Free Gail Whitiker by A Scandalous Courtship Page A

to think what could have happened to the infant had she simply abandoned it at that inn.’
    ‘But surely someone must have missed the child,’ Robert said, needing to think through, with as much logic as possible, all aspects of this incredible tale.
    ‘Perhaps, but you must remember that the note said the baby’s mother was dead and that the father was unaware of its existence. Your mother certainly believed that to be the case.’
    ‘Did you?’
    ‘It didn’t matter what I believed. The fact was, someone left a baby in your mother’s carriage and obviously had no intention of retrieving it.’
    ‘Did it not occur to my mother that the letter might have been a complete sham? That she might inadvertently have been involved in a kidnapping attempt?’
    ‘Gracious, Robert, I’m sure no such thought ever crossed her mind. She saw no reason to question what the letter said, nor to be honest, did I. Such things happen in the lower orders. But Charlotte did what she did because she believed that the child would come to harm if she abandoned it.’
    ‘But my mother was always such a sensible woman,’Robert said, more to himself than to her. ‘Why wouldn’t she have tried to find out more about the child’s parents at the time?’
    ‘Because you are looking at the situation without emotion or sentiment. It is easy to be rational when you are not intimately involved, or when you have the luxury of time and distance to see the state of affairs as they really are.’
    ‘But you were as close to my mother as anyone, Margaret, yet even you could see that what she wanted to do was insane.’
    ‘Yes, but I was not mourning the loss of my husband. You must remember, Robert, your mother was deeply grief-stricken over your father’s death. She loved him passionately. Indeed, in a way I believe few women are ever fortunate enough to know. And she certainly hadn’t expected to find herself a widow at the age of nine-and-thirty. She was lonely, and she was alone. That’s why she came to stay with me. She’d also been praying for another child. Oh, yes. Your mother desperately wanted more children,’ Lady MacInnes said in response to his look of surprise. ‘So did your father. And it broke her heart that she wasn’t able to conceive a second time.’
    Robert nodded, beginning to see how the groundwork for this most extraordinary event had been laid. ‘So she woke up one morning to find a baby abandoned in her carriage, with the mother supposedly dead and the father blissfully ignorant of its birth, and decided it was the answer to her prayers. A most convenient arrangement, when you think about it.’
    ‘Convenient indeed. Some would even go so far as to say it was fate. But make no mistake, your mother was furious that the child had been abandoned in such a callous manner. She believed that Hannah was the result ofsome thoughtless nobleman’s dalliance with a local girl, and she knew that with the mother dead, there would be no one left to see to her welfare. The father certainly wouldn’t, even had he known of its existence. You know as well as I do that children born on the wrong side of the blanket are sometimes recognised by their fathers, but they are seldom accepted by their fathers’ legitimate wives or families.’
    ‘So she brought the…’ Robert stopped, then forced himself to say it. ‘She brought Hannah home and raised her as her own.’
    ‘Yes. Charlotte told me that finding Hannah was like being given a second chance. Indeed, she christened her Hannah Jean, because in Scottish Jean means gift from God.’
    ‘I had no idea Hannah even had a second name,’ Robert muttered.
    ‘More importantly, in finding Hannah, Charlotte had found a reason to go on living. Then she asked me to promise that I wouldn’t say anything to anyone about Hannah, unless it was absolutely necessary.’
    ‘And you agreed.’
    ‘Well, what else was I to do?’ Lady MacInnes cried. ‘I loved your mother, Robert, and even