He nodded and rushed away.
“Are you enjoying yourself, my dear?” Madam Avalon asked Sandrine.
“Very much so.”
“And your little interlude in the gardens? I hope all was to your satisfaction?”
“He was a gentleman. He only did what I asked him to do.”
“Of course. I never would have allowed you to go into the gardens with him otherwise. I saw you two dancing together. May I ask your real name, my dear? I promise to guard it closely. You remind me of someone I know.”
“I thought the same about you. My name is Sandrine Oliver. I’m from—”
“Squalton-on-Sea.”
“How could you know that?”
“I never thought this day would come.”
“How do you know me?”
“Because, Sandrine, my dear girl. I’m your grandmother.”
Chapter Seventeen
Cast those people from your life who have fallen away from the path of righteousness.
—Mrs. Oliver’s Rules for Young Ladies
She had a grandmother? Sandrine’s mind danced over the knowledge. She knew it to be true, deep in her bones. This woman looked familiar because it was like holding a mirror to what Sandrine might look like later in life. “I don’t understand. My mother told me that you were dead.”
A tear slipped down Madam Avalon’s cheek, and she dashed it away with a gloved hand. “Is that what she told you? I wondered. For the past twenty years I’ve begged your mother to allow me to meet you. I’ve sent letters, gifts, offers of money to fund your schooling.”
“I never received any of it. Whenever I asked about her parents, she always said that her father and mother perished in a fire. She refused to say anything else.”
“I even visited Squalton once, but your mother slammed the door in my face. I stayed long enough to catch a glimpse of you, my darling granddaughter. It was a dagger to my heart not to speak to you. I had to be content with knowing that you were healthy, bright, and so very beautiful.”
“I’ve longed to know my mother’s side of the family. I’ve studied our ancestral tree, and your branch ended so abruptly. She said you didn’t have any other children. That you were an only child yourself.”
“I’m afraid that she lied. I have another daughter, your aunt, Dawn, and she has a daughter, your cousin, Sophia. They live abroad on a beautiful island in Greece. I’m going to visit them soon.”
“This is overwhelming. I simply can’t believe that my family tree has a whole branch I knew nothing about. Isn’t your name Ruby?”
“That’s right.”
“I glimpsed your name once in a letter my mother was writing. I assumed she was writing to you beyond the grave, but she was contacting you in truth.”
“Her letters were always very brief. She told me never to contact her or you. She wanted to pretend that I was dead.”
“Why would my mother lie to me my entire life?”
“I am dead to her. She made that choice to bury me and be done with me. But how is it that you’re here in London?” Her eyes filled with tears. “Is Barbara... is my daughter here as well?”
“She never leaves Squalton. She didn’t want me to come to London. I’m here accompanying Mrs. McGovern and Miss Hodwell as their companion.”
“Eve and Dodie? I know them well.”
“You do?”