Free Adored by Tilly Bagshawe Page B

lacking the courage to act upon it. He opened one eye momentarily, then closed it again before speaking. “Well, good evening to you, too, Peter.”
    “You forgot again, didn’t you?”
    “I did not forget.” Duke looked his son in the eye. “I never forget your mother’s birthday. I sometimes choose not to celebrate it, which is a different thing.”
    A vein in Pete’s jaw had begun to twitch, as though his body were barely able to contain the bile and rage within. He only just managed to control himself sufficiently to set down his presents gently on the desk, rather than hurling them all violently at the old man’s face.
    “This year, however, I
have
brought a little something for my dear wife.”
    Reaching into his jacket pocket, Duke produced a ring box. Pete caught the distinctive Cambridge-blue flash of Tiffany and watched his father open it to reveal a subtle, delicately crafted band of diamonds and white gold. It was elegant, conservative—exactly to his mother’s taste.
    “It’s an eternity ring. To symbolize the permanence of our joyous union.” Duke snorted mirthlessly. “For better or worse, kiddo, in sickness and in health. Whaddaya think? Will Mrs. McMahon approve?”
    What the hell was he playing at? Pete couldn’t quite figure out if it was an act of gross insensitivity or more calculated spite. It didn’t occur to him that beneath his father’s cynicism and bitterness, he might still harbor any feelings of love toward his mother. As far as Pete was concerned, Duke was a monster. Even on Minnie’s birthday, he couldn’t resist trying to hurt her.
    Later that evening, the birthday supper had begun unusually calmly, with everyone making an effort to suspend hostilities. Duke was oddly quiet and had even asked Minnie quite politely about her birthday plans, much to the astonishment of his children. None of them could remember the last time they had spent so civilized an evening together, and hope that Caroline might finally be on her way out was running high.
    Minnie decided to wait until the main course (her favorite, rare roast beef with Yorkshire pudding) before broaching the subject of the chaise longue with Duke. After the best part of four decades together, she knew him well enough to realize that he was far more likely to be responsive to her complaints after a couple of glasses of wine.
    “By the way, Duke,” she said, almost casually, once the second bottle of Merlot was well under way, “did you see that we had a small, erm, accident today?”
    “Oh yeah?” He looked supremely uninterested. “What happened?”
    “The chaise longue. You know the Italian one, in”—she checked herself—“in the den? Well I’m afraid it was broken. The leg’s come right off. Seamus had a look at it for me, but he says it’s quite beyond repair.”
    “What the fuck do you mean it was broken?” This was better than Minnie had expected. He looked extremely irate. “Who the fuck broke it? I don’t believe this. Who broke it?” Duke looked around the table accusingly.
    “Some wine, Caroline?” said Pete, who knew what had happened and was beginning to enjoy himself.
    “Not for me, thank you,” she replied. Pete noticed with annoyance that she didn’t seem remotely rattled. In fact she seemed, if not quite subdued, then strangely content. It bothered him.
    “Is anybody gonna answer me?” Duke’s cheeks were reddening, a combination of the wine and his mounting frustration. “Laurie, was it you? Did you sit your fat ass down on my Italian couch?” He pronounced it “eye-talian,” which had always made Minnie cringe and Caroline laugh.
    “Daddy, don’t be so horrid,” said Laurie, blushing to the roots of her hair. “I can’t help it if I have a problem with my weight.”
    “Sure you can,” said Duke, staring at her plate piled high with Yorkshire pudding and gravy. “Quit eating.”
    “Well, it wasn’t me,” she said petulantly, pushing her food to the side of her