Du Montfort held up his glass with a flourish. “Everyone, let us drink to a new beginning.”
“I don’t know what to say, I… I…” Millie looked around. No one looked surprised. And Joanie’s eyes were full of mischief.So Joanie was in cahoots with the old man!
“Go on. You’re fired!” he said, and everyone laughed.
“This is such a surprise.” Millie felt tears in her eyes as everyone raised their glassesand drank.
As they walked back into the house, Millie was having a debilitating case of butterflies, then she saw George, and her heart exploded with joy. So this was thesurprise?
He was sitting on the stairs. Millie pushed Du Montfort’s wheelchair in. Joanie winked as she and the rest of the staff went to the kitchen.
George stood, but something wasn’t right. He looked sick; he looked like the worldhad ended.
The laughter died onher lips.
He walked towards her slowly. His face was white as a sheet, but his eyes were dark like thunder.
George saw her the look on her face, that same pretty face, slightly puzzled, slightly innocent, slightly trusting. That same smile that had fooled him. Lucky she wasn’t a man, or he’d have punched that smile right off her face. Forever. He’d always prided himself on treating women with respect, on being a great judge of character, on, on, on—He’d prided himself on a lot of things. But his pride had curdled and congealed into something rotten and foul that was making his stomach heave. His father had won. Again. And she had helped, the woman for whom he’d abandoned his rules and lowered hisdefences.
“I hear congratulations are in order,” he said, the words thick and ugly. He concentrated on not throwing up.
“Oh, um…” Millie smiled uncertainly. She looked towards his father, but George didn’t follow her gaze. He didn’t know what he might do if he looked at his father’ssmug face.
“So, you have succeeded where others failed. Marrying a Du Montfort. Quite a leap from your rusty little Nissan Micra,isn’t it?”
Millie paled. She opened her mouth but didn’t speak. She had talked so much, so well; her words had spun a web around him. Why was she silent now?
“You thought you had me wrapped around your little finger, pulled the wool over my eyes while you plotted andschemed.”
He wanted her to explain herself, to give himsomething.
She looked at his father, once more, and George’s control snapped right down the middle.
“Look at me when I’m talking to you,” he roared. His own voice sounded alien in hisown ears.
People were coming out of the kitchen. Voices trying to talk to him. But he wasn’t listening. He only wanted answers from one person.
Millie turned and walked towards the stairs.
“Oh no, you don’t.” He glared at her retreating back. “I haven’t finished with you yet. You lying, cheating, manipulative—”
She ran up the stairs, and he moved to follow. Someone was holding his arm; he turned and saw Nurse Ann. He snatched his arms away, and the nurse fell backwards. He took the stairs three at a time. Millie was ahead of him. She ran into her room and slammed the door shut andlocked it.
George hammered on the door. “Openthe door.”
Nothing. She was ignoring him.
“Open, or I’ll break the door down.Open it.”
Millie had locked her door without even thinking about it, then walked through her bedroom into her private sitting room and through the connecting door to one of the guest rooms. She took the side corridor that went all the way to the end of thewest wing.
Dimly she heard George shouting and banging somewhere far behind.
Once before, she had stood in shock and let a man she trusted and loved shout hurtful words at her. Once before she’d taken the accusation and tried to defend herself.
Once before she’d waited and tried to understand why
The ‘why’ didn’t matterright now.
