This was his cue to leave. If his mother didn’t know already about him and Daisy, then he wasn’t going to enlighten her.
‘Gabriel,’ she said. ‘I noticed you holding young Daisy’s hand at the party. Is there something you want to tell me?’
He would have loved to tell her that they were a couple, but there was no point leaving Daisy to have to cope with his mother’s interference if he didn’t manage to sort out a divorce.
‘No,’ he said, deciding that there would be plenty of time to explain everything about him and Daisy if they did get back together. He stood to leave. ‘I’d better get on. I’ve got a few calls to make and emails to write to try and drum up funding before I go. I need to at least try and arrive with some encouraging news.’
He kissed her goodbye and left.
He was walking along the main corridor when Daisy’s father, Peter, called out to him. Gabriel went to him. ‘Hello, are you enjoying your stay?’
‘We’ve had a wonderful time, thank you,’ he said, moving from one foot to the other.
Gabriel waited for him to speak. He was sure Peter was trying to tell him something. He wished he’d hurry up; he was running out of time if he wanted to complete everything he needed to do today. ‘Is there something you wish to speak to me about?’
Peter took a deep breath and exhaled sharply. ‘Yes.’He glanced up and down the corridor to see if anyone was coming and waved Gabriel over to a small side room. Closing the door behind them, he said, ‘I’ve heard on the grapevine that you’re having problems with your sponsors for some conservation project you’re involved with.’
Gabriel couldn’t understand how he’d know this, but nodded. ‘That’s right,’ he said, suspicious of the man’s interest.
Peter cleared his throat. ‘I want to offer you sponsorship of up to ten thousand pounds.’
Gabriel’s eyes widened. ‘Peter, that’s incredibly generous,’ he said, unable to keep a smile from his face. Maybe he wasn’t such a bad guy after all, he thought. Perhaps Daisy had only seen her father through her mother’s eyes.
Peter pushed his hands deep into his pockets. ‘Ahh, but I want something in return.’
Gabriel frowned. He wasn’t sure he was going to like what was coming next. ‘Go on,’ he said quietly, intrigued by what Peter could want from him.
‘I need you to persuade Daisy to meet with me. She’s refusing to have anything to do with me at the moment. I know she’s feeling hurt that I never told her about Stella and our son before now, but it’s complicated for me.’
And there it was, thought Gabriel, disappointed in his willingness to believe this man’s motives over Daisy’s insistence that he wasn’t the kind man he appeared to be on the surface.
‘No,’ Gabriel said without hesitation.
Peter’s bushy eyebrows shot up, giving him the look of a stunned gerbil.
‘Why not? I think it’s a pretty generous offer.’ When Gabriel didn’t reply, he added, ‘Don’t you care about your project?’
Gabriel felt his hackles rising. He studied Peter for a moment, trying not to show how angry he was with thisman’s attempt to force him into betraying Daisy’s wishes. ‘I care about it very much, but I’m not going to trade in Daisy’s feelings for cash. Maybe if you thought about her in terms that didn’t include your finances, then you might be able to build a relationship with her,’ he said, not caring that he was being rude to a guest.
‘You’ll discover that life isn’t all about love and romance, young man,’ he said, looking annoyed to have failed in his endeavour. ‘When it comes to women and children it is all about money. You’ll discover that fact when you come to have your own family.’
Gabriel didn’t care. He refused to be used in this way. ‘Daisy is a beautiful person but she’s been hurt by you. Instead of investing your money in shortcuts, why not try to invest your time getting to know her?’
‘Haven’t you noticed that she’s not interested in me?’ he hissed through clenched teeth.
Gabriel struggled to contain his irritation with this selfish man. ‘Yes, but she feels this way after a lifetime of disappointments and coming second best in your affections. Her feelings towards you are not going to change overnight.’
Peter waved his hand in Gabriel’s face. ‘You’re a fool,’ he said, glaring at him before marching out of the room and slamming the door behind him.
Gabriel took a deep breath to calm his temper. No wonder Daisy’s mum kept her daughter away from this short-sighted man. What he didn’t understand was what Daisy’s mother had ever seen in him in the first place. He slowly began to calm down. He wasn’t interested in Daisy’s parents and their mistakes, but he was concerned about her. From what he’d gleaned she’d been through a lot of heartache in her life and he wasn’t going to be party to any further upsets.
Passing reception, he saw that Daisy wasn’t there and Fi was working alone.
‘She’s not on until twelve,’ she said, giving him a flirtatious wink.
‘You’re very cheeky, you know that?’ he laughed.
‘Sorry, I forgot myself again.’
