The Secret Love-Child

'You think I could be happy going on what should have been your honeymoon?' she exclaimed. 'No wonder Luke left you for another woman. You have no sensitivity at all! I dare say he worked out that you were only marrying him for his money. So he gave you what you wanted, then looked elsewhere for some genuine love and warmth.'

Isabel was stunned by her mother's harsh words. 'You think I was only marrying Luke for his money?'

Heir mother flushed, but still looked her straight in the eye. 'You weren't in love with the man. That, I know. I've seen you in love, girl, and what you felt for Luke wasn't it. You cold-bloodedly set out to get that man. I didn't say a word because I thought Luke would make a fine husband and father, and I hoped that you might eventually fall in love with him. You played false with him, Isabel. And you got what you deserved.'

'Dot, stop it,' Isabel's father intervened sharply. 'What's done is done. And who knows? Maybe it's all for the best Maybe someone better will come along, someone our girl can like and love.'

Isabel gave her father a grateful look. But she was close to tears. And very hurt by her mother's lack of sympathy and understanding. 'I...I have to go and ring Rachel,' she said, desperate to get away from her mother's hostility. Rachel would at least be on her side.

'What about everyone else?' her mother threw after her. 'Who's going to make all the other phone calls necessary to cancel everything?'

'I'll do all that, Mum.'

'On our phone?'

Isabel closed her eyes for a second. Phones. They were her nemesis today. 'No,' she said wearily. 'I'll be moving into the town house Luke gave me tomorrow. I'll make all the calls from there.'

'You're moving out?' Suddenly, her mother looked wretchedly unhappy.

Isabel sighed. 'I think I should.'

'You...you don't have to, you know,' her mother said, her voice and chin wobbling. 'I don't really care about the phone bill.'

Isabel understood then that her mother had been lashing out from her own hurt and disappointment. She'd always wanted to see her only daughter married. And now that event seemed highly unlikely.

Because her mother was right, Isabel conceded. She had set out to get Luke rather cold-bloodedly, and she simply couldn't do that again. Which left what? Falling in love with another Mr Wrong?

No! Now that was on her list of never-do-again.

'It's all right, Mum,' Isabel said, giving her mother a hug. 'Everything will be all right. You'll see.'

Her mother began to cry then, with Isabel struggling not to join in.

She looked beseechingly at her father over her Mum's dropped head and he nodded. 'Go ring Rachel,' he said quietly. 'I'll look after her.'

Rachel, who was Isabel's only real female friend and now the owner of an unused wine-red bridesmaid dress, answered on the first ring.

'Can you talk?' was Isabel's first question. 'Have I rung at a bad time?'

Rachel's life was devoted to minding her foster-mother who had Alzheimer's. She'd been doing it twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, for over four years now. Despite being a labour of love, it was a grinding existence with little pleasure or leisure. Rachel's decision to take on this onerous task after her foster-mum's husband had deserted her, had cost her her job as a top secretary at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and her own partner at the time. Sacrifice, it seemed, was not a virtue men aspired to. Nowadays, Rachel made ends meet by doing clothes alterations at home. Her only entertainment was reading and watching television, plus one night out a month which Isabel paid for and organised. Last night had actually been one of those times, Isabel taking her friend to Star City Casino for dinner then a show afterwards. It was a pleasing thought that she'd have the time and the money to take Rachel out more often now.

'It's okay,' Rachel said. 'Lettie's asleep. Thank goodness. It's been a really bad day. She didn't even know me. Or she pretended not to. She's always difficult the day after I've been out with you. I don't think she likes anyone else but me minding her.'

'Poor Rachel. I'm sorry to ring you with more bad news.'

'Oh, no, what's happened?'

'The wedding's off.'

'The miserable bastard,' was Rachel's immediate response, which rather startled Isabel.

'What makes you think it was Luke's doing?'

'I know you, Isabel. No way would you opt out of marrying Luke. So what was it? Another woman?'

'How did you guess?' Isabel said ruefully.

'It wasn't hard. Men are so typical.'

'Mum blames me. She says Luke looked elsewhere because I didn't love him.'

'You confessed it wasn't a romantic match?'

'No, she guessed.'

'Oh, well, you have to agree she had a few clues to go on. Luke wasn't your usual type. Too traditionally good-looking and far too straight-down-the-line.'

'Mmm. It turned out he wasn't quite the Mr Goody-Two-Shoes I thought he was. Not once he met the sexy Celia.'