He turned around in surprise. “What? Why, darling, what’s the matter?”
“You really want to know? If you weren’t only concerned about your business, you might have noticed that you have neglected me for months!” Her voice grew louder with every word. But before John could come up with an answer, the door was opened and Nadira entered with the twins. Charlotte had her favorite doll in her arm.
“Say good night to your parents!” Nadira gave them both a little pat on the bottom.
Victoria’s expression relaxed for a moment. Only, instead of running to her, the children turned toward Sibylla. Nadira quickly took their hands and led them to Victoria, who was stiff with rage.
“Go!” she hissed at the toddlers. “Go to your grandmother! That’s who you want anyway!”
She grabbed Charlotte, who had a look of utter confusion, by the arm and gave her a little shove. The little girl stumbled, her doll fell from her hand, and the porcelain head shattered as it hit the floor.
“Victoria!” John exploded. “Have you gone completely mad?”
Charlotte began to wail. Sibylla rushed over and picked her up. The little girl sobbed into her shoulder.
Victoria suddenly felt very hot. Her heart was beating wildly under her tight bodice. She had not wanted to be rough with her children! At the same time, frustration with her husband and mother-in-law spilled over into rage.
“How dare you reproach me?” she shouted at John. “Don’t you see what’s happening here? Your mother is trying to steal my children from me!”
“Victoria, I would never do anything of the kind.” Sibylla tried to assuage her. She handed Charlotte to Nadira, who hustled the children out of the room. “I was only trying to help. We . . .” Sibylla gestured to all those present. “. . . are a family.”
“A scandalous family!” Victoria said before she could stop herself.
“Victoria, I can’t believe this!” John intervened.
Thomas, who was as dumbstruck as Emily, said loudly, “Now you owe everyone an explanation.”
“Victoria didn’t mean anything by it,” Sibylla quickly assured him. She was pale and clutching the handle of her teacup so fiercely that her knuckles had turned white.
Victoria scrutinized her with a feeling of triumph. Time for Thomas, John, and Emily to learn what kind of woman their mother really was!
“Don’t the three of you know what everyone in Mogador is saying?” She turned to the siblings with vehemence. “Well, I do. Respectable people, whose word is their bond, have told me the truth. I am talking about your mother and, Emily, of your father.”
“Let the dead rest in peace,” Sibylla countered.
But there was no stopping Victoria. “Oh, I am not speaking of Mr. Hopkins, but of the Frenchman, André Rouston. He is Emily’s father, is he not?”
The room was filled incredulous silence.
“Who makes such allegations?” Sibylla finally inquired in a strained voice.
“The wife of Consul Willshire! But it was obvious that this scandal was very old news indeed for all the ladies assembled,” Victoria declared with her head high.
John seized his wife’s wrist and pulled her up from the sofa. “How dare you!”
“Leave her!” Emily’s voice was shaking. “I want to know everything, Victoria!”
Sibylla stood up. “You ought to go to bed, Emily. It’s late. We’re all tired.”
“Please don’t treat me like a child! I want to know the truth, either from her”—she looked at Victoria—“or from you.”
“It is not a good idea,” Sibylla replied. Her expression was like stone.
Thomas piped up. “Victoria has made a grave accusation against you, Mother, and thus against our entire family. We have a right to know the truth, especially Emily.”
Sibylla closed her eyes. She would never have dreamed that her past would catch up with her after all these years. Especially not through the instrument of her daughter-in-law. All of a sudden, the past was present again. The agonizing pain when she discovered that André had betrayed her with the Berber woman, the fright when she discovered that she was expecting his child, and the bitter disappointment of seeing her happy future with the man she had loved so dearly slip away.
Victoria could feel her pulse in her throat. She regretted causing such an uproar, but she could not take back her words now, and who was to say, it might even be better to have the truth finally come out. Maybe John would be so disappointed in his mother that he would leave Mogador and they could all return to London at once. The very thought almost brought her to tears. And anyway, Selwyn’s lungs were healed by now. There was nothing keeping them in this horrid country! She eyed John carefully, but the look he gave her was so angry that she quickly lowered her gaze.
Sibylla was beside herself, but had no choice but to confess the truth to her daughter and her sons. She looked at her children one by one. “What Victoria has said is true, Emily. André Rouston is your father.”
For a few seconds, everyone was paralyzed by shock. Emily gasped.
“This is not how I wanted you to find out,” Sibylla added faintly.
“I rather think you didn’t want me to find out at all!” Emily’s animosity cut Sibylla to the quick.
“I so wanted you to have a happy and carefree childhood. I did not want the stigma of illegitimacy to cast a pall over your life. Benjamin had just died, I was alone and had no idea what would happen next. In that moment, Rouston offered me support and stability. I was convinced that we would have a future together, but unfortunately . . .” She choked on her words. “But things turned out differently. Believe me, Emily, I kept silent only to spare you this heartache.”
Emily got up. “All my life, you have told me that my father was dead. I will never forgive you for lying!”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Mogador and Qasr el Bahia, December 1860
André stopped in front of the door to Sibylla’s office and closed his eyes. He had not felt this happy, almost elated, for quite some time. He took a deep breath, then opened his eyes and knocked on the door.
“Come in!”
Sibylla was standing by the window and looking down over the harbor. Her clerk stood behind a high desk, pen in hand, looking at her expectantly.
“We hope that the shipment meets your expectations and we look forward to a long and successful collaboration with you. Yours sincerely, etc.,” she dictated. “That’s all for now, Aladdin. Leave the letter here so that I can sign it.”
“Very well, Mrs. Hopkins,” the clerk said as he left the office.
Sibylla turned. “Hello, André. I’ve been expecting you. Did you bring me more saffron?”
The sight of her evoked in him the familiar feelings of pain, tenderness, and admiration. The sunlight sparkled in her white-blonde hair and was refracted in her tiny diamond earrings. Her straight shoulders and back radiated authority, but he also took note of the worry lines around her eyes.