Daughters of Fortune: A Novel Read Online Free Page B

something.”
    “What is it, Mam?”
    “It’s about your father. I never told you much about him. I should have.”
    “Let’s not be worrying about that. He’s gone. There’s nothing more to say.”
    Her mother closed her eyes, and when she opened them again Caitlin saw they were glistening with tears. “But that’s it, my child,” she said. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. He isn’t dead.”
    For the next half an hour, Katie explained to her daughter how she had met William Melville and fallen in love. She told her about his wife and daughter. And how even though they had both known the affair was wrong, they could do nothing to stop their feelings for each other.She spoke with a clear determination to get it all off her chest. The deathbed made a good confessional.
    “He ended it before I found out I was pregnant,” she said, avoiding the precise details of the breakup. “And we were happy, weren’t we?” she continued when Caitlin still hadn’t said anything. “Just the two of us. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”
    Caitlin managed to nod in answer. She knew she should say something, offer some comfort to her mother. But she was still too stunned.
    “I’ve written to him, love.”
    Caitlin’s head snapped up. “You’ve what?”
    “I wrote to tell him that he has a daughter. A beautiful fifteen-year-old daughter.”
    Caitlin pulled her hand away and stood up.
    “He’s been in touch, too,” Katie said quickly. “He left a message to say he’s coming to see us.”
    Caitlin saw her mam’s eyes dart over to the door, as though she expected him to appear at any moment. She realized then why her mother had never married. She still loved
him
. Even after all these years. Hurt and confused, Caitlin turned away.
    “Cat?” She heard her mother’s voice, weak and pleading. She could feel her reaching out. “Please don’t be angry, pet. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about him. I should have said something sooner.”
    She stopped, and Caitlin knew that she was waiting for her to say something. But she couldn’t. Not yet.
    “Forgive me, my darling. Say that you forgive me.”
    Caitlin closed her eyes and swallowed back the tears. All she could think about was how her mother had been lying to her for fifteen years. It was too much for her to process. But she knew she had to.
    “It’s all right, Mam,” she said finally, opening her eyes. “I understand.” She took a deep breath, turned around. “I forgive you.”
    The final word died in her throat. She stared down at her mother. Katie’s lips were parted, as though she was just about to say something, but her eyes stared ahead unseeing. It was too late for forgiveness.
    Caitlin sat with the body as long as she could. Finally the staff nurse persuaded her to get a cup of tea. She was on her way back to the ward when she spotted him—a tall, well-dressed man, talking to the headnurse. He must have sensed her presence, because he looked up. For a moment his expression faltered.
    “Katie?” he said.
    The refined English voice left her in no doubt as to who he was.
    “No. It’s Caitlin.”
    “I thought—”
    Caitlin nodded. She had seen enough pictures of her mother as a young girl to know that it was an easy mistake to make. He hadn’t seen her mother for sixteen years. To him, she hadn’t aged a day since then.
    “She’s already gone,” she told him.
    William Melville booked into the Grand, the hotel where her mother had worked, and took charge of organizing the funeral. The more Caitlin saw of him that week, the harder it was to believe that he was her father. It was harder still to understand how her mother had ever gotten entangled with him. She’d insisted that they had loved each other. So far, in the few days Caitlin had known him, William had been far more reticent about their relationship.
    On the day of the funeral, he maintained a dignified distance, standing discreetly to one side during the service and