‘No.’ Lady Dorothy drank the last of her champagne and looked up at her son. ‘You’re being given the chance to have something that I was never able to give you, no matter how much I wanted to.’
‘Which is?’
‘A family,’ Lady Dorothy said softly. ‘Arealfamily.’
Oliver could hear the undertone of sadness in her voice, and it added a different kind of hurt to the emotional ride still trying to whirl him around. He’d tried, for as long as he could remember, to make his mother happy. To make her proud of him. To make up for the empty place his father had left in their lives and their hearts. He hadn’t succeeded, had he?
‘You know what it’s like to have a father who didn’t care enough,’ Lady Dorothy said, even more quietly. ‘Is that a legacy you’d want to pass on to your own child?’
That sadness was palpable now and part of it was his own. Of course he didn’t want to pass it on. Maybe the determination that he never would was why he’d never found someone he would consider marrying. How long would he have kept up the half-hearted search? Long enough for the choice to be taken away? It wasn’t beyond the realms of possibility that he could have found himself alone and childless in years to come because he’d put off taking a risk, knowing what the repercussions might be from making the wrong choice.
‘I think we could probably leave soon, without it being seen as impolite,’ Lady Dorothy said. ‘I’m suddenly feeling rather tired. And you’re right. This is neither the time nor the place for you and Bella to be talking. There’ll be plenty of time for that.’
* * *
The photographer had finished with the more formal pictures now.
He was ready to capture the social part of the occasion and the closest guests were the old lady in the chair and the man standing beside her, looking far too sombre.
‘Let’s have a smile,’ he suggested. ‘This is a wedding after all.’
12
Who ever said that tomorrow never came?
It was here now and it was the hardest thing Bella had ever done, returning to the Dawsons’ house.
‘We’ll talk tomorrow,’ had been Oliver’s parting words when he’d taken his mother home from the wedding.
Kate and Connor had left this morning, for their tropical island honeymoon in Rarotonga. Her family had gone home as well, with Bella assuring them that she was fine. She would have to tell them the truth very soon but not just yet. Not until she had spoken properly to the father of this baby she was carrying.
But she felt very alone now.
And very scared.
She let herself into the Dawson mansion by a side door near the kitchen that she had a key for. The kitchen was empty and, being a Sunday, the housekeeper was having her day off. It was supposed to be Bella’s day off as well, because it was the day of the week that Oliver was most likely to be at home and available if his mother needed assistance, but, as often as not, in the last weeks he had been called in for some emergency and Bella hadn’t minded. She was being paid quite well enough to be expected to be here twenty-four-seven.
She knew where she’d probably find her employer. On a quiet Sunday morning, Lady Dorothy loved to sit in a corner of the conservatory and listen to a radio programme that featured hymns.
‘I’ve always loved getting dressed up and going to church,’ she’d told Bella. ‘Not that I’ve done it nearly often enough in recent years.’
Maybe she’d decided to do it today after the pleasure in dressing up to go to Kate’s wedding yesterday. If she had, then Oliver would have accompanied her.
But Lady Dorothy was in her usual spot amongst the potted palm trees. Her face lit up in a smile as she saw Bella approaching. The smile widened when her gaze dropped and she saw what Bella was carrying.
‘Oh… you’ve brought Bib. I’m so pleased.’
‘Are you sure about this?’ Bella crouched beside the plastic carry cage. ‘She’s not really a kitten any more and she can be quite demanding if she doesn’t get the attention she wants.’
‘Can’t we all?’ Lady Dorothy murmured. ‘All the more reason to bring her here while Kate and Connor are away on their honeymoon. She might have got lonely with you only popping over a couple of times a day. How awful would it have been if she’d run away?’
‘That’s true.’ Bella opened the door of the box and Bib ventured out without hesitation. With a flick of a fluffy grey tail, she sniffed the air and started to investigate her new surroundings. Within seconds she was sharpening her claws on the trunk of the nearest palm tree.
‘Bad cat,’ Bella admonished, picking her up. Bib started purring loudly but then wriggled to get down. She trotted to Lady Dorothy’s chair, leapt up into her lap and then settled into a fluffy ball, still purring.
Lady Dorothy stroked the cat. And smiled.
Bella tried to smile back but her lips wobbled. ‘W-where’s Oliver?’ she asked quietly. ‘I think it’s time I talked to him.’
