Page 85 of The Lost Heiress
“I’m not sick,” Saoirse said. She took a deep breath. “I’m pregnant.”
There was a pause on the other end of the line.
“That so?” Teddy said. “And who does the little wretch belong to?”
Saoirse pressed her lips together tightly. For a moment, she thought about telling Teddy the truth.
“Don’t worry,” she said after a moment. “It’s not yours.”
She couldn’t tell if he really believed her or if he just wanted to believe her. Either way, he didn’t press the issue.
“Anyway, Ransom’s super pissed,” Saoirse went on hurriedly. “He pulled me out of school because he doesn’t want anyone to know, and he made up this whole story. And now he’s keeping me here, in my own house, like a hostage or something. I’m not allowed to see or talk to anyone.”
“Seems like a bit of an overreaction,” Teddy said.
“Yeah, you think?” Saoirse said, irritated. She expected him to be more concerned about what was happening to her, the grave injustices she was being subjected to. He should be outraged. Instead, he sounded only vaguely interested, almost bored. “I was thinking, um, that maybe you could come get me?” Saoirse said. For some reason, it came out sounding like a question.
Teddy laughed. “What, you’re serious?” Teddy asked when he noted her silence on the other end. “Meerkat, listen. I know this seems like the end of the world right now, but it won’t be forever. You’ve got, what, like nine months? And then you give the thing away, and you go about your life again, pick up right where you left off, like nothing ever happened.”
Saoirse felt like she might throw up, and this time, it wasn’t the hormones. This was the boy who had told her that he loved her whenthey were pressed together in the back seat of his car. The boy who had cried in her lap that night at the boathouse, as she had stroked his hair. All this time, she thought she’d been privy to some secret, that she knew the one true Teddy Mountbatten, while everyone else got the glossy surface stuff. The charming, arrogant man versus the vulnerable boy she thought she knew.So which is it?she wanted to yell into the phone.Who are you?
“Teddy,” Saoirse said instead, “you’re being such an asshole.”
“Hey now, don’t be like that,” Teddy said, growing irritated. “You know I care about you. I do. We’re friends, right?”
“Sure,” Saoirse said. “Friends.”
She felt something warm and wet on her cheek and realized she was crying.
On the other end of the line, she heard someone call Teddy’s name. It was a girl’s voice. She sounded pretty.
The sound grew muffled, as though Teddy had cupped his hand over the phone. Saoirse heard him say, “Just a minute, sweetheart,” his voice muted. Then, a moment later, louder, his voice clear, Teddy said, “Meerkat, I’ve got to go. It’s Sunday night, and I’ve got a lot of studying to do. I have a big exam tomorrow.”
“Yeah,” Saoirse said. “Sure. Okay.”
“And a bit of friendly advice, Meerkat,” Teddy said, “next time some Joe Schmo comes on to you, keep your legs closed.”
Saoirse hung up the phone, hard.
Saoirse had loved Teddy; maybe a part of her still loved Teddy, even if she wasn’t supposed to, even if another part of her loathed him. In the pit of her stomach and the marrow of her bones, she knew he wasn’t good for her. It was toxic, this thing between them.
But Salvador had seen her at her worst, and he loved her anyway. And it was love, despite what Ransom had told her or might believe. With Salvador, it wasn’t up and down like it had been with Teddy. It was steady, even keeled.
Saoirse sighed and sat up. Today was the first day of the rest of her life, and she couldn’t wait to start it.
Chapter Thirty-Four
August 28, 1982—The Day Of Saoirse’s Birthday Party
The first guests arrived early, hours before the party was scheduled to start.
Ana had been in the drawing room with Saoirse and Mrs. Talbot, helping to write out the place cards, when a maid informed them a car full of guests had just turned down the drive. They hurried out to meet them. Ransom and Jacqueline were there, too, already at the bottom of the steps. Ana knew they had arrived sometime the night before, but she had been so busy this morning she hadn’t yet seen them. She gave Jacqueline an enthusiastic wave.
“Why, darling, hello!” Jacqueline waved back. “We missed you at breakfast.”
“Yes, I was helping with the place cards,” Ana said.
“A hostess’s job is never done,” Jacqueline said.
