The Secret Father

She made her way to Hope’s bedroom.

‘Hope, are you awake?’ Lindy opened the bedroom door and repeated the question.

‘I am now. What’s wrong?’

‘I shouldn’t have disturbed you.’ I’m selfish, she decided guiltily as Hope blinked in the light of the lamp she’d switched on. ‘I’ll go…’ she said half-heartedly.

‘Don’t be stupid. Sit down.’ Hope patted the bed and sat upright.

‘If I don’t talk to someone I think I’ll explode,’ Lindy confided, taking the place her sister offered.

‘Well, we can’t have that—too messy. Go on, spit it out,’ she advised with a resigned smile.

‘I don’t know whether you’d noticed, but me and Sam…Sam and I…’

‘I’d noticed.’

‘The thing is, I asked him if he loved me.’

Hope’s eyes widened and the last vestiges of sleepiness vanished from her expression. ‘You did what?’

‘I asked him if he loved me.’

‘And I always thought Anna was the outspoken one.’ She looked at her sister with amazement. ‘The suspense is killing me, Lindy. Are you going to tell me what he said?’

‘Yes—I mean he said yes, not yes, I’m going to tell you.’

Hope seemed to have no trouble deciphering this garbled reply. ‘Wow!’ she whispered, her eyes shining. ‘Wow!’ she repeated again. ‘Well, go on, tell me all!’ she said impatiently.

‘That is all. He didn’t say anything else—he left.’

‘I don’t believe it!’ Hope groaned. No wonder Lindy looked dazed. ‘That was one exit line he’ll find difficult to top. Here, have a bit of this cover,’ she added anxiously. ‘You’re shaking like a leaf.’

‘I think I’m in shock.’

‘The big question is, are you in love?’

Palms together, Lindy pressed her fingertips to her lips. ‘I told myself I could cope with an affair, but who wouldn’t be in love with him? He’s as close to perfect as it gets!’

This glowing commendation from her cautious sister brought a furrow of concern to Hope’s smooth forehead. ‘I agree he’s a love, Lindy, but don’t put the man on a pedestal.’

‘I don’t…I haven’t!’ Lindy responded, with a self-conscious flush. ‘I’ve never met anyone like him before. He’s nothing like I imagined.’

‘All the more reason to take things slowly.’

‘Is there any reason why I can’t enjoy the journey?’ Lindy’s eyes twinkled impishly.

‘None that I can think of. In fact, it’s about time you had some fun, sis.’

Lindy got up from the bed. Halfway to the door she stopped and turned back. ‘You know, all I ever expected of this was a sort of holiday romance. I’d convinced myself I could accept it on those terms, but now…! Everything suddenly seems very complicated. I hardly know him! There’s my work and his—long-distance relationships are fraught with problems.’

She chewed her full lower lip and uncertainty flickered across her face. ‘It never occurred to me I’d ever feel I should tell him about Paul and the baby.’ The words came out in a rush. Over the years it was a subject none of the triplets had referred to directly.

Hope’s expression sobered and her eyes were compassionate. ‘That’s up to you, Lindy. I thought you’d stopped feeling guilty about that. You were the victim, Lindy; it was that bastard who should have suffered!’

‘Nothing is that clear-cut,’ Lindy said sadly. If it was she’d be deliriously happy now, instead of being torn apart by conflicting emotions.

Of course it was true that she hadn’t known Paul was married when she’d fallen for him. It was true he’d abused his position of responsibility as her personal tutor at medical school. It was true she’d been a naive, starry-eyed teenager a long way from home, but she had been infatuated and she had thrown herself at him.

It was when she’d told him about the baby that the scales had been torn from her eyes. He’d been furious. He already, it transpired, had a family. It had got very nasty—he’d deny paternity, he’d said, if she made the mistake of telling anyone.

‘It could be anyone’s,’ he’d sneered. ‘The best thing you can do is get rid of the thing!’

The memory of the ugly words still had the power to make Lindy shudder. The humiliation and pain had been agonising.

If her sister Anna’s touring dance company hadn’t been in town at that moment Lindy didn’t know what would have happened. As it was, it had been Anna who had taken charge. Losing the baby so early had meant that nobody other than the three sisters, not even their parents, knew about this episode.