Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Daisy
T he frosty air greeted her the following morning. She needed to be at her desk early, so there was no time to languish in bed next to Nate’s warm body and watch the sun rise over the lawns.
She kissed Nate goodbye in bed and then walked through her house to the back door. Nate had a spare key, so she locked up as she left and trudged down the path in chunky lace-up boots and thick socks. She had her corduroy skirt and roll-neck jumper to keep her warm in her office. The woollen coat was an added layer until she reached her sanctuary.
When she shouldered her way in, the lights were off, and there was nothing on her desk. Jason was still pissed off with her. Heidi was wrong about when breakfast would resume.
“Fuck this,” Daisy said out loud.
She wanted porridge, and if her brother denied her breakfast, she would go to Maggie.
Daisy turned on her heel, marched out of Edward Hall, and breathed in deeply to approach Turner Hall kitchens. She was careful to circle the house from the front and not the back to avoid Cynthia’s rooms and the morning room. It would be the first time she had entered Turner Hall without her brothers beside her. They had no idea why she wouldn’t step foot in the place, and she wasn’t about to enlighten them now they had shown their true colours.
When she approached the outside white wooden stable-style door to the kitchens, she peered through the window to see if Maggie was in there and to make sure her brothers weren’t. When she only saw Maggie and Bailey with a cup and saucer in their hands standing by the stove, she turned the handle and walked in.
Maggie turned to see who had come in and beamed at Daisy. Daisy felt the smile warm her all over. Maggie was the next best thing if she couldn’t have her mum.
“Come here, child and give me a cuddle,” Maggie said after putting her cup and saucer down. She opened her arms, and Daisy flew into them.
“Hi, Maggie.”
“Hello, child. What brings you here this early?”
“Jason won’t feed me, and I really miss my morning porridge.”
“Sit yourself down. There is some warming on the stove. I’d made a batch for Bailey and me, but there’s plenty. Any leftover is for anyone who wants it.”
“Are you sure I’m not taking your breakfast?”
“No, we’ve eaten. Sit down, and I’ll bring it over. Do you want tea or coffee?”
“Tea if there is any in the pot. ”
“There is always tea in the pot, Daisy,” Bailey replied like she had wounded his pride.
Daisy grinned at him and shrugged off her coat.
“Why is Jason withholding food?” Maggie asked.
“I broke the news to them about Mum.”
Maggie looked to Bailey, and they exchanged a glance.
“He didn’t take it well?” Maggie asked as she ladled out a bowl of steaming hot porridge.
“None of them took it well. They’re not talking to me. Archer is not letting Teddy come to work with me, Jason isn’t providing breakfast, and Luke has disappeared completely. I would make my own breakfast, but I always hoped I’ll get to my office, and he would’ve gotten over that I had a relationship with our mum. They seem to forget they had years with Dad on the rigs when I didn’t.”
“Give them time. They’ll come around,” Maggie said.
Everyone was saying the same thing. But Daisy needed a timeline.
“I miss them,” she said.
“I bet they miss you too,” Bailey chipped in.
“What about the girls?” Maggie asked.
“They came with Isobel to my office to tell me they are supporting me and working on their stubborn husbands.”
“Do they know about the wedding?”
Daisy shook her head.
“No. Why should I tell them I’m getting married when they won’t hear me out about Mum? I don’t want their sullen faces, and I don’t want to put the girls in an awkward position.”
“Well, Bailey and I will be there. I am so looking forward to seeing Imelda. It’s been too long since I last hugged her.”
“I bet there will be tears all round. You’ll have one set of grandparents there. I’m sure they’re going to be overjoyed to see their daughter too,” Daisy said.
Bailey placed a mug of tea in front of her. She handed him her travel mug, and he gave her a wide smile and went to fill it up for her.
“They will be happy to witness their youngest grandchild get married.”
“It will be the quietest wedding ceremony I’ve ever been to. Me and Nate, his parents, my grandparents and you two and my mum. That’s it.”
“Are you sad about that?”
“Not really. I want to be married to Nate. I want to start a life with him, a family. When Warren arrives to take over the Edward Hall accounts, then I will be jobless.”
Bailey came over and placed the travel mug of tea by her side. “You know there are no accountants on Copper Island. All the business send their accounts to the mainland,” Bailey said.
“Really?” Daisy replied.
She thought back to Nate’s call to the hotline and wondered where they got their advice from.
“When one door closes, another opens,” Bailey said.
Daisy didn’t feel quite so dejected at the prospect of being jobless. There was potential if she was completely shunned.