Livvy’s hand dropped and the half-toasted bread fell off the fork into the fire. ‘That was me. My father was Oliver Copley.’
‘Yes.’
‘And he knew your father?’
‘He was my father.’
Livvy watched the bread burn away in the flames. ‘Are you sure?’
‘In two of the letters he refers to the money for his - for his daughter’s upkeep. The letters and money stopped in the year he and your mother were lost at sea.’ Harriet replaced the teapot on the tray without pouring. ‘I was sent to the poorhouse after my foster-parents died. I was an orphan so I think my real mother must have died when I was a baby.’
Livvy was staring into the fire, unable to comprehend what she had just heard.
Harriet went on: ‘When I discovered I had a sister, I wanted to find her. And when I did I wanted to be with her and care for her.’ Her voice dropped to a whisper. ‘That is why I could not leave you, even though it was so hard for me to stay.’
‘You did it for me.You put up with all that cruelty for me,’ Olivia said quietly.Then she jumped to her feet.‘We are sisters,’ she cried. ‘Oh, Harriet, I
knew
there was something special about you! You are my sister, my own family! I have longed for a family of my own. I could not wish for more. Come here and let me hug you again.’
They stood in the firelight, tea and toast forgotten, arms wrapped round each other, holding each other tightly for a long time.