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That stranger, a volunteer at the hospice where their inallyfrankly admitted on the phone that she had tried hard to persuade their long-lost parent to contact her daughters and speak to theed that Annabel had struggled to es of her illness and such afor all of them

‘I’ve booked us a table at the hotel for lunch,’ Vanessa James announced with a deter wo in such unhappy circumstances’

Polly had never felt less like eating and she made an aard attempt to admit that

‘It was your mother’s last wish and she set aside the ently ‘It’s her treat, not mine’

Polly’s pale skin flushed red with e as a foil to accentuate her discoracious—’

‘Well, even if you didn’t you would have every excuse to feel uneasy about this situation,’ Vanessa remarked wryly ‘Let me tell you a little about your mother’s last years’

And the sisters listened while the older woun to deprive their mother of independent life and mobility while she was still only in her forties She had lived in a nursing hoot to know her well

‘That’s so very sad,’ Ellie la her red hair back off her troubled brow, her green eyes full of compassion ‘We could have done so much to help her…if only we had known—’

‘But Annabel didn’t want you to know She are that you had already spent years nursing your grandh her decline and she was determined not to come into your life and become another burden and responsibility She was very independent’

The three women sat down at the table in a quiet corner of the restaurant and rather blankly studied the menus presented to them

‘I understand you’re studying to be a doctor,’ Vanessa said to Ellie ‘Annabel was so proud when she heard about that’

‘How did she find out?’ Ellie pressed ‘It has been years since she last contacted our grandmother’

‘One of your nised Annabel a couple of years ago when she was hospitalised She brought her up to date with family developments Annabel also made her promise not to approach you’

‘But why? We would have understood how she felt!’ Ellie burst out in frustration

‘She didn’t want you to see her like that or to re always been a rather beautiful woman she was a little vain about her looks,’ Vanessa explained gently