explanation for the baby’s colour. That’s all I’m interested in.’
‘Did Scott tell you himself that Karen have gone back with her parents?’ Linda asked when she phoned half an hour later.
‘He did. I hope they can work things out. I suggested Relate. But that’s up to them. My job is the one you asked me to do. Now, about that ...’
‘Dear life!’ Linda gasped when Jess finished telling her what she had learned. ‘So that’s how Father would never talk about what he done in the war. He used to say “least said, soonest mended.”’
‘I’ve printed a copy of the photo I found of him and the rest of his group and put it in the folder I’ll give you when I’ve finished. About Billy-Joe, I’ve still got to look into his mother’s side of the family. I’ll also take a closer look at your mother’s ancestry.’
‘What do you think you’ll find?’
‘I have no idea. That’s what’s so fascinating.’
‘You go on and do it, my bird. Just be sure to tell me if you come up with anything.’
‘I promise you’ll be the first to know.’
Jess went back to her laptop. Two hours later, her neck was stiff and a headache throbbed at the base of her skull. She arched her back, stretched her arms above her head, and winced at the clicks and crunches from her spine.
She saved her work and smiled with pleasure and a sense of achievement as she looked at the rough plan she had drawn.
Billy-Joe’s mother, Ellen Vickery, had been born in 1898, one of five children. Her parents were John Vickery and his wife Sarah Barnes. John Vickery was the son of James Vickery and Amity Smith. And James was the son of slave Ann Vickery and her master Thomas Ryerson, and the brother of Elizabeth Ann Vickery. Which meant that Billy Joe’s parents were distant cousins descended from a common ancestor – Ann Vickery.
Might that link explain the sudden reappearance of the black gene? That would have to wait until tomorrow. Right now all she wanted was a shower, a snack, and her bed.
Chapter Twelve
––––––––
I t was almost six on Tuesday evening when a movement outside caught Jess’s eye. She glanced through the window and saw Tom walking up the path with Ben Spargo.
She had the door open as they reached the step. ‘Hello, this is a surprise.’
‘Ben have got trouble,’ Tom kept his voice low. Glancing at Ben, Jess saw that beneath his outdoor tan he looked pale and shocked. He held a folded envelope in his gnarled fist.
‘Come in.’ Standing back, Jess closed the door behind them. ‘Sit down, both of you. The kettle’s just boiled.’
Minutes later she set mugs of tea in front of them and sat down opposite. ‘What’s happened?’
Ben thrust the envelope at her, his hand shaking. ‘Come in the morning post it did. Annie left it on the table for me. Soon as I read it –’ Ben gulped and cleared his throat.
‘He rang me,’ Tom explained.
‘I couldn’t say nothing to Father. What am I gonna do? How can I tell Mor? Break her heart it will.’ Ben’s voice broke.
‘Drink your tea,’ Tom urged.
As Jess took the envelope her heart gave a sharp kick when she saw the postal frank of Gover Landry, the law firm where her solicitor, Richard Banham, was a partner. Just seeing the name triggered unhappy memories. Shoving them into the past where they belonged, she pulled out the folded letter, opened it, and read.
The firm had recently taken over the business of Grey, Barton and Edwards when Arthur Grey, the sole surviving partner, had retired. While examining past and current files in preparation for uploading them on to computer, a number of misfiles and incomplete processes had been discovered. Mr Spargo’s divorce was among them. Though the decree nisi had been granted, the decree absolute had not been applied for. Until that was granted, Mr Spargo was still married to his wife, Michelle. Would Mr Spargo please phone at his earliest convenience? The letter was signed George
‘Did Scott tell you himself that Karen have gone back with her parents?’ Linda asked when she phoned half an hour later.
‘He did. I hope they can work things out. I suggested Relate. But that’s up to them. My job is the one you asked me to do. Now, about that ...’
‘Dear life!’ Linda gasped when Jess finished telling her what she had learned. ‘So that’s how Father would never talk about what he done in the war. He used to say “least said, soonest mended.”’
‘I’ve printed a copy of the photo I found of him and the rest of his group and put it in the folder I’ll give you when I’ve finished. About Billy-Joe, I’ve still got to look into his mother’s side of the family. I’ll also take a closer look at your mother’s ancestry.’
‘What do you think you’ll find?’
‘I have no idea. That’s what’s so fascinating.’
‘You go on and do it, my bird. Just be sure to tell me if you come up with anything.’
‘I promise you’ll be the first to know.’
Jess went back to her laptop. Two hours later, her neck was stiff and a headache throbbed at the base of her skull. She arched her back, stretched her arms above her head, and winced at the clicks and crunches from her spine.
She saved her work and smiled with pleasure and a sense of achievement as she looked at the rough plan she had drawn.
Billy-Joe’s mother, Ellen Vickery, had been born in 1898, one of five children. Her parents were John Vickery and his wife Sarah Barnes. John Vickery was the son of James Vickery and Amity Smith. And James was the son of slave Ann Vickery and her master Thomas Ryerson, and the brother of Elizabeth Ann Vickery. Which meant that Billy Joe’s parents were distant cousins descended from a common ancestor – Ann Vickery.
Might that link explain the sudden reappearance of the black gene? That would have to wait until tomorrow. Right now all she wanted was a shower, a snack, and her bed.
Chapter Twelve
––––––––
I t was almost six on Tuesday evening when a movement outside caught Jess’s eye. She glanced through the window and saw Tom walking up the path with Ben Spargo.
She had the door open as they reached the step. ‘Hello, this is a surprise.’
‘Ben have got trouble,’ Tom kept his voice low. Glancing at Ben, Jess saw that beneath his outdoor tan he looked pale and shocked. He held a folded envelope in his gnarled fist.
‘Come in.’ Standing back, Jess closed the door behind them. ‘Sit down, both of you. The kettle’s just boiled.’
Minutes later she set mugs of tea in front of them and sat down opposite. ‘What’s happened?’
Ben thrust the envelope at her, his hand shaking. ‘Come in the morning post it did. Annie left it on the table for me. Soon as I read it –’ Ben gulped and cleared his throat.
‘He rang me,’ Tom explained.
‘I couldn’t say nothing to Father. What am I gonna do? How can I tell Mor? Break her heart it will.’ Ben’s voice broke.
‘Drink your tea,’ Tom urged.
As Jess took the envelope her heart gave a sharp kick when she saw the postal frank of Gover Landry, the law firm where her solicitor, Richard Banham, was a partner. Just seeing the name triggered unhappy memories. Shoving them into the past where they belonged, she pulled out the folded letter, opened it, and read.
The firm had recently taken over the business of Grey, Barton and Edwards when Arthur Grey, the sole surviving partner, had retired. While examining past and current files in preparation for uploading them on to computer, a number of misfiles and incomplete processes had been discovered. Mr Spargo’s divorce was among them. Though the decree nisi had been granted, the decree absolute had not been applied for. Until that was granted, Mr Spargo was still married to his wife, Michelle. Would Mr Spargo please phone at his earliest convenience? The letter was signed George
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