Free Forgotten Child by Kitty Neale Page A

they’re probably still in this area.’
    A look of relief crossed his father’s face. ‘Well done, son, that should make it a lot easier. If I can’t find Jenny before then, I’ll just have to be outside the library when she turns up for work. Right, I’m going to have a quick bite to eat and then I’ll make a start.’
    Privately, Robin doubted that Jenny would agree to come home even if his father did find her, but he didn’t say anything. They returned to the kitchen together to find his mother sitting at the table, her face slack, the pill she had taken making her groggy. Once again he wondered why she had lied about the telephone call, deciding to ask her as soon as his father went out.
    However, as soon as Delia saw them, she rose tiredly to her feet. ‘I…I’m going upstairs to lie down for a while.’
    ‘Yes, all right, Mother,’ Robin agreed, aware that his father was looking at her scathingly as she left the room. He felt protective of her and as soon as she was out of sight he sprang to her defence. ‘I told you what happened and you can’t blame Mother for this. Jenny really did leave of her own accord.’
    ‘You’re supposed to have a brain. Use it,’ his father snapped. ‘You said Jenny’s been making your mother’s life a misery, but don’t you think it’s odd that you’ve only just seen it for yourself?’
    ‘Mother said Jenny’s clever, that she only behaved badly when I wasn’t around.’
    ‘Right, let’s think about that. From what I’ve gathered, she told you this so-called bad behaviour has been going on for years. How many years?’
    ‘I don’t know for sure, but since our childhood. Mother mentioned my eleven plus so it must have been before that.’
    His father’s laugh was derisive as he slapped a piece of ham between two slices of bread. ‘So you’re telling me that Jenny, who would have been around nine years old then, was wily enough at that age to make your mother’s life hell without you seeing or hearing a thing? We didn’t, and still don’t, live in a mansion, and as this has supposedly been going on for at least seven years, I doubt that hiding it for that long is possible.’
    ‘I…I hadn’t thought of that…but I have seen it now, Dad.’
    ‘So you say, but don’t you think it’s strange that after so many years of so-called concealing her bad behaviour, Jenny has suddenly come out into the open?’
    Robin frowned as he thought it over. ‘Well, yes, it is a bit odd.’
    ‘As I said, use your head. I suspect what you saw was Jenny rebelling against her treatment for all these years. You’ve seen how cold your mother can be, how at times she speaks to Jenny like a servant, and I just wish I’d done more to put a stop to it. Now I’m going to find my daughter,’ he said, not pausing to wrap the sandwich. ‘I’ll eat this in the car.’
    Robin was left floundering, but it took only a few seconds for him to realise that his father was right. ‘Hold on, Dad. I’m coming with you.’
    ‘Fine,’ said Edward. ‘Two pairs of eyes are better than one. Though as your mother is supposed to be ill, aren’t you worried about leaving her on her own?’
    ‘No, Dad. Let’s go and find Jenny.’
    Delia didn’t need pills. She wasn’t in a nervous state or depressed. She’d been ecstatic that Jennifer had left home, but then Edward had turned up and now her happiness was replaced by worry. Delia hadn’t gone to bed; instead she’d stood on the stairs listening, and had been horrified by what she’d heard. Blast Edward. Blast him for putting doubt in her son’s mind.
    Now, alone in the silent house, Delia cursed her own stupidity. She’d overplayed her hand by putting Jennifer at too young an age to be that clever – but there had to be a way to turn things round. Setting her mind to the problem, she at last realised that there was only one thing she could do. There was no choice. She hadn’t wanted to play this hand yet though, had planned