Nicola Upson - Angel with Two Faces

‘And you haven’t mentioned it to someone who might have told Christopher? Morwenna, for example – could Loveday have overheard something that she thought Christopher should know?’

‘I’ve never broken that promise to Jago,’ Morveth said indignantly. ‘It’s not the sort of thing you casually “mention”.’

‘Of course, there is one more thing that might have made Christopher run away,’ Archie said. ‘Am I right in thinking that Loveday was pregnant?’ Suddenly, Morveth looked genuinely frightened. ‘We’ve been friends a long time,’ he continued, ‘and, because of that, I’m not going to ask you if you did anything to ensure that she would lose the baby. But I will ask you this: why were you so against her having a child?’

‘You obviously know a great deal more than I thought, Archie,’ Morveth said, recovering a little of her composure. ‘And if that’s the case, I don’t know how you can even ask why I’d be against that girl’s pregnancy.’

‘I know she’s young and the circumstances are hardly ideal, but a child at her age isn’t unheard of and it wouldn’t have been the end of the world. Anyway, Christopher clearly cares for her. He would have stood by her if people had been a little more understanding, and he’s got – or at least he had – a solid future.’

‘Christopher?’ Morveth said, surprised. ‘Why should he have to take that on? None of this is his fault, and Jago would never have put up with that.’

‘But you’re surely not suggesting that it was entirely Loveday’s fault? The baby was Christopher’s and he would have faced up to his responsibility once he’d had time to come to terms with it.’

‘No, no – you’ve got that wrong,’ Morveth said. ‘Jago swore there was nothing going on between Christopher and Loveday, and I believe him.’

‘That was wishful thinking, I’m afraid. For some reason, Jago objected very strongly to Loveday, but there’s no question in my mind that the child she lost was Christopher’s.’

So whose baby did Morveth think it was? Josephine wondered. Loveday knew so few people. ‘But Morwenna said… she seemed so sure,’ the older woman whispered, confused, and suddenly Josephine knew exactly what was in her mind.

‘My God,’ she said, horrified, ‘Morwenna thought it was Harry’s baby, didn’t she? She thought it was history repeating itself.’ She turned to Archie, who was staring at her in disbelief. ‘That’s why she felt so betrayed – when Morwenna ended her relationship with Harry, she thought he’d turned to their little sister, either to spite her or – even more unbearable for her – because he had never genuinely loved her.’ As Archie continued to look doubtful, she spoke more forcefully: ‘That’s what she said to me – a bond had been formed behind her back, and now she was on the outside. What else would destroy her so completely? Or make her so resentful of Loveday?’

Archie turned to Morveth. ‘Is this true?’

Slowly, Morveth nodded. ‘She was devastated when she came to me – sick with worry about the effect it would have on Loveday, and hardly able to believe that Harry could do such a thing to her – but she knew the signs. If anyone knew them, Morwenna did.’

‘What signs?’ Archie asked impatiently. This complex web of misplaced certainties and false logic was beginning to irritate him as much as it did Josephine.

‘They were spending lots of time together, disappearing into the woods for hours at a time. And Loveday started being spiteful towards Morwenna, taunting her with the fact that she and Harry had their own secrets now, saying that Harry loved her best.’

‘Surely she had a lot of time to make up for?’ Josephine suggested. ‘Harry and Morwenna had shut her out for so long that you can’t blame her for wanting to get her own back. Do you have brothers and sisters? No? I thought not. Trust me – it’s what siblings do. Nobody takes more triumph from the small victories than a scorned younger sister.’

‘But Loveday was growing up,’ Morveth insisted, determined to justify Morwenna’s reading of the situation. ‘Morwenna couldn’t deny her sexuality any longer.’

‘I suppose it never occurred to anyone to ask Loveday who her baby’s father was?’ Josephine demanded, her sarcasm getting the better of her. ‘If she was so grown up, a straightforward question might have saved a lot of heartache for everyone.’

‘There was no need – Morwenna was so sure,’ Morveth repeated desperately. ‘And when she told me what her suspicions were, it seemed so obvious.’

‘Her suspicions? So she wasn’t sure – not until you’d encouraged her to believe it.’

‘But it seemed so logical – there must be something in it, surely?’ Morveth looked pleadingly at Archie, but Josephine was incensed and in no mood to let the subject drop easily.

‘Why? To salve your conscience? All because you’d rather believe in some kind of genetic sickness than face up to emotions that frightened you and a love you didn’t understand? Because no matter what anyone else thinks about it, that’s what Harry and Morwenna had – a deep, lasting love, the sort that very few of us ever know. I can see why Morwenna was capable of getting it so wrong – she was obsessed with Harry and jealousy distorts everything – but what’s your excuse?’

‘How do you know about Harry and Morwenna?’

‘Morwenna told me,’ Archie said, ‘and she also spoke to Josephine about Harry.’ The latter was a slight exaggeration of the truth, and he was surprised to find a champion for the older Pinchings in Josephine, but he had no intention of relinquishing the moral high ground so early in his conversation with Morveth. ‘Morwenna had the sense to realise that Nathaniel’s murder demands the truth from everyone, no matter how preferable silence may be.’

‘And do you condone it so easily, this love that I don’t understand – whatever its consequences?’

‘I don’t easily condone anything that’s against the law,’ Archie said carefully, ‘but I do consider the consequences of my actions before I condemn it.’ Morveth flushed at the pointed reminder of the blind eye which Archie had just turned to her own departure from the legal path.

‘Is that why you were so concerned about my spending time with Loveday?’ Josephine asked. ‘You thought I’d find out that Harry was taking advantage of her?’

‘Among other things. The family’s had enough to worry about without that sort of shame getting out.’

‘Other things?’ Archie repeated, conscious that he was being sidetracked yet again from the murder investigation which he had come here to pursue. ‘Do those other things include anything that Loveday might have let slip about Nathaniel’s death?’

‘No. I just meant Harry and Morwenna – I wasn’t to know you were already aware of what had gone on between them. And as far as I know, Loveday doesn’t know what’s happened to Nathaniel. Morwenna thought that she should be allowed to get better first, and I agreed. They were quite close.’ She turned to Josephine. ‘If you don’t mind my saying, you seem very sure of what you know for someone who’s only met Loveday once or twice.’

‘I’m afraid I can’t lay claim to any great feats of perception,’ Josephine said, refusing to be intimidated. ‘I only listened to her, just as you advised me to. You were right, though – few people are wise enough to do that. Most of you are so caught up in your secrets and your intrigues that you miss what’s right under your nose. Loveday adored her big brother, as most young girls do; she was competitive with her sister, as women of all ages are; and she experimented sexually with someone she liked who paid her some attention – again, that’s hardly unusual. So yes, I am sure of that much.’