Black cigarettes. Cora’s words come back to me. Those disgusting black cigarillos of hers.

And suddenly, it all makes sense.

61

June 2018

‘INES O’BRIEN.’

This wipes the smile from her face.

‘What do you know about Ines O’Brien?’

‘Her daughter Cora mentioned she smoked cigarillos. “Her money and her clothes and her accent” you said – Ines O’Brien was Lila’s mother?’

Cynthia is sitting up straight now, her mouth moving to form a response.

‘Mother,’ I say, the dynamics shifting, ‘for the love of God, they’re all dead. There’s nobody coming for your money. So, as you put it so eloquently yourself – spill.’

She lies back against the couch, the fight gone out of her. At least momentarily.

‘OK,’ I say, ‘let’s start with an easy question – why did Ines O’Brien give you her child?’ Something flickers in my memory then. ‘Wait – are you sure you have the story right? I thought she couldn’t have any more children after Cora?’

‘It was her husband who couldn’t have more kids.’

‘Victor?’

‘Yes. They did all these tests, and it turned out he had fertility problems. He broke down one night in the bar and told Tom Stedman that they couldn’t have any more children. Sloshed when he said it. Realized too late that he hadn’t really intended to tell the world about his infertility.’ She reaches for her cigarette packet and taps another one out. ‘He backtracked then and told Tom it was Ines who couldn’t have any more children. That ridiculous man – thought people would pity him and couldn’t hack being anything other than this successful, virile businessman. Anyway, word went around – soon everyone in Rowanbrook knew that Ines couldn’t have any more children.’

‘And Ines wasn’t tempted to set the record straight?’

Cynthia shrugs, lighting her fresh cigarette from the tip of her last one. ‘As long as she could come and go as she pleased and live off Victor’s money, he could say whatever he wanted.’

‘And then Ines got pregnant?’

‘Yes. An affair. Awkward, right?’ She smiles and her meanness shines. ‘Whatever the rest of Rowanbrook might have thought, she certainly couldn’t let her infertile husband find out she was up the duff.’

‘And Robbie was the father? That’s why Lila looked so like Lily?’

‘Yes. He never knew though. The affair was long over by the time she realized she was pregnant – she was so far gone, going to Liverpool wasn’t an option.’

Going to Liverpool. Cynthia loved using that one on me. I should have gone to Liverpool for an abortion.

‘But surely people spotted she was pregnant?’

‘No.’ A long drag before she elaborates. ‘By the time she started to show, she’d gone to Spain to visit her mother. She stayed long enough to have the baby, then left her there.’

‘What?’

‘She left her with her mother in Spain. She didn’t want to raise her, couldn’t let Victor find out – they were sleeping in separate bedrooms but that wouldn’t have stopped him throwing her out if he knew.’