“I’ve been worried about you,” she said.
I pulled out a chair and sat down. “As you should be.”
“I’ve tried to tame the vultures. They’ve been gossiping all day. That girl made quite a scene. But my God, Leo. I never imagined she was the same girl you told me about—Felicity.”
I put my head in my hands. “I’m a terrible husband, Camila. Really. I should be shot for my behavior today. But I just—”
“You can’t let the redhead go home.”
“Not like this, no.” I pulled on my hair. “And it’s not fucking fair to either of them.”
“Leo, I’ve known you since you were a young boy. I’ve observed a lot. You’ve always tried to do the right thing. By your father, by your mother, by Felicity, by your wife. Sometimes even when we’re trying to do the right thing, we still muck it up. Just give yourself grace and do the best you can. But also, don’t expect your wife to have too much patience with this situation. No sane woman would allow it.”
“I hear you.”
Camila slid a cup of tea toward me. “Not to pour salt in your wound, but your mother somehow got wind of the situation. Seems we have a mole here in the house. She called looking for you while you were out, and I expect she’s going to be after you tomorrow for an explanation.”
Years ago, that might have seemed like a nightmare. But I was numb to it at this point. After hurting two people I cared about today, dealing with Mother seemed like nothing.
I exhaled. “I’ll face her when I have to.”
The following morning, I decided to grab the bull by the horns after all and confront my mother before she had a chance to call me. After my father died, Mum had moved to a separate residence so Darcie and I could have our independence in the main family property. My mother’s house, on the other side of Westfordshire, was nearly as large, with a staff of its own.
“Hello, Mother,” I said as I met her out in the garden.
I could see from her stark expression that she was seething.
“What’s this about some American girl showing up out of nowhere? Who is she?”
There was no point in skirting anything now. I told her the full story, holding nothing back. My mother’s reaction was everything I’d always imagined it to be.
She was practically shaking. “You would’ve given up everything, Leo. Thank the gods for intervening and making it impossible for you to wreck your life!”
“And you wonder why I’ve never told you anything over the years...”
“Your father is likely rolling around in his grave right now.”
“I highly doubt that. For all he knew, I did right by him.” I lifted my brow. “Anyway, what’s the point of this lifestyle without a little scandal to shake things up from time to time, right? Like father, like son?”
Immediately I knew alluding to my father’s rumored infidelities was uncalled for. “I’m sorry, Mother. Just trying to point out that I’m hardly the first imperfect person in this family.”
My mother took a long sip of her mimosa and slammed the champagne flute down. “What are you going to do about this problem? Is she still here?”
“She’s not a problem. She’s a person. One who had no idea what she was walking into. And I think what I’m doing at this point is none of your concern. I don’t owe any explanations from this point forward to anyone but Darcie.”
“Why did you run over here this morning to talk to me if you don’t value my opinion?”
“Because I knew your head was likely ready to explode, and I wanted to put you out of your misery.”
My mother screamed in frustration. “If your nan wasn’t already on her deathbed, this might just put her there.”
That was almost laughable.
“That goes to show how much you know about Nan…”
“What are you talking about?”
“Nan knew about Felicity from the beginning. She was the only person besides Sigmund who knew about our relationship back then. Nan knows more about me than anyone, actually.”
That should leave my mother’s knickers in a knot.
As her jaw dropped, I chose that moment to walk away.
A few hours later, I picked up Felicity and Sigmund at the Bainbridge Inn. They hadn’t killed each other yet, so that was good news. The sweet, old woman who owned the place stood outside and waved us off.
Felicity fastened her seatbelt. “Where are we going?”
While she was next to me in the passenger seat, my cousin sat in the back.
“There’s something I want to show you,” I said.
“I’m sure that’s not the first time you’ve said that to her,” Sigmund cracked.
I glared at him in the rearview mirror. “Why am I taking you along again?”
“Oh, I don’t know…because your wife will have your arse if you don’t? Because you think I’ll drink myself into oblivion if left alone? Because you can’t get enough of my charming personality? Because you don’t trust yourself to be alone with Felicity? There are multiple answers to that question.”