father leaves early for the surgery? It’s possible that your mother will be alone right now. This is probably the best time of all for you to call her.’ He looked at her. ‘You can do this, Amber. Deal with it now and find out the truth, otherwise you’ll be forever afraid of what you might find out.’
She could see the sense in what he was saying. Could she live her life not knowing if she and Ethan were related? This was something she had to clarify, no matter how painful the answers might be.
She dialled the number, and when her mother answered, she walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. She didn’t know whether Ethan followed her. All she knew was that making this phone call was one of the hardest things she’d ever had to do in her life.
‘Oh, Amber, I knew this would happen as soon as you told me he had passed away. I’ve been dreading this moment.’
‘So, is it true…what he’s hinting at? Am I really his daughter?’
Her mother’s voice broke. ‘Yes, it’s true.’ She gave a heavy, shaky sigh. ‘I should have said something before this. He called me and said he had spoken to the lawyers. I knew then I had to say something.’
‘But you didn’t. Why didn’t you tell me from the first?’ Amber was struggling to come to terms with what was happening. How could her mother have deceived her for so long?
‘I was afraid this would happen…that it would all come out,’ her mother said. There was a catch in her voice, and a soft note of resignation threaded through her words. ‘It was all such a long time ago now. He swept me off my feet, and I couldn’t think straight back then. He was like a whirlwind that blew through my life.’
‘But you must have let him go without telling him that you were pregnant.’ Amber frowned. ‘How could you do that?’
‘I didn’t know I was pregnant until after Martyn left the country. And then, when I found out, I was so scared. You need to understand that my parents were very strict, and they would never have understood or condoned a pregnancy outside marriage. By then, though, I’d already met your father. I had a job to do in Henley-on-Thames, and your father was working there. We fell in love, and he asked me to marry him.’
She hesitated. ‘He didn’t know about the baby…or about Martyn. I told him I’d been involved with someone before he came along, but that was all. I said it was over between me and this other man, and I wanted to tell him about the baby, but I was afraid that he wouldn’t understand. His parents were much the same as mine. They’d have thought very badly of me if they had realised the truth.’
‘Don’t you think my father would have guessed?’
Her mother sighed. ‘We were very young, and innocent, despite what you might think. I kept quiet and let everyone think that you were born prematurely…even your father. You were tiny, and he didn’t seem to suspect the truth. I felt really bad about deceiving him, but he loved you so much, and I couldn’t bear to hurt him by telling him how things really were. As time went on, it was harder than ever to let him know what had really happened. We couldn’t have any other children and I didn’t want to hurt him by telling him that you weren’t his. And I couldn’t risk your grandparents knowing that I’d made a mistake. They would have thought so badly of me, and I didn’t want them to treat you differently because of what I’d done.’
‘Surely they wouldn’t have?’ Amber was finding her mother’s confession difficult to absorb. Then her mother made a small hiccuping sound, and Amber wondered if she was crying. ‘Mum…you have to know, I don’t blame you for any of this,’ she said. ‘I just needed to know the truth, that’s all. This has all come as such a shock.’
‘I know. I’m sorry, Amber. I’m sorry I deceived everyone. I knew it couldn’t go on, but I didn’t know how to put it right without destroying everything.’
‘What will you do?’ Amber sucked in a long breath. ‘I don’t want you or Dad to feel badly about this…but he’ll want to know why I have this inheritance, won’t he? What will you tell him?’
Her mother gave a shuddery sigh. ‘I’ve already spoken to him about it. After Martyn rang to tell me about the changes to his will, I realised I had to tell your father the truth. I should have done it a long time ago.’
‘How did he take it?’
‘Not very well. I’m still not sure that he’s come to terms with it. And then I knew I had to tell you, but I didn’t want to do it from such a distance. I thought maybe I could wait until you came home, or until we went out there to see you.’
Amber could see now why her mother had been so unsettled by her meeting with Martyn and her decision to come out to Hawaii. It had set off a chain of events that would have repercussions for a long while to come.
They spoke for a while longer and th
en Amber ended the call and sat for a while, thinking things over. She turned to see that Ethan was standing in the kitchen, watching her closely.
‘You heard?’ she asked, and he nodded.
‘Shall we go for a walk along the beach?’ he suggested. ‘I think you need time to absorb all this. It’s been a momentous day for you, hasn’t it?’
She looked at him, then stood up and placed her hands palms flat against his chest. ‘Ethan, I think I should leave this place and go away somewhere. Somewhere far away. I don’t think I can stay here and live life the same way as we have been doing these last few months. I have a half-sister I didn’t know about, and getting used to that will take me some time, but I don’t think I’ll ever come to terms with the fact that you and I are cousins.’
She felt very close to tears. ‘That’s something I can’t cope with right now. I need to put some distance between us. I’m sorry. I’m too close to you and it’s all wrong. I’ve fallen in love with you over these last few months and it isn’t right. I wish none of this had ever happened.’ She tried to move away from him, but Ethan put his arm around her and pulled her close to him.
‘You’re wrong,’ he said. ‘We’re not cousins at all. In theory, maybe we are, but Martyn was never a blood relative. His father was John Wyndham, and when his parents’ marriage broke up, his mother married into the Brookes family. There were no children from that second marriage, and so there are no blood ties. He’s my uncle because he was brought up alongside my father. You don’t need to worry on that account. ’
‘I don’t?’ She stared up at him, scarcely able to believe what he was saying.
‘You don’t.’ He kept his arm around her. ‘Let’s go and walk along the beach and see if we can find an answer to all this, shall we? I don’t want you to go away from here. I want you to stay by my side and let me show you how good life can be. I don’t even want to contemplate life without you.’
‘Are you sure about that?’ They walked out of the house, arm in arm, and wandered down the footpath towards the beach. The sun was sinking beneath the horizon, leaving its fading red light to glow softly in the sky, and all was calm, the serene tropical night like balm to Amber’s soul.
