Chapter Fourteen

As always, dedicated to kissofdeath and KristaMarie.

Two weeks after Jean and Edward decided not to publish Teddy's memoirs, Jean received a telegram from Teddy's first wife, Deirdre.

Jean STOP The children and I are coming to Australia for a month STOP We will be arriving on March 13th on the HMS Monmouth STOP Deirdre Lloyd STOP

They received the telegram on March 5th, and Jean immediately panicked. The boys still did not know that they had three half-sisters and three half-brothers. They did not know that their father had been married before he had married Jean.

Later that evening, Jean and Edward sat the boys down.

"Duncan, William, I have something to tell you," Jean began, incredibly nervous. Edward squeezed her hand reassuringly. "And I'm sorry that your father and I didn't tell you this before, but we never thought that we would have to."

"What is it, Mum?" Duncan asked.

"Your father was married to someone else when we met," Jean said, closing her eyes. "A woman named Deirdre. And your father and Deirdre had six children – your half-siblings."

"What?!" William exclaimed, standing up from the sofa. "We have brothers and sisters that you never told us about? Why?"

"Deirdre never wanted to see your father again, and she took your brothers and sisters to Ireland," Jean explained. "We never thought that you would need to know. I'm sorry, darlings."

"Why are you telling us about this now?" Duncan asked her calmly.

"Deirdre and the children are arriving on the thirteenth," Jean said. "They're staying for a month."

"How old are they? What are their names?" William asked curiously, though he was still angry at his mother.

Edward jumped in. "You have three half-sisters – Siobhan, who is twenty-seven; Kathleen, who is twenty-four; and Aileen, who is nineteen; and three half-brothers – Connor, who is twenty-five; Brendan, who is twenty-three; and Kieran, who is twenty-one."

"Do you know them?" Duncan asked Edward.

"I know Siobhan and Connor, but I don't know the other four," Edward said.

Jean looked up at him, surprised. She did not know that Edward knew Teddy's oldest children.

"Why are they coming?" William asked.

"I'm not sure," Jean admitted. "I know that your father wrote them letters before he died, and I assume that he asked them to come to visit us."

"Where are they going to stay?" asked Duncan.

"I've booked several rooms at the Dunkirk Hotel two blocks away," Edward replied. "I'll also have the guest rooms prepared, in case they would rather stay here."

"I can't wait to meet them," William said, excited. It seemed that he had forgiven his mother for keeping the existence of his half-siblings a secret – at least he had forgiven her for the time being.

"You've met Teddy's oldest children?" Jean asked him later that night.

"Yes, when I went to Edinburgh twenty five years ago," Edward said.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Jean asked.

"I didn't think that it mattered," he explained. "I'm sorry."

"It's all right," Jean forgave him. "Did you know them well?"

"No, not particularly," Edward said. "I only met them a few times."

"What is Deirdre like?" Jean asked, changing the subject slightly.

"She is a very kind woman, very dedicated to her children – not particularly religious," he said.

"Is she beautiful?" Jean asked. "I only met her once, very briefly, when she discovered that Teddy and I were having an affair."

"Yes, she is," Edward replied. "But not nearly as beautiful as you."

Jean smiled up at him and pulled his arms tightly around her. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Jean," Edward said, kissing her on the forehead. "I love you, too."

Eight days later, Jean, Edward, Duncan, and William waited for the H.M.S. Monmouth to dock. Edward recognised Deirdre first and called out to her. She and her six children made their way over to the Lloyds.

"Hello, Deirdre," Edward said, embracing her.

"Hello, Edward," Deirdre replied.

Jean was standing nervously behind Edward, Duncan's arm wrapped around her shoulder protectively, William standing beside her.

Deirdre turned to Jean.

"Deirdre, this is Jean," Edward said, and Deirdre turned to her. She really was a beautiful woman, with long brown hair slightly streaked with gray; large green eyes; and a slender figure. She was about Jean's height.

"Hello, Jean," Deirdre said cordially. Jean was quite shocked by this friendly greeting – she had assumed that Deirdre would hold the fact that Jean had stolen Teddy away from her against her. After all, she had discovered them both in Teddy's studio all those years ago.

"Hello, Deirdre," Jean said, shaking herself out of her reverie.

"This is Siobhan, Connor, Kathleen, Brendan, Kieran, and Aileen," Deirdre said. Each of them smiled slightly.

"This is Duncan and William," Jean introduced her sons to Deirdre and their half-siblings. There was a very clear familial resemblance among all of Teddy's children.

"Why don't we go back to the house?" Edward suggested, and they all agreed. They piled into Edward's car and drove back to the house. They all gathered in the living room, and one of the maids brought in tea and sandwiches for everyone.

"I've booked rooms for you all at the Dunkirk Hotel, and we've also prepared the guest rooms for you if you'd prefer to stay here," Edward said.

Deirdre and her children exchanged glances. "We'll stay here, thank you," Deirdre said.

"I'll show you to your rooms," Jean said, standing up. Deirdre and the children followed her.

"Siobhan and Kathleen, this is your room," Jean said, opening the door. "Aileen, this is yours; Connor and Brendan, this is your room; Kieran, this is your room; and Deirdre, this is your room. I'll have one of the maids bring up your luggage," Jean said. "I'm sure that you all would like to freshen up."

"Thank you, Jean," Deirdre said.

"We'll have supper ready when come back down," Jean said, smiling nervously. Deirdre's children went into their rooms to freshen up.

"Jean, could I speak to you for a moment, please?" Deirdre asked.

"Of course," Jean said, stepping into Deirdre's room. Deirdre closed the door behind them.

"Please, sit down," Deidre said, and Jean sat down on the chair in front of the vanity.

"Deirdre, before you say anything, I want to apologise for taking Teddy away from you," Jean said, looking down into her lap. She was embarrassed.

"It's all right, Jean – I've forgiven you for that a long time ago – so have the children," Deirdre said, and Jean looked up at her.

"Thank you," Jean said, letting out a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much."

"I wanted to show you the letter I received from Teddy," Deirdre said, pulling the envelope out of her handbag.

Jean opened the envelope and read the letter.

"Dear Deirdre,

By the time you read this, I will be dead. I want to apologise for not being a good husband to you over the years, and not being a good father to the children. But I am sorrier for not telling you right away that I was in love with Jean Brodie – it was not fair to you.

I want you to know that after our divorce, I married Jean Brodie and we moved to Australia to live near Edward. Jean and I had two children – Duncan and William. I think that our children should meet their siblings.

Again, I am sorry, Deirdre. I always loved you, my dear. I hope that you have been happy.

Teddy."

Jean folded the letter back up and handed it to Deirdre. "Thank you for sharing the letter with me," Jean said.

"You're welcome," Deirdre replied.

"Deirdre..." Jean began.

"Yes?"

"Just so this isn't awkward, I want you to know that Teddy asked me to marry Edward after he died, and we were married four months ago," she explained.

Deirdre's eyes widened slightly. "Thank you for telling me," she said. "I had wondered about that."

"I'll let you freshen up now," Jean said, standing up.

"All right," Deirdre replied. "I'll be down shortly."

Jean nodded and went back downstairs to join her husband and two sons.

A half an hour later, Deirdre and her children joined Jean, Edward, Duncan, and William downstairs in the dining room. Surprisingly, everyone seemed to be getting along – as soon as dinner began, Siobhan, Kathleen, Brendan and William began a conversation about squash, while Aileen, Connor, Kieran, and Duncan talked about world affairs. Deirdre, Edward, and Jean were involved in their own conversation.

"Jean, why did you and Teddy move to Australia?" Deirdre asked Jean.

"Well, before Teddy and I began our affair," Jean blushed at that, looking down at her plate, "He had been having an affair with one of my former students, Sandy Stranger. She ended it, but she was angry that we were happy. Anyway, she threw a rock through the living room window, and it struck me in the head, causing me to go into a coma – I was five months pregnant with Duncan at the time," she said.

"Oh, Jean!" Deirdre exclaimed.

"I emerged from the coma a month later, and Teddy and I stayed in a hotel for a few days. We decided to move to Australia to get away from Sandy, and when he returned to the house to pack up our things, she burned it to the ground. Teddy barely got out alive. We left for Australia a few days later," she finished.

Deirdre sat there, mouth open. "I'm so sorry, Jean," she said.

Jean smiled forlornly. "It's all right – it all happened a long time ago – nearly seventeen years ago."

Dinner finished, and they all retired into the living room for nightcaps. The children went up to bed first, because while they were no longer children in any sense of the word, they were all exhausted.

Deirdre and Jean stayed downstairs, talking – Edward had gone up to their bedroom.

"Did Teddy ever cheat on you?" Deirdre asked Jean.

Jean smiled sadly. "Yes, he did – quite often, in fact. He had an exhibition of paintings in Europe, which lasted for nearly three years, and during that time he slept with dozens of women. Deirdre, when you were married to Teddy and he had an affair, would you have one too?" Jean asked, changing the subject slightly.

"No, I didn't, though I was tempted to. Why, did you?" she asked, and Jean nodded.

"Yes, with Edward," Jean said. "For nearly two years. I told Teddy, of course, and he was very upset about it, but it was his fault, really, leaving me alone with a new baby for nearly three years. And I did love Edward – I do love him – not as much as I loved Teddy, but close to it. Deirdre, did you ever remarry?"

"No, I didn't – I didn't want to worry about another husband cheating on me," she said, and Jean blushed with embarrassment.

"I am sorry," Jean said.

"It's all right. You certainly weren't the only woman he slept with over the years. I was tired of his constant affairs, and I knew he wasn't in love with me anymore. To tell you the truth, I was no longer in love with him – that's why I applied for an annulment."

The clock in the corner struck eleven.

"Is that the time?" Deirdre said, looking down at her watch. "I must be off to bed."

"Good night, Deirdre," Jean said, spontaneously embracing the woman, who returned her embrace.

"Good night, Jean," Deirdre said. "I think that we will be great friends – we understand each other."

Jean smiled. "As do I," she said, and they walked up the stairs to their respective rooms.