Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 126850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
I pursed my lips. “Fine. But no threesomes.”
“Done.”
***
Granny’s house was like walking into a warm hug for me. I’d spent so much time there growing up, almost as much as I had at Loxford House, but it felt so much more like home.
Granted, the fact that Loxford didn’t feel so much like home was because Carmen had a knack for always making me feel slightly unwelcome, but it was what it was.
I knocked three times on the front door and pushed it open. “Granny, it’s me!”
“In the kitchen!”
I shut the door behind me and walked through the hallway into her kitchen, pausing to kick my shoes off into the alcove under the stairs. “Sorry I’m late. I got stuck in some traffic on my way out of town.”
“Don’t worry about it, I figured you would. I have some lunch here.” She was wearing a dashing aqua blue shirt with cream linen trousers today, and she’d accessorised it with red and green bangles on both her wrists, not to mention her iconic spider eyelashes courtesy of half a tube of mascara.
“What is it?” I unzipped my coat. “And how was your flight back? I see you didn’t succeed in smuggling the parrot out.”
“BLTs, and no, I didn’t get the cockatiel. Although I am thinking about procuring one.” She set the sandwiches on the table and eyed me. “How did you know about that?”
“William told me,” I said nonchalantly, sitting down. “That bird despises me, and I was slightly worried you’d actually succeed in your mission.”
“Sadly not. Have you spoken about anything interesting?” she asked innocently, sitting opposite me at the table.
“Stop being nosy.”
“Never. That’s my job.”
“Mhmm. I’m sure. So how do you know the Glenrochs? I was surprised to see you there, and you never told me.”
Granny bobbed her head. “After your parents got married, your mother invited me to a few events as her plus one when your father couldn’t make it. Morag was at several of those, and we hit it off. We kept in touch all this time, and I’ve spent a few weeks with her in Scotland over the years, so she invited me to Freya’s wedding.”
“Huh. Did you ever see the rest of the family?”
“No, dear. They’ve had their issues, you know.”
“William told me.” I paused. “Did you know we were friends as kids?”
“Yes. In all honesty, Gracie, I assumed there was a reason you’d all never reconnected, and I didn’t want to pry.”
“That’s a lie. You always want to pry.”
She inclined her head in agreement. “True. But in this case, it was around the time your mum got ill, and then I simply forgot to ever bring it up. I didn’t really see the younger ones anyway, just Morag and Angus.”
I plucked a slice of tomato from my sandwich. “It’s amazing how small the world is.”
“Mm. Anyway, eat. We have something we need to talk about.”
“If it’s about my non-existent wedding to William, I don’t want to hear about it.”
“It’s not,” she assured me. “But I know you haven’t eaten lunch, so finish that, and then we’ll discuss.”
I eyed her for a moment, but when she shot me a stern look, I did exactly as I was told and knuckled down to finish my food. I knew better than to ignore her when she looked at me like that, and I knew better than to leave food on my plate.
The woman was a dictator.
When I’d finished, I got up and cleared the plates. “What do you want to talk about?”
“Your relationship with William. He and I had some interesting chats yesterday.”
I froze. “Do we have to? I don’t even understand it myself, so I don’t know what good it is to go over old ground.”
“Yes, we do. I know you’re avoiding it because of your parents’ relationship, and—”
“No, it’s not, Granny. It’s not just that, anyway. Dad threw everything away for someone who could give him what me and Mum couldn’t—a male heir. You think marrying the future of Duke of Glenroch isn’t going to put me in the same position Mum was in? I could have four kids and they all be girls, and that won’t be good enough.”
“Sit down.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“I said sit down, Grace!”
I sat down. Quickly, too.
One didn’t argue with her when she used that tone.
“William doesn’t deserve your dillydallying. He’s a nice young man, and he cares about you a great deal.” She looked at me. “Do not thrust the sins of your parents upon him.”
“Of my parents? You’re kidding, right? Dad was the one—”
“Your father isn’t the bad guy.”
I stared at Granny. “Oh, please,” I scoffed. “Don’t start defending him and his wife.”
“I’m not. I’m telling you the truth. It’s about time you found out before you let someone else’s choices ruin your life.”
“What on Earth does that mean?”