having left her daughter, even though she had been able to blame circumstances for her never having claimed her. She had hoped that Kitty would have explained away her having deserted Katherine as one of those things which happened in wartime. âIt was sad but your mother Celia went missing. She could have been killed by enemy action â¦â Hopefully she might have gone on to tell Katherine something nice about her. Now Celia realised it was more than likely that her name had never been mentioned. All these years Mickâs mother had been living a lie!
Anger and resentment burned inside her. She felt sick at the thought that she had deceived herself all these years, and became so worked up about the whole thing that she suffered blinding headaches. She was good for nothing and had to drag herself out of bed each morning and somehow struggle through her work. The pain was so bad sometimes she thought she was going mad. She blamed Kitty for everything. Even for not having left a message saying she was not staying in Scotland for good but would be back. Celia convinced herself that Kitty was responsible for Katherineâs being an epileptic. Kitty Mcleod deserved to be punished, she told herself. But how? She wanted her to suffer the mental torture she herself had been through.
Celia thought and thought and as she lay on her bed one evening, her insides heaving, scared to move her head in case the terrible pain returned, her eyes fell on an Agatha Christie book by her bedside. Suddenly she had an idea and slowly rose from the bed. Holding her head steady, she went in search of a pair of scissors. When she found them she took a newspaper from the small pile she kept to make up the coal fire and stared at the banner headlines. Then she began to snip out single letters, knowing exactly what she was going to say.
Chapter Four
Kitty closed the bedroom door behind her and took an envelope from the pocket of her apron. She withdrew the single sheet of paper with fingers that trembled slightly and read YOU STOLE MY BABY! NOW IâM COMING BACK FOR HER, SO BE WARNED.
How dare Celia? How dare she after all this time? There was a definite threat in that âBE WARNEDâ which really got under Kittyâs skin despite her anxiety. When she considered how hard she had worked bringing up Katie she could have wiped the floor with Celia, or Miss Turner as she called herself. But of course the woman had been too cowardly to say any of this to her face and instead had waited until she got home.
Kitty read the words for the fourth time, hardly able to believe that the Celia she had known, employed and cared for, could have written them. Not that it was signed. She turned the page over to make sure but the reverse was blank. When she thought how she had lived with all kinds of fear throughout Katieâs young life she could have screamed. There had been fear of disease, of accidents, even of gypsies stealing her beloved girl away, but never had she expected to receive a letter like this! She felt annoyed with herself for being so afraid, but telling the truth was one of her house rules. She had always been strict with Katie about the need for honesty, in families and in business, and it was the thought of that which worried her the most now. She herself had lied! She had lied!
Kitty gazed down at the newsprint letters again and it struck her that it was just like one of those anonymous notes one might read about in an Agatha Christie novel. Except it was
not
anonymous so why go to all the bother of cutting letters out of a newspaper and not signing it? What had got into Celia? Had she gone off her head? Yet the Miss Turner she had seen only a few days ago had appeared sane. Were the two women one and the same or not? Surely it couldnât be mere coincidence, the letter arriving so soon after she had been here?
There was a knock and Ben popped his head round the door. âOne of the guests wants to see you,
Anger and resentment burned inside her. She felt sick at the thought that she had deceived herself all these years, and became so worked up about the whole thing that she suffered blinding headaches. She was good for nothing and had to drag herself out of bed each morning and somehow struggle through her work. The pain was so bad sometimes she thought she was going mad. She blamed Kitty for everything. Even for not having left a message saying she was not staying in Scotland for good but would be back. Celia convinced herself that Kitty was responsible for Katherineâs being an epileptic. Kitty Mcleod deserved to be punished, she told herself. But how? She wanted her to suffer the mental torture she herself had been through.
Celia thought and thought and as she lay on her bed one evening, her insides heaving, scared to move her head in case the terrible pain returned, her eyes fell on an Agatha Christie book by her bedside. Suddenly she had an idea and slowly rose from the bed. Holding her head steady, she went in search of a pair of scissors. When she found them she took a newspaper from the small pile she kept to make up the coal fire and stared at the banner headlines. Then she began to snip out single letters, knowing exactly what she was going to say.
Chapter Four
Kitty closed the bedroom door behind her and took an envelope from the pocket of her apron. She withdrew the single sheet of paper with fingers that trembled slightly and read YOU STOLE MY BABY! NOW IâM COMING BACK FOR HER, SO BE WARNED.
How dare Celia? How dare she after all this time? There was a definite threat in that âBE WARNEDâ which really got under Kittyâs skin despite her anxiety. When she considered how hard she had worked bringing up Katie she could have wiped the floor with Celia, or Miss Turner as she called herself. But of course the woman had been too cowardly to say any of this to her face and instead had waited until she got home.
Kitty read the words for the fourth time, hardly able to believe that the Celia she had known, employed and cared for, could have written them. Not that it was signed. She turned the page over to make sure but the reverse was blank. When she thought how she had lived with all kinds of fear throughout Katieâs young life she could have screamed. There had been fear of disease, of accidents, even of gypsies stealing her beloved girl away, but never had she expected to receive a letter like this! She felt annoyed with herself for being so afraid, but telling the truth was one of her house rules. She had always been strict with Katie about the need for honesty, in families and in business, and it was the thought of that which worried her the most now. She herself had lied! She had lied!
Kitty gazed down at the newsprint letters again and it struck her that it was just like one of those anonymous notes one might read about in an Agatha Christie novel. Except it was
not
anonymous so why go to all the bother of cutting letters out of a newspaper and not signing it? What had got into Celia? Had she gone off her head? Yet the Miss Turner she had seen only a few days ago had appeared sane. Were the two women one and the same or not? Surely it couldnât be mere coincidence, the letter arriving so soon after she had been here?
There was a knock and Ben popped his head round the door. âOne of the guests wants to see you,
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