Tempted by the Billionaire(29)

Here, the Bartlett Ranch was its very own universe, and Kenneth was the sun and centre of it. KB and Arielle were planets in his orbit and she, Madeline, was simply flotsam on the outer edges of the universe. Trapped by the sun’s gravitational pull, but unable to properly break free.

“Did he say when he plans on leaving?”

“Soon.” Arielle’s voice cracked. “Emily emailed this morning to say she’s trying to get him to wrap up swiftly.”

Madeline smiled at the mention of her sister-in-law. Though they couldn’t be more different, whenever they saw one another, they enjoyed a true companionship. “I’m glad.”

The storm was coming in closer now, and lightning flashed outside the large bay window, followed by the distant rumble of thunder. “I love storms,” Madeline said with a deep breath. She fixed her gaze on the old tree house high up in the nearest oak, remembering days spent huddled in the timber construction, rugged up and staring out at the pouring rain.

“You always did,” Arielle said with a tight smile. “Funny creature that you were. I had such a battle with you, though you wouldn’t know it to look at you today. Time was, I couldn’t lay my hands on you for all the grime and mud you insisted on rolling about in.”

Madeline’s smile was equally forced. “I was a nature child. I loved the outdoors.”

“I don’t know why. All that ghastly mess. Do you remember the time your brother had to rescue you from the stream?”

Madeline drank her coffee, though she would have preferred to employ one of Ivy’s eye rolls. “He didn’t rescue me, mama. He pushed me in and then realised I was too young to properly swim. He threw me a rope and laughed.”

“Sink or swim,” Arielle drawled with a proud shake of her head. “KB was always wonderful with you.”

“That was not the moral of the story,” Madeline said with a small laugh. “But I survived, so I guess it’s not the end of the world.”

“No. You’re only thirteen months apart in age, but so different.”

“Yes.” Madeline had heard that so many times in her youth. Her stomach churned with remembered hurts. The woman sitting across from her was her mother. The woman who’d brought her into this world. And yet Madeline almost felt she was a stranger to her.

The sound of a buzzer caused both women to jump, before Arielle remembered herself. “Your father,” she explained unnecessarily. “He must want his tea.”

“I’ll take it to him,” Madeline offered, regretting the words the instant she uttered them.

“Would you?”

“Thank you, Madeline. He’s taken a dislike to the housekeeper now, and I’m run ragged with keeping up with his requirements.”

It was the closest thing to a complaint Madeline had ever heard her mother make. She assembled a tray of tea and shouldered her way out of the kitchen, pausing only to give Arielle one last, slow look. Her mother had returned to her sad vigil. Her head bent, her hands clasped in her lap, her eyes half-closed.

“What took you so damned long, Arielle?”

Kenneth Bartlett was a shadow of his former self. He’d had a hospital style bed set up in the library, for it was his favourite room of the whole house. He had spent endless evenings poring over the ancient collection of invaluable leather bound books, drinking aged scotch and smoking his beloved cigars. His love for the former had made him bombastic, and his love for the latter had finally brought about his downfall. His emphysema was advanced, and he had less than ten percent lung capacity remaining. The oxygen tanks helped him find comfort, but not much.

His breath stained the air with its wretched, torturous wheeze. The room smelled of bleach and dust.

“Hi, daddy,” she said quietly, her eyes not meeting his.

“Where’s your mother?” He asked gruffly, his words hard to shape because his breath was so thin.

She placed the tea on the table beside him, and carefully poured a cup from the pot. “She’s in the kitchen.”

His dark, beady eyes stared at her hands as she tipped two sugars and a dash of milk into the fine porcelain cup and then stirred it three times.

“Where would you like it?”

His expression was disapproving. “Put it in my lap.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to spill ----.”

“Damn it, Madeline, I’m still capable of holding a damned tea.”

Madeline would have jumped, except she was used to his quick temper. She placed the tea on top of the blankets, keeping her hands on it until his own slightly wobbly fingers had gripped it firmly.

He didn’t say thank you. Why would he express gratitude for something he considered was one of Madeline’s obligations of birth? Waiting on people, and falling in with Kenneth’s plans, was part and parcel of being Madeline.

“Your hair’s a mess.”

She lifted a hand to her fair head, and ran her fingers over the windswept bun. Yes. For the first time in years, she’d let it have a little fun. It was uncharacteristic and she’d enjoyed it. Even more so now that she saw the reaction she was getting from her father. “Yes. I drove with the top down. It’s blowing a gale out there.”

“Stupid, idiotic thing to do,” he muttered disapprovingly, then sucked in a large breath and began to cough harshly. Madeline immediately lifted the tea out of his hands, holding it quietly until his episode abated. Then, she placed the tea back in his grip, without a word, and moved to the large windows overlooking the old swimming pool. Built in the twenties, it was resplendent with art deco features. Beautiful ornate tiles formed the entire basin, and in the middle, there was a fountain made from mosaic tiles and copper.

“You can go.”

She didn’t turn around. Her father was a stubborn ass of a man, but she knew she needed to wait until he’d finished his tea. With only the sound of the porcelain clattering against the saucer, and his heavy, laboured breathing, Madeline stared out at the immaculate grounds and let herself be pulled inexorably back through the thick wool of time.

This spot, in this library, was where she’d stood when Kenneth had shown her how impossible it was for her to pursue a future with Harrison Samson.