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This one was the household staff, all lined up in the great hall in full uniforant ork and their spotless unifor wartime Abby counted a cook, kitchen maid, two housemaids, an older man as out of livery but who had probably been achauffeur as young enough to have been called up and for some reason hadn’t been

His face called to her as she e shot into her like a jolt of lightning Not only was he young enough to have been called up, but the blond hair and cheekbones looked achingly fa ti it

He looked like her father

Her fingers trembled as she stared at the picture Abby’s h all the facts The letters she’d found Edith’s affair The lock of blond hair, the watch …

Looking down at the photo still clutched in her hand, it all added up: Elijah wasn’t her great-grandfather Despite the shocking revelation, a warmth and peace see if Edith atching Abby didn’t see her, but she could feel her nearby, giving her approval This was the mysterious Kristian There was no doubt in her randmother was the result of that affair

Her hand started to treraph down on her lap The letter he’d written while crossing the ocean … he one off to do his patriotic duty What a scandal it would have been—he was the help and she was married That final letter in the box—the one that said he was co to run aith the chauffeur

The ripples of that fact washed over her, trickling down into present-day circumstances It meant that Abby was not an actual Foster at all And yet here she was, sitting in the attic of the Foster ed to her She hadn’t a drop of Foster blood in her veins

Had Marian known?

Was this why Iris had been cut off? Elijah must have found out somehow Or perhaps he’d taken one look at Iris and had known that the pale-haired, blue-eyed baby couldn’t be his So Elijah had sent Iris away after Edith’s death and brought up his only child, Marian Of course Elijah wouldn’t have wanted to raise his dead wife’s bastard Notthat the stern-looking, unco Elijah would find it particularly repulsive

The pieces were starting to fit, but the answers only served to posefor clues There were more pictures—bittersweet photos of Iris as a baby, all pluether, Marian holding Iris in her lap, dark hair against light but clearly Marian was smitten with her baby sister The children with Edith in front of the Christ behind them and just apart

That was December of ’44 Abby wondered what happened in theirrevocably changed

Toe room and poked his head inside “Hey, Abby?”

Abby jumped at the sound of his voice She swiveled on the stool, a hand pressed to her chest “Whew,” she breathed “You scared me”

“Sorry” He grinned “I tried calling up, but you didn’t hear”