Grace wanted to ask more, but something in his expression warned her against it. Whoever he had been in India, it had changed him forever. His demeanour abruptly changed to light-heartedness as he asked, ‘Do you like to travel?’
She let out a soft laugh. ‘Impoverished spinsters do not travel much.’
Mr Stone studied her. ‘Why, Miss Skye, should anything prevent you from travelling? I should be glad to accompany you anywhere you wish to go.’ He bowed gallantly.
Grace’s breath caught.He was teasing again. Surely, he was teasing.Indulging him, she said, ‘I would love to travel to India. My mother was half-Indian. She was born there.’
Something shifted in his expression. ‘Where was she from?’
‘Hyderabad.’
He turned away sharply. ‘What was her name?’
Grace felt a cold pang of fear.Would he withdraw like the others had?‘My mother’s name was Kitty Kirkpatrick,’ she said, her voice steady.
He spun around, his face pale with shock.
‘You do not mean to say—you are the granddaughter of Colonel James Kirkpatrick?’
Lifting her chin, she met his gaze. ‘I am.’
The room fell silent.
Mr Stone exhaled sharply.
‘I know of him,’ he said at last. ‘He converted to Islam.’
Grace was taken aback by the incredulity on his face.
‘Your uncle, William Kirkpatrick, has been trying to find you for years.’
A gasp rippled through the room.
Mrs Merriweather’s hand flew to her mouth. After Colonel Kirkpatrick passed away, his two children, Kitty and William, were brought to England by his family.
‘Uncle William travelled to India after he grew up,’ Grace whispered. ‘Mama was told he died of cholera alongside my grandmother.’
Mr Stone’s jaw tightened. ‘I am sorry to tell you this, but they lied to her. He has been trying to correspond with her for years, but I suppose her family intercepted her letters.’
Grace felt a lump rise in her throat. ‘Why would they do such a thing?’ she asked.
Mr Stone hesitated before replying, ‘Perhaps because he also converted to Islam. They may have cut him off.’
Mrs Merriweather covered her mouth. ‘This is incredible. Mr William is still alive?’
Mr Stone nodded gravely. ‘As far as I am aware, he was alive and well as recently as last year.’
For as long as she could remember, her mother, Kitty, had carried the pain of rejection.
After being brought to England, Kitty had never fully been accepted by her father’s side of the family and was cast aside by society until her marriage.
A love match, as Grace had been told—a rare and precious thing.
Grace’s father, Richard Skye, had met Kitty in Bath by chance and married her despite his family’s vehement objections.
Richard’s brother never forgave him, passing that same prejudice to his son—Charles.
But here, now, for the first time, Grace was speaking with someone who not only did not turn away at the mention of her heritage—but who had reunited her with her uncle.
