‘So,’ continued Stella at her red-faced husband. ‘I’d like to know who Daisy’s mother is and why you hadn’t thought to mention either her or her daughter to me or our son before now?’
Peter shrugged. ‘I meant to tell you.’
‘When? Next week, next year?’
He shook his head. ‘I’m sorry, darling, I really was going to?—’
‘But it was easier to pretend I didn’t exist,’ Daisy interrupted. ‘Isn’t that more like it, Dad?’ She put the emphasis on the word and the man winced.
‘Daisy, I’m sorry, really I am.’ He took a deep breath. ‘You know it wasn’t all my fault.’
She immediately stood up. ‘Don’t you dare start blaming Mum for this; I won’t have it,’ she shouted. ‘She brought me up single-handedly, while you went about your happy daily life without a care in the world.’
‘That’s not true,’ he said, looking red in the face. Gabriel wasn’t certain but he suspected Peter might be close to tears.
‘Daisy,’ Gabriel said, trying to calm the tension in theroom.
She turned on him. ‘And you know nothing whatsoever about my life, so don’t start trying to pacify me, Gabriel.’ Her expression softened. ‘I don’t mean to snap at you.’ She looked back at her father and Gabriel couldn’t miss the hurt in her pretty face as she said, ‘She died, you know.’
Peter gasped and now Gabriel was sure he was about to cry. ‘No,’ Peter whispered, his voice cracking with emotion. ‘Penny died? When?’
Daisy sat back down. Gabe could see she regretted telling him in such a cruel way. ‘A few months ago. I don’t want to discuss it in front of others, but I’ll tell you more when we’re alone.’
‘Well, really,’ Stella said. ‘I think it’s a bit much you wishing to discuss someone who, by the sounds of things, was my husband’s mistress.’ She narrowed her eyes and added, ‘Not while we were together, I hope?’
Gabriel saw Daisy clench her fists. ‘She was not his mistress, thank you very much. She was his fiancée, became pregnant with me and before they could be married, your husband buggered off to “find himself”.’
‘I came back though, Daisy, surely she told you that.’
Daisy glowered at him. ‘Not until I was born and she’d had her trust for you shattered. Why would she take you back and fret that you could leave again at any time?’
He leant forward. ‘But I wouldn’t have done; I loved Penny with all my heart.’
Stella cried out. ‘Peter, how could you say such a thing?’
Gabriel could see by the look of horror on Peter’s face that he’d forgotten for a moment that Stella was in the room with them and regretted his outpouring about Daisy’s mother. ‘Darling, I didn’t mean… Well, that is to say…’
Stella wiped away tears. ‘Did you love her more than me?’
He shook his head. ‘No, of course not, dear. I loved Clarissa, but then I met you.’
‘Clarissa?’ Gabriel asked, thinking that maybe he’d made matters worse by insisting they all come to the office to chat.
Stella addressed Gabriel as if the other two people in the room weren’t there. ‘His first marriage – to Clarissa – was a disaster, but she was so devastated about miscarrying all her pregnancies that he didn’t feel he could leave her.’ She looked at Daisy. ‘She died too.’
‘So I gather,’ Daisy said, her expression cold. ‘So, how long have you two been together then?’ she asked. ‘I take it that the little boy out there is my half-brother?’
Stella sat up straighter in her chair. ‘Alfie is our son. He’s six and we’ve been together for seven years.’
‘So, before Clarissa died, then?’ Daisy sneered.
Gabriel could see she was struggling with her emotions and guessed it was because Daisy had just discovered that Peter must have still been seeing her mother when he’d begun a relationship with Stella. He wondered what the story was behind this situation and resolved to speak to her later, hoping she’d confide in him.
He stood up. ‘I think you’ve all been dealt a few unexpected blows today, so maybe you’d like to take some time to let everything sink in. If you need to meet up again and use my office, please let me know, or if there’s anything else I can do to help the situation in any way.’
‘Thank you,’ Peter said, offering his hand for Gabriel to shake. He looked at Daisy. ‘I really am sorry, sweetheart. I honestly didn’t know about your mum.’ He hesitated. ‘She was a very private lady.’
‘She was,’ Daisy said, ‘But when she was dying she asked after you many times. I left messages at your office for you to call me but you never did.’
