For All Time (Nantucket Brides 2)

“Yes, ma’am, I have and may I say that he—”

“No, you may not say anything,” his mother snapped. “Just listen. I don’t want you to come here to this country and pile more work on your brother. He has enough to do without you here being a demon of temptation and trying to get him drunk. And with his engagement coming up, he can’t have you throwing your mindless girlfriends at him. Your father needs to heal, and the less stress put on him, the faster that will happen. Am I making myself clear?”

“Yes, ma’am, you are.”

Toby could see the shock on Graydon’s face. When he started to take the phone from her, she grabbed the falling towel and tied it around his waist.

The phone was still on speaker and Graydon was holding it away from his head, as though he couldn’t bear it to be near him.

“I am pleading with you,” his mother said, “to stay away. Graydon takes his coming rulership very seriously, while you have only contempt for what we stand for.” She made a sound of exasperation. “You and I have been through this many times before. Do I have your word that you will remain wherever you are and put as little stress as possible on your father and brother?”

“Yes,” Graydon said, his voice hard and cold. “I can assure you that I will not interfere with my brother’s obligations.”

His mother wasn’t bothered by his tone. “As for that American strumpet who answered the telephone, get rid of her. If the media find out your father is ill, there will be plenty of negative press about us without your dangling one of your cheap harlots in front of the journalists. And Danna doesn’t need to be insulted by having to meet whomever you’ve picked up this time. Do we understand each other?”

“Perfectly,” Graydon said, and without a further word, she hung up.

For a long moment he stood there, immobile. Toby gently pushed him out the door and into the bedroom to the little couch by the fireplace. There was an old quilt over the back and she draped it around his bare shoulders, which were still wet.

“Was that the first time you heard that?” she asked as she sat down beside him and took his hand in hers.

“Yes. Rory never told me that our mother speaks to him in that way. No wonder he so rarely comes home.” He turned to her. “What she said about you … I can’t apologize enough.”

Toby raised her hand. “My mother says about the same things to me. I never live up to whatever she wants me to do and be.” She didn’t add that in his case it was his brother who was the disappointment.

“Sir?” Daire’s voice came to them from the sitting room. “Prince Rory asks that you call him.”

“We’re in here,” Toby said.

When Daire, with Lorcan close behind him, saw them sitting so close together on the sofa and Graydon with little clothing on, they turned away. “I beg your pardon.”

“Graydon just heard the way his mother talks to his brother,” Toby said.

Graydon looked at her as though she had betrayed his confidence, but Daire shrugged as though to say he’d heard it many times.

“Does everyone know?” Graydon asked.

“Within a close circle of people, yes,” Daire answered, and Lorcan nodded.

“But no one, not even Rory, told me.” Graydon looked at them. “Were you protecting me from the truth?”

“Yes,” Daire said as he went to the closet to get Graydon some clothes.

“Get the blue denim shirt,” Toby called to him. “And jeans. He’ll want to stay in today and talk to Rory about damage control.”

“And his sneakers,” Lorcan said from the doorway. She went to the big chest of drawers. “Socks?” she asked as she looked at Toby.

“Top left. Get the white ones.”

Graydon was beginning to recover himself. “I believe I’m capable of dressing myself,” he said.

With a curt nod of their heads, Daire and Lorcan put the clothes on the bed, then left. “I’ll let you get dressed,” Toby said and started to leave, but Graydon stopped her.

“No. Please stay,” he said as he stood up, the quilt falling away. “Unless you want to go, that is.”

For a moment she looked at him standing there in just a towel and she seemed to remember being in his arms last night. Was it real or one of her dreams? She took a step toward him, her hand extended as though she was going to touch him, but he turned away and the moment was lost.

Graydon got underwear out of a drawer and Toby looked away as he put it on. When he had his jeans on but not fastened, she looked back at him. “What are you going to do about this?”