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“I called Melbourne before I wrote to your father, and spoke to the priest who married your parents. He has written a letter attesting to his officiating at the marriage, and the date of it, as well as the date of your birth and the date of your christening.” Havelock tapped his desk with a satisfied smile. “I haven’t received it yet, but I’m assured it has been posted.”

“Bishop O’Reilly?” Gabriella asked.

“Yes. Very useful he’s been made a bishop since he conducted the ceremony. I can’t think of a better witness.” Havelock pulled a file toward him and flipped it open.

“Ben tells me you had help from a former Home Office official in tracing your father initially? What she put together was really exceptional work.” He pulled out an envelope, and carefully slid a letter out of it and opened it up and smoothed it out on the desk.

“Is that my father’s reply to your letter?” Gabriella asked. It was hard to talk, her heart was beating so fast in her chest.

“Yes. I sent him a notice that I was acting on your behalf, that you had been searching for him for years, and you were reaching out to settle some family matters with him.”

Gabriella liked that wording, she met Havelock’s gaze for the first time and gave a nod. “That’s all you said?”

“No need to put our cards on the table yet.” Havelock smiled.

Gabriella liked that, too. Havelock was as good as Ben said he was.

“What was his response?” Ben asked.

“Explosive.” Havelock turned the letter around and pushed it toward Gabriella.

She pulled it closer and stared down at it.

“He’s saying you have the wrong man?” She expected this, but seeing it so clearly written in black and white was still not a nice feeling.

“His denial is close to hysterical,” Havelock said. “I have written a reply saying we have conclusive evidence that we do have the right man, and are happy to bring the matter to court if he so wishes.”

“Is there a response to that?” Gabriella asked.

Havelock shook his head. “Not yet. Actually, I’m surprised at the silence. I can only think he’s desperately looking for a way out of his predicament. He won’t want to tell the woman who believes she’s his wife, or his children, what’s happening, so I’m assuming he’s looking for a lawyer to represent him. I’m sure the next correspondence I get will be from a fellow QC.”

“Do I need to do anything?” Gabriella asked.

“No. Leave it to me. Don’t reach out to him, and if he approaches you, don’t say a word and let me know immediately. Ben will give you my office and home number. Call at any time if he tries to contact you.” Havelock flicked a look at Ben who nodded.

“Thank you for everything you’ve done so far,” Gabriella said, getting to her feet.

Havelock rose from his chair and inclined his head, and Gabriella turned and walked out, feeling like her insides were churning.

“You all right?” Ben asked when they reached the corridor and he closed the library door behind them.

She shook her head. “I feel like I’m about to try parachuting for the first time.” She pressed a hand to her stomach. “Ben, he tried to say he wasn’t my father. I thought of numerous ways he’d try to get out of this, that included, but hearing it for real—I didn’t realize how much it would hurt.”

Ben led her gently to his office and wrote out Havelock’s numbers for her. “Do you want me to walk you to the bus?”

She shook her head and checked her watch. “I’ve got work and enough time to walk for a bit before I’m due at headquarters. I need the thinking time.”

Ben patted her shoulder awkwardly. “I’ll see you next week at our usual get-together, unless Havelock has a response from your father before then.”

He stood watching her as she walked away.

It was crazy how upset she felt when she would have said even a week ago that nothing her father did could upset her in any way.

He’d abandoned her when she was so young, she barely remembered him, and yet, now she felt sick to her stomach.

She reached the flagged courtyard and strode out into the street, and then headed up Temple Avenue.

She’d need to grab a bus at some point, but she had some time to spare as she’d asked for a later shift this morning.