‘I can’t tell them,’ he said bluntly, the last time they met. They had been over and over whether his new family would be able to cope with learning of her existence. His two children thought that he and their mother were married. It would be a shock beyond what he thought they could take on.

‘We’ll have to give it some time,’ he said.

‘What difference will that make?’ she asked brutally. ‘It’ll be a shock for them whenever you tell them. Giving them time to come to terms with something they don’t know about doesn’t make any sense.’

‘Maybe it’s me that needs time,’ he admitted. ‘It could be very rough.’

Katie began to believe that he would never tell them. Her own feelings were mixed. She was at once angry and resentful at feeling, through no fault of her own, like a dirty secret that had to be kept locked away. There had been enough secrets festering, warping and destroying. She wanted to rip through the pretence and lies. She was also curious – his children were her half-sister and brother. What were they like: might they get along? But she was also relieved. Supposing he told them and it spoiled everything. Why upset a family that seemed united, so far as she could tell? She had a new family now – and she had a father, if only in snatches. It was more than she’d ever hoped for. And it was good.

‘I’m getting married,’ she told him.

Michael’s face lit up in genuine pleasure. ‘Are you now? Who’s the lucky fella – the Polish chap you were telling me about?’

‘Yes, his name’s Marek Wozniak.’ She felt such pride in saying his name! ‘Can I bring him to meet you?’

She saw the hesitation, just for a second, the habit of secrecy and checking, before he said, ‘Yes, of course. That’s a fine idea.’

‘And . . .’ She found herself blushing, feeling like a child. Daddy, please, please will you . . . ? ‘Will you come to our wedding?’

He looked back solemnly at her. ‘What about your mother, Katie?’

She frowned. ‘What about her?’

‘In the end she was the one who brought you up all those years – for all her faults. Should you not let her know? I mean . . .’ His kindly face crinkled into a smile. ‘Wild horses wouldn’t be able to stop me coming, if that’s what you’d like – but shouldn’t you ask her first?’

Sixty-Two

Amid what was a time of busyness, of the careful buying of satin and lace for a wedding dress, Katie decided to give her mother one last chance. She was one of the lucky ones – she had a mother alive somewhere, so far as she knew. Perhaps she should try to rise above the past and take any steps she could to heal things. Without telling anyone else she was doing it, she posted a card to Enid Thomas, telling Enid her address, that she was getting married and that she thought Vera ought to know. Writing the card brought back a lot of bitter emotions and she half hoped there would be no reply. And, as the days passed, she decided there wasn’t going to be one.