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He was going to have to find someone to take care of Honor tomorrow. But who? He had used up all his credit with his normal ‘babysitters’. If worse came to worst, he would have to take her to the garden centre with him and ask Anna to keep an eye on her.
He groaned. Sometimes she made him feel as old as Methuselah, and at others her maturity filled him with both awe and apprehension.
Earlier this evening, walking into the restaurant and seeing her there with Verity, he had felt such a confusing and powerful mixture of emotions and when they had both looked at him, identical womanly expressions of hauteur and dismissal in their eyes, he had felt, he had felt…Grimly he pushed his hand into his hair. They certainly made a formidable team.
A team…Oh, no. No! No! No way. No way…
Silas looked enquiringly at Honor as she replaced the telephone receiver as he walked into the kitchen.
She looked enviably fresh and alert in view of how late it had been when she had finally gone to bed last night.
‘I’ve just checked with Verity,’ she told Silas with a very grown-up air as she poured herself some cereal, ‘and she says it’s okay for me to stay with her today. I’ve arranged for her to come and collect me at ten o’clock.’
Silas opened his mouth and then closed it again and, going to make himself a cup of coffee, waited until he had poured the boiling water on the coffee grains before trusting himself to speak.
‘Correct me if I’m wrong, Honor,’ he began pleasantly, ‘but I rather thought that I was the adult in this household and that as such I am the one who makes the decisions.’
‘I knew you probably wouldn’t have time to drive me over to Verity’s,’ Honor told him virtuously, ‘that’s why I asked her if she could come here to pick me up.’
‘Honor!’ Silas warned and then cursed under hi
s breath as the phone rang.
By the time he had dealt with the call, Honor had made a strategic retreat to her bedroom.
The phone rang again as he snatched a quick gulp of his now cold coffee. Sooner rather than later he and Honor were going to have a serious talk—a very serious talk.
Honor waited until her father had gone out, leaving her in the temporary care of their cleaning lady, before making her second call of the morning.
‘It’s me,’ she announced when she heard her friend Catherine pick up the receiver. ‘Guess what?’
‘Is it working?’ Catherine asked her excitedly. ‘Did your father…did they…?’
‘Both of them are pretending that they’ve never met before,’ Honor told her friend. ‘I haven’t told them about finding that photograph. I got Verity to take me out for supper last night like we planned—to the same place where Dad was taking Myra. You should have seen her face…’
‘What, Verity’s? Did she look as though she still loved him? Did he—’
‘No, not Verity,’ Honor interrupted her. ‘I meant you should have seen Myra’s face—she was furious.’
‘I bet she wasn’t too pleased later when your dad got that phone call about the garden centre being broken into either.’ Catherine giggled.
‘Mmm…that worked really well. Tell your cousin I’ll pay him what I owe him when I get more pocket money. I can’t stay on the phone too long. Verity’s coming round for me at ten. I’m spending the day with her. When she gets here we’re going to do some womanly bonding.’
‘What’s that?’ Catherine asked her uncertainly.
‘I’m not sure, I read about it in a magazine. I think it’s when you sit round and talk about babies and things,’ Honor told her grandly.
‘Oh. I’d rather talk about the boys,’ Catherine informed her. ‘Are you sure that your dad’s still in love with her?’
‘Positive. Last night they were kissing,’ Honor informed her smugly.
‘What? Did you see them?’
‘No, but Dad had got lipstick on his mouth.’
‘It could have been Myra’s…’
‘No. Myra wears red. This was pink…’
