Dana’s adoptive mother, Colleen, had taken Jess under her wing without question, treating her as she did Dana. ‘It should save us a bob or two an’ all,’ agreed Jess, much to Dana’s amusement.

Tom and Lenny had both agreed that it would be pretty special to have identical twins getting married on the same day, and they had begun to make the arrangements.

He wondered now how Colleen would take the news of their birth mother. A small smile tweaked the corner of his lips. Colleen would welcome her with open arms if it made the girls happy.

Tom very much wanted this woman to be his fiancée’s mother. It would be the final piece in the jigsaw.

Jess read the letter aloud to Dana and her friend Patty.

‘Well, I don’t know who she is, but she’s definitely not our mother,’ sighed Dana.

Jess shook her head. ‘Can’t be.’ She glanced up at her sister. ‘I must say, I can’t help but feel a little disappointed. It would have answered a lot of questions.’

‘It certainly would,’ agreed Dana, then she frowned. ‘It’s so odd, though – her father sounds just like ours. Surely there can’t have been two men with matching canes of such an unusual nature in Glasgow that night?’

Jess rubbed her hand across her chin. ‘I’ve been thinking about that one, and Olivia said he bought that cane when he was in Glasgow, so it’s not out of the question that the shop which sold it to him had more than one in stock, and when it comes to his physical description …’ she shrugged, ‘… old man, mutton chops … probably describes most old men. The only thing that differentiated him from the others was the cane with the cobra head detail.’

Dana looked uneasy. ‘So, her daughter might really have died that night.’

Jess nodded. ‘That poor woman’s gone through such a lot. I hope our biological mother didn’t endure something like that.’

‘What are you going to say in your letter to Olivia?’

‘Well, I’m certainly not going to suggest her father might have been telling the truth from the start, because that would banish all her hopes, and I’m not going to be the one who does that to her.’ She mulled it over for a moment or so. ‘Until we hear differently, we have to assume her father did bring her baby to Greystones, so perhaps ask around and see if anyone remembers anyone who might fit the bill. After all, there were a lot of girls in Greystones, and her father might have taken her baby there several days after me for all we know.’

Dana nodded. ‘Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help. That poor woman deserves to find out the truth.’