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“Looking back, I realise what a thoroughly objectionable young man I was,” he said wryly. “Cocksure of my own abilities, ambitious and singularly unappreciative of any other point of view than my own!”

Rosamund caught her breath at the description and Dr. Rob paused to look at her enquiringly, but she shook her head.

“No—nothing. Please go on.”

“Well, to sum up in one word, I was arrogant beyond belief. I was quite sure that I could solve all the world’s problems with one hand tied behind my back. And it was when I was at the callow stage of my development that I met your mother.” He stared straight ahead as if he was gazing into the past and his voice softened as he went on: “She was quite lovely—like a fragile flower.” He paused momentarily and then went on slowly as if he was choosing his words with great care. “And, like a flower, she needed support to withstand the storms of life. That she had always had from her sister Ruth. It’s odd,” he remarked parenthetically, “how often you find those two strains in the same family—the dominant type and the dependent. And, to be honest, I don’t know what Celia would have done without Ruth. And so it worked out quite well for a time. But Ruth’s ambition matched my own. She was beginning to make her name as a designer and she meant to miss no opportunities. Admittedly, she drove herself to incredible lengths—but she also drove Celia, who was her leading model, to a point beyond endurance.”

“I know!” Rosamund said quickly. “She did the same to me. It makes you feel like a bird beating its wings against the bars of a cage that’s too small anyhow!”

“Exactly,” Dr. Rob agreed. “But you, my dear, had the strength to get out of the cage by your own efforts. My poor little Celia hadn’t. And that was where I, in my arrogance, took command! I insisted that we should get married at once. Then I would have the right to defend her from Ruth’s demands. At first, Celia wouldn’t agree. She was by no means sure that I was right in thinking that Ruth would accept the fact that she no longer had exclusive claims on her devotion and would consequently be less demanding. But I over-persuaded her and we were married. And immediately it was clear that Celia had been right and I completely wrong. As soon as she heard what we’d done, Ruth sacked her!”

“Oh no!” Rosamund exclaimed incredulously. “Surely even she—her own sister—”

“That made no difference,” Dr. Rob said grimly. “It may even have made matters worse in Ruth’s eyes. So there we were, entirely dependent on what I earned—which wasn’t very much—with Ruth taking care that Celia didn’t get another job. As a result, we had to live in near squalor with little or no prospect of any improvement in the near future. I worked as hard as I knew how to, but that meant I was away for very long hours and Celia, poor child, was lonely and bored, particularly as there was no money to spend on entertainment of any sort. Inevitably, we both became disillusioned and being young, we each blamed the other for things having gone wrong.”

He sighed and Rosamund gave his hand a sympathetic little squeeze which seemed to encourage him to go on.

“Just what would have happened if we’d been left to ourselves, I’ve often wondered. But of course, we weren’t. Ruth hadn’t finished with us yet—and she held the trump cards. She came to see Celia when I wasn’t there and offered her work for a few days in an emergency. That, of course, was just the beginning. Every now and again, Ruth would offer her work and she would accept it. Then, out of the blue, I had the offer of a post in America. It was a wonderful chance for a young man, one which could make all the difference to my future career. I went home, very cock-a-hoop, and told Celia that all our troubles were over, we were leaving for America in a month’s time. To my astonishment, she told me bluntly that I could go if I liked, but she wasn’t coming with me. I’d let her down once and for all she knew I might do the same again. We quarrelled half the night—and then she admitted that Ruth had already offered her her old job. I knew it was hopeless then. A month later I left for America—alone. Celia and I never saw each other again. I wrote several times and I sent money to her, but I never had a reply. Yes, my dear?” as Rosamund made a convulsive little movement.

“Aunt Ruth told me that my mother wrote several times to you to tell you of my birth,” Rosamund told him shakily.

“Letters which, I’ve no doubt, Ruth undertook to post,” Dr. Rob suggested grimly, and when Rosamund nodded: “And never did, of course, though I’ve no proof of that—” he looked at her questioningly.

“You don’t need to prove it, not to me,” Rosamund said firmly. “Not only because I know Aunt Ruth, but because—I believe it because you say so ! ”

“Bless you for that, child!” Dr. Rob said, deeply moved. “It’s the most wonderful thing you could possibly tell me! ” He was silent for a while. Then, with an effort, he went on: “I had one letter—from Ruth, nearly a year later. It simply said that your mother had died of influenza and enclosed the certificate. Still nothing about you. And that, I concluded, was the end of a sad little story—until, by chance, you suddenly turned up at Yeoman’s Reach. It
was
by chance, wasn’t it?” he paused to ask.

“Yes, just chance,” Rosamund confirmed gravely. “But
I
can’t prove that!”

“You don’t have to, my dear. Not to me! Well, Alice, bless her, realised how like your mother you are, even to the colour of your eyes. She sent for me and we put two and two together with the result that we concluded that you might well be my daughter, particularly as you gave your name as Hastings. That, and other odds and ends you let out—like never having been out of the country, which could mean that you’d never seen your birth certificate as you’d have had to do if you applied for a passport.” He looked at her enquiringly.

“No, I’ve never seen it,” she confirmed.

“Didn’t it occur to you to wonder how it came about that your surname was the same as your mother’s maiden name?” Dr. Rob asked. “Or did Ruth tell you that you were illegitimate?”

“She didn’t tell me so, but when I grew up I assumed that was the case, particularly as she never spoke of my father. And though by the time I—I married John, she told me that I was legitimate, it didn’t occur to me that the fact held any significance as regards my surname. I’ve become so accustomed to accept it as being Hastings, you see.”

Dr. Rob drew a deep breath.

“Ruth is, in many ways, an extremely clever woman,” he commented grimly. “Particularly when it comes to getting her own way. Sometimes I find myself wondering if, perhaps, she even convinces herself that she’s telling the truth! Well, that’s my story, my dear. Now tell me yours.” Rosamund didn’t reply, and after a moment Dr. Rob put his arm round her shoulders and gave her an encouraging hug. At first there was no response. Then suddenly Rosamund turned and buried her face on his shoulder.

“There isn’t really much to tell,” she said in a muffled voice.

“Well, tell me what little there is,” Dr. Rob coaxed. “Perhaps two heads will be better than one.”

“There’s nothing anybody can do,” Rosamund said dully. “It’s too late! You see, John thinks I married him for his money and—”

“What!” Dr. Rob almost shouted. “The damned young fool!”

“No, he’s not really,” Rosamund denied tonelessly. “I don’t see how he can believe anything else—there’s so much evidence—”

Dr. Rob scowled portentously.

“Is Ruth mixed up in this?” he demanded. “She is? Then, my dear, I want you to tell me the whole story, please. I’ve a feeling that this time she may have overreached herself! So tell me, Rosamund.”

So, haltingly and occasionally interrupted by a pertinent question from Dr. Rob, Rosamund told him all that had happened—or almost all. She couldn’t bring herself to tell him of that humiliating kiss—

At last it was finished and Rosamund stole a timid glance at him as he sat pondering and frowning.

“H’m, it doesn’t help us much, does it? I’d hoped you’d be telling me something that would at least help to give us the whip hand over Ruth, but it seems that her luck still holds. We’re just where we were—”

“Not quite,” Rosamund suggested softly. “We’ve found each other—”

“So we have,” Dr. Rob agreed, his expression softening momentarily. “And of course, that’s something Ruth doesn’t know—though I’m pretty certain she suspected we had much earlier—as we might well have done if I hadn’t felt it advisable to make absolutely sure that you are my daughter before I spoke of it to you, and if I hadn’t gone to America—America seems to be my jinx, doesn’t it? That’s the second time I’ve played into Ruth’s hands by going there.”

“What I don’t understand is how Aunt Ruth found out where I was,” Rosamund remarked. “I literally hadn’t told a soul where I was going—how could I, I didn’t know myself!”

“Well, one can only guess at that,” Dr. Rob admitted. “But it seems to me more than likely that it was just one more case of Ruth’s luck holding. You see, it probably never occurred to her that you’d have the courage to go off into the blue as you did with no haven in sight. And so it wouldn’t be surprising if she assumed that you’d found out I was your father and had come to me. If she had
me
watched and followed, she could easily find out where my week-end retreat was and the rest followed. By incredible chance, her guess turned out to be right though her reasoning had been wrong.” He paused, frowning. “Do you remember if you said anything that would tell her that though we had almost certainly met, you knew nothing of our relationship?”

"I'm not too sure—” Rosamund hesitated, trying to remember. “Yes, I did, I asked her if I was illegitimate, that was when she told me that you’d—you’d—”

“Deserted your mother?” Dr. Rob finished grimly. “Yes, of course, that told her that I’d said nothing so far—fool that I was!”

“Please don’t blame yourself,” Rosamund begged gently. “How could you have known?”

“I ought to have learned that where Ruth is concerned, one shouldn’t take chances, however well intentioned,” Dr. Rob replied morosely.

They sat in silence for several moments. Then, suddenly, Dr. Rob asked a question.

“Rosamund, why did you come up to Town today? You said that John was already up here. Was it to meet him?”

“Oh
no
!” Rosamund said quickly. “I came to see Aunt Ruth—”

‘To see Ruth!” he stared at her in amazement. “But my dear child, why on earth—?”

“Because I had a letter from her this morning—” Rosamund began.

“A letter? You didn’t tell me that!” Dr. Rob ejaculated. “What did she say? Have you got it with you?”

“No, I left it at Lindacres,” Rosamund explained. “But I can tell you just what she said—” And as nearly as she could, she repeated the contents of the letter while Dr. Rob listened spellbound.

“And what did you tell her?” he asked with a softness which somehow made the question all the more urgent.

“I didn’t see her. She’s in Paris, so I left the letter I’d written before I decided that I would probably make more impression on her if I told her face to face—”

“And just what did you say in that letter?” Dr. Rob asked without raising his voice.

“I told her in so many words that it was out of the question to do as she asked.”

Dr. Rob brought his hand down with a resounding thwack on the arm of the settee.

“That’s it!” he exclaimed triumphantly. “That’s what we wanted! Now we’ve got her! My dear, don’t you see? If Ruth is desperate for money, she’ll do anything to get it—even to the point of telling the truth!”

“But you don’t understand,” Rosamund said desperately. “I
meant
it. I haven’t got the money to give her and I can’t—I
won't
ask John for it! How can I when—” she bit her lip, unable to complete her sentence.

“I’m not suggesting that John should come into this at all,” Dr. Rob said bluntly. He didn’t add that, in the circumstances, he couldn’t see John paying up even if he was approached. No need to hurt the child still, further. “This is
my
job! If she gets any money at all, it will be mine! Is that clear?”

“Yes, but why should you—”

“Oh, for a variety of reasons. To begin with, I want to get things straightened out for you. That’s the best reason of all. Then to clear myself beyond all doubt in your eyes of the neglect of which Ruth accused me. And finally—" his lips twisted in an unmirthful grin, “I must admit that it would give me tremendous satisfaction to get the better of Ruth at last! Yes, it’s my job all right! But it wants thinking out carefully. There mustn’t be any mistakes—”

His voice trailed away to silence. Rosamund leaned back and closed her eyes. It was wonderful to have discovered that Dr. Rob was her father. Perhaps even more wonderful to know that he hadn’t callously ignored her very existence all these years. But in other ways, nothing was altered, nor would it be. It wouldn’t make any difference to the way John felt, or the way she did. Whatever Dr. Rob—she couldn’t get used to calling him “Father” yet—might say about getting things straightened out for her, there was no future for John and her. It was too late for that.

She was roused from her apathy by Dr. Rob saying with satisfaction:

“Yes, I think I’ve got it. When did you say Ruth was expected back?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

“So she’ll have your letter then. You, of course, will have one from her the following morning—”

“Will I?” Rosamund asked doubtfully. “You don’t think that, seeing I’ve said I won’t help her, she’ll just carry out her threat—whatever it is?”

“Oh no,” Dr. Rob said positively. “Not if she wants money so badly. And if she once broadcasts whatever it is she’s so sure you don’t want known, then she’s lost her hold over you and she could whistle for all' the money you might have paid her to keep quiet.”

“I see. But—” Rosamund shook her head—“I simply can’t think what there can be that she feels she can use to blackmail me like this. Because it is blackmail, isn’t it?”

“It’s blackmail, all right,” Dr. Rob said sternly. “And of course, she may be bluffing and really there’s nothing at all. But somehow, I don’t think that’s so. Don’t misunderstand me, Rosamund. It isn’t that I imagine for a moment that you’ve done something you shouldn’t have, but Ruth is no fool.
She
thinks she’s got something. So we must find out what it is—in other words wait for her next letter. Until that comes, I shall stay out of it. But once it does come, you must let me know
at once.
Then I’ll go and see her. Is that clear?”