‘Thank you. He wanted to see where his father came from. And when he told me he had got a job on your farm, I didn’t know what to do. He loves you, Rita. The way he talks of you, his voice lilts. I said it wasn’t a clever idea him being here, but he said you were so kind and the way you spoke about his father made him seem much closer to him. He is a good boy, my Teo. But I now feel so bad that he didn’t tell you and now Hilda has made us confront this.’
Carmen stood up crossed the room, and, sitting next to Rita, took both her hands in hers. ‘I am so sorry for our loss, but I am so happy for our gain.’
She looked up at the woman who had carried this truth alone for so long.
‘I don’t know what to do with this,’ Rita whispered. ‘And does Teo even know you are here?’
‘Not yet and you don’t have to do anything.’ Carmen smiled.
‘I can’t believe he didn’t say anything.’ Rita sighed.
‘Please don’t be angry with him, Rita. He is a good boy.’
Rita screwed up her nose. ‘Can I ask you how you found out about Archie’s passing?’
Carmen nodded. ‘His brother called me. He was distraught.’
FORTY-FOUR
Rita woke to her alarm. Five a.m. She groaned and turned over, then remembering she had two new kids, a nursing goat, an ex-lover and son of her husband on the farm to deal with, she sat up sleepy eyed and slowly got out of bed and dragged on joggers and a hoodie. Checking her phone for messages and realising she hadn’t updated Kelly, she groaned again. Thinking her friend would understand the enormity of her late-night visitor, she fired off a quick text telling her there was drama, that she was OK, and she’d call her when she’d fed the animals. She’d just flicked the kettle on when there was a knock at the door. She checked her watch. Not even Zenya or Teo were on parade this early, especially as they had no guests at the moment.
It was Hilda.
‘Bloody hell, Mother-in-law, did I just see a pig fly over the barn. You’re rarely up in time forLorraine, normally.’ Rita reached for a second mug from the cupboard. She signalled to the table. ‘You’d better sit down.’
Rita had never seen Hilda look quite this sincere as she sat opposite her at the kitchen table. She didn’t even ask if she could have a cigarette, it was that serious. Her mother-in-law slurped her tea noisily. ‘I suppose you want to know my part in this.’
Rita yawned. ‘Just tell me everything, Hilda. I’m a big girl. I can take it.’
‘Archie was drunk one night and blurted out he had a child. I never said a single word to him about it after that, or him to me. Then, months later, I think you must have been in London with Kelly, he turned up drunk here, broke down in tears. Told me about losing his father too young. The weight of the farm. And how much he loved you, so much that he was scared it would break you if you ever knew about the fact he’d had another child and not told you, sooner. I think the more it went on that he hadn’t told you, he felt he couldn’t open up.’
‘We told each other everything,’ Rita almost whispered. ‘Or so I thought.’
Hida pushed a strand of silver hair back off her face. ‘Look at how you’ve coped since his passing. You’re strong. Stronger than he ever gave you credit for. He should’ve just told you, and then maybe we wouldn’t all be going through this pain now.’
‘So did you know it was Teo?’
‘I had an inkling. Only because Archie let slip that her name was Carmen and she lived in the Triana neighbourhood of Seville. Her family run a company making flamenco costumes and that’s how I found her. I didn’t dare question the boy until I had the full story. I paid for her flight here as she was desperate to see Teo too. He didn’t betray you, Rita.’ She paused, eyes glistening now.
‘Well, he did in the sense he didn’t tell me, but at least he didn’t cheat, I guess.’
‘Exactly.’ Hilda nodded. ‘And to be fair to him, if Teo hadn’t contacted him, he would never have known either. He also said he was going to write a will and put a provision in for his son, nothing major, just a gesture. Was going to say it was someone he used to work with, before you even met, so that you never would have questioned it.’
Rita stared at her, numb. ‘So why didn’t you tell me?’
‘Because…’ Hilda took a deep breath. ‘Because the night of his accident, I said I thought he should tell you what was going on. That he couldn’t put something in his will that you knew nothing about; it was too much of a betrayal to you. And he got angry. Said it was his business, and he would tell you when the time was right.’
Hilda’s chin wobbled. The silence between them thickened.
Rita shook her head. ‘Sothat’swhy he came back to me so angry that night. Stupid sod. I don’t know what he thought I would do or say, but we’d have got through it.’
Hilda’s voice was hollow. ‘It’s my fault he died that night.’
Rita got up and ran around the kitchen table to hug her. ‘No, no! It was an accident. There was nothing either of us could have done about it.’
Hilda jumped up. ‘I’d better get back, before Carmen wakes.’
‘Where is she sleeping?’
