Chapter 56
‘Two weeks in Aspen, then a week in the Caribbean on the yacht. We keep it moored in Turks and Caicos,’ Heather was saying, when Issy tapped her on the shoulder. ‘One moment.’
‘I need a word,’ Issy said.
Heather glanced around at the stage, the crowd. ‘Now?’
‘Yes. Now.’
‘I hardly think this is the time or place, Isobel.’ Her voice was a discreet murmur.
‘It can’t wait.’
‘I assume this has to do with the conversation you had with your father, about—’ She huffed, shaking her head, and glanced in the direction of the women she’d been talking to, who were suspiciously silent. She took Issy’s arm a little too firmly and steered her to a quiet spot a safe distance away.
‘You have a nerve, ambushing your father with unspeakable, unfounded accusations.’
‘I know, I was wrong. It wasn’t Dad.’
Heather paused, surprised by the admission. ‘Yes. You were. I’m glad to see you’re finally seeing sense—’
‘It was Spencer.’
Heather glared at her, ice in her blue eyes. ‘What?’
‘It was Spencer who fathered Anna’s child.’
Heather’s face twitched and her jaw tensed. She swallowed, visibly, then put her hand on Issy’s forearm, holding it tight. She leaned in so her face was just inches from her daughter’s. Issy could smell coffee on her breath. ‘Never. Ever. Say that again. Do you understand me?’
‘You covered it up,’ Issy whispered.
‘You know what I covered up?’
‘What?’
‘Your positive blood alcohol test.’
The accident again. Issy frowned. ‘I didn’t do a blood alcohol test—’
Heather let out a mean, cynical laugh. ‘Your blood alcohol was taken when you were in hospital, Isobel. You crashed your car into a wall, critically injuring your passenger. Do you think they just forgot to test you? That you just happened to get off scot-free? The blood alcohol limit is zero for P-platers.’ Heather narrowed her eyes.
‘Yours was 0.08. That’s mid-range if you’re on a full licence. ’
Issy felt her chest tighten, her breath shallow. ‘But—’
‘But nothing!’ Heather hissed. She shook her head, as though Issy was a stupid joke.
‘That poor friend of yours had half her face sliced open! Have you ever wondered why they moved away after the accident? It cost us a fortune, avoiding that lawsuit, but we did it to spare you the public humiliation. And you barely gave the whole escapade a second thought. Too busy thinking about Isobel Ashworth. Flitting from one party to another in your beautiful, charmed life, which you owe entirely, entirely, to your father and me.’