‘Darling, I can’t b – bear . . . that you are . . . going tomorrow.’
‘Hush, don’t talk. I know all that is in your heart, because it is in mine, too, Paulo. But I also know that I must make this trip. You have to be in Switzerland. I have read so much about their treatments for lung conditions and their success rates. I will be sure to come home with enough money from my father to pay for it all. He cannot refuse me.’
‘But you are nearly five . . . months pregnant. The – the journey alone is—’
A fit of coughing consumed Paulo.
‘Please, darling, relax. Keep calm about it. Look at this trip as a way to make it possible for us to have a future with our child. I am strong. As when carrying our darling Christophe, I am doing fine. I promise I will do nothing that will put a strain on our baby. I have arranged transport to London Victoria Station, and once I reach Dover I only have a couple of hours before I board the boat to Calais. I know the route so well; I travelled it a few times during my war service. And the train service within France is easy, so my onward journey will only take me three days, which means that in less than a week I will be in Krakow. I’ll be home before you know it.’
Ella’s words came back to haunt her the next day, as she cradled Paulo to her to say her goodbyes, for a month away from him now seemed like an eternity and her heart was breaking.
Rowena stood behind Paulo, her hands on his shoulders. ‘Now don’t you be worrying, Missy Ella. Him’ll be fine with me. I’ll look after him as one of me own, cos that’s what he is.’
‘I know, Rowena. Thank you. Now you’re sure that you understand all the medication? The times and the amounts? Because Paulo hasn’t got a clue, he just takes what I give him.’
‘I have it all in me head, honey child. Now you go, or you will miss your train.’
One last hug and Ella left. Once in the car, she gave vent to her tears. Shamus didn’t say anything until she’d calmed. ‘Sure it is that the time will soon pass. Have you had word about your pappy – is he worse?’
This threw Ella for a moment. She’d forgotten the lie she’d told Shamus about her father dying and needing her. ‘No, no word, which is good news, as I would have had a telegram otherwise.’
‘Are you sure that fifty pounds is going to be enough? I’m for worrying over you.’
‘More than enough. And I will pay you back every penny, I promise.’
‘I’ll be paid back when it is that you come to me. But it is patient that I am, as knowing that will happen in the future is enough for now.’
Ella felt a twinge of guilt. Shamus had been a different person towards her since that first day, over a week ago, when he’d declared himself to her. He was polite and attentive on the couple of times she had seen him.
Changing the subject, she asked after his mother.
‘Sure, Mammy is in the right place. St Mary’s is taking good care of her, so they are. Though they say that her heart is failing and she’s not likely to get a lot better.’
Ella wondered just how rich Shamus was. She knew, from experience, that St Mary’s cost the earth.
At the station she alighted as quickly as she could. ‘There’s no need to come into the station. I’ll be fine. Goodbye, Shamus, and thank you for everything.’
Shamus skirted around the car. Grabbing her hand, he stared down at her. ‘Ella, it is that I need you to promise me that you will be me wife. I can be for carrying on then.’
‘How can I do that, when I am already married? I told you that I will be a friend. I will need friends more and more, as it comes time for my baby to be born, and if . . . well, if Paulo doesn’t get better.’
‘I need more than that. I’m needing you to promise.’ The ugly, evil Shamus that she’d seen in the beginning surfaced. His eyes glared with it.
Ella shivered. ‘You’re scaring me and hurting my hand. I don’t like these bullying tactics, Shamus, and I won’t stand for it.’
As had happened once before when she challenged him, Shamus immediately backed down. ‘It’s sorry I am, but me feeling for you is so deep that I cannot sleep for wanting you.’
Ella felt relief in her at the change in his mood. ‘Well, I have to go. I will see you when I come home. And thank you again for making this trip possible.’
Turning, she attracted the attention of a porter, praying that he would come over quickly.
‘Ella, I’m needing to tell you—’
‘Madam, you need a porter?’
‘Yes, I have two cases. I am on the route to Dover, thank you. Well, goodbye, Shamus, and thank you again. I hope your mother is soon well.’ With these words, Ella followed the porter and disappeared into the station. Her heart seemed suspended from beating as she prayed that Shamus wouldn’t follow her. Only when she arrived on the platform did she dare to look back and then breathe a sigh of relief.
Krakow, with its beautiful buildings and wide streets, seemed immediately familiar to Ella, and the feeling that settled in her was one of being home. Not that she had any memory of the city, but it was as if it was in her make-up to be here.
A happy sensation descended on her as she left her hotel on the fourth morning after leaving London and inhaled a breath of cold, crisp air. The feeling was nudged by her longing for Paulo, but with each step in the direction of Pedzichow 20, she told herself that this mission was worth the pain of separation. The street where her father lived was just two streets away from where she was staying. She’d asked the driver of the cab to take her to a hotel as near there as possible, and he’d told her how to get to Pedzichow from there.
Treading carefully in the snow, Ella was aware of a cramp in her left side – something that had started during the night, and which she thought had been the result of sitting for so long on trains and on the boat. Taking off her glove, she massaged the spot and instinctively knew that the lump she could feel was a tiny foot. Oh, little one, shift yourself, you’re hurting Mama. As if her child had heard her, the pressure released and Ella felt the movement. She giggled at the experience, then patted her tummy and said, ‘Thank you, little one, that’s much more comfortable.’
It was an interaction that filled her with warmth and even more determination to succeed on this mission. She did not want her child to grow up in the hovel they now lived in. But most of all, she wanted it to grow up knowing Paulo’s love. These thoughts overrode the trepidation that almost sank her resolve.
Pedzichow 20 was a magnificent grey-cladded building in a row of similar ones, some with the lower half having a white cladding. They stood at various heights. Number twenty had three storeys, a huge thick wooden door and windows that looked as if they were framed by the white bricks that surrounded them.
Ella’s hand shook as she pulled the bell of apartment three. Her nerves were heightened as she waited, causing sweat to break out all over her body.
When the door opened, a young woman appeared, and her look held astonishment, which was mirrored by Ella. For the woman looked so much like herself, although her hair was a darker brown and her eyes were blue, not hazel like Ella’s.
‘Who are you?’
Ella understood the greeting and didn’t consider it rude, as she had felt like blurting out the same thing.
In Polish she answered, ‘I am Marjella, the daughter of Pan Wronski.’
‘What? Don’t be so ridiculous. I am – was – Pan Wronski’s only daughter!’
‘Was?’
‘Yes, my father died just over a year ago. And my mother last month.’
Ella’s world went into a spin, and she leaned heavily against the wall. ‘No. No!’
‘Look, you had better come in. Are you ill?’
‘No, it was the shock, but I am pregnant and I need to sit down.’
The woman turned and called out, ‘Abram.’
A handsome man whom Ella would put in his late twenties appeared. Dark-haired, and good-looking in a clean-cut way, as his features showed high, protruding cheekbones and startling blue eyes. ‘What is it, darling?’
‘We have a caller, and she needs help. Will you assist her into the living room?’
Abram had the same shocked look on his face, when he came to the door and saw Ella. She knew he’d seen the resemblance in her to his wife. He took Ella’s arm and guided her into the hall and through an open door on the right.
Ella looked around the plush living room. Her feet sunk into the cream-and-blue carpet. Everything she saw spoke of wealth, from the glass chandelier hanging from the high ceiling to the sumptuous suite, which consisted of two deep-blue sofas and two matching wing-backed armchairs. Other furniture – occasional tables, a bureau and an elegant sideboard – were of a deep mahogany inlaid with gold-leaf patterns of birds of prey. It was all beautiful.
Abram ushered her to a chair and she sank into the comfort it offered. Standing looking down at her, Abram spoke for the first time. ‘May I ask who you are?’
‘She says her name is Marjella, and that she is the daughter of my papa. It cannot be so, Abram, as I am the only child. Papa would have told me if he had another child. I know that Mama was his second wife, but there was never any mention of him having had a child with his first wife.’ The woman’s voice had risen to a high pitch with this last sentence.
‘Calm down, Calek, there must be a mistake. Miss . . . Marjella, why are you making this outrageous claim?’
After telling them her story – missing out the mistreatment of Nanny by their father, because this girl, whom Ella had realized was her half-sister, didn’t deserve to hear that of her papa – Ella said, ‘I know my mother left me a fortune, and I have come to claim it. I have a diary, in which my nanny wrote that she was witness to a will that my mama made while she was carrying me, and that my mama instructed her that if anything happened to her, Nanny was to see that the will was implemented.’
‘Then why didn’t she?’
‘She couldn’t because of the circumstances, but she wrote in her diary that, as far as she knew, my father put the legacy in trust for me. But she didn’t know who the solicitor was, as she said that my father took over the administration of my affairs and didn’t give her any details. When I was banished, by order of your mother, Nanny wrote to ask what would happen to my legacy – Nanny was bold in that way, and she was told that everything would be taken care of. She was given the address of a solicitor in London, who would be dealing with my own and her affairs.’ Ella went on to tell them how she had been caused great hardship by her allowance ceasing, and by the counter-claim by a nephew on her nanny’s will.
‘So you thought to come here and take from us, in much the same way? Well, it won’t work.’
Ella stared at Calek.
‘Calek! Let us discuss this in a rational manner. I don’t know if you have realized, but this is your half-sister.’
‘Oh, I have realized. That’s if her story is true. I can accept that she is family, but she may be a cousin who is making a wild claim, as the only people who could validate her story are dead.’
Ella kept calm, knowing this was a massive shock to Calek. ‘Are the solicitors Babic' and Company still in existence?’
‘Yes, they are. And they seem a good place to begin to unravel all of this. I will go and telephone them now, Calek, and I suggest that you offer our guest some refreshment and a little kindness.’
Calek turned to her husband. Fury crossed her face, but she kept quiet and watched his retreating back until the door closed on him. ‘You won’t get away with this, Marjella.’
‘Ella, call me Ella. And for my part, I am delighted to know that I have a sister and hope that we will become friends. I’m sure my legacy is in trust for me, and so it won’t interfere with anything that you have been left by our papa.’
‘There is no trust. Nothing of that nature showed up during the winding-up of Papa’s affairs. Yes, the payments to a solicitor in London did show, but they were stopped immediately on my instructions, as the sole benefactor. I wasn’t a party to what they were for, but they had no legal validity. You say they were to you and your nanny, but that doesn’t make you who you say you are – you could still be a distant relative to whom Papa felt obligated.’
‘I understand that. Though wouldn’t it have been kinder to try and find out who was receiving the payments and why, instead of cutting them off? However, that is done now, and I would like us to forget it and be friends, because none of what has happened is our doing. We are the innocents in it all. I have suffered enough, through knowing that my father didn’t want me.’
Calek didn’t answer, but for a moment Ella thought she saw her expression soften.
‘In my memory, Calek, which is very vague, Papa did love me and played with me. My nanny wrote in her diary that your mother didn’t want anything to do with me, but I don’t put the blame on her shoulders. If that was so, then my father was weak. He should have helped her to accept me, to see that I wasn’t a rival for his affections, and that he loved me in a different way from how he loved her. He is to blame.’
Calek came and sat down next to Ella. ‘I’m sorry; you frightened me by turning up on the doorstep out of the blue. Of course I realized immediately that you were telling the truth about who you are, but I feared you might be entitled to take all that I have. I couldn’t bear that.’
‘No, I wouldn’t do that. And I don’t think I am entitled to what you have. All I want is what my mother left me. I am destitute and had to borrow from a moneylender to get here.’
Ella went on to tell Calek about Paulo and his illness, and how she lived in London and finally about dear Christophe. Somehow, the sharing bonded them, and Calek held out her arms to Ella.
‘I am so sorry. It is unbearable, and I am shocked that my papa allowed such a thing to happen.’
‘He didn’t, as I now know. It all happened after he died. And neither are you to blame, for it is natural that you would instruct your solicitor to cease the payments, as you didn’t know what they were for.’
‘I know you said it would have been kinder to find out, but I took the word of my solicitor when he told me the payments were no longer valid and I should stop them. I believed him. I had no reason not to.’
When Abram came back into the room, Calek stood up and every sinew of her seemed tense. ‘Well?’
‘I’m afraid it isn’t good news for you, Marjella.’
‘Oh? I . . . What happened – is there no legacy?’
‘No. I rang Babic' and he told me that, yes, there was a daughter from the first marriage; and that, yes, there was a will in her favour; but that after Pan Wronski’s second marriage, all of the Wronski affairs were moved to our present solicitor. So I rang them, and it appears that your father put in a claim after his second marriage on the whole of your mother’s estate. As the widower, he was entitled to claim that what had been his spouse’s became his, on his remarriage. There were no surviving grandparents and no other family to contest this, and so his claim was validated.’
‘Oh God!’
‘I’m sorry. I – we – will do what we can to help, won’t we, Calek?’
‘We will have to discuss it with our solicitor first, Abram. I am sure Ella understands that. How long are you staying in Poland, Ella?’
‘I only have a few days. I won’t be able to stay longer, because with the time the journey takes, it will mean that I am away from home too long. I am in the fifth month of my pregnancy, and soon it will be too difficult for me to travel.’
A look passed over Calek’s face that was indiscernible, before she faced her husband and raised her brows. He didn’t seem to get the implication of whatever she was trying to convey, and simply smiled at her. But the look made Ella feel unsure.
‘And our father left me nothing? Not even an indication that my allowance should continue for life?’
‘No, but don’t be too hard on him; he lost his mind towards the end of his life and didn’t know what day it was or who we were. He—’
‘Abram! I don’t think Ella needed to know that.’
Again, with the feeling that Calek had an agenda, Ella’s concern deepened, but hearing that her father hadn’t been in his right mind at the end helped her. ‘I am relieved to hear about this, although sad, too, of course. But it provides a reason other than my own conclusion, which was that my father didn’t care about me. The fact that, at some point, he told your solicitor never to let you know about me, and to pass off the payments he was making as an investment, means that he was trying to save his wife from finding out that he had always taken care of me and Nanny. It was a kind act on his behalf, for his wife and you, but one that has left me destitute. I – I wonder if you would consider reinstating it, now that you know that it was our father’s wish?’
Abram went to speak, but Calek jumped in. ‘As I say, we need to consult our solicitor, so please give us time to do that.’
‘Calek, I don’t see why we cannot make that decision. After all, it is our money and we have more than enough to help your half-sister. She has been dealt an injustice, and we can put that right.’
Calek shot a look of utter disdain towards her husband, before turning and making as if to leave the room. Opening the door, she looked back. ‘Please give the address of where you are staying to my husband, and allow us time to absorb what we have learned and to come to an agreement on the way forward. My husband is always hasty to make decisions. Goodbye, Marjella.’
Abram started to protest, but Calek’s look stopped him. Ella rose and went out the door. ‘For my part, Calek, I am happy to have a sister and a family. I hope you will consider welcoming me, my husband and my child as your relations. Yes, we need help now, but we won’t always be an encumbrance on you, and I only want what is rightfully mine.’
A cold feeling seeped inside Ella, which wasn’t down to the icy wind that whipped up the street as she stepped out of the house. From what she knew of Calek’s mother, it seemed that Calek had many of the same traits in her own personality. And Ella knew that just as her father’s new wife had cast her out, so too would the daughter.
Please don’t let that happen. Let Abram be strong enough to stand up to Calek, for in him I saw a fair and kind man.