Christmas at Lilac Cottage - Holly Martin Page 0,121
this.’
The back door slammed open. ‘Penny, Dad!’ Daisy shouted, her voice filled with panic.
Penny scrabbled up, grabbing the blanket, leaving Henry to cover himself with the duvet as he stood up quickly too. Daisy ran to the cool room door but before she opened it she spotted them. Daisy’s face showed a myriad of emotions, from relief that Penny was alive, to disappointment, hurt, humiliation and finally anger.
Chapter Twenty-Four
‘You’ve been sleeping together?’
‘It’s not what it looks like,’ Henry said, wrapping the duvet around his hips. ‘I was trying to keep her warm.’
Penny stared at him in horror. Now was the time to apologise for keeping it from Daisy, explain why they had done it and come clean, not lie about it even more.
‘Jesus, Dad, don’t lie to me. How long has it been going on?’
‘About a week,’ Penny said.
Henry glared at her then moved towards Daisy. ‘Look, we didn’t want to upset you.’
‘So you lied about it, sneaked around behind my back, treated me like a child? Why the hell wouldn’t you tell me?’
‘Because you asked me not to date her and—’
’And look at how well you respected my wishes.’
‘Listen, love, you were happy here and you were scared that I would cock it up with Penny and we’d have to move out. I just wanted to get to Christmas, give you a bit more time to settle in, before I told you how important Penny was to me.’
Daisy, clearly not sure who she should be more angry at, turned her attention to Penny. ‘And that’s why you were being so nice to me, teaching me about ice carving and taking me out, buying me clothes – you were just using me to get to my dad.’
Penny was horrified. She stepped towards her, wishing more than anything that she didn’t have to have this conversation naked, with only a blanket to protect her modesty. ‘No, Daisy, honey. I would never do that. I genuinely love spending time with you, you make me laugh, you’re so creative and I love how insightful and kind you are. I was happy to spend time with you long before me and your dad got together. If we broke up now, I’d still be happy to teach you about ice carving and take Bernard for walks with you, I said that the other night after Henry had shouted at me. I would never be that manipulative to get what I want. And I know you’ve only known me a short time, but you should know that what you see is who I am, there has never been a hidden agenda with me.’
Daisy was clearly not to be talked round. She turned her attention back to her dad. ‘What is it with you and women? Is sex so important to you that you can’t stay single for longer than a few months?’
Henry looked furious. ‘Damn it, Daisy, this isn’t just sex, I’m not just messing around here, I love her, I’m in love with Penny, I have been for a while.’
There was a silence in the room then, punctuated only by Bernard snuffling on the sofa.
‘You love her?’ Daisy said, quietly.
‘Yes.’
‘After one week. You hypocrite. You belittled what I had with Josh, saying I hadn’t known him for long enough but somehow you fell in love in a week too. And that isn’t something that you thought you should tell me?’
‘We were going to tell you, after Christmas. I just wanted you to feel a bit more settled here before I told you this was the woman that I wanted to marry.’
Penny felt tears spring to her eyes. He loved her and wanted to marry her? She wanted to kiss him and hold him but she couldn’t.
Daisy stared at them and then stormed off, slamming the connecting door between them.
‘Shit,’ Henry said, quickly dropping the duvet and getting dressed. ‘Shit, shit, shit.’
Tugging his shirt on and doing up a few cursory buttons, he made to run after Daisy, but he came back and kissed her briefly.
‘I love you and I’m going to fix this so we can be together properly without any secrets. Trust me on that.’
Penny nodded and he kissed her on the forehead and left, closing the connecting door between them.
She heard his footsteps thunder up the stairs and more shouting between the two of them, though she couldn’t make out the words. He had to make this right because she loved him too and she couldn’t lose him before they had even started.