Carly's Gift (32 page)

“I thought you didn't much like speculating about other people's private lives.”

“This is different.”

“Why's that?”

“Because I want my mother to be happy and I think she still loves David.”

“Seems to me you're forgetting something. David already has a wife and your—”

“I know,” she said, drawing her knees up and propping her hat on them. “It's just that it's so wrong for them to love each other and never get to be together.”

“Are you saying you'll up and leave me if another chap catches your fancy?”

She glanced up into his eyes. The teasing look she'd anticipated wasn't there. “That's impossible,” she told him. “You are the person I was put on this earth to be with. All you have to do is look at what I've gone through to find you.” She pulled him down for a kiss. “And that, Mr. Armstrong, is simply the way it is and the way it will always be.”

Carly moved away from the window where she'd been watching Andrea and Jeffery, picked up her champagne glass, and went over to David. “I think they'll be a while,” she said. “They've been waylaid.”

One of David's eyebrows rose in question. “You told Andrea we were coming a little early, didn't you?”

“At this moment, I don't think Andrea knows or cares what time we got here.”

“Ahhh, I see.”

“When were Jeffery's parents supposed to arrive from London?”

David looked at his watch. “A half hour from now, give or take.”

“Andrea warned me they were likely to be upset at Jeffery's taking time off from school.”

“Three days aren't going to hurt him.”

She stopped to look more closely at the collection of Chinese porcelain vases lining a mahogany bookcase. “I thought I heard him say something about joining us at Bath on Saturday.”

“I'm sure that would please Andrea. In case you haven't noticed, she's ecstatic over how well the two of you have hit it off.” He walked over to the cheese tray, cut a slice of Stilton, laid it on a cracker, and handed it to her.

She wrinkled her nose at the offering. “No thanks. I have this thing about eating blue food.”

“Come on, give it a try. When you get back to Baxter you can tell everyone you had some authentic English food.”

Gingerly she took the cracker and took a bite. After several seconds, she said, “Okay, so every rule has its exception.”

“That's one of the things I love about you. You're always willing to admit when you're wrong.”

She smiled sweetly. “I can't tell you how good it makes me feel to know that you remember the times I've been wrong about something.”

“It's what makes you so endearing.” He sat down and motioned for her to join him. She perched on the arm of his chair. “Seems to me Andrea isn't as tired as she was last week,” he said. “What do you think?”

“She looks better to me, too. But that doesn't mean—”

He held up his hands in surrender. “I'll get her to the doctor. I promise.”

Carly let her gaze sweep the room. “Are the things in here as old and expensive as they look?”

“You should recognize some of the paintings, or at least the artist.”

“But are they real?”

He chuckled. “Yes.”

“Andrea never mentioned any of this. I had no idea Jeffery's family had a key to the mint.”

“I don't think she sees it. She seems to have a blind spot when it comes to money and position. At parties, she's as likely to strike up a conversation with one of the servants as she is one of the guests.”

“And how does Jeffery feel about that?”

“I believe it's one of the things he loves most about her.”

Carly tipped her glass and took a long swallow of champagne. “And how do the Armstrongs feel about her?”

“Meaning?”

“By comparison, she comes from pretty ordinary stock.”

“If that matters to them, they've done a good job of hiding it.”

“The real test will come if it turns out she is pregnant. How do you think they'll react?”

He put his hand on her leg and gave her knee a squeeze. “If you can give me one good reason to engage in that particular guessing game, I'll play. Otherwise, I'm going to wait until I know something concrete.”

Carly glanced toward the window. “I just want her to be happy.” She'd known it was going to be hard to leave when the time came; she'd had no idea the pain would start this soon. She and Andrea still had five days together and already she was dreading the moment they would say good-bye. “I want you to promise me something else,” she said, filled with a sudden need.

“Anything within my power.”

“Do whatever you can to make sure she comes to Baxter this summer. I have this feeling it will be the last time.”

“That's a bit melodramatic, don't you think?”

“Think about it, David. If she is pregnant, she and Jeffery will be starting their lives together in a matter of months.”

“Has it occurred to you that they might choose not to have the baby?” he asked and reached for her hand.

“Jeffery might feel that's an option, but not Andrea.”

“How would you feel if I came to Baxter with Andrea?”

She knew exactly how she would feel. “Ethan isn't Victoria. He would do everything he could to make sure we were never alone together.”

“You didn't answer my question.”

“What do you have in mind, David?”

“I want to be there for you when it all falls apart with Ethan—and, like it or not, it will.”

“What age do you think Shawn and Eric would have to be to understand and forgive me for dumping their father to pursue my own life? When do you think they would be mature enough to understand how calculating their father is? Eighteen? Twenty? And if they ever reach the right age, will they question my sanity for staying with Ethan as long as I did? I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't.”

“When does your happiness count? And, goddamn it, when does mine?”

Almost as if on cue, there was a sound at the back of the house. Andrea's voice called out, “Jeffery and I will be down as soon as we wash up.”

“Take your time,” David answered. He waited several seconds and then turned to Carly. “Well?”

“I thought we weren't going to get into this discussion again.”

“I lied.”

“We keep saying we're not going to waste what time we have left by arguing and yet we keep doing it over and over again.”

David leaned forward and buried his face in his hands. Then dropping his hands between his knees, he looked up at her again. “I'll let it go for now,” he said, “But that doesn't mean I'm through trying.”

Twenty-nine

Carly lifted her
suitcase overhead and shoved it onto the closet shelf, symbolically and physically putting the final touches on her trip to England. She'd been home a week and had slipped back into her routine with such comparative ease she was finding it hard to believe that seven days ago she'd been on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

Ethan had been in a surprisingly good mood when he'd met her at the airport, welcoming her with open arms, acting as if the trip had been his idea. And now here she was facing a Thursday morning identical to hundreds of others she'd had over the years, cleaning the kitchen, making beds, and waiting for her mother to stop by for a cup of coffee on her way to pick up groceries.

If not for the lingering feeling of loss, she could almost convince herself the trip had been a figment of her imagination.

While she luxuriated in remembering her time with Andrea, whenever thoughts of David arose, Carly did everything she could to put them to the back of her mind. Sometimes it worked, more often it didn't.

She'd never believed it was better to have loved and lost. If you didn't know what you were missing, how could it hurt you? But then she would think of David and what it would be like to lose even the memory of him and she was willing to pay any price not to have that happen.

After she'd arrived home and handed out the presents she'd bought for everyone, Ethan had noticed and commented on the fact that she'd bought nothing for herself. She'd smiled and told him that her gift was intangible, but priceless. She hadn't wanted to tell him her plans right away, but the flash of jealousy she saw in his eyes told her it wasn't the time for mystery. So instead of waiting until she'd had time to grow accustomed to the idea herself, she announced her intention to begin painting again.

Ethan had laughed.

An errant breeze fluttered the curtain across the room. Downstairs there was a knock on the door followed by her mother's cheerful voice, “It's me, honey. Are you in the kitchen?' ”

Carly went to the stair railing and called down. “I'm up here, Mom.”

“I just finished reading David's new book. It's a humdinger. Best so far.”

“Why don't you start the coffee? I'll be right down.” She returned to the bedroom to close the window, not wanting to take a chance that the weatherman might be wrong about the rain.

Barbara looked up from the newspaper as Carly entered. “Did you see this?” she asked, holding up the front page. “The president's off to another summit meeting. London this time.” She laid the paper back on the table. “How does it feel having seen Big Ben for yourself?”

Carly smiled. “Fantastic.”

The smell of freshly brewing coffee filled the air. Carly went to the cupboard and took out a plate covered with plastic wrap. “I had to hide these last two pieces of the coffee cake I made for us last night. The boys haven't stopped eating since I got home.”

“Other than the nights they had dinner with me and Wally, I think they pretty much lived on pizza and hamburgers.”

“While I was filling up on smoked salmon, caviar, and Stilton cheese,” she said, feeling a twinge of guilt.

“And basking in the love of your daughter.”

“I can't tell you how much better I feel about her being in England now that I've been there myself. From now on when she talks about her room at Hawthorne or what the fields look like around the house, I can share it with her.”

“And Jeffery?”

This was the first time Carly and her mother had had a chance to talk alone. “I like him almost as much as Andrea does. But then, it would be hard not to. He's bright and funny and dotes on her. I've never seen her as happy as when she's with him.”

“What does he look like? Is he as handsome in person as he is in the pictures we've seen?”

“Even more so.”

“Can you imagine what their children will look like?”

Carly forcefully controlled the smile she felt forming. There was no sense letting her mother in on David's and her suspicions prematurely. He would be calling with the results of Andrea's physical any time now.

“It's a little disconcerting to think of myself as a grandmother,” Carly said, placing a piece of the coffee cake onto a plate. She added a fork and napkin and slid them across the counter. “Grandmothers are supposed to look old.” She grinned in anticipation of her mother's reaction.

“Like me?” Barbara said, with a snort.

“I said old, Mom, not ancient.”

Barbara laughed. “My, my, aren't we in a good mood today.”

“Sit down while I get the coffee. I've got a million things to tell you.”

“First I want to hear about Victoria. What's she like?”

Carly cringed. It was one thing to lie by omission, another as the result of a direct question. “I don't know any more about Victoria now than I did before I left. No, that's not true. I know she's richer and better connected than we thought and that she collects paintings of dogs.”

“You never saw her all the time you were in England?” Barbara asked carefully.

“She was on the continent.” Realizing how pretentious that sounded, she added, “Victoria is on some committee that's preparing a celebration of the anniversary of Mozart's death.”

“Seems to me it would be more appropriate to celebrate his birth.”

Carly started to breathe a sigh of relief that her mother was going to let Victoria's absence drop. She should have known better.

“Then you and David were alone?” she asked.

“Andrea was there.”

“As I recall, you said she was in school the first week.”

“Where are you heading with this?” Carly asked, already tired of dancing around the subject.

Barbara cut a corner of cake and chewed thoughtfully for several seconds before answering. “Have you changed your mind about staying with Ethan?”

“I wish it were that simple,” Carly said with a sigh. She reached for coffee cups. “But that's not a real answer, is it? No, I haven't changed my mind, but it isn't Ethan I'm staying with. It's Shawn and Eric.” She was adding sugar to Barbara's cup when the telephone rang.