Dancing for Destiny

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The next day, Lewis was due to come to stay, Eva spent hours plaiting her hair. She could feel the excitement in the house and it wasn’t particularly just hers either. Eva sat on the stairs watching the front door but the clock ticked by slowly and eventually the time came. The front door had a glass pane in it and as soon as Eva saw three figures enter the driveway, she first yelled to her aunt and uncle, then leapt up to fling the door open. Hannah had been perched on the edge of the seat nearest the door in the library and tried to be sedate and ladylike as she rushed to be first after Eva to invite their new guest into their home. Even Henry,  who had been in his office sidled downstairs rather faster than usual. All three of them walked outside to meet the other three people approaching them.

As they met close to the house, Eva introduced Ted, then Lewis and finally, Jordy. Hannah turned to greet him, turned deadly white and would have collapsed, but Henry and Eva each caught one of her elbows and supported her. Hannah mumbled something in Henry’s ear and he scrutinised Jordy’s face closer and his eyes widened. “I think we should go inside” Henry almost ordered solemnly. Lewis, Jordy, Ted and Eva exchanged glances, Jordy looking guilty for he felt it was somehow his fault that Hannah had fainted, as, in part, it was. “Auntie Hannah, are you alright?” Eva asked “yes, thank you dear, I’ll be fine now love.”

Once inside, they all sat down in the drawing room which was only used on special occasions so Eva knew something was up. When they were all seated, Henry stood. “Now Mr. Malpass, is Jordy here, your son?”

“No, he is not, I have, however raised him as my own.”

“I thought not, you see, just over 14 years ago, a dreadful event occurred. My brother and sister-in-law had two children, twins, and for reasons I will embellish later on, they had to go into hiding and had to leave their treasured children who were at that time, mere babes, with us.

It was by gross misfortune that at our meeting place, we left a child.” At this point, if the situation hadn’t been so desperately sad, Eva would have laughed. “One of the children, my wife and I raised, Eva here.” The whole room looked at Eva who was speechless with a feeling she couldn’t quite pin down, was it surprise? Rage? Then she knew. How could they keep something like this from her!?! Henry carried on speaking, “The other, I have reason to believe, is in this very room. Jordy. That other child was you.”

Eva felt like she was falling into a chasm with only those blue eyes, so very like her own, keeping her form disappearing altogether. All of a sudden, she burst into tears and ran out of the room, into the kitchen. “Oh, Jenny, I’ve known him all my life as a friend and Karen’s....” She left the sentence unfinished, “How can he be my twin?”

“Hush now child, now I believe that your aunt and uncle had very good reason not to tell you about your parents.”

“Yes but how could they leave us,  and how did Hannah and Henry lose a child? I’m fairly sure even I couldn’t manage to lose a child, even at my most clumsy and forgetfulness!” Eva burst out.”That’s part of the same good reason and you’re going to have to ask them how they lost your brother. Here, have a shortbread.” Eva mumbled her thanks through the shortbread that had already found its way in to her mouth. Jenny carried on “It is is a fact that is well known with us below satirs, but,” she hastily, seeing Eva’s face, “we are all sworn to secrecy on the first day of working here the you must not ever learn of your parents or that you had a twin. I don’t think you will remember but for at least 3 years after you came to Mr and mrs Bodmin, the master was away for weeks on end, loking for him, your sibling. Those were not the best years of his life by any stretch of the imagination. They were both distraught and only wanted to protect you. They love you as if you were their own daughter, it’s hard not to love you, Eva Bodmin.” Eva sat on the worktop, the tears drying on her cheeks, her mouth wide open at the outburst from the usually quiet woman.