Page 60 of Secrets at the Last House Before the Sea

‘It all fits together. Wait here.’

Rosie disappeared into the sitting room while he emptied the tealeaf mountain from the teapot and spooned in the requisite amount. They were both going to need a drink after this. When she returned, she thrust a letter into his hands. ‘Read that. It’s a letter to my mum that I found in a locked box in the attic.’

It was quite a letter. Liam scanned through it and then read it again, more slowly. It was the sort of lovey-dovey letter that would prompt Alex to put his fingers in his mouth and gag. Liam too, a while back, before he’d been properly in love. But now, although it struck him as a bit flowery, he found the letter heartfelt, and sad if J never did get to marry Sofia. Maybe she’d left him standing at the altar, too. Poor bugger.

‘What do you think?’ asked Rosie, standing close and looking over his shoulder.

‘I think it’s a very heartfelt love letter.’

‘And J is still around and cares enough to leave flowers and an anonymous message on Mum’s grave.’

‘Was this letter hidden away with the photo of you and Morag?’

‘They were both in the locked box.’

‘Like a fail-safe, in case anything happened to your mum before she had a chance to tell you about your father.’

‘That’s what Morag suggested. She reckoned the photo was like a breadcrumb, leading me to her so I could choose whether or not to find out the truth.’

‘Are you going to approach the men on your list?’

‘And say what? Did you have an affair with my mum thirty years ago, because I think I might be your daughter? It would be all round the village like a shot, and Belinda would self-combust.’

‘She really would, especially if her husband turned out to be your dad.’

‘I don’t know why I put him on the list. I know it’s not him.’

‘Do you think, though, that Belinda might know who your mum was going to marry before she married David?’

‘Absolutely not. There’s no way she’d have kept that quiet all these years.’

‘That’s true. Perhaps it was a secret affair and your mum and J were going to elope.’

‘Who knows? That’s the point, I don’t know and I need to, Liam. So for now I’ll keep digging quietly about the men on my list and see what that turns up.’ She took the letter from him and folded it. ‘Anyway, talking about this just makes me sad, so let’s have our tea and get on with the decorating. You won’t say anything about this to anyone, will you?’

‘Of course not,’ said Liam, disappointed that she felt she had to ask.

‘Thanks. Youarea friend.’

When she smiled at him, her eyes still shiny with tears, he walked quickly to the door. The room was suddenly hot and stuffy, and he was finding it quite hard to breathe. ‘I’ll carry on with the grouting if you can bring my tea up.’

He took the stairs two at a time, rather like he was running away from Rosie. Liam had never run from a woman before. They usually ran towards him. But intense, emotional Rosie made his locked-down heart feel unsteady, and that was a feeling he couldn’t afford for two good reasons: one, she already had a boyfriend, and two, she’d soon be gone from his life for good.