This I Promise You (23 page)

Edward grinned unabashedly. “I could tell she thought I was attractive, but she didn’t know me from Adam, so she had every reason to be cautious. But I was persistent. She finally agreed to accept a ride, but only because she was running late to her second job. She was a student at what was then Savannah State College, and she worked two jobs to put herself through school.”

Quentin nodded, sipping his drink.

“So I pulled over to the side of the road, got out and chivalrously opened the door for her. Before she got in the car, she warned me that she had a pistol in her purse and she wasn’t afraid to use it, so I’d better not try anything funny.”

Edward laughed, and so did Quentin. He could totally see Lexi making a threat like that.

“We talked on the way to her job,” Edward continued, still smiling. “She told me her name was Bettina, but everyone called her Betty. Her mother was a housekeeper and her father worked for the railroad company. She’d been to Africa and spoke passionately about the Pan-African movement and apartheid. She’d strongly opposed the Vietnam War and marched in protest rallies.” Edward shook his head. “Let me tell you, Quentin. I’d been around socially and politically conscious black people all my life, but Bettina fascinated me like no one else. After that day, we started seeing each other. But we didn’t tell our families. Her parents wanted her to focus on finishing school since she would be the first in her family to graduate college. And my parents…well, they had certain requirements for the woman I would marry, and Bettina didn’t exactly meet their expectations. So we kept our relationship a secret. Sometimes I’d sneak out of the office early to drive her to work or take her out to dinner, or we’d have a picnic by the river. We were from two completely different worlds, but it didn’t matter when we were together.”

Quentin put his glass down, watching as bittersweet sorrow settled over his uncle’s face. “So what happened?”

Edward turned his head to stare out the window. “One day I arrived at the hotel to pick her up, and I was told that she no longer worked there. She’d quit the day before. I was surprised because she hadn’t mentioned anything about finding another job. Naturally I was concerned. I’d never been to her house, but I knew where she lived. So I drove straight over there.” His tone turned grim. “The moment she came to the door, I took one look at her face and knew we were over. She stepped out onto the porch and closed the door behind her so her parents wouldn’t overhear our conversation. And then she looked me in the eye and told me we shouldn’t go out anymore. She said we were a distraction to each other, and we needed to refocus our priorities.”

Quentin stared at his uncle. “Do you think your father got to her?”

A muscle clenched in Edward’s jaw. “He said he didn’t, but I knew better. Just two weeks before, he’d called me into his office to lecture me about leaving work early. He was concerned that I wasn’t taking my job seriously enough, and he reminded me of my duties and responsibilities as future head of the law firm. Although he didn’t come right out and say it, I knew he’d found out about my relationship with Bettina. So in hindsight, I shouldn’t have been surprised by what happened.”

Quentin shook his head with a grim, sympathetic expression. “Did you try to convince Bettina to change her mind?”

“I did, but her mind was made up, and she wouldn’t be swayed.” Edward paused, absently fingering the rim of his glass. “I suppose I could have pushed harder and used my powers of persuasion. But I knew deep down inside that we never would have worked out. Our backgrounds were too different.”

Translation: I punked out on following my heart and making her my wife because she wasn’t a debutante.

“Did you ever see her again?” Quentin asked.

“Once. It was many years later at the Boulé annual convention.” Edward smiled faintly. “Ironic that we would encounter each other at a Boulé event when the very first time we met, I blew off meeting members of my father’s chapter in order to be with her. Anyway, she ended up marrying a congressman and moving to Washington, D.C. When we found ourselves at the same formal dinner that evening, it took us both by surprise. We were there with our spouses, and I had never told Grace about Bettina. So when our eyes met across the room, all we could do was nod and smile at each other, and that was it. I haven’t seen her since.” Edward stared down into his glass for a long moment. “Over the years, I’ve often wondered if she…well, if she thinks about me and wonders what could have been.”

“Why, Uncle Edward,” Quentin murmured, “are you still carrying a torch for your old flame?”

“Of course not.” Edward laughed, but it was a hollow sound. “I love Grace. She’s a good wife and mother.”

And she has the right pedigree,
Quentin silently added. Edward had let Bettina get away because his parents wouldn’t have approved of her. Rather than risk being disowned like his sister, he’d done what was expected of him and married a well-bred young lady from the right family.

Quentin didn’t know whether to pity him or condemn him as a coward.

“Anyway,” Edward went on, “you’re very lucky to have found a woman like Alexis. But I don’t have to tell you that.”

“No,” Quentin agreed, “you certainly don’t.”

The two men shared a small smile, then picked up their glasses and drank, silently regarding each other across the table.

“I can’t tell you enough how much it means to have you here, Quentin,” Edward said at length, breaking the silence. “I’ve looked forward to this day for years. It’s been a long time coming.”

Lowering his eyes to his glass, Quentin said quietly, “Why now? What made you decide to reach out now after all these years?”

Edward was silent so long Quentin thought he wouldn’t answer. When he did, his response was less than satisfactory. “I don’t know.”

Anger flashed through Quentin. “Bullshit.”

Edward met his accusing glare for a long moment, then turned his head to look out the window. He was silent for a while, watching as players and caddies moved across the fairways in golf carts.

“Your mother was my hero, Quentin,” he finally spoke. “Although we were seven years apart, we’d always been very close. Georgina was the only person who’d ever encouraged me to be myself, to march to the beat of my own drum. I looked up to her. Adored her. She could do no wrong in my eyes.”

Edward stared off into the distance, reliving his memories out loud. “I was only fourteen years old when she brought your father home to meet the family. She’d met him in Atlanta while she was away at Spelman. They were in love and wanted to get married. Fraser knew that Georgina came from a prominent family, so he wanted to do things the right way. He insisted on coming home with her that weekend to meet my father and formally ask for his daughter’s hand in marriage.” A smile flitted over Edward’s face. “Georgina was a very beautiful woman who’d always had her share of admirers. While many of her suitors saw her as ‘trophy wife’ material, your father was different. Oh, he was clearly taken by her beauty, that much was obvious. But it was more than that. As I watched them together over lunch that day, I could tell he really loved her. But that wasn’t enough for George and Lenore.

“After lunch, Georgina and Fraser followed my parents into the library to have the big talk. Olivia and I wanted to eavesdrop at the door, but Mrs. Weaver, our housekeeper, shooed us off. So we snuck glasses out of the kitchen and put them up to the wall from another room. We couldn’t make out all the words, but we could tell by the raised voices that they were arguing with one another. Then suddenly Georgina and Fraser came storming out of the library. Georgina was in tears, and Fraser looked furious. After they left the house, I went to the library and asked my father what had happened. He told me that my ‘ungrateful, rebellious’ sister had decided to leave home to be with Fraser, and she wouldn’t be around anymore. I was absolutely devastated.”

Edward closed his eyes for a moment before continuing, “That night when Georgina came back home to pack her things, I went to her room and begged her to reconsider marrying Fraser. She told me that she loved him, and when you loved someone, you had to be willing to make sacrifices and take risks. She told me that as long as I lived my life according to our father’s rules, and as long as I allowed myself to be defined as the sole male heir and nothing more, I would never be truly happy.” Edward’s jaw tightened, his throat working on a hard swallow. “I was so angry with her. I resented her for choosing your father over her own family—over
me
. I was fourteen and immature about matters of the heart. I lashed out at her and accused her of being selfish. When she tried to reason with me, I shouted her down. When she tried to hug me, I pushed her away and told her to have a nice life. Then I ran out of her room and out of the house. When she left home the next day, I made sure I wasn’t around. I couldn’t bear the thought of…” Edward trailed off, and Quentin saw that his eyes were glazed.

After a few moments, he collected himself and took a long swig of his drink, then carefully set the glass back down on the cocktail napkin. When he spoke again, his voice was pitched low. “What happened with the cancer scare?”

Quentin felt his chest tighten at the memory. He swallowed hard and clenched his jaw. “You should ask my mother about that.”

Edward looked at him. “I didn’t know,” he murmured, his eyes shadowed with regret. “The first time I heard about it was the day you brought it up at Georgina’s house. But I should have known, and I would have if I had been there—”

“But you weren’t,” Quentin said flatly.

“No, I wasn’t,” Edward conceded sadly. “And there are no words to convey how sorry I am for that.”

Quentin gave him a stony look.

Edward reached across the table and put his hand on his tense shoulder. “You may not be ready to forgive me, and I understand that. But you need to understand something as well, Quentin. I want to be part of your life. I want to have a relationship with you and your wife and your son. I don’t want to miss watching Junior grow up like I did with you. And I want to be there for your mother the way I should have been all these years. So what you need to understand is that I’m not going anywhere. Whether you like it or not, nephew, I’m here to stay.”

Quentin glowered at his uncle for a long moment. “Doesn’t sound like I have much of a choice in the matter,” he said darkly.

“No,” Edward agreed with a hint of a smile. “You don’t.”

***

Two hours before lunch was to be served, Grace, Lavinia and Georgina Harrington, along with Olivia and her two daughters, arrived at the house. They’d come early to partake of afternoon tea, a traditional pastime that occasionally preceded lunch depending on the family’s schedule.

After exchanging warm greetings and hugs, the women headed into the parlor to enjoy fragrant cups of hot tea and fresh-baked scones while chatting around a cozy fire.

As members of the black elite, the Harrington women belonged to many prestigious women’s organizations such as the Links and Girl Friends. These memberships were such an integral part of their lives that when they got together, much of their conversation revolved around charity galas, community service projects, political outreach efforts and the ever-important debutante cotillions. They also spoke excitedly about upcoming holiday parties, lavish black-tie dinners and a host of other functions that dominated their social calendars.

As an outsider, Lexi had very little to contribute to the conversation. So she mostly just sat there and listened, secretly yearning for the comforting familiarity of Prissy Wolf’s house during Sunday brunch. When Quentin’s mother caught her eye and winked, she knew she wasn’t the only one who felt out of her element. Although Georgina had been born into this life of privilege and prestige, she’d left home too early to become fully immersed in the elitist world of members-only social clubs. She enjoyed being an active member of her local AKA chapter, but the esteemed sorority didn’t define her existence or her worth.

When Lexi’s phone buzzed with an incoming text, she discreetly excused herself and left the parlor to read and respond to the message.

It was from Summer:
How’s the family reunion going?

Lexi smiled as she typed back:
It was touch and go for a sec. But we’re ok now.

Good. I was ready to come down there and kick some bougie black ass!

Lexi laughed out loud, then cupped her hand over her mouth and moved to the other side of the cavernous foyer.

So what r u doing now?
her sister asked.

Having afternoon tea.

Oh? How quaintly Victorian.

Lexi grinned and wrote back:
Tonight we’re going to the opera.

Sounds fun…NOT!

Lexi grinned and typed:
So what’s going on with you?

Not much. Do u think I should have come home this weekend?

Why? Having regrets about bailing on Percy?

Maybe
, Summer admitted.
But I’m sure he’s not losing any sleep over it.

Idk about that
, Lexi texted back.
He really wanted to spend the day with you.

Think so?

Lexi shook her head in amused exasperation.
Wasn’t it obvious???