Page 29 of The Spanish Daughter (The Lost Daughters #5)

28

PRESENT DAY

Rose couldn’t remember feeling so content. She guessed the last time would have been before her mother’s cancer diagnosis, but ever since then she’d moved through life with urgency, almost as if she needed to fill every moment, to commit every second with her mum to memory, not knowing how much longer they had together.

But now, with Benjamin, it was almost as if she’d finally caught her breath and could just be. He reached over and strummed his fingers against her arm, and she lifted her wine glass to take a sip. He’d made her a spaghetti dinner and opened a bottle of red wine, and she was still enjoying the last of her glass as they sat on the sofa, their bowls empty on the table.

‘You look lost in thought,’ he said.

‘I am. I just, I don’t know, but this time, coming back here, I actually feel like I’m at home. It’s a strange feeling that I can’t quite describe.’

‘You’ve lived in the same place all your life?’

‘When I was very young, we lived with my father, but as far as I can remember, we lived in my grandmother’s place, and we stayed there after she passed away, too.’

‘My family are the same, we haven’t moved far. I like having that connection to my past though.’

She watched as his fingers kept gracing her skin.

‘How long ago did your great-grandfather pass away, Benjamin?’

‘When he was ninety, so more than ten years ago now.’

‘Do you think he and Valentina remained friends? Were they part of each other’s lives?’

Benjamin didn’t answer straightaway, but when he did, she could sense his hesitation. ‘Rose, there’s something I never told you, when you asked me about your great-grandmother.’

She settled back on the sofa to listen, still nursing her glass of wine and with her feet tucked up beneath her. She had a feeling this was something she wanted to hear from the awkward way he was looking at her.

‘When I was just a boy of maybe six or seven, I saw my great-grandfather, Felipe, kiss Valentina. It was only once, and I never mentioned it to anyone because I didn’t really understand what I was seeing, but I’ve never forgotten the way they looked at each other.’

Rose felt her eyebrows shoot up in surprise. ‘And you’re sure it was them?’

‘I’d been down at the stables with my father. Valentina was very generously his patron for many years, so we were often there, and I’d always been curious about her. I remember walking the long way home so I could go past her house, and I saw them sitting on the veranda, and I’ve never forgotten the way my great-grandfather looked at her before he kissed her.’

‘Did they see you?’

He shook his head. ‘No, I hid so they couldn’t see me, and I never told anyone about what I saw until just a few days ago.’

‘You’ve told someone other than me?’

‘I mentioned it to my dad just last week, and he suggested we visit Valentina’s previous lawyer. He thinks he might have the answers you’re searching for,’ Benjamin said. ‘I feel like maybe my dad knew they were linked romantically at some point, but if he knows he’s not saying anything.’

‘Do you think it might finally solve the mystery about how my grandmother ended up being adopted from Hope’s House?’

‘Perhaps. But regardless, I wanted you to know. It didn’t seem right to keep it secret from you.’

‘Thank you,’ Rose said, sighing as she tried to piece everything together. ‘You know, your great-grandfather has come up more than once, but whatever happened between them doesn’t explain the questions I have.’

‘Would you be annoyed if I told you I’d left a message to see if we can see him tomorrow?’

‘The lawyer?’

‘Valentina’s original lawyer died some years ago, but his son took over the practice. I believe the lawyer you’ve been dealing with is his grandson.’

‘But Luis told me he didn’t know anything, that there were no records.’

‘Maybe he doesn’t, but I still think we should try to visit his father at his house tomorrow afternoon. Perhaps it’s a dead end, but the very least we can do is try to see what he knows.’

‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘You don’t need to do any of this, but it means a lot to me that you’re helping.’

‘It’s my way of saying that I’m sorry,’ he said.

‘Sorry? For what?’

‘For everything that happened before you left,’ he said, taking her hand and pressing it to his lips. ‘For not telling you how much you meant to me before I let you walk away.’

Rose watched as his mouth hovered over her knuckles. ‘You’re already forgiven, but feel free to keep trying to make it up to me.’

Benjamin laughed and jumped to his feet, scooping her up into his arms as she fought against him, protesting but at the same time hoping he never took his hands from her body.

The next day, she sat with Benjamin in front of the old lawyer, at his home near the city. He’d been reluctant to take an appointment with her, but when Rose had pointed out what a long history her family had of using his family’s law firm, not to mention that her intention was to continue that relationship, he’d finally relented. And now she was at last hoping to piece together the rest of Valentina’s life.

‘I wasn’t sure if there’d be any resemblance, but when I think back to what Valentina looked like as a young woman…’

Rose smiled politely. She was fairly certain he was trying to flatter her, but the only thing she was interested in was whether he could help her solve the final piece of the puzzle when it came to her family’s secrets.

‘I was told that your son, Luis, Valentina’s most recent lawyer, didn’t know about my great-grandmother’s personal life,’ she said, ‘but I have an inkling that you might know more about how she came to place her baby for adoption all those years ago.’

He gave her a stern kind of look, as if she were asking something that she shouldn’t, but when Benjamin cleared his throat beside her, as if to encourage the man to speak, he finally sighed and uncrossed his arms.

‘Look, I only know what my father shared with me, and it wasn’t a lot,’ he said. ‘He represented Basilio Santiago before his death, and then Valentina when she came to him as a young girl in need of assistance. She became his most important client, just as Basilio had once been, and he remained her lawyer until the day he retired. Even then, he kept working for her for some time, until eventually she became my client.’ He paused. ‘She was very loyal, and due to the relationship she had with my father, she never withdrew her business from our firm.’

‘When you say that your father assisted her,’ Rose said, ‘what exactly do you mean? Did he help her with the adoption?’

‘He never spoke about the adoption, and neither did she, not in all the years I worked for her. But I was tasked with compiling a report each year about her biological daughter. It was a closely held secret that I never disclosed, and she had me anonymously donate money to her daughter’s school, or to any sports clubs or such that she attended. It was her way of helping from afar, I suppose.’

‘And she never asked you to approach her daughter?’ Rose asked. ‘My grandmother?’

He shook his head. ‘No. She didn’t want to interfere in her life. I was under the impression that it broke her heart to remain hidden, but that she felt it was for the best. You have to believe me when I say that’s all I knew.’

Rose stood then, feeling as if she’d heard enough. ‘Thank you for your time. I appreciate everything you’ve shared with me.’

‘Rose,’ the old man said, rising as she did.

Benjamin stood protectively by her side, his hand touching gently against her back.

‘She was very proud when you graduated from the University of Cambridge.’

Rose felt her jaw hang open. ‘She knew about me?’

‘She was there,’ he said. ‘She told me it was likely the last time she’d be able to travel, and she sat among the audience to cheer you on.’

‘You’re certain she was there on the day I graduated?’ she asked.

‘Valentina might not have been physically present in her daughter’s life, but it wasn’t because she didn’t love her. She insisted on knowing everything about you, about your mother, and of course about your grandmother. It was her way of being part of your lives without feeling as if she was intruding.’

‘Thank you,’ Rose said, her hand shaking until Benjamin closed his palm around hers to steady it. ‘I hope you know how much this means to me. It’s as if everything has finally come together.’

‘There’s one last thing, though,’ Benjamin said. ‘Who was the father of her child? It is the one thing that we haven’t come close to finding out.’

‘Valentina never mentioned the father, and I never saw a birth certificate,’ he said. ‘But she was married for a brief time, almost a year, in fact. The marriage was annulled after her husband was offered a significant amount of money to walk away, and the implication was that he was the father. No one in Argentina, other than my father, even knew that she’d given birth. It was a closely guarded secret that I only became aware of when I took over as her lawyer. It’s fair to say that she would never have been able to leave the marriage if her husband had found out, and certainly there couldn’t have been an annulment. She was an heiress worth a small fortune, and a child would have meant she couldn’t so easily extract herself, even with a divorce. He would never have consented.’

‘This is all a lot to process, but thank you again. For everything you’ve shared.’

‘You’re very welcome,’ he said. ‘If I remember anything else, or you have any other questions, you know where to find me.’

‘I do,’ Rose said.

Rose and Benjamin said their goodbyes and left, walking silently through the building and to his car. It wasn’t until they were seated with the engine running that they spoke.

‘I can’t believe that she knew who I was. That she was there at my graduation,’ Rose said. ‘It’s almost as if she was part of my life without me even knowing.’

‘You would have loved her, Rose. I’m so sorry you never got to meet her.’

‘I just feel so sorry for her,’ she said, leaning back into her seat and turning slightly to face Benjamin. ‘She must have been so lonely.’

‘Perhaps, but she never showed it. She lived a full life, surrounded by people and giving generously to the things she cared about. She was a remarkable woman.’

‘Do you believe that she loved your great-grandfather?’

He nodded. ‘I believe they were in love, but weren’t allowed to be together. Perhaps her pregnancy put an end to things, or their young age, or her marriage. I suppose we’ll never know. But I do believe that if times had been different, they would have been together.’

Rose stared out of the window and tried to picture her great-grandmother as a young woman, thinking of the photos she’d found of her in her younger years. Did she walk these streets, pregnant and alone, trying to figure out what to do? Was she heartbroken when she left her baby behind in London, or relieved? They were questions Rose would never know the answers to, even though she knew she’d most likely turn them over and over in her mind for years to come.

‘Benjamin, I know nothing about horses, but I want to honour Valentina’s memory and ensure that she has a legacy that outlasts all of us,’ Rose said. ‘Would you help me with this? I’ll need someone by my side to guide me, but I very much want to remain a patron of the game of polo, and to expand our ability to care for retired ponies.’

‘It would be my honour,’ Benjamin said.

She beamed at him, so grateful to have him with her.

‘But first, there’s something I’d like to do,’ he said.

She waited, watching the smile that spread across his lips.

‘Can I please take you to lunch? I think it’s time I took you on a proper date.’

His stomach grumbled and they both laughed.

‘Are you sure? Or are you just very, very hungry and can’t wait for home?’

Benjamin grimaced and Rose leaned over to kiss him. ‘I don’t care why, but yes, Benjamin, you can take me for lunch. Nothing would make me happier.’

‘Well, good, because I’m starving.’

She tried to play-hit him but he ducked out of the way and pulled the car out into the traffic. And as Rose settled back into the seat, watching as Buenos Aires became a blur of streets and cars, in that moment she knew she was home.

Perhaps Benjamin was right all along. Maybe Argentina is in my blood . It had just taken coming back to realise just how much she’d missed it, and how much she felt that she belonged.