Page 50 of Don't Believe A Word

‘You mean, for her to be taken into care?’ Lottie snapped. ‘Because that’s what will happen if we do, and I say she’s happier and safer with us.’

Mia nodded, then nodded again. ‘The note she came with asked us to take care of her, so that’s what we’re doing,’ she said, as if repeating it gave even more weight to the note and thereby justified their actions. Then bracing herself again, ‘Does she need protection because she’s in some sort of danger? And if she is, does that mean we are now, too?’

Lottie went to sit on a bottom stair, photos still in hand. ‘I think,’ she said carefully, ‘that this could be the beginning of a very clever blackmail attempt. In fact, I’m sure it is, and we have played straight into their hands by keeping the child and telling no one. So, before anyone starts making demands, I say we protect ourselves and Sadie from all nefarious intentions by making plans to leave.’

‘To go where?’

‘We’ll work it out. For now, we need to hide these photographs, along with the note we found in her pocket, and you have to prepare yourself to deal with Edwin. He’ll be here in a couple of hours, if he bothers to turn up. Let’s hope he doesn’t and you can just instruct our solicitor to send him a letter citing his adultery as grounds for divorce.’

Mia looked as though she’d been struck. This was moving too fast, she was struggling to follow Lottie’s thinking, only knew she’d just been thrown into a whole other sort of chaos.

‘Pull yourself together,’ Lottie hissed impatiently. ‘You’re getting precisely nothing out of your marriage, apart from a whole lot of humiliation and grief.’

‘That’s easy for you to say …’

‘For God’s sake, the man’s not even smart enough to treat you well so you’ll carry on letting him live the life that should never have been his in the first place. You need to get him out of our London house …’

‘Are you planning to take Sadie there?’

‘I’m not sure yet, but it can’t be an option with him in it, so he needs to go.’

‘But where?’

‘What the hell do I care, and you shouldn’t either. Sadie has to be our priority. If he sees her he’ll start asking awkward questions and the next thing we know he’ll have blabbed about her all over the place and she’ll end up being taken from us, whether we like it or not. What will we tell her parents then, if they come back? More than that, what do you think will happen to us? We’ll be seen as child abductors …’

‘All right, all right,’ Mia cried, hands clasped to her cheeks. ‘I hear what you’re saying and I know you’re right. Sadie has to come first – but someone could be on their way to get her right now …’

‘Then what are the photographs about? I tell you, no one’s coming for her until they’ve managed to squeeze us dry, and do we really want to give her up to someone who’d use her like that?’

‘No, of course not. I just … Edwin is …’

‘Let him go!’ Lottie growled. ‘Do it today, for your own sake as much as Sadie’s.’

Mia was nodding in spite of the ache in her heart. He really hadn’t ever loved her, and in truth she’d never been sure about her feelings for him. She’d just wanted to be the married sister, the one who had that sort of respectability and status, the one who’d been chosen, and he’d been so charming and funny and attentive to her rather than to Lottie … ‘Let’s hope he doesn’t come today,’ she said hoarsely. ‘It’ll be easier to do by letter. But if he does come, what are we going to tell him about Sadie?’

‘We’ll get Gita to take her onto the moor to see the ponies. She keeps saying she’d like to do that …’

‘And if someone recognizes her?’

Lottie threw out her hands in despair. ‘I don’t know, Mia! I don’t have all the answers. I wish I did. I just have a very strong feeling that we need to leave here sooner, rather than later, and we can’t go back to London if Edwin’s still in the house.’

‘I don’t see how we can go back anyway. Everyone knows we don’t have a niece …’

‘We can say she’s the daughter of a cousin and calling her a niece is simpler. For heaven’s sake, use your imagination, or at least try to be helpful. You want to keep her, don’t you?’

Mia stared at her, wide-eyed. They both knew it was what Mia wanted, she just didn’t have the courage to say it out loud.

It was what Lottie wanted too, maybe for different reasons, but God knew she’d come to love that girl every bit as much as Mia did.

‘OK,’ Lottie said, ‘let’s focus on how we can go forward in a way that will make sure Sadie is safe and that doesn’t end up costing us half – even all – our fortune.’

There were no more arguments. Lottie knew Mia couldn’t fight back when her heart wasn’t even trying to hold onto Edwin, was only recognizing the need to protect Sadie and if they could keep her, make her theirs … Lottie had a way of making things happen, and Mia had learned over the years that it was usually better to go along with her sister rather than to try to stand up against her. And, when it came to something as important as this, why would she even want to?

*

Edwin arrived earlier than expected. Gita hadn’t turned up yet and Sadie was in the kitchen when the odious little man drove up to the house, tooting his car horn like Mr Toad and clearly expecting his adoring wife to rush out and greet him.

Lottie could see that part of Mia wanted to, but she blocked the way. ‘Get rid of him,’ she said through her teeth.