Page 37 of Leafpoint Lighthouse

“Yeah. She’ll share when she’s ready.” I turned around at a knock.

“We’re here!” Poppy squealed as I opened the door. She flung her arms to embrace me and hugged me tightly. I laughed and returned the hug. Poppy let go and tackled Thea. A tall, distinguished man entered, and I stared.

Edmund was handsome, but life had been difficult for him; the lines around his eyes spoke volumes. He was fit for his age, which I placed at approximately fifty. Edmund’s dark hair was greying around the temples but neatly cut. Brown eyes held mine as his softened.

“No doubt who you are. Lyra, you’re the image of Susan,” he murmured and reached out to hug me.

“You knew my mum?” I asked, surprised, hugging him back.

Edmund nodded sadly. “It’s a long story, but I’ll tell you.”

“Okay,” I said for lack of anything else.

Edmund turned and looked at Thea. “You have to be Simeon’s. You have his eyes and smile.” He hugged her too as Ophelia walked down the stairs.

“And you have to be Christopher’s; you have your mother’s look.” Edmund didn’t hold back but reached out and embraced Ophelia too.

“Shall we go upstairs? It’s too early for dinner,” I suggested.

“I’ll help you make tea,” Poppy chirped, looking excited.

Five minutes later, everyone was sitting in the living room. As I was still waiting for my sofa, Edmund and Poppy perched on the sofa bed, and the rest of us sat on some beanbags I’d bought.

“I can’t believe I have nieces,” Edmund said, smiling.

“You don’t talk to your brothers?” Thea asked.

“No, Sonia did a number on everyone.”

“You call her Sonia?” I held Edmund’s gaze.

“She’s been called much worse by me.” He shifted with a sigh. “I’d better start from the beginning. Lyle and I are twins.”

“Joseph never mentioned that,” I gasped.

“No. I imagine not. The order was Lyle, me, Christopher, and Simeon. Once, I thought we were close, but we weren’t. I fell in love with a woman, Susan, your mother, Lyra. She was beautiful, and Lyle and I both wanted her. Flattered, Susan couldn’t decide who to pick. Only Lyle was seething. First, he was deprived of the Jasper fortune, and now he was playing backseat to his younger twin.”

“What on earth?” I gasped. “Are Poppy and I sisters?”

“No, sadly not. I was sent away, supposedly to learn the overseas business for a year. When I returned, I was informed Lyle and Susan had married. I was furious and beat the crap out of Lyle. He deserved it. While I’d been gone, Lyle and Sonia had been whispering poison in Susan’s ear, so Susan chose him. Back then, Lyle could be charming.

“There’d been a maid who’d had her eye on me. Out of sheer spite, I scooped Rosamund up and made her my wife. Rosamund was low-class, and my mother nearly had a heart attack. I took Rosamund everywhere, enjoying her crassness, rudeness, and ill manners. Sonia threatened to cut me off after six months, unless I broke up with her. That’s when Rosamund played her trump card. She was pregnant. Such a brilliant stroke. Mother was furious, but she couldn’t throw a Jasper heir away.

“By then Lyle had become bored with Susan. He’d no desire to be a father and had only married her because she’d got pregnant and Sonia threatened to cut him off. The truth came out before he left. But the damage had been caused. I left with Rosamund and cut off Sonia, Susan, and Lyle. Eventually, Rosamund ran off too. I didn’t have access to the wealth I once did. Susan regretted her choice, but it was too late for us. We met once briefly, and sadly we’d moved on.” Edmund sighed softly.

“That’s terrible,” I gasped, unsure how to feel. This man had loved my mother, and they’d both been tricked.

“Why didn’t you talk to my dad or Christopher?” Thea asked.

“Christopher became obsessed with wealth. He cut us all off and married rich. No offence, Ophelia,” Edmund said, holding his hands up.

“None taken. My father is a money-grabbing bastard. I’m well aware of what he is, and I don’t like him,” she replied. Pain flashed in her eyes, but she smiled through it.

“Simeon and I were a different story. We drifted apart, no anger, nothing. I went off the rails a bit, and Simeon settled down. I’m glad that he was happy,” Edmund admitted.

“The Jaspers seemed cursed to me,” I muttered, and Edmund nodded.

“Can’t disagree,” Ophelia said.