Page 209 of The Sun Sister

‘And to all intents and purposes, when no one else is around, that’s exactly what you can be.’

‘Won’t the maid think it strange that the white lady of the house wishes to spend so much time with the black baby?’

‘Maids are not paid to decide what is strange about their employers and what isn’t. You can do as you wish, as long as Stella is left with the maid when anyone visits.’

Cecily studied her feet silently.

‘I understand this is not the perfect outcome,’ Bill said gently, ‘but it’s the only one I could contemplate. Even I have my limits, Cecily, and trust me, I’ve certainly been pushed to them in the past year. But I understand that separating you from Stella is as untenable as us bringing her up as our own child. So for your sake and hers, I’m prepared to accept her presence under our roof, as long as you are prepared to accept my compromise. Are you?’

Still, Cecily stared at her feet.

Bill let out a sigh. ‘I asked you last night not to behave like a petulant child and I ask you again now. I can do no more. Do you accept?’

Cecily finally raised her eyes to Bill’s. ‘I accept.’

‘Good. Now then, perhaps we can get on with having Christmas Day.’ Bill pointed to the tree. ‘Look underneath it.’

Cecily roused herself and walked over to the tree. Underneath it was a small package.

‘Sorry I didn’t have time to wrap it properly. I hope you like it.’

‘Oh Bill, I feel so bad, my gift to you was in the parcel my parents sent from the States, but it hasn’t arrived...’

‘Really, don’t worry, my dear. Go on, open it.’

Cecily brought it back to the chair and undid the string and the brown paper to reveal a velvet box. Opening the lid, Cecily saw a delicate gold chain with an exquisite square emerald sitting in the centre of a cluster of diamonds.

‘Oh my, Bill! It’s so beautiful. You shouldn’t have. I...I don’t deserve it. I don’t deserve you...’

‘Want me to put it on for you? It goes well with that green dress of yours. I’ve had the stone for years – a South African chap gave it to me when I did him a favour and rather than it languishing in the drawer, I thought, well...it would look beautiful on you. Now, there we go. Why don’t you look at it in the mirror?’

Cecily stood up, tears glistening in her eyes, and walked over to glance at her reflection in the mirror set over the fireplace.

‘It’s absolutely perfect. Thank you, Bill, thank you so much. And thank you for allowing Stella to stay.’

‘Come here, you silly thing.’ Bill drew Cecily into his arms. ‘We’ve had a rough old time of it since we married,’ he said as she leant her head on his shoulder. ‘And what with the war and the new addition to our family, there’s almost certainly more to come. But I do hope that this Christmas can at least mark a new era for you and I.’ He tipped her chin up to look at her. ‘What do you think, old girl?’

‘I think...I think I’d like that very much.’

‘Good.’ Then Bill leant down and, for the first time since their wedding day, sought out her lips. It had been so long since she’d been kissed, Cecily had almost forgotten what to do, but an extraordinary rush of warmth filled her body as he teased her lips open with his own.

A screech came from the nursery and Cecily reluctantly broke away from him.

‘Good God! Do you know how long I’ve been waiting to do that and now it gets interrupted!’ Bill smiled down at her. ‘Go on, off you go to your new baby,’ Bill called after her.

Cecily knew she would never forget that Christmas Day. She hadn’t been happy about Nygasi taking Stella off into the woods and out of sight, especially when she’d seen the look of shock on his face when she and Bill had handed over the baby and enough bottles to keep her going for the next few hours. Bill had assured her that Nygasi would not harm a hair on her head.

‘I’ve told him that if any misfortune comes to her, I will report both him and Njala to the authorities for abandoning a newborn,’ Bill had comforted her as he’d ushered Cecily back inside the house. ‘You do understand, don’t you, that no one must see her before our new maid arrives?’

‘I do, yes. Thank you, Bill, thank you so very much. I promise she won’t be any bother and—’

‘You know very well that’s not true, but I appreciate the sentiment.’ Bill shook his head as he closed the front door. ‘The things I do to make you happy, my dear. Right, I’ll go and open the champagne and you’d better get to the kitchen. Katherine and Bobby will be here any minute.’

The day passed in a trance, Cecily hardly able to believe that not only had Bill kissed her earlier, but that he’d also agreed to give her the best present of all: Stella could stay. No longer did she look at Katherine’s growing bump and feel envy, because she too had a child to love. It was sad that it could not be in the traditional way, but it was more than Cecily had dared to dream of over the past dreadful year. Her necklace was much admired by Katherine, who followed her into the kitchen to help her serve up lunch.

‘You are a miracle, the way that you’re prepared to do this all yourself when you could easily afford staff, Cecily,’ Katherine commented as she flipped the potatoes that were so much part of a traditional English roast.

‘As a matter of fact, Bill and I have decided it’s time to get some help. We’ll be employing a maid as soon as we can.’