Page 79 of A Family Affair
Clarissa was in one of her funny moods so shook her head and, not wanting to bring Jennifer down too, feigned a smile. ‘No, I’ll be fine, dear. You get off, but pass me my box file and I’ll do some sorting out. I can chuck all the rubbish on the fire and keep it going.’
Jennifer paused then turned to fetch the box that contained Clarissa’s correspondence. When she returned and placed it on her knee, Jennifer’s words were meant to reassure.
‘It’s only been three weeks and it’s too early for him to have made up his mind, so don’t worry. He’ll call you tomorrow like he said. Maybe then you’ll be able to gauge how he’s feeling – or just ask him.’
Clarissa could only manage a weak smile as she gave Jennifer the hint. ‘Yes you’re right, dear, now off you go otherwise you’ll be stuck in traffic.’
She heard Jennifer’s sigh, but was relieved when she took her leave and left Clarissa alone to her thoughts with one final suggestion, ‘Why don’t you give Eleonora a call and have a chat? That always cheers you up. Toodle-pip. Back soon.’
Finally she was gone, and Clarissa allowed her body to relax and ponder Jennifer’s words that were in fact correct. Chuck had been gone a short while and she couldn’t expect him to make a life-changing decision in such a short space of time. And yes, he’d call her on the dot of seven like he had every Friday since he’d left so they could catch up.
And it always cheered her up, chatting with her sister even for a few moments each day. It did her soul good to hear a voice that for so long had only lived in her dreams. But there was something Clarissa needed to do first. A task only she could take care of.
The night before, Clarissa had lain in bed going over all that had transpired between herself, Eleonora and a stranger named Molly McCarthy.
Eleonora had told Clarissa that while Ernie would forgive none of it, she was caught in that grey area between right and wrong. And that was where Clarissa found herself, right up to the point where Molly had passed the buck to Beryl and then Beryl had done the same to Honey.
Clarissa’s foot was teetering on the edge of the black zone where dereliction of one’s duty was concerned. And now, a similar task had fallen in Clarissa’s lap because she too had a family secret, and it was her turn to decide what to do with it.
Opening the box file that Jennifer had placed on her lap, Clarissa found the envelope that lay right at the bottom and slipped out the contents. Jennifer had no idea it existed because the day it arrived; she’d been fussing over the Christmas tree with Chuck. Then Levi rang and the balloon went up and it was days later before Clarissa remembered to open it.
Unfolding the sheet of paper that contained the DNA results she’d had expedited, Clarissa read the words again, that confirmed a stark and unexpected truth. Chuck was not a Chamberlain.
How she wished she’d not been persuaded by a dear man who’d just wanted to prove his sincerity. On the day she’d given Tristan his marching orders, Chuck had insisted he took the test. Jennifer suggested that there was no harm in it. That at least the results could go on file, and nobody would be able to challenge Chuck’s claim to his inheritance. That’s how sure she, and Clarissa were of him.
Clarissa could have wept when she’d read the report.
Weeks later, to be on the safe side, Clarissa had fobbed Jennifer off with a fact and some fiction.
‘Oh, I forgot to tell you. The DNA report came back while you were out. Yosef signed for the post and brought the bundle to me. Everything was fine and Chuck is one of the clan. I knew he was, but it doesn’t matter now does it, because we’ve found Honey and Levi. I’ll give the report to the new solicitor next time he comes.’
Jennifer had smiled and said that she was pleased and knowing that her aide was never present during legal meetings, she would presume everything was in order. Clarissa told Chuck exactly the same thing later that day. That everything was as it should be and being a trusting soul and polite with it, he hadn’t asked to see the letter. Why would he? He adored Clarissa and trusted her. Which was why she’d got away with it.
And then came a bigger decision because somewhere along the line, Chuck’s mother had cheated on his father and passed her baby off as another man’s child. The story had a familiar ring to it, and just like Ernie had been an innocent in his, so was Chuck.
The difference was, Chuck had lived the worst kind of life and with two terrible parents, who as far as Clarissa was concerned, didn’t deserve him. And even if he knew that his birth father was somewhere out there, would his mother be in any fit state to tell Chuck who he was?
Chuck was alone in the world, just like Eleonora had been. She’d found Rory who gave her a home and a family and love, a future.
Clarissa couldn’t bear the thought of him going through life without an anchor, someone to call family, a place to rest his head, so she had to put that right. Which was why she’d gifted him more than enough money to start a new life of his own, a fortune in fact. But she hoped the greatest gift was worth more than money could buy. That being a Chamberlain, and related to her and Honey and Levi, and their extended family, he’d have his anchor.
Clarissa cared not a jot about whose blood ran through someone’s veins. There was more to a human being than that. What was in their heart mattered more. If they had a good soul, morals, principles and loyalty. Chuck had all that in spades.
Just like Eleonora had loved Iris and Ian as her own, and they’d loved her right back. That was priceless and pure.
Since she read the results, Clarissa hadn’t told a soul about them and never would. She would take the truth to the grave and not make the secret someone else’s problem. Unlike Molly McCarthy.
She’d decided in the early hours of the morning that sometime in the future, when she was long gone and they were sorting through her things, nobody would stumble upon an envelope whose contents had the potential to rip someone’s life and world apart, to make them sad, or bitter. To have to choose whether to forgive and forget.
A part of Chuck’s story would end there and whether he came back or not, he could make up the ending to it however he chose.
He would always have Honey and Levi in his life, and their children – if and when they came. They’d promised her that.
He could hold his head up high and say, ‘I’m a Chamberlain and I have family in England.’
Placing the report inside the letter, Clarissa kissed the envelope then leant forward and flicked it into the fire, watching as the paper curled and browned. Within minutes, the words of the report had turned to ash.
Smiling, her body awash with relief, Clarissa was reconciled to what she’d done. Content. Because when she closed her eyes to sleep, or even for that last time, she would rest easy. Knowing that her secret, and Chuck’s secret, would forever and all time remain a family affair.
THE END