Page 26 of Redemption's Inferno

“I’ll do my best,” he called over his shoulder.

* * *

They talked during the meal and Emilie would reach down under the table and squeeze Chains’ crotch any time he would start to interrogate Nate. The moment she grabbed him, he would pause, his eyes meeting hers and they would share a secret smile before he changed the subject.

“How long are you staying in England?” Nate was asking Emilie.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I have some business in London I have to attend to, but Ch—Darryl and I thought a week here with Dolores would be a nice break for both of us. There’s been a lot of stress in our lives and I have to say, after just 24 hours, this is as relaxed as I’ve been in years.”

“It’s a good place to live,” he nodded. “Came here after my wife died because my daughter works at the hospital as a surgical nurse. That’s how I met Dolores.”

“How long have you been retired?” Emilie asked her.

“Less than a year,” she nodded. “I’d worked at the hospital 30 years and thought it was time to have a bit of fun, travel and the like.”

“Have you been anywhere exciting?” Emilie asked her.

“Well, we decided to explore our own country first, and it’s been lovely. We’ve been to Wales and Scotland, down to London and Canterbury, and the white cliffs of Dover. Lived here my whole life and never saw those before.”

“I took the ferry from Calais into Dover years ago,” Emilie said thoughtfully. “It was the only other time I was in England and I remember thinking it was absolutely stunning.”

“A sight to remember, for sure,” Nate agreed.

They talked about travel and retirement as dinner wound down and they sat around sipping champagne. Conversation started to lull and Emilie began stacking plates to carry them into the kitchen since they’d eaten in the dining room.

“So what do you want to know, son?” Nate asked, leaning back in his chair. “Let me spare you some time. I was Scotland Yard, Deputy Assistant Commissioner when I retired. You can call and verify. I’ve already seen your service record, by the way, and it’s quite impressive.”

“Are you fucking kidding?!” Chains pushed back his chair and stood up, a dark look on his face as he glared at his mother. “You let a stranger check out my background? What in bloody hell were you thinking? Do you know how dangerous that could be? For all of us?!”

“You haven’t so much as picked up the phone to let me hear your voice in more than five years.” Dolores rose to her full height and narrowed her eyes. “Yes, you sent money and those ridiculous messages in the newspaper, but you abandoned me a long time ago, Darryl. Nate and I have been involved for more than three years, and about a year ago, I asked him to look into where my son was. If an attractive 60-year-old man spent three bloody years shagging an old hag like me for the sole purpose of somehow betraying my James Bond of a son, well, more power to all of you.”

When no one spoke, she continued stoically. “Your father walked out the day I told him I was pregnant. Took me 30 years to fall in love again and if I’ve been the victim of some sort of game to take down the government and all of bloody England, you’ll have to forgive a lonely old woman. So just bugger off, the lot of you!” She stalked out of the room, leaving Chains glaring after her and Nate shooting daggers at Chains with his eyes.

“You two are ridiculous!” Emilie spat at them, pursing her lips. “What on earth were you thinking, just announcing that you’d checked up on Darryl? You knew it would upset him and accordingly upset Dolores! Idiot! And you!” She whirled on Chains. “Have you any idea how much you hurt your mother by making her think the man in her life is only with her to somehow get to you? What a terrible thing to insinuate!”

“I didn’t say anything like that!” Chains protested, throwing up his hands.

“You didn’t have to,” she said quietly. “It’s what neither of you thought to say as soon as you realized where she was going with her train of thought—that’s what’s hurtful. I’m ashamed of both of you.” She turned on her heel and went looking for Dolores.

Chapter 10

Dolores was out back in an old swing that hung from a tall tree. Emilie took the swing next to her and for a few minutes they swung back and forth in silence.

“He didn’t mean it,” Emilie said after a moment. “He’s overprotective and a bit of a Neanderthal, but he didn’t mean it.”

“Darryl gets a pass because I sprung this on him—should’ve warned him there was someone in my life. But Nathaniel…he couldn’t even bother to protest. Miserable old git. Too proud to defend his feelings for me.”

“You don’t believe he’s using you, do you?” Emilie asked.

Dolores shook her head. “No! Everyone knows my Darryl went off to the military and then to work for the government. You don’t have to use the name MI6 for people to know that’s where he’s gone. Nate was Scotland Yard—anything he found out about Darryl after we met he could’ve found before. Knowing me doesn’t give him access to anything.”

“Why do you and Darryl have different surnames?” Emilie asked. “Did he change his name when he joined MI6?”

“No.” She smiled. “I gave him his sperm donor’s name. I figured the old bastard didn’t want to be his father, but he would still have a son that carried his name.”

“Do you know where he is?”

“His father?” She nodded. “Of course. Lives in Sheffield with his wife. Has two girls, I believe.”

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