The Sun Sister (The Seven Sisters #6) - Lucinda Riley Page 0,223

don’t.’

‘You were not yourself by any means . . .’

A sudden loud screech emanated from beyond the drawing room.

‘Good God! What the deuce is that?!’

‘I . . . don’t know.’ Cecily felt herself blushing to the roots of her hair.

The screech came again, and then turned into a full-scale wail.

Cecily’s heart sank; she’d been hoping to tell Bill what had transpired before she introduced him to Stella, but now it was too late.

‘It’s coming from somewhere inside the house. Have you got a wild animal locked up in here or something?’

‘No, I . . .’

But Bill was already on his way along the corridor to find the source of the caterwauling.

Cecily followed him anxiously as he looked into each of the bedrooms in turn and eventually pulled open the door of the tiny room wedged between them. She watched as Bill leant over the bassinet, then recoiled in shock.

‘Bloody hell! What is this?!’ he demanded as he turned to her.

She squeezed past him and picked up Stella, just in case Bill was tempted to do something dreadful to her. She walked out of the room with the baby in her arms and into the kitchen, where she retrieved a milk bottle and put it in a pan of water on the stove to warm.

‘Cecily?! For God’s sake, can you at least explain to me what the hell is going on?!’ Bill was standing at the entrance to the kitchen.

‘Let me settle her with a bottle and then I’ll tell you.’

‘I need another gin . . .’

Cecily watched him retreat to fetch his drink, then sat down with the baby at the kitchen table. The wailing abated and peace descended as Stella suckled heartily.

‘Right then.’ Bill was back. He took a gulp of his drink and sat down on the chair opposite her.

The baby stopped sucking and Cecily put a finger to her lips.

‘Don’t you dare try to silence me,’ Bill said and Cecily saw he was shaking with anger. But he did at least lower his voice.

‘It’s very simple, Bill. Shortly after you last left for Nairobi, I went to visit Njala at her little camp. Even though all trace of it had gone, Wolfie picked up a scent and disappeared into the woods. He started barking and wouldn’t come to heel, so I went to fetch him. Wolfie was the one who found her, buried beneath a heap of dead leaves in the forest. I’d guess she’d only been born a few hours before. It was obvious she’d been left to die in the woods, so I did what any Christian would do, or any human being with a heart for that matter: I picked her up and brought her back home with me. She’s been here ever since.’

‘Oh God.’ Bill put one hand on his forehead and rested his elbow on the table.

‘Do you think I did the wrong thing?’

‘No, of course I don’t.’

‘Did you . . . did you know that they would dump the baby and leave her to die?’

‘Of course not. I didn’t want to know anything,’ Bill sighed. ‘I was simply asked if I would provide a safe harbour on our land to my friend’s daughter until her time came. I’m sure Leshan told me that the child would be taken to safety. I just can’t believe they left her behind in our woods.’

‘Well, she was buried pretty deep, so it was pure luck that Wolfie found her. A few more hours and she’d have died. She was so tiny.’ There were tears in her eyes as she looked down at Stella.

‘I must admit, I’m furious that they left their dirty laundry for us to clear up. And—’

‘Don’t you dare call this baby that! She is not “dirty laundry”, she’s a human being, just like us!’

‘Forgive me, Cecily, that was crass and I apologise, but please understand I’m in shock. I’ve come home on Christmas Eve, looking forward to a couple of days’ peace away from the mayhem, to find a black baby in the nursery.’

‘Is the colour of her skin really relevant to you, Bill? You’re the one that spends half your life pretending you’re a Maasai.’

‘No, of course it’s not relevant in that sense, Cecily, but it obviously means that as soon as Christmas is over, we must take the baby into Nairobi and—’

‘No! I will not see this child given to a mission, or to an orphanage where she won’t be adequately cared for. The Lord only knows what her fate