Mr. Smithfield - Louise Bay Page 0,74

just tidy up from you and Penelope playing and then I can fix you something.”

The second visit had gone without a hitch. And Penelope had made Bethany laugh as she made up voices for the dolls that occupied the very grand house Bethany had stuffed full of furniture. Everyone was happy. Especially me. I swear the Savoy had put something in the water that made my soul float. Or maybe it was just being with Gabriel. Whatever it was, I’d been walking on cotton candy since the weekend. Even being forced to wear a turtleneck on a hot day to cover the marks Gabriel had left on my neck didn’t worry me. It was worth it to be reminded of Gabriel’s mouth on my skin.

The doorbell rang from downstairs.

“I’ll get it!” Bethany cried.

“I don’t think so,” I said. It would only be a courier delivering something, but Bethany wasn’t about to start answering the door at four years old, even if she could reach the locks standing on her step stool. “It might be those new pens I ordered yesterday,” I said. “If you want, we can draw your daddy a new picture for his office. They have glitter in them, and you know he’s sure to like that.” I held out my hand and we went downstairs to get the door.

“Glitter? He loves glitter.”

“Right?”

“Shall I draw his favorite dinner?” she asked, making me laugh.

“That’s a good idea.”

“He really likes peas.”

Where did this kid come up with this stuff?

I opened the door and my heart dropped to my stomach when I came face-to-face with Penelope.

What was she doing back here? And where was Jade? I flicked through the possibilities in my mind. Was she going to force her way in and snatch Bethany? I’d persuaded Gabriel to ditch the security guard. Maybe that had been a mistake. I took a breath. Perhaps she’d just forgotten something?

“Sorry to disturb you,” she said, looking at Bethany. “Hi, Bethany.”

“Hi,” she replied and cocked her head. “Have you come to play again?”

Before Bethany could invite Penelope in, I interrupted. “Bethany, can you go and get your paper out for the pictures? I’ll be there in a second.” I put on my calmest voice and a fake smile. She’d know, but hopefully she wouldn’t cause a fuss. She shrugged and headed back down the hallway.

I turned back to Penelope. What could she possibly want?

“I just wanted to say how much I appreciate you making our play dates so relaxed,” she said.

“Okay,” I replied, bracing myself for the real reason she was here. She could have said that in front of Jade.

“Bethany is obviously well looked after by you. And it’s nice that she’s got someone to care for her until . . .” Something behind her eyes stopped her from finishing her sentence. “I’ve missed so much of her growing up,” she said. She clasped her hands together, her fingers jittering like she was either nervous or in rehab. “I’ve only realized how much I’ve missed since I started seeing her. I have so many questions. There’s so much I want to know about her.”

It was hard not to feel sorry for her. Bethany was a lovely child and three years was a lot to miss of anyone’s life, let alone someone as young as her daughter. “I understand,” I said.

“I’d like to make up for it,” she said. “I just want a fair shot at a second chance.”

I pulled in a breath. From what I could see, Gabriel wasn’t giving out second chances to anyone.

“You must understand this. As another woman.” She looked up at me, desperate for me to do something that would help.

I nodded. “I don’t make any of the decisions around Bethany. That’s all up to Gabriel. I’m just the nanny.”

“The thing is, I’d be happy to look after her while Gabriel’s at work.”

I wasn’t sure how she wanted me to respond. She couldn’t think I was going to hand Bethany over and go to the spa for the day, did she?

“If you think about it, Bethany doesn’t really need a nanny now I’m back.”

Oh God, was she trying to push me out of the job? She didn’t know I was leaving anyway in a couple of weeks but even so, there was no way Gabriel would just let Penelope take over. “I don’t know what to say. You need to talk to Gabriel.”

She thrust her hands into her coat pockets. “You’re fucking my husband.” She said it so matter-of-factly. Like