Page 102 of Hearts Aweigh
Should he try to find them or wait? Spencer paced from the door to the window and back. Two more circuits and the little patience he possessed was gone.
A delicate knock sounded behind him. He opened the door to find Daisy.
“Hello, Spencer. Are you alone this morning?”
“It appears so.” He ushered her in, then closed the door. “How can I help you?”
“If you recall, I mentioned there was something I had to tell you.”
She stood with the same demeanor he’d seen when cross-examining guilty parties. What subject would make his unflappable mother so nervous? Were the Shippers sneaking around again?
Spencer tried to keep a straight face. “Please, take a seat.” He motioned to the couch.
“No, thank you.” Her hands gripped the front of her black shirt. “I imagine you won’t desire my company once you hear what I have to say.”
Who was the parent and who was the child? Would he have to send her to bed without supper? “That’s a shame. We were starting to get along so well.” His attempt to lighten the mood was met with a sigh.
“I’m serious, Spencer.”
“Okay.” He crossed his arms and waited.
Daisy kept her eyes averted. Her teeth gnawed at her lower lip. She inhaled. “I have a confession to make.”
Yes. It must be the meddling Shippers. He braced himself, wondering what trouble his mother and her friends had caused now.
“Once”—she gulped—“a very long time ago … I betrayed my wedding vows.”
Her words punched him in the gut. He was well aware the union between his parents hadn’t been a happy one, but he’d never expected Daisy to reveal the torrid details.
He put some distance between them. “There are certain topics a man and his mother shouldn’t discuss. I may be an adult, but personal details of your relationship with my father should remain between the two of you.”
“I realize this is difficult to hear—”
“Then why force me to listen? I don’t. Want. To know.”
Daisy stood with bowed head, her voice barely audible. “I was unfaithful to your father.”
Spencer’s hands clenched. If his ears had volume control buttons, he would hit Mute and free himself from this forced confession.
His mother continued in a broken wisp of a voice. “It was only once. On a trip to Europe. Long before you were born. I was angry with Julius for … something. But the entire experience made me want to curl up and die. I should have never—no matter what he did, it doesn’t excuse my choices.” She whispered the last words. “I’m so sorry.”
He filled in the unspoken details. His father’s infidelities had been frequent and many. Spencer had always assumed his mother was either unaware or didn’t care enough to confront him. To find out she’d indulged in adultery herself drilled Spencer’s soul.
An upstairs door slammed, followed by a light patter of feet. “Daddy!”
Spencer and Daisy swerved to find Madeleine peeking over the balcony. The adults exchanged dismayed glances. Had she heard their conversation?
Madeleine hurried to the steps and stopped at the top. “Is Abby down there? We’re playing hide-and-seek again.”
He scanned the living room, but the cheerful nanny was nowhere in sight. Was she upstairs? Or hiding in the office?
“I don’t see her,” he called to Madeleine. “But I … I have something important to do. Can you wait in your bedroom until I’m finished?”
Her golden eyebrows puckered in confusion, but she didn’t argue. “Yes, sir.” Madeleine returned to her room and shut the door behind her.
Spencer took Daisy by the elbow and gently propelled her to the door. “We should finish this conversation another time.”
“Yes, of course, you’re right.”
