It seems that following the discovery of the photo of her mother, Mrs V, Andrea was trying to uncover some of her family history.
At first Mrs V was taciturn, but eventually she turned to face Andrea and said, 'Oh well, you're not a child any more – I suppose you deserve to know the truth…'
After gathering her thoughts for a few moments, she began:
'Your life was not supposed to be like this, my dear. You were not destined for a life of drudgery and childbearing in a zoo conservation project, for you are the child of Nobility!'
She continued, 'I was born of a Patrician family – one of Costa Rica's finest! When my family moved to England I was even presented at Court as a Debutante!'
Rummaging in her handbag, she produced a photograph (reproduced below) of herself taken at the Deb's Ball as she was presented to Queen Charlotte's Birthday Cake [don't even ask what that's all about!].
She paused to dab at her eyes with a Kleenex before resuming her sorry tale:
'At the Debutante's Ball I met the most wonderful and handsome boy – he was a real Boar, and he quite swept me off my paws! He met my family and we became betrothed… it was like a fairy tale!'
Mrs V had to pause, her shoulders shaking with emotion, before she could continue: 'But after the wedding he revealed his true nature. He spent all night gambling and fornicating with sows of easy virtue in nightclubs; he made many unwise investments, and eventually even persuaded my dear father to invest in Coffee Futures, promising to multiply his investment tenfold!'
Another pause ensued before she could pick up the sorry tale: 'When the Great Coffee Crash came, we were wiped out! My father lost all his money and the family was in ruination!'
Andrea asked, 'So what became of your husband… my father?'
'Husband?' Mrs V. spat the word like an oath. 'My so-called "husband" deserted me, leaving me with a cub to bring up on my own, and left the country. Neither I nor my family ever heard from him again. He is dead to me!
'I was alone in the world with you, Andrea, the sweetest anteater cub in the world, and the only way to survive was to move to the zoo – the only home you remember – and accept their charity.
'I have never spoken of this before, partly because my foolishness and naïveté pains me, but mostly because I didn't want you or the rest of my family know what they have lost! Dear Boo [Wilson] for instance is desperately trying to earn £1million to try to restore us to our lost grandeur, and even he doesn't know why…'
Mrs V lapsed into silence while Andrea tried to comfort her.
—
There will be no post tomorrow, to give everyone a chance to come to terms with this most unexpected revelation!
