Family Secrets

Chapter Eleven

The hour flew by with our discussion of names. Mrs. Henderson had more suggestions than I could keep track of, both for boys and for girls. Truthfully, she gave me a great deal to think about by the time she left.

If I had a boy, I quite liked the name Anthony or Nicholas. After all, I had no one I wished to honor, like the father or my own father. A boy I could name to please myself.

However, if I had a girl, the matter became a little harder. Should I name her after my mother, Katherine? Would it be more appropriate to show respect for my grandmother, Honora?

Who would have thought the task of naming my child would rest on me alone? I had never thought about it before, beyond a vague understanding that it was something that must be done. How did one go about choosing the right name?

Miss Greaves did not reappear while Mrs. Henderson was with me. I worried that meant she would not produce my letters. So it came as something of a shock when she tossed a small packet into my lap that evening, after Katie had taken my supper tray down.

"Here are your letters Mrs. Henderson demanded for you. I hope you find them worth the effort and fuss."

"Why did you hide them from me?" I asked, grabbing them tightly. "They don't belong to you."

"I had to be sure you were not corresponding with a man you were not related to. Bad behavior should not be encouraged."

Huffing, I rifled through the four letters. "And what gentleman might I correspond with?"

"I chaperoned one young lady who insisted the man would marry her. The silly thing didn't realize that if she ran away with him, he would never marry her and she would be left destitiute. No matter what his letters might have said."

I was only half listening as I studied the letters. "Well, I am hardly in that position," I commented. The first letter had handwriting I recognized: my father's. There was even one from my brother of all people! The other two I did not recognize. All four had had their seal broken.

"Are you looking for this?" Miss Greaves asked, getting my attention. When I looked up, she was holding a single letter in her hand. "Mr. Roger Wilson? Who might that be?"

Since you have already opened it, you must know," I snapped. "Really, could you ask a more stupid question?"

Her smile vanished. "Well, your father will not be pleased to hear about this."

"Why? Because now I am aware that I have something of an inheritance?" Whatever it was had to be better than nothing! "That if he chooses to cast me off I will not suffer?

She actually laughed at that. "An ungrateful daughter, who has disgraced her family, ought to suffer, don't you think?"

Was that part of her job? To ensure I suffered for making a mistake? It wasn't enough that I was facing the consequences of that mistake?

"Can I please have my letter?" I asked instead of answering her question. I held out my hand.

For a moment, I didn't think she was going to hand it to me. "You shouldn't let Mrs. Henderson encourage you to be attached to the child," Miss Greaves said, slapping the letter into my hand. "It will not end well."

"All she did was ask what I intended to name my child," I told her, unfolding the paper. "It must be done, mustn't it?"

Miss Greaves hummed a note, but didn't answer. That should have been a warning for me, but I paid no attention. Instead, I read the polite letter from Mr. Roger Wilson.

My grandmother, Mrs. Henry Willis, had indeed left me Garden View Cottage and a small sum of money. Once I reached my majority, I would be granted control of my little inheritance. For the time being, Mr. Wilson was managing the investments for me. He assured me that he was delighted I was at the cottage and would come to explain the details of my inheritance to me.