“I told Abby everything.”
He sat back, his eyes narrowed. “Everything?”
Understanding the question he wasn’t asking, she gave a tiny shrug. “All right, not quite everything. I told her about my father, about what he did to my mother. And I told her about her own father. And I should probably be feeling guilty that I didn’t tell her the truth about him a long time ago, but I don’t.” She paused. “When that man walked into the room today, I felt—”
“Vulnerable?”
“Yes. For a moment I was eleven years old again and feeling worthless. I had no idea that seeing him would have such an effect on me. Fortunately, it was a mercifully short moment, but I’m glad it happened because it confirmed that I made the right decision not to tell Abby about her father when she was a child.”
“We talked about that at the time, but I wasn’t sure if you’d changed your mind as she grew up.”
“I didn’t. I suppose I thought that maybe I’d tell her one day, but it never felt like the right time. At what age do you tell a child her father didn’t want her? That she wasn’t important? I wanted her to be confident and secure. I wanted her to knowshe was loved and wanted, because she was. I didn’t want her to spend her life trying to prove herself.”
“As you did.”
She nodded. “I grew up fighting a constant battle between what he made me feel about myself and what I wanted to feel about myself. You know that.” She ate another piece of omelette and then put her fork down. “The crazy thing is that for a moment when he walked into that room, I thought maybe he wanted to apologise. I thought maybe the way he treated us had been on his mind and he wanted to clear his conscience. But he wanted money.”
He sighed. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It made it easier. And it proved that people don’t always change. They don’t always see the error of their ways. Sometimes they stay as bad as you always thought they were. And in a way that makes it easier to deal with.”
“You do seem remarkably relaxed.”
“Because seeing him felt like closure.” She leaned back and smiled, slightly stunned by that realisation. “Listen to me! Until this moment I didn’t even know I needed closure.”
“So you also told Abby about her own father? You’ve had quite a day.”
“She took it surprisingly well. She seemed more concerned about me than herself. They have no relationship of course, and I gave her enough of the truth growing up to make sure she didn’t harbour any fairy-tale illusions about her grandfather. Hearing the truth about her own father would have been much harder, I’m sure. She’ll have questions when she has had time to think about it.”
“From what I’ve seen she’s a kind, steady and level-headed person. I’m sure she’ll handle it.”
It warmed her to hear him praise her daughter. “You think you know your own child, and then suddenly you look at themand realise they are adults and they have qualities you haven’t noticed before.”
He looked at her with interest. “Like what?”
“I never knew what a good listener she was before today. Probably because I’ve never confided in her before. Today, I was the one supposed to be supporting her and in the end she was the one supporting me.” She felt pressure in her chest as she remembered Abby’s hand on hers and the look in her eyes. “And you’re right, she’s kind. I used to worry that was a weakness, a vulnerability that people could exploit, but in Abby I’ve seen it is possible to be both strong and kind. She has none of my hard edges.”
“Because she has never had to deal with the things you dealt with. You protected her. And you’re kind, too.”
“I don’t think I am.”
“Try telling that to the man you helped all those years ago.”
“I was lucky to be in a position to help.”
“Not everyone would have done it, even if they could. But you did.”
And it had felt good to be able to ease someone else’s burden, even if only by a small amount.
Alexandra smiled at him. “Abby told me how helpful you’ve been since she arrived. Did you know who she was, despite the name?”
“Yes. She has your eyes.”
“But you didn’t tell anyone.”
Edward sat back in his chair. “I assumed there was a reason you didn’t want her to reveal her identity.”
“There was.” She paused. “The official reason was that I needed her to get close to the staff. To get a true picture of what was going on in the hotel. People knowing who she was would have altered the dynamic. She was uncomfortable with the idea.”
