Page 63 of The Island Villa

Or maybe she was the only one feeling the tension. She was so afraid she might not like the answer to that question.

Her mother gestured to Cassie’s bowl. “Eat something. The orange juice is freshly squeezed from the oranges on our trees, and the honey is from our own hives. Maria thinks it is the best we’ve ever had.”

Either her mother hadn’t heard her question, or she was choosing to ignore it. “Would you and Dad still be together?”

“Goodness you’re asking so many difficult questions today. I’m sure we would. Of course, it’s impossible to say for sure.” Her mother poured orange juice into glasses and it swirled around shards of ice, bright as the sun. “This is delicious. You must try it.”

“Did you ever regret leaving Andrew?”

Her mother took a sip of juice. “Why would I regret it? I was with your father. I had you.”

“Would you have married my father if you hadn’t been pregnant, or would the affair have fizzled out?”

“Cassie...”

“Was my dad pleased when you told him you were pregnant?”

Her mother put the glass down, her smile absent. “This is starting to sound like an interrogation.”

They’d rarely exchanged a cross word in their lives. Their conversation was often lively, but almost always aligned, but now there was a tug of antagonism. Her mother was trying to protect her secrets and Cassie was trying to uncover them.

“Surely I have a right to some answers.”

“Of course, you do. What was the question again? Was your father pleased that I was pregnant?” Her mother drizzled honey onto a bowl of creamy yogurt and reached for a spoon. “Yes. I can honestly say that he was thrilled.”

A whisper of relief licked through her. “So he liked children.”

“He loved you very much, Cassie. You were his pride and joy.”

“So if he liked children, why did you send Adeline away?”

The spoon slid from her mother’s fingers and clattered to the floor. Startled by the sound, Achilles sprang off Cassie’s lap, his claws leaving dents in her thighs as he dived for cover.

“Oh, look at me. Clumsy.” Catherine bent to retrieve the spoon. When she sat up again her cheeks were flushed. “I didn’t send her away. Like everything, it was complicated. Adeline missed her father. I was spending most of my time in Corfu by then, and we thought she’d be better in London back in the house she knew, with her friends. There was her education to think of. We thought it would be the best thing.”

Adeline hadn’t thought that, but it seemed she hadn’t been consulted.

Her mother reached for a fresh spoon.

“I don’t know why we’re focusing on the past. It’s the present that matters. Let’s talk about that.”

Cassie was torn. Her mother obviously found it painful to talk about Cassie’s father, which surely meant that their love had been deep and real.

Still, there was something about this whole situation that didn’t make sense.

Her mother glanced at her. “Andrew is a wonderful man. I think you’re going to love him if you take the time to talk to him and get to know him.”

That wasn’t really the point, was it?

“And how does he feel about me?” Couldn’t her mother see how awkward this situation was for her?

“He is looking forward to spending time with you. He’s a warm, funny, generous man, Cassie. You won’t meet better.”

So why did you leave him?

“If my dad hadn’t died, would you have divorced him and remarried Andrew?”

“You are making this whole thing more complicated than it needs to be.” Her mother was stubborn, but Cassie discovered that when there was something important at stake, she could be stubborn too.

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