Chuck arrives at the table. He puts his arm around Caitlin. ‘There’s my wi…’ His voice trails off as he clocks who is sat next to me.
‘My God, Gabi.’ He looks at my guest and then at me, his jaw set hard as he slowly shakes his head. He doesn’t have to say a thing to me, I know how disappointed he is. I always knew it would be Chuck I would let down the hardest.
Gabi sits forward and smiles at Chuck. I can see she wants to stand and greet him properly.
‘Gabi? Mama, do you know a Gabi? Chuck, how do you know her? Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on!’ Caitlin becomes exasperated. I stand up and then it all begins to happen exactly as I had planned it. I take hold of Caitlin’s arm very lightly.
‘Caitlin, this is Gabi,’ I say, and begin to usher her round the table to where my guest sits with her hands pressed firmly together in her lap.
‘Yes, I think we have all established that,’ Caitlin says, as we come to a standstill right in front of Gabi. I wait a moment as I watch Caitlin take her in. I note the way she is drawn immediately to Gabi’s face, particularly her lip, the way it is split slightly in the centre towards her nose, a cut that healed long ago but still slightly distorts her features. Next, her gaze falls to Gabi’s lap and the way her hands are tightly entwined, but her left leg taps furiously, her eyes moving from one person to the next, never able to hold her gaze on any one of us for more than a second.
‘Sasha, stop, think what you’re doing. You promised. You promised. And here, on my wedding day?’ Chuck is by my side, whispering loudly into my ear. I hadn’t notice him get any closer.
But I ignore Chuck. I feel a small amount of fury rise into my throat, which gives me the strength to finish what I have started.
‘Caitlin,’ I say softly. ‘Gabi is your sister. Your twin sister.’
30 Saxby House, Dorset, September 1990
September 1990
Dear Chuck,
Hope you’re okay back at home and that boarding school isn’t too boring. Thanks for being a good friend over the summer holidays. And thanks for saying I could write to you. I have something very important to tell you, something I can’t just blurt out, but something I feel deserves both of our attentions. This feels too big for me to carry by myself.
I feel so bad, for what I did, but I knew there was something going on with the Clemontes that needed further inspection. Call me a sleuth or whatever you like, but somehow – and I won’t say how – I found myself in Ava’s study on the night of Caitlin and Josephine’s party.
What I discovered, Chuck, were photos. Fourteen of them. All of a girl that looked very similar to Caitlin. Except she had a horrible deformity on her lip in the baby photos. As she grew, they must have been able to have reconstructed her face or something, because it isn’t as bad. I think they are twins. I don’t think Gabi – that is the name on every photo – and Caitlin are identical twins, as she doesn’t look exactly like Caitlin, just similar. Each photo is taken round about the same time as Caitlin’s – their – birthday, and on the back of each photo is some writing. The people who sent the photos must be Gabi’s new parents, and they wanted to keep in touch with Ava. They have obviously been writing to Ava each year to let her know how she has grown.
I know all this to be true because Ava admitted that Gabi was Caitlin’s twin when she discovered me in her study. I know! I wouldn’t make a very good spy or detective, would I? But now I know Ava gave Caitlin’s twin sister away because she was deformed and she didn’t want her any more. But I think Caitlin would have loved her, don’t you?
In the first photo, Gabi is a tiny baby, only a few months old. Her parents had written on the back that she is dealing quite well with her cleft palate and that there is an operation booked. It looked quite bad – she had huge, pretty eyes but with a gaping hole where her lip should have joined her mouth and nose. I was scared when I saw that photo. But then in the next photo, Gabi has had the operation, and she looks a lot better; her lip still looks slightly deformed, but I didn’t feel so sad when I looked at the photo. On the back, Gabi’s parents had written a note that says the operation has gone well and Gabi is recovering just fine. I could see the same cheeky look in Gabi’s eye that Caitlin gets sometimes. Gabi is smiling in every photo. The sixth photo had written on the back, Doctors have confirmed that Gabi is autistic. She will start a special school after the summer.
I feel really sad for Gabi, for her new parents and for Caitlin. I feel so crushed that I must keep this a secret from her. But you know her best, you know the Clemonte family the best, and they do things differently to how my family would. Do you think we should keep it to ourselves? I do. I couldn’t possibly tell Caitlin. I’m going to need your help. Whatever happens, you and I must always remain friends so I don’t feel I must shoulder this terrible secret all by myself. It would be good to know I have you by my side, Chuck.
I have one more thing to tell you. When I am a little bit older, I am going to
