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‘I think your friend is here,’ said the nurse, nodding behind Paula. She turned, expecting to see Tess, but her jaw dropped.
It was William.
How could he be here? she thought, gripped with panic. How could he know?
William had left for London the morning Tess had come to the apartment to tell her about Ted Kressler, and although she had spoken to him on the phone, Paula had not breathed a word of what was going on. Meredith? Tess? She was too emotionally drained for anger, she simply stood there, her shoulders sagging as he approached.
‘You’re here,’ she said, fighting to keep composed. ‘How did you know where to find us?’
William gave a half–smile. ‘I’ve been here before.’
‘I don’t understand.’
William touched her arm gently and led her slightly away from Violet and the nurse.
‘Paula, I knew.’
‘You knew?’ she whispered incredulously.
‘About six months ago, I bought you that dress for the Met gala dinner, remember?’
Paula nodded dumbly. It had been a beautiful vintage Valentino evening dress. He was always giving her little surprises, she thought, her mind wandering off on a tangent. About time I gave him one back, she added to herself.
‘Well, I had gone into your closet to find out your dress size and I … well, I found an old letter that Marion Quinn had sent you,’ he said, his cheeks colouring a little. ‘It mentioned your daughter Violet.’
Paula remembered that letter. Marion Quinn had sent it to her modelling agency when she was in her early twenties and she thought it had been well hidden. Obviously not. Paula knew all along she should have destroyed that letter, but she had never been able to, and now it was too late. Her throat felt so thick she could barely swallow. He was going to divorce her. She almost laughed out loud at the irony: now she was getting what she wanted, she found she didn’t want it at all.
‘I hired a private investigator and eventually he found Violet,’ said William. ‘I wanted to meet her so I came down here on my own.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me you knew?’ asked Paula, her voice hoarse.
William shook his head sadly. ‘Honey, I tried so many times.’
She nodded. ‘I know how that feels.’
‘Mother told me yesterday about Ted Kressler,’ continued William, ‘and that you were coming down here with Tess. So I got a flight straight here from London.’
With an effort, Paula looked up at his face, trying to read his expression.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said, ‘I’m so, so sorry.’
The nurse, who had been hovering, came over and took hold of the wheelchair handles. ‘I have to take Violet inside now,’ she smiled apologetically.
‘Just another minute, please,’ asked Paula. Hesitantly, the woman retreated and Paula reached out to gently stroke Violet’s hair.
‘I understand what you did. Why you did it,’ said William quietly.
Paula looked up sharply. ‘But you don’t approve,’ she said.
William ran a hand over his chin. ‘No, but … but she’s still your daughter, Paula. There’s no need to hide her any more. Violet has a new family now, but we don’t have to pretend she doesn’t exist.’
For a moment, Paula looked at him with hope. Was he suggesting that they could move on from this? No, that was too much to hope.
‘Your mother hates me,’ she said. ‘And the Billingtons will go crazy.’ For a moment she thought about her friends in New York, about her newly elevated social circle and how they would freeze her out, but suddenly their disapproval seemed immaterial compared to what her husband was thinking.
‘William, I … ’ she began, but he stepped forward and took her in his arms.
‘Shhh … ’ he said softly as she burst into tears, sobbing into his shoulder.
