Pardonable Lie by Jacqueline Winspear Read Free Book Online Page A

cautious with her money for years, but her pockets were not that deep; however, she had made her decision. Avril Jarvis needed a legal miracle. “The fee will be halved, though obviously not my expenses.”
    Lawton leaned across his desk, took up a fountain pen and made a note. “I agree to your terms, Miss Dobbs. Now, let us continue.”
    “Thank you, Sir Cecil.” Maisie smiled, pleased that an agreement had been reached. She proceeded to remove a wedge of index cards from her case as Lawton took his place again in the chair opposite.
    “I would like to know what happened when you received word of Ralph’s death.”
    Lawton sighed. “It was on August seventeenth, 1917. I was about to leave our home in Regent’s Park when the telegram arrived. It stated that Ralph was missing, presumed dead. A letter received later confirmed that his aeroplane had been shot down over enemy territory and he had perished.”
    “How long had he been in the Flying Corps?”
    “A long time, all things considered, but only a few months as a pilot.”
    “Oh?”
    “He enlisted fairly soon after leaving school, then transferred from the Royal Engineers to the Flying Corps, where he was a mechanic before becoming an observer.”
    “A mechanic?” Maisie realized that she had taken the step she’d warned Billy about only a couple of hours earlier. She had made an assumption, in her case that Ralph Lawton had joined the Royal Flying Corps as an officer.
    “Yes. Ralph went into the army straight from school.” Lawton rubbed his chin. “He was a singular sort of chap at St. Edmunds, didn’t really have close friends.” He paused again. “Anyway, my son enjoyed solitary pursuits and had something of a mathematical mind, passable at physics and so on, and liked tinkering with engines. Essentially, Miss Dobbs, it would be fair to say that Ralph preferred his own company, liked to be left alone.”
    “Did he enjoy his schooldays?”
    Lawton frowned. “I do not believe such a time in one’s life is there to be enjoyed as such. Sadly, my son was not a scholar, nor did he excel on the sports field. In fact, I understand he was rather shunned when it came to such pursuits. He wasn’t one who was at home on the cricket field, and he was far too sensitive for rugby.”
    “Sensitive?”
    Lawton seemed uncomfortable. “Well, you know, didn’t care for the camaraderie or, indeed, the demands of such a sport. Look, is this really necessary, Miss Dobbs?”
    “Yes—yes, it is.” Maisie was thoughtful. “Tell me, Sir Cecil, what would you say was at the heart of Ralph’s singular character?”
    “If you must know, I think it was my wife’s fault. Ralph was very much his mother’s son, Miss Dobbs.”
    “And you think that was detrimental to his future?”
    “Miss Dobbs, I had hoped that my son would demonstrate more acceptable ambitions to a father in my position. His performance at school was average at best, except in mathematical subjects, as I have indicated. His reluctance to take a full part in the recreational aspects of scholarship at such a prestigious boys’ school, together with his insistence on joining up with the enlisted men rather than taking up a commission, all served to convince me that my son wished only to cross me.”
    “I see. So there was a rift between you?”
    Lawton was silent for a moment before replying. “He may have been my son, Miss Dobbs, but I did not care for his character, I’m afraid.”
    “And your wife?”
    “Adored him. She lost two sons in childbirth before Ralph was born, and our daughter’s death from rubella meant he was to be our only child. My wife elevated Ralph’s importance to a ridiculous level. She didn’t care what he did or who he became, as long as he was there , hence this stupidity in continuing to believe he was alive. And now I am charged with continuing the charade!”
    Maisie leaned back into the chair and breathed deeply. She was taken aback by the strength of feeling