The Unknowing Heiress

Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Maggie could just imagine taking a stroll about the grounds with her father, a man that had always been a mystery to her. She’d long thought about the man in her youth, but after Nate had found her, she’d stored the wondering in the back of her mind.

But somewhere in the world there had always been a man who was her true father. She didn’t even know his name. But she could ask. She could ask him anything.

“No, you do not have my permission to talk to my daughter,” Nate said firmly, the fury in his voice still evident. “Maggie, go back upstairs, now,” he said sharply.

She knew that Nate was not angry with her, but he could not expect her to do as she was told at such a time! “Daddy, please,” she begged, “please, five minutes.”

Her father, he real father, smiled at her. She saw her own smile in his. It was startling, and somewhat exciting, to see where some of her characteristics had come from. He pushed his hands into the pockets of his expensive looking suit. He wore clothing similar to the outfits that her Uncle Derek and his father, Stephen, had worn after they’d arrived in England from Philadelphia all those years ago. His clothes did speak of money so Nate did not have to be worried about him seeking her for financial gain.

“Five minutes,” Charlotte agreed. “Come along,” she said to Nate, urging him to leave the room.

“Two,” Nate said reluctantly before following Charlotte out of the room. He closed the door behind him but Maggie knew that he would be waiting right outside.

They were alone.

“Margaret,” he breathed, shaking his head with a happy smile. “I can’t believe I found you.”

“Maggie,” she corrected, “I prefer to be called Maggie. What is your name?” Her first question.

“Isaac,” he replied, “Isaac Lavelle.”

Her father’s name was Isaac Lavelle. What would be her next question?

“Isaac Lavelle,” she repeated, testing the name. “Isaac Lavelle, how did you find me?”

“Maggie,” he began, using her name for the first time, “I’ve always wanted to find you. I’ve wanted to have you with me your whole life.”

He did sound sincere, but in doing so, he’d revealed that he’d known about her for eighteen years. “Then why didn’t you?” she demanded to know.

“Maggie, where I come from, we don’t have children out of wedlock with women who work as hotel singers,” he said honestly, “especially singers who aren’t …”

“Wealthy?” Maggie guessed.

Isaac pursed his lips and shook his head. “White,” he said regretfully. “My family have owned the Lavelle Cotton Plantation for a hundred years,” he explained, “and there are specific expectations that we have to live up to.” He definitely was wealthy, then. Cotton was an enormous industry in her homeland, and for a plantation to have been running for a century, he had to have a large fortune. “To marry your mother would have meant my disinheritance.”

Maggie’s lip trembled. It was what she’d lived with her entire life. She’d endured the stares and the whispers of people who did not approve of her. Her colour was now the reason for why her father didn’t want to be a part of her life. “You were a coward,” she growled, “you left my mother for your precious plantation.”

He looked at her apologetically. “I was a coward,” he agreed, “I was young and afraid and I thought that obeying my father was what I had to do.”