‘Why, of course not,’ Annie confirmed. ‘She’ll be coming to tea at my house. And then I’ll come back tomorrow,’ she said, glancing at Lizzie.
‘Thank you, Annie.’
He was relieved to see Lizzie relax into a smile. She looked exhausted.
‘Don’t worry. I’ll look after her,’ he reassured the worried housekeeper.
He waited until the door closed behind Annie, and then asked gently, ‘How are you bearing up?’
‘Fine.’
Lizzie was so tense, and no wonder. She didn’t know what to expect of him. So much had happened in so short a time. She was tense, but who could blame her? When he looked at her, really looked at her, he realised just how much he’d missed her.
‘You?’ she said.
‘I feel a lot better now the truth is out in the open.’
‘Chico.’ She seemed to shrink as she looked at him, and he hated that her parents could do that to the Lizzie he knew. ‘I’m so sorry that all this was going on at Rottingdean when you visited that first time, and I knew so little about it.’
‘You were always shut out of everything. Your grandmother told me that. You were fifteen at the time, Lizzie,’ he pointed out. ‘You couldn’t have known all the facts.’
‘Then tell me now.’
He looked at her and remembered Lizzie’s words about how she’d changed. She was right in that she was no longer the young girl she had been, but Lizzie had always been strong—disillusioned often, bewildered most of the time, thanks to her parents’ neglect, but she was always strong. And she was even stronger now, thanks to her grandmother and the passage of time. She could take the truth. She deserved the truth. ‘Your parents’ parties were debauched affairs with everyone just the right side of legal as far as age was concerned. Your parents arranged what they called “performances”, and invited people to attend—for a price.’
‘They turned Rottingdean into a brothel?’ Lizzie was almost laughing she was so aghast. ‘No wonder my grandmother stepped in. Now I know what all the gossip was about—and why they mocked me at school. They must all have known. And it was the not knowing that hurt me the most. I couldn’t defend myself if I didn’t know the truth. So, thank you,’ she said after a long pause. ‘Thank you for telling me the truth, Chico. And thank you for believing that I’m strong enough to take it. That means a lot to me. That means more than anything to me.’
They fell silent for a while, and then she said quietly, ‘I knew you, Chico, and I should have trusted you. I should have known there had to be a very good reason for you to leave like that. And there certainly was,’ she said as he slanted a reassuring smile. ‘My parents are just so despicable. I knew they were fools—as soon as I grew up, I could see that for myself. But what they did to you—’ His heart went out to her when she clutched her head in absolute despair. ‘Why, oh, why did I keep on making allowances for them?’
‘You always will make allowances for them,’ he said gently. ‘They’re your parents, Lizzie. There will always be that bond.’
‘But what about you?’ She stared at him with concern. ‘I feel I let you down. All those years of misunderstanding after they spread such evil rumours about you.’
‘Don’t worry about it. That’s all in the past.’