don’t know. All I do know is that in the end neither of them could stand up to Serena, so Edwina decided to leave. She still loved Phillip, despite his weakness, but she knew he wasn’t happy. And of course neither was she. When Cornelia found out that Edwina was planning to go she offered to intervene, but Edwina wouldn’t let her. She didn’t want a family feud to start because of her. So it was Cornelia, not long before her death, who called me and asked me to deal with matters. Harold and Phillip came to see me and we arranged for a lump sum, which Edwina and I have invested over the years, to be paid to Edwina to get her started somewhere new. The divorce followed not long after.
‘Edwina chose to live in Amberside because the Denbys – your father’s family – have a country estate nearby.’ He paused for a moment as a flicker of recognition dulled Corrie’s eyes. He waited for her to speak, but she said nothing. ‘Edwina believed,’ he went on, ‘that in Amberside she would always feel a closeness to Phillip, even though she knew she would probably never see him. And in all these years I don’t think she ever did. Except once. A year after you were born. It was the day Phillip married Octavia Farrington. He married her here, at St. Mary’s, and Edwina, like everyone else from the village, went to watch. She took you with her, in your pushchair, and stood on the edge of the crowd until the bride and groom came out of the church, then she left. She didn’t want him to see her. I think most particularly of all she didn’t want him to see you. Whether Philip knew that Edwina lived here in Amberside I can’t say, but I doubt it. He never asked me what happened to her, she never asked me to tell him. All I do know, as you do yourself, is that your mother never really stopped loving him.’ What he wanted to add was that it was a tragedy that Edwina had wasted her love on a man like Phillip Denby, who, to his mind, had never been worthy of Edwina. Instead, he merely took another deep breath, then letting it out slowly said, ‘I’m sorry I’ve had to be the one to tell you, Corrie, but it was the way Edwina wanted it.’
A long silence followed his words. The strange weightlessness had left Corrie now, in its place she felt the heaviness of betrayal and pain; she felt anger that both her parents had been so weak, and she felt hatred too, for Serena, a grandmother she had never known.
Her voice was hoarse when finally she spoke. ‘Does my father know …? Does he know I exist?’
Ted shook his head.
‘I see.’ Corrie put a hand to her mouth and started to chew her nails, something she hadn’t done since she was a child. Suddenly realizing what she was doing she snatched her hand away and looked at Ted again. ‘Is there anything else I should know?’
‘No, I think you have it all.’
Corrie nodded. ‘My grandparents, are either of them still alive?’
‘No.’
‘Do you know where my father is now?’
‘Yes.’
‘Are you in touch with him?’
‘Not often.’
Corrie’s face was hard. ‘I see. Well, it looks like I’ve got a lot of thinking to do, so I’ll go home now if you don’t mind.’
‘Auntie Hattie and I were hoping you’d stay for dinner.’
‘No. I’d rather be alone, if you don’t mind.’
‘Corrie,’ Ted said softly, as he was helping her into her coat, ‘I know you’re angry, but please, don’t be too hard on your mother. None of this has been easy for her.’
‘No, I don’t suppose it has,’ Corrie answered stiffly. ‘I’ll call you tomorrow,’ and she ran out into the fading afternoon.
‘How could she have allowed me to believe he was so bloody wonderful when he treated her like that?’ she raged to Paula later. ‘How could he have been so weak, so spineless as to have let her go so easily? Uncle Ted said they were in love, at the beginning, so why didn’t he stand by her? God I hate him! I hate him so much I’d like to kill him. And my own
‘Edwina chose to live in Amberside because the Denbys – your father’s family – have a country estate nearby.’ He paused for a moment as a flicker of recognition dulled Corrie’s eyes. He waited for her to speak, but she said nothing. ‘Edwina believed,’ he went on, ‘that in Amberside she would always feel a closeness to Phillip, even though she knew she would probably never see him. And in all these years I don’t think she ever did. Except once. A year after you were born. It was the day Phillip married Octavia Farrington. He married her here, at St. Mary’s, and Edwina, like everyone else from the village, went to watch. She took you with her, in your pushchair, and stood on the edge of the crowd until the bride and groom came out of the church, then she left. She didn’t want him to see her. I think most particularly of all she didn’t want him to see you. Whether Philip knew that Edwina lived here in Amberside I can’t say, but I doubt it. He never asked me what happened to her, she never asked me to tell him. All I do know, as you do yourself, is that your mother never really stopped loving him.’ What he wanted to add was that it was a tragedy that Edwina had wasted her love on a man like Phillip Denby, who, to his mind, had never been worthy of Edwina. Instead, he merely took another deep breath, then letting it out slowly said, ‘I’m sorry I’ve had to be the one to tell you, Corrie, but it was the way Edwina wanted it.’
A long silence followed his words. The strange weightlessness had left Corrie now, in its place she felt the heaviness of betrayal and pain; she felt anger that both her parents had been so weak, and she felt hatred too, for Serena, a grandmother she had never known.
Her voice was hoarse when finally she spoke. ‘Does my father know …? Does he know I exist?’
Ted shook his head.
‘I see.’ Corrie put a hand to her mouth and started to chew her nails, something she hadn’t done since she was a child. Suddenly realizing what she was doing she snatched her hand away and looked at Ted again. ‘Is there anything else I should know?’
‘No, I think you have it all.’
Corrie nodded. ‘My grandparents, are either of them still alive?’
‘No.’
‘Do you know where my father is now?’
‘Yes.’
‘Are you in touch with him?’
‘Not often.’
Corrie’s face was hard. ‘I see. Well, it looks like I’ve got a lot of thinking to do, so I’ll go home now if you don’t mind.’
‘Auntie Hattie and I were hoping you’d stay for dinner.’
‘No. I’d rather be alone, if you don’t mind.’
‘Corrie,’ Ted said softly, as he was helping her into her coat, ‘I know you’re angry, but please, don’t be too hard on your mother. None of this has been easy for her.’
‘No, I don’t suppose it has,’ Corrie answered stiffly. ‘I’ll call you tomorrow,’ and she ran out into the fading afternoon.
‘How could she have allowed me to believe he was so bloody wonderful when he treated her like that?’ she raged to Paula later. ‘How could he have been so weak, so spineless as to have let her go so easily? Uncle Ted said they were in love, at the beginning, so why didn’t he stand by her? God I hate him! I hate him so much I’d like to kill him. And my own
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