wheedled her way in somehow and stayed put as long as she could get away with it.
'But she was only nineteen! He must have been about forty! If he was a stronger man he wouldn't have given in.'
'Were you worldly wise enough at nineteen to seduce and blackmail a man?' She shook her head. 'No, so your mother was no innocent child by then.'
Matt tread carefully as he made another point. 'Ella, how easily do you think I could have taken full advantage of you earlier on?'
She coloured at how wild she'd been in his arms. Matt might have started the kiss but she'd escalated it.
'Hmm, point taken,' she admitted grudgingly. 'But why has she kept quiet all these years. When he refused to marry her, did she somehow hope to get her hands on the money he put away for my education? He only gave her a small allowance for my clothes and stuff. When she couldn't get more, why didn't she expose the affair?'
'I don't know sweetheart. Maybe Daniel had his own way of ensuring she kept it quiet. I know he hasn't been around much. Maybe she didn't think there would be anything to be gained financially when he wasn't in the country. From what I've read about him, he's spent most of his time in the US and China.'
'He told me he'd seen me a lot growing up - that he'd been to sports days and concerts and stuff. He must have travelled back for those.'
'Well, that's a sign Ella, that he did want to be involved with you.'
'When my mother removed me from school, why didn't he come then after I'd been r… taken away from the school he had insisted on?'
Matt chose not to question what she'd been about to say, or even question why she'd been removed from school. Instead he stayed focussed on her father. 'Maybe he didn't feel his lifestyle was conducive to a teenage girl that he didn't know. Trust me, I know how difficult teenage girls can be! Would you have enjoyed being taken from one country to the next by a man you didn't know and then left with a nanny or housekeeper for most of the time?'
Ella didn't think she would but then had the reality of her upbringing been any better? Matt was opening up her mind but she was still very resentful of Daniel, of her mother, of the whole sorry situation.
'You know, I always knew I'd been named after my father. I thought it had been some kind of act of love. To know that my mother gave me my name out of spite so that I could be traced easily back to him….' Ella's voice broke.
Matt hugged her closer. 'You have a beautiful name. It doesn't matter how you came by it. It's your name and so long as you like it, nothing else is relevant. The four of us were all lovingly given French and English names. Zander and I have English first names and French middle names and Tess and Ronnie have French first names and English middle names. But it took eighteen years and our parents' death for our whole life to be unravelled as a complete sham.' Matt tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice. Tonight was about Ella, not him.
Ella looked up at him and stroked his face. Matt gazed down at her as he took her hand in his and kissed the palm.
'Most people have stuff going on in their pasts Ella. What matters is how we deal with it.'
'Have you dealt with yours?'
'Tonight is about you, not me. Mine only surfaces once a year on the anniversary of the day we buried them.'
'The day we met.'
Matt gave her a pointed look.
'I'm sorry.'
'What for?'
'For being there, when you obviously wanted to be on your own.'
'Ah! But now , I'm glad you were there.' He lightly kissed her lips. It warmed her heart.
Ella wasn't quite ready to let go of all that she'd heard tonight. 'I wonder why Mr Brown convinced him to stay away when I was a teenager, when he also said he thought I had a right to know Daniel. That doesn't make sense.'
'Hmm, I can't answer that, but you said your mother had been to see him at the school at the time you were moved to another one. Maybe he sensed at that time that Daniel turning up might make things
'But she was only nineteen! He must have been about forty! If he was a stronger man he wouldn't have given in.'
'Were you worldly wise enough at nineteen to seduce and blackmail a man?' She shook her head. 'No, so your mother was no innocent child by then.'
Matt tread carefully as he made another point. 'Ella, how easily do you think I could have taken full advantage of you earlier on?'
She coloured at how wild she'd been in his arms. Matt might have started the kiss but she'd escalated it.
'Hmm, point taken,' she admitted grudgingly. 'But why has she kept quiet all these years. When he refused to marry her, did she somehow hope to get her hands on the money he put away for my education? He only gave her a small allowance for my clothes and stuff. When she couldn't get more, why didn't she expose the affair?'
'I don't know sweetheart. Maybe Daniel had his own way of ensuring she kept it quiet. I know he hasn't been around much. Maybe she didn't think there would be anything to be gained financially when he wasn't in the country. From what I've read about him, he's spent most of his time in the US and China.'
'He told me he'd seen me a lot growing up - that he'd been to sports days and concerts and stuff. He must have travelled back for those.'
'Well, that's a sign Ella, that he did want to be involved with you.'
'When my mother removed me from school, why didn't he come then after I'd been r… taken away from the school he had insisted on?'
Matt chose not to question what she'd been about to say, or even question why she'd been removed from school. Instead he stayed focussed on her father. 'Maybe he didn't feel his lifestyle was conducive to a teenage girl that he didn't know. Trust me, I know how difficult teenage girls can be! Would you have enjoyed being taken from one country to the next by a man you didn't know and then left with a nanny or housekeeper for most of the time?'
Ella didn't think she would but then had the reality of her upbringing been any better? Matt was opening up her mind but she was still very resentful of Daniel, of her mother, of the whole sorry situation.
'You know, I always knew I'd been named after my father. I thought it had been some kind of act of love. To know that my mother gave me my name out of spite so that I could be traced easily back to him….' Ella's voice broke.
Matt hugged her closer. 'You have a beautiful name. It doesn't matter how you came by it. It's your name and so long as you like it, nothing else is relevant. The four of us were all lovingly given French and English names. Zander and I have English first names and French middle names and Tess and Ronnie have French first names and English middle names. But it took eighteen years and our parents' death for our whole life to be unravelled as a complete sham.' Matt tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice. Tonight was about Ella, not him.
Ella looked up at him and stroked his face. Matt gazed down at her as he took her hand in his and kissed the palm.
'Most people have stuff going on in their pasts Ella. What matters is how we deal with it.'
'Have you dealt with yours?'
'Tonight is about you, not me. Mine only surfaces once a year on the anniversary of the day we buried them.'
'The day we met.'
Matt gave her a pointed look.
'I'm sorry.'
'What for?'
'For being there, when you obviously wanted to be on your own.'
'Ah! But now , I'm glad you were there.' He lightly kissed her lips. It warmed her heart.
Ella wasn't quite ready to let go of all that she'd heard tonight. 'I wonder why Mr Brown convinced him to stay away when I was a teenager, when he also said he thought I had a right to know Daniel. That doesn't make sense.'
'Hmm, I can't answer that, but you said your mother had been to see him at the school at the time you were moved to another one. Maybe he sensed at that time that Daniel turning up might make things
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