Olivia swallowed the mouthful she had just taken. ‘Dad told me, and before you say I can’t believe anything he tells me, do you not think the hospital staff would have said something if my baby had survived?’

‘Did you ask?’

Olivia lowered her gaze. ‘No. I was too upset at the time, and I had no reason to question him. I thought he had my best interests at heart.’ She took another mouthful of stew and chewed thoughtfully before continuing. ‘Why would he lie? We’d already agreed to put the baby up for adoption, so he had nothing to lose.’

Maude pulled a disgruntled face. ‘Because he’s an oddball. You could ask why he told your grandparents that the baby had been buried, but told Ted different. Not a lot of what your father says or does makes much sense, but I keep harking back to that saying “Oh what a tangled web we weave …”’

Olivia stared at her friend. ‘Do you really think he’d give his own grandchild to an orphanage?’

Maude shrugged. ‘From what you’ve said, it sounds as though your father’s capable of anything.’

‘But why would he do that?’ said Olivia. ‘It doesn’t make sense when he’d already arranged the adoption.’

‘Had he?’ Maude regarded her friend in a quizzical fashion. ‘Did he tell you who the family were, where they lived, or if they had any other children?’

‘No,’ Olivia conceded, ‘but then again, I didn’t ask. I was only fourteen.’

‘Even so, surely you must have been curious?’

‘Dad told me it was best not to know.’

Maude gave an exasperated sigh. ‘Honestly, Liv, when are you going to learn that you can’t believe a word your father says? What has to happen for you to see through him?’

Olivia looked offended. ‘I know full well what my father’s like. I’ve suffered with his lies all my life, but I know his limits, and he wouldn’t do something like what you’re suggesting because it wasn’t necessary. He’s always droning on about time being money, so why would he go to those lengths just to turn round and hand the baby over to an orphanage?’

‘On the other hand, why would he waste time finding adoptive parents when he could simply hand the baby over to the nearest orphanage?’

Butterflies were forming in Olivia’s stomach. Maude was beginning to make a lot of sense. She pushed her plate of stew away. ‘I know he can be a selfish swine, but we’re talking about his grandchild, Maude, surely to God …’

Maude shrugged. ‘He was willing to have his grandchild adopted.’

‘There’s a great deal of difference between adoption and an orphanage.’ Olivia was beginning to feel sick. Could her father really have given his own grandchild away to an institution? ‘I need to speak to Ted.’