‘Don’t be silly, Mummy. We were just chatting,’ Freya said, the serene smile back in place as she slid onto one end of the small sofa, and Dee took the other end. ‘It’s nice to have a few minutes without the boys demanding something from us.’
‘Let me pour you some tea,’ Christian said, formal and upright again as he dealt with the teapot and handed Dee a cup. He turned to Freya, passed her a cup and said, ‘I will take mine, leave you ladies to it and see if I can find Sebastian.’
‘Thank you, darling,’ Freya said, sliding her cup onto one of the tables and turning her full attention onto Dee.
‘I really am sorry for interrupting,’ Dee said.
Freya waved away her concern. ‘I’ve tasked Christian with spending some boy-time with Seb. I think he could do with the moral support.’
Dee raised her eyebrows. ‘I’ve been doing my best with your brother.’
‘I didn’t mean you haven’t, but it must be so difficult for him right now. I’m immensely glad he wants to stay, wants to fight for Kirkshield, and that he’s managed to get Liv on side, too. But I thought maybe Christian might be able to offer up some fresh ideas.’ Freya grinned. ‘And anyway, my husband finds you incredibly intimidating, so you’ll have to excuse him running away.’
‘Hefindsmeintimidating?’
‘Have you never noticed how rigid he gets around you?’
‘He’s not always like that?’ Dee said. ‘I’ve always found him so formal; I suppose I assumed that was his general demeanour.’
Freya tipped back her head and laughed. ‘No. The stick-up-his-backside look is purely for you. Well, it was for you and Daddy, but now you’re in sole ownership of it.’ Her expression sobered. ‘You thought he was always like that?’
Dee reached out, clasping Freya’s hand in hers, her tone suddenly urgent. ‘Tell me you’re happy, Freya. Tell me you love him, and he loves you and everything is well in your world.’
‘Where’s this coming from?’ Freya said, her tone full of concern as she drew closer to Dee.
‘You’ve always been the most difficult one to read,’ Dee said. ‘You’re so calm and quiet and you’re so very good at coping with whatever life throws at you – I’m never sure how you truly feel. And I don’t want you to make the same mistakes I did.’
Dee had to catch her breath, her words tumbling out in a torrent of concern for her daughter, but with a trickle of self-pity mixed in.
‘I’ve always worried that you married so young just to get away from your father, from Kirkshield – from the toxic environment we managed to create here. It’s always eaten at me, and I should have said something way, way earlier than this.’ She shook her head, biting back tears as she searched Freya’s face for answers.
‘Oh my God,’ Freya slid the rest of the way across the sofa, wrapping her up in a hug. ‘Is that what you thought? I married Christian because I absolutely adore him. Pure and simple.’
‘I loved your father, too. At the start.’ Dee felt the tears start, but didn’t care how they fell as she clung to her grown-up baby. ‘Freya, if you’re ever unhappy, or he’s not … Well, if he’s like your father was in any way, then I insist you bring the boys and live here again. I won’t have you putting up with the things I did. I need you to know that.’
‘Christian is nothing like my father was,’ Freya said, her words slow and deliberate as she pulled away from Dee and took her by the shoulders. ‘I promise you that. And if I ever thought that of him, you would be the very first person I would tell. He knows everything about my childhood and has immense respect for you – that’s why he finds you so intimidating. And I think it’s why he was always so formal with Daddy, because what he really wanted to do was get him up against the wall in a chokehold, and, well, that’s not deemed acceptable in polite society, so …’
Freya’s eyes twinkled and Dee felt the edges of her mouth rising as she stifled a laugh. ‘It would probably have given your father a heart attack, so it’s just as well he didn’t.’
Freya smiled, then looked guilty. ‘It’s not funny, and yet …’ She took a deep breath, reclaiming her end of the sofa but not breaking her gaze. ‘I need you to listen to me very carefully. I have never been as happy as I am right now, so you need to stop worrying about me. And Olivia is free, now, to live her life openly with Candida. Between us, we can try to provide Seb with the support he needs, but I know he’s going to make it all work. And in time I wouldn’t be surprised if he manages to do both.’
‘Both?’
‘Manage Kirkshieldandplay in an orchestra. It might not be the London Philharmonic, but there are plenty of wonderful orchestras in Scotland. He just needs time to adjust to everything. No, there’s only one person we need to be worrying about. It’s your turn.’
‘My turn?’ Dee blinked and shook her head. ‘I’m completely fine, Freya. No need to worry about me.’
The hitch in one of Freya’s eyebrows had Dee reassessing the tone of her voice. Hadn’t she sounded convincing enough? She tried again. ‘It’s all been a shock, of course, but I’ll bounce back. I always do.’
‘What’s really going on?’ Freya asked, her tone so calm and quiet it nearly broke Dee’s heart, all over again. ‘This isn’t about Daddy, is it?’
Dee shook her head. ‘No. For once it isn’t. You’re right about that.’
Freya pursed her lips. ‘I don’t mean to sound dismissive about him, but now he’s gone you can do anything you want. So, what do you want to do?’
Dee drew in a long breath. ‘I think I want to travel. I want to see all the places Henry wasn’t interested in visiting. I want to find out what it’s like to be independent. I want to be able to be alone, Freya, rather than always feeling lonely.’
‘And where does Robbie fit into all this?’
