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Drew doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to go back to the cottage, and I’m not that keen for him to leave, either. When he does, I know I’ll end up thinking too hard about Livia, about the fact that she’s in Maine, and I’m here, unable to do anything about my feelings for her.
We could sit out by the pool, but it’s a little breezy this evening, and in any case, I prefer being in the library. It’s at the back of the house, its longest wall comprising floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook a vast expanse of lawn. The rest of the room is filled with books, lining the walls, on oak shelves. There are three enormous leather couches around the fireplace, as well as four or five wing-backed chairs, which are dotted about the room, each with a lamp beside them, perfect for reading in solitude.
“Now we’re alone, I can tell you about my visit to the office the other day.”
I’ve barely settled on one of the couches, but I shift forward in my seat, staring across at Drew, who’s sitting opposite. He’s clutching a cup of coffee, but I put mine down, just in case I drop it.
“What the hell were you doing at the office? And why didn’t you come see me?”
“Because I know you’re even busier than I am right now.”
“And? I can still make time for you. Unless you didn’t want to see me, of course.” I narrow my eyes at him. “I notice you haven’t answered my question about what you were doing there. Please tell me you’re not screwing around with someone who works for me.”
He rolls his eyes, shaking his head at the same time. “No, I’m not,” he says. “I came to do some detective work.”
“Detective work?”
“Yeah. Now Doreen’s gone, it felt safe to ask around the office about her and Dad.”
I let out a groan. “I think I’d feel happier if you were fucking around.”
He chuckles. “Sorry, but I’m not. Not at the moment. I’m too damn tired.”
I ignore his remark. I’m not interested in his sex life… at least, not as interested as he appears to be in our father’s. “Who did you ask?”
“Just some of the old-timers… the ones who’ve been working there long enough to know the answers.”
“To know the gossip, you mean. I don’t see how any of them can claim to know the answers. Who does, when it’s someone else’s relationship?”
“I suppose… but the point is, they all told me the same thing.”
“All of them?”
“Yeah.”
“Which was?”
“That Dad and Doreen were having an affair, and had been for years. It started not long after her husband died, evidently.”
I think back, trying to remember when that happened and how old I was. “Wasn’t… wasn’t that before Ella was born?”
“I don’t know, but what I did find out was that it continued right up until Dad’s death.”
For some reason, I’m surprised by that. “All that time?”
“Yeah.”
“How do they know this?”
“Evidently, quite a few people were aware of what was going on, even though Dad and Doreen tried to keep it a secret.” He pauses, taking a sip of coffee, and then looks at me over the rim of his cup. “Do you think Mom knew about it? Do you think that’s why she left?”
“I don’t know. If they started seeing each other before Ella was born, it doesn’t make much sense that Mom would wait until Ella was three years old, and then leave…”
“Unless she only just found out.”
“Mom wasn’t stupid. If Dad was having an affair, and half the people working for him knew about it, I imagine she’d have known too.”
“In which case, I don’t understand why she…”
