living here. That I’d be forced to leave. And Phoebe, too.’
‘But that’s ridiculous.’
His response was natural. How could he possibly know how savage people could be when they felt threatened by those who didn’t conform to the rules they lived by, who chose to live a different way?
‘I know that now. Michael loved Phoebe too much, was too big a man to have buckled under disapproval, peer pressure.’
But she had often wondered what Michael’s parents had thought of his wife. While her own mother had been accepted, welcomed on her rare visits, neither of his parents had ever been to this house while Phoebe was alive. And there had been no attempt to reconcile Josh with his parents, something that would normally have been a priority for Michael. He’d never talked about them. Had dismissed without consideration her tentative suggestion that he invite them to Posie’s christening. There had to have been more to that than just a messy break-up and divorce.
‘Back then,’ she said, ‘I didn’t know, didn’t understand how special your brother was.’
‘I don’t suppose anyone does until it’s too late to tell them.’ He looked across at Posie, sleeping peacefully in her crib, and said, ‘It’s going to be up to us, isn’t it?’
‘Us?’ She took a sip of the juice, put the glass down, reached up for a plate.
‘To make sure that Posie only has good memories.’
‘Oh, right. And how exactly do you intend to do that, Josh? Are you planning to phone them in from whatever exotic location you’re in at the time? Tell her about the great beaches, the palm trees?’ Then, ‘Or maybe send her postcards? That would certainly give her a head start on a stamp collection…’
She stopped. Swallowed. She’d spoken without thinking but he’d think she’d mentioned the stamps deliberately. ‘I’m sorry. I—’
‘Maybe I should take her back to Australia with me,’ he cut in, stopping her apology in its tracks. ‘So that she can experience them for herself. It’s a great place for kids to grow up.’
Her grip tightened on the handle of the slice but she refused to be rattled.
‘The best place for a child is to be with people who love her enough to put her needs first,’ she said, keeping her back to him. ‘Who’d look after her in Australia when you’re off conquering new worlds?’
‘You?’
Now he had her attention and she swung round to face him. ‘Excuse me, but are you offering me a job as my own daughter’s nanny?’
Maybe it was just as well that the doorbell saved him from answering because this was a conversation going downhill fast.
‘Your breakfast is burned,’ she said coldly, handing him the slice and, leaving him to take it from the pan or not as he pleased, went to answer the door.
The slender woman standing on the doorstep was swathed in bright silk, jewellery dripping from every possible location. As exotic as any bird of paradise.
‘Mum…?’
She didn’t reply, just dropped the bag she was carrying, stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her, cloaking her in the faint aroma of some exotic spicy fragrance. For the first time in a very long time Grace did not resist or pull back as soon as she could. Right now she needed her mother in ways she barely understood and they clung together for a long time, not needing to speak.
It was, finally, her mother who drew back first, her gaze fixed on something behind her, and Grace didn’t need to turn around to know that Josh had followed her into the hall.
‘Hello, Dawn.’
‘Josh…’ she said, acknowledging him, but her eyes were on the baby he was holding with a possessiveness that made Grace’s blood run cold. ‘Hello, my sweetheart,’ she said, holding out her arms. ‘Come to your grandma.’
For a moment Grace thought Josh wasn’t going to surrender her, but Posie, attracted by the bright colours, was smiling at this interesting new arrival and, after what felt like the longest hesitation in history, he gave her up.
‘I’m going to take that shower, Grace,’ he said. ‘If you can be ready to leave by half past eight?’ Then, ‘You do still want to come into town? Dawn can let my mother in if she arrives while we’re out.’
She had never wanted to go into town, but she couldn’t put it off any longer. And they had unfinished business to discuss that she didn’t want anyone else overhearing.
‘Will you be all right, Mum? I had a commission for a tiara that has to be delivered by the end of the week.’ Then, straightening for a fight she hadn’t anticipated but would not duck, ‘And you’re right about the workshop, Josh. It’s my livelihood and I need to make arrangements to keep it ticking over while I think about how I can fit it around Posie’s needs.’
That brought something that could almost have been interpreted as a smile to his lips as he recognised the challenge. ‘You’re not interested in hearing my offer, then?’
‘Posie and I are happy here.’ And, before he could say any more, ‘We’ll be ready to leave at half past eight.’
Neither her mother nor Grace spoke until they heard the basement door shut, at which point they let go of the breath they’d been collectively holding.
‘That man is so intense,’ her mother said. ‘Not a bit like his poor brother.’
‘No. But they were very close.’
‘Were they?’ She turned to the infant in her arms and they inspected one another, her mother with a searching look, Posie with her little forehead wrinkled in a frown. ‘What offer did Josh Kingsley make you, Grace?’
‘He didn’t make an offer.’ Well, he hadn’t. She’d cut him off before he’d said the words. ‘It was just a joke.’
‘Really? He didn’t look as if he was joking. Only I did wonder, if he’s been appointed guardian, whether he’ll want to take Posie back to Australia with him.’
‘He can’t do that.’
‘Oh?’ she said. ‘Are you quite sure about that? She’s a beautiful child and he seems… attached.’
‘He wouldn’t. He’s never in one place for more than a week and children need stability. Order. He knows that.’ They both knew that.
‘They are important,’ her mother agreed, ‘but knowing that they’re loved is what really counts.’ Then, looking at her granddaughter, ‘Phoebe must have been so happy. I’m glad she had these few weeks when her world was complete.’
‘Yes…’ Grace tried to say more, but there was just a great big lump in her throat.
‘And you, Grace? What will make your world complete?’
She shook her head. Some things were never meant to be.
‘Come on through to the kitchen. I’ll
