Daisy wouldn’t meet her gaze. “Nothing. That’s not what I meant. I meant that Dad just has to do loads of research for his book…so he can get itreadyfor Rachel,” she mumbled, but inside she was panicking like mad.
Oh no. Her dad wouldkillher!
Although not if his girlfriend did first, and by the way Vanessa was looking at her, she worried this was a real possibility.
Vanessa was silent for a moment before she spoke again. “Daisy, there’s something going on here that I don’t know about, isn’t there?”
Daisy’s eyes stayed glued to the TV where Johnny Depp was doing something silly. “No.”
“Come on. You can tell me, I promise. Your dad hasn’t gone to Ireland to do research like he said. We both know that, don’t we?”
“He has, honestly.” Daisy’s lip trembled. “Look, I don’t know why I said that…about Rachel, I mean. I just got confused…because we were talking about Dad’s book, and she was talking about it when we met her in New York.” She really wished Vanessa would stop going on about it. Why did she have to be so suspicious about what her dad was doing? It wasn’t as if they were married or anything.
Yet.
“So this Rachel, the agent from New York…”
“Yes?”
“Was she the one in your drawing—the pretty woman?” Vanessa asked, and Daisy looked at her. Oh no, why did she have to go and put Rachel in her drawing? Now it seemed like Vanessa was suspicious about that too.
Daisy nodded vigorously, trying to make it all look innocent and normal and, more importantly, enough to make Vanessa stop talking and just watch the movie. There was this big fight scene between Johnny and Orlando going on, and she tried her best to concentrate on it.
“But she’s definitely an agent from New York—not from Ireland?”
“I think so…” Daisy was deliberately noncommittal as she thought like crazy, trying to remember what her dad had said to Vanessa.
Oh, this was all her dad’s fault for not telling Rachel everything that day at the hospital. She was so nice, she would have understood, Daisy was certain of it. And maybe then Vanessa wouldn’t be pestering her with all these questions now.
“Honey, what were you and your dadreallydoing in New York?”
“What?” Daisy mumbled, feeling decidedly cornered now.
“All those times you two kept disappearing, where were you really going?”
“Erm…” She was now staring intently into the bottom of the ice cream carton, willing herself not to say another word.
“Daisy, you can tell me. Honestly, it’s okay.”
“No. My dad said…”
Vanessa went very still all of a sudden. “Your dad said what?”
Daisy’s heart pounded in her chest. “My dad said not to tell,” she replied in a very small voice. Oh no. Dad was seriously going tokillher!
“Not to tell me what?” Vanessa’s voice was stern, sort of the way Daisy’s piano teacher sounded when she got the notes wrong. “Daisy, look at me. I asked you a question.”
Suddenly tears filled her eyes. “I can’t!” she cried. “I really can’t! It was supposed to be a surprise.”
Then Vanessa’s face changed, as did her voice. “A surprise?” she repeated, sounding much more like the old Vanessa. “What kind of a surprise, darling? For you, for your dad…or for me, even? And who is Rachel really? How does she come into it? You need to tell me.”
But by then, Daisy’d had enough. She tossed the carton of ice cream aside and stood up, tears stinging her eyes. “I don’t want to watch movies anymore.” She headed toward her bedroom, but Vanessa stopped her.
“I’m sorry, darling. I didn’t mean to upset you. I just—”
“Leave me alone,” Daisy said, shrugging her off. “I don’t feel like talking anymore either.”
“Of course, of course. Whatever you want.” Vanessa ran a hand through her long hair as Daisy stomped past.
