by Abigail Agar
The dam broke.
Georgiana’s mother held her clear gaze until it overflowed with tears and she turned to her husband and then to William. Indeed, Georgiana had never seen anything like this before.
“William, my son,” she said. “I am so sorry that you have had to endure all of this.”
Looking back to her husband again, she said, “Gregory, what I am about to say is going to anger you. However, I must ask that you give William enough respect that I might say what I must to him.”
“Cer-certainly,” Georgiana’s father said, his voice gravelly, the way it might sound after sitting by the fire for too long and breathing in the smoke.
Georgiana watched as Inspector Brock and his Sergeant backed away.
“Mother? What is it?” William asked.
“William, your father is not the man you have always believed him to be. Your father is a man named Virgil Clydemoor,” she said.
Georgiana gasped, putting a hand to her mouth. She saw the denial in William’s eyes.
“What? No. No, Mother, that is not funny. Why would you say something so terrible?” he asked.
“I am not lying to you, my son. I am so sorry that I have been for all these years. But, the time has come. I cannot keep the truth at bay any longer,” she said.
Finally, she looked back at her husband.
“I am so sorry, Gregory,” she said.
“But…we were already married,” he said.
“I know. And I shall forever live with the shame of that. But, I did not love you. I met Virgil and I felt at once connected to him. I cared for him. I loved him in a way that I did not believe to be possible before then,” she said.
“More than you loved me…” Georgiana’s father said.
“I am sorry,” her mother said, again.
“But…but my father…?” William asked.
“Yes. He was Virgil Clydemoor. I was pregnant outside of my marriage and I knew that I had no choice but to pretend. For all our sakes. I could not let you know that you were illegitimate. Nor could I let you know, Gregory, that I had been unfaithful to you,” she said.
Georgiana remained quiet. Although this was all a part of her family that was happening, she understood that she had no immediate place in this. And she was just glad that her brother was no longer being accused of murder.
“You pretended? You kept my father from me?” William asked.
“I had no choice. You might have lost everything otherwise. We both might have,” she said.
Her mother looked to her father, eyes pleading not to let anything go wrong.
“And what of the ring?” her father asked.
“I was too frightened to tell anyone about the affair, but I could not bear for him to have nothing of his father,” she said.
“And?” William prodded.
“Virgil had given me the ring as a sign of affection. I wanted you to have it. Something that would always be his, but in your possession now. It only seemed right that you should inherit it. Once your father was gone, and you just a young boy, I gave it to you so that you would have him with you. It was the only thing I could do,” she said.
“And did he know of me?” William asked.
“He did. He did not know that you were his, however. You see, Virgil knew that you might be Gregory’s son and he was not prepared to try and claim you for his own. He understood how that would ruin both our reputations, his and mine. And yours,” she said.
William’s breathing grew ragged and strained. He put a hand to the wall and had to lean against it to support himself. It was clear that he was struggling to comprehend this news and Georgiana worried that it might break him in that moment.
She reached out a hand to touch him, gently on the arm.
But William pulled away from her.
“All my life you…you lied to me?” he asked their mother, the hurt in his eyes evident and pained.
Georgiana feared that her brother might not be able to withstand the information that he was being given. She didn’t know how any of them would.
“Yes. I lied to you. And I went to great lengths to try and keep that secret because I thought that it was what was best. For you, for the whole family. I wanted us to be all right. I thought that no one ever had to know the truth,” she said.
“But the truth was always going to come out, eventually,” William said, disbelieving her.
“I thought that I could stop that from happening. I know, you are right. It was always going to come out. But I did all that I could to delay that. I thought that I might be able to ensure that it didn’t, that it remained hidden forever,” she said.
“That was foolish,” Georgiana finally interjected, bitter and horrified.
Her mother looked at her and nodded.
“Yes, perhaps it was. But it was not selfish,” she said.
“Of course it was selfish,” Georgiana replied.
“I kept the secret for all our sakes. Not mine alone. I wanted us to be seen as a family who really had ourselves together. I thought that this was the right way to do that,” she said.
Georgiana was still in shock, unable to move her feet or understand her own emotions in that moment.
“When I learned that you had given the ring to Miss Rachel, I feared that the truth would be revealed. I was frightened that she might be too interested in where it came from or that she may know something of the family as she is from the same area as Virgil was,” her mother said.
“You did all of this just to hide your secret? You sent away a woman I cared for because you did not want the truth of your indiscretions to come out?” William asked, disgusted.
“I never meant to hurt or upset you, William. Honestly, all I ever wanted for you was that you would know how loved you are. I wanted you to be able to have the freedom to live your life as the son of the man who I married. You deserved that much, I firmly believe,” she said.
William scoffed at her, his eyes filled with incredulity and disgust.
“I cannot believe that you would say something like that. I deserved that much, you believe? As though someone like me, someone who is illegitimate does not typically deserve anything? Thanks to the sins of the mother, I am forever going to live my life wondering what I really deserve,” he said.
Seeing her brother so broken, Georgiana began to lose control of the overwhelming emotions that threatened her as well. Her chest ached from this despairing news.
It was not the cold sense of shock that got to her. It was the agonising curiosity as to what would happen next. Where would her family go from here? How could they ever push past all of this? Would there ever be a chance for recovery or would her mother be made to leave?
And what would become of William now that it was out in the open? Now that the family was aware that he was the son of another man?
“I did not mean it that way, William. I know that this is hard, it is difficult for all of us. I wish that I had some way of making it right. I really do. But you have no idea how difficult things have been for me,” she said.
“For you? What about me, Mother? What about my life? Did you not think that I might have some hopes and dreams that have now been crushed by the knowledge that I am not really a part of this family?” William asked, horrified as his voice choked from his hurt.
“Enough.”
The voice was angry, but calm.
Georgiana looked at her father, who could not meet her mother’s desperate gaze.
“I am sorry, Gregory. I am sorry that I did not love you, that I betrayed the trust of our marriage,” she said.
But he did not respond to her, he did not look at her, he did not acknowledge her in any way.
Instead, Georgiana’s father turned to William.
“William, my son, I do not ever want to hear you speak that way again,” he said.
Georgiana swallowed any concerns she may have had and felt a strange smile on her lips. In the midst of all of this, her father had used two words t
hat had made all the difference.
My son.
“No matter what, whatever the circumstances of your birth, whatever has happened in the past and whatever may happen in the future, I shall forever love you as my son. Not only that, but so far as anyone else is aware, you still are. I see no reason for this secret to get out,” her father said, putting a hand on William’s shoulder and looking him square in the eye.
William’s chin quivered further and he leaned into their father’s embrace, burying his head as the tears began to flow.
Desperate though she was to assist in comforting her brother, Georgiana held back. This was a moment between William and her father. She could not get in the way of that.
“Does that suit you, my boy?” her father asked through his own quaking, unsteady voice.
“Yes, Father. It suits me,” William replied, muffled by their father’s shoulder.
Georgiana was utterly relieved by the fact that her father was such a good man. She could not imagine what life would be like for them if he had made a different choice. It would have been awful to think that he might cast William aside for not being his.
But he had chosen another route. He had risen above the betrayals of his wife and had the dignity to live as a man ought to.
He chose to love William as much as ever and that commitment was clear and binding.
Georgiana looked to her mother, wondering once more what would become of her. Where would she end up after all of this? Would they remain together for the sake of appearances or would her father send her to live with a relative?
She wondered, but knew that it would have to wait. For now, there was simply the affection between her father and brother that permeated the entire room with a love that the Reid family had never known.
Chapter 38
Hamish remained silent, as he had throughout the whole, strange ordeal.
Whatever he had suspected, all of the evidence which had pointed to William, the last thing he had ever considered was that Mrs. Reid might have been trying to protect her own reputation.
Certainly, he had considered her as a suspect early on in the investigation as she was one of those who lived in the house and she would have had the opportunity, he had not seen any reason for which she might want to send Rachel away.
Hamish internally scolded himself. He was a better detective than this. He should have been able to figure out that her cold demeanour was more than simple estrangement from her family within the home. He ought to have realised that she truly had no love for her husband and she was hiding something.
But what a strange resolution it turned out to be! How could he possibly have known that she had once had an affair with Virgil Clydemoor? There was certainly nothing in his records to alert Hamish to that fact.
Still, he recognised that there was no reason for him to be there any longer.
This was a family affair. There was nothing here for the law. Nothing he could do.
He felt quite strange, still being there. However, he did have to decide what he was going to do about the theft.
As if she had read his mind, Mrs. Reid handed him a lovely, gold broach.
“Please, tell Rachel that this is worth more than ten times the ring. I request that you do not tell her the reason for my behaviour when you inform her that I was the one who did these things,” she said.
“I will tell her. I hope that she is not hurt about not keeping the ring,” he said, although he suspected that Miss Smithfield would prefer the valuable broach.
“It is important to me that William keeps it. I know that Gregory has raised him, but he needs to have something small from Virgil,” she said.
Hamish gave her a single, understanding nod. He would have to tell Miss Smithfield who it was who had made her life so difficult in the previous weeks, but he agreed that the reason behind it all was a matter to be kept privately within the family.
Looking over to Miss Reid, Hamish saw in her eyes the raw emotion, recognising that her family was deeper and more intricate than she had ever imagined.
And acknowledging that things would never be the same again, no matter how hard they may try to pretend otherwise.
But it was not for him to act upon. This was her family and she had made it clear that he was to stay away from her and from anything else involving them aside from any real crimes.
There was nothing left for Hamish to do. He was at a loss for words, for a moment, wishing that he could stay.
This was what family looked like.
Secrets. Lies. Hurt. And redemption.
The last made the former worth it.
But he put on his hat and nodded to John who was already looking eager to depart.
Silently, they slipped past the emotional encounter that was happening before them and sidled out of the room and into the hall.
“Well, that was...” John trailed off.
“It certainly was. And I do not know how they are going to move forward. I mean, Mr. and Mrs. Reid, of course. How will they cope with all of the lies and mystery that were hidden? And how can they move forward when she does not love him?” Hamish asked.
“Because they have to. And because, despite everything, I think Mr. Reid really does love his wife,” John said.
Just as Hamish was about to say how unfair that must be for him, he heard the sound of his name called from behind.
“Inspector Brock!”
He turned to smile, sheepishly, at Miss Reid.
“Miss Reid, how are you?” he asked, his voice teetering on the edge of desperation.
Her eyes told him what a foolish question that was before she said anything. Those eyes that held so much beauty also held so much feeling. He wished that he could dive into them, to better understand the sort of woman she was and what else there was he might wish to know.
But she may never want that and he had to bear that in mind. He had to remember that this was not his burden to bear, to accept.
Not unless she invited him in and gave him a seat at the table of her soul.
“I...well, what can I say? I hardly know how I am,” she said.
“Indeed. I imagine there will be quite a lot of discussion ahead for your family,” he replied, understanding.
“I believe that there will be, as well. A part of me wants to ask about my own birth, but I think I would rather not. My father is my father,” she said.
“I think that is the wisest choice you could make,” Hamish said.
John backed away from them, giving them space.
“I will be just outside. I need to ensure that we may flag a coach,” he said.
Hamish nodded to him, grateful that he was giving them a chance to speak.
Then, he turned back to Miss Reid, giving her his full attention. He wondered what must be racing through her mind as she considered the fact that she, too, may not be the child of her father. Of course, her mother had not hinted at that possibility, but that did not mean there was no chance.
