The Prince of Spies (Hope and Glory #3) - Elizabeth Camden Page 0,16
signaled the arrival of a carriage, and Marianne darted to the window to peek outside. She sagged in relief as her father stepped down from the carriage. “He’s here!”
She raced downstairs and outside, even though the damp chill of the morning was biting. She didn’t want to waste time grabbing her coat. They wouldn’t have long to speak, and Vera shouldn’t overhear.
“Welcome home!” she said as she embraced Clyde on the front stoop. “How was Baltimore?”
“Fine. Andrew has a good command of the business. He’s doing well.”
“Good. And little Tommy?”
A grin flashed across his face. “Cute as a button. Teething. The boy’s got a set of lungs in him, but already smart as a whip.”
She’d seen her half-brother from a distance a few times. He had sandy auburn hair like Clyde. As much as she wanted to meet the boy, loyalty to Vera prevented her.
“Mama dragged out one of the trunks and filled it with your clothes,” she warned. “We expected you home last night, and she tried placing a telephone call to the house twice. She suspects the worst.”
Clyde led the way inside and sent a critical eye toward the upstairs balcony. “I told her I broke things off with Lottie. It was a perfectly innocent visit with my son.”
“You overstayed the visit,” she whispered, hoping she didn’t sound like a nag and a scold. But didn’t he have any idea of what this did to Vera?
Clyde rummaged through his jacket, dragging out a slim velvet box. “Have a look at that,” he whispered as he opened the box to show her the diamond and pearl drop earrings inside. “Do you think she’ll like them?”
“Of course she will, but maybe you should wait before giving them to her.” The pearls would make Vera happy for about five minutes, but then she would be angry again. “Right now you should go upstairs and apologize for being late. Tell her she looks pretty. Make her feel like you missed her.”
It was horrible to be cast into the role of mediator between her parents. She loved them both, but ever since Tommy’s arrival, they fought incessantly, and Vera held all the cards. If she made good on her threat to leave Clyde, he would be destroyed, for he truly did love her. He also liked being a congressman, and a scandal could cost him his reelection in November.
“These earrings cost more than most men earn in a year,” he defended in a fierce whisper.
“They cost what you earn in a day. They won’t mean nearly as much as a genuine apology and saying whatever Mama needs to make her feel adored.”
Clyde snapped the lid of the box shut. “That was what these pearls were supposed to do.”
Her mother’s voice called out from upstairs. “Marianne, if that man is still in the house, tell him he’s not welcome home.”
Marianne took the velvet box. “Go upstairs and talk to her,” she urged. “Be nice. That’s what she wants.”
She watched Clyde trudge up the stairs like a man walking to his own execution. Even after he disappeared inside the bedroom, his pleading voice could be overheard downstairs.
“I didn’t lay a finger on her,” he said. “You know you’re the only woman I love. Vera, darling—”
His pleas were cut off when something crashed against the wall.
“That was an eighteenth-century vase,” Clyde shouted.
Vera shouted back, but Marianne didn’t want to hear it. She didn’t want her nephew hearing it either, because Sam had enough family turmoil at his home in Baltimore. He was in the dining room, his dog snuggled beside him as he lined up toy soldiers to recreate the Battle of Bull Run. She snapped her fingers to get his attention.
“Let’s take Bandit out for a walk, shall we?”
Marianne took Sam to the Franklin Square park, where the dog would have plenty of space to run in the five-acre lawn. Marianne sat on a bench while Sam hurled a stick for Bandit to retrieve. The damp February morning was uncomfortably chilly, and she hoped her parents would finish their argument soon. Apparently the family trait for combat had been inherited by her brother. Andrew often locked horns with his son, which was why Sam was sometimes sent to Washington for a reprieve.
Sam was talkative as he threw the stick for Bandit. “I like coming here because I can play with Bandit whenever I want and Mama doesn’t get mad. She doesn’t like Bandit.”
Which came as no surprise to Marianne. Delia Magruder disliked most things that