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"Do what Jake?"

He was silent for a longdown at h up on some mountain

"Give you our secret"

"Whose secret?" I shooknow because he had drunk so much?

"Frances's and mine" he said He smiled "And now yours, but you keep it like soun, okay?"

I stared at him He still made no sense Jake was nice He was a kind man I actually loved him, but it was best to just nod and finish up the dinner I thought

"You don't believe then your position and your resolve, huh?"

"Sure I do Jake"

He sat and turned to me

"Frances and I were lovers once," he said quickly "We had an affair It lasted quite a while actually We had lots of opportunity and we took advantage of it We stopped when she becanant"

"Pregnant?"

"With Victoria" he said "She's mine I'm just about positive and so was she"

I shook my head to throw the words back out of my ears Grandmother Hudson unfaithful to her husband? She was my rock of morality

"It wasn't anyone's fault It just happened Everett neglected Frances He was obsessed with his business interests and rarely traveled or went to a social occasion unless there was a financial benefit or reason to do it

"One day we started to spend more and more time with each other I don't think it ever occurred to Everett that she ht stray or have a romantic interest in anyone else, not that I ever believed she had any for him