Matilda Next Door - Kelly Hunter Page 0,51
a stranger came through. Rupert Bello. No time like now.
Henry pressed dial and hoped the salesman wrapping that engagement ring took his time.
‘Hello?’ The accent was not wholly English. Henry had been in London long enough to recognise another place in the mix, even if he couldn’t tell where. The voice sounded young though, very young. Amanda’s solicitor hadn’t mentioned that.
‘My name’s Henry Church. Amanda’s solicitor said you wanted to speak with me about collecting your belongings from her apartment.’
‘Yeah, man. Thanks for getting in touch. I left some stuff at her place back in May. It’s not much, and I don’t want to intrude on your grief or anything, but if I could get it back, I could use it. Her neighbour Suzannah gave me the solicitor’s name and they said to talk to you.’
‘How did you know Amanda?’
‘She taught me advanced maths, in my final year of school. I mean, I killed it, man. Got a scholarship to Oxford and everything, theoretical physics, dedicated mentor, the lot. But ‘Manda helped.’
A kid. He was speaking with a kid barely out of school. ‘What did you leave at her house?’
‘Books. Clothes. Bed stuff. Towels and shampoo. Had to get out of my crib when I went home to Kenya to visit my family. I didn’t know when I was going to be back, so she said to leave it with her. It’s nothing much, but it is mine, I swear.’
‘I’ll get someone to let you into the apartment and you can get it.’
‘Appreciate it, man. Hey, you the big bald guy she used to hang around with?’
No, he was not.
‘Cause I’m real sorry for your loss, man. Amanda was good people. Suzannah said she had a little girl. Bet she was thrilled.’
What did a man in his position even say to that? ‘Yeah.’
Henry finished the call with his emotions in ribbons. Yesterday, he’d told himself he didn’t care if Rowan was his biological daughter or not, and had no desire to find out. It had taken two phone calls and the mention of another man in Amanda’s life to reverse that position completely.
What if he wasn’t the father and Rowan’s big bald biological father turned up one day, years into the future, and claimed Rowan as his own?
How could Henry possibly encourage Tilly to love him and Rowan and create a family, and maybe even have more kids, and then have to square up to them some day and say he’d wondered whether Rowan was biologically his, but he hadn’t followed through? Hadn’t even run down all the fixed variables, and him a master of probability calculations.
He had to tell his future wife what he knew and didn’t know.
But first he needed to know more.
The first call he made once he had Rowan safely in her playpen back at the apartment, and the ring box tucked deep in the bowels of his suitcase, was to Tilly. His first words should have been him coming clean about his suspicion that he wasn’t Rowan’s father.
He couldn’t do it.
He wanted to be face-to-face so he could gauge her reaction.
Wanted to not burden her with his suspicions until he knew.
‘I got your ring. I think you’ll like it,’ he said instead, and damned himself to perdition. His next were, ‘Do you trust me with your happiness?’
‘Yes,’ she said, laughing. ‘I do. I’m practising my ‘I dos,’ by the way. You should practise too.’
‘I have to go to London and I’m taking Rowan with me.’
‘When?’
‘We fly tonight.’
‘So soon?’
‘I’ll be back as soon as I can.’
‘But … do you have a time frame?’
How long did it take to track down a big bald guy friend of Amanda’s? ‘A week?’ How long did it take to get a paternity test done? ‘Maybe more.’
‘Can I help? How can I help? I can keep Rowan here with me, leave you free to—’
‘No.’
‘But who’s going to—’
‘I’ll sort it. I’ll call again as soon as I can. I just wanted you to know.’
‘I’m not going to wake up tomorrow and it’s the end of the world or something, am I? I know your job’s important and you help predict the future and whatnot, but what’s so important that you have to leave now? Super-secret mission style now? Is this a thing I need to get used to? Henry Church, global troubleshooter?’
He couldn’t stand to mislead her. ‘Personal business. To do with Amanda.’
‘Oh.’ He could hear the doubt in her voice. Her need for more information. But she didn’t ask for it