All the blood drained from Florentine’s face when she found Mr Ridlay. She felt it go; a flood of emotion pooling in her toes. Arm-in-arm with Miss Adelaide Blum and chatting like old friends as they strolled down Hunter Street, chatting to Adelaide the way he chatted to her. Here was the reason for his lack of presence in her days.
How dare he!
The flood turned back on itself and surged through her in a tidal wave of hurt and anger. She’d been on the brink of telling him everything. Her mother had certainly shared something with him; she’d hardly seen him since and had blamed her for interfering. Rosalie’s plea of innocence in the matter had fallen flat, but her mother had been true. She’d only been trying to find out something of his background and his perceptivity to the truth. Rosali
