From the scene that met her eyes as she rushed back into the room, Andie had a feeling it was probably more a case of the other way round!
Her father was alone in the room now, standing back from the table, the front of his white shirt and the black dinner jacket looking more than a little damp, a shattered wineglass on the table-top in front of where he had previously been seated.
‘What the hell have you done to Audrey?’ Adam demanded, obviously having assessed the situation in a couple of seconds—and drawn his own conclusions.
Rome turned to him with blazing blue eyes, the mature handsomeness of his face contorted with anger. ‘I’m sure it hasn’t escaped your notice,’ he replied furiously, ‘but I’m the one with white wine all over me!’
The situation wasn’t in the least funny, Andie inwardly thought, realising that Audrey must have been severely provoked to have thrown a glass full of wine—the glass included, by the look of it!—all over Rome. But, for some reason, she had the distinct urge to laugh!
For one thing, Rome looked ridiculous, with wine still dripping from his chin onto his already sodden shirt. And, for another—she simply admired Audrey for having the guts to act on her instincts. Andie could think of a few people she wouldn’t mind throwing wine over herself!
‘I noticed,’ Adam drawled dryly. ‘But I also know Audrey well enough to realise she must have been provoked into such an action,’ he opined hardly. ‘So what did you do to her?’ he repeated.
‘Nothing,’ Rome bit out harshly, dabbing at his wet shirt-front with one of the snowy white napkins now.
‘Daddy!’ Andie gasped reprovingly; she also knew Audrey well enough to realise Rome must have said or done something to elicit this response.
Her father glared across at her. ‘Whose side are you on?’ he accused angrily. ‘I—’
‘I’m not taking sides,’ Andie cut in. ‘But I think I know the two of you well enough to be sure Audrey would not simply have thrown a glass of wine over you without good reason!’ she added assuredly.
‘Then you are taking sides.’ Rome straightened to his full height of six feet two, throwing the damp napkin down disgustedly on the table-top. ‘I never thought I would see the day when one of my own daughters—’
‘If I still had the violin you forced me to learn to play when I was younger, then I would play it now!’ Andie cut across this attempted emotional pressure on her father’s part. ‘But as I don’t, and as you don’t seem in any hurry to enlighten us as to the reason for Audrey’s outburst, I think I’ll just go upstairs and see if Audrey will be any more forthcoming!’
‘She’s packing,’ Rome muttered as Andie turned to leave.
Andie came to an abrupt halt, turning slowly back to look at her father disbelievingly. There was certainly nothing in the least funny about this situation now!
‘She isn’t going to work the rest of her notice,’ Rome continued. ‘She intends leaving right now.’
Andie slowly shook her head as she saw the implacability of her father’s expression. ‘And you aren’t going to do anything to stop her?’
Rome thrust his chin out arrogantly. ‘There’s nothing I can do.’
‘Adam’s right,’ Andie snapped scornfully. ‘You are a fool!’ She turned on her heel and marched purposefully from the room, hurrying up the stairs and along the hallway that led to the bedroom Audrey had occupied for the last ten years.
But Andie hesitated outside the door, not sure how to proceed. Her father was in the wrong, she was sure of it, but that didn’t mean Audrey was going to be any more pleased to see her than she would have been had it been Rome himself who came knocking on her door! But she loved Audrey, all the sisters did, and, despite what Adam might have assumed to the contrary, there was no way she was going to just let the other woman walk out of their lives in this way.
She straightened her shoulders, giving a determined knock on the door.
‘Go away,’ came Audrey’s abrupt response.
Andie turned the handle on the door, relieved to find it wasn’t locked, entering the room to find herself confronted by Audrey holding a vase of flowers aloft in her hand as she stood poised ready to throw it at whoever came through the doorway.
‘I come in peace!’ Andie cried even as she held her hands up defensively.
Audrey gave a shaky sigh before placing the vase of freesias back on the dressing-table. ‘I thought it might have been someone else,’ she admitted.
Rome… Despite Audrey’s having had the vase of flowers raised as another weapon to launch at him, Andie could see that Audrey was actually disappointed it wasn’t him!
Andie closed the bedroom door behind her, taking in the open suitcase on the bed, the clothes thrown haphazardly inside. Audrey really was packing to leave!
She moved to sit on the edge of the bed, realising as she looked around just how much this room had become Audrey’s over the years. The décor was blue and cream, family photographs adorned the table by the window, Audrey’s own as well as ones of Harrie, Danie, and Andie as they were growing up; the pastels on the walls were to Audrey’s taste too. Audrey wasn’t just leaving a job; this was her home!
‘Audrey.’ Andie spoke firmly as the other woman continued to throw her clothes into the suitcase. ‘I asked you earlier today why you were leaving, and you mumbled something about it being time to move on—’
‘I believe I spoke quite clearly,’ Audrey rebuked—although she didn’t meet Andie’s questioning gaze.
‘Maybe,’ Andie acknowledged. ‘But now I would like you to tell me the real reason—and please, don’t insult my intelligence again with that mumbo-jumbo,’ she continued as Audrey would have spoken. ‘I’m pregnant, Audrey, not mentally deficient!’
Audrey paused in her trips backwards and forwards between the wardrobe and the suitcase. ‘I never for one moment thought that you were.’
‘Well?’ Andie prompted.
The other woman seemed to crumple in front of her eyes, tears filling those deep blue eyes. Audrey completely lost the tight control she had had over her emotions as she began to cry in earnest.
Andie rushed over to gather the older woman in her arms, moved beyond words at this complete breakdown of defences. She loved Audrey, they all did, and to see her hurting in this way was unacceptable.
‘Audrey, you have to tell me.’ Andie moved back slightly to look at her. ‘I promise you I won’t tell a single soul,’ she promised chokingly, close to tears herself now.
Audrey gave a tearful smile. ‘Surely it’s obvious, Andie; I’m in love with your father! I always have been. And I always will be!’
Andie blinked. She didn’t know what explanation she had been expecting; an affair with a married man possibly, perhaps even-wildly!—a past tale of manslaughter that Audrey could no longer live with, but it certainly hadn’t been this…
‘Oh, Andie…!’ Audrey laughed mirthlessly at Andie’s stunned expression as she moved away to reach for a tissue from the dressing-table, mopping up all trace of tears from her cheeks. ‘You don’t see any problem with that, do you?’ she asked hesitantly.
Considering Andie knew she had loved Adam as hopelessly most of her own life…no!
But, as she also knew only too well, it hurt to love someone so helplessly, to spend hours in the company of him and know that love would never be returned.
Although after the way her father had been behaving since Audrey had given him her resignation, Andie wasn’t sure that was completely