‘I’m his friend, Kate.’
‘That’s what he told me.’
‘He didn’t tell me about you,’ said Nicholas softly. ‘I had no idea that his mother was still alive.’
The woman blushed and lowered her head. It was minutes before she could speak. Nicholas was patient, sensing the effort that it was taking her, wondering how he could make it less of a trial. He attempted to coax the words out of her.
‘He went to you, didn’t he?’ he asked. ‘When he ran away from us in the forest that first time, he wanted to be with you.’
‘I told him it was wrong, sir. I made him go back.’
‘And this time?’
She gave a shrug of defeat. ‘I tried to hide him in my room but it was no use. Davy couldn’t stay at Oakwood House forever. Master Enderby is a kind man. He’s been good to me. I couldn’t keep the secret from him.’
‘When did Davy find out himself?’
‘When I came back to Essex, sir. I was sent to Lincoln to work, far away, so that nobody would know. Davy was to be brought up in a fine house. I could never give him that. It seemed right for him. I was in disgrace, sir,’ she said quietly. ‘I had to agree.’
‘But you came back eventually.’
‘He was never out of my mind.’
‘Did you keep in touch with his father?’
‘No,’ she said firmly.
‘Did he want you to come back?’
‘Oh, no!’
‘I can see now why Master Stratton stopped the boy coming to Oakwood House.’
‘But he’s not the father, sir.’
‘Isn’t he?’
‘I’d not let him near me, sir,’ she said with spirit. ‘He’s a harsh man.’ She bit her lip. ‘It’s a long story and I don’t know it all myself. What little I do know makes me ashamed of my part in it.’
‘Why?’
‘It was a cruel thing to do to any woman, sir. It was wicked.’ She became wistful. ‘And it was a terrible thing to do to Davy as well, God forgive me.’
‘What happened?’ asked Nicholas, taking her hand. ‘I’ll not sit in judgement on you. Davy obviously loves his mother so much that he’ll do anything to be with her. You came back in order to be near him, didn’t you?’
‘Yes.’
‘And that’s why Master Stratton stopped him coming to Oakwood House to play with his friends. He packed the boy off to London to keep him out of the way.’
‘It hurt Davy so much, sir. To be separated from me.’
‘It must have been agony for you as well.’
‘Oh, it was. I’d had years of it, wondering where my son was and how he was faring. I could stand it no longer. I knew that he could never be mine but I wanted to be close to him somehow.’
‘How did he come to be at Holly Lodge in the first place?’
She took a deep breath. ‘You have to remember that this took place a long time ago. I may not have all the details right but this is what I recall.’ Nicholas could feel her hand trembling. ‘Master Stratton’s wife was desperate to have children and she was heartbroken when she had two stillbirths. Her husband didn’t want her to go through the ordeal again. I can understand that. When she conceived again, he feared the worst.’
Nicholas was ahead of her. ‘The third child was stillborn.’
‘Yes, sir, but she was never told. The dead baby was taken away and she was given a live one in its place, thinking it was her own.’ She lowered her head. ‘My son, Davy, had been born a few days earlier. They took him from me.’
‘They?’
‘Doctor Winche and the midwife.’
‘Where was the baby delivered?’
‘In a cottage on the other side of Stapleford,’ she said, distressed at the memory. ‘They hid me away until my time came then I was sent off to Lincoln to start a new life.’
‘And did Master Stratton’s wife ever learn the full facts?’
‘No, sir. She loved Davy as her own son, poor woman. But he was a bad father. As soon as his wife died, Master Stratton turned on Davy. Then he heard that I’d been taken on at Oakwood House and looked for a way to get rid of him altogether.’ A pleading note sounded. ‘I didn’t come back to cause trouble, sir, truly I didn’t.’
‘How did Davy find out that you were his mother?’
‘He defied his father and sneaked off to play with Master Enderby’s sons. Davy saw me at the house. There are some things a woman can’t hide, sir. Davy soon guessed. We were drawn together. He came whenever he could slip away.’
‘Let’s go back to the birth itself,’ he said gently. ‘You told me that the baby was taken from you by Doctor Winche and the midwife.’
‘That’s right, sir. Mother Pigbone.’
Nicholas was shocked. ‘She helped to bring Davy into the world?’
‘Mother Pigbone was much younger then and kind to me at first.’
‘But what about the legal side of things?’ asked Nicholas. ‘Two people can’t lose their own child and simply reach out for someone else’s. A doctor is supposed to record all stillbirths. How was it hushed up?’
‘I’m not sure.’
‘Davy must be Master Stratton’s heir yet he’s not legally his son. Were no questions asked at the time? How were you persuaded to part with him?’
‘They forced me to sign a document, renouncing my claim to Davy. Everything was to be kept secret. Doctor Winche knew a lawyer who arranged it all.’
Nicholas guessed his name. ‘Robert Partridge?’
‘I couldn’t tell you that, sir. They kept me out of it.’ She turned to him in quiet despair. ‘What’s going to happen to Davy, sir? He’s apprenticed to your company, I know, but his heart is not in it. He hates being taken away from me. Will you force him to go back to London with you?’
‘It’s not up to me, Kate. It’s something we’ll have to discuss very carefully. But there are other things to be resolved first,’ he said, rising to his feet. ‘Thank you so much for what you’ve told me. I can see how much it’s cost you.’ He pointed to the kitchen door and smiled. ‘Go back to your son.’
‘But there’s something I haven’t told you, sir.’
‘Is there?’
‘The name of Davy’s father.’
‘I think I know that.’
Jerome Stratton was furious. He stamped around the room and waved his arms wildly. During an acrimonious debate, his voice was the loudest and most bitter.
‘Why on earth wasn’t I told about this earlier?’ he demanded.
‘Because you would’ve tried to stop me,’ said Romball Taylard.
‘That’s certainly true.’
‘I wasn’t party to this either,’ said Doctor Winche defensively. ‘Romball acted of his own accord and I had to cover for him.’
Stratton rounded on the doctor. ‘You’re as much to blame as him. Why didn’t you tell me the full truth when you called at my house? Damnation!’ he exclaimed. ‘You were there yesterday when Nicholas Bracewell told me that poison had been used to kill Robert Partridge. You assured me that he was wrong.’
‘What else could I do, Jerome? This has to be kept quiet.’
‘How?’
‘Quite easily,’ said Taylard, trying to take control of the discussion.
The three men were in the steward’s private apartment. While the other guests were still mingling down below, Stratton and Winche had slipped upstairs for an urgent conference with Taylard. Alone of the spectators, they had not enjoyed the performance.
‘All that we have to do is to stick together,’ insisted Taylard.
‘We can’t do that if you keep me in the dark,’ growled Stratton.
‘There was no need for you to know. If that meddling Nicholas Bracewell had not interfered, this whole business would have blown over. Robert Partridge would have gone quietly to his grave and,’ he said pointedly, looking from one man to the other, ‘nobody in this room would have mourned him.’
‘That’s certainly true.’
‘Yes,’ added Winche. ‘Robert was becoming a problem.’
‘He won’t bother us any more,’ said Taylard smoothly. ‘His secrets will be buried with him. I thought to kill two birds with one stone. That’s why I procured the poison from Mother Pigbone. You know how fond Robert was of wine. He drank so much of it before the play that he didn’t notice when I slipped a powder into his cup.’